Who are the five most underrated wrestlers in the last 10-15 years?

Question

Any wrestler and any promotion are fair game.

Give a valid explanation why you think the wrestler is forgotten or underappreciated.

Answer 1

Shelton Benjamin
Carlito
Eugene
Chris Masters
Funaki

Answer 2

Five most underrated since 92 Huh? I'll give it a shot.
In no particular order
The Great Muta Keiji Muto.
A living Legend in Japan, largely forgotten and underappreciated in America. This guy is a wrestling MONSTER. Muta has one of the best if not greatest arsenals of any living wrestler. He has more spectacular moves to call on than the WWE's entire current tag division does combined. Muta has been copied more times than a xerox machine.
Sabu.
This guy has given up his blood sweat guts health and almost life for the ECW fans over the years. Not to mention the fact that he is one of the toughest guys in human history. I once saw Sabu wrestle a no rope barbed wire match against Terry funk with a broken jaw.And not only did He give the match everything He had, they both had to be cut out with wire cutters when the match was over. That's Tough.
Kane
The guy is a total enigma. He's inarguably a monster. He could and should be one of the very top Big Men of all time. Yet He through His whole career has basically been made to job to 75% of the Earth. Kane should be at the very least a 4 time WWE Champion by now. Why isn't He? I think Kane is living proof of the cliche "Nice guys finish last" and it's a shame.
Jushin Thunder Liger
Liger is the World's Greatest Cruiserweight. Period. End of Discussion. But here in America all the press goes to Rey Rey. Take a poll of US wrestling fans, maybe 40% would list Liger as #1. And the man has basically defeated every great cruiserweight in history and held almost as many titles as Flair. It sad Liger doesn't get the recognition He deserves here.
Dean Malenko
The guy was amazing. A technical wrestler par excellance. Malenko could and should have went on to reach the levels attained by Eddie and Chris, but didn't. therefore now He is largely forgotten.
I could come up with a lot more Mr C. But those five I think haven't got nearly the recognition or acclaim they deserve.
*Starred*

Answer 3

1.I know he is even older..but definetely Arn Anderson..How in the world this wrestler has never won a Heavyweight title?He is one of the best wrestlers of all time.Original Horseman.and the guy who perfected the spinebuster.i know he was at Ric Flair's shadow but it's a mystery why he has never won the big one!He is not forgotten by true wrestling fans but he is not getting the recognition he deserves from 'other' wrestling fans like the guys which are telling that Cena is the best ever(actually i have no problem either with them or Cena but for good God..there are so many wrestlers which are better than him)..

2.Jimmy Superfly Snuka...cause he has never hold the WWF/WWE title.Although..he is a true legend.He has given so many great maches in his career.Well actually he is not forgotten but i have to choose him..

3.Kenta Kobashi and i am not talking for the fans that watch All Japan Pro Wrestling and NOAH.I live in Greece and the only show we can watch here is Monday Night Raw(i actually have Cable and i follow the developement of some other shows like SD,ECW,TNA,ROH,New Japan League e.t.c,and i also use the internet).So every time i am telling them that Kobashi is one of the best ever..i have to explain why because they don't even know him!

4.Shelton Benjamin..for this generation!He has a great talent,he is so athletic and he has been in the business for a long time(since 2002 i think) and he has never get a push!They are telling he is not trying hard to improve himself..!Cena tries a lot??..Hell No!One time Vince(i think) decided to give him a push(when he won 2-straight matches with HHH) but then he dropped the idea for no reason...

5.and last butnot least...Ultimo Dragon..i have watched this guy in New Japan League and in WCW(sometimes)..he is so amazing and he never get a push in the WWE.Unfortunately,i believe that only in the WWE someone would become a worldwide superstar and Ultimo fit all the requirements...


In this topic i am talking about ALL the Wrestling Fans in the world,not only for the guys with big knowledge and true wrestling fans!I know that maybe you have watched so many wrestling matches that i am going to se in my whole life and you are very knowlegeable..Most of the wrestling fans have forgot about him..
There also some others like Brad Anderson , Iron Sheik , Owen Hart , Curt 'Mr.Perfect' Hennig and many more

Great Question..
*starred* Carlos..

Answer 4

Not really, he's been rated as the best wrestler in the world numerous times and really he did live up to his potential in WWE, for the majority a main-eventer or at least top-mid carder. Jericho maybe didn't have enough time as champion but he still is one of the best. I agree with the answers that said Kane. Kane had a lot of talent and was never pushed high enough to hold a main-event status for a very long time, he spent the majority of his career either in mid-card or tag-team. Kane could have been used very well turning him into a main-eventer and never having got rid of his mask.

Answer 5

1) Kevin Von Erich
Kevin Von Erich was a quick and athletic wrestler who was often ignored by fans, who instead went crazy for the "Modern Day Warrior" Kerry Von Erich. Kevin wasn't known to be a high flyer in the wrestling world (when fans refer to him) but he was. Kevin was energetic and knew how to get the crowd on their feet. He had to walk in the shadow of his more charismatic brother, Kerry.

