This is gonna be a rather short NSZ. I am back with the family for the weekend and instead of spending it thinking and writing, Id rather spend it eating, watching TV or movies with the family or just general vegging, getting ready to go out into the real world.
As I sit here and watch the Green Bay Packers destroy, well up until now (5 min left in the game) the Detroit Lions, I see perhaps the greatest football player ever to play the game. No, I’m not talking about Ernie Sims, I’m talking about the franchise of Titletown, Brett Favre. For those of you who didn’t see the pregame show, there was just an AMAZING package put together with all of these legendary sports figures talking about Brett. Larry Bird, Jack Nicholas, and many more. The clincher for me was when they closed it with a quote from Muhammed Ali made specifically for the package and for Brett. I honestly got chills because this thing was so well produced, it’s the kinda thing that I hope to do when I get into the professional world. But all of these guys said such great stuff about Favre, it made me think, who in pro wrestling is like that? Who has been around forever, has been told “retire ya old fuck” and yet continues to show more passion than most for what he does and still delivers just as good as he did when he first started. I sat for a good long while and thought about it while I made out a list. First I had to list what qualities make Brett Favre who he is. He, of course, has heart, and a hell of a lot of it. He is driven to be the best he can be, even at his age. He has a passion for the game that I imagine is like a drug in their system that they just cant get rid of. Brett is a distinguished member of the NFL fraternity, in fact he is probably the most respected active member. Finally, Brett is a leader, on and off the field and he maintains a certain amount of humility about it all. With these things in mind, I made a list of wrestlers it could be. While it is a relatively short list, the names on the list all could be the Brett Favre of wrestling.
10. Mick Foley- Yeah, part of me thinks this might be a little too low for the hardcore legend, but from what Mick says in his books and from what people have said about him, he isn’t really much of a locker room leader. He seems to be more of a guy who wants to be the best. I believe he still has passion for wrestling but probably not as much as some other active stars. This is NOT a knock on Foley. He is one of the best ever. But once you get older and get out of wrestling, have a few kids, write a few books, you usually don’t keep the same desire.
9. Raven- Scott Levy has the most brilliant mind in wrestling, hands down. And if you don’t believe me, listen to any shoot he has ever done. While he didn’t have the fame comparable to Brett Favre, he certainly has the respect. And talk about a person who lives the business, you will be hard pressed to find someone who has been doing it for so long and still loves it as much as Raven. I think the thing that links Brett and Raven the most is the mental aspect of both of their “games”. Brett is highly under rated in his abilities to read defenses, studying, having meetings with his WRs, and just general preparation for his games. The same with Raven, I’ve never heard someone who thinks as much as he does in this day and age, when it comes to being in ring at his level.
8. Kurt Angle- The youngest person (in terms of in ring experience) on the list. But Kurt is such a natural that he got really good, REALLY FAST. And now that he is in the farm leagues, he is helping, or at least trying to help, all of the young guys. People have said that he is very accessible to the young guys and works hard when he is with them to get them over. Just look at how he reportedly went off about his putting over Jay Lethal and then the aftermath. And because of his success, he is definitely well respected. All you have to do is listen to the way Bret Hart talks about his match with Brock Lesnar at WM 19. Bret Hart, probably the greatest technical wrestler of all time, said he was blown away by that match. That is respect.
7. JBL- Not technically an active wrestler, but reportedly a very vocal backstage leader. The most recent being his altercation with The Miz and John Morrison backstage after their title win last week. He is not afraid to get up and say what he believes based on his years of experience. He wasn’t trying to get himself over or get himself off, he was trying to help the machine run smoother. That’s all Brett Favre does, and that’s all JBL does. And other than the respect and leader angle, he can still deliver just as good as he could when he was WWE Champion. Not in the ring, but on the mic. Every week on SD, JBL steals the show. Every week he is one of the only things, if not the only thing you remember.
6. Rey Mysterio- He’s been told to retire before he even got in it. He’s too small, he wears a mask, but he is still one of the greatest workers of all time. And how many times has a doctor told Rey Rey, “your knees are fucked, don’t even bother coming back” and yet he does and he is till the best. If that’s not Brett Favre, I don’t know what is…
5. Sting- An argument could be made that he is the most respected man in the wrestling industry for not going to the WWE and getting his big payday. He has stated over and over again, he wanted to go to TNA to make stars using his star power. While he is paid handsomely for what he does, I don’t really think he does it for the money. As a few wrestlers have said, the money comes with the respect that they have earned. And while I haven’t seen Sting a lot in TNA, I think I can see that he still loves to do it.
