Latest / Ultimate Rewinds Podcast / The Top 10 Wrestlers of the 1980’s & More!

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The Top 10 Wrestlers of the 1980’s & More! · Ultimate Rewinds Podcast

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We are back with episode 39. And guess
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what, guys? Today we have a great topic.
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We're talking about the top 10 wrestlers
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of the 1980s. A great topic considering
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you and I are both big wrestling fans,
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especially early wrestling fans during
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that 1980s time frame. But before we get
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into it, what's going on? How you doing?
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Another week, another podcast. You
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enjoying this thing so far or what? it.
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I'm having a lot of fun, you know. It's
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It's good. I like the topics. It's It
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certainly makes you think, you know, you
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you think back and you just start like
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we just start talking and we just
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remember more and more and more. So,
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it's it's
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it's it's been a good time.
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>> Yeah, absolutely. That's this podcast is
0:46
about nostalgia and everything that we
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remember growing up. And hell, I say
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it's about yesterday year, possibly even
0:51
yesterday. Something happened yesterday,
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we could possibly talking about it on
0:55
the next podcast. But like I said, the
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top wrestlers of the 1980s, we have some
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honorable mentions. And of course,
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midway through today, we're going to
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play a little bit of a game called this
1:04
or that. So, I'm going to let you start
1:07
off today with your first honorable
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mention. Who we got?
1:11
>> So, I don't think this guy made your
1:14
list because
1:16
I don't know. I mean, he might have. I
1:18
don't know. Um,
1:20
uh, he was, in my opinion, an innovator.
1:25
Um,
1:28
he brought a different style to
1:30
wrestling that we had, we weren't used
1:32
to in the United States. Um, you're
1:35
talking mid to late 80s. He entered the
1:39
NWA
1:42
and was the perfect heel. Um, I'm
1:45
talking about the Pearl of the Orient,
1:48
the great Muda. He had the green tongue.
1:51
He used to spray the mist in people's
1:53
faces.
1:54
um you know, ultimate bad guy. You know,
1:58
he feuded with guys like Sting and Ric
2:00
Flair
2:02
and uh just, you know, he was he had
2:04
such a great run in that mid to late 80s
2:07
in the NWA.
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>> So, it's funny. I 100% right, a wrestler
2:12
that did not make my list. My miss my
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list is definitely more mainstream.
2:16
We're talking about wrestling from the
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80s, but that is a great pick because I
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do remember him uh especially around
2:21
that time frame and how he would spit
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that mist. That was something that was
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like you didn't see back then. So you
2:26
you being an innovator and doing things
2:28
that you didn't get to see all the time
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made wrestling and those wrestling
2:31
characters really cool. So that's
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tremendous. 100% a wrestler I didn't
2:35
even think of putting on my list. All
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right, so my first honorable mention is
2:39
a classic. You're going to know him
2:41
right off the bat. He he barely made the
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the the honorable mentions only because
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like his character was basically just a
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gimmick. And a few of these are
2:50
basically just gimmick characters. And
2:51
that's to me JYD, the junkyard dog. I
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mean, he was he was just a real
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kid-friendly wrestler, right? That's
2:59
really what he was in that era of
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wrestling is just all about being family
3:02
oriented and kid wrestling. And JYD with
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a collar around his neck, uh, you know,
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part of his signature moves is getting
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on all fours and headbutting people. So,
3:10
like it was just a cool family kid
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gimmick and I always enjoyed that
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growing up.
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>> Um, I don't know if you saw the um Dark
3:20
Side of the Ring. I don't know if you
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watched that.
3:22
>> They did one on JYD, but JYD
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when he got to the WWF
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became he became gimmicky, but he was he
3:33
was a main he was tagging with Hogan in
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WWF.
3:37
But before he got to the WWF,
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he was big in Memphis. He was big in the
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NWA down south.
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I don't know. Did he win the world
3:48
title? I don't know. But he he was on
3:51
pace to be a world champion. The first
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African-American world champion. He was
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a phenomenal wrestler. His he was built
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by the time he got to WWF. You know, if
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you watch the dark side of the ring, he
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you know, he was into drugs. He was
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gaining weight. He wasn't looking like
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he like he was jacked like back when he
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was in Memphis and when he was in the
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NWA, this guy was jacked. He was huge. I
4:14
mean, he's he's the type of guy that
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could have went on a run and had, you
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know, had won titles in the WWF had not
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been for Hogan.
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>> All right, so he didn't make your list.
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Who's your next honorable mention?
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>> My other or my next honorable mention is
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uh another guy that you probably don't
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have on the list. um because you you
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remember him more from his 90s
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early to mid 90s run in the WWF. Um and
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that's Jerry the King Lawler,
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the king of Memphis, Tennessee. And
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you're talking about a guy that was a
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legend down south. Um, I mean, if you go
4:54
and watch some of those old Memphis
4:57
wrestling episodes, they were doing
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stuff WWF did like in the Attitude era.
5:03
They were doing some crazy stuff back
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then, like setting people on fire and
5:07
throwing people through tables. That
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stuff wasn't happening up in the WWF.
5:11
That stuff was happening back then in
5:13
the early to mid 80s in the uh in the
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Memphis territory.
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>> The only thing I remember about Jury the
5:18
King Lawler are puppies. That's it. They
5:20
added from the attitude era. puppies.
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That's about it. Uh I obviously knew he
5:24
was a he was a great wrestler from back
5:26
in the day, but growing up I was not
5:28
into that. I was more mainstream with
5:30
WBF. A couple of outside things. Either
5:32
way, I'm going to go to my next
5:34
honorable mention. And to me, this is a
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classic wrestler. Honestly, if we're
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talking about just wrestling and and no
5:40
gimmick and whatever, he may be higher
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on the list, but all-encompassing, he
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had a great gimmick, but he was also a
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phenomenal wrestler. And that's Ricky
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the Dragon Steamboat. To me, growing up
5:50
as a kid, Ricky the Dragon was another
5:52
one of those guys who had a great
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gimmick, phenomenal wrestler. I'm gonna
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mention this a couple of times here on
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the podcast today. He had one of the
5:58
greatest matches I've ever seen, one of
6:00
my favorite wrestlers, and that's with
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Macho Man Randy Savage. And that whole
6:04
feud going up to that match at
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Wrestlemania 3, right? Wrestlemania 3.
6:09
They they had that match. That was one
6:11
of the greatest feuds I had ever seen
6:13
between Macho dropping the bell on his
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throat. It was just fantastic. And
6:17
again, another kid-friendly
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classic hero wrestler, that baby face.
6:23
And so, Ricky the Dragon is my next
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honorable mention.
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>> Uh, yeah, Ricky made my list, but I had
6:30
him valued much higher.
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>> I had him at seven.
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>> And, yeah, you remember him more from
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his WWF run where he was IC champ. Um,
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but what we forget is his run in the NWA
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and he was battling Ric Flair and
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winning titles and having the most
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insane matches in the NWA. Um, I mean I
6:52
did watch a lot of NWA growing up too
6:55
and it I mean his matches against Flair,
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you say the ones against the one against
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Macho, but those matches against Flair
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were just legendary. And I mean as far
7:06
as wrestlers go, I I mean he was one of
7:08
the most talented there were.
7:10
We're going to like give you both sides
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of wrestling. Obvious obviously Nick so
7:14
far has touched on a lot of NW
7:16
wrestlers, a lot of wrestlers that
7:18
probably were pre-time for me. Uh most
7:21
of the time I spent was in the World
7:23
Wrestling Federation, but I will say
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this and it's probably a point I'm going
7:26
to bring up a bunch of times during this
7:28
podcast is that wrestling has many
7:30
phases. So you can be a great in the
7:32
ring wrestler, you could be tremendous
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on the microphone and give the best
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promos and and I have guys who are just
7:38
playing that on this list and then you
7:41
have guys who who can kind of do a
7:42
little bit of everything. So with that
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said, what is your next honorable
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mention?
