10 FIERCEST Online Wrestling Rivalries

4. Rip Rogers Vs. Modern Wrestling

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Twitter (@Hustler2754)

Rip Rogers commanded - past tense - a level of respect from a wrestling industry he in a not inconsiderable capacity shaped for the better; lending a hand in the training of several awesome talents (Batista, Brock Lesnar to name two), Rogers now lives his old apoplectic gimmick by going apesh*t on virtually all of pro wrestling all of the time.

Indy wrestling is just dives and flippy floppy sequences! he rages. And, most recently/hilariously, wrestlers shouldn't wear kickpads, if they wish to hurt their opponents. Proving definitively that the industry has passed him by, we've seen enough grisly incidents from the world of MMA to know that it is not a self-defeating aesthetic choice. With the influence of MMA imported to pro wrestling, it makes sense in the kayfabe Rogers is so keen to uphold. The idea is to protect yourself from from your opponent as much as it is to hurt them, and snapping one's fibula sort of undermines that.

Rogers is a perpetually angry caveman, and it would all be a bit tiresome, if the pile-ons weren't so entertaining. X-Pac used beautiful economy, the very essence of fact, to go over him: "It's to protect your shins, Rip," he responded to a man who tried to draw on realism (!) to win the day.

Who Would Win: The guys who make it look fake, ironically.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!