The Most Overrated People in Professional Wrestling History

Wrestling with Emotion – The Most Overrated People in Professional Wrestling History

Overrated - Adjective. (of something) considered to be better than it really is.

To say one is overrated is truly a statement based on personal preference. There are no set criteria which clearly defines one as underrated, overrated, or accurately recognized by the masses. Personal preference and bias are what define this list. I say this in advance because I know that someone somewhere will read the following and get angry when I determine one of their favorite people in the business as overrated. Get angry all you want though because the truth is that everyone on this list is vastly overrated and not close to being worthy of the praise heaped upon him or her.

The following are the five most overrated people in the history of professional wrestling according to me. In addition to my thoughts, I am including the thoughts of many additional fans on this subject. This list has the potential to be one of the most controversial editions of The Highlight Reel yet. With controversial comes fun, as this should lead to a great deal of discussion, debate, and deliberation. Without further ado, it is time to criticize some of the “greats.”

5. Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon (TIE) – You read that right. I am opening up this list by blasting two of the most important figures in the history of professional wrestling. However, I have a specific reason for calling Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon overrated and why I am calling them overrated together. 

 

In 1984, Vince McMahon started the meteoric rise of World Wrestling Entertainment from another regional wrestling company to the global juggernaut it is today. McMahon started the rise with the blood, sweat, and physical prowess of Hulk Hogan inside the ring as his biggest star. McMahon needed the charismatic Hogan to draw fans to watch his programming and attend his live events. Hulk Hogan was the spark that lit World Wrestling Entertainment’s fuse and launched the company to heights never imagined before by any other wrestling promoter. With that said, Hulk Hogan was the same performer who worked for Verne Gagne’s AWA in the early 1980s and became a regional power at best. Hulk Hogan needed Vince McMahon’s marketing genius and capital backing him to turn Hulkamania from a regional act into a worldwide phenomenon. Today, Vince McMahon owns World Wrestling Entertainment – the largest sports entertainment company in the world while Hulk Hogan is the biggest name in the history of the business. Ask anybody in the world what a wrestler is and you will get a description of or the name Hulk Hogan more times than not. That is a fact. Another fact is that neither man would be the important figure in wrestling history he is without the other.

So, how can I consider either man overrated? Both Hogan and McMahon believe they reached their levels of success without the other’s assistance. Both Hogan and McMahon have supporters who also believe this. The worst offense of all though is that both Hogan and McMahon believe they are still the end all, be all of professional wrestling even though their best days are long behind them. Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon both have a God complex when it comes to professional wrestling and are killing their respective companies’ potential because of their own inflated egos. TNA Wrestling would have more time to dedicate to their young talent and incredible wrestling action without Hulk Hogan making the main storylines revolve around himself or his family. Meanwhile, Vince McMahon allowed greed to turn World Wrestling Entertainment into a shell of its former glory. In addition, McMahon still finds time to appear on television alongside his daughter and son-in-law in tedious angles that have fans either turning the channel or going to the bathroom instead of watching. Neither man is the almighty wrestling God he believes himself to be. Professional wrestling was alive long before Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon and it will be alive after them regardless of what both men and their millions of sycophant supporters believe. 

“Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart was the greatest transition title holder of all-time. With an average moveset and poor mic skills, his claim to fame is getting ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin over when he was already over and the Montreal Screw Job. Hart may be the first long-term champion with midcard skills - followed by CM Punk, Mark Henry, John Cena, various celebrities, Randy Orton, and any Hulk Hogan world title reign post-n.W.o.. I’ll give him credit for holding the WWF together in its transition to the Attitude Era. But if I never see a replay of his sh*tty entrance and sunglasses again, I'll be okay.” - Terry Sligar

“The internet treats Chris Jericho like he is the best in-ring wrestler, most charismatic wrestler, and biggest draw in history. Chris Jericho is a good wrestler. He can make any match watchable. However, guys like Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, and Bret Hart were better in the ring. He is a charismatic figure and is great on the mic. However, he is not as good as The Rock or even a Shawn Michaels. Finally, Chris Jericho is not a draw. People tend to think WWE needs Jericho, which is false. Guys like Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, and The Rock were draws. Finally, how big would Fozzy be if WWE didn’t promote it?” - Michael Jay Smith

4. “Rowdy” Roddy Piper – This pains me because I really like Roddy Piper. He is one of the most entertaining men in professional wrestling history on the microphone. Everybody who is a true fan of wrestling’s history can recite at least one “Hot Rod” quote. However, I believe that is not enough to consider Roddy Piper anywhere near worthy of the hype and praise he receives.