2) "Rowdy" Roddy Piper
Not only was Hot Rods' "Piper's Pit" the launching pad for all future interview segments, Piper's Pit was the most successful. He often interviewed his opponents in his segments, which furthered his storylines and the storylines of others. Although he wasn't the biggest he was definitely the loudest and when Piper did something, people noticed (usually in hate). He never had a decent run as a champion but he should have. Alot of fans underestimate the Rowdy Ones' in-ring psychology. He was one of the best heels of all-time in the wrestling industry.

3) The Iron Sheik
This is the only wrestler that I can think of who has been a heel his whole career. While Sgt.Slaughter flip-flopped between face/heel, the Iron Sheik remained the most hated wrestler of all-time and while tag-team title runs were his most noteable achievements, he would have made a decent heel World Champion for the WWF if the WWF would have given him the title longer than they did.

4) Kevin Sullivan
Sullivan set the standard in regards to "evil" gimmicks and I consider him to be the original "Undertaker" (without overdoing the gimmick). He had memorable matches with many of the guys who later joined the WWF and WCW. The one thing holding him back was his size. Although he had muscle mass, he wasn't all that tall, often being shorter than some of the managers and women in the wrestling industry at that time. His height is what kept him from major pushes in his short WWF and WCW run. While many fans may not consider Sullivan to be a wrestling legend, many wrestlers' in the industry, do.

5) Jerry "The King" Lawler
Lawler is the true "Dirtiest Player In The Game" ... He also had wrestling talent and in-ring psychology that was often underestimated. His arsenal of illegal tactics often includes raking his opponents forehead on the ropes, using brass knuckles or a chain wrapped around his fist, throwing powder in his opponents faces, and probably the most devastating illegal tactic ever created, throwing fire into the face of his opponents. He didn't just do these dispicable acts once or twice ... this was a normal part of the match for Lawler in many cases. Lawler never got his due in the big leagues (WWF & WCW) but on the Independent Circuit, he was probably the most successful cheater of all-time. (Using a chair or having one of the Horsemen at ringside was how Flair cheated, Lawler didn't need anyone on the outside to cheat for him, Lawler did it himself when the ref's attention was diverted.)

Honorable Mention:
Eric Embry (WCCW)
Ron Simmons
Stevie Ray

(I didn't list the most obvious underrated wrestlers who didn't get the spots they deserved, such as "Mr.Perfect" Curt Henning, "Ravishing" Rick Rude, and Jake "The Snake" Roberts.)

Answer 6

Talking last 10-15 years to me Dean Malenko stands out. He could work a really good match with anybody and worked hard.
Meng/Haku always brought his A game as well.
Mike Awesome had some cracker matches when given a chance.
Psicosis along with Rey Mysterio helped put Lucha Libre into mainstream international Wrestling.
And fifth and finally Hugh Morris who for a big guy could really go.

Answer 7

15 years, damn thats along time.

- "Mr Perfect" Curt Henning, kind of got a push in WCW but never won the big one. He had it all - Charisma, Ability and a good gimmick.

- Jake "The Snake" Roberts, the BEST ring physcologist ever, never won the big one either like Henning. Deserved more than he got - Maybe due to drugs and alcohol but hey he had the ability

- Diamond Dallas Page, he was a big fish in a little pond (WCW), came to the WWF and was squashed by the Undertaker. He was really good and deserved a bit more

- Shelton Benjamin, see me rants. The guy is a wrestling machine - He can wrestle like Bret, Strike like Taker, Fly like Liger and work a match like Angle. What more does he NEED!?!?!!?

And finally - I'll choose a faction of wrestlers, The Radicalz. The ability in the group alone could outwrestle most companies, Benoit, Eddie, Perry and Malenko were all beasts in the ring. Had their own charisma and their own personality but still came together as a group.
The Radicalz should have taken over the WWF in 1999/2000 but were squashed by HHH

Noteables - Chris Jericho (after being squashed at WM18), Christopher Daniels (never maineventing) and even Carlito.

Answer 8

Owen Hart - Best IC Champ I think and never held the big one. Great charisma, skills, and could talk on the mic like no other.

Billy Kidman - I thought he was very under appreciated and when they wanted to feud him with Hogan he looked great, but Hogan wouldn't put him over. Hogans problem for many years was this.

Shelton Benjamin - Say what you want, but he is athletically sound of anyone in the world. He can wrestle and always entertains the crowds with some really great spots when the time is right.

Scott Hall - Look at all the IC and Tag Titles along with some US reigns, but no one ever pushed him to the main event level. He had a huge impact in WCW and bam, he could have been really pushed.

Dean Malenko - PWI wrestler of the year in 1997 and no one took advantage of it. He can wrestle anyone, any style and still have match of the night. Someone dropped the ball on him.

My 5 picks. Enjoy your star.

Answer 9

DDP, the guy had to work his butt off just to get noticed.
AJ Styles has the ability to go far in this business.
The Truth, yea he's a heel of sorts but still underrated,
Shelton has put on the back shelf way to many times.
Dean Malenko, the man of a thousand holds, enough said.

Answer 10

jake roberts. he always had his share of success in the wwf a good wrestler but never a champion

jimmy snuka a very popular wrestler of the times no champion in the wwe

shelton benjamin they dont use his potential to his full benefits

kane he seems to jobb to everyone now its sad