Junkyard Dog

[8.0] "Just a beloved babyface who oozed charisma and was so easy to root for, definitely not a prolific workrate kinda guy but he had all the tools to be a top territory babyface who put asses in seats, and for what it was his matches always had drama and emotion."

[6.0] "JYD wasn't the most technical guy in the ring, but he had something a lot of others didn't--pure connection with the crowd. His charisma, timing, and presence made him a star in the territories and early WWF. You felt the energy when he came out, and fans--especially kids--loved him. Sure, his in-ring work didn't age well, and his later years were rough, but his impact can't be denied. A true legend of his era."

[5.0] "Wrestling skill was abysmal but he had great charisma and could always get the fans involved. By the time he entered NWA WCW he was really limited even though he got in better shape by the end of this run. The 5 rating is based on his early 80's work in the territories and WWF."

[3.0] "What everyone says about the Ultimate Warrior is way more true about JYD. Dude is a TERRIBLE in ring performer who has never learned the concept of selling. Lacks the look, entrance, and insanity of the Warrior, and relied on pure charisma to get over."

[8.0] "Memorable character that was extremely over at his peak. May not have been the most gifted wrestler but he had more than enough charisma to make up for it."

[7.0] "Legendary wrestler with a great connection with the crowd. Managed to get over in the south early in his career. In the ring he was good for the time, but it has not translated well. His mic work and charisma were very good. Crowds loved him. Bookers protected him well."

[4.0] "Only know his WWF stuff when he was on the downswing and even though his ring work was rather lackluster, the dude was still super over at the peak of the Rock N Wrestling era. I was annoyed that JYD never (or rarely) lost clean on pin falls. He didn't need protection for being a perpetual mid card act!"

[6.0] "I loved The Junkyard Dog. He was a good old guy who always had a positive energy in his interviews and seemed to work best when he had a tag team partner like Tito Santana. I've seen some of pre-WWF stuff in Mid-South with Ted DiBiase and it was pretty good character-wise, but in the ring, JYD wasn't best at any point in his career. He was a large than life personality you just wanted good things for and he was a childhood favorite. RIP JYD."

[5.0] "Edit/Rewrite: Prior to around mid 1984, The Junkyard Dog was one of the coolest things in all of wrestling. He was 200% charisma and had a magnetism that could not be replicated. Even The Stagger Lee stuff was super fun and way better than it had any right to be. He had some of the best promo delivery up until that time and is such a pleasure to witness no matter what decade we live in. Pre WWF JYD really is a gem but the wheels were coming off just before that. By the time JYD was on the national stage he was falling apart more by the week. Rewatching and reliving "post '84" is sometimes painful and comes with high recommendations to AVOID. He was so lazy, uninspired, uninspiring and became a blemish on the product overall. No matter where he went after '84, he only seemed to sink lower and closer to utter worthlessness. A squandered career but pre 84 is FIRE. A score in the middle reflects the two sides of JYD's career."

[10.0] "As a Louisiana born kid, J.Y.D. was one of the biggest stars I have ever seen in my life. I would go as far as to say that he was our territory's Hogan in the early 1980's. Everywhere he wrestled at here, whether it was the irish mcneil boys club in Shreveport, the Super Dome in New Orleans, the Centroplex in Baton Rouge, the place was sold out because his name was on the marquee, and the crowds were always electric for him. As soon as that queen hit, another one bites the dust, you could barely hear yourself think. The fans would chant JYD at the top of their lungs, the new orleans saints fight mantra "who dat" was remixed by the fans in the superdome and they sang it all the time...only it was "who dat, who dat, who dat say they gonna beat da dog, who dat? ! " . Not only that but he had such a presence about him that it was hard to describe. He was as charismatic as it got. Everyone here took to him like a magnet, loved him to death, and would go to war for him if they had to. I don't think there was anyone in the louisiana area who was a wrestling fan that couldn't do the juke or the thump haha. Some of his rivalries back then, especially with the freebirds, butch reed, ernie ladd, the list goes on are classics and the funny thing is...you never worried about Dog. You worried about whoever the heel was because if they beat him, they were gonna have a hard time getting out of that building that night alive. I could probably go on and on, but man was he special. Still miss him even now today."