 

Many consider Piper to be among the all-time greats in wrestling history. Can anyone name a great match Roddy Piper match though? Piper is an early pioneer of something I believe to be a major problem with today’s professional wrestling: a mediocre wrestler who lives on the catchy sound bite. We all remember Piper’s Pit when Piper hit Jimmy Snuka with a coconut. However, does anyone remember a Piper-Snuka match? Did Piper’s Pit with Morton Downey, Jr. at WrestleMania V ever lead to anything meaningful? In a career spanning 45 years, one can argue Roddy Piper had two great matches on big stages – the Dog Collar match against Greg Valentine at Starrcade 1983 and the Intercontinental Championship match against Bret Hart at WrestleMania VIII. His feud with Hulk Hogan and Mr. T in the mid-1980s was memorable but not for great wrestling. His feud with Hogan and Ric Flair in the late 1990s was more embarrassing than great. Roddy Piper’s weaknesses in the ring negated any greatness he showed on the microphone.

“Randy ‘Macho Man’ Savage is nowhere close to as great as people make him out to be. You could not understand a damn thing he was saying in those pointless promos. His matches were good but a lot of that can be contributed to his opponents. Also, Savage was not that interesting. Fans cheered Miss Elizabeth, not Randy Savage. Fans booed Sensational Queen Sherri, not the Macho King. He was a leech off their crowd responses. Savage’s Slim Jim commercials and untimely death made him much larger star status than he truly earned.” - June Goins

“John Morrison is one of the most overrated wrestlers ever. All he has going for him is being athletic. However, on the independent wrestling scene, there are 10,000 guys who can do the same moves. Melina was the draw of MNM, not Morrison. If he was as good as the internet fans say he is, Morrison would be the top guy somewhere. Anywhere. Evolve and Ring of Honor would be begging for him to be in their company. But, they are not.” - Roy Zambrano

“Dusty Rhodes - the American Dream, son of a plumber from Texas. Rhodes had average in-ring skills but a ton of charisma to back it up. The problem with Rhodes, however, is that charisma and the character it was channeled into. I have never been a fan of listening to Dusty Rhodes because of the silly dialect he tried to use in his promos. He was truly John Cena before John Cena in terms of a white man trying to be a black man.  Yet, he was beloved for doing this. Beyond the annoyance of his character, Rhodes is widely regarded as one of the greatest in the ring of all-time when honestly, he shouldn’t make a Top 100 list. He could go in the ring but he couldn’t carry a match in the way that you would expect a 3-time world champion to be able to. He lacked the ability to elevate anyone and make them look good in the manner that most NWA champions pre-1980 were capable of doing. I realize it contributed to his popularity as the ‘common man’ but he looked like total sh*t, especially later in his career. I simply wouldn’t believe Dusty Rhodes could handle himself in a pure athletic competition against people like Ric Flair, Nikita Koloff, Arn Anderson, Tully Blanchard, Magnum TA, or most any of the other major players of the NWA at that time. In short, Dusty Rhodes was certainly the American Dream because you’d have to be asleep to believe he was anything special.” - Doug Smith

3. The Fabulous Moolah – The Fabulous Moolah is one of the most decorated female performers in professional wrestling history. She is also one of the most overrated champions of all-time.

 

The Fabulous Moolah won the vacant NWA Women’s Championship in a battle royal in 1956. Promoted by Vince McMahon as holding the championship for 28 years, Moolah remained champion for the majority of those 28 years before losing the championship to Wendi Richter in 1984. Twenty-eight years in the thick of the championship picture is incredible on paper. However, the reality is that Moolah defended the championship rarely during that period and only maintained possession of the title because she physically owned the title and controlled the bookings of many female performers during this era. Moolah did not have to worry about new talent when she controlled the women’s wrestling scene.  

In addition, Moolah was a dominant champion in an era where women in wrestling were practically non-existent. Moolah did not pioneer the way for the likes of Trish Stratus, Mickie James, Tara, and Lita in any way except for gender. The Fabulous Moolah worked with a limited move-set consisting of hair pulling, forearm smashes, snap mares, and stomps. Athleticism was secondary. The reality is that Moolah, in her prime, would never receive a developmental deal in any company – let alone be the dominant figure people remember her as being. I am not saying this because she was a rather unattractive woman either. Unattractive women – ODB, Jacqueline Moore, Tori, and the late Luna Vachon – all worked throughout the last 20 years and none of them was a pin-up in a teenage boy’s bedroom. They could work in the ring though; something the Fabulous Moolah simply could not do. The Fabulous Moolah was a great ambassador for the wrestling industry in her final years. However, to say she was one of the greatest of all-time based on her dominance in an era of mediocrity would be to continue elevating one of the most overrated (and false) records in professional wrestling history.