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>> My next honorable mention at 13, this is
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my number 13 guy is the Iron Chic.
7:55
Phenomenal world-class wrestler. Um,
7:58
obviously everyone remembers his run in
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the WWF when he won the title off of Bob
8:02
Backland, which was legendary.
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>> Uh, which catapulted Hulk Hogan into
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stardom. If it wasn't for the Chic,
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there would be no Hulk Hogan today.
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That's for sure. Um, just the guy was
8:15
great. His all his anti-America
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rhetoric, you know, is teaming up with
8:20
the Russian Nikolai Vulov. Um, his
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promos were legendary. He was
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hysterical. I mean, if you hear some of
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the stories of him, you know, outside of
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wrestling, it's even better. His legend
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grows even more. But, um, the Iron Chic
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was he was a legit shoot wrestler. He
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was a he was he won medals. It wasn't
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the Olympics. He won medals in in, you
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know, some athletic competitions, but
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wasn't the Olympics where they were
8:46
claiming it was the Olympics. But, um,
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yeah, he was just he's an alltime he's
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up there. I mean, I I mean, I didn't put
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him top 10, but he's he's one of the
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old-timers.
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>> So, Sheik was number 12 on my list
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because I I I value the Sheic because I
9:00
know how important he was, especially to
9:02
the early part of the Vince McMahon Jr.
9:06
WWF because if like you said, Vince Jr.
9:09
wanted to take the belt off of Bob
9:12
Bland. He didn't think Bob Bland was
9:14
that guy to kind of get him over and get
9:16
him to do what Vince wanted to do with
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the promotion at that time. So he had
9:20
Hulk Hogan who was ready to put that
9:21
belt on. But they couldn't give, you
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know, the belt from Bland straight to
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Hogan. So he put the belt on the iron
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chic and like you said it, the guy was
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not only a great in the ring performer,
9:33
but his gimmick of being from Iran
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during a time during that 1980s where
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there was a big conflict with Iran and
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it just matched well with every Yeah, it
9:44
really was tremendous. And the guy could
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wrestle. Don't forget it. Camel clutch.
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How many professional wrestlers do you
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see now use the camel clutch? Not many.
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So to me, he he made it a little bit
9:55
higher on my list just because of he
9:58
could wrestle and because of the
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gimmick. So I'm going to go into my
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honorable mention here. And it's our
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first tag team that's going to make the
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list. And to me, the best tag team of
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that era, that 1980s era for me, were
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the British Bulldogs.
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>> Our former world tag team champions, the
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British Bulldogs. Boys, there is a
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disturbing rumor that is circulating
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right now that the demolition is going
10:19
to take Matilda and Dipper and Chrome.
10:22
>> To me, Davy Boy Smith, Dynamite Kid,
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they were the premier tag team in the
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World Wrestling Federation. And the best
10:30
part is they had Matilda. To me, having
10:33
that dog come down the ring with those
10:35
two guys. I love dogs. I'm a big dog
10:37
guy. And to see that bulldog come down,
10:39
it was a great representation of them,
10:43
you know, and what they were supposed to
10:44
be. Even though I don't think either one
10:45
of those guys were British. Am I right?
10:47
>> No, they were.
10:48
>> They were. I thought they were Canadian.
10:50
I thought they were Canadian because
10:51
they were all right. So, yeah, the
10:54
British Bulldog married one of the Heart
10:56
Sisters.
10:57
>> Yeah.
10:57
>> Um, but I didn't put any tag teams on
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this list. I just was focusing on
11:02
singles competitors, but the British
11:04
Bulldogs were phenomenal tag team. Uh,
11:07
you had the power of of Davy Boy Smith
11:10
who was just a monster. This guy was one
11:12
of the biggest, strongest wrestlers of
11:14
all time. And then you had the
11:16
quickness, the agility, and the skill of
11:18
Dynamite Kid.
11:19
>> He had that ridiculous snap suplex. I
11:22
don't if you remember that thing where
11:22
he was just looked like
11:24
>> like I don't even know how he did it. It
11:25
was just so quick.
11:27
Um, but they were just they was just
11:29
phenomenal tag team and then, you know,
11:31
they won obviously won the titles
11:32
multiple times, you know, just but
11:35
another tragic story of guys going down
11:39
the wrong path with their drugs and
11:40
alcohol issues.
11:41
>> I I was just going to say you could do
11:44
pull off a lot of moves and you're
11:45
popped up on steroids. And there was no
11:46
question looking at both of those guys
11:48
that they were you go back and watch
11:49
that that footage now, you could tell
11:50
right off the bat that they were on
11:52
juice. No question.
11:54
>> Yeah, for sure.
11:56
All right. So, what's your next
11:57
honorable mention? This would be number
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12.
11:59
>> My next honorable mention did not make
12:01
the top 10, but he is an all-time
12:05
um as far as inner ring performer. Um
12:10
like just great. He was great at selling
12:12
moves. And I'm going with Mr. Perfect
12:16
Kurt Henig.
12:17
>> Watch this.
12:33
Um, he was just a a great he had a great
12:35
gimmick. I mean, although he didn't
12:37
really need a gimmick, but the gimmick
12:39
just like put him over the top, you
12:40
know? As his manager, he used to do
12:43
those vignettes where he would do
12:45
bowling and get a a strike every time
12:47
and throw the football and catch it
12:49
himself like a 100 yard pass. His
12:51
gimmick might be one of the best
12:52
gimmicks of all time,
12:53
>> but as far as in ring performer, he was
12:55
he just had he was great like
12:57
technically. Um,
12:59
>> you know, like if if you go to like the
13:02
best was like watching him wrestle
13:03
against like Hogan or somebody really
13:04
strong and he hits him with one punch
13:06
and and Perfect's doing a flip in the
13:08
air and like landing. It was just
13:10
insane. So yeah, it was it was um it was
13:14
a great gimmick, a good wrestler, great
13:16
on the mic. I mean, he didn't even need
13:18
a manager, but it was just icing on the
13:20
cake having the the legendary Bobby the
13:22
Brain Heen with him. So,
13:23
>> the one thing the one thing I'll say is
13:25
in order to be a great wrestler in the
13:27
1980s, even now, you have to have a
13:29
great gimmick. And Mr. Perfect was one
13:30
of the greatest gimmicks that has ever
13:32
been created by the WWE. And most
13:35
importantly, I think we skip a lot of
13:36
this when you talk about a lot of these
13:37
wrestlers. If you're going to be taken
13:39
seriously, your finishing move has to be
13:41
on point. And the perfect plex was one
13:44
of the best finishing moves from that
13:46
era. But like you said, if you have a
13:48
gimmick and then you're going to have
13:49
all these, we'll call them promos of you
13:52
throwing a ball to yourself and then
13:53
running 100 yards and catching it. It it
13:55
doesn't get much better than that.
13:57
Perfect made my number 10 spot because I
13:59
just as a character, as a gimmick, and
14:02
as you said, as a guy who's willing to
14:04
sell, I don't think there's many guys
14:06
better than Mr. Perfect. So, my number
14:08
11 was the Iron Chic. So, we're going to
14:11
go right back to you and give us your
14:12
number 11.
14:15
I think this guy might have been higher
14:16
on your list. I had him under the top 10
14:22
just because technically he wasn't
14:24
really a good wrestler at all.
