Give me your top fives...

[irishred]

So just wondering who others see as greats. Give me your top five handlers and charecters.

Here are mine...

Handlers.

1. Dan West (Spoiler, Chip Friendly, Professor Tremendous, Big Gay Bruce, 18,000,000 other charecters)

2. Bill Dempsey-Freakfish, Mr. Amazing, Slambo the Clown, Whitenoise and 8,000,000 others.

3. Roger Albrecht-Housefly, Haven, Eddie Weston, Damon Blackburn

4. Tom Holzerman (JA, Maggot, The Anonymous clan, Capt Sulemoin (sp) and 20,000,000 others)

5. Dave Brunk (Dan Ryan)

Charecters

1. Professor Tremendous

2. Whitenoise

3. Mango

4. Maggot

5. James Irish

Now share yours. That's how the game is played.

 

[Linguistic]

Here's from my limited experience:


Handlers

1. Dave Brunk
2. Tom Holzerman
3. Dan West
4. Lindsay (Lindsay Troy... forgot her last name but I think it's something like Bracas... sorry!)
5. Bill Dempsey

Characters

1. Slambo The Clown
2. Dan Ryan
3. Mr. Amazing
4. Irishred
5. "Phenomenal" Frankie Scott


Josh

 

[TH]

All-time handlers

Dan West, Bill Dempsey, Gregg Gethard, Roger Albrecht and Dave Brunk/Jon Katz/Steve Thomas (three way tie )

Right now...

West - Still performing at a high level, even though he doesn't have the gold to show for it until recently at least in A1E. Four feds and he's a dependable, creative and productive member of all.

Seth Silviera - The heart and soul of ACW. Seriously, no one has the passion for the hobby of those I've seen. I mean, he gets passionate over jobber tournaments. Any fed would be lucky to have him as a handler.

Karl Brown - He's a workhorse, and quietly, he's built himself an impressive resume. No one thought he was going to walk away with the TEAM Tournament, let alone take two characters to the semifinals of said tournament, plus he's the EPW IC Champ and a World Title contender, plus he's building along Mr. E finely in NEW. Any discussion of great handlers has to include Karl, and I think we're at a point where he's no longer FW's best kept secret.

Michael McNichols - I used to be on the fence about Manson as a character until this season in NFW when I saw the things he was doing. Add that to the dedication he puts into the East putting other characters over and making it the most underrated (half?)-fed in all of e-wrestling, and you get someone who deserves a mention.

Phil Banet - Much like Seth is for ACW, Phil is the heart and soul of A1E. He brought his secondary character out of nowhere and built him into a fine main eventer, and despite jobbing every other week with his main character, he's still one of the most over characters in the fed. Plus, something can be said about overcoming your apprehensions and trying new territory. Plus, he's one of two other bloggers besides me who updates semi-regularly. That has to count for something

All-Time Characters...

Professor Tremendous, Olvir Arsvinnar, Lowell Dot Com, Mr. Hyde, Promo

Right now...

Arsvinnar - C'mon, he's a pornographic viking. What's not to love?

Eddie Mayfield - Like I said on my blog, if you don't mark for Mayfield, you have no soul.

Yori Yakamo, Jr. - He takes absurd, sexually explicit comedy to great new heights. I think I knew great things were in store from his short stint in MBE, and I was hoping to see him make a comeback. Got my wish with NFW, and the rest is history.

Andrew Sharp - I was taken with Sharpie from the moment I started reading ACW shows. Not afraid to work the old school angles in with a new age attitude. Plus the heel turn was among the best things I've seen in the past year.

Mike Wade - AWC... he at one point was a triple Champion, but has since lost all his belts (one through losing his smile, the other two legit). Still one of hte most entertaining reads on any AWC card, and if you check out AWC, be sure to zero in on the Wadester.

 

[freakfish]

Mine are going to be very A1-centric because that is the only place I have ever read/worked.

