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2021 Wrestling RIP Thread


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Damn.  I'll always remember him as being one of the top guys in the mix in the WWF when I first started watching wrestling.  I saw so much of him of those early WWF PPVs and Coliseum Video tapes.  Always an awesome worker.  RIP and thanks, Mr. Wonderful.

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i guess to show how important he was in the mid 80's WWF, he was the backup plan for the main event of WrestleMania 3 against Hogan if Andre couldn't or wouldn't do the main event.    That feud was white hot in the beginning.

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5 minutes ago, hammerva said:

i guess to show how important he was in the mid 80's WWF, he was the backup plan for the main event of WrestleMania 3 against Hogan if Andre couldn't or wouldn't do the main event.    That feud was white hot in the beginning.

Also Valentine himself says that Orndorff was the first choice to take the IC belt off Tito instead of him.

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My first live wrestling show was main evented by Hogan/Orndorff.  The ring was pelted with trash the whole time.  It was so chaotic and it hooked me on wrestling.  RIP Mr. Wonderful.

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52 minutes ago, hammerva said:

i guess to show how important he was in the mid 80's WWF, he was the backup plan for the main event of WrestleMania 3 against Hogan if Andre couldn't or wouldn't do the main event.    That feud was white hot in the beginning.

That's my absolute favorite unsubstantiated rumor ever in wrestling!  Word was if Andre couldn't go, the belt would have been held up as a result of the tie in the cage match on SNME, and awarded to the winner of a Mania 3 rematch.  At first, I wondered if Hogan/Orndorff would have drawn 93,173 at the Silverdome with a vacant title angle.  Then I remember that 1) Hogan/Andre didn't draw that either ? and 2) Hogan/Orndorff drew a legit 61,000+ in Toronto the previous August.  So they could have fudged the numbers and still "broke the record."  Man, what does the timeline look like if Hogan/Orndorff is this legendary match that WWF builds its mythology around?  Crazy, man.

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19 minutes ago, hammerva said:

The other thing to cement his legacy; can you think of another pro wrestler whose name is a verb in wrestling circle?   I mean everyone at least once has asked someone to Orndorff another guy

 

In that context, I'm assuming to "Orndorff" is to mercilessly pummel a dude while wearing flip flops?

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5 minutes ago, Technico Support said:

In that context, I'm assuming to "Orndorff" is to mercilessly pummel a dude while wearing flip flops?

It would have been better that way but I consider "to Orndorff someone" is to turn heel by attacking your partner/friend while you are shaking their hand or more precisely raise their hand in victory

Usually when I look for that it is because the person getting turned on frankly deserves it.   Like Hogan did

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I was a big fan of Mr Wonderful in the 90's. I thought he was a legit badass in my pre-internet days. He even made me like Paul Roma! 

His whole look was excellent. His robe was on par with Valentine & Flair's.

He would have made a badass Horseman.

Edited by Wyld Samurai
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When I did my re-watch of the Manias, I wanted to see things from matches I hadn't seen/noticed before.  So, to that end, I'd never realized Paul Orndorff is the MVP of the Mania 1 main event.  

He has to walk a literal first-timer through a heat segment, sell for everyone, do the job, AND do a post-match angle that would eventually lead to his face turn -- all amid the absolute chaos that was that match. Oh, right, and the company's entire future depended on this match.  You can see how good a professional he was, because you never doubted any of it for a second. 

I think that's about as good a tribute as I can say for the man.  RIP Mr. #1derful.

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Paul Orndorff was arguably the first wrestler to be the focal point in school for me back in the day. His turning on Hulk Hogan was the talk of the sixth grade for at least two days. 

Simply great at what he did, both as a heel and babyface. Part of me wished he had some sort of title run in the WWF (either World or IC), but he didn't need it. He was that over.

Dolfan makes a great point about Orndorff being the MVP of the WM1 main event. He's the forgotten man in some sorts (and, depending on who you hear it from, may not have been in the match in the first place if David Schulz wasn't fired), but he was the glue that kept the match together and did a great job carrying Mr. T (who, to his credit, was not a slouch) into an acceptable match.

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Everything he did was so believable and done with such energy. One of my low key favorite matches was him and Steve Williams in Abrams UWF.

He and Sting are two examples of not being wrestling fans doesn't mean you can't excel at it.

RIP Mr. Orndorff.

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2 hours ago, For Great Justice said:

Paul's elbow is the best version of the People's Elbow / Worm / Five Knuckle Shuffle / whatever

Yo, I was just watching the Nitro where he starts his aborted face turn and feud with the Horsemen that is maybe top five on my all-time "I wish we got to see this angle play out" list, and the match prior to it is against Disco (starts at the move in question):

I hit replay on this elbow about ten times, no lie, and then once the match/angle was over, sadly thought about how sick Orndorff looked when his son posted some video a couple weeks back. 

Man, all I can say is that in tribute to Orndorff's awesomeness, I will post this elbow for others to enjoy and probably talk about how much I enjoyed this man's career in the Nitro update that I post. 

Edited by SirSmellingtonofCascadia
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1 hour ago, SirSmellingtonofCascadia said:

Yo, I was just watching the Nitro where he starts his aborted face turn and feud with the Horsemen that is maybe top five on my all-time "I wish we got to see this angle play out" list, and the match prior to it is against Disco (starts at the move in question):

I hit replay on this elbow about ten times, no lie, and then once the match/angle was over, sadly thought about how sick Orndorff looked when his son posted some video a couple weeks back. 

Man, all I can say is that in tribute to Orndorff's awesomeness, I will post this elbow for others to enjoy and probably talk about how much I enjoyed this man's career in the Nitro update that I post. 

There is a different Paul/disco match with Paul doing the mirror gimmick,  disco starts fixing his hair over Paul's shoulder, Paul figures it out and starts beating his ass.

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