Top 50 WWF Singles Wrestlers of the 90s

[AA484]

Even with just four years out of the decade that ranking still seems a little low. Just goes to show the kind of aura he had as a performer.

Remember, he really only had about half of that when it came to singles.

 

[AA484]

41. Jake Roberts

Roberts feuded with DiBiase into 1990, including a point where Roberts stole DiBiase's Million Dollar Belt, daring him or Virgil to reach into the canvas sack where Damien was to retrieve it. The culmination of their feud took place at WrestleMania VI at the Skydome in Toronto, where in a match where the Million Dollar Belt was on the line, DiBiase gained a count-out victory over Roberts, thus regaining his non-sanctioned title. After the match, Roberts mounted an offensive against DiBiase and Virgil and then began giving away DiBiase's "money" including giving some money to actress Mary Tyler Moore who was seated at ringside.

Following a brief feud with Bad News Brown in the summer of 1990, Roberts feuded with Rick "The Model" Martel throughout late 1990 into early 1991, after Martel (kayfabe) blinded Roberts by spraying his cologne "Arrogance" into his eyes. Roberts went so far as to wear white contact lenses to "prove" his blindness. After several months, the feud culminated in a match at WrestleMania VII, in which both contestants were blindfolded (though both Roberts and Martel did later confess to having some limited vision due to the lights in the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena). The bout ended after Roberts was able to "locate" Martel and deliver a DDT.

Various feuds and departure (1991–1992)[edit]
In early to mid-1991, Roberts engaged in a feud with Earthquake who "squashed" Damien with a pair of Earthquake splashes during their match on the April 27 (taped March 26) edition of WWF Superstars of Wrestling.[18] In reality, Roberts' bag contained hamburger meat intended to look like a snake and a small mechanical device to depict movement.[19] The feud was advanced when, several weeks later, Earthquake appeared on WWF Prime Time Wrestling and served "Quakeburgers" to co-host Lord Alfred Hayes and Vince McMahon, later claiming that the meat was ground from Damien's carcass.[20] Roberts later introduced a new snake, Damien's "big brother" Lucifer.[21]

In the summer of 1991 there were a series of televised vignettes featuring the Ultimate Warrior turning to Roberts for help in his feud with The Undertaker. In the set-up, Roberts explained to Warrior that, after passing three tests, he would have the "knowledge of the dark side" to defeat Undertaker. The segments included Warrior being locked inside a coffin (a reprise of an incident that occurred on The Funeral Parlor, hosted by the Undertaker's manager, Paul Bearer; earlier in the year); the Warrior being "buried alive" in dirt before being abandoned; and Warrior walking through a room full of live snakes to reach a chest containing "the answer". During the latter segment, the Warrior opened the chest, only to be immediately bitten by a king cobra (actually a rubber prop). As Warrior "weakened" from the effects of the cobra's strike, Roberts was joined by The Undertaker and Paul Bearer, revealing the three were working together all along;[22] Roberts closed the final segment by proclaiming, "Never trust a snake", turning Roberts heel for the first time since 1987.[23] A series of matches were planned, but the feud was canceled after the Ultimate Warrior was fired by the WWF the night of SummerSlam.

After SummerSlam, Roberts was placed in a feud with Randy Savage. During the post-SummerSlam wedding reception of Savage and Miss Elizabeth (in reality they had been married since 1984), Elizabeth opened a gift package containing a live cobra.[24] Roberts and the Undertaker attacked Savage, until Sid Justice ran them off. A short feud with Sid ensued when Sid was scheduled to wrestle "El Diablo" and the Undertaker came out and accepted the challenge to face Sid. Paul Bearer offered "El Diablo" what appeared to be a bribe to walk away. As the match began, "El Diablo" came back to the ring and hit Sid. Then "El Diablo" unmasked revealing himself as Jake. Roberts proceeded to unleash a king cobra on Sid, until Hacksaw Jim Duggan intervened. Sid and Jake wrestled on Superstars a week later. But soon, Sid injured his biceps, which forced the feud to end.[10]

Roberts immediately began berating Randy Savage in a series of promos, aware that Savage – who had lost a retirement match to the Ultimate Warrior at Wrestlemania VII – was unable to exact revenge. During an October 21 taping for WWF Superstars of Wrestling, Roberts goaded Savage into the ring and brutally attacked him, eventually tying Savage into the ropes and got the king cobra to bite his arm; the snake was devenomized and, according to Roberts' DVD Pick Your Poison, he had trouble getting the cobra to release his bite. According to Roberts, on the day the angle was shot, he had to let the cobra bite him on his leg at Savage's request to convince him that the snake had been devenomized and Savage would regularly check on Roberts to make sure he had no side effects from the bite. The segment went on longer than planned, and Savage's blood was clearly visible as it dripped from the puncture wounds.

