Steve Blackman

[8.0] "STEVE MUFUGGIN BLACKMAN, cold as ice. the Wrestling Bios legend is one of best Hardcore champions and is a total badass. when he is not saving the world from Giant robot monsters and teaching students at the dojo, he is using his sticks to beat up his everyone."

[6.0] "I'm not the most prolific Steve Blackman connoisseur, but every time I see him he completely fascinates me. Battering people with weapons, nearly murdering Shane McMahon, and overall just being a key part in the attitude era for when he was there. Definitely someone who I simply need to see more of overall"

[10.0] "I saw a line in a review that inspired me to write my own: "Potentially the best WWF Hardcore Champion of all time." And yeah, damn, you nailed it (thanks nWBrospodcast). Maybe being the best WWF Hardcore Champion doesn't sound like much of an achievement, some people wouldn't even consider it one, but it is, and Steve Blackman is the lucky one. I've always remembered a madman, running around with two kendo sticks and hitting you like he wanted you dead, kicking and whipping like he was out of his mind, that was Blackman. He paused his career for several years after contracting malaria, had to train again to regain all the muscle mass he lost, and returned in 1997. The nickname "The Silent Assassin" fits him perfectly. He didn't cut promos, but he didn't need to; his actions spoke volumes. Perhaps this was the chemistry of the Hardcore Championship; all you had to do was chase the champion and the story would tell itself (or, well, every now and then someone would cut a promo; I'm highlighting this so as not to overlook some of the promos that were done). He never got to do much, he was always relegated to secondary shows like Jakked, but the times he appeared on Raw is War, he was incredible. I was born to my mother (thanks to you too, Mom) and I will die defending Steve Blackman."

[8.0] "Potentially the best WWF Hardcore Champion of all time. Steve Blackman was a no nonsense gimmick that was able to lean into the comedy side with his team with Al Snow 'Head Cheese', but his biggest success was in the Hardcore Division, as well as his feud with Ken Shamrock when he was a hired gun for the Corporation. Entirely underrated, if the Invasion Angle that *should* have happened took place, I would have loved to see him work with Ernest Miller or Glacier. Blood could have run cold again!"

[5.0] "Oh Steve. In a different time, he might have had a fascinating career. Watts would have eat him up. As it is, he was the guy with a personality of a plank and some nunchucks. Better than a fella with the personality of a plank and no nunchucks."

[8.0] "Another person here mentioned that Steve Blackman "owned his lane", and I think that's an absolutely perfect description of his place in wrestling history. Was he the most charismatic guy on the planet? No, but he was a very proficient in-ring talent, and there's never been another guy like him before or since him, which is worth celebrating."

[7.0] "Steve Blackman was never meant to be a main event guy, but he owned his lane. Legit martial arts background, great intensity, and one of the most believable tough guys of the Attitude Era. His kendo stick segments and hardcore title run were lowkey iconic. Yeah, he lacked charisma on the mic, but his presence and fighting style made up for it. Definitely one of those underrated midcarders that fans remember fondly."

[6.0] "Cool gimmick, cool entrance theme, great look, very intense in the ring, a legitimate toughguy, positively mediocre wrestler but couldn't cut a promo worth half a shit. That's about it, really. Dude was the perfect Attitude Era midcarder. If Shamrock and Severn hadn't already come through doing the whole shootfighter thing and if he actually had a drop of charisma I could've easily seen Blackman higher up the card by the end of 2000, like maybe even getting World Title shots on Raw or something. But it is what it is, and he didn't overstay his welcome. If you want a good laugh though I'd suggest looking up footage from his reality show as a fucking bounty hunter that never saw the light of day. It's amazing and Steve Blackman wearing a bulletproof vest with no shirt underneath is the funniest thing to me for some reason. 5.5 rounded up."

"The way he moved in the ring was almost comical to me. Just deadly serious, in a way that you could tell was real because he had no real personality or mic work going for him. He was, in my opinion, TOO realistic in the ring compared to other guys. Sometimes this would make him stick out like a sore thumb."

