[7.0] "For a brief moment The Honky Tonk Man was THE ALL TIME HEAT KING. I was there in the 80's when entire crowds wanted to murder him before he even spoke. He could sell his ass off too... unfortunately outside of that small blip of time, he has done absolutely nothing. Reliving it all is rather fun though I must confess. There is a hilarious "must watch" match on Primetime Wrestling: When he was booked as a face against Mr. X, it was the masked man who got all of the cheers; that's natural heat baby! haha! EDIT: Watching again (and again and on and on! ), his whole early WWF run is gold. He will sometimes surprise you with legitimately good matches & every altercation with Randy Savage is recommended. Also, that perpetually out of tune guitar pops me every single time and an interview segment without it feels empty. *CHeuUnNG! * 6.75"
[7.0] "I gave HTM a 7 he had a good run in WWF as intercontinental champion. His match with Savage on Saturday Nights MAIN EVENT was instrumental in the MegaPowers team up. In Memphis he was very entertaining and showed signs of the charismatic persona he'd evolv into"
[5.0] "Honky Tonk Man was a pretty good wrestler overall. By far his best quality was his charisma and character work which was what lead to all of his success. He struggled in the ring but for his era he was good enough especially if he got to work with guys like Steamboat and Savage."
[4.0] "He was a great Intercontinental Champion, only because of his booking and being booked like a great heel, that's the only positives I can give him. Aside from that? This guy sucked. He was a mediocre wrestler at best in the ring, forgettable promo and his gimmick sucked (despite that I love Elvis Presley's music). Overall, never been a fan of Honky Tonk Man, his entire legacy revolves around a title reign that would have never happened if Butch Reed was there to beat Ricky Steamboat, or even if Steamboat didn't take time off from WWF, they did Ricky dirty having him lose his title to a Elvis impersonator (a bad one at it)."
[7.0] "Really fun gimmick with a solid IC reign. One of the original dastardly heels, always building a character throughout his match, and drew some great heat through always taking cheap shots. His skills on the mic aren't the best for someone with as elaborate a gimmick as the Honky Tonk Man is his only issue."
[9.0] "The greatest Intercontinental Champion of All Time, And decent promo guy to boot, Youre probably wondering why I consider Him to be the The Goat of the IC Title, While His title defends where good for a heel, And yes His wrestling left a lot to be desired, At the end of the day He is a great entertainer, Oh and His shoot interviews with Sean Oliver on Youshoot and When Worlds Collide Vol 2 are the stuff of internet legend. I see no flaws in Him. 9/10"
[7.0] "Pretty cool gimmick and made it work unlike Fuck Zumhofe. He was pretty smooth in the ring but his finisher sucked ass. His IC Title Reign should be praised more. Although his physique isn't great but he wasn't out of shape. I wasn't a fan of his commentary work neither."
[1.0] "I just don't like his stupid Elvis gimmick and his ring skills. He once held the Intercontinental Championship for 454 days, which his reign the longest in history. What? The Honky Tonk Man was never even average enough to win the IC title."
[5.0] "Jesse Ventura: What this guy lacks in ability, he makes up for being lucky. That was a perfect definition for the Honky Tonk Man character. Honky's style would be what I call "opportunistic" Not a speed or power wrestler, and was a coward who relied on distractions and cheap shots when a guy was down. Charisma and look carried him and he looked great with that IC title! Once Warrior figured out the best way to beat a guy like this is to just bum rush him and squash him, he just became another mid card jobber in the rogues gallery."
[5.0] "The Honkey Tonk Man is a one hit wonder who was able to be a pretty disliked heel to elevate the Ultimate Warrior. His work in Memphis ranges from "meh" and his post-WWF career absolutely sucks. I guess being cousins with Jerry Lawler gets you far."
[5.0] "Was entertaining enough at his peak but the Gimmick was one dimensional and hot stale. Longest reigning intercontinental champion ever due to retaining the title mostly by count out or dq."