WWF president Jack Tunney reinstated Savage as an active wrestler to get revenge for the attack. To explain the absence of the cobra, Tunney "banned" Roberts from ever bringing a snake to the ring again. Savage and Roberts feuded for the next few months. Their first match was at the Tuesday in Texas pay-per-view on December 3 in San Antonio, Texas, which saw Savage earn a victory over Roberts and Roberts slap Miss Elizabeth. The feud continued through the early part of 1992 and included Savage eliminating Roberts from that year's Royal Rumble match. The feud ended on Saturday Night's Main Event XXX, with Savage getting the win. Roberts, livid at having lost to him and having received two of Savage's flying elbow drops (one of which after the match), was helped backstage. Enraged, he grabbed a steel chair and said that he was going to hit whoever came backstage first, whether it was Savage or Elizabeth. Just as Roberts was about to swing the chair, he was stopped by the Undertaker; Roberts was distracted long enough for Savage to hit him with the chair instead. That incident helped set up Roberts' feud with the Undertaker. Roberts appeared on The Funeral Parlor to demand answers from the Undertaker about why he stopped him from attacking Elizabeth. When Roberts was dissatisfied with the answers, he hit Bearer with a DDT and, after jamming Undertaker's hand in a coffin, began hitting him with a steel chair; however, Undertaker got up after each chair shot and eventually chased Roberts backstage dragging the coffin behind him. At WrestleMania VIII, Roberts lost the match, becoming the second man to lose to The Undertaker at WrestleMania.[10]

The WrestleMania VIII match turned out to be Roberts' last for the WWF for nearly four years. His departure came after he was upset that WWF chairman Vince McMahon did not offer him a position on the writing staff, despite being promised such previously. After Pat Patterson stepped down from his post on the writing staff stemming from the recent sexual harassment scandal, McMahon decided that, out of respect for Patterson, the spot would be left vacant. Roberts felt he was not only being lied to, but also being betrayed. In response, he threatened to no-show WrestleMania if he was not given a release from his contract. On his 'Pick Your Poison' DVD, Roberts expressed his regret for his actions to get a release from his contract.

Return to WWF (1996–1997)[edit]
Further information: The Attitude Era
After spending over a year in hiatus, Roberts returned to WWF at the Royal Rumble in 1996, as a Bible-preacher.[27] To go along with his new gimmick, his new Albino Burmese Python was named "Revelations." His gimmick also mirrored his real life, as Roberts had recently become a born-again Christian and had been preaching around the country.[27]

During his second tenure with the company, Roberts was pushed as a "Cinderella story" and faced Stone Cold Steve Austin in the final match of the 1996 King of the Ring tournament. Changes had to be made to the match's scripting as legitimate injuries sustained earlier in the evening in a match with Vader left Roberts unable to engage in the longer, more evenly matched bout originally intended between the men. In order to prevent Roberts from sustaining further injury, he was quickly defeated by Austin; in a post-match interview, Austin mocked his recital of the biblical passage John 3:16 by saying "You sit there and you thump your Bible, and you say your prayers, and it didn't get you anywhere! Talk about your Psalms, talk about John 3:16... Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass!".[27] The catchphrase helped propel Austin to the top of the WWF, and is one of the moments that is often cited as the beginning of "The Attitude Era". Roberts next feuded with Jerry "The King" Lawler, who went to great lengths to ridicule Roberts' past alcoholism.

