The Mount Rushmore of Wrestlers To Never Win A World Title

Greatest Wrestler’s To Never Win A World Title

Greetings, all.

So, while I was finishing up this article, I put on some WCW 2000. I mean…I once reviewed the entire year of 2000 in WCW, and some how, I forgot almost everything about it, and keep getting floored by how bad things are. For one, who EVER gave Mark Madden a microphone needs to be fucking fired and have their feelings hurt, badly. He’s like a very, very terrible mix between Jerry Lawler and Jay from Jay & Silent Bob. Now, along with him, they put fucking Stevie Ray on commentary as well! Why?! He isn’t Madden bad, but he isn’t anywhere near good.
All of these shows are half filled, with some of the absolute worst booking you’ve ever seen. Every swerve you see coming from a mile away, no match ends without some kinda fuckery, everyone wants to “shoot”, and the horribleness goes on and on and on. I mean, what I’m watching right now, no joke, there’s like 15 guys outside the ring now, NONE of them, I repeat, not a SINGLE ONE of them, is involved in the match that’s going on. Sweet Jesus….

OK, enough with the crap, on with the show. Beyond just listing who I believe belongs, I also included my favorite match of theirs. Enjoy!

Why He’s On The Mountain: Roddy Piper wrote the book on heel work in 1984/85. He wasn’t a chicken shit heel. He was a bad-ass. He was a bad-ass with a mouth who was quite before his time, because if the crowd in ’85 was like the crowds of today, Piper would have been cheered like a motherfucker. After his massive heel run in ’85 and portions of ’86, Piper went baby-face legend and never looked back. He would drop in and out, and be over as ever each time. In his prime, Piper was as over as any of his counterparts, and with the exception of Hogan, more over than the rest of them. He’s had feuds with the biggest names this business has ever known, a career that spans 5 decades, he’s one of the most revolutionary and mimicked wrestlers of all time, and some how, never held a world title.

Roddy Piper [C] vs Bret Hart – Intercontinental Championship
We get some great moments at the start from Roddy, one of which include him getting hot over Bret out smarting him, and then spitting at him when Bret was faking a shoulder injury. Loved both, because it showed passion, you truly believed Roddy cared about winning this. He then gets his payback when the ref tells Bret to tie his boot, and when Bret bends over, Piper slugs him. A super hard spot happens when Bret does a running forearm into Roddy that sends him to the outside, and it’s a shoot, as you also hear the audible “smack” from it. We get a ref bump, that actually looks legit, as he gets cracked by a running Hitman and it whips him back into the turnbuckle. Eventually Hot Rod has the chance to smash Bret with the time-keepers bell, but decides against it. He goes for the sleeper, only for Bret to reverse it on him into a pin. This is one of the more underrated matches in my opinion, as no one talks about it, and it’s fucking phenomenal. I’ve often heard Flair vs Steamboat as the peak of being entertaining, but also believable that two guys were fighting for something. However, I think that title belongs to this match. It’s absolutely brilliant.
Bret Hart wins the IC title via pin at 16:33 | *****

Why He’s On The Mountain:
When you think about how over he was, for as long as he was, it’s really shocking he never held a World Title. In the early to mid-90s, Razor was like a main-eventer who only worked the mid-card. When I first got into wrestling in May of 1995, Razor was my man. When he went over to WCW, he became even cooler, even more over. The guy could work his ass off, has the best worked-punch of all time, was great on the mic, and just had a presence. I honestly believe had it not been for his issues with booze, Scott would have been a World Champion.
Shawn Michaels vs Razor Ramon
I always thought Shawn’s motorcycle boots was a cool touch. They start off strong, with Razor over powering Shawn at every turn. There’s a sick spot where he suplexes Shawn from the inside to the out, and Shawn’s ankle cracks the guard rail on the way down. A little while later, Razor hits Shawn with the best punch I’ve ever seen. Not only did Razor’s punch look perfect, but Shawn sold it perfectly, you heard the “smack”, as Shawn whips his head back and you see spit fly out. Brilliant. Man, Razor has the biggest, curliest, dryest mullet in this match. Funny thing, they really don’t use the ladder that often, not nearly as often as you would think, or have seen in other matches. For your boy’s money, this match is better than their WMX one. For me, it just doesn’t hold up after everything I’ve seen, but this one, it’s a war, and a damn good time. Great stuff, with both guys in their prime. The ending is kinda funny, because Shawn attempts to grab the belt a few times, but can’t reach it, and he throws a classic Shawn-fit in the middle of the ring before finally snagging it.
Shawn grabs the belt at 18:36 | ****1/2

Why He’s On The Mountain: Everything I said about Scott Hall, I could say for Mr. Perfect. However, Curt had one thing that Razor didn’t, and it was this aura of smugness. You wanted to punch the living shit out of him whenever he’d start talking shit and give that Perfect grin. The smugness that he carried wasn’t something I appreciated until a few years ago. He would have been a fantastic heel champion, and I guarantee would have drawn a shit ton of money if they’d gone that way, especially if Hogan was chasing.
Bret Hart vs Mr. Perfect – Intercontinental Championship

Man, they’re so damn crisp right off the bat. Also, who the fuck is this Coach guy? I’ve only ever seen him in this match. They cut to Stu & Helen, as Gorilla says “concerned look on the faces of Stu & Helen”, as Helen is smiling and Stu literally looks like Festus. These guys go back and forth the whole match, and as per usual with Bret, every thing looks snug & legit. Perfect may very well be the best seller of all time, as he kept it on that fine line of being entertaining, but serious. I also love how crazy his hair looks at the end of this, as along with his ripped tights, it looks like Bret had to damn near kill him to the get the strap. The end sees Perfect attempting to drop a leg, however Bret catches it and throws him in the Sharpshooter for the win. Just an absolute classic, and a Top 5 of All Time for me.
Bret Hart wins with the Sharpshooter at 14:26 | *****

Why He’s On The Mountain: I’m gonna be a lame-duck and just say, it’s Andre The Giant, I really don’t need to explain why he’s here. Now, I know some are going to argue that Andre did hold a World Title, but I don’t count that ordeal from Saturday Night’s Main Event. I know some do, and if this was Ted DiBiase, I may tend to agree with you as he was announced as WWE Champion at a show or two, but Andre never was, so there’s not even that to argue.

Hulk Hogan [C] vs Andre The Giant w/ Bobby Heenan – WWE Championship – WrestleMania 3
Hogan starts off with some punches, but a body slam attempt leaves his lower back destroyed, which Andre starts to work on immediately. Hogan eventually works on a small comeback, which Andre shuts down with the quickness, but after showing a little bit of weakness. They eventually brawl to the outside, and Hogan even looks to piledrive Andre on the concrete, which is pretty unheard of back then. Back in the ring, Andre looks to finish, but Hogan catches a running clothesline, a body-slam, and the leg drop. Basically, Hogan survived Andre. The match of course isn’t that great. It’s pretty boring. But that’s to be expected. They did a fine job with what they had.
Hogan wins with the Leg Drop at 12:01| ** for the match, ***** for it’s historic value.

Thanks for reading, buckshots, and don’t forget to tell Steph hello……

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