Silly Little Guys Who Didn't Belong In WWE ?
1. Ronnie Garvin
For younger fans or those that grew up exclusively on WWE, Rugged Ronnie Garvin is little more than a footnote wrestler from a bygone time. He was, for a while, substantially more controversial than that.
After a serviceable career for Jim Crocket Promotions without ever really troubling the top of the card, Garvin won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship out of nowhere in a move of mutual convenience for both promotion and performer. With WWE running their inaugural Survivor Series in opposition to Starrcade 1987, JCP wanted a Flair title win to headline. As 'The Nature Boy's rival at the time, and sensing that this was probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Garvin agreed to take the gold just to be the fall guy.
Belts and titles simply aren't comparable over the generations, but this marriage of convenience could perhaps be likened to WWE's Jinder Mahal experiment in 2017. Unlike that abomination, this was short and had good matches, and Garvin was on WWE's radar in the aftermath.
The man with "hands of stone" gamely attempting some Sports Entertainment brought about some wonky results. Across his 1988-1990 run he feuded almost exclusively with Greg Valentine, serving an enforced retirement, spending time as a babyface referee that broke the rules, and eventually pulling wacky faces in the payoff match that etched his place wrestling meme lore. And actually, why not celebrate that? There are far worse WWE legacies to have than a silly little one such as this.