| Author | Post |
|---|
clawmaster
|
Posted: Thu Nov 5th, 2009 08:40 pm |
|
Windham was termed a can't miss kid. He had all the tools. Yet when I think back on his career, Barry never reached the heights many envisioned he would.
____________________
"You fucking fuck fuck"
Tony Montana
|
Heretic
The Grammarian
| Joined: | Sun Oct 14th, 2007 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 1663 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 5th, 2009 09:10 pm |
|
That's because he hit his height just barely at the end of the era in which not every potential great wrestler won a world title.
Of course, he did win the big gold belt when it was either the post-WCW-era NWA title and meant nothing, or the "WCW International" title and meant nothing. I don't remember which and I don't feel like looking it up.
____________________
We need the AWA because it erased the fine line between genius and insanity. -Prof Druk Fan
|
DJP
| Joined: | Wed Jul 1st, 2009 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 48 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 5th, 2009 09:25 pm |
|
| It was the NWA title; he beat Muta at SuperBrawl III and lost to Flair at Beach Blast '93. I actually enjoyed his run as champion.
|
beejmi
| Joined: | Sat Oct 13th, 2007 |
| Location: | Philadelphia |
| Posts: | 10619 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 5th, 2009 09:27 pm |
|
Bad timing? When he was in the WWF there was some guy named Hogan hanging around and when he was in the NWA there was some guy named Flair that was pretty popular?
____________________
"The Beej portion was legit the best moment of the whole thing for me." - Carpetbeggar reviewing the Rise & Fall Of WCW DVD
|
CanadianHorseman
| Joined: | Fri Nov 2nd, 2007 |
| Location: | Vancouver, Canada |
| Posts: | 2707 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 5th, 2009 09:41 pm |
|
clawmaster wrote: Yet when I think back on his career, Barry never reached the heights many envisioned he would.
I have always said and will continue to say that BW will always be one of the more underrated and underappreciated wrestlers ever. It's funny how a guy that won numerous major titles ( 2 x WWF Tag Team Champion, 4 x NWA/WCW Tag Team Champion, US Tag Team Champion, US Champion, WCW TV Champion and NWA World Champion ) gets overlooked by most wrestling fans and " experts ". Sure it would have been nice to see him get one or two well deserved runs as NWA Champ when he was in his prime but that never happened. And let's not forget that Barry Windham was also part of ( at least in my opinion ) the best version of the greatest wrestling stable of all time ( see picture below ).
____________________
|
tofu_chipmunk
|
Posted: Thu Nov 5th, 2009 10:20 pm |
|
beejmi wrote: Bad timing? When he was in the WWF there was some guy named Hogan hanging around and when he was in the NWA there was some guy named Flair that was pretty popular?
I think a lot of it was bad timing. He hit JCP in 1987 and had a great series of matches with Flair, but it being the late 1980s, the prevailing thought was you had to be a steroid-bloated cartoon character to be a top babyface, and Lex Luger and Sting were the new shiny toys on that side. So he turns heel, but he's the #2 guy behind Flair, who is still the franchise player of the promotion. Who knows where the "Widowmaker" stuff would have gone, as he was in the WWF for too short a time to find out. He comes back to WCW and is the #3 heel behind Flair again and giant musclehead Sid. So he bides his time, and Flair and Sid leave within weeks of each other... things are primed for him to be the top heel... and then musclehead Luger is turned, despite Windham having a better look and tools for a WCW top heel. Luger leaves, but by this time, Windham is in the second-tier babyface mix behind cartoon superhero Sting and Ricky Steamboat. Windham makes a great heel turn, and is stuck behind monster Vader. A few injuries (and many pounds) later, and it's all over for Windham as a top-line player.
The 1987-1993 stretch was a very good period for Windham, but there always seemed to be a shinier toy in front of him. I think summer 1991 might have been the best time for him to be top heel, but for whatever reason, it didn't work out that way. He might have been pretty good as a bigger, meaner-looking version of Randy Orton's character then.
|
tamalie
| Joined: | Mon Oct 22nd, 2007 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 534 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Thu Nov 5th, 2009 10:27 pm |
|
| Barry got lazy and stopped developing. That injury plagued year in the WWF also killed his momentum. He was getting back to where he had been by 1993. Then he got hurt and sat out for about 3 years except for that match against Flair where he was a mystery opponent and looked like he weighed at least 300 lbs. After he came back in the WWF in 1996, his body was shot and he didn't seem to care much anymore. He just rode along for the paycheck in the WWF and WCW for the rest of the 1990s.
|
diamondmd
|
Posted: Fri Nov 6th, 2009 12:14 am |
|
| Kinda what tamalie said. I've always heard it said that Barry just didn't have the drive all of the time. When he was focused he was one of the best, but he wasn't always focused. Dusty Rhodes compared him to Dick Murdoch in that vein. He said Dickie was much the same way. Plus I think somewhere Barry had a very wealthy woman taking care of him so he really didn't need the daily grind.
____________________
From the Golden Gulf Coast
|
Hammer to Fall
| Joined: | Wed Nov 7th, 2007 |
| Location: | Near An Enigma |
| Posts: | 947 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 6th, 2009 03:01 am |
|
diamondmd wrote:
Kinda what tamalie said. I've always heard it said that Barry just didn't have the drive all of the time. When he was focused he was one of the best, but he wasn't always focused. Dusty Rhodes compared him to Dick Murdoch in that vein. He said Dickie was much the same way. Plus I think somewhere Barry had a very wealthy woman taking care of him so he really didn't need the daily grind.
Barry lived for a few years in Clinch County, Ga., which wouldn't make the short list of desirable places to live. It's not awful, but I can't think of much in the way of society, except for the local family of corrupt politicians. I'm pretty sure she and the kids are still there.
I definitely agree that Windham just quit putting forth the effort and could be quite flaky at times. And his personality didn't make up for what he lost in the ring.
____________________
|
Current time is 10:13 pm | |
|