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jakedog56
Well-Known Member
Since pro-wrestling has a long history of unregulated "athletes" with no official requirements regarding mental health, drug/alcohol use, etc. there are many tales of wrestlers who were their own worst enemies for various reasons.
My question is thus:
What wrestlers in history had the most overall talent but derailed their chances of reaching the pinnacle because their own behavior. Please provide specific reasons/examples, etc.
My top vote goes to Buzz Sawyer.
In his youth he was a real life monster who could legit dominate in the ring if he was so inclined (the only amateur match he ever lost was to Dan Sevrin). His promos were energy filled craziness but reflected his real life mental instability (maybe the connection to reality was what made them good?).
He had a near top card run with the legendary feud with Tommy Rich in Georgia but his drug use and general assholeness made him a territory vagrant for the rest of his career (famous tale of screwing the Undertaker at his wrestling school was a prime example).
By the time he showed up for a brief run in the WWF he was past his prime and he faded out before his untimely death. Stories of him pounding nails with his head might have led to further brain damage beyond the obvious issues he already had.
If he had gotten his crap together and been a reasonable person to deal with I think he could have been a top heel and world championship contender but instead he burned hot and then quickly became an afterthought.
A prime example of wasted potential.
My question is thus:
What wrestlers in history had the most overall talent but derailed their chances of reaching the pinnacle because their own behavior. Please provide specific reasons/examples, etc.
My top vote goes to Buzz Sawyer.
In his youth he was a real life monster who could legit dominate in the ring if he was so inclined (the only amateur match he ever lost was to Dan Sevrin). His promos were energy filled craziness but reflected his real life mental instability (maybe the connection to reality was what made them good?).
He had a near top card run with the legendary feud with Tommy Rich in Georgia but his drug use and general assholeness made him a territory vagrant for the rest of his career (famous tale of screwing the Undertaker at his wrestling school was a prime example).
By the time he showed up for a brief run in the WWF he was past his prime and he faded out before his untimely death. Stories of him pounding nails with his head might have led to further brain damage beyond the obvious issues he already had.
If he had gotten his crap together and been a reasonable person to deal with I think he could have been a top heel and world championship contender but instead he burned hot and then quickly became an afterthought.
A prime example of wasted potential.