4. Ric Flair- He is the 16 time World Heavyweight Champion. He is an icon in the wrestling industry. He has had over 3,500 matches in his career. He is the kiss stealin, wheelin dealin, son of a gun. The Nature Boy, Ric Flair. There are very few still active, if any, who have done more in professional wrestling than Flair, and he is very respected for it. What’s even more amazing is his willingness to teach others. Batista, Shelton, Carlito, Cena, Orton, even HHH and HBK, all of these men said they have all learned from Ric the second he stepped into the WWE locker room.
3. Triple H- Talk about someone who loves the business, that is HHH. He is someone that, from day one apparently, lived the business. Studied tape of Ric Flair for hours at time, devoted time to making himself look better, worked on his ring work and then when he got to the WWE and got shit on because of the MSG incident, he took his lumps and came back and said “fuck you” to everyone. Then later in his career, he had a serious quad tear. What’s amazing isn’t that he came back, what’s amazing is that he finished the god damned match. That takes passion, that takes desire, that takes dedication.
2. Shawn Michaels- 2 and 1 were really close. Honestly, it could have gone either way. Together they are the most respected members of the active roster. They are guys who are always trying to help the younger talent because they get it. They understand the need to build new stars, the need to get new guy over, and the need to help the younger generation so that the business can go on. HBK has taken his a step more than just talking to the guys in the back as he has his own wrestling school. And boy howdy does HBK deliver in the ring. Granted, it may not be as good as it used to be, but he has learned to compensate for that with theatrics and way better selling.
1. The Undertaker- I cant count the number of times I have heard people say “he should retire”, “he’s too old”, “he cant do it like he used to” bullllllshit on a stick. He can still go as well as he could when he came to the WWE in 1990. He still walks the top rope, he still comes off as theatrical as he was when he came in, and he still has the presence that makes him the Brett Favre of wrestling. Just think of the number of GREAT matches he has had in the past 5 years with Angle, Brock Lesnar, Vince McMahon, JBL, Batista, Orton, his PHENOMINAL performance at the Royal Rumble this year. Hell In A Cell matches, Punjabi Prison matches, and Buried Alive matches; they guy can do it all and do it all BETTER than everyone else when he needs to.
And with that we have another one in the books. Next week we will see the return of the most loved feature on the No Smark Zone. See ya then!! :gun_rifle:
As I sit here and watch the Green Bay Packers destroy, well up until now (5 min left in the game) the Detroit Lions, I see perhaps the greatest football player ever to play the game. No, I’m not talking about Ernie Sims, I’m talking about the franchise of Titletown, Brett Favre. For those of you who didn’t see the pregame show, there was just an AMAZING package put together with all of these legendary sports figures talking about Brett. Larry Bird, Jack Nicholas, and many more. The clincher for me was when they closed it with a quote from Muhammed Ali made specifically for the package and for Brett. I honestly got chills because this thing was so well produced, it’s the kinda thing that I hope to do when I get into the professional world. But all of these guys said such great stuff about Favre, it made me think, who in pro wrestling is like that? Who has been around forever, has been told “retire ya old fuck” and yet continues to show more passion than most for what he does and still delivers just as good as he did when he first started. I sat for a good long while and thought about it while I made out a list. First I had to list what qualities make Brett Favre who he is. He, of course, has heart, and a hell of a lot of it. He is driven to be the best he can be, even at his age. He has a passion for the game that I imagine is like a drug in their system that they just cant get rid of. Brett is a distinguished member of the NFL fraternity, in fact he is probably the most respected active member. Finally, Brett is a leader, on and off the field and he maintains a certain amount of humility about it all. With these things in mind, I made a list of wrestlers it could be. While it is a relatively short list, the names on the list all could be the Brett Favre of wrestling.
10. Mick Foley- Yeah, part of me thinks this might be a little too low for the hardcore legend, but from what Mick says in his books and from what people have said about him, he isn’t really much of a locker room leader. He seems to be more of a guy who wants to be the best. I believe he still has passion for wrestling but probably not as much as some other active stars. This is NOT a knock on Foley. He is one of the best ever. But once you get older and get out of wrestling, have a few kids, write a few books, you usually don’t keep the same desire.
