The Underrateds

So for the hell of it, I've decided to compile a very short list of characters who I feel are underrated. Not necessarily held back, or even underappreciated, but by underrated I mean undervalued. All of the guys I'm about to name are currently being pushed, and their league presidents might even have plans to strap them, who knows? But these are the guys you don't normally see on top 10 lists, aren't usually league champions, or are up and comers who you don't hear much about. Ok Billy, shut up and list them already:

Anarky- This guy has been around a long ass time, and certainly has a number of FW achievements to his name. He's currently involved in one of the top, if not the top storyline in EPW and is right under their biggest show's marquee. Anarky has probably received a big push in every league he's been in, and/or held some sort of title. That said, he's still underrated, which tells you how highly I think of this character. From what I've seen, Anarky never really had a chance to run with a major league's top title (unless I missed something, which is entirely possible given the amount of time I was out of FW). He's one of the very few FW characters that I think would actually get over in real life pro wrestling; just an all around cool fucking gimmick. From what I've read, his RP threads usually bring out the best in his opponents, and the angles he's involved in always seem to get over big. He's consistent too, which is what you want in a top guy. The motherfucker also uses "More Human Than Human" as a theme song, which also happens to be Problem Child's theme, but I'll let that slide due to the fact that he's a much better character! A while back, Shane Southern and Michael Manson were the prime examples of over characters who hadn't yet gotten world title runs. Today, I'd say Anarky is the new example. Do not judge him by his last RP, in which he presumably off'd a hooker Patrick Bateman style; deadline RPs usually spell bad news for ladies of the night. Will somebody give this guy the ball already!

Shawn Hart- Here's another guy who's certainly had his share of success, has virtually been all over the FW map, but still in my mind is undervalued. Normally I frown upon characters whose names make reference to real life pro wrestling, but Shawn Hart is just Shawn Hart, you can't help but laugh. If he had a tag partner named Bret Michaels, he'd be set for life. Despite having been around for a long time, he's always doing something fresh and funny. All too often he's someone else's sidekick, whereas I'd like to see more leagues use him in more of a Shawn Michaels "I'm the man" capacity. He's been a top guy before, no doubt, but it should be more of a regular occurence. I RP'd against him recently with Layne Winters, and he definitely brought out the best in my new character. The thread was just a really solid back and forth exchange, and win or lose it was definitely enjoyable for me.

Born Again- This guy is extremely new, and is feuding with J1D for the LVW Championship Title, so it's not like he's really even being undervalued. But I'm sure very few outside of LVW's roster have heard of him, and I hope more start paying attention. The guy has mega-heel potential written all over him, and our feud is going to be really fun. Born Again is a good example of LVW's fresh, high quality roster. I really wish the roster wasn't being exceptionally lazy with the RPing right now, because the league is very unique, not to mention the cards actually come out early! It reminds me of an old league my friend Rob Leland once ran on Prodigy, called FSW (Future Stars of Wrestling). The roster wasn't just made up of new characters, but new handlers as well, and the cardwriting was high quality and never late. Many leagues have attempted attain a sort of "ECW environment" but I think LVW truly has that underground feel to it. Shit, wasn't I talking about Born Again? It's hard not to link him with LVW, since I think characters like him, J1D (shameless self-promotion!), 7-10 Hudgins, Olvir, and Jimmy Donovan are the face of the Vegas promotion right now.

The First- Mike Stanton, First's handler, has collected more FW World Titles than he knows what to do with, so it's not like he'd be forced to walk in the shadows of E-Fed shame for all eternity if First was relegated to being James Varga's water boy or something. But what can I say? First is another homerun. He's a total departure from Bloodhunt, the way Bloodhunt was a total departure from Carlos Canyeta, the way Canyeta was a total departure from Doc Silver, the way Doc's choice of music was/is a total departure from good taste. First has the whole Jeff Hardy feel to him, and could probably be plugged into any top storyline and fit right in. Again, like every other character I've thus far mentioned, First is being pushed, so there's no real gripe here.

Impulse- Man, between Impulse, The First, Joe the Plumber, Felix Red, JA, J1D (plug #2!), etc., every league seems to be headlined by faces! Wow, what the fuck happened to the days when everyone and their mother RP'd a wicked heel? I remember back when Shane Southern's stock was soaring faster than China's GDP due to the fact that quality faces were few and far between. Now, there are so many faces that even Shane Southern retired as a heel! Thank God for the Sean Stevens' of the FW universe, otherwise everybody would just get along fine. Anyway, back to Impulse. He's not just your run of the mill good guy, he's a face with serious depth. Impulse isn't the type of face who needs a big heel to put him over, but just the opposite. Plus, he gets points for having a very odd style of RP that works all the same. Keep your eye on this NFW gem!

Oh God, Dave Brunk must be reading this thinking, "Half your list is from EPW you little bitch. What the fuck are you trying to say?!?!" No Brunk, it ain't like that I promise! It's more of a compliment to EPW that they have a bunch of characters who could be fit into the top spots at any time. The league will stay fresh for a long time as a result. Please don't force me to languish in the undercard because of this blog, I BEG OF YOU!!!!!!!!!!!

Sidenote: If I read one more blog that uses the tired phrase "Blogga please!" I'm gonna fucking strangle that person with an aborted fetus. Seriously, this is not a joke. I will reign upon you with the fury of Odin you motherfucker. I will hire a drunken band of hard-living Irish Americans to track you down and stomp a Boston mudhole in your ass. So be warned!