Wrestling God! Another one of very old school wrestlers which had mixed reactions by the wrestling fans in deciding how they really feel about him.
In-ring skills are average in this one, maybe just a little bit better. He didn't have an overall fun moveset, but compared to other powerhouses it was good. He really had a few 5 star matches during the Ruthless Aggresion era, and that's a big thing considering how many class A wrestlers were up there. His grappling skills are really good actually, he wasn't near being the best one in that during his era but that's one thing he had that is above average. Technique skills terrible, just like other guys of his size, like expected. He wasn't a bad striker though, he had his moments when he knew who to sell them really good. When we talk about the Clothesline From Hell, you may think that it's a boring ass move for a finisher, but not really. As simple as it was he was doing it borderline perfectly and it suited his character well. Other moves of his were pretty powerhouse generic with a lot of heel dirty moves, and I didn't mind seeing any of that as he compensated with his character work and gimmicks, but even generally he was a really good powerhouse. Powerhouses are usually boring but at least he was one of the guys that did them well.
Which really and pretty much solely makes this guy a great wrestler is being a heel and having a revolutionary character work. As I said, he really compensated in this way for his average in-ring skills. Have you ever seen a heel in 2010s that got that much hate and boos from the crowd?(Roman doesn't count) I bet not. He was just a textbook example of a perfect heel, no mixed reactions, no bullshit, just pure hate and boos. Bradshaw wasn't a stranger to being a dick even in real life and I guess that contributed a lot. There were just times where every single person in the venue hated his guts. That's 10/10 heel ability in my opinion, far best bad guy character of this century. And now, I said his character work was revolutionary, and that really is a correct word. No-one really ever played a dick rich man from the Wall Street in a suit before, not that I remember. And that persona just makes you think he's a some kind of a Hans Gruber, eloquent, well dressed and violent, the man that doesn't hide his negative feelings and intentions. Defintely one of the most underrated characters of 2000s, it really made Smackdown a lot more interesting place. His charisma is also great, and by that I mostly refer to proper crowd reactions to a heel wrestler, you don't really need much more to know that he was really charismatic. Mic skills also on point, perfect suit for his character and behavior. He was shitty at being a face but considering the opposite ability he didn't need anything better at all. Presence could be better but it's still not bad, enough to satisfie his quality considering other non-wrestling factors.
I would rate him a strong 7/10. In-ring it's a 5, and everything else is extraordinary good so 2 points up. The best heel of the century so far, had very good and creative persona so that wraps it. He wasn't a Wrestling God at all, but I'm happy to give him the title of the Heel God.
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