In early 1997, the WWF wanted Roberts to wind down his in-ring career and to join the backstage side of the company. Since he still loved to wrestle, he did not make this transition well. This led to a relapse with drugs and alcohol. He appeared at the 1997 Royal Rumble where he entered at no. 7 and was eliminated by Stone Cold Steve Austin. His last match with WWF was at Shotgun Saturday Night on January 25, 1997 against Salvatore Sincere in a winning effort. He was released in February 1997.

 

[Valeyard]

That's the first one I'll call genuine bullshit on. The work with Savage and being the guy responsible for the Austin 3:16 promo was way too huge.

 

[alfdogg]

Yeah, I keep forgetting this list is singles only. My point was even taking that into consideration, you're probably not going to name off 41 wrestlers from the 90's before Dibiase.

I want to go back to Doink for just a second. It was mentioned in one of those posts that Hawk was a guy who threw out the concept for the Doink character. Prichard also said that he came up with the Paul Bearer name for his gimmick. Is it possible that Hawk was one of the untapped smart minds of the business? Maybe a situation similar to (coincidentally) Jake, where he could have had a sizeable role creatively in the business if he had been able to shake off his demons? Or am I just overthinking this?

 

[AA484]

That's the first one I'll call genuine bullshit on. The work with Savage and being the guy responsible for the Austin 3:16 promo was way too huge.

I guess I didn't count those as highly as you. His role in the Austin promo was right place at the right time and he got his ass whooped. Even the Macho Man feud - outside of the snake bite - was mostly glorified squash matches by Savage. Couple that with some uninspiring feuds (Quake, Martel) that Jake tried in but ultimately couldn't make compelling (through no real fault of his own).

I guess I should also explain that I tried to weigh the list so one era wasn't over-represented. Does this mean that the New Generation will have more than they probably deserve? Maybe, but I thought it was the fairest way to get an accurate representation of the decade.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

Rick Rude is gonna be an interesting one because he was only wrestling for a year, but it was very impactful. I don't think he had one singles match when he was with DX in that later WWE run.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

I understand your reasoning behind equal weighting of the eras, but I also agree when you say that might lead to some being too low/high. That's how I feel about Jake. I agree with Vale that the austin promo was pretty big. Austin came up with that line on the spot, but if he wasn't fighting a guy with a bible thumping gimmick he wouldn't have come up with Austin 3:16. The WWE merch game completely changes, Austin doesn't get as over, etc. His role might sound inconsequential, but he had an influential part in that.

Also, Jake got squashed in that mach feud but that makes this list sound TOO kayfabey, like only babyfaces with uber win records will rank highly. We care about babyfaces because of the heels they face. That feud and the snake bite specifically changed the game for wrestling like what they could show, people's perceptions of wrestling, and a lot more. It took a while for the rest of the WWE to get there, except for the barbershop window incident, but really that shit was ECW before ECW was even a thing. It sold tickets too, so I feel like it should be given more weight.

 

[AA484]

I hear you, but the matches were a little too short in the Macho/Jake feud. It just felt a little truncated after the slapping and the snake bite. Maybe it was because Jake was on the way out and they didn't want to stretch it out too long. The feud was great but they just never had that match you could point to as the apex of the feud.

 

[Valeyard]

I agree with that completely with the frustrating lack of a proper blowoff, but changing the game during the course of it is huge. Jake paved the way for a lot of guys, some of whom are probably on this list. From crashing the wedding to slapping Liz, he completely changed what a mainstream heel could be while giving the best promos of his career (although going by promos, he had a great decade in general). It could also be argued very well that without Jake, Undertaker doesn't get as over as a face; by association with Jake, he became a legitimate force, and without turning on the most evil man in wrestling Taker doesn't get pushed over the top.

Austin 3:16 speaks for itself. Jake spent that show getting his ass beat by Vader and Austin, but the overarching story for the night was whether the old man who conquered his demons can do it. He absolutely could not, and Austin destroyed him with one throwaway line that started a trip to pop culture icon. Kayfabe says that this is what caused the Attitude Era, if you want to go that way, so technically he was a total catalyst and one of the very first stars of the era if you want to stretch it really hard.

That blindfold match ruled, but that's neither here nor there.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

I love the blindfold match.

 

[AA484]

Blindfold match is great once you take it out of your mind that it definitely isn't going to be worked like a traditional match.

And if you think you've seen some head-scratchers so far, just wait! There are some that I am even second-guessing!

