Characters / WWE - Rock 'N Wrestling Era

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Lists the various WWE wrestlers active during the Rock 'N' Wrestling Era, from January 23, 1984 through April 4, 1993. Please limit associated tropes to that wrestler's time in WWE.

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A

Arn Anderson (Marty Lunde) 1988-1989, 2001-2019

See also: The Four Horsemen

B

The Barbarian/Headshrinker Sionne (Sionne Vailahi) 1988-1992, 1994-1995

"Outlaw" Ron Bass (Ronald Herd) 1987-1989

Brutus Beefcake (Edward Harrison Leslie) 1984-1993

The Berzerker (John Nord) 1991-1993

The Big Bossman (Raymond Walter "Ray" Traylor, Jr.) 1988-1993, 1998-2003

See also: The Corporation

Bam Bam Bigelow (Scott Charles Bigelow) 1987-1988, 1992-1995

B. Brian Blair 1984-1988

• Cool Mask: As one of the Killer Bees tag team

Tully Blanchard (Tully Arthur Blanchard) 1988-1989, 2006

See also: The Four Horsemen

The British Bulldog (David "Davey" Boy Smith) 1984-1988, 1990-1992, 1994-1997, 1999-2000

"Jumpin'" Jim Brunzell 1984-1993

• Cool Mask: As one of the Killer Bees tag team

King Kong Bundy (Chris Pallies) 1985-1987, 1994-1995

Big Bully Busick (Nick Busick) 1991

• Finishing Move: The Stump Puller.
• Handicapped Badass: Unknowingly wrestled all of his matches during his WWF tenure with a condition that caused his heart to beat irregularly and rapidly.
• Jerkass: He'd antagonize kids at ringside and even got in the face of ring announcer Mike McGuirk until Sid Justice made the save.
• The Roaring '20s: His gimmick was a throwback to that era.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: He made his TV debut in August and left in November.
• Ur-Example: The first wrestler managed by Dr. Harvey Wippleman.

C

Cousin Junior (Lanny Kean) 1984-1985

• Farm Boy
• Finishing Move: Mule Kick
• Parts Unknown: "Pigeon Forge, KY"
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here/Real Life Writes the Plot: Walked out once he started making some money, although a variety of other theories have been floated as well. Hillbilly Jim has since said that Kean "went crazy." George "The Animal" Steele claimed that Kean felt that he had made enough money and so he retired.
• Unrelated Wrestling Family: With Uncle Elmer, Hillbilly Jim and Cousin Luke

Cousin Luke (Gene Petit) 1985-1987

• Arch-Enemy: "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, "Cowboy" Bob Orton Jr.
• Farm Boy
• Finishing Move: Mule Kick
• Game-Breaking Injury: A broken ankle kept him out of the WrestleMania 2 battle royal.
• Parts Unknown: "Hogwaller, TN"
• Suspiciously Similar Substitute: For Cousin Junior
• Unrelated Wrestling Family: With Uncle Elmer, Hillbilly Jim and Cousin Junior
• The Voiceless

D

"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan (James Edward Duggan) 1987-1993, 2005-2009

Dynamite Kid (Thomas "Tom" Billington) 1984-1988

E

Earthquake/Golga (John Anthony Tenta) 1989-1993, 1994, 1998-1999

F

Ric Flair (Richard Morgan "Ric" Fliehr) 1991-1993, 2001-2009, 2012-

See also: The Four Horsemen and Evolution.

G

Duane Gill/Gillberg (Duane Gill) 1991-1994, 1998-2000, 2003, 2007, 2017

See also: The J.O.B. Squad

H

Haku (Tonga 'Uli'uli Fifita) 1985-1992, 2001

Bret Hart (Bret Sergeant Hart) 1984-1997, 2010

Owen Hart (Owen James Hart) 1988-1989, 1991-1999

Hercules Hernandez (Raymond "Ray" Fernandez) 1985-1992

Hillbilly Jim (Jim Morris) 1984-1997

The Honky Tonk Man (Roy Wayne Farris) 1986-1991, 1997–1998, 2001, 2008

J

Marty Jannetty (Frederick Marty Jannetty) 1987, 1988-1992, 1992-1994, 1995-1996, 2005-2007, 2009

Junkyard Dog (Sylvester Ritter) 1984-1988

K

Kamala the Ugandan Giant (James Harper Harris), 1984, 1986-1987, 1992-1993

Corporal Kirchner (Mike Kirchner) 1986-1987

• All-American Face
• Always Second Best: He couldn't be ranked higher than "Corporal" because of Sgt. Slaughter.
• Finishing Move: Airborne Slam
• Unnecessary Roughness: Other wrestlers didn't want to work with him because they thought he was too stiff.
• Yanks with Tanks: Did a U.S. Army gimmick.

M

Shawn Michaels (Michael Shawn Hickenbottom) 1988-2010, 2018

See also: The Kliq, D-Generation X, The Corporation and New World Order.

The Missing Link (Byron James John Robertson) 1985

Max Moon (Thomas Boric) 1992-1993

• Alliterative Name: Max Moon. The gimmick was originally named The Komet Kid.
• Awesome, but Impractical: He had an elaborate entrance, which did nothing to get him over.
• Cool Mask: Averted. Look at the picture.
• Jet Pack: He had one, didn't help him much.
• Jobber: The only guys he beat clean were people positioned lower than himself.
• Mythology Gag: He was in the opening match of the first ever WWE RAW against Shawn Michaels. They had been tag partners in San Antonio as The American Force.
• Parts Unknown: "Outer Space"
• Tag Team: He was previously Kato of The Orient Express with Pat Tanaka.

The Mountie (Jacques Rougeau Jr.) 1986-1994, 1998

N

Nailz (Kevin Wacholz) 1992

An ex-convict who, in a series of early 1992 promos, alleged that Big Bossman abused him during his time in prison. He would later debut on an episode of WWF Superstars Of Wrestling, where he would beat up Big Bossman using his very own nightstick and start a feud with him.

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• Arch-Enemy: Big Bossman, who he claimed had abused Nailz during his time as a prison guard. Fittingly enough, his in-ring debut was an ambush that turned into a brutal beating of Bossman.
• Ax-Crazy: His time in prison was not kind to him. Nailz always
• Cassandra Truth: His claims that Bossman was an evil, abusive prick based on how he treated him in his time behind bars fell completely on deaf ears at the time despite Bossman saying nothing to deny them. Years later, Bossman took part in the Attitude Era as Vince McMahon's corrupt SWAT enforcer and pretty much proved he was capable of everything Nailz claimed.
• Catchphrase: "Who's the boss now, Boss Man?!"
• Finishing Move: Strangle Sleeper.
• Institutional Apparel: Despite being released from prison, Nailz still wore his prisoner uniform at all times.
• Large Ham: Even by wrestling standards. Nailz would scream/growl every line of dialogue while often frothing at the mouth.
• Unstoppable Rage: His debut took the form of this. Angered at the Big Bossman's crimes against him, he would beat the ever-loving hell out of him and choke him out with his own nightstick.

Jim Neidhart 1985-1992, 1994-1997, 2007

The One Man Gang/Akeem (George Gray) 1987-1990

"Cowboy" Bob Orton 1981-1983, 1984-1987, 1989, 2005-2006

Outback Jack (Peter Stilsbury) 1986-1988

• Australia
• Captain Ersatz/No Celebrities Were Harmed: For "Crocodile" Dundee.
• Demoted to Extra/Jobber: He'd beat the lower ranked guys but lose to more significant guys.
• Finishing Move: Boomerang clothesline
• Land Down Under
• Toothy Issue

P

"Rowdy" Roddy Piper (Roderick George "Roddy" Toombs) 1984-1996, 2003, 2005-2015

"Leaping" Lanny Poffo/The Genius (Lanny Mark Poffo) 1985-1992

Jim Powers (James Manley) 1984-1993

• Jobber: Became this after the breakup of the Young Stallions.
• Tag Team: The Young Stallions with Paul Roma.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Teamed with Paul Roma as the Young Stallions from 1987 to 1989 despite the two hating each other backstage.
• Underwear of Power

R

Harley Race 1986-1989

Razor Ramon/Scott Hall (Scott Oliver Hall) 1992-1996, 2002, 2015

See also: The Kliq and New World Order.

