Posted in: Doctor's Orders
Doctor's Orders: The Road to WrestleMania Countdown (#233-#260)
By The Doc
Dec 29, 2014 - 12:00:41 PM



Welcome back to the Road to WrestleMania 31. Hundreds of men and women have performed on the grandest stage over the course of its rich history. For the next few months, we will celebrate them all…from worst to best. How is that determined? Well, by a variety of factors, which I will be more specific about as time passes. Here in the early going, you're going to see mostly wrestlers and personalities that had very little impact on Mania lore, but who deserve to be mentioned because, nevertheless, they were involved. Be sure to check out the “Question of the Day” for every entry, as discussion is encouraged so that we may all be as hyped as humanly possible come March 29.

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Snowman is a genius



QUESTION OF THE DAY (4): You’ve got the chance to go back in time and be live, in attendance, for any WrestleMania. Which one do you choose?


260. Alundra Blayze
259. Butterbean
258. (Tie) Tori and Ivory
256. Ron Garvin
255. (Tie) The Rock ‘n Roll Express ; Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon
253. Typhoon
252. George Welles
251. Tyson Kidd
250. Billy Jack Haynes
249. The Steiner Brothers
248. (Tie) Mark Jindrak and Garrison Cade ; The Basham Brothers
245. David Sammartino
244. Mo
243. Velvet McIntyre
242. The Hurricane
241. Rosa Mendes
240. Tajiri
239. Tony Atlas
238. The Red Rooster
237. Aguila
236. Stevie Richards
235. The Bushwhackers
234. Miss Jackie
233. Ted Dibiase, Jr.


Day 4: Much Ado About Not Much


244. Mo



Who? Surely that ran through several minds who are currently reading this column. Men on a Mission was the tag team that debuted Mabel/Viscera. Mabel’s partner was the smaller Mo, who was the workhorse of the duo and often played the face-in-peril before the mammoth big man came in to clean house. “M.O.M.” did win the Tag Team Championships on a house show in 1994, which was the same year that they wrestled for the titles at WrestleMania X in a count-out victory. WWE’s fascination with big men has dwindled in the last decade, but it was still in effect back in the mid-1990s. Mabel was destined for a bigger push and Mo was destined for obscurity.

243. Velvet McIntyre



The WWE Women’s Championship was quite prominent when WrestleMania came to be. The first Mania had featured the title as one of the headlining bouts due to Cyndi Lauper’s involvement. In the background for that match had been the longest reigning champion in WWE history, The Fabulous Moolah. She had managed Leilani Kai in her unsuccessful title defense. Moolah regained the Women’s title in the year that followed and defended it against Velvet in a quick match at Mania 2. Why rank Velvet so high? In a recurring theme that you’ll see later on, it was because she was in a title match and the prestige of the title at the time. Plus, I may or may not have a bit of a reason to laud her due to her name.

242. The Hurricane



Stand back…there’s a Hurricane coming through. Shane Helms is most famous at Mania for his Hardcore title win at Mania X-8. The title changed hands numerous times that evening and, just as quickly as Hurricane won the title by swooping in from a rope and barely grazing Spike Dudley, he lost it to his girlfriend, Mighty Molly Holly. In my circle of fans, however, he is most famous for a late night AOL Instant Messenger session with a friend of mine, during which Helms made numerous sexual references to what he was about to do to his tag team and apparent traveling partner, Kane, once the AIM session ended. A weird dude…

241. Rosa Mendes



Mendes marks the first grappler, if you can call her that, to earn her spot on the list mostly because of her appearances at numerous WrestleManias. Her impact was so miniscule that her two appearances – which in her case were in the Mania 25 Battle Royal and the Mania 30 Fatal Fourteen Way – equal less than many of the folks who appeared just once. Her career, in general, has lacked any sort of memorable moment. She is one of the many females that maintains a consistent presence, but rarely does anything of note. Nevertheless, she has competed multiple times at “The Show of Shows.” Good for her.