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

I'll defend AA here. If win-loss records/feuds wins are supposed to mean anything than Roberts is where he should be on the list. No title wins, his biggest feud win was against Rick Martel ( a guy who I assume isn't on the list), and he probably had a -.500 record in the '90s. yeah. great character and promos but I think by the '90s, he was firmly in the role of veteran mentor and I think #42 is maybe a bit low but not too unreasonable of a spot for him.

 

[AA484]

40. Marty Jannetty

Despite their previous success, The Rockers never officially won the Tag Team Championship during their three-year run together in the WWF. On October 30, 1990, The Rockers were scheduled to win the titles from The Hart Foundation due to Jim Neidhart, one-half of the championship team, being in the process of negotiating his release from the company. The match was taped with The Rockers fairly winning the belts, but soon after, Neidhart reportedly came to a stop-gap agreement with management and was rehired.[8] On the other hand, Michaels claimed in his book that the Hart Foundation lobbied backstage to keep the title.[9] The belts were returned to the Hart Foundation a week later, and despite The Rockers making a title defense against Power and Glory on November 3,[10] the change was never broadcast or acknowledged on television.

During a tag team match at the USF Sun Dome in December 1990, Jannetty executed his Rocker Dropper finishing move on Chuck Austin, who was teaming with Lanny Poffo. Austin's neck was instantly broken as a result of tucking his head during the move, rather than falling flat on the mat. Austin was paralyzed and sued Jannetty, Michaels, and Titan Sports. When the case finally came to court in early 1994, Austin was awarded $26.7M.[11]

In a 1991 angle, Michaels was "accidentally" kicked in the face during a maneuver initiated by Jannetty on one of The Nasty Boys, which clipped Shawn in the face and resulted in an elimination at Survivor Series. Michaels got up after being pinned and began screaming at Jannetty, blaming him for being eliminated. Attempting to help settle their differences, Brutus Beefcake invited both on his interview segment "The Barbershop" on the January 12, 1992 episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge. Michaels and Jannetty appeared to reconcile, but then Michaels hit Jannetty with Sweet Chin Music, and threw Jannetty through the Barber Shop window. Jannetty was initially meant to work the injury, thus missing the opportunity to win the vacant WWF Championship at the 1992 Royal Rumble, before returning to start a feud which culminated at WrestleMania VIII. Six months of house arrest after attacking a police officer prevented the angle,[12] and he was released from the company in March 1992.

Return to WWF[edit]
Intercontinental Champion (1992–1993)[edit]
Jannetty returned on October 12, 1992 at a TV taping in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan from the crowd, attempting to strike Michaels with his mirror, but inadvertently hitting Sherri when Michaels pulled her in front. He challenged Michaels to a match at the 1993 Royal Rumble. Jannetty lost after interference by Sensational Sherri backfired. It was planned for the two to continue their feud, but Jannetty was released again after rumors circulated stating that he had been under the influence of alcohol or other drugs during the match, leading to its comparably low quality. Jannetty to this day denies having been intoxicated at the event, but explains having been rather tired because of lack of sleep, and that the rumor had been started by Shawn Michaels.[12]

Jannetty returned once again on May 17, 1993, challenging Michaels for the Intercontinental Championship after appearing out of the crowd on Monday Night Raw when Michaels was being interviewed by Vince McMahon and telling the audience that he would defend his title against anyone at any time. Though Michaels initially tried to back out of fighting Jannetty (clearly not expecting anyone, least of all Jannetty, to challenge him that night), he eventually put his title on the line against his former partner. Jannetty won the title that night, thanks to Mr. Perfect preventing Michaels from heading to the locker room where he would be counted out but keep his title. He lost it to Michaels just a few weeks later due to interference from Michaels' bodyguard Diesel. According to Jannetty, it was Curt Hennig who brought him back to the WWF. Hennig, who was on good terms with Vince McMahon, convinced him that the bad performance at the Royal Rumble was indeed Shawn Michaels' fault. Jannetty believes that consequently his own title win was meant as punishment for Shawn Michaels for lying.[12] Throughout June 1993, Jannetty feuded with Doink the Clown, eventually winning the program with a final best of three falls match on the June 21, 1993 edition of Monday Night Raw where Doink almost won the match 2 falls to 1 after Doink II interfered in the match. Randy Savage (who was commentating the match), attacked the first Doink and revealed the second to the referee, making Jannetty win by reversed decision.