9. Raven- Scott Levy has the most brilliant mind in wrestling, hands down. And if you don’t believe me, listen to any shoot he has ever done. While he didn’t have the fame comparable to Brett Favre, he certainly has the respect. And talk about a person who lives the business, you will be hard pressed to find someone who has been doing it for so long and still loves it as much as Raven. I think the thing that links Brett and Raven the most is the mental aspect of both of their “games”. Brett is highly under rated in his abilities to read defenses, studying, having meetings with his WRs, and just general preparation for his games. The same with Raven, I’ve never heard someone who thinks as much as he does in this day and age, when it comes to being in ring at his level.
8. Kurt Angle- The youngest person (in terms of in ring experience) on the list. But Kurt is such a natural that he got really good, REALLY FAST. And now that he is in the farm leagues, he is helping, or at least trying to help, all of the young guys. People have said that he is very accessible to the young guys and works hard when he is with them to get them over. Just look at how he reportedly went off about his putting over Jay Lethal and then the aftermath. And because of his success, he is definitely well respected. All you have to do is listen to the way Bret Hart talks about his match with Brock Lesnar at WM 19. Bret Hart, probably the greatest technical wrestler of all time, said he was blown away by that match. That is respect.
7. JBL- Not technically an active wrestler, but reportedly a very vocal backstage leader. The most recent being his altercation with The Miz and John Morrison backstage after their title win last week. He is not afraid to get up and say what he believes based on his years of experience. He wasn’t trying to get himself over or get himself off, he was trying to help the machine run smoother. That’s all Brett Favre does, and that’s all JBL does. And other than the respect and leader angle, he can still deliver just as good as he could when he was WWE Champion. Not in the ring, but on the mic. Every week on SD, JBL steals the show. Every week he is one of the only things, if not the only thing you remember.
6. Rey Mysterio- He’s been told to retire before he even got in it. He’s too small, he wears a mask, but he is still one of the greatest workers of all time. And how many times has a doctor told Rey Rey, “your knees are fucked, don’t even bother coming back” and yet he does and he is till the best. If that’s not Brett Favre, I don’t know what is…
5. Sting- An argument could be made that he is the most respected man in the wrestling industry for not going to the WWE and getting his big payday. He has stated over and over again, he wanted to go to TNA to make stars using his star power. While he is paid handsomely for what he does, I don’t really think he does it for the money. As a few wrestlers have said, the money comes with the respect that they have earned. And while I haven’t seen Sting a lot in TNA, I think I can see that he still loves to do it.
4. Ric Flair- He is the 16 time World Heavyweight Champion. He is an icon in the wrestling industry. He has had over 3,500 matches in his career. He is the kiss stealin, wheelin dealin, son of a gun. The Nature Boy, Ric Flair. There are very few still active, if any, who have done more in professional wrestling than Flair, and he is very respected for it. What’s even more amazing is his willingness to teach others. Batista, Shelton, Carlito, Cena, Orton, even HHH and HBK, all of these men said they have all learned from Ric the second he stepped into the WWE locker room.
3. Triple H- Talk about someone who loves the business, that is HHH. He is someone that, from day one apparently, lived the business. Studied tape of Ric Flair for hours at time, devoted time to making himself look better, worked on his ring work and then when he got to the WWE and got shit on because of the MSG incident, he took his lumps and came back and said “fuck you” to everyone. Then later in his career, he had a serious quad tear. What’s amazing isn’t that he came back, what’s amazing is that he finished the god damned match. That takes passion, that takes desire, that takes dedication.
2. Shawn Michaels- 2 and 1 were really close. Honestly, it could have gone either way. Together they are the most respected members of the active roster. They are guys who are always trying to help the younger talent because they get it. They understand the need to build new stars, the need to get new guy over, and the need to help the younger generation so that the business can go on. HBK has taken his a step more than just talking to the guys in the back as he has his own wrestling school. And boy howdy does HBK deliver in the ring. Granted, it may not be as good as it used to be, but he has learned to compensate for that with theatrics and way better selling.
1. The Undertaker- I cant count the number of times I have heard people say “he should retire”, “he’s too old”, “he cant do it like he used to” bullllllshit on a stick. He can still go as well as he could when he came to the WWE in 1990. He still walks the top rope, he still comes off as theatrical as he was when he came in, and he still has the presence that makes him the Brett Favre of wrestling. Just think of the number of GREAT matches he has had in the past 5 years with Angle, Brock Lesnar, Vince McMahon, JBL, Batista, Orton, his PHENOMINAL performance at the Royal Rumble this year. Hell In A Cell matches, Punjabi Prison matches, and Buried Alive matches; they guy can do it all and do it all BETTER than everyone else when he needs to.
And with that we have another one in the books. Next week we will see the return of the most loved feature on the No Smark Zone. See ya then!! :gun_rifle:
