Today, it seems like the WWE doesn’t know how to create a true mid-card wrestler. The closest thing we have is Elias, and the jury is still out on him. A good mid-carder is a wrestler who is over, had a successful career, but never captured one of the main singles title belts. Though we’ll focus on a wrestler’s time in the WWE, we’ll take their runs in other large promotions into consideration. We’ll exclude tag-team specialists, like Devon Dudley, even though he had a less than stellar singles career. His partner, Bubba Ray, is also excluded due to his successful championship run in TNA.
The mid-card wrestler is often the backbone of the company. They have to maintain their appeal to the crowd, while often jobbing to the top guys. It’s not easy pushing t-shirts while only beating the locals on WWE Superstars, just ask Sin Cara. Yet every night these guys put their bodies on the line just as much, if not more, than the stars we love. For that, they deserve a little recognition.
In the Attitude Era, there were several men who had enthralling stories and characters but never made it to the main event. So, on this inaugural episode of The High 5, we present to you the Top 5 Mid-Carders of the Attitude Era.
5. Val Venis
Val Venis was the perfect fit for the raunchy Attitude Era. It was almost a throwback to several years before when every wrestler had a side job (i.e., Duke the Dumpster Droese). Except Val’s job was NSFW or children or pretty much anyone watching under 18 or with a decent working moral compass. Don’t know what that’s like. Never had one.
With a high chance of controversy and ridiculousness, Val Venis made the porn-star gimmick work. His initial feud with Kaientai was wonderful trash TV worthy of Jerry Springer. Val slept with Yamaguchi-San’s wife, got kidnapped by the group, and almost had his little Valbowski cut-off. However, thanks to the timely intervention of John Bobbitt, Venis remained intact.
In 1999, Val Venis would go on to win the Intercontinental Title from Ken Shamrock at St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. The match was the culmination of an angle that saw Val sleeping with Ken’s kayfabe sister, Ryan Shamrock. Ryan was played by Ken’s real-life girlfriend, oddly enough. The ’90s were a weird time.
Between sleeping with Terri Runnels, Yamaguchi San’s wife, and Ryan Shamrock, Val basically told the same story three times; all differently and all effectively. Kaientai was hilarious, Goldust was heartbreaking, and Ken Shamrock was intense as always.
Even Val’s time in Right to Censor worked as he tried to reform his lustful ways. Venis rarely failed to deliver an entertaining match and showed remarkable depth for a character who should have been a one-note joke.
4. Rikishi
The very first pay-per-view I ever went to was Fully Loaded (2000) in Dallas, TX. During that event, Rikishi took on the reigning champ Val Venis inside of a steel cage for the Intercontinental Championship. While Val walked away that day the victor, I saw something that will forever be etched into my mind. Rikishi climbed to the top of the steel cage and, after a moment of consideration for the devastation he was about to cause, performed a diving splash onto a prone Val Venis.
All 400+ lbs. of Samoan fury crashed down on the ‘Big Valboski’, flattening the WWE‘s resident ladies man. Little 15 year old me leaped from my seat and marked-out like a teenage girl watching the Beatles on Ed Sullivan.
Go back even further and Rikishi was at the very first pay-per-view I ever saw on television, the dreaded WrestleMania IX. When Rikishi first appeared in the WWF it was as the Headshrinker Fatu. The Headshrinkers were frightening to me as a child. Think two Umaga’s with less verbal skills and skulls harder than AP Physics.
Later, Rikishi would be repacked with his trademark sumo wrestler gear in 1999. The big man was devastating on his own and could always be counted on as a credible threat to any opponent. Eventually, he paired with Too Cool and the softer side of the big man came out.
However, getting Rikishi to bust a move did nothing to lessen his status as a badass. He was able to work that side into his character without becoming a joke. Rikishi had serious in-ring talent, was willing to take risks, and could work like a man half his size. Plus the big guy gave us the Usos and Stink Faces. What’s not to love?
3. Godfather
Alllllllll Aboooooaaaard!! Well… you know which train it is we’re boarding, though I don’t feel “Ho Train” is appropriate anymore. Let’s call it the “Working Women Train” or the “Train of Promiscuity?” Okay, neither of those has the same ring to it, but it’s 2018 and some concessions to decency and good taste must be made.
Charles Wright was a cornerstone of WWE for a long time, despite never being a main-event player. As Papa Shango, Wright was involved in a feud with the Ultimate Warrior that was downright terrifying for children watching. I remember being a small child and watching Shango chant as black ichor dripped from the Warrior’s scalp. What was that?! I was scared for my hero. He was tough, but this guy knew Voodoo and the Warrior was vomiting up bile on a stretcher.
While Shango fizzled out, Wright would return to the WWE in 1994 as the Fighting Machine Kama, a sort of proto-mixed martial artist. While the gimmick alone didn’t really resonate, as a member of the Nation of Domination, Wright thrived.
The Nation would eventually be the springboard for Wright into his most beloved character: the Godfather. While the gimmick wouldn’t fly today, in the Attitude Era we were more than happy to support this positive pimp.
Wright was a workhorse who could have a light, fun match as the Godfather or turn up the intensity to deliver some fantastic bouts. Like Val Venis, he was even able to take a simple character, add depth to it, and prolong its life with a run in Right to Censor.
In any iteration though, it should be remembered how much pleasure and entertainment Wright gave us over the years, and he is truly one of the best mid-carders to lace up wrestling boots.
2. William Regal
If you ever want proof that William Regal is one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, go and watch him make an ass out of Bill Goldberg on WCW Nitro.
Regal claims he was just trying to have a competitive match, as he was instructed. However, to anyone watching that, it’s obvious who the wrestler was and who was being schooled like a third-grader on a class field trip.
Regal is not only one of the greatest technical wrestlers not named Hart, he’s also one of the best villains outside of Triple H and Cobra Commander. His sneers and facial expressions, while almost cartoonish, sold his pompous persona and smug attitude. The man could command a ring without a word, all he needed was a raised lip and look of disdain.
Outside of the ring, William Regal never failed to deliver on the mic. The stuffy, classy jerk being put in ridiculous situations is always a recipe for hilarity. He’s like the Frasier Crane of WWE. As a GM his work with Tajiri was classic odd couple shenanigans at its best, and it’s a blessing we still get Lord Regal on NXT.
1. Dean Malenko
I shouldn’t have to write anything after that man’s name. Dean Malenko. That’s enough, really. Any wrestling fan worth his weight in Booty-O’s knows of the greatness of Malenko. If you haven’t already, go and watch Dean Malenko vs. Eddie Guerrero in ECW.
After ECW, Dean would go onto WCW and help put the Cruiserweight Division on the map. In 2000, Malenko would make the leap to WWE with three other superstars and form the Radicalz. Everything in the late ’90s/early 2000s ended in a “z.”
In every promotion Malenko was in he made an impact. He popularized the cruiserweight style in the big promotions and is up there with Shawn Michaels and Ric Flair as one of the superstars most revered by their peers. Ask most modern wrestlers who their influence was and, nine times outta ten, they’ll say one of those three men.
Dean may not have had the best run in the WWE, only capturing the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship twice, but the man has had a legendary career that inspired many stars of today. Plus, he’s still helping out tomorrow’s superstars as a road agent for the company.
Dean may have had the charisma of Bret Hart on valium, but he also had an equatable expertise in the ring. Dean Malenko is an unsung hero of the wrestling industry for many and his influence is felt in there today. That’s why he’s one of the greatest to grace the squared circle and the greatest mid-carder of the Attitude era.
What do you think of our list? Did we leave anyone off? Let us know in the comments below or on Twitter here.
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