“Lex Luger. He never made me excited for anything he did in the ring. His finisher was putting a guy on his shoulders and jumping up and down. I mean, really? Luger was worthless on the mic as he’d just  yell and yell. Thank the Lord for ‘Mean’ Gene Okerlund or I’d never know what the hell he was trying to say. He benefited in the 1980s from his physique since that was wrestling’s bread and butter. I still can’t believe he was ever allowed into the Four Horsemen since they were wrestlers and brawlers while he was just a cardboard champion. Poor Miss Elizabeth never should have been around this user. God knows how many other lives from that era were shortened because Luger was a locker room pharmacist prescribing death and depression to go along with their worn-down joints and broken bodies.” - Jeremy M. Johnston

“Brock Lesner: the Next Big Thing that Never Was. Brock was a quitter in every sense of the word, especially if he could get paid for quitting. He turned his back on WWE in 2004 to go play football, where he would have disappeared. After failing in the NFL to even play a preseason game, he went to Japan. He left New Japan Pro Wrestling to go to the UFC for a big paycheck. For once, Brock didn’t quit something for more money or fame. Instead, he got his ass kicked and quit due to injury. He returned to the WWE and is viewed as an automatic veteran working a couple times a year for the same money as 15 guys combined who all work 340 days a year. That’s crap and Lesnar is not worthy of any of the special treatment he receives.” - Brian McNail

2. Bill Goldberg – In 1998, Bill Goldberg was the biggest star in World Championship Wrestling. His streak of 173 victories became the story of legends. Goldberg’s run from rookie to United States Champion to WCW World Champion overshadowed the WCW vs. n.W.o. war of that time. However, to believe Bill Goldberg was anything outside of a benefactor of hype during wrestling’s biggest boom in popularity would be giving him too much credit.

 

After his initial streak ended at the hands of Kevin Nash’s egotistical booking and Hulk Hogan’s power plays / God complex earlier described, Bill Goldberg never came close to reaching the same levels of in-ring success. Nobody seemed to notice though. Goldberg either spent time injured or in pointless angles throughout the remainder of WCW’s existence. When he finally joined the WWE in 2003, Goldberg received another major push that culminated in a World Heavyweight Championship reign in late 2003. However, Goldberg was never the same dominant force as in WCW. Some, including Goldberg himself, blame Triple H and backstage politics. I blame Goldberg being shown up working with superior talents including Triple H, Chris Jericho, and Kane in the WWE. In addition, I blame Goldberg himself. Bill Goldberg believed his own hype then and still believes it now. Bill Goldberg is anything but a main event draw and a man who can carry a company. He is a mediocre in-ring performer, even worse on the microphone, and lives solely on intense brawling and manufactured fan chants piped into an arena. Bill Goldberg is the Ultimate Warrior without the face paint and crazy. 

“Even copper will look like it has some value when surrounded by gold and platinum. That’s the exact reason why Triple H has gotten over while with WWE. Granted the backstage politics and friends did help… A LOT. But, Triple H is the perfect example of ‘in the right place at the right time.’ Triple H was surrounded by some of the greatest wrestlers of all-time in The Rock, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, and ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin just to name a few. Because of that, they made him look good. He paid his dues - including punishment for a year after the ‘Curtain Call’ debacle. He does love the business and is a very tough man. However, he fails time and time again when looking at many different factors. His ring work is average unless he is burying someone. His microphone skills are average. His ‘story telling’ ability is so bad it comes off as comical (look at him in the whole concussion angle recently). He cannot control the audience in the palm of his hands like the greats and lacks the ‘It Factor’ that guys like Austin, The Rock, and even Hulk Hogan possessed. Triple H is popular because of the wrestlers he worked with. When you think of his feuds, it is never with the thought of how Triple H managed to keep that angle going; it is always the exact opposite. His opponents got things moving and made the feud something to remember, not Triple H. He was in the right place at the right time, simple as that.” - James Walsh