Teaming with 1-2-3 Kid (1993–1994)[edit]
Jannetty then formed a tag team with the 1-2-3 Kid, with the two being the winners and survivors of their match at Survivor Series.

Jannetty won the Tag Team Championship with the 1-2-3 Kid from The Quebecers (Jacques and Pierre) on the January 10 episode of Monday Night Raw. They lost the title to The Quebecers seven days later at Madison Square Garden at a non-televised event when 1-2-3 Kid was pinned following an assisted senton. A clip of the finish of the match aired on the 1994 Royal Rumble video.

In the lead up to WrestleMania X, the court case brought forward by Charles Austin was heard. While neither the WWF or Jannetty admitted that it was the outcome of this case which resulted in Jannetty's sudden disappearance from the promotion, it has never been denied either. Jannetty then vanished from the mainstream wrestling scene until early 1995 when he made several appearances in Extreme Championship Wrestling.

Second Return to WWF (1995-1996)[edit]
Partnership with Razor Ramon[edit]
Later that year, just months after Michaels made a shocking face turn that got him over, Jannetty returned to the WWF in September 1995. He continued to wrestle as a face, despite bad blood between him and Michaels that had carried over in the storylines. Jannetty teamed with Razor Ramon during November and December in a feud with Sycho Sid and the now heel 1-2-3 Kid.

The New Rockers[edit]
Following this, Jannetty turned heel in February 1996 by joining Leif Cassidy to form "The New Rockers", who were unsuccessful in their attempts to win the Tag Team Championship. Jannetty interfered unsuccessfully in a singles match between Michaels and Cassidy that March, then lost to Michaels in a WWF Championship match at the Kuwait Cup event in May,[14] as well as in a non-title match that July. Jannetty left the WWF following Survivor Series after asking for his release, as he was unhappy with the team's lack of success and management's refusal to split them up. His last match came on December 16, when the New Rockers were defeated by Pieroth and Cibernetico in a match that aired on the December 23rd episode of RAW.[15]

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Kind of fits, maybe should even be a little higher. Was part of one of the best angles in WWF History, the fight with Shawn in the '92 or '93 Rumble was awesome underrated stuff, and his return/winning the IC Title was another high point of Raw. I also kind of wished he remained a single guys having random matches rather than teaming with Kid and others.

 

[Valeyard]

Peaked with the Doink matches, I think. He and Shawn had some awesome stuff, but the Doink matches came out of nowhere. That cumulative year or so he had as a singles guy was good, but he couldn't keep from fucking it up when it mattered. Ludvig Borga squashing him at Summerslam is still one of my favorite things about the show, though. I wouldn't have considered him, to be honest. Ultimate tag guy, whose biggest singles accomplishment is getting thrown through a window.

 

[AA484]

39. Jacques Rougeau (The Mountie)

The Mountie (1991–1992)[edit]
Ray Rougeau retired in early 1990, and Jacques departed the Federation for a year before returning as The Mountie in 1991, once again a client of manager Jimmy Hart. The Mountie was a corrupt, cattle prod-wielding member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who often boasted that he "always gets his man". The cattle prod came into play as part of The Mountie's post-match gimmick, where he would handcuff, berate and then "shock" his defeated and helpless opponents in the stomach. The storyline behind the image change was that Jacques Rougeau had actually gone through the training to become a Mountie to wield authority. The character was eventually the subject of litigation in Canada, leading to Rougeau being enjoined from performing as The Mountie in his home country. Thus, while wrestling in Canada, he was billed using only his real name and did not wear his Mountie-inspired hat and jacket to the ring, although he did retain other parts of his costume such as red shirt, black pants, and boots.[1]

The Mountie made his in-ring debut in January 1991. In his pay-per-view debut, he defeated Koko B. Ware at the 1991 Royal Rumble.[2] He gained another major victory at WrestleMania VII, defeating Tito Santana after using the shock stick.[3] The Mountie began a feud with The Big Boss Man after declaring that he was the sole legitimate law enforcer in the WWF, and on August 26, 1991, he spent a night in prison (kayfabe) after Bossman defeated him in a Jailhouse Match at SummerSlam.[4] At Survivor Series, Mountie teamed with Ric Flair, Ted DiBiase and The Warlord to defeat Roddy Piper, Bret Hart, Virgil and Davey Boy Smith in a four-on-four Survivor Series elimination match.