1) Dan West - The best I have ever read, hands down. Any style, any character.
2) Jeff Paternostro - I almost hate that Dan exists because I always end up listing Jeff second in these lists. He're ridiculously talented though and a very nuanced writer. He's got it all over Dan with spelling, I will say that (although I don't think Jeff has to deal with 4 kids, 9 cats, a monkey and 4 unladen African swallows in the room as he promos...then again, he did promo for 4 years from Hampshire College, so it's a push).
3) Phil Banet - To be completely honest Big Dog has always been a little one dimensional to me (albeit in an enjoyable way for the most part), but I think that Farnsy is a brilliant character. It's funny in that the guy that was supposed to be his one note heel rich bastard character seems deeper and more fleshed out to me, but then I think I missed most of Big Dog's early stuff, which probably established the character more.
4) Jon Boice - He's sort of nutty, but most times it works. Sometimes I want to be in his head for an hour or so to see where this stuff comes from and other times I find that prospect terrifying. Deserved a run with the MBE Title.
5) Brunk - I was a doubter at first but he's the first guy that made me realize that my prejudices against anyone outside of A1E were indeed ridiculous. I haven't grown or changed or anything, but I know that I'm wrong at least as it relates to Brunk's work (and I'm sure there is other great stuff out there, but I'm just too busy/lazy to find it).

Honorable Mention -
Shane - Sorry Red, your last name is escaping me. I'm real bad with names. I think it starts with a G. His improvement has been astounding. He always had the idea and his promo skills have totally caught up with his vision.

Bobby Rodriguez - Definitely not the most technically gifted, but the most easygoing guy that I've ever worked with, whether in a match or behind the scenes. There is something to be said for that.

Tom H. - If I didn't love Maggot so much I wouldn't be so hard on some of his other characters.

There was also a guy way back when in MBE who played a character named Cerebral. If he had stuck around he would have been one of the greats. He literally scared me he was so good.

All Time Characters:

1) Hida Yakamo - Has probably delivered more promos that I say "man I wish I wrote that" after reading it than any other single character.

2) Chip Friendly - I remember the day Dan told me he was thinking of a new character for A1 named Chip Friendly. I just thought it was brilliant and the execution has surpassed even the theory. That Chip hasn't held the A1E Championship is so beyond a crime that it's almost funny.

3) Mango - Mango was so much fun as a character and his handler really understood the give and take of working with what the other guy gave you. I don't know if his stuff would hold up under a microscope, but as it plays in my memory it was great.

4) Richard Farnswirth - Easily could have been a derivative, forgettable character, but has become so much more. The HPSC has been a cornerstone in A1E and he is the foundation of that group. Hoping he gets another run with the belt soon.

5) Slambo The Clown - I only put this on my list because even though I currently play the character it was initially a creation of Dan West, and a great one at that. I just thought it was such a fantastic idea and the revelation that it was Prisoner 187 was just perfect. I was really thrilled when Dan allowed me to take over the reigns to Slambo and am glad that the direction I have taken him in has helped to establish him as a mainstay and sort of a cult favorite.

 

[MrWest]

Handlers:

1 - Bill Dempsey - Honestly. Bill just "gets it". Competitively he brings it every week, but he also understands the whole story first aspect of the game and builds (and stays true to) his angles in his promos better than anyone.

2 - Phil Banet - He stays on a high level with both of his characters more consistently than anyone I have seen. Even on an "off week" both Big Dog and Farns are going to be better than anything but the best from their opponents.

3 - Jeff Paternostro - made a comeback to the game this year after an extended absence. Seems like he hasn't missed a beat. An excellent writer who can turn a word as elloquenlty as anyone.

4 - Dave Brunk - I would like to see what he has outside of Dan Ryan. But he does that one character just about perfectly everywhere he takes him.

5 - Karl Brown - I am really just now getting exposed to his talents. But so far I am quite impressed with what I have seen.

5a - Tom Holzerman - His passion for the game is unparallel and he has the talent to support it. If he has one flaw it is that he can let his depth of passion sometimes interfere with his charcters best interests.

5b - Kevin Gunther - If he had stuck with it once his interest in televised wrestling had died, he'd be right at the top of this list.


Characters (And I will try to stick to one per handler here):

WhiteNoise - Truly a unique character. The fact that Bill was able to pull off a mute like this is truly a testament to his skills

Richard Farnswirth - Took a stock gimmick and really made it work just about as well as it could be made to work.

Mango - I loved all of Tim's work, but Mango was his masterpiece. The level of commitment he made to keeping this character true to himself was a joy to read.

Hida Yakamo - Hida grabbed my attention immediately when he broke onto the scene in MBE. And when I found out that he was being written by a high school student, I was absolutely floored.

James Irish - I love the way this character has developed during his time in efedding. He went from a character struggling to find his identity to one that absolutely knows who he is and enjoys the heck out of it.