[6.0] "Wayne Farris will probably most be known for his gimmick of The Honky Tonk man, but he actually had a good run in both in the southern territories and in Calgary before settling into the gimmick he would be most known for. Farris was never an elite level worker, but he was an excellent villain who you wanted to see get clobbered, which was never as clear as during his run with the WWF Intercontinental Title in the 80's. Farris was hugely successful in that role, and would regularly draw big crowds during his Title run as people hated him so much that they'd be willing to spend their hard earned money to see someone finally take that Title from him. Both the character and his in-ring work began to show its age as wrestling moved into the 90's, but his work in the 70's and 80's has stood up to the test of time in my opinion and he remains one of the more colourful and important characters of the WWF's 80's boom period"
[5.0] "He was fine if facing somebody trained in the same Memphis Southern Style. Not great, but fine for those who like that style of pro-wrestling. If facing anybody with a different style he was pretty weak and Vince McMahon did well in booking him the way he did to cover up his shortcomings. The whole evil Elvis Impersonator act was perfectly fine for the cartoonish 80's WWF but had run its course by 1990 and Honky Tonk Man was wise enough to leave the WWF at the end of the year. His 1994 WCW stint was pretty awful though as his feud with Marc Mero highlighted all the limits of the Memphis Southern Style and HTM was already suffering from tear and wear on his body making him far from the most compelling performer. All in all he did pretty well for himself and while far from a giant in the ring at least tried to give folks their money worth."
[0.0] "Absolute shit in the ring with zero good matches in his career and his gimmick was somehow worse, it was beyond stupid, an Elvis impersonater, seriously? That wasn't funny or entertaining in any way. A disgrace to the WWF IC Title, it's so sad that he's the longest reigning champ in the titles history, he was awful"
[6.0] "The Honky Tonk gimmick didn't really work for me. It was too much on-the-nose. No nuance or subtlety. His claim to fame is holding the IC title for so long, but let's face it... during his run WWE simply didn't prioritize that title much. Jake was who they wanted to hold the title, but he had some drug issues at the time & missed out due to that. They had no one else in mind, so Honky just held the title for so long by default. To his credit, he was able to get a lot of heel heat & did have decent matches with the likes of Santana & Steamboat."
[7.0] "His in ring abilities were nothing memorable but during an era with flamboyance and big personalities ruled the hour HTM was one of the elite. He had excellent heel charisma, mannerisms, and could bump. Honky was given a gimmick that should have failed, and ran with it."
[7.0] "A fantastic midcard heel act, Honky had a solid in-ring skill set in the '80s style, but his greatest strength by far was his personality, look and character, all of which he completely mastered. His still-record IC Title run was a classic heel title reign, with the fans putting money down hoping to finally see him lose, only for him to find a way to leave with the belt. When a popular babyface (Ultimate Warrior, in this case) finally did get one over on him to take the belt, it got over huge. Aside from his Memphis and WWF runs, he had a short run in WCW, and to this day still makes nostalgia appearances on the indy scene and at conventions (and even had a random cameo in Lucha Underground! )."
[7.0] "Eines der wenigen Trash Gimmicks der 90er, das zumindest in Ansätzen gut funktioniert hat, was auch daran lag, dass der Honky Tonk Man einfach ein super charismatischer Wrestler mit wirklich gutem Micwork ist. Natürlich war er im Ring nie der aller beste und wurde zurecht nie nach ganz oben gepusht, dennoch finde ich hat er mit seinem Gimmick als Midcarder begeistern können. Nach ihm hat man ein ähnliches Gimmick ja oft kopiert, am besten wohl mit Jeff Jarrett und jetzt mit Elias Samson. Unter diesen würde ich sagen ist der Honky Tonk Man aber doch der beste."
[6.0] "Whilst best known for his 80s run in the WWF, and a short run in WCW, Honky used to be a good worker and talker in his earlier days, and he was part of one of wrestling's most famous angles during his Memphis run."
[5.0] "The Greatest Intercontinental Champion Of All Time äääääh nein, dass war er mit Sicherheit nicht, nicht mal im Ansatz. Cooles Mic-Work, Punkt. Das ist auch der Grund für die 5 Punkte."
[5.0] "I thought he was a good heel getting a lot of heat every night. Good on mic. Not the best in ring, but he didn't need to be. A comedy gimmick that got over well, but I'd give more credit for that to Jimmy Hart."
[5.0] "How he was IC champion for so long is beyond me but as a comedy act he was pretty good. Always entertaining but never because of his in ring work. Not bad but certainly not the best."
[9.0] "To the ones commenting HTM as worthless and poor performer, etc. this is what a real heel looks like. Honky does his best work as a heel. I can't think of a better performer in the golden era better at getting heat with a crowd than Honky. Honky could piss you off and make you boo him just by looking at the camera, and IMO that is the mark of a real heel. The Miz is the only active wrestler I can think of that has the ability to get heat as well as Honky did in his day. Honkytonk Man.... Ain't he great!"
[1.0] "I can't vouche for his earliest work, but I can say I really do not like this man or his in ring work. The Honky Tonk Man was never good enough to hold the IC title as long as he has and that his record hasn't been overtaken is a crying shame. Sure he has something of a grasp on psychology but the mans just not that good, and I doubt he was good in his youth either. Hes had precisely one match that I didn't think was completely worthless and that was his Lumberjack Match with Ricky Steamboat, and that was only worth a watch because he had someone as good as Steamboat to carry him and it was a title change."
[0.0] "The only thing he was good at was the shoot interviews he has had and very truth about the wrestling business and blunt. He complains a lot and does not like certain wrestlers. I never liked him as a wrestler. Just bland in his fighting style. With an Elvis Presley impersonator gimmick and a guitar that is more showing than wrestling. "The Greatest Intercontinental Champion" bullshit, there are way better champions than him. Like Pedro Morales, Macho Man, Tito Satana, Ricky Steamboat, Warrior, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Goldust, Ken Shamrock, Chris Jericho, Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrerro, Edge, and Dean Ambrose, etc. He is still wrestling because of money and treat fans poorly. Stingy selfish Grinch!"
[9.0] "His Stampede years were brilliant. He came in as a friend and a face of the Harts and Dr. D David Schultz. Turned on them, and became an all time great heel. He was not Elvis at this point. He was still the Honky Tonk Man and he was fantastic on the mic. He also could make his matches absolutely brilliant with his comedic selling of his opponents offence. It is a shame that eventually, the WWF/E turned him into a cartoony version of Elvis and held him him to that. Had they let the man do the type of work in Stampede, his run in WWE would carry even more merit. He was a yes man in the WWF, a guy that did what he was told, sold his gimmick the way they told him to. In Stampede he was badass southerner who looked a bit like Elvis, but could bring the entire crowd to its feet with either his moves or his antics. His team with Rotten Ron Starr remains his greatest work, including the IC title run, imo. He smoked cigars, he rattled off poetry, he ranted and raved to Ed Whalen about all of the injustices of working against the Hart family. He was excellent in the role. When someone hands you a bucket of cash and says "Well, can you be more cartoony and pretend you are Elvis? " after working for likely 75 dollars a show previously, you don't question it. You take it and cooperate."
[8.0] "Good gimmick and a great worker Honky Tonk Man is one of the most memorable midcarders of the 80s. The longest reigning ic champ. His shoot interviews are pure gold and i think everyone should see them."
[7.0] "Entertaining character, though a very basic in ring worker and he never did a lot in the ring with anyone, with the exception of Savage. Even still, his ring work was less important than the overall character... His shoot interviews are among the most entertaining to me, especially the one he did with Raven."
[7.0] "Just OK. Had some in ring and mic skills. Added a dimension of humor at times. Adding one point for the signature guitar slam over the head. Had some nice longevity and was clearly a hard worker. The gimmick in and of itself, however really only went so far."
[7.0] "Er war einfach zu seiner zeit einer der TopHeels. Wenn man einen Face overbringen wollte hat man ihn einfach gegen den Honky Tonk Man gestellt. Ein super Micworker. In Ring Technisch nicht der beste."
