Bonus Drive Thru: Jim Cornette on Overachievers & Underachievers 

LOL! LIKE A WHALE, NO BONE STRUCTURE! I love Mick, Cactus is one of my favorite wrestlers of all time.

I remember "Dead & Bloated" by STP. That's the name of the song, all right. Corny even got the guitar riff right.

Buddy Landell is the best example of such to me.

I agree 100% with Cornette's assessment of Mick Foley. 👍

I look forward to these so much. Thanks for the great work guys.

I grew up across the street from the guy who asked this question, Eric Dorris. We were all watching wrestling inn the early 80's. I'm 47 now.

Eddie Gilbert, Shane Douglas and Raven are the very definition of underachievers. Foley, Mikey Whipwreck, Dusty, Vader and Jake are classic cases of overachievers.

Eddie Gilbert was married to Missy Hyatt in her prime and Medusa prework when she was a 20 on a scale of one to ten, so that’s a real overachiever.

Dusty vs. Tully in 1985 showed that Dusty had athletic ability . . . .

I love listening to Jim Cornette. He's funny as hell. I'd have never thought he was so funny as much as i hated him in the 80s.

Bobby eaton and buddy rose as overachievers and paul roma and tom zenk as underachievers

Sid Vicious: underachieving

Ric Flair, you could argue was an overachiever, due to the fact that he started out as an overweight power wrestler, who was in a plane crash who stayed with it, worked his ass off, completely changed his body type, his wrestling style, and invented the character that would become the Ric Flair we all came to love and hate.

I feel like Davey Boy Smith as a single really underachieved, always felt that he would've been a better champ than Diesel

The biggest over-achiever in wrestling surely must be Billy Kidman (Torrie Wilson)

Barry horawitz overachiever but underrated

Tom Magee in the movie Stone Cold with Brian Bosworth looked like a Super sized Kenny Omega.

The title is a bit difficult because it implies they didn't work hard enough or worked to hard. But underachiever in the sense discussed: Teddy Hart and Shelton Benjamin. Teddy goofs himself over and Vince has just never seen Shelton's worth

I felt that Test couldve had a big future and even though he won the belt I thought Christian shouldbe had a better and more successful career.

The night before a WWF house show at the Catholic Youth Center (CYC) in Scranton, PA, I saw Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart downtown at Rocky's Lounge. I went over to talk to him, and he introduced me to Megaman. I talked to him for a few minutes. I saw him wrestle the next night. I was impressed, and kept an eye out for him on TV, but that never happened.

Looking back at Memphis now, Eddie Gilbert reminds me do much if young Jerry Lawler. Listen to his promos he even sounds like heel Lawler. Rip Eddie Gilbert.

Jerry Lawler really never went to the gym. I always assumed he might have at least worked out a little bit, I mean he was not muscular but at the same time he wasn't really that scrawny either.

Underachiever list needs Barry Wyndham. He was a project of his generation though. One of the best. He just didn't want it. His nephew on the other hand wants it but backstage politics killed his push. Same way they did Cesaro.

Biggest underachiever - Brad Armstrong. Change my mind.

Underachiever. The Dynamite Kid. When Bret Hart says your the best wrestler he's ever been in the ring with that's high praise.

Dusty was an underachiever. If he'd lost weight and muscled up combined with his charisma and promos he'd have been an even bigger deal.

Chris Adams was an underachiever ... Tommy Rich is an underachiever despite having been NWA champion ...

Despite all his achievements, my current example for an underachiever is Randy Orton. No wrestler, except maybe The Rock, had so much going for him from the start. Distinctive good looks, great body, natural athleticism, natural in-ring intelligence and psychology, strong promo skill, wrestling pedigree, the "it" factor. Even his gimmicks (Legend Killer, Apex Predator) were good. I always thought if he had the ambition and work ethic of The Rock or John Cena, he would have been an all time great and top draw. Still could be I guess but it's doubtful.