14:27
He had ultimate promo skills. He had
14:31
ultimate strength
14:33
and he had ultimate insanity. And that
14:35
was the ultimate warrior.
14:37
>> Wait a minute.
14:39
That's the warrior building. That's the
14:41
ultimate warrior. Before you go any
14:44
further, I don't think he had ultimate
14:45
promos. I thought the guy was insane,
14:48
but regardless, I'll let you continue.
14:51
>> Well, he was definitely insane, but the
14:54
promos they the promos definitely got
14:56
you jacked up. You know, he's sitting
14:58
there screaming and like pounding his
15:00
chest. And I mean, the gimmick was
15:02
great. The guy himself was a jerk.
15:06
>> Yeah.
15:06
>> Uh he didn't get along with anyone. He
15:08
just, you know, he wouldn't he wouldn't
15:10
put anyone over. He just, you know, I I
15:15
was watching a Bobby the Brain Heenan
15:16
interview recently and he was like,
15:19
um, they were talking about Warrior and
15:21
Andre when they had that feud on Warrior
15:23
and Andre.
15:24
>> I saw that. I saw that.
15:26
>> And Andre was telling him, "Take it
15:28
easy. Take it." And then finally Andre's
15:30
like, "You know what?" And and he's
15:31
like, "If Andre didn't want you to do
15:33
something, he wouldn't let you do it."
15:35
And he said that he absolutely laid into
15:37
Warrior. And Warrior was out for like a
15:38
few minutes. So, um, yeah, he was a
15:41
lunatic.
15:43
I loved the promos. I I the only thing I
15:45
hated was when he beatated Hogan, but I
15:46
love the fact that he came into the
15:48
ring, ran like a lunatic into the ring,
15:50
beat the hell out of the guy, ran back
15:51
out, and just got the whole got everyone
15:54
jacked up, and, you know, he was more of
15:57
like a comic book hero than a wrestler.
16:00
And that's what sold tickets back then.
16:04
So, I mean, I had him on at number 11.
16:07
He doesn't make the top 10 just because
16:09
for me
16:11
he's just he's not all time. He's he's
16:13
up he's he's warrants the list because
16:16
of what he contributed but he's not he's
16:18
not should not be touching the top 10.
16:21
>> So believe it or not he's my number 11
16:23
as well. Uh to me I agree with you. The
16:26
guy could not perform in the ring like
16:28
he was a terrible in ring wrestler but
16:31
like you said he was decent on the mic.
16:33
The his promos I couldn't understand the
16:35
word the guy was saying most of the
16:36
time. Let's be honest, not a freaking
16:38
work. But if like behind the scenes, if
16:39
you watch all these documentaries, he
16:41
was an [ __ ] He would take a million
16:44
takes to actually get one of these
16:45
promos right where some of these other
16:46
guys are doing it in a couple of takes.
16:48
So again, he was a fun wrestler and a
16:51
lot of people out there would probably
16:52
put him in like the top five for me. I
16:55
agree with you 100%. Between no inring
16:58
wrestling ability really, decent promos
17:01
on the mic, he was just he was a
17:02
straight gimmick. He was the ultimate
17:04
warrior gimmick. So, I already gave my
17:06
number 10 and that was Mr. Perfect. So,
17:07
what's your number 10?
17:08
>> Oh, wow.
17:11
He's number 10. I mean, you could have
17:13
him a lot higher because he was in the
17:15
ring was phenomenal.
17:17
Had one of the best finishing maneuvers
17:19
of all time. Uh, he had a gimmick. It
17:23
went with his name.
17:25
Excellent mic skills. And that's Jake
17:27
the Snake Roberts.
17:29
Some of those promos that he would cut
17:32
in the 80s were like bone chilling. Like
17:35
he was just he was great with words. Um,
17:39
great ring psychology.
17:42
DDT, probably one of the best finishing
17:44
maneuvers. And then, you know, you hit a
17:46
DDT, you're out.
17:47
>> Not like it is now where you [ __ ] 10
17:49
guys, you know, every everyone's kicking
17:51
out everyone's finishing maneuvers. But
17:53
>> the DDT was the finishing maneuver. He
17:55
put the snake on top of you.
17:57
Um, I remember when he was uh when he
17:59
was a heel, he had the u the snake pit.
18:02
He used to have like a talk show if you
18:03
remember that.
18:04
>> Yep.
18:05
>> But he was he was phenomenal. I mean,
18:08
never won a title. Probably deserved
18:10
something at least an IC title. I think
18:13
>> he could have made he could have made a
18:14
heavyweight run. He was he was battling
18:16
Savage I guess in the 90s. Again,
18:18
another guy with drug issues.
18:20
>> A lot of issues. A lot. I mean, it's
18:22
it's really put out there how many
18:24
issues Jake had. I had Jake at number
18:25
seven just because of what you said. Not
18:28
only could the guy wrestle, he had one
18:30
of the best, if not top three finishing
18:32
moves of all time. He had a gimmick with
18:34
the snake throwing him Damian on the
18:37
opponent after the match was over. And
18:39
the guy could really spit out words on
18:41
the mic. He was phenomenal. He had
18:43
everything you want as a in my opinion
18:47
when he was a baby face, he was a lot
18:49
better, you know. He had everything you
18:51
want as a character, as a wrestling
18:53
character from that era. So, I put him a
18:54
lot higher. He was number seven on my
18:56
list. And that's why we going to have a
18:57
little bit of a segment in the middle
18:59
because I knew we were going to get once
19:00
we got into 10, we're going to have a
19:01
lot of the same wrestlers.
19:03
>> I feel like the top top three are going
19:04
to be like on point with both of us. But
19:07
another thing about Jake Roberts um is
19:10
that he he could be a great heel and he
19:13
could be a great good guy. So,
19:16
you can go either way with him. I mean,
19:18
he was phenomenal as a bad guy, you
19:22
know? Um, he'd scare the heck out of
19:23
you. I I remember when he put that snake
19:26
the the cobra on Macho's arm and it
19:30
wouldn't release. Like I remember as a
19:32
kid like what the hell's going on? But
19:34
um yeah, I mean Jake Roberts was was a
19:38
phenomenal phenomenal uh character. Just
19:41
great.
19:42
>> All right, so let's go to number nine. I
19:44
haven't done one in a while, so I'm
19:45
going to give you my number nine. And to
19:47
me, another phenomenal gimmick. You
19:50
don't get great gimmicks anymore in
19:52
current wrestling. We haven't really
19:53
gotten great gimmicks in, I would say,
19:56
since mid9s till now. And that is the
19:59
million-dollar man, Ted Debbiosi.
20:10
I loved his gimmick. Not just because
20:13
of, you know, being an arrogant, wealthy
20:16
[ __ ] but because he had, you know,
20:18
what we'll call a manager, even though
20:20
he wasn't a manager, we all know what he
20:21
was, Virgil
20:23
on his on his side. He was basically his
20:25
slave. Let's call it that. Let's call it
20:27
what it was. But
20:28
>> he was hyster he was hysterical. Was
20:31
talk about great promos. Ted Debiosi's
20:34
promos were some of the most
20:35
antagonizing promos that had ever been
20:37
done in wrestling. And he was a decent
20:39
inring performer. I really wish they had
20:41
kind of given him a larger push earlier.
20:43
>> He was the milliondoll champion. That's
20:46
right. That's all that matter.
20:47
>> The million dollar belt right after
20:48
that.