The Mountie's greatest achievement as a singles wrestler came when he won the WWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship in an upset over Bret Hart on January 17, 1992.[1] In the storyline, Hart was suffering from the flu (Hart was actually going through contract negotiations). The Mountie lost the title just two days later to Rowdy Roddy Piper at the 1992 Royal Rumble, in what was one of the shortest Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship reigns.[5] The Mountie received a rematch at Saturday Night's Main Event XXX, but when he attempted to use his shock stick, it had no effect as Piper was wearing a rubber vest under his T-shirt. Piper removed his shirt after the match to reveal the vest, which was labeled "Shock Proof". Piper won the match after using the shock stick on The Mountie.[1]

For the next several months, The Mountie primarily appeared in the undercard. He was on the losing end of an eight-man tag team match at WrestleMania VIII and a six-man tag team match at SummerSlam.[6][7] He feuded with Sgt. Slaughter after shocking him with an extra large cattle prod on an episode of Superstars, though the subsequent matches all took place on house shows, with no conclusion on television.[8] After losing to then WWF World Heavyweight Champion Bret Hart in seventy-five seconds on October 26, 1992, Rougeau left the WWF.[8]

The Quebecers (1993–1994)[edit]
Main article: The Quebecers
Jacques returned to the WWF in July 1993 and went on to hold the WWF Tag Team Championship on three occasions as part of The Quebecers tag team with Pierre Ouellet, feuding with The Steiner Brothers, Men on a Mission, The Headshrinkers, and Marty Jannetty and The 1–2–3 Kid. The Quebecers characters were an extension of the earlier Mountie-theme, albeit with a more casual costume and an emphasis on bullying behavior. The pair (who were managed by Johnny Polo) emphasized their detachment from the earlier Mountie controversy by using a doctored version of Jacques's second Mountie theme song, titled "We're Not The Mounties". Jacques participated in the main event of the 1993 Survivor Series as a member of the "Foreign Fanatics" team. At the Royal Rumble, The Quebecers defeated Bret Hart and Owen Hart by referee stoppage to retain the WWF Tag Team Championship. At WrestleMania X, The Quebecers faced Men on a Mission for the WWF Tag Team Championship and retained after getting counted out. They lost the title to Men on a Mission in an unplanned title change at a house show on March 29, 1994, in London, England. Mabel stunned Pierre who couldn't kick out as he was supposed to. The wrong was righted as they won the belts back on March 31 at another house show. They finally lost the championship to The Headshrinkers on the April 26 episode of Raw and the team split up soon after.

Retirement match (1994)[edit]
The Quebecers broke up at a house show in the Montreal Forum on June 25, 1994. After a loss to The Headshrinkers, Pierre and Polo turned on Rougeau.[9] After a few minutes of Jacques being attacked in front of his hometown crowd, Raymond Rougeau (who by this point was an announcer for the WWF's French-language broadcasts) ran to the ring to save his brother. This angle led to Rougeau's first retirement match, which, over the next few months, was heavily promoted on WWF TV shows broadcast in the Montreal area, as well as in the local media. The match, which was held on October 21, 1994, drew a sell-out crowd of 16,843 to the Montreal Forum, and resulted in a victory for Jacques, when he pinned Pierre following a seated tombstone piledriver. Jacques, who was accompanied by Raymond, used Queen's song "We Are the Champions" as his theme music for the night.[9]

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

...

 

[HarleyQuinn]

Really... The Mountie beating out Marty Jannetty?!? Granted, Mountie was the better gimmick but Jannetty roasts him in every way IMO. *throws popcorn at AA on that selection*

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Yeah. Jannetty or The Mountie wouldn't make my Top 50 and I don't even know if they'd be in the just the missed the cut portion of my list. Jannetty was underrated as a singles but he never had a sustained run longer than three months at a time. The Mountie was a fun enough mid card gimmick but over legit HOFers like DiBiase, Big Show, and Jake The Snake? C'MON MAN!

