Vampiro

[0.0] "I've got to be honest here, I do not rate Vampiro in the ring whatsoever. I've just watched Bash at the Beach 2000 with the match against a gentleman by the name of "The Demon" and I've got to be honest, he does absolutely nothing for me. More of a ripoff of the Undertaker than Gillberg is to Bill Goldberg, and that is saying a hell of a lot. There's a good chance there's more to him than this, but to be honest i'm not really in a huge rush to check it out. Heard reports (that dont affect this rating) that he's still going and still phoning in performances, and that probably suggests he should be retiring"

[9.0] "Vampiro is one of my favorite wrestlers to watch during my 1999/2000 rewatch of WCW. The only thing that held him back was that majority of promotions he went to never knew how to book him properly. He's always had the brooding, dark persona which is good but it could've been so much more. His work in Lucha Underground is unmatched."

[7.0] "Vampiro was a big deal in Mexico but unfortunately struggled in WCW more due to the horrible booking and writing than his in-ring abilities. He then ended up working for every bad promotion that didn't last after WCW ended. Honestly loved him in Lucha Underground. Recent work especially since his Alzheimer's diagnose has been bad. In the ring Vampiro had talent and he had a great character. His mic work got better as his career went on."

[10.0] "I really like Vampiro. He has a great run in WCW -- favorite match from that is against Juventud Guerrera, nice contrast of lucha-type moves from dudes of very different sizes -- and, how I'm watching now, a fun run in Lucha Underground on commentary. I think he might get back in the ring too; not sure. I don't really care. He's cool, great look, great moves that are like... powerhouse meets luchador. Just cool. An update: watched his matches against Eddie Guerrero; spectacular. And his match against Pentagon Jr. in Lucha Underground? My god, he does an insane job, especially for being 48 and broken down at the time. Spectacular. I fuggin love Vampiro."

[3.0] "Vampiro should definitely retire his in ring career, he makes everything worse. You have a good legacy don't ruin it with these atrocious performances. He was never that good anyway but nowadays he's been a machine that produces horrible matches."

[5.0] "Only watched his WCW stuff. Had an interesting look and decent enough in the ring, but never really stood out work rate wise in WCW. Heard he is difficult to work with."

[6.0] "Vampiro is pretty much a meme because all of the things that you'd think someone needs to get popular (I.E. good ring work, mic skill, psychology, etc etc) were completely absent. What he did have was a killer look and a completely unique style of wrestling that many would say was sloppy and kick-punch mostly, but there's just a charm about how he gets his shit in that you can't help but be at least a bit interested. If you want someone to just do sick power moves out of nowhere and do trash brawls, Vampiro is practically that perfect storm of both a solid option while also being horrendously shit in places. His LU work was mostly good because Vamp's always been up for telling stories: be they real or completely made up on the spot: and telling them with such conviction and malice that you can't help but believe some of the ludicrous shit he's just throwing out there. His commentary in general tends to drift into just plain bad at best and outright unpleasant at worst (see his Triplemania stuff for that in action, it's a rough watch) and anyone trying to spin him as otherwise is fooling themselves. That said, he's a legend of the ring and has had some pretty good matches if you can get behind his style enough to appreciate what he throws out there. It's not for everyone at all but I guess that's the appeal of the guy in the first place, you never really know what you get with him match to match."

[6.0] "He looked cool, can't deny that. He was a big deal in Mexico, most notably getting a big female crowd in his time in CMLL. Can't really think he's that at anything particularly, to be honest."

[9.0] "Vampiro is a legend in Mexico and a notable figure of the later years of WCW, although not always in a good way, feud with Sting is for example. In later years, he performed mainly on the independent scene and appeared in AAA, PWG and wXw, but most of all he was remembered for the program with Pentagon Jr. in Lucha Underground where his career got a second life and apparently there were big plans for him in season 5, but the sequel never came out and Ian went into oblivion again, which is very sad, because match with Pentagon showed that he still got it."

[4.0] "I am struggling to think what Vampiro was actually meant to be good at even in his prime and I am coming up blank"

[4.0] "In his WCW run he was completely undistinguished-- he had a cool look, but couldn't talk much and couldn't really wrestle. I also wasn't a big fan of his commentary in Lucha Underground."

[9.0] "Great wrestler. One of the scariest of all time. He has been a hit everywhere he has been. Never WWE. WCW was his biggest peak and popularity but his best work was in Mexico and Japan. Lucha Underground great as a commentator."

[3.0] "Vampiro is one of the most successful "pretty boy" wrestlers to have ever worked in Mexico: he was so insanely popular with female fans CMLL was pretty much forced into give him a push completely out of proportion of his in-ring skill, charisma and promo ability. His incredible popularity had to be seen to be believed and, apparently, caused Vampiro to develop a serious attitude problem which ultimately forced CMLL to pack him off to Japan (NJPW didn't want him, so he was sent to Michinoku Pro) and later to WCW. He was later back to CMLL, where his return mercifully fizzled away as he was proven to be not much a wrestler, not much of a talker and surely not much of a charismatic individual. He has since tried to reinvent himself as a hardcore or, more accurately, a garbage wrestler: he's surely no Mick Foley or even Tomoaki Honma. Based on his worth I would probably rate Vampiro a neat 1, but in his prime he was an absolutely amazing draw and I have to acknowledge that so he gets a very generous 3."

[3.0] "Vampiro had a really cool look when he was young. Wasn't ever great in the ring and for some reason continues to wrestle part-time today, having forgettable hardcore match after forgettable hardcore match."

[8.0] "One of my all time faves, the Lucha Libre answer to Sting. Although Vampiro is more fun to watch. Well at least he was in his prime. Great gimmick, great moveset, Although I should deduct points for his inexplicable affinity for Insane Clown Posse, I wont because Vampiro kicks ass. Also he was in the short lived Wrestling Society X, which is pretty cool."

[8.0] "I thought this guy was gonna be a huge star when his WCW run first started. Obviously that never happened. Still a good wrestler, though. Lousy mic skills, but otherwise he had everything going for him: great, unique look, unusual and effective style in the ring, natural charisma, etc. Pity the brain trust at WCW botched what should've been his shot at the big time."

[8.0] "I remember seeing him in WCW, and I thought he was so awesome. The hair, the tattoos, the facepaint, everything. Plus he was a good wrestler. I had no idea what a draw he was in Mexico though. His feud with Sting was one of the most overlooked in WCW (and all of wrestling history. )"