[7.0] "The perfect midcard badass, Steve "MoFuggin" Blackman was always fun to watch. He wasn't very charismatic, but he looked great and he could work well, especially in the Hardcore division. I imagine his career would've gone very differently if he hadn't gotten dysentery in 1989. He also has one of the best entrance themes in wrestling history."

[7.0] "The Lethal Weapon never seems to get the credit that he is due because there was so many great wrestlers & gimmicks around that when he reached his peak, he slipped through the cracks. He found his perfect fit in the Hardcore division and made the belt something to earn when he held it. He had an aura about him that he was extremely tough, like Shamrock or Severn who also overshadowed him around his heyday, and he was sound in the ring. I firmly believe that if he was wrestling in his prime today, he would be apparated a lot more and (hopefully) be positioned a little higher on the card."

[7.0] "I agree I don't understand how Steve Blackman is rated this low he's one of the best mid carders in the attitude era and a great hardcore champion his feud with Ken Shamrock was awesome especially there lions den match afterwards he went on to Form the Tag Team Head Cheese with Al Snow which was funny."

[7.0] "Whaat how is Steve Blackman's rating so low here? He was one of the best attitude era mid carders. He did great hardcore matches for 90s WWF standards and his tag team with Al Snow was really fun too. Honestly when I'm watching attitude era and he's got a match I find that I'm generally in for a treat."

[5.0] "A man with so little charisma, it kinda goes full circle into making him a charismatic figure. Theres a lot of ironic love going around Blackman, and Im kinda one of those who do that too. Steve Mufuggin Blackman was someone who stood out across the wild landscape of the Attitude Era by being the most normal person out there. Someone who looked like he could legitimately fuck you up... mostly because he could. His in-ring was not the most polished, but he had the benefit of having a unique style for the WWF at the time. Its tough to call Blackman a good wrestler, but he was someone who was enjoyable at least for a certain crowd."

[5.0] "Total rewrite edit but the score is untouched: Legitimate bad ass/scary human/living lethal weapon. Crazy jacked and beyond credible outside of the squared circle. Not a person to mess with. All that being said, not that fantastic or pleasurable of a watch. His stuff doesn't look the best because he was trying not to murder everyone out there. Would have been better served in another business I think. His level of watchability depends on who he is in the ring with. Not the worst by any means but problematic in some ways. And again, after some research of his "extracurricular" activities: he's the kinda guy you want on your side, be nice to him and buy lots of fried rice to appease the beast. 5.25"

[7.0] "The most cool man to ever exist. Didnt win many belts or have much charisma but he was just unnaturally cool and deserves a much higher rating than a 5, definitely a hardcore legend."

[5.0] "Legit ass kicker, zero personality, but he found his spot in the hardcore division where he could go sick house with the weapons. Zero charisma meant he was never getting close to even the IC title. Dude always stayed in tremendous shape."

[5.0] "His promo abilities may have been near non-existent and he may not have gotten many opportunities to show off his in-ring abelites, but I still have a soft spot for Blackman. His gimmick was pretty unique for the Attitude Era and I liked his strange pairing with Al Snow. He also had great ring music."

[7.0] "A pretty good lower-midcard wrestler, and one of the mainstays of WWF's Hardcore title scene. Blackman's main drawback was that head little if any promo ability. Yeah, he was one of those super-serious type wrestlers who relied much more on his work and very well-earned and legitimate reputation as a tough bastard to get him over."

[5.0] "A Robot with a great physique. Seriously, he always reminded me of an android, who? s trying to act like a human being, but he fails at it and it looks funny. The way he moved, walked, the way he would perform in and out of the ring, his charisma = a robot. Not a wrestling style I would ever watch on purpose."

[2.0] "In my opinion, there's nothing good about him expect his face and his look. His martial artist gimmick just doesn't work in WWF and none of his matchs entertained me."

