This week for That's My Story and I'm Sticking To It I'll be telling you who I think are the top five wrestlers that should have been the WWF/WWE champion but for one reason or another didn't get a chance to have a main event title run. I got the idea for this column when I was watching a tape of Summer Slam 1989 this past week and it was really unbelievable to see how much wrestling has changed over the past two decades. I've been a wrestling fan basically my whole life and while wrestling has changed, the audience's prospective of wrestling has changed while the product has changed with the times. Some people claim that hine sight is 20/20 so which performers could have and should have been world champion? Please keep in mind this is not at all "official." This is just my opinion and it would be cool to read your opinion as to who you think should have been WWF champion so e mail me your opinions because it's always cool to read e mail. While some of the things I'm going to mention in this column were slightly before my time considering the event I was watching, Summer Slam 1989 took place a few months after I was born I've added many events from the 80s to my video collection so I have knowledge of who I will be mentioning in this column.

#5-Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat has been called by many, the greatest baby face or "good guy" of all time and they might be right. Hogan had a bigger run when comparing his WWF title reign to Steamboat's NWA title run but Steamboat was able to stay face for his twenty year career. Steamboat as a face didn't get stale and he was able to maintain his popularity with the fans, which is why he very well may be the best baby face of all time. Steamboat had a great career with time spent wrestling in the NWA and WCW as well as his time in the WWF, which is what the focus of this column will be when explaining why he should have been WWF champion. More specifically, The Dragon's run from 1985-1988 in the WWF could have been his time to shine, especially in 1988 when Randy Savage was the world champion. A year prior to that at Wrestlemania 3, Steamboat and Savage had a match for the IC title, which is still talked about today. Based on that, it would seem that a Steamboat v.s. Savage feud for the world title could have been a draw and while it probably would have been a short title reign for Steamboat it still could have been an entertaining feud. I know Savage was a "good guy" when he won the title but he would eventually turned heel so the door was definitely open for Steamboat v.s. Savage at the time. As was shown in his classic series of matches with Ric Flair for the NWA title, Steamboat had the skill to be the world champion but because of his lack of mic skills it seems like some fans don't really give Steamboat the credit he deserves but hopefully with The Dragon currently as an agent for the WWE, he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame soon.

#4-Rick Rude had the all the tools to be world champion except the title. Rude, had the look, the charisma, the in ring ability, and the mic skills to be a main eventer. Rude's time to shine would have been in 1990-1991 and his feud with Ultimate Warrior could have been when he won the title, at least for a short reign. I don't think anyone could argue that Warrior could be a better champion then Rude or deserved the title more then Rude because by all accounts the Warrior didn't deserve to have the main event run he did in the WWF. Much like Steamboat and basically the remaining "should have been champion" wrestlers in this column, Rude isn't really given the credit he deserves from some fans and not having a WWF title run could have contributed to that. Despite not getting the main event run in the WWF, Rude still accomplished alot in his career with runs in the AWA, WWF, WCW. and ECW. In fact, in the span of a year in 1997 Rude had appeared on the T.V. shows of all three majors companies that existed at that time. This includes the infamous night that Rude appear on both Raw and Nitro. Raw was taped a week prior and Rude jumped ship to WCW to appear on a live episode of Nitro. This stunt while one of the most unique and memorable moments in wrestling history might effect if Rude is inducted into the WWE hall of fame. One thing that has to be mentioned about Rude is how well he portrayed his heel character and how he used his mic skills to get heat for a match.

#3-"Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig was a second generation wrestler as he was the son of Larry "The Axe" Hennig and here the name says it all, Henning was "Mr. Perfect." Hennig became a star in the AWA and would eventually win the AWA would title in 1987. After holding the title for over a year, Henning would lose the title to Jerry Lawler and then go to the WWF, where he would debut as "Mr. Perfect." During his inital run in the WWF, Perfect would have memorible matches with Bret Hart and a memorable run as the IC champion. Unfountunitly, Henning had injuries so he stepped away from the ring and became a commentator as well as a manager during various times during his run in the WWF. It would seem that those injuries are the main reason that Hennig didn't get a world title run because Hennig and Hart could have had a great feud for the WWF world title when Hart was champion in the mid 90s. Perfect went on to WCW and would eventually return to the WWE in 2002 but would tragically die in 2003. Hennig really deserves alot of credit for how great he preformed the "Mr. Perfect" gimmick and very similar to Rude. he had all the tools to be a world champion. Curt Hennig was honored by the WWE when he was inducted into the WWE hall of fame last year and a DVD documentary entitled "The Life and The Times of Mr. Perfect" will be released in September about Hennig's career.

#2-"The Million Dollar Man" Ted Dibiase was skilled in the ring and had one of the most original gimmicks pro wrestling has ever seen. During a recent interview, Dibiase explained how he was given the Million Dollar man gimmick by Vince McMahon and how he debuted in the World Wrestling Federation in 1987. Dibiase said he was told if Vince was a wrestler, this would be his gimmick and that was enough to sell Dibiase as he signed with the WWF after meeting with McMahon. Not to be repetitive here but just like Hennig and Rude, The million dollar man had all the tools of a world champion, The skills, look, charisma, mic skills, and at Wrestlemania 4 he main evented the show in the finals of a title tournament against Randy Savage where Savage won the title. Dibiase won the tag titles with IRS, has been an agent for the WWE, and is currently a public speaker.

#1-"Rowdy" Roddy Piper played one of the most important roles in the WWF's national expansion in 1980's and I think he is very rarely given all the credit he deserves for his accomplishments. The success of Wrestlemania 1 is what made the World Wrestling Federation a force in main stream entertainment in the 1980s and if the event didn't succeed who knows what would have happened to the company. The selling point of Wrestlemania was built around the Hogan/Piper feud and was a major part of the reason why Wrestlemania was successful but it seems like some fans forget how important Piper's role was in the feud. As much as I'm not a fan of Hogan, he was the center piece of the WWF in the 80s and probably the most well known wrestler in the world. I'll even go as far to say that "Hulkamania" would have been successful in the 80s with any half decent heel to feud against Hogan because of how over he was with the crowd BUT I don't know if Wrestlemania 1 or the WWF would have became the mega entertainment force it did in the 1980s without Piper there. Piper's ability to match the level of Hogan in terms of heel/face heat is what made the whole feud as successful as it was and as I said Piper deserves a lot of credit for his role in the feud. That being said, Piper should have had a world title run because he doesn't get mentioned as being on the same level as the mega top stars in history and he should be because while he doesn't have the title he was just as important to wrestling as Hogan, Austin, and others. I think if Piper would have won the world title he might be given the recognition he deserves since he is as much as a legend as the other top names mentioned in this column.

In conclusion, don't get me wrong here I'm not trying to rewrite history. I just think that the five wrestlers I mentioned had the talent and skill to be the world champion but for various reasons didn't get a title run. More importantly, the five I mentioned didn't need the title to have a successful career but the deserve the recognition that goes along with winning the title.

Until next week
That's My Story and I'm Sticking To It
Dr. Wrestling

If you have comments or questions e mail me drwrestlingallpro@yahoo.com

Advertisement: