Most Underrated Wrestler                

Award Description:

To be given to the person whose ability merits a far greater push than the
person receives. There may be many such people, but the winner of this award
should have the most ability with least push.  

Previous Winners:

  1990: Terry Taylor 
  1991: Cactus Jack 
  1992: Owen Hart 
  1993: Chris Benoit 
  1994: 1-2-3 Kid 
  1995: Barry Horowitz
  1996: Owen Hart
  1997: Chris Benoit
  1998: Chris Benoit
  1999: D'Lo Brown

**2000**: Al Snow

550 first place votes
535 second place votes
522 third place votes

 48 26 28  374   Al Snow
 42 29 28  353   D'Lo Brown
 31 31 14  276   Crowbar
 22 22 28  232   Hardcore Holly
 19 24 20  207   Taka Michinoku
 20 25 13  201   Chris Kanyon
 23 17 16  198   Crash
 25 18  7  193   Chris Jericho
 19 18 22  193   Dean Malenko
 15 21 25  188   William Regal
 23 14 13  183   Lance Storm
 20 15 17  179   Mike Awesome
 16 16 13  154   Steve Blackman
 15 14 18  153   Christian
 12 18 15  144   Essa Rios
 17 12  7  135   Chavo Guerrero Jr.
  9 15 18  126   Perry Saturn
 15  8 11  121   Matt Hardy
  9 10 10   95   Yoshihiro Tajiri
 10  9  8   93   Tazz
  6 10  8   76   Kid Kash
  6  8 11   76   Raven
  9  4  2   61   Test
  7  4  7   61   X-Pac
  5  5  9   58   Kidman
  5  5  8   56   Billy Kidman
  2 12  4   54   Edge
  3  8  6   51   Guido Maritato
  4  4  7   46   Albert
  2  7  7   45   Joey Abs
  3  5  5   40   Steve Corino
  2  4  8   38   Funaki
  4  1  5   33   Chris Benoit
  2  4  5   32   Scotty 2 Hotty
  3  3  3   30   Kwee-Wee
  4  1  3   29   Jerry Lynn
  3  2  4   29   Eddie Guerrero
  4  2  0   26   Elix Skipper
  4  1  1   25   K-Krush
  3  2  2   25   Val Venis
  3  0  5   25   Just Joe
  2  3  3   25   Kane
  3  0  4   23   Mike Sanders
  2  3  1   21   Yumi Fukawa
  2  3  1   21   Jeff Hardy
  1  4  2   21   Rock
  0  5  2   19   Lenny Lane
  1  2  3   17   Disqo
  1  3  1   16   Onryo
  3  0  0   15   Screamin' Norman Smiley
  2  1  1   15   Chikayo Nagashima
  1  2  2   15   Tiger Mask IV
  1  2  2   15   Jaime Knoble
  2  1  0   13   Shinjiro Otani
  2  1  0   13   Shane McMahon
  2  1  0   13   Booker T.
  1  2  1   13   Cima
  1  0  4   13   Bret Hart
  1  1  2   12   EZ Money
  1  2  0   11   Roadkill
  1  0  3   11   Shane Helms
  0  3  1   11   Suwa
  0  3  1   11   D-Von Dudley
  2  0  0   10   Takeshi Sasaki
  2  0  0   10   Danny Doring
  1  1  1   10   Vampiro
  1  1  1   10   Super Crazy
  1  1  1   10   Kaz Hayashi
  1  1  1   10   Bam Bam Bigelow
  1  0  2    9   Mr. Ass
  1  0  2    9   Masaaki Mochizuki
  1  0  2    9   Alex Wright
  0  3  0    9   Jinsei Shinzaki
  0  1  3    9   Jeff Jarrett
  1  1  0    8   Shannon Moore
  0  2  1    8   Steven Richards
  1  0  1    7   Scott Steiner
  1  0  1    7   Grandmaster Sexay
  1  0  1    7   Chuck Palumbo
  0  1  2    7   Toshie Uematsu
  0  1  2    7   Steve Austin
  0  1  2    7   General Rection
  0  1  2    7   Big Vito
  0  2  0    6   Bull Buchanan
  1  0  0    5   Undertaker
  1  0  0    5   Trent Acid
  1  0  0    5   Sean O'Haire
  1  0  0    5   Mr. Gannosuke
  1  0  0    5   Mona
  1  0  0    5   La Parka
  1  0  0    5   Kurt Angle
  1  0  0    5   Koji Kanemoto
  1  0  0    5   Katsumi Usuda
  1  0  0    5   Goldberg
  1  0  0    5   Genki Horiguchi
  1  0  0    5   Franchise
  1  0  0    5   El Samurai
  1  0  0    5   David Flair
  1  0  0    5   Chris Hammrick
  1  0  0    5   British Bulldog
  0  1  1    5   Yuji Nagata
  0  1  1    5   Rob Van Dam
  0  1  1    5   Rikishi
  0  0  2    4   Tiger Ali Singh
  0  0  2    4   Prince Albert
  0  0  2    4   Lodi
  0  1  0    3   Trish Stratus
  0  1  0    3   Toshiaki Kawada
  0  1  0    3   Susumu Mochizuki
  0  1  0    3   Silver King
  0  1  0    3   Shane Douglas
  0  1  0    3   Sandman
  0  1  0    3   Rhino
  0  1  0    3   Mick Foley
  0  1  0    3   Meng
  0  1  0    3   Men's Teioh
  0  1  0    3   Kid Romeo
  0  1  0    3   Kendo Ka Shin
  0  1  0    3   Juventud Guerrera
  0  1  0    3   Gangrel
  0  1  0    3   Diamond Dallas Page
  0  1  0    3   Curt Hennig
  0  1  0    3   Christopher Daniels
  0  1  0    3   C.W. Anderson
  0  1  0    3   Buff Bagwell
  0  0  1    2   Triple H
  0  0  1    2   Stoker Ichikawa
  0  0  1    2   Simon Diamond
  0  0  1    2   Sgt. A-Wall
  0  0  1    2   Perfectshawn Stasiak
  0  0  1    2   Nova
  0  0  1    2   Mikey Whipwreck
  0  0  1    2   Masao Orihara
  0  0  1    2   Lex Luger
  0  0  1    2   Lash LeRoux
  0  0  1    2   Kevin Nash
  0  0  1    2   Jodie Fleisch
  0  0  1    2   J.T. Money
  0  0  1    2   Hayabusa
  0  0  1    2   Faarooq
  0  0  1    2   FM Taro
  0  0  1    2   Chaz

REJECTED

  0  3  1   11   "Tie" votes
  0  1  1    5   Duplicate votes
  0  0  2    4   Kai En Tai
  0  1  0    3   T&A
  0  0  1    2   Shane Helms & Shannon Moore
  0  0  1    2   Mark Jindrak & Sean O'Haire

HIRO: Basically, all three are misused by WWF right now. I don't know if
the WWF intended that way as a sort of punishment or something (D'Lo Brown
comes to mind). TAKA is now 'resting' in Japan and D'Lo is still getting
no heat with Lo Down. Dean recently reformed the R4dicalz, hopefully he
has better luck than the other two.

DEAN RASMUSSEN: Takeshi Sasaki is the best wrestler you've never heard of.
He is the best wrestler in the indies ANYWHERE. Next year will be the year
when the world finds out about the KING of DDT. Suwa is underrated because
folks think that CIMA is a better wrestler. He's not. Chikayo Nagashima
might be the best pure worker in Joshi.

CHRIS BIRD: D-Lo Brown breaks the streak of "win this award, suddenly get
a push" that's been generally consistent over the years by being DEPUSHED
after the Droz accident. Regardless of whether or not it was D-Lo's fault
that Droz wasn't properly trained to escape a botched powerbomb, this has
been one amazingly bad year for D-Lo, going from being Junior Pimp In
Training under the Godfather to teaming with Perry Saturn and going
nowhere to teaming with Chaz and being involved in an angle that has them
not being recognized by security, which is as likely to get them over as
the famed "let's push Tazz as an asskicker by having the Big Bossman kick
his ass" idea. Chris Kanyon, arguably the single most talented wrestler
left in WCW, is doing nothing because high-ups think he's whiny. If you
had to work with Buff Bagwell, you'd be whiny too. And then there's
Yoshihiro Tajiri, consistently over with ECW's fanbase and consistently
shuffled off to the side in bad angles until put in a tag team with Mikey
Whipwreck for no other reason than laziness on the part of the bookers.

BRUNO PULVER: In a perfect world Scott Steiner would have Austin's spot
and fame

MICHAEL BANKER: The reason that I put X-Pac on this list is not because
he's too great and deserves more of a push than what he's getting (where
as Al Snow and Crowbar deserver MUCH MUCH MUCH more of a push than what
they're getting), but because everyone seems to just hate him.  I don't
think that he should be hated, just slightly disliked.

SAMUEL SKLAROFF: PUSH KATIENTAI, DAMMIT!

JASON:  Yes, 2 Cool is annoying, but Scott Taylor can actually wrestle
pretty well, in my opinion. Why do people think that Regal is boring?  I
can't figure that out. Because he *wrestles?*

MARK POLISHUK: Why does everyone only call Edge the next breakout WWF
star?  Christian is equally good on the mic, just as good a "look,"
judging from the screams of the 14-year old girls, and is a better worker.

J3R CR0WE: Christian has always been underrated, but now he's coming into
his own and getting over, so I think he would be out of this category by
next year.  Taka never got much recognition in the WWF, and Jamie-San is
really good, but no one seems to notice.

ROBERT STRUPP: D'lo has pretty much gotten ZERO push this year, which is
sad considering how talented I think he is. Storm started off hot, but he
got heat on his own and stuff, so he had to get buried. He and Booker T
and Jeff Jarrett should lead WCW in 2001, though. William Regal needs a
character tweaking to be the great heel we all saw in WCW, but I guess we
should just be thankful that he's on TV, and not in jail, perpetual rehab,
or dead.

DEVON: Regardless of what Mick Foley says, His Holiness Al Snow truly is a
genius.  His "Head Cheese" and "European Champion" angles proved this.

ALEX GIPSON: I believe it will be Matt Hardy, not brother Jeff, who will
be the breakout star of the group-Jeff takes decidedly higher risks, but
Matt takes less-risky chances and is still able to deliver a solid
groundwork in the singles matches I've seen him in. Saturn is a very solid
worker with a good moveset-I just wish the WWF could find something unique
to capitalize on his abilities. Maybe a possible reconciliation of the
Saturn-Raven team from mid-'99? Rikishi, when he's on his game, is alot of
fun to watch, and any big man who is willing to perform a Superfly Splash
from the top of a steel cage deserves a spot on this list, IMO.

CHRIS OSTER: By the definition of the category, Tazz is the obvious choice
here. He can still work, and his mic skills are good and getting
better...so why is he stuck where he is?  Dean Malenko SO deserves to get
back on TV on a regular basis...good to see he may finally do it.  And how
long do you need to punish D'Lo?

EDC: Sean Ohare. He will become a superstar if he keeps his head on
straight. Huge guy, with great moves and incredible agility and flying
skills. He is the Best NTB in the group, plus he looks like a evil
motherfucker, too. They should call him the Holy Terror of WCW, he looks
that scary.

SCOTT W.: I wish TAKA and Tajiri would get the respectful push they
deserve in their promotions. Tajiri should be maineventing ECW and TAKA
should at leat be a front runner in the WWF LightHeavyWeight div.  Also,
him and Fuanki should be pushed as a legit tag team.  The Hardys and Edge
and Christian could be what they need to get over.  Mike Awesome deserves
better.  If he was jumping ship, at least try the WWF. Oh yeah, WCW could
only compete with ECW.  Gotta keep that distant #2 spot.

MARCUS SPARKS: Who in the hell nominated LEX LUGER for this one????  I
don't know who D'Lo pissed off to get stuck so far down into oblivion but
I wish he'd come back.  WCW is sitting on a gold mine with Crowbar if they
could ever figure out what to do with him.  Regal will never get the
credit for being the kind of wrestler he is because his style does not
really fit into the ultra high-spot oriented WWF fanbase.

BRAD FULLER: Crowbar busts his ass every night no matter what kind of
crappy gimic WCW gives him.  He does some of the craziest spots this
side of Jeff Hardy, but doesn't even register on most wrestling fan's
radar.  He probably won't get another vote but at least someone
recognizes this man.

JOHN C.: I still can't believe the WWF in unwilling to use Taka Michinoku.
His only brush with fame was a great match with Triple H on Raw but other
than that he was treated like a lowly jobber instead of the exciting
youngster that captivated us three years ago. I think Christian has more
potential than any young WWF wrestler so he makes my list here. He's still
being featured on WWF programming but he could do a lot more in the
future.  Crowbar showed me a lot this year both in the ring and on the
microphone.

JOSEPH MICELI: imagine the matches tajiri could have in the wwf with
benoit, jericho, guerrero, etc.  hell, pair him with kaientai and give
them the tag titles!

MATTHEW HUBARTT: Jericho is ready for a run as WWF Champion

AL RITCHIE: These guys may be more "underused" than "underrated."

ANDY P. GOSS: Chavo rocks the earth.  His matches in the past have always
been smooth, and I hope he and Lash LeRoux win the tag belts soon.  I feel
sorry for Matt Hardy, who appears to be stuck in his brother's shadow
until he (Matt or Jeff) dies.  And hey, Disqo Inferno is a great guy in
the ring who can work serious or comedy, and who can provide people with
an automatic heat magnet.

STEPHEN TISZENKEL: One day, Edge and Christian will finally split. Edge
will become a huge heel. If he bulks up a little, he'll be WWF champ one
day, and he'll deserve it. Christian will feud with him for a couple of
months, become a mid-card babyface, job to everybody and end up working
indies or, worse yet, in WCW. Too bad -- Christian is at least as good as
his partner in every way, but for some reason, he just doesn't get the
credit.

EZE4DA3747: I watched Tazz in ECW when he was champion and I have never
seen so many suplexes. The man can wrestle, but he loses to Lawler and
Snow but he also killed Kurt Angle in his first match. X-Pac can flat out
wrestle which I can never understand cause he has like three moves.

JONAH ROSCH: This was close. But in the end, you just have to look at what
Dean Malenko can do in the ring, and see how the WWF is using him and just
shake your head. We were begging for a nice cruiserweight division in the
WWF.  They finally get one, and do nothing with it. Dean Malenko is much
better than this.

LOSIFER: For the 2nd consecutive year, D'Lo Brown gets my pick for most
underrated wrestler.  He's a potential main-eventer and deserves a push
already!

EDDIE BURKETT: Al Snow is perenially underrated.  Bull Buchanan needs the
right gimmick, and he will be an awesome power wrestler.  If he only
didn't botch that off the turnbuckle crossbody he does in his debut.  Or
if he didn't go from being Bossman lackey #2 to RTC goon.  I like the RTC,
but I'm in the minority...  Matt Hardy is too undershadowed by Jeff Hardy
and his suicidal bumping.

JAMES HOWARD: You know, for a man who gave us the best gimmick of the year
and singlehandedly made the company he works for fun to watch, Chris
Kanyon sure doesn't get a lot of recognition, does he? The poor guy. ^_^;;

JUST JEFF: It's nice to see Blackman and Snow do non-hardcore matches.  I
hope these guys can get another good push towards non-hardcore gold.  And
can the WWF PLEASE get Rios out of the Jakked/Metal show and give him a
push back into Smackdown and RAW?

GEORGE JOHNSON: I'm not saying Chavo should be world champ or anything,
but at least give him a little more TV time (and I don't mean having him
sell Amway).

LCDRKODIAS: Damn, I miss the cruiserweight division of old.

JOE GAGNE: I still believe that deep down, Al Snow has the talent and
ability to be a big star someday.  Positively Kanyon is (was?) a pretty
funny gimmick, but I think he?s capable of a lot more.  From the few times
I?ve seen him, Just Joe has some talent, and doesn?t deserve to be
relegated to Shotgun.

JEREMY SORIA: Chris Jericho gets the nod here. He was stuck with Chyna
early in the year, and that knocked down his workrate for a while. Steve
Blackman also gets a nod here. He's been doing great work this year,
especially with his work with Al Snow. Mike Awesome is way underrated. The
man of the mullet has done nicely for himself in the United States. I only
hope he can improve next year.

RICK SCAIA: If voting for Yoshihiro Tajiri as my Worker of the Year didn't
make enough of an impact, let me underline how good I think the guy is by
also naming him as my Most Underrated Wrestler of 2000.  William Regal is
#2 on the list; most current fans probably find Regal boring, or if they
do like him, are more appreciative of his humorous mic work than his
wrestling skills (they are missing the point!).  And Steve Blackman rounds
out the top three; although he's found his niche in the hardcore division,
he's actually a much better all-around wrestler than most give him credit
for (if only he could cut a promo to save his life!).

