Smark Out Moment

WWE is currently on a tour in the United Kingdom, so seeing as how Monday Night Raw, Main Event, Superstars and SmackDown all took place in jolly old England and we were trying to figure out what to do for this week's special feature, I figured it'd be a nice time to do something a little different but still tie it in somehow.

As such, this latest edition of TOP ROPE LIST revolves around us picking our favorite wrestlers that came from the United Kingdom.

As explained before, sometimes we bump this up to a top 50/25/10/5, but the true focal point of the list revolves around the top 3 which are designated the Bottom Rope (essentially the bronze medal), Middle Rope (silver medal) and Top Rope (gold medal). Let's get down to it!


NOTE: As stated a million times over, I'm nowhere near as familiar with wrestling outside of WWE. That includes not only TNA, but also the independents and the companies that are popular in other countries. I'm sure there are so many names that I would be super impressed with that should make this list that I've never heard of and I'm sure that some would argue that Nigel McGuinness and company should be on there as well, but I can only judge based on what I've seen, so keep that in mind!

5. [TIE] Katarina Waters / Paul Burchill

Honestly, I can't really decide which one of these two should be given the spot. They were a duo that were around the same level and both weren't utilized properly in WWE in my mind. Waters could have been a women's champion for sure and Burchill, if his character wasn't neutered so much, could have been a midcard champion or possibly even risen to the ranks of ECW champion during that show's time. Despite not being in WWE for a long while, I was fond of both of them.

4. Paige

Paige has done a lot in a short amount of time in WWE. She's quickly become one of the top women in the company and considering her age, she's likely got a long career ahead of her where she'll do nothing but improve. While I do feel that some people are a little overboard in their assessment of her when talking about the best women ever in the history of the company, I have faith that when her career is done, she'll etch herself onto that list.

*BOTTOM ROPE: 3. William Regal

Regal is really overrated by a lot of people, in my mind. I don't think he ever really should have had a world title reign in WWE, nor do I think that his matches are among the best of all time. That being said, he's still William Regal—a great character who is fun to watch when he's an asshole heel to be taken seriously or a smug douchebag comedic character that we can laugh at. He's got a reputation for being great in terms of training the next generation of wrestlers and he handles himself extremely well on the mic (even if he never quite understood how to pronounce Umaga). Regal is not a 10/10 like some people rate him, but he's still one of the best in this category.

* MIDDLE ROPE: 2. Bad News Barrett

Barrett has never been given as good of a shot in WWE as I think he deserves. This guy could have been huge a few years ago during the Nexus angle, but for some reason, that was muted ridiculously. Since then, he's lingered in the midcard, but he took a silly gimmick and turned it into a very popular act, which he needs to get credit for. I've been a fan of his ever since his NXT time and I think he still has a chance to make it to a legit main event level.

* TOP ROPE: 1. The British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith

Whenever I think of people who would have become a world champion if there had been two titles in WWE for its history, one of those names that always pops up is the British Bulldog. His work in the Hart Foundation was something that I always dug and I think his career was hindered greatly by his substance abuse problems. If he had been part of the current climate, Davey Boy would be an even bigger star than he was during his tenure. The man is part of one of the biggest moments in English wrestling history when he defeated Bret Hart for the Intercontinental Championship in the main event of SummerSlam '92. He is a definite Hall of Famer and for my money, if anyone ever mentions wrestlers from the United Kingdom, he's the first name I think of.