Dustin Rhodes/Goldust (Dustin Patrick Runnels) 1990-1991, 1995-1999, 2001-2003, 2005-2006, 2008-2012, 2013-2019

Dusty Rhodes (Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr.) 1989-1991, 2005-2007, 2009-2015

Jake "The Snake" Roberts (Aurelian Smith, Jr.) 1986-1992, 1996-1997

The Red Rooster/Terry Taylor (Paul William Taylor III) 1988-1990, 1992-1993

• Alliterative Name: Both of them
• Animal Motif: Take a guess.
• Arch-Enemy: The Brooklyn Brawler, after his face turn.
• Catchphrase: "Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
• Finishing Move: Cock of the Walk (Scorpion Lock), Rooster Wing (Elevated belly to back hammerlock)
• Jobber/Joke Character: Bobby Heenan said that he was just a "little red rooster" and his name wasn't important.
• Power Stable: The Heenan Family

Mike Rotunda/Irwin R. Schyster (Lawrence Michael "Mike" Rotunda) 1984-1987, 1991-1995

Raymond "Ray" Rougeau 1986-2002, 2017-

• Action Survivor: Worked as both an interviewer and the play-by-play announcer for the French syndicated WWF programming distributed to Quebec, Europe, and Africa from 1991-2002, and as part of WWE's French announce team from 2017 onwards.
• Alliterative Name
• Foreign Wrestling Heel
• Sibling Team: With his younger brother Jacques as the Fabulous Rougeau Brothers.

Rick Rude (Richard Erwin "Rick" Rood) 1987-1990, 1997

See also: D-Generation X.

S

"Macho Man" Randy Savage (Randall Mario "Randy" Poffo) 1985-1994

See also: The Mega Powers

Buzz Sawyer (Bruce Woyan) 1984

Sid Justice/Sycho Sid (Sidney Raymond "Sid" Eudy) 1991-1992, 1995-1997, 2012

Skinner (Stephen Paul "Steve" Keirn) 1991-1993, 2007-

• Improvised Weapon: Skinner's use of an alligator claw.
• Retired Badass: Now works as the President of NXT Wrestling (formally Florida Championship Wrestling), WWE's developmental league.
• Squash Match: Was on the wrong side of one against Owen Hart at WrestleMania VIII.
• Wrestling Doesn't Pay: A wrestling alligator hunter, then a wrestling clown as Doink.
• Wrestling Family: Well, almost. Keirn's son Cory had three matches in FCW in 2007 and left wrestling right after.

Dan Spivey/Waylon Mercy 1985-1988, 1995

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat (Richard Henry Blood, Sr.) 1985-1988, 1991, 2009

Scott Steiner (Scott Carl Rechsteiner) 1992-1994, 2002-2004

T

The Tonga Kid/Islander Tama (Samuel Larry Anoa'i Fatu) 1984-1988

U

The Ultimate Warrior (Warrior FKA James Brian Hellwig) 1987-1992, 1996

Uncle Elmer (Stan Frazier) 1985-1986

The Undertaker (Mark William Callaway) 1990-2020

See also: Ministry of Darkness

V

Mad Dog Vachon (Maurice Vachon) 1984-1985

• Awesome Moment of Crowning: Inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2010.
• Heel–Face Turn: After decades of being a Heel he was a Face for his short run with the company before he retired.
• Ring Oldies: Was still wrestling at 55.
• Wrestling Family: Brother of wrestlers Paul and Vivian Vachon, and the uncle of wrestler Luna Vachon.

Virgil (Mike Jones) 1987-1994, 2010

Kerry Von Erich (Kerry Gene Adkisson) 1990-1992

W

Koko B. Ware (James Ware) 1986-1994

Barry Windham (Barry Clinton Windham) 1984–1985, 1989, 1996-1998

Y

Yokozuna (Rodney Agatupu Anoa'i) 1992-1996

See also: Samoan Dynasty

Z

Tom Zenk (Thomas Erwin Zenk) 1986-1987

Zeus (Thomas "Tiny" Lister, Jr.) 1989

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