 

[Valeyard]

This is silly. You're being silly.

Beyond being the warm body for Piper to win the title from and the awesome Jailhouse Match stuff, that was literally Jacques Rougeau's whole singles career. He was good and entertaining as fuck but this is by far the most questionable one so far. There's just no way he beats anyone else listed to this point, and I love me some Mountie antics.

 

[AA484]

This is silly. You're being silly.

Beyond being the warm body for Piper to win the title from and the awesome Jailhouse Match stuff, that was literally Jacques Rougeau's whole singles career. He was good and entertaining as fuck but this is by far the most questionable one so far. There's just no way he beats anyone else listed to this point, and I love me some Mountie antics.

The list is supposed to be silly. I modeled it after PWI 500, after all. You haven't even seen the worst of it, yet!

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

There is going to be a TRTSM Riot when AA names Road Dogg as the Top WWF Singles Wrestler of the '90s.

 

[Hawk 34]

Time for Skinner to get his proper appreciation.

 

[AA484]

There is going to be a TRTSM Riot when AA named Road Dogg as the Top WWF Singles Wrestler of the '90s.

Spoiler: We also haven't seen Bastion Booger, yet. I also have a revelation about the list that I'm not sure I want to share quite yet.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Boogerman was going to be on the list but he ate too much food before and missed the cut.

 

[Valeyard]

Horowitz is top five.

 

[cobainwasmurdered]

The Mountie had newspaper articles written about him in major newspapers and got BANNED IN CANADA. Fuck a Marty Jannetty, that's a god damned superstar.

 

[Valeyard]

Hey most of this board is banned from Canada so unfair.

 

[SFH]

I was legitimately afraid that The Mountie was going to electrocute all of my favorite faces in WWF. Solid selection.

 

[AA484]

38. Bam Bam Bigelow

Alliance with Luna Vachon (1992–1994)[edit]
Bigelow returned to the World Wrestling Federation in October 1992, scoring a series of wins on WWF Superstars and WWF Wrestling Challenge. He made his pay-per-view return in January 1993, decisively defeating Big Boss Man at the Royal Rumble.[29][47][36]

Throughout early-1993, Bigelow wrestled primarily on house shows, including tours of Europe in February and April. He repeatedly unsuccessfully challenged Bret Hart for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. A scheduled match between Bigelow and Kamala at WrestleMania IX in April was cancelled due to time constraints.[29][48]

In June 1993, Luna Vachon was introduced as Bigelow's valet and "main squeeze" (love interest).[49] On the May 10 episode of Monday Night Raw, Bigelow defeated Typhoon to qualify for the first-ever televised King of the Ring tournament. At King of the Ring on June 13, Bigelow defeated Jim Duggan in the quarter-finals and received a bye in the semi-finals, but lost to Bret Hart in the tournament final in what was his third pay-per-view main event.[29][50]

Following King of the Ring, Bigelow began feuding with Tatanka.[51] In July and August, Bigelow toured Europe with the WWF. At SummerSlam on August 30, Bigelow and The Headshrinkers lost to Tatanka and The Smoking Gunns.[29][52]

In October 1993, Bigelow and Luna Vachon began feuding with Doink the Clown. A match was scheduled for Survivor Series pitting Bigelow, Bastion Booger, and The Headshrinkers against four Doinks; at Survivor Series the four Doinks were revealed as being The Bushwhackers and Men on a Mission. Bigelow was defeated by Mable.[29][53] The match was poorly critically received, being named "Worst Worked Match of the Year" by the Wrestling Observer Newsletter.

