5 80's wrestlers that could be successful today
The 1980’s was the pinnacle of professional wrestling. It was the turning point – from a moderate entertainment source to popular culture.Wrestling expanded leaps and bounds in the period, and it spawned some of wrestling’s most iconic figures ever. However, it’s fairly safe to say that most of these figures would't work in modern wrestling.Many gimmicks, at the time, seemed like they came out of a cartoon series, and were often unrealistic, overblown versions of something. If a heel had to be portrayed, he or she would be portrayed as the worst person on the planet, and a babyface would be made to look like someone who has nothing wrong with them at all.However, sometimes these gimmicks were great, considering the new definition of a great. If they were portrayed today, it could work well, and could be popular. This article looks at five wrestlers with gimmicks or styles that could be successful if done now.
#1 Ricky \'The Dragon\' Steamboat
Perhaps Ricky Steamboat is on this list simply because his gimmick wasn’t a full-blown cartoon.
The Dragon was, in his WWE career, a defiant babyface, who wasn’t the biggest guy, or strongest. He was an exceptional wrestler, though. The biggest memory we all probably have of Ricky is his show-stealing match with Randy Savage at WrestleMania III.
Emotions were high when Steamboat rolled up and pinned Savage for the win, and for the Intercontinental Championship. It was a moment of redemption and revenge, for having his neck injured at the hands of Savage, and the crowd was behind him.
This would arguably be successful in the modern day for two reasons. A similar gimmick belongs to someone else, who previously also had the ‘Dragon’ monicker, and his name is Daniel Bryan.
Daniel Bryan is arguably the most popular wrestler right now, at least, when he isn’t injured. Another reason that Bryan is so popular is that he is a great technician in the ring, as was Steamboat. It seems like a perfect match.