20:49
>> He um
20:51
Yeah, Ted Debbiasi was a great heel. Uh
20:55
he was never a good guy. And to be
20:58
honest, why should he have been a good
20:59
guy? He was the perfect heel. the money,
21:02
the laugh. He was pure evil. He was
21:04
Vince McMahon, but in a wrestling form.
21:07
>> Yeah, you're right.
21:07
>> You know, and Vince was so not PC with
21:10
Virgil being his manager, it was just
21:12
like it was just too much. And um No,
21:16
but Debiosi, great wrestler, the feuds
21:19
with Hogan, the feuds with Macho. Um
21:23
then he formed Money Inc. with the IRS.
21:25
They were great. They won tag titles, so
21:27
they will I will give them that. Um, but
21:30
he was a he was my number nine as well.
21:33
>> He was such a great wrestler, you know,
21:36
like and he's the guy you wanted to see
21:39
Hogan kick the [ __ ] out of him because
21:41
>> you know, you want that's what makes a
21:43
bet like a good heel. Like you want
21:45
someone to beat the hell out of him. So
21:47
yeah, he was my number nine. Great great
21:48
great wrestler.
21:50
The one thing about that that time frame
21:52
of the 1980s with wrestling, you had the
21:54
good guys were so far and away like here
21:57
like they were so high. Yeah. So you had
22:00
to have the bad guys the exact opposite.
22:01
They were had to be so
22:03
>> what's the opposite over the top, you
22:04
know, under the bottom. I don't know.
22:06
They had to be so bad compared to those
22:08
to those, you know, baby faces. So he
22:10
was like he's right at the top of the
22:12
list as being bad.
22:12
>> If you if you think about it, the WWF
22:16
had it that way.
22:18
>> Yeah. Yeah, but when you looked at the
22:19
NWA, the lines were blurred because
22:24
you had guys like the horsemen that
22:26
where the guys would like the women like
22:27
would scream for and all the guys wanted
22:29
to be the horsemen. They'd show up
22:31
dressed in suits. So like it was cool to
22:34
be a horseman. So the it was very, you
22:38
know, different I guess with the NWA.
22:41
Um, but WWF was, you know, like good
22:43
guy, bad guy. Like you didn't have,
22:47
you didn't have that, you know, like
22:49
area where it was gray.
22:51
>> All right. So, that was both our number
22:53
nines, but I'm going to let you go next
22:54
with number eight, and then we'll get
22:56
into our little bit of a game after
22:57
this.
22:59
>> Number eight
23:00
actually never made it to the WWF. one
23:04
of the few guys he did
23:07
way later
23:09
but never made it to WWF at the height
23:14
of the like the the you know like the
23:16
Hulkamania era and the reason why is
23:20
because it would not have worked. Hulk
23:23
Hogan was running the WWF and then you
23:25
had Sting
23:27
in the NWA.
23:29
Sting was the counter to Ric Flair. You
23:33
had Ric Flair who was corporate and you
23:37
know money and this and that and you had
23:39
Sting who was like the surfer boy
23:41
howling and screaming you know with the
23:43
you know he had the mullet like the the
23:45
tail in the back not the mullet but he
23:47
had you know surfer boy haircut and um
23:52
he was a phenomenal wrestler great on
23:53
the mic very amped up um
23:57
he was great technically in the ring he
23:59
was great too I thought he was great
24:00
all-time wrestler
24:03
you know, um, just never got that chance
24:06
to to make a run in the WWF.
24:08
>> To me, Sting didn't even make my list.
24:09
And that that's that's saying something
24:11
considering later on. I think I enjoyed
24:13
Sting a lot more. And that character
24:15
back then never really did it for me.
24:17
Maybe because, you know, we're on the
24:18
East Coast. I never really got onto that
24:20
surfer thing, that whole persona that he
24:22
had. And plus, it was NWA. The WWF at
24:24
that time was really the premier
24:26
wrestling organization. you know,
24:28
obviously I would read a lot of
24:29
wrestling magazines when I was a kid.
24:31
That was my, you know, foray into these
24:33
other wrestling, you know, territories,
24:35
let's call them. Um, that's the only
24:37
really time I was able to see that kind
24:40
of stuff cuz, you know, I was mainly
24:41
focused on WWE. But yes, Sting 100%. At
24:44
some point, I think growing up, you
24:47
become attached to a character and maybe
24:48
when we do, you know, a 90s, you know,
24:51
wrestling top wrestlers, Sting would
24:53
probably definitely make my list there.
24:54
But for here, for me, he did not. So,
24:57
I'm going to give you my number eight.
25:00
And my number eight to me, we talked
25:02
about antagonists of, you know, other
25:05
wrestlers being heel and going at other
25:07
wrestlers. This character was the first
25:10
time that I could remember him
25:12
antagonizing fans. And to me, that's
25:15
what made his character great. Not just
25:17
the look of this guy, because I think he
25:19
was probably the most chiseled guy in
25:21
the WWF back then. And that is ravishing
25:23
Rick Roode. Summer slam sweatthogs.
25:28
>> To me, Rick RDE
25:31
has a set of mic skills
25:35
relating to his persona at that time
25:37
that probably was second to none. We
25:38
talked about Mr. Perfect, who was
25:39
probably along those same lines. Talk
25:40
about Ted Deiosi, same thing. But Rick
25:43
Rude would go at the audience. He would
25:45
make fun of the guys out there. He would
25:47
make fun of uh the way they looked, the
25:49
way they acted, and then he would try to
25:50
hit on their wives, which which made it
25:52
even funnier. the ravishing one. Rick
25:55
Roode again, great intercontinental
25:57
champion as well. And his feud with to
25:59
me with the Warrior is one of the ones
26:00
that stick out in my mind. It was a
26:01
shortlived feud, but still I remember
26:03
it. He's my number eight.
26:05
>> He did he did have some battles with the
26:07
Warrior and they were phenomenal. Um,
26:10
one of the greatest physiques in
26:11
wrestling as well. Like the guy was
26:13
chiseled, just jacked. um had Bobby the
26:16
Brain Hayan with him of course he none
26:19
none other than the great Bobby the
26:21
Brain Hayan but his uh his you know his
26:25
entrance to the ring was phenomenal the
26:27
song him taking the robe off like he was
26:29
stripping it was hysterical
26:32
um and he'd be like uh this is for all
26:34
you fat out of shape San Diego sweat
26:38
hogs
26:40
keep the noise down while I give the
26:41
ladies a treat he didn't make my list
26:43
>> what
26:44
>> he didn't make my That's
26:46
>> because for me he
26:50
I felt like he was more 90s and 80s.
26:55
>> Even those battles with the Warrior I
26:58
believe maybe 89 90 like I I feel like
27:02
they were in the 90s.
27:03
>> But what about
27:05
>> what about Jake the Snake? He had a
27:06
great where Jake's wife uh Jake's wife
27:09
was on his tights.
27:10
>> Yes. So to me like that's something
27:12
always that was one of the best feuds
27:14
ever. He
27:17
>> had more of a championship run in the
27:21
NWA in the early to mid 90s. He was
27:24
battling and winning titles, beating
27:26
Steamboat. Um he was a great he was
27:28
great wrestler. I loved him. Uh yeah, he
27:31
didn't make my list. I honestly if we we
27:33
do 90s he's making the list. So
27:35
>> all right. So that was our number eight.
27:37
We both went in opposite directions. But
27:39
I want to play a little game with you
27:40
called this or that of wrestling.
27:47
>> Here they come.
27:50
>> Not just 80s wrestling, but all of
27:51
wrestling. So, this has got to be quick
27:53
hitters. All right. I'm gonna We have
27:54
five here and I'm going to ask you,
27:56
would you rather have this or that? You
27:58
ready? We're going to say the better
28:01
intercontinental champion of all time,
28:03
Randy Macho Man Savage or the Honky Tonk
28:06
Man.