240. Tajiri



Here’s a guy that I was very fond of during his WWE tenure and who actually found some success during the non-Mania season. The Japanese Buzzsaw was a standout performer from the moment he stepped foot in the ring and he managed to get over with his unique style and patented spraying of the mist. He made an awesome Cruiserweight Champion and challenger and I was actually in attendance for arguably his top WWE moment when he won the Tag Team titles with Eddie Guerrero at Judgment Day 2003, but Mania was not his event. He competed in the ill-fated Cruiserweight Open at Mania XX and, though one of the top contenders, he was just like everyone else involved – he never had a chance to shine in such a rush job of a match.

239. Tony Atlas



There are a lot of WWE Hall of Famers that made a mark in the WWE during the 1980s but reached their peaks before WrestleMania. Atlas was one of those stars. He was a popular star in the early-to-mid 80s, becoming one half of the very first black team to win the Tag titles (with Rock’s father). His only Mania match, though, was the Mania 2 Battle Royal. He was a ghost outside of that one appearance until he started managing Mark Henry on ECW in 2008. They were a successful pair, winning the brand’s championship. It was his job with Henry that earned him his second spot on the Mania card, accompanying him to the ring for the fifth Money in the Bank Ladder match.

238. The Red Rooster



Terry Taylor has meant a lot to pro wrestling in the last few generations as a trainer. He was also held in reasonably high regard throughout his career as a helluva hand in the ring. However, he was given one of the most ridiculous gimmicks of all-time in the WWE during the late 1980s. They put a little red Mohawk on him, asked him to pop his head forward, and squawk. He was The Red Rooster. Think having to yodel is bad? At least a person does that. How about impersonating a farm animal? It did lead Taylor to a victory over Bobby “The Brain” Heenan at Mania V, becoming the opponent in Heenan’s only Mania match.

237. Aguila



WrestleMania XIV was one of the finest of the first 20 editions of “The Showcase.” Known as an event that featured several really good matches without any great matches, Mania XIV gave a lot of young talent a chance to shine. Only two Manias gave the Light Heavyweight / Cruiserweight division an opportunity to highlight its unique qualities and Mania XIV was the other one. Taka Michinoku was the champ that night, with Aguila – who later competed as Essa Rios – being the challenger. They had a fun, high flying match that added something different to the card. Shame the division had so few major events on which to excel.

236. Stevie Richards



The ECW alum never became a star in WWE, but he was commendable as a multi-faceted performer who could portray a wide variety of characters. He was the leader of The Right to Censor, an annoyingly enjoyable gimmick in the late Attitude Era. The FCC wouldn’t let the WWE be. RTC poked fun at them. He wrestled along with his RTC mates at Mania X-Seven. He later would act as the whipping boyfriend of Victoria, who helped Trish Stratus and others revitalize the Women’s division. His presence was felt when he took a Stratusfaction from Trish in the Women’s title bout at Mania XIX.

235. The Bushwhackers



Ah, Luke and Butch…

Most fans remember the comedic duo as one of the goofier parts of their childhood wrestling obsession, but prior to the act that gave them a Mania V match (a win over the Fabulous Rougeaus) and a Mania VI moment (smashing Rhythm and Blues with guitars), they were The Sheepherders in the NWA, famously having a match rated at 5-stars with The Fantastics. They were a very physical tag team; some might have called them excessively violent for their era. Hard to believe, huh? The same group known for the ridiculous antics that made them famous were once “hardcore” before the term gained mainstream credibility. They were also involved the Gimmick Battle Royal at Mania-Seven.

234. Miss Jackie



I’ll admit to being a fan of Miss Jackie Gayda-Haas. She was a blonde bombshell on WWE TV during a time when a young Doc couldn’t get enough of blonde bombshells. Her exposing moment on Raw in the early 2000s ranks right up there with Sable’s numerous exploits and Sunny’s pictorials as one of my favorite wrestling memories involving scantily clad females. She was involved in the Playboy Evening Gown match at Mania XX and came back to WWE for the 25th Anniversary of WrestleMania Battle Royal, the former of which was heavily promoted given the high profile status of Torrie Wilson, Sable, and Stacy Kiebler.