"The Junkyard Dog was an interesting character. His wrestling ability was ok but not horrible. How he portrayed his wrestling character was what made him great. He was the top face in Mid-South and the King of Wrestling in Houston. No matter where he went he was beloved. If he would lose a match the crowd would be stunned and shocked. Shows how over he was. And the Stagger Lee angle in 1982 was a good storyline too."

[5.0] "Was good in Mid south and Charismatic. In 1985 he was probably the number two babyface in the WWF behind Hogan. In ring skills were not great to begin with and they seemed to deteriorate every year from 1984 onwards and by 1990 he had very little left."

"JYD was a incredibly charismatic performer, and very solid in the ring for his era. His body broke down in his latter years, and by the time he reached a national stage he was a shell of his former ability."

[5.0] "I have never been able to get into Mid-South. On one side you have true legends like Ted DiBiase: enough said. On the other you have folks like Junkyard Dog, who didn't do much and weren't that much to write about when it came to promos but who were insanely popular. And from what I have seen JYD may have been the most popular worker in Mid-South: he was a classic case of somebody so popular he could sell tickets on his name alone, no need for great in-ring work, no need for memorable promos and not even need for great storylines. For that I liken him a lot to Big Daddy: he was truly bad at all aspects of wrestling except selling tickets. People were really going crazy for that silly heabutt of his: to each his own I guess."

[7.0] "People who rate JYD super low have clearly never watched more than a few of his matches, probably from WWF or WCW which is not his best era, but the JYD from Mid-South and early WWF was a genuine mega-star as well as a great performer in the ring who, while might have needed guidance in his matches, still over-delivered in his role, which is why he was a huge name for over a decade. You don't become a legend if you suck at what you do. The Dog wasn't a great wrestler, but he was an awesome performer and deserves recognition."

[7.0] "JYD was one of the more charismatic and entertaining figures in wrestling during his heyday, and while he wasn't the strongest in-ring performer (and one of his handful of signature moves, the kneeling headbutt, was a little on the silly side), that boatload of personality he brought transcended his in-ring abilities and made him a beloved character. At the highest levels, he probably would have remained at the level of mid-to-upper midcarder or attraction wrestler, and his life was cut tragically short, but he'll doubtless continue to be remembered fondly."

[7.0] "JYD was never a great worker, or even a good one; his best friends at the time would admit that. But he had tremendous charisma and was one of the hottest babyfaces in the territorial days of early 80s wrestling. Unfortunately, JYD's bad habits took a tremendous toll on him, physically and mentally, as well as professionally, and he would never get the big national run."

[6.0] "Charismatic is the best way to describe the JYD. He could get any crowd pumped up. A really exciting talent that shone bright during his time. Not the best in ring. Seemed to always rely on his headbutts, but hey, they were so over he didn't need to do much more."

[7.0] "Charismatic and one of the more exciting wrestlers in the early days but just couldn't survive the late 80s. I was a little kid when he was at his peak popularity and didn't think he really lived up to the hype that I had read about for years. Still a fan but he's far from iconic."

[7.0] "Probably the most over guy in the Mid-South during the early 80s, Junkyard Dog had a trunk-load of charisma and could work his way around a good promo but he never seemed to improve by much in the ring. His on all fours headbutt is always fun to see. I'm surprised he was never given a chance at any title in the WWE, hell I could see him holding the main title back in the day if Vince wasn't so high on Hulk Hogan (or reluctant to push African Americans) but I'm not sure he could've ever gotten the kind of fanfare Hogan did."

[2.0] "Sure the kids loved him but really, what did he bring to the table that was better than what you could get from any mid-card guy? He had no moveset, any fool can body slam & headbutt someone. His promos were meh. I just never got why anyone cared for him."

[8.0] "He was very fun to watch. His headbutt may have silly and not very believable but it was still entertaining."

[7.0] "Underrated worker big time. Whenever I watched him he was exciting. His great days were in Mid-South that got him over. When he went to WWE he was great but did not go anywhere. Should have been intercontinental champion or something. Mind you he won the Wrestling Classic tournament."

[9.0] "Tough guy to rate... his run at the top was so short. I think success led to complacency and his wwe run was very cartoony and lazy. Im grading him on his early career when he actually made an effort to be the main event. Jyd was HUGE in the louisana area and could sell out any arena there single handed. I might grade him around a 5 based on his wwe run but hes a 10+ in his prime."