28:10
>> I'm going to go with the the greatest
28:12
intercontinental heavyweight champion of
28:14
all time, baby. Honky talk.
28:17
>> Agreed. And he don't forget at that time
28:19
and he held this record for a really
28:20
long time. He had the longest title
28:22
reign forever. Gunther, I think, now
28:25
took that spot over. Yeah, he was
28:27
ridiculous. So to me, I agree with you
28:30
there. All right, next one. The better
28:32
world's heavyweight champion, the Nature
28:35
Boy, Ric Flair or John Cena?
28:41
>> I'm going with Flair, man. F Cena.
28:45
>> I'm with you as well. To me,
28:47
>> Ric Flair may be the best on the mic
28:49
wrestler in the history of wrestling. I
28:52
enjoy Cena, don't get me wrong, but even
28:54
though he's got one more title reign
28:56
than Rick does, how long was he a 16
28:58
time world championship for champion
29:00
for? A long time. The best match of all
29:02
time. And you maybe you don't even agree
29:04
with the choices that I've thrown to
29:05
you, but with the one we talked about
29:07
before, Macho Man Randy Savage versus
29:09
Ricky the Dragon at Wrestlemania 3 or
29:12
Icon versus Icon. Hogan versus Rock at
29:15
Wrestlemania 18.
29:17
>> I'm going Hogan Rock.
29:19
when Hulk surprises me when he was
29:21
hulking up, man. That that crowd lost
29:24
it, that was the Dude, I I'm telling
29:27
you, I still have Look, I'm getting I'm
29:29
getting goosebumps right now. I'm
29:30
telling you, that match when I saw Hogan
29:33
just Hulk up, dude, it made me feel like
29:35
I was 10 years old again, man. It was
29:37
great.
29:37
>> That That's a really tough one for me. I
29:39
I you know I remember that that
29:41
Steamboat Savage match and how awesome
29:43
that match was and a technical aspect.
29:45
But if you go and you watch that Rock
29:46
versus Hogan, nobody expected Hogan uh
29:49
to beat the good guy or turn baby face
29:52
in that match and during the match you
29:54
saw it happen. It was crazy.
29:56
>> Listen, that's a hard one because that
29:59
that match at Wrestlemania 3 was
30:00
phenomenal. Um it was so long and both
30:04
guys were I mean it was just back and
30:06
forth. It was a great match, but that
30:09
Hogan Rock match, I had never heard a
30:13
crowd like that. It was insane.
30:16
>> Agreed. All right, here we go. Another
30:19
quick take. The hottest WWF diva, Trish
30:24
Stratus,
30:26
Sable, or I'm going to give you a third
30:27
here. Prime Stephanie McMahon.
30:32
>> Trish Stratus, man. Come on. Get out of
30:36
here. I don't know, man. I I I go back
30:38
and I watch
30:39
>> about Stephanie.
30:40
>> I love Steph, but actually I'm gonna go
30:42
the other way. I You go back and you
30:44
watch Sable during that time frame when
30:46
she took off her shirt and you see the
30:47
handprints on her on her rack.
30:49
>> I don't know, man. I love Trish Stratus,
30:50
but if you look at Trish now, she looks
30:52
better now than she did back then. She
30:53
looks great now.
30:54
>> I'm going Trish.
30:56
>> All right, I had to throw you a
30:57
curveball there. But last one before we
30:59
get back to the list. The better Hogan,
31:02
Hollywood, Hulk Hogan or Real American?
31:06
real American, dude. Come on.
31:08
>> I agree with you. But I gotta tell you,
31:10
man, if there's one guy that could pull
31:12
off the greatest heel and the greatest
31:14
baby face of all time, Hogan did it,
31:17
man. Uh I remember when when me and you
31:20
first were living in Philly and we moved
31:22
in together, I had I had just heard I
31:24
hadn't seen the actual thing happen of
31:26
Hogan turning heel, and I remember you
31:27
coming to me, you have to see this and
31:29
see what's going on in the WCW right
31:31
now. And I couldn't believe it and how
31:32
awesome it was.
31:33
Let me just I'm gonna I'm gonna I'll
31:35
even rewind it a little more just to
31:37
explain to you.
31:39
You never you weren't I mean I would
31:41
watch wrestling like oh why you watching
31:42
this garbage blah blah blah. And I
31:45
remember I had Khan home for the
31:47
weekend. It was a pay-per-view and I had
31:50
I had like one of those boxes and I was
31:51
recording all the pay-per-views.
31:52
>> Yes.
31:54
>> You didn't hear about it. I brought it
31:55
to you and I said you need to see this
31:58
and I forwarded it all the way to the
32:00
end. Dude, I remember watching it live
32:03
and I'm like I'm like I'm like, "What
32:06
the [ __ ] just happened?"
32:09
It was possibly the one thing that saved
32:13
wrestling because wrestling was trash up
32:17
until that point.
32:25
>> So, let's go to number six. I'll give
32:26
you number six. Who was your number six?
32:31
Okay, my number six,
32:34
if you're talking Mike Skills,
32:38
he's probably like number one.
32:41
You're talking Yeah. He was a guy that
32:45
probably should have been a champion,
32:47
heavyweight champion,
32:49
finally won an Intercontinental Champion
32:51
towards the end of his run in the WWF.
32:54
You're talking about the legendary rowdy
32:58
Rody Piper.
33:00
>> Maybe the greatest heel of all time.
33:01
He's my number four.
33:03
>> And he was a great baby face, too. So,
33:05
like I thought Rowdy Roddy as far as
33:07
like when you're talking early 80s,
33:11
Wrestlemania 1.
33:13
>> Yeah.
33:13
>> You know, all the way up to I think
33:15
Wrestlemania
33:17
Wrestlemania 3 he made the switch and he
33:19
turned he turned to a baby face.
33:22
Um
33:24
he
33:26
epitomized
33:27
a heel, you know, he he was the guy just
33:32
a dirty wrestler. Like he'd gouge your
33:33
eye, he'd stick his thumb in your eye
33:35
and you know, he wouldn't hesitate to
33:38
kick you in the nuts. Like just a
33:40
typical like heel. And his mic skills
33:44
were great. He'd trash everyone. He
33:45
would, you know, belittle women. He'd
33:47
make fun of African-American. like he
33:50
just didn't he didn't hold back. He was
33:52
like, you know, just openly like a
33:55
racist on the mic just to like get a
33:57
rise out of the fans.
33:59
>> And um you know, he was such a great the
34:02
talk show Piper Pit.
34:04
>> It's still That's the greatest talk
34:06
segments in all of wrestling history
34:08
>> 100%.
34:09
>> Um but he was great in the dude. He was
34:11
great in the ring, man. His his battles
34:13
with Hogan.
34:14
>> Um the legendary match of Wrestlemania
34:17
2, the boxing match with Mr. T. If you
34:19
go back and watch those Wrestlemania 1,
34:22
the tag match, and then Wrestlemania 2,
34:24
he was such a great sell as well. Not
34:26
only could he could he talk, could al
34:28
could also sell in a match, especially
34:29
guys like against Mr. T, who was not a
34:31
wrestler, you know, you know, he came in
34:33
for those two Wrestlemania, but he sold
34:35
great in those matches. He was like an a
34:37
great all-around. So, that's why I add
34:39
him ahead of you at number four.