233. Ted Dibiase, Jr.



If you had told me five years ago that I’d be writing about Ted Dibiase on Day 4 of a WrestleMania Countdown of the event’s brightest shining stars, I’d have called you a liar, Mean Gene. Back in 2009, when he was making his first appearance at Mania as a member of Randy Orton’s faction, Legacy, I peaked ahead to the inevitable showdown between Orton and Dibiase and saw dollar signs. Unfortunately, the only dollar signs that we would see from Ted, Jr. were the ones on the Million Dollar Championship that he was gifted in association with his more famous father. Dibiase was involved in a triple threat match with the three members of Legacy, but never developed the connection with the people or the talent that many thought he would have.


Day 3: One (or Thereabouts) is the Loneliest Number That You'll Ever Do


260. Alundra Blayze



At WrestleMania X, the Women’s Championship got a much-needed stature boost by the titleholder, Alundra Blayze. It was a forgotten era for the division since Blayze was pretty much the only champion of that period, but I’m not sure that it should be. She did very well in her role. Even if she was best remembered for dropping the title in the garbage can on Monday Nitro a few years later during the ratings War, she should be commended for her time as the face women’s wrestling in WWE. Not just anyone could rescue that title from the depths of despair. She defended it in critically acclaimed fashion in 1994, most notably against Bull Nakano at Summerslam, but also against Mania 1 veteran, Leilani Kai, at Mania X.

259. Butterbean



The Brawl For All was an interesting idea that simply did not work in the pro wrestling world, where payoffs matter most. The nice thing about pro wrestling and the advantage that it holds on Mixed Martial Arts and Boxing, in my opinion, is that its scripted nature partially guarantees the possibility of a more dramatic and exciting viewing experience. Butterbean knocking out Bart Gunn at WrestleMania XV in a minute was not that exciting. I couldn’t tell you for sure if it was a work or a shoot and I really don’t care. The WWE, though, made it out to be a big deal. It was cool to see a wrestler in the ring for a fight with a legitimate boxer. Unfortunately, Gunn was shot in the face with a KO punch faster than you can type “Butterbean.” Props for the idea…

258. (Tie) Tory and Ivory



With appearances in the corners of tag team matches at WrestleMania to go along with unsuccessful attempts to dethrone the most popular females of their era, Tori and Ivory tie for their spot on the Countdown and do get the nod ahead of the more successful Alundra Blayze in the process. Tori lost at Mania XV to Sable, who was at the peak of her wrestling heights in 1999 and, the following year, accompanied X-Pac to the ring as an associate of DX. Ivory, at Mania XV, led D’Lo Brown and Test to the ring for their Tag Team title shot and, two years later as a member of the annoying Right to Censor, got her butt kicked in a Women’s Championship loss to Chyna at WrestleMania X-Seven. This column has inadvertently become, in part, a bit of a historical retrospective on the Women’s title. Makes you miss Trish Stratus, doesn’t it?

256. Ron Garvin



The former NWA Champion was one of those guys on this list that popped as an omission during this stage of the writing and could have prompted me to retrace my steps back through some of the day 1 and 2 entries in an attempt to fit him into a different slot than I’ve chosen for him. He did, after all, contribute to WrestleMania just one match – a 3-minute loss to the brutish Dino Bravo. Yet, I’d take his performance and overall historical significance over Boogeyman any day. So, there we have it; an exact science, this project is not. Garvin’s WWE tenure was not much, though he did have a nice feud with Greg Valentine that rates well and did produce a very good Royal Rumble match in 1990 that nobody talks about.

255. (Tie) The Rock ‘n Roll Express and Doug Furnas & Phil Lafon



It is purely out of respect to Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson that I did not put them on this list on day 1. I thought that would have been unfair to their place in wrestling history. All that they did in WWE was a quick stint that landed them in the Mania XIV Tag Team Battle Royal for a title shot, but they were so much more in the NWA back in the 80s. Doug Furnas and Phil Lafon were a damn good tag team that had just one match at Mania during their tenure, as well. I really liked them, but I really disliked the 4-team tag match at Mania 13. I thought it was sloppy and poorly worked given the talent involved in it. The talent level amongst these four far outshines their position on our list.