At the Royal Rumble on January 22, 1994, Bigelow lost to Tatanka, substituting for Ludvig Borga. During the Royal Rumble match itself, Bigelow eliminated Tatanka and several other wrestlers before being eliminated by Lex Luger.[29][54] Bigelow was also one of multiple villainous wrestlers to interfere in WWF World Heavyweight Champion Yokozuna's title defence against The Undertaker, helping Yokozuna retain the Championship.[55][56] Following the Royal Rumble, Bigelow continued his feud with Doink, culminating in a tag team match at WrestleMania X where Bigelow and Vachon defeated Doink and his ally Dink to end their rivalry.[57][58][59]

Following WrestleMania X, Bigelow took part in the WWF's tour of Europe and Israel. On the May 16, 1994 episode of Monday Night Raw, Bigelow defeated Sparky Plugg to qualify for that year's King of the Ring tournament. The following month, he lost to Razor Ramon in the quarter-final at King of the Ring.[29]

The Million Dollar Corporation (1994–1995)[edit]
Main article: The Million Dollar Corporation
On the June 27, 1994 episode of Monday Night Raw, Bigelow broke ties with Luna Vachon, with Ted DiBiase subsequently announcing that he had bought Bigelow's contract. Bigelow became a member of DiBiase's new stable, The Million Dollar Corporation.[60] Throughout the summer, Bigelow had a series of matches with Mabel; the two faced each other during the "Summer Fest" and "Hart Attack" tours of Europe.[29]

At SummerSlam on August 29, Bigelow and fellow Million Dollar Corporation member Irwin R. Schyster defeated The Headshrinkers by disqualification. At Survivor Series on November 23, "The Million Dollar Team" (Bigelow, King Kong Bundy, Tatanka, and The Heavenly Bodies) defeated "Guts and Glory" (Adam Bomb, Lex Luger, Mabel, and The Smoking Gunns.[29][61]

In November 1994, Bigelow and fellow Million Dollar Corporation member Tatanka entered a tournament for the vacant WWF World Tag Team Championship. They defeated Men on a Mission in the quarter-final and The Headshrinkers in the semi-final,[29] but suffered an upset lost to The 1-2-3 Kid and Bob Holly in the tournament final at the Royal Rumble on January 22, 1995.[62][63][64]

The World Wrestling Federation had approached former New York Giants All-Pro linebacker Lawrence Taylor about performing at WrestleMania XI in an attempt to generate interest. After Taylor agreed to wrestle a match, Bigelow was selected as his opponent.[65] The storyline saw Taylor introduced at the Royal Rumble, where he was sitting in the audience at ringside. After Bigelow was pinned by The 1-2-3 Kid, Bigelow took umbrage after noticing Taylor laughing. Upon Bigelow confronting Taylor at ringside, he offered Bigelow a handshake, but Bigelow instead shoved him to the ground. On the following episode of Monday Night Raw, it was announced that Bigelow had been temporarily suspended. During an interview segment with Vince McMahon, Bigelow declined to apologize to Taylor, instead challenging him to a match "any time, anyplace." Taylor initially declined the match, but after repeated insults from Bigelow, he accepted the challenge on February 27, 1995 at the WrestleMania XI press conference. The build up to the match included Taylor staging a public workout in a ring that had been erected in Times Square in New York City at which he was confronted by Bigelow, resulting in a brawl.[66][67][68] On April 2, 1995, Taylor defeated Bigelow in the main event of WrestleMania XI.[69][70] The storyline garnered significant media coverage, with outlets such as Sports Illustrated, SportsCenter, and USA Today featuring it.[57]

Following WrestleMania, Bigelow participated in the "WWF in High Gear" tour of Europe.[29] Upon his return to the United States, he challenged Diesel for the WWF Championship on the April 24, 1995 episode of Monday Night Raw. After Diesel defeated Bigelow, Ted DiBiase announced that he was firing Bigelow. After Bigelow retaliated, the other members of The Million Dollar Corporation attacked him until he was saved by Diesel, thus turning Bigelow face.[36] In the main event of King of the Ring on June 25, 1995, Bigelow and Diesel teamed together to defeat Million Dollar Corporation members Sid and Tatanka.[29]

Following King of the Ring, Bigelow faced Million Dollar Corporation members Sid, Tatanka, King Kong Bundy, and Kama in a series of matches. At In Your House 2, he defeated Henry Godwinn, who was auditioning to join the Corporation. At In Your House 3, he lost to British Bulldog. In October 1995, he took part in the "Full Metal" tour, marking his final tour of Europe with the WWF.[29]

Bigelow made his final appearance with the WWF on November 19, 1995 at Survivor Series, losing to the recently debuted Goldust.[29][71]