[6.0] "Für die Wrestlerischen Fähigkeiten, gebe ich dem Honky Tonk Man 4 Punkte . Seine Leistungen im Ring, waren sehr limitiert und gute Matches, sah man von ihm nur selten . Am Mikro hingegen war er sehr überzeugend . Der Honky Tonk Man ist einer meiner lieblings Mic-Worker . 8 Punkte für das Mic-Work . Das macht insgesamt 6 Punkte ."
[6.0] "Wrestlerisch nur Durchschnitt. Zusammen mit Greg Valntine und Jimmy Hart aber immer sehr unterhaltsam. Besonders lustig war immer, daß in schöner Regelmßigkeit seine Gitarre entweder er selber (meistens), seine Mitstreiter oder einer seiner Gegner über den Kopf gezogen bekommen hat. Seine lange Regentschaft als Intercontinental Champion war mir allerdings ein Rätsel, da es zu dem Zeitpunkt diverse bessere Wrestler gegeben hat, und er auch als Titelträger mehr als die Hälfte seiner Matches durch Auszählen oder Disqualifikation verloren hat."
[7.0] "Als Heel zu seiner Glanzzeit war Honky wirklich awesome. Dummerweise hat er dann auch recht schnell abgebaut und den Anschluss verloren... was sich auch in seinem körperlichen Zustand niedergschlagen hat."
[8.0] "Nerviger, grandioser Entertainer und genau so etwas liebt man zu hassen, vorallem er noch eine Größe wie Elvis Presley imitierte. Wrestlerisch wie soviele seiner männlichen Kollegen der 80iger nicht gerade prickelnd, aber das Gespann Honky Tonk Man und Jimmy Hart ist heute legänder."
[3.0] "Wenn man bedenkt das seine Rolle auf die Imitation einer Berühmtheit angelegt ist, muss man sich im Nachhinein schon wundern, wie lange sich der Honky Tonk Man als ernstzunehmender Kämpfer im Roster halten konnte. Und wenn man desweiteren Klartext bezüglich seiner ringerischen Fähigkeiten spricht, die nämlich stark limitiert waren, müsste man sich ebenfalls wundern, wie lange er sich in der Wrestlinglandschaft der 80er behaupten konnte. Zugutehalten muss ihm allerdings das er ein guter, bis sehr guter Entertainer war. Sein Rekord für die Ewigkeit, der längste Run eines Intercontinental Champions aller Zeiten, kann ich mir aber immernoch nicht erklären."
[6.0] "Mit seinem Intercontinental Title Rekord hat sich der Honky Tonk Man einen glaubwürdigen Namen verschafft, neben seinen durchschnittlich bis guten Ring Skills konnte er auch am Mic überzeugen und das Gimmick ist ohne Frage Kult."
[3.0] "War früher wegen dem Gimmick ganz witzig aber daran hat man sich satt gesehen. Noch dazu nagt an ihm der Zahn der Zeit. Muss ich ihm Ring echt nicht mehr sehen."
[7.0] "Ein Gott des Wrestling... The greatest Intercontinental Champion ever... Let's rock with the man! Doch was er in der letzten Zeit geboten hat, war unterste Schublade und so muss ich seine Wertung senken.."
[7.0] "Richtig schön nervender Elvis-Verschnitt mit genialem Manager und Talent zu unterhalten. Wrestlerisch war er auch nicht so schlecht und die Kurzauftritte Ende der 90iger in der WWF vergess ich jetzt einfach mal."
[6.0] "Er hat das beginnende Sports Entertainment mit null Sport jedoch purer Unterhaltung ausgelegt. Dafür gibts, auch in Erinnerung an die frühe Kindheit vor dem TV meinerseits, immerhin noch die "3"."
[6.0] "Halte sein Gimmick für oft ein bisschen überschätzt, aber mies war er keineswegs. Ein würdiger IC-Champion, der aber nach seiner Titelregentschaft auch schnell in der Versenkung verschwand."
[6.0] "Ein Mann mit einem maßgeschneiderten Gimmick. Und neben aller Komik und dem Unterhaltungsfaktor, konnte er sein Heel - Gimmick auch überzeugend rüber bringen. Ich hab ihn jedenfalls immer gerne gesehen."