I actually saw Scottie McGee at a house show in Jersey.

I'd say when sid was in the ring with the steiners he got hurt.

According to Arn's book Zenk was the biggest underachiever. I have to agree, he was a great athlete, muscular, and was handsome. However, he never really made it.

Eric Embry was an over achiever had a ton of heat for a chubby no body guy

Thanks for the laugh at 1:05-1:08 Corny I needed that today

Ironic, because they were trained together, but Mick Foley and Shane Douglas were the prototypical over and underachievers. Mick had lower mid-card heel written all over him, but his humor and passion for the business allowed him to connect with the fans in a special way and he became an icon. People really did tag Shane as the next Ric Flair. He had the look, the promo, the work, and the brains, but his career was just marred by so much conflict with everyone that he couldn't land in one place and get over.

The Mulkey brothers could have done a lot more

The massage guy that Jim talked about was also Sub-Zero in the original Mortal Kombat movie.

Brian Danielson is definitely an over achiever

Tom McGee was the very definition of million dollar body, two cent brain. He was a beast physically but just couldn't work worth a squat

I remember the McGee match with Arn Anderson not being too horrible. But Arn could have a serviceable match with a broomstick back then (and outside of the Renegade, for most of his career).

Vader could have achieved more in WWF no doubt, had Shawn Michaels not politiced him out of the title and eventually out of the company. But at least he held the WCW title.

I remember reading about m

Overachiever : Arn Anderson

Perc Angle too !

Cactus jack was the best overachiever. Lawler was a great talker.

This is long, so if you don't want to read it....scroll on by, if not I got a couple of stories regarding two underachievers, one about Tom McGee & the other about Al Perez. Tom McGee went to All Japan Pro Wrestling in the mid to late 1980's, after his matches with Bret Hart & Ted Dibiase in the WWF, that he gained buzz from. He had worked with one of the top 20 guys in pro wrestling at the time, Riki Choshu. Choshu also made McGee look great at some instances, but when Tom McGee had to do things without Riki Choshu's help...he flopped. McGee needed to have either worked in the territory days, where he could have worked night in and night out at house shows to develop his in ring skills. Or in today's pro wrestling world, where someone with his look and athleticism would have gotten over in a heartbeat and used somehow. Also, before Brian Last got cut off and it was not brought up again.....Al Perez. Al Perez was a major underachiever. He was great in the dying days of World Class Wrestling Association, due to the tutelage of Gary Hart. And when Gary Hart brought him to WCW with him in 1988, i believe, Perez had a chance to really get over and become a star. Al Perez had a great look, he was a very good worker in the ring, and he had Gary Hart as both his manager in the ring, but outside the ring....and to politic for him in WCW, because Hart had a lot of clout with management in WCW. But Perez screwed himself when he decided that during a match with Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, he was going to go into business for himself and shoot on Flair for the title. Hart found out and told him that even though they were friends that he could not stand by and let Perez do that. Perez refused so Hart had to tell management. Perez was told not to show for the card, and was fired by WCW. And was blackballed ever since.

I feel like Barry Windham has to be an under-achiever. He had a great look, exceptional athleticism, and in his prime he was the best worker in the world. He was limited as a talker, but if he'd have had the desire of a Dusty Rhodes, Ric Flair, DDP, etc there isn't much he couldn't have done in wrestling.

Wow,,,,he said Mike Maghee.....That's an archive for real

Funny as Sh**!

Like people who underachieved because of their time in the business. Piper for instance. It can be said he's one that "didn't need" the top. Think if he had been out in the time of Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels, instead of being in the era of Hogan politics.

McGee in Bret Hart's autobiography and I remember him saying that Piper chastised him for it as Piper told him as great as he made him look it did nothing for Bret at that point and no would thank him for making McGee look that good

Kanyon,Billy Gunn ,Chuck Palumbo

Del Rios underachiever so was Al Perez

I'd go with Teddy Hart as the underachiever! He's not even a average/big name on the indy scene when he had pretty much everything for him included a wwe contract at one point. As for overachiever, I'd put on the same level a guy who works his ass to get over without the body and a guy who works his ass off to get the body. So all in all i'd go with Ric Flair who had a very long and amazing carreer in spite of being in a plane crash and having serious back damages early in his life.