[5.0] "I guess people have a better opinion of him because of the era of wrestling he was in, but Blackman was not very good in terms of wrestling and was null and void of any charisma or pacing. His strikes looked sloppy and way too quick (usually because he'd just spam dozens of strikes all at once, making it impossible to sell properly) and his wrestling was very basic and not at all organic. For a guy who had so much experience in combat sports, he was not a natural wrestler at all. Is only really known for his hardcore stuff and infamous match with Shane where he did all of the actual cool spots. Fine as a low-card guy but completely forgettable."

[2.0] "He had a good theme and looked like a killer but I don't think he was that good. I see why other like him more though"

[5.0] "Blackman didn't have any charisma whatsoever, but eventually even that worked out for him. He was pretty solid in the ring, but of course with his character limitations he wasn't as good as he needed to be in order to deserve a push. Solid midcard talent."

[4.0] "Blackman is the perfect example of somebody who didn? t have any charisma but it didn? t effect him in a negative way. The reason why I can? t rate him any higher is because he wasn? t pushed. He was apart of some great comedy skits and his match with Shane at summerslam was legendary. It pisses me off to watch current guys with no charisma get tons of opportunities but have a guy like Blackman, who turned his lack of charisma into an actual strong suit yet he got no opportunities."

[6.0] "Honestly, it was just awesome to see him come into the ring like a badass from a classic martial arts movie, an image that was greatly helped by his somewhat unique-for-the-era entrance music. His mic skills were terrible, but even if they weren't, he was never going to be more than a lower midcarder. However, he performed his role well enough and had his place in the roster. Plus it's always great to see a variety of fighting styles in the ring, and he brought some genuine martial arts ability. He had a decent feud with Shamrock as well, was cool as a hired mercenary for Shane, and entertaining as Al Snow's reluctant tag partner. Where he really shone, however, was in the Hardcore Division, where he finally managed to get the audience behind him. When he won it, the title was no longer being treated as a joke and it actually had some prestige again."

[3.0] "Steve Blackman was one of the worst talkers ever, he wasn't good in the ring & he lacked personality."

[9.0] "Great wrestler, not very charismatic but Steve Blackman was like a silent killer coming to the ring, there's not a standout match besides with Shane at Summerslam 2000, but alot of his matches were always quite good."

[9.0] "Underrated wrestler big time. He was great a marital arts. His kicks and holds were great! His peak was very short in WWF from 1997-2001. Unfortunately a back injury ended his career. The hardcore matches he did with those kendo sticks were great."

[3.0] "There was always something about Steve Blackman that irked me. I know he was good in the ring, but he was just such a bore. I guess I was not the only one who thought that, as they game him the cheese hat to wear. That still didn't work. I usually never wanted to see Blackman perform."

[7.0] "Blackman's biggest sin was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Charisma was available in spades during the Attitude Era, and his silent but deadly badass character would likely have thrived during any other era in wrestling. Still he carved out a nice career, had some solid matches, and played a good straight man for some of the era's comedy acts."

[6.0] "Another guy like Shamrock who was good enough in the ring, and also had a legit martial arts background, but jesus was he terrible on the mic. no personality or charisma."

[10.0] "This is the guy that i wanted to grow up to be when I was younger. You may be asking "why would you want to be someone lacked even one ounce of charisma? " Simply, kendo sticks. In all seriousness, he was never going to get over, but he's a talented in-ring worker that the more he was unappreciated, the more I appreciated him."

[8.0] "Steve Blackman's role in WWE was not to be like The Rock or Steve Austin, because he wasn't much of a talker. However, his likability came from the fact that he had a martial arts background, and wasn't afraid to show it off in his hardcore matches, in fact, putting him in hardcore matches made him shine brightest during his run in the WWE. I classify him as the best WWF Hardcore Champion during the title's 4 year run, and he (along with Rob Van Dam, Al Snow & Big Bossman) even gave the belt a certain amount of solidity, holding it 6 times with several long reigns... long reigns being that they lasted more than a few weeks, even a few months. As far as "realism" is concerned, Blackman was 1 of the most realistic wrestlers, so to speak, and even after being long retired, he still looks like he could come back and work a few matches like it was 2000 again."