NATHAN LONEY: Time will tell, but I believe that K-Kwik is the most
underrated wrestler in the WWF at the moment.  He's got great skills, and
if he gets the basics down, he's going to be great.  Joey Abs is extremely
talented.  Thankfully, the WWF moved him away from the Mean Street Posse.  
One question: I saw him use a Michinoku Driver just a week ago to finish
off Pete Gas... what's up with that?  D'Lo gets no push, D'Lo gets no
respect, and those of us that can remember his flashes of brilliance are
disappointed.  He's damn good.

BILL LEHECKA: I love Hardcore Holly.  He can work, and his persona's
entertaining.  It's too bad Angle broke Holly's arm, because I wouldn't be
surprised if Holly was able to move into the IC title picture.

KEVIN SMITH: What happened to Al Snow's push? And his totally way cool
handlebar moustache?!?!?

LAWRENCE BENEDETTO: Y2J is feuding against Kane..enough said. As for TAKA
and Essa, why is it that the crowds boo these guys when they come out at
shows? They both have amazing moves in their repetoire.

TANVIR RAQUIB: A few years ago, I became introduced to wCw's "the [Pro]",
which was then, their premiere syndicated show. One of the more hyped
wrestlers was Alex Wright, who I immediately liked. I think it was because
of Larry and Cruise's hyping. Anyhow, Alex turned heel on Ice Train, was
involved with pre-implant Debra, got an anuerysm, came back and became a
VERY DECENT WRESTLER, then forced to become a Nazi who couldn't wrestle,
and now, finally, is THE wrestler I've always dreamed up, as his work is
all full of armbars, kneedrops and double axe handles. HE'S THE MAN.

RAVI MISRA:  Test. There's absolutely NO reason why Test should have been
shunted off once split with Stephanie occured. NONE.

MIKE PLYLEY: Why is it that everywhere I go on the Internet, I hear people
talk about how Matt Hardy sucks.  It's just stupid.  The guy has better
wrestling skills and in-ring work than his brother, plus a great amount of
high flying.  But since he doesn't try to destroy his entire body in the
ring like Jeff does, people say he sucks.  Get a life.  In 2nd and 3rd, I
really hope Devon Storm and Chris Kanyon are just counting the days until
thier WCW release.

JOHN DONALDSON:  I like Perry Saturn, he's good at mat wrestling, he's got
some aerial ability in his arsenal, he's a good submission wrestler like
his Radical buddies.  He just needs the right gimmick to flourish in the
WWF.  Tajiri has got one helluva kick in him and the Tarantula is
magnificent.  D-Lo Brown, what can't I say about him, he's the total
package as far as wrestling goes, he just can't buy a push from the WWF,
he doesn't deserve to be blackballed by the bookers.

JEFF "FRO" WAHLMAN: Whatever happened to Kidman's push?  WHEN is Taka
getting a push? When is D'Lo getting a push?

PHIL PRZYBYLO: Tazz has way too much potential to pass up.  He made a heel
turn but changed his already-over character 180 degrees and made the new
Tazz even more over.  He had a complete make-over and managed to pull it
off with relative ease.  The fact that he has loads of wrestling ability
doesn't hurt either.  Sandman gets my write-in vote because this is the
most over face in ECW and can carry the company as well as a decent match
when motivated.  Al Snow gets my third vote.  He's so underrated that he
probably won't even make the list.  Great poise in the ring and humor out
of the ring, it's a wonder why Vince has let him take a crack at the upper
mid-card.

ROB "R2K" EVANS: Most Underrated - When will somebody recognize that Al
Snow should be WWF Champ?!?

C McMURTRY: Everyone always thought Edge was the better of the E&C duo.
Now, most know better. His promos are better, and comparing the in-ring
work wouldn't even be fair. Chavo Guerrero Jr. because he will forever be
in the shadow of his Uncle Eddy, even though at this point I dare say he
is better than him. And Guido Maritado's mat offence is among the best in
the business, and with the comedy out of the way, he is finally able to
start showing it.

JIMBO: D-Lo Brown will forever be my favorite wrestler, despite how much
WWF seems to hate him, hes just so awesome.  And by the way...HOW HARD IS
IT TO GET A FORMER ECW CHAMPION OVER?????????

JBELL55146: Comon WCW, you have nothing at all going for you, at least
push Lance Storm and Kanyon just for a while and see what sticks. What in
the heck do ya got to lose?! 80 Million dollars? Oh. Nevermind. And
HardCore Holly is deserving of something more then wrestling with his
"Cousin" in matches against T&A