253. Typhoon



Typhoon burst through the set – I mean onto the scene : ) - in 1989 as Tugboat, but later found fame as a member of the Natural Disasters, with Earthquake, before finding infamy in WCW as the ill-fated Shockmaster. The Disasters were dinosaurs nearing extinction in a WWE period that was featuring less big men of their body-type (i.e. overweight), but they did manage to win the WWE Tag Team Championships. Typhoon’s lone contribution to WrestleMania was a count-out win over the Tag titleholders, Money, Inc., at WrestleMania VIII in the Hoosier Dome. He also appeared as his former WWE alter ego, Tugboat, in the Mania 17 Gimmick Battle Royal. I have nothing but amusing memories of the guy, to be honest. From him in his sailor hat looking like Popeye to the hilarious fall through the wall referenced above.

252. George Welles



Talk about an unknown commodity, Welles was a former football player that has the distinction of being the first WrestleMania victim of one Jake “The Snake” Roberts. If you think that it’s difficult mentally categorizing the best of the best without a set rubric, attempt to separate the worst of the worst. Welles was handily defeated by Roberts in the first of the three portions of the WrestleMania 2 card in less than 5-minutes, making him one of the guys that it has been hard to find the 100 words to describe. I’m strict on this word limit. Oh, there we go.

251. Tyson Kidd



The pro wrestling artist formerly known as TJ Wilson has developed quite a reputation amongst his peers as a real talent, but he never has really gotten the opportunity to showcase it. In the one instance when he did, he was quickly sidelined with a career-threatening injury. It’s unfortunate. Right now, his lone Mania match was in last year’s Battle Royal. However, he also appeared with the Hart Dynasty five years ago when Bret Hart and the rest of the Hart family came back to WWE. With the Dynasty and the Harts surrounding the ring, Bret basically beat the holy crap out of Vince McMahon.

250. Billy Jack Haynes



WrestleMania III was highlighted by a stacked mid-card. One of the forgotten matches from that mid-card was “The Battle of the Full Nelsons” between Hercules and Billy Jack Haynes, who made his first and only WrestleMania appearance in a double count effort. The babyface Haynes was one of the many protagonists that attempted to get his hands on Bobby Heenan in those days, but he had no such luck at Mania III, getting attacked by Hercules after the match with a large steel chain. Haynes bled from the wounds inflicted and never really made much of a splash thereafter. I would love to know what he’s up to in one of those WWE dotcom “Where are they now?” specials.

249. The Steiner Brothers



It almost seems wrong to be writing about one of the all-time great tag teams so early on in the list, but that’s the way it goes for Scott and Rick Steiner. Though they were a big deal in the NWA and WCW, they never were able to ignite the same spark in the WWE. They won the WWE Tag Team Championships on a couple of occasions, but neither the critical or financial success that they were able to achieve in Atlanta translated to New York. Their one Mania appearance was in a rock solid match, in which they defeated The Headshrinkers en route to their summer 1993 tag title runs.

248. (Tie) Mark Jindrak and Garrison Cade ; The Basham Brothers



For those that had an issue with last year’s WrestleMania XXX Battle Royal, I ask you whether you would have preferred a randomly thrown together Tag Team Championship match that wound up accomplishing nothing for anyone. Jindrak and Cade had variable levels of success in WWE outside of their short-lived team, associating with the likes of Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho, respectively. Cade even won some gold in a very entertaining duo with Trevor Murdoch before tragically passing away in 2010. At Mania XX, though, the pair made their lone Mania appearance in a completely forgettable (to fans) Fatal Fourway Tag title match. Embrace the randomness, wrestling enthusiasts! Doug and Danny were a Tag Team Championship winning duo that took part in the Fatal Fourway for the other set of tag titles at WrestleMania XX (before winning the belts later in the year). Unassuming as that accomplishment may have been, they were also members of JBL’s Cabinet when Bradshaw was a 280 day reigning WWE Champion in 2004/2005.

245. David Sammartino



Yes, you read that right. Not Bruno, the WWE Hall of Famer and pioneering superstar of the McMahon Empire, but his far less talented son, David. Rarely is the wrestling gene passed down from one generation to the next. WWE champions the efforts of the sons who followed in the footsteps of their famous fathers, but for every Orton or Rock, there’s a David Sammartino or Flair. David competed at the first Mania with his dad in his corner, fighting Brutus Beefcake (pre-Barber) to a double count-out. “It” he may not have had, but he did get a spot on arguably the most historic wrestling card of all-time.