34:41
>> Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah. I mean, I I listen,
34:44
I think our top of the list
34:47
>> going to be very similar. It's it's just
34:48
where we place them on the list. I think
34:50
Rowdy Roddy's up there, but the reason I
34:53
didn't put them higher
34:55
um is because the guys that I have in my
34:57
top five, you know, have won multiple
35:00
titles where I mean as I mean Rowdy
35:03
Rody, he should have won. I mean I don't
35:04
know why they never g I mean he did have
35:06
the injury that really bad was it the
35:08
motorcycle accident or something.
35:10
>> Yeah.
35:10
>> He also did a bunch of movies so he had
35:11
took time. So I mean that has a lot to
35:13
do with He did win IC title though.
35:15
>> I agree with you. I think uh for me when
35:18
I ranked this list I I go went back and
35:20
said to myself, you know what, who are
35:22
the guys that I remember and why do I
35:24
remember them? So it really ranked for
35:26
me not not so much as as titles but as
35:29
remembrance. But let's get into my
35:30
number six here. I don't even know if
35:31
this guy made your list. I'm assuming he
35:33
did but I don't know because it was late
35:35
80s and that's the Undertaker. If we
35:38
talked about 90s wrestlers, he would
35:40
definitely be in it. There's no
35:41
question. But to me, I remember towards
35:43
that late 80s time period where there
35:45
was a guy who came in who had all
35:47
gimmick that was kind of never been done
35:50
before in the WWE. You want to say
35:51
something? So, go ahead.
35:53
>> Yeah, I I do want to say that I wanted
35:55
to put him on the list, but then I'm
35:56
like, you know what? He wasn't really
36:00
there. He was just at the end of the
36:02
80s, just at the end,
36:04
>> and he started to take off early 90s.
36:07
So,
36:09
you could talk about he's the wrestler
36:10
of the 90s and 2000s, let alone
36:13
>> Yeah.
36:13
>> You know, 80s. I mean, he was
36:16
phenomenal, but I can't put him on the
36:18
list just because he didn't have that
36:20
much significance in the 80s.
36:21
>> To me, watching him and watching what he
36:24
was doing gimmick-wise, Paul Bearer as
36:26
well, like it was so new to what we were
36:28
seeing. We had never saw something like
36:29
that before. So, again, I went back and
36:31
I said, "What do I remember?" And that's
36:33
one of the things that I I did remember.
36:36
uh a most of his career happened after
36:37
that, but to not put him on the list for
36:39
me being in 80s because I did remember
36:41
that during that time frame and it was,
36:43
you know, I don't want to say excited
36:44
wasn't the word, but intrigued. Who's
36:46
your number five now?
36:50
>> I'm going with the son of the plumber,
36:52
Dusty Roads.
36:54
>> Oh, wow. See, that's a guy that didn't
36:56
make my list. I love Dusty, but I
36:58
remember him more coming back with the
37:00
the yellow polka dots, and I did not
37:01
like that Dusty.
37:02
>> Yeah. No. NWA Dusty trumps, you know,
37:05
uh,
37:07
American Dream from, uh, WWF. But
37:10
>> the American dream, Dusty Rhodess, one
37:12
of the best wrestlers of all time, big
37:14
man who could move in the ring, very
37:17
agile. You, you look at him, you be
37:19
like, "This guy's a fat slob." He was a
37:21
tremendous athlete, great in the ring,
37:24
great on the mic. His promos were
37:26
legendary, you know. Um, his battles
37:30
with Flair, the the the Andersons, all
37:34
all the the four horsemen uh were
37:37
legendary. Um, he would tag up with
37:39
Magnum TA, which he Magnum TA probably
37:42
could have made this list. He was a
37:44
phenomenal wrestler had he not got into
37:45
a bad accident, uh, which derailed his
37:48
career. Um, but yeah, dude, Dusty
37:51
Rhodess was the man. Won multiple
37:54
heavyweight titles. Had a great run in
37:56
WWF as well, man. He he was he you know
37:59
he had Sapphire the lovely Sapphire
38:03
you know he was he was great man and
38:05
that Lisp was awesome he had two sons
38:08
that became great wrestlers as well
38:10
>> Dusty Rhodess is number five could be
38:12
even higher if I didn't have these other
38:14
guys on the list
38:15
>> my number five and I don't know where
38:17
this guy ranks on your list we're
38:19
getting down there because I already
38:20
said my number four so I'm wondering if
38:23
you left one of these guys off your list
38:24
maybe not maybe I'm just mis kind of
38:27
remembering My number five is to me, we
38:30
talked about great heels, but this guy
38:32
was the greatest on the microphone
38:34
performer that wrestling has ever seen
38:36
throughout his entire career from NWA,
38:41
WCW, and then the WWE. And that's the
38:43
Nature Boy, Ric Flair.
38:46
>> In the eyes of some people around the
38:48
world, some of the glitter, some of the
38:50
sparkly stuff might have rubbed off Ric
38:53
Flair.
38:54
>> But I got news for you. See, I'm still
38:57
wearing cashmere.
39:00
>> I'M STILL WALKING AROUND IN ALLIGATORS.
39:04
I'M STILL LOOKING AT THE DIAMONDS ON
39:06
THIS BIG OLD ROLEX. I'm still riding
39:09
around that limousine.
39:10
>> Um, growing up a WWE fan.
39:14
>> Yeah. Number five. Growing up a WWE fan.
39:17
Um, you know, like I said, I didn't
39:19
really get to see NWA that much outside
39:22
of the magazines that I was into, but
39:23
everybody knew who Ric Flair was.
39:26
Everybody knew. That's how much of a
39:29
presence he had when he wasn't in a
39:31
mainstream
39:33
show for everybody to know who he was.
39:35
And I have him five only because of
39:37
growing up in the 80s, I didn't watch
39:39
too much of NWA. It was only catch
39:41
snippets here and there and like I said
39:42
about the magazines. But Ric Flair, like
39:45
I said, the best on the mic
39:47
persona there has ever been. Still to
39:49
this day, this guy, I don't know how old
39:51
he is, late 70s, early 80s, can still
39:54
cut a promo. That's how greedy he is.
39:55
So, to me, the Nature Boy is at number
39:58
five. If we got to the 90s and 2000s,
40:00
he's definitely in the top three, but
40:02
for the 80s for me, he's number five.
40:05
>> All right, I'm going to say something
40:06
here, and I'm very disappointed in you.
40:09
How is Ric Flair not in your top two?
40:14
>> He's not. This is a personal
40:15
>> profiling the limousine riding Jeff Lion
40:19
kiss stealing wheeling dealing son of a
40:22
gun.
40:22
>> If we're if we're talking all time he's
40:25
there but we're not we're only talking
40:27
80s for me all time he might all time he
40:30
could be five and you're talking just
40:32
80s he's got to be top two.
40:35
>> I I don't know man. For me like in that
40:38
90s and 2000s run I remember more of Ric
40:41
Flair only because of the things that I
40:43
grew up with. the heart attack in the
40:44
ring, taking his clothes off, the
40:47
promos, and the the wrestling. The guy
40:50
loved wrestling to the point where he
40:51
would, you know, befriend people. I
40:54
shouldn't say befriend, that's the wrong
40:55
word, but he would go at other wrestlers
40:57
because they weren't as good as him at
40:59
wrestling. So, to me, in the 90s, 2000s
41:02
is where that happened. I understand
41:04
what he was in the 80s, but as for me,
41:06
my list, he's number five.
41:08
>> All right, let me just tell you
41:08
something. The man survived the freaking
41:10
plane crash.
41:12
Woo.
41:14
>> Came back from all the injuries to beat
41:18
Harley Race in the first Starcade.
41:21
>> Okay, you're talking early. You take
41:23
80s.
