Old School’s Take: The Forgotten Few



Hi wrestling fans, welcome to the comeback edition of Old School’s Take. I’ve been gone for quite a long time. But I’m back and better then ever. To send feedback for this column, send it to dodgerdude42@yahoo.com. The Talking Points memo involves WrestleMania 21. I will be attending and I feel like I’m going to see a great card. Batista vs. Triple H is looking like a match made in heaven. It’s a great build up and I can’t wait.

When you talk about the vary best in this business, several superstars come to mind. Superstar Billy Graham, Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Buddy Rodgers and many more can be on this list of greats. The debate will live forever on who is the best, probably with the above names being thrown around. But there are so many that are forgotten. Some of you know superstars who never reached the limelight but were till awesome superstars who belong among the elite. I will discuss several today and you can judge for yourself if these superstars belong in that elite group.

Sabu- When I decided to write this column I knew that Sabu would be first on this list. For whatever reason unknown to me, this manic never got the credit that he deserved. Sabu would do whatever it took to keep his fans happy. He even stuck barb wire down his pants once when jumping to the outside to land on Terry Funk. Sabu’s carrer will be remembered for his time spent in ECW, but Sabu was a superstar in Japans FMW promotion before he even stepped foot in an ECW ring. It didn’t matter if it was just a ordinary match, a stretcher match, barb wire ropes, or a stairway to hell match, Sabu always made you satisfied with every match he had.

Something that really disgusts me among us so called educated fans and columnist is that we show Sabu absolutely no credit at all. The first attack will be that his style isn’t wrestling, that all his matches could be seen in a backyard somewhere. His style was unconventional, but revolutionary. At most Indy shows today to see a lot of the high flying suicidal, homicidal stuff sabu does, not mat wrestling. I do love mat wrestling, but its not what many fans like to see today. The fans of today love the chants of “HOLY SHIT,” and “ECW.” The Sabu style of wrestling allows fans to do so.

The other argument would be the fact that ECW did not edit its stuff early on and all of Sabu’s mistakes were shown on television. So the argument is that he screwed up way to much. Well everyone screws up. Chris Benoit broke Sabu’s neck. Does that make him an awful wrestler? Nope. Owen Hart broke Steve Austin’s neck. Did that make him a bad wrestler? Nope? Owen was a great wrestler in his lifetime as Chris Benoit is now. WWE edits there shows, ECW didn’t as you will see if you buy the rise and fall of ECW.

Curt Hennig- They called him Mr.Perfect and with good reason. Curt was the best IC champ ever and once again shows my theory that I share with a few is that the IC title meant just as much if not more then the WWE title at one time. Curt made his career on that IC title and was never realy the same once he left WWE. He was a second generation superstar who escaped the shadow and became his own wrestler which alone deserves praise. Kurt started off in AWA and quickly became a star, wrestling the likes of Greg Gange, Wahoo McDaniel, and Baron Von Rasche. He held there world title over a year until dropping it to Jerry Lawler in Jerrys hometown.

But even with all that success, he became a legend with the WWF. The Hogan feud got him over as a heel. Then it was off to the races with the IC title. He was the best IC champ ever. That’s just a fact.

Bret Hart- Many would say I’m dumb for putting the Hit Man on the list because he’s well respected as one of the greats ever. Bret was a 5 time WWF champ and should be remembered for all the battles he had in the WWF. But he won’t. He will be remembered as the crybaby who got screwed by the boss. This subject still can get as heated and talked about as it was in November 1997.

Perfect example was this past weeks RAW. Edge and HBK are in the Ring and you hear the “You Screwed Bret,” chants in the arena. HBK answered by saying “This is Florida, stay in your own country.” As funny as I found that, people were offended. But that is wrestling.

Bret, HBK, and Vince McMahon need to one day be in the same ring on national television and deal with things. Bret and Vice are on good terms. But the situation will not die till Bret and HBK burry the hatchet.

The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day centers on the TNA and Randy Savage Mess. Randy has really lost a lot of my respect for the man after walking out. This next statement is for you Randy. If I were your age and washed up and the second most prestigious company in the states offered me a Main event spot on there company, I would take it. Title or no title. You my friend are ridiculous.

That’s all for today. The Fan feedback segment will start again next time. Thanks for everyone who gave me nice words during the tough time I’ve been going through. Take to all. See ya next time

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