Bruce Prichard comments on WWE Superstars of today that he believes would have found the same level of success during the 1980s.
In the 1980s, the World Wrestling Federation went through a boom period. Led by Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, and others, the WWE was a phenomenon during the latter half of the decade. So much has changed in today's WWE. No longer are there one-hour syndicated television shows consisting mostly of enhancement matches, nor is the live event market the primary determining factor of success for any promotion. However, Bruce Prichard believes several of today's top Superstars would have also thrived in that era.
Speaking on the most recent episode of his Something to Wrestle podcast, the former Brother Love shouted out Cody Rhodes, Seth Rollins, Damian Priest, and Gunther as names who'd fit the era of Hulkamania.
"Oh, quite a few. I think that a guy like Damian Priest. I think a guy like Gunther, Cody. I think they all would have thrived at that time. Seth Rollins, please. I think that quite a few would have thrived and been huge in the '80s."
On the other hand, when discussing names that were huge in the 1980s and could have been big deals today, Bruce Prichard cited Shawn Michaels, Randy Savage, and Hulk Hogan.
"To move the 80s into today, I think you would have to look at guys like Shawn Michaels. I think Randy Savage, absolutely. Frankly, Hulk Hogan [would be a] megastar no matter where you put Hulk Hogan, and I think you would have thrived now as he did then."
Bruce Prichard also expressed uncertainty regarding whether or not names like Bam Bam Bigelow and Ricky Steamboat would have made it in today's era. Specifically, Prichard believes that Bigelow had a career mostly built around untapped potential and that Steamboat might not have been able to tap into the character needed to thrive today.
"Some can argue that Bigelow never really worked in any time. I think, a lot of times, and this is going to cause a lot of controversy, I'm sure, because I love Scott, man, I am a huge fan of his personal life, but I think that Bigelow, much like Lex Luger, had a career on potential and the potential of a Bam Bam Bigelow and what he could have been to me, I don't think that Scott ever reached his true potential," he said.
"The only one that I don't think would have survived would be Steamboat, probably," said Bruce after Conrad Thompson mentioned Ricky Steamboat, Rick Rude, and Tully Blanchard as potential examples of people who would have thrived in today's era. "From this vantage point: Personality-wise. I don't know that Ricky would have had a strong enough personality to be able to go out and cut these promos each and every week. In the ring? Forget about it. He would do great. Rick Rude? Please, Rick Rude would be awesome.
Bruce Prichard is currently working in creative at WWE. Several years ago, he was named executive director of both WWE Raw and WWE Friday Night SmackDown. Learn more here.
Gunther and Cody Rhodes will be meeting one-on-one in the main event of WWE Crown Jewel on November 2. Learn more about that upcoming card here.
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