41:24
>> You don't you you begin with Ric Flair.
41:26
>> Keep your mouth shut. I'm going to go in
41:28
there and slap your face.
41:30
>> Ric Flair is let me tell you, he made
41:32
number two on my list. Ric Flair
41:35
epitomized 80s in wrestling. He he
41:39
listen there's been so many guys that
41:41
have tried to imitate Ric Flair
41:44
including guys like Triple H. I mean
41:46
there's so many guys that just em
41:49
emulated him because he was such a great
41:51
wrestler, great on the mic. Women loved
41:54
him, you know, like Shawn Michaels like
41:56
idolized this guy. All these all these
41:58
wrestlers idolized Ric Flair and it's
42:00
because of his skills. Um and the 80s he
42:04
just dominated. He won most of his
42:06
titles in the 80s, you know, and I mean,
42:08
who I mean, you get to the 90s and
42:10
you're talking Royal Rumble 92 where he
42:13
was he lasted everybody and and won the
42:16
belt. I mean like this guy's all time.
42:19
>> Who are you, Diver? Tell me how to
42:22
wrestle.
42:23
>> I mean, yeah, five if you're talking
42:27
wrestling like overall the whole the
42:29
whole picture. Yeah, number five. I I
42:31
can agree on that. But age, you got to
42:32
go at least top two
42:34
>> to me. I the nature boy that I remember
42:37
was more from the '9s than the 80s. So,
42:39
we'll leave it at that. We have a
42:40
disagreement there. At number five, at
42:43
number four was my Rody Rotty Piper. So,
42:44
who's your number four?
42:47
>> My number four,
42:50
um,
42:52
you know, he had a long run in
42:54
wrestling.
42:55
He had a very long run in wrestling.
42:57
He's legendary. Um, from Grenobyl
43:01
in the French Alps,
43:03
the one, the only, eighth wonder of the
43:07
world, 7 foot five, 500 lb, Andre the
43:10
Giant.
43:11
>> Look at me when I'm talking to you. I'm
43:14
there for one reason, to challenge you
43:17
for a world championship match in the
43:19
Wrestlemania.
43:22
>> Um, so he he's my number three, by the
43:25
way. So,
43:25
>> okay. Well, I I can Yeah, listen. I can
43:28
I can see that. But Andre the Giant was
43:32
undefeated in wrestling. Um
43:38
he was the ultimate good guy. Nobody
43:40
could beat him. Nobody could lift him.
43:42
Nobody could slam him. He had those
43:43
battles uh in the mid 80s against big
43:46
John Stud and the Hean family. Um
43:52
uh you know I mean he was during the 80s
43:54
I mean he was like such an attraction.
43:56
and he would travel from territory to
43:58
territory but once Vince Jr. took over
44:02
he, you know, he accumulated all the
44:05
talent across the country. So once Vince
44:08
Jr. took over, Andre was mainstay was in
44:10
the WWF. So um he and he had a great
44:14
run. He used to tag with Hogan. They
44:16
were buddies. Everyone remembers when
44:18
Hogan beat Chic. They're high-fiving and
44:20
he's pouring champagne on top of Hogan's
44:22
head. Um, like I said, he battled with
44:25
the Hean family and then right around
44:27
Wrestlemania 3.
44:30
You know, it started on the on Piper
44:32
Pit. You know, you have Hean coming out
44:35
saying, you know, I have a guy that's
44:37
been disrespected. He's been undefeated
44:39
in wrestling and he he wants to
44:41
challenge Hogan for the title. And, you
44:43
know, you as a kid, you're like, who's
44:45
he talking about? And it's like he's
44:46
like, Andre the Giant. It was like a
44:48
shock because Andre was such a baby
44:50
face. And then Hogan's like, "No, no, me
44:53
and Andre are friends, brother." Blah,
44:54
blah, blah, blah, blah. And he brings
44:55
out Andre the Giant. And Andre's, you
44:59
know, puts his finger in Hogan's chest.
45:02
He rips the chain off of him. And dude,
45:05
that's when wrestling got it. That was
45:07
the biggest moment in wrestling, man. At
45:09
that time, Wrestlemania 3,
45:11
>> Pontiac Silverdome,
45:13
>> what was it? 83,000 or 93,000, whatever
45:16
it was. The slam her around the world,
45:19
dude. Hogan slamming Andre the Andre the
45:22
Giant was was wrestling.
45:25
>> So I I got a bunch of things to say here
45:27
which I agree with that first of all
45:29
that Piper Pit episode have what might
45:32
be the greatest skit segment that has
45:35
ever been done in wrestling to this day
45:37
because of its meaning. Uh Best Friends
45:40
ripping the chain off challenging him.
45:42
But I want to go back a little bit
45:43
further. If you go ahead and and and
45:45
listen to all the uh the things that
45:47
happened before that match and before
45:48
that segment happened, Andre the Giant
45:50
was doing Princess Bride. He was doing
45:52
movies. He was out of wrestling for a
45:53
little bit. And Vince Jr. went to him
45:55
and said,
45:56
>> you know, after the first tour
45:57
Wrestlemania is how are we going to how
45:58
are we going to make this bigger? How's
46:00
this going to be the best one ever? And
46:01
he went to Andre said, "I need you. I
46:02
need you to come back and challenge Hulk
46:05
Hogan for the world's title at
46:06
Wrestlemania 3." That was the only thing
46:08
that they could accept for it being
46:10
bigger than the first two Wrestlemania.
46:12
like that when that first happened that
46:14
was so huge during that Piper Pit
46:17
episode. But the match itself to me to
46:20
this day it's the most important match
46:21
in wrestling history that everybody
46:24
knows where they were during that match.
46:25
Everybody knows how they felt during
46:27
that match. And they claimed that that
46:29
was the first time Andre had been
46:30
slammed. There's video out there
46:31
obviously beforehand that he had been
46:33
slammed a bunch of times. So it was all
46:34
kind of set up which is fine. But Andre
46:37
the Giant to me is like like you said
46:40
was the greatest attraction in wrestling
46:42
during the 1980s. So just really an
46:44
icon. If there if there was a Mount
46:45
Rushmore, he would definitely be on it.
46:48
>> I'm going to say this. Um like you said,
46:52
he was out doing Princess Bride, but he
46:54
was also hurt. He had done multiple
46:56
surgeries, obviously had the acromegaly.
46:58
>> Um so Vince was like, you know, are you
47:02
well enough to come back? And Andre
47:04
says, you know, he I guess he was ready
47:07
because he had taken a lot of time off,
47:08
but he was he was hurting, man. So yeah,
47:11
Andre was slammed. He had been slammed,
47:13
but he was a lot lighter, too, when he
47:15
was slammed. When Hogan lifted Andre the
47:17
Giant, he was at his largest. And Andre
47:21
could not move. If you you can't tell,
47:24
but he could not move at all. You go
47:27
back and you watch some of the wrestling
47:28
matches he had, even against Ultimate
47:30
War, the guy couldn't even lift his leg,
47:32
you know? He was like a [ __ ] almost
47:34
and he was still competing. So the fact
47:36
that Hogan was able to lift a guy that
47:39
was well over 550 lbs that couldn't jump
47:42
to give him a little bit of a boost. I
47:45
think Hogan says he tore every muscle in
47:47
his back.
47:47
>> His back. Yeah.
47:48
>> When he lifted Andre the Giant, which is
47:50
freaking insane.
47:51
>> All right, so I'm going to go to my He
47:54
was my number three now, but I'm going
47:56
to skip and we're cuz I think this
47:58
person is your number three. I could be
48:00
wrong. Um because you said Flair was
48:03
your number two, correct?