If my memory serves me right, wasn't Tom Magee the first choice for what became the Ultimate Warrior gimmick? I do have to say he and Warrior had very similar physical appearances.

I kind of have to say Steamboat is an underachiever. I know he had titles and great matches. However, with his body, charisma, athleticism, and working ability he should have been an all time great on the levels of Shawn, Bret, Flair, Sting, etc. I know he took time off and most of it was for legit reasons like his wife being pregnant. In his DVD they said that he wasn't willing to give it all up to be a huge star. Plus, his family man gimmick hurt him to. He was great, but he was a notch or 2 below the top tier.

I will agree with jim on tom "megaman" mcgee. He looked amazing and had the look but wwe has his tape with bret and now they have it available for viewing. His match with bret was amazing but only because bret led him by the hand thru out the whole match. Basically planned out everything he and megaman was gunna do and he got him over. Enough vince thought he was the guy, not knowing the other guy in the ring was the real f'ing deal.

How bad was "Big John," Jim?

Mike Awesome was an under achiever. Awesome had everything and his run with WWF was so short it's not worth remembering and his WCW run as That 70s guy was a joke. Mike Awesome seemed like he was tailor built for WWE and like someone who should've thrived after the attitude era but sadly nothing came of it.

Raven overachieved

you could argue Jake could be on either list

Bryan Danielson has to arguably be the biggest overachiever in modern wrestling history.

Getting Injured in the Car Accident in 83-84 During a Stint in the WWF Has as Much to Do with Eddie's Limitations in the Business as Anything Else

Mr Kennedy is one more recent underachiever. He got booted from the WWE because of his botched move on Orton, steriod scandal, and his sheer assholery in the lockeroom. Even though he was a great in the ring and very entertaining and loved the Mr Kennedy character.

I thought kevin kelly who later became nailz when he was in awa might be groomed to be champion but he had very short run there.

Underachievers... NWA wrestling Overachievers.... NWA rap group.

Doug Gilbert is a guy who severely underachieved. I mean people talk about Eddie. But it seems like people have forgotten about Doug.

I feel like Bret Hart was an overachiever. He was a great mechanic, but was he really the megastar?

what about john Tatum, and mike rotundo

jake roberts

Bill Dundee overachiever

McGhee Was a Noted Bodybuilder & Power-Lifter with Some Gymnastics & Martial Arts Skills ... Probably Not Passionate About the Wrestling Business or Not Having the Mindset or Charisma Hurt Him ...

hahaha jim cornette listening to stp

id like to hear cornette's thought of when chad wicks and tank toland became the dicks in wwe that gimmick was dead on arrival.

Rhyno under achieving guy

Sean O'Haire.

Magee was good but not the Ultimate Warrior he pranced around the mat too much...

🎾🤓

Tommy Rich may be the number 1 overachiever

i have watched the very few Tom Magee clips and matches i can find recently, the comments always say he was a terrible wrestler but as far as i can tell "no expert" he seemed fine. he had a great physique and was very nimble and athletic. but as far as i can tell in matches and interviews old and pretty new the guy has zero personality or charisma and not enough to sell when in the ring. also his face sort of didnt match his body, almost a weirdly sort of effeminate and slight looking facial structure.

Russ McCaullaugh is 7 foot tall...and you can't...teach...that!

Tom Magee was a genetic freak .... But so was Giant Gonzalez .....

well, us millennials dont understand the value of body hair in the late 1970s.

Biggest underachiever in the industry? yours Truly, 3 failed attempts and one good run like the midnight rider of managers who bump! LMAO! thank You, go to PAPW TV and CenterRing316