“John Cena is an overrated hack. Cena is a walking billboard for the WWE. He is the best ‘Yes’ man in the company today. But, what has John Cena done for the sport of professional wrestling other than make a joke of it? I can't say I don't like The Rock because he successfully crossed over from wrestling to acting and then back again (albeit with too much hype) or Hulk Hogan because he is the face of professional wrestling. However, I can proudly say I do not like John Cena. All he has done is help usher in the PG era, make a few movies that went straight-to-DVD (or DVD after a two-day theatrical release), and a rap album that no one - save for the hardcore Cena fans - bought. While a majority of the men, and some of the women, in the WWE have a wide variety of moves, Cena has five. When an opponent puts him in an actual wrestling hold, you can see the panic on Cena’s face because he doesn't know what to do or how to counter it. How he is a 13-time world champion is beyond me. If anyone can tell me how and why John Cena isn't overrated, let me know so I can get a good laugh.” - Stacey Holt

“CM Punk is a guy I like as a wrestler a lot. Truth be told, he is my favorite active wrestler in any promotion. That said, he is VASTLY overrated by the majority of people that follow this sport. The people of the Internet Wrestling Community (something I claim zero allegiance to) hail Punk as the greatest technical wrestler and speaker of all-time - something that is just not true. Is he good? Yes. Hell, there is evidence that he is borderline great. But ask yourself a question: How many promos can you remember outside of his initial ‘Pipebomb’ promo from 2011? How many big matches of his can you remember that are more than a year old? Take whatever number you get as a ‘diehard’ wrestling fan and cut it in half. That number is what any casual fan would remember. It is that fact to the greatest degree that makes him one of the most overrated individuals in all of professional wrestling. The greatest entities of all-time will never be forgotten. At this point in his career, CM Punk would be.” - Steak Sauce 

1. Paul Heyman – In my opinion, there has never been and may never be a more overrated person in professional wrestling than Paul Heyman.

 

Members of the IWC (Internet Wrestling Community) scream weekly of how glorious and magical professional wrestling would be if Paul Heyman were allowed to be the head booker for either World Wrestling Entertainment or TNA Wrestling because ECW was the greatest promotion in the history of wrestling. Many wear t-shirts reading, “I’m a Paul Heyman Guy” and put Heyman on a pedestal as the greatest booker and judge of talent in wrestling history because of his history with Extreme Championship Wrestling in the 1990s. If these fans would remove the rose-colored glasses they use to look back on ECW with, they would see that Paul Heyman was a horrible booker who misused talent and catered to a niche audience at best. 

Throughout the nine-year existence of Eastern / Extreme Championship Wrestling with Paul Heyman as the head booker, Heyman had the following amazing talent under contract: Steve Austin, Mick Foley, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko, Rey Mysterio, Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, Bam Bam Bigelow, Chris Candido, Jerry Lynn, Al Snow, Lance Storm, and Yoshihiro Tajiri. They combined for a grand total of three ECW World Championship reigns – one for Bigelow, Lynn, and Dreamer – for a total of 80 days. In contrast, The Sandman held the ECW World Championship five times for a total of 446 days. The Sandman did not deserve a job for 446 days – let alone get to hold a world championship multiple times or for that long. Paul Heyman can cry that Eric Bischoff raided his company of talent but the truth is that he was never going to push Benoit, Guerrero, or Jericho – all multi-time world champions – to the top so they left for more money and better opportunities. Paul Heyman had all the talent a promoter needs to provide an amazing wrestling program and pissed it away pushing something only drunken Philadelphia locals craving blood and sex wanted. Then, you have to factor in that Paul Heyman probably still owes every one of those men mentioned earlier money. Paul Heyman cannot run a business unless that business is to be run into the ground. 

Now, fans see Paul Heyman as this magical orator alongside Brock Lesnar, CM Punk, and Curtis Axel and think of Heyman as one of the all-time great managers and personalities in the business. Please! Heyman is mediocre on the microphone. Yeah, I said it. Standing next to Brock Lesnar though, a farting donkey would cut epic promos by comparison so, of course, Heyman looks great. 

There is nothing about Paul Heyman that makes him close to being worthy of the hype and praise heaped upon him by the IWC. Nothing at all. He was a mediocre booker and horrible with talent… almost as horrible as he was with money. He was is a mediocre manager and average on the microphone. The only thing Paul Heyman is good at is being able to brainwash the simple into believing he is anything special.

Even Paul knows it is true...

There you have it. From so-called booking geniuses to so-called wrestling legends, those are my picks as the most overrated people in the history of professional wrestling. I would love to thank the wrestling fans – my friends and family – who contributed with their contributions to the list of overrated people in the history of professional wrestling. This is sure to encourage some debate amongst readers of The Highlight Reel. One thing is certain though – Paul Heyman sucks.