48:04
>> So I think my number two is going to be
48:07
your number three. And to me, this is my
48:09
favorite wrestler growing up as a kid.
48:11
>> And that's Randy Macho Man Savage.
48:13
>> What's the cup for?
48:14
>> Wrestlemania 3, Pontiac, Michigan. Yeah.
48:17
90,000 plus people watching right there.
48:21
And this is Ricky the Dragon Steamboats
48:23
cup of coffee in the big time. Yeah.
48:25
>> Between the promos, again, we talked
48:28
about Ric Flair. There was nobody better
48:30
at at doing these promos than Savage.
48:32
Having the lovely Miss Elizabeth added
48:34
to his aura, the theme song Pump and
48:37
Circumstance coming down to the ring. He
48:39
was a phenomenal heel, but I remember
48:42
remember him as well better as as a baby
48:45
face. That that mega powers run he had
48:47
with Hogan was some of my favorite. I
48:49
loved Wrestlemania 4 of him winning the
48:51
tournament and taking the title with
48:52
Hogan's help. To me, one of the best
48:54
memories I had in wrestling. I always
48:56
say he's my best my favorite wrestler
48:59
because my stepfather growing up as when
49:01
I was a kid looked kind of like Randy
49:02
Savage. He had the long hair, he had the
49:03
beard, you would always get the glasses,
49:05
you would talk like him. So like that
49:07
became a thing for me. So like Savage to
49:10
me, the promos alone, you could put this
49:12
guy in the top three. His his mic skills
49:14
were were some of the best. And then of
49:16
course you saw him on commercials, you
49:17
saw him doing the Slim Gym stuff. We saw
49:19
him in Spider-Man the original movie and
49:21
that was later on. But Randy Maso Man
49:23
Savage was a guy. His in ring ability as
49:26
well was second to none. Dropping the
49:28
elbow from the top, the antics in the
49:30
ring, holding the the the underwear with
49:33
wagging the finger. I loved it. So to
49:35
me, he was my number two.
49:37
>> Yeah, I I had him as my number three.
49:39
You're dead right. Um, for me,
49:45
I I didn't put him higher just because
49:46
of the other two guys, but Randy Savage
49:49
was a phenomenal wrestler, phenomenal
49:51
Mike skills. Um,
49:55
I love the robes, the robes he would
49:57
come down to in the ring. Um, he was,
50:01
you know, he's up there in the 90s, too.
50:03
I I don't know. I just I loved M. I
50:05
loved the Macho Man. I thought he was
50:06
the one of the best athletes wrestling
50:09
has ever seen.
50:11
Um,
50:13
>> there was nothing the guy couldn't do.
50:15
>> Not not much else to say. The guy was
50:16
just great.
50:18
>> There's nothing he couldn't do from his
50:20
antics in the ring as well. We talked
50:21
about him as a wrestler, but pointing at
50:22
guys,
50:24
>> you know, egging on the crowd a little
50:25
bit, asking the crowd when he when he
50:27
turn when he turned baby.
50:28
>> The best was when he used to have he
50:29
used to hide the he had like, you know,
50:31
foreign objects in his tights and he
50:33
would like go towards the crowd. to be
50:34
like pointing and yelling at him and you
50:36
know like he beats Tito with a with a
50:39
foreign object to win the IC title in
50:41
the Boston Gardens which was legendary
50:43
match. Um,
50:45
>> how many great matches do you remember
50:47
just Savage alone between him and like
50:49
you said Tito?
50:50
>> That's my point. Like those are the
50:51
memorable matches and they evolve.
50:53
>> He had wars with Tito Santana. Wars and
50:57
um
50:58
>> the dragon great story line Hogan
51:00
Ultimate Warrior. There was a ton of
51:03
great storylines just all involving
51:05
Macho Man Randy Savage.
51:08
>> Our number one course
51:10
>> is the immortal Hulk Hogan. when it
51:13
comes crashing down and it hurts inside.
51:17
>> And how can you not have anyone besides
51:19
Hulk Hogan?
51:20
>> I mean, he was wrestling in the 80s. He
51:22
was wrestling. In fact, he was wrestling
51:24
in the 90s. I I'll go that I'll go a
51:26
step further. He was wrestling in the
51:27
90s
51:28
>> for me.
51:30
But yeah, I mean, just you're talking
51:32
about from winning the belt in 84
51:35
uh at MSG, which catapulted his career.
51:39
But not only that, before that he was in
51:41
the AWA
51:43
um and was allowed to do a movie
51:48
um or not wasn't allowed actually. I
51:50
think that's what kind of got him out of
51:51
there. So he was he was making a run in
51:54
AWS as a good guy, as a baby face. Uh
51:56
and I believe he was wrestling against
51:58
Nick Bachwinkle. I think even they they
51:59
he beat Bachwinkle for the title and
52:02
they ended up taking the title off of
52:03
him because like you know Nick
52:05
Bachwinkle was like the golden boy for
52:07
the uh the AWA but
52:10
>> Hogan was wrestling for WWF and he said
52:12
hey if you go ahead and do Rocky 3
52:14
you're out of here. Okay. So he did he
52:16
left and then when Vince McMahon Jr.
52:17
took over they brought him back.
52:19
>> Okay. So yeah. So, and basically, well,
52:21
I think well, maybe that's why he had
52:23
that run in AWA was because of Rocky,
52:25
but
52:27
Vince Jr. luckily, I mean, so he had
52:30
that run, you know, obviously he's
52:31
famous. He did the movie Rocky 3.
52:33
Everyone knows Thunder Lips. Um, but he
52:37
makes the run in AWA and gets a call
52:40
from Vince Jr. Vince Jr. brings him in
52:42
and the rest is history. He takes the
52:44
belt off the iron chic and then him and
52:46
him and Vince run rampant through the
52:49
80s and just take over wrestling and
52:51
basically I mean WWF was wrestling in
52:53
the 80s basically. Um you had the NWA
52:56
that was the only other territory that
52:57
survived after the 80s. Um barely by the
53:01
way but they survived. And
53:04
you know uh Hogan had the battles he had
53:08
battle with the entire Hean family. He
53:09
had uh you know Wrestlemania 2 he
53:12
wrestled Bundy in the cage right?
53:14
Wrestlemania 3 he battled Andre the
53:16
Giant and then he continued in the
53:18
tournament. He helps Macho win the
53:20
title. Then him and Macho have a fallout
53:23
on Saturday night's main event, right?
53:25
And it starts the mega powers explode.
53:27
The legendary mega powers explode. And
53:31
um you know, Hogan wins the belt back in
53:32
Wrestlemanian 5. What personified Hulk
53:36
Hogan during the 1980s is his unability
53:39
or his inability to lose. And I don't
53:40
I'm not saying that in a bad way. I'm
53:42
saying like his whole thing was like he
53:44
was never going to lose. Say my prayers,
53:45
eat my vitamins, and and train. So to me
53:50
like he couldn't be beaten. You were
53:51
waiting for him at that time at that
53:53
time. You're waiting for him during
53:54
every match to Hulk up, beat his
53:56
opponent and kind of move on. And that's
53:58
what really growing up in the 1980s was.
54:00
They were telling you that you can do
54:02
anything. You can become a better
54:04
person. You if you do all these things
54:05
that you're supposed to do, you'll be
54:07
successful. That's what his character
54:08
was until, of course, he went over to
54:10
WCW and everything changed. If you guys
54:13
like listening to today's podcast,
54:14
follow us over at Apple Podcasts,
54:17
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54:19
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54:21
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54:24
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