[6.0] "Had it not been for that awful Hockey Goon gimmick, he'd be more remembered for his contributions to the wrestling business. Decent-to-Good in-ring with a little charisma when he's not wearing ice skates... Really, how did Vince McMahon ever think that would work! ?"
[5.0] "Decent wrestler who could wrestle a good match when paired with a star. Overall his Bill Irwin character never stood out and the Goon character was just not very good which is what he is most remembered for. He did not do well enough on the mic or with his charisma to make the stupid gimmick work"
[5.0] ""Wild" Bill Irwin was a decent wrestler. Did some good stuff in World Class in the 80s. Unfortunately The Goon is like The Red Rooster in that it's a stink you can't get off, despite not being at all reflective of the person's whole career."
[6.0] "Perfectly fine. The Goon gimmick was so terrible that I honestly kinda liked it, and Irwin himself was serviceable at the very least. You can tell he'd never be the sort to win the world title, or even a midcard, especially with a gimmick like The Goon, but I think he's a decent midcard heel. Probably unpopular, but there you go."
[5.0] "No love for Bill Irwin? He wasn't the best but was very serviceable. I thought he was much better than his brother Scott, but they did form a decent tag team. Very sound in the ring and can give a decent amount of action in a 57-minute match but a majority of the time came out on the losing end. The Goon was a fun gimmick, and even his time in WCW in 1990 he would have passable matches."
[6.0] "A perfectly serviceable "territory" midcard heel who was out of his depth once the business went national. Watching his work from the 80's gave me an appreciation for the guy, but yeah, he was never gonna be a main event player. Strictly middle of the road, but he knew his job, and how to do it well."
[5.0] "A man who is only remberd by wrestling fans for the bad hand he was delt by the big 2 in the monday night wars. Bill irwin was a prefctly gine worker when alowed to do so and while he was not good on the mic he was far from the worst ive ever seen. He like manny others are sutck forever being juged by there time in compniess that did not care about them all whil being past there prime."
[1.0] "Wasn't interested in Bill Irwin, and wasn't very good in the ring or on the mic. Besides the guy was a jobber for most of his career. He was good with his brother, but then after his brother sadly passed away. He never reached success anywhere else. By 1996 he became the Goon...Dreadful gimmick, and phased out in 1997. His career highlight was when he was interviewed by Hannibal TV while drunk."
[3.0] "All I know of him is being the jobber to eat the pin against the British Bulldog when he arrived in WCW. Wasn't bad from what I saw, but a jobber doing his job."
[8.0] "I've always had a soft spot for "Wild" Bill Irwin. *ahem* What's going on here that there is a bulk of "2" ratings for this guy? Is it because you've only seen "The Goon"? Don't be so ignorant to base a rating on someone's shortest lived stint (not even 20 matches). Bill had a firm grasp on body language and ring psychology. Solid and dependable; his work seemed to be better when he was lighter, but at his larger weights he was more physically imposing. I liked his team with his brother Scott as both The Super Destroyers & The Long Riders, though I do feel Scott was the more stand out worker (rest in peace). A staple in Texas during the 80's; strong work ethic and the ability to mesh well with many and help plenty excel at their in ring game. The first person I've ever seen employ a bicycle kick (wasn't as a crisp as Matt Bloom/Albert/A Train's but more impressive/devastating than Stevie Ray's). Aforementioned ability to help many excel gained him a spot as "The Black Scorpion" during house show loops against Sting, the two definitely had chemistry. Yes The Goon was total wrestlecrap, but open your minds people! Criminally underrated here! 7.5 rounded up."
[5.0] "I'm not sure Irwin was that bad. Bill was a good tag team specialist in the past and quite a gifted low-carder in early WCW, who was awarded several singles matches at PPV events. Bill lost to the British Bulldog in Smith's debut PPV match, and also performed in a decent match with Brian Pilman. But he held a higher role in the card years earlier, performing in NWA and also in Japan, mainly as a team wrestler with his brother. One bad experience should not overshadow his past achievements."
[5.0] "Wieder einmal jemand, der durch ein Gimmick ins Lächerliche gezogen wurde. Nichtsdestotrotz ein passabler Brawler. Hätte man das hochgradig idiotische Eishockey-Gimmick weggelassen und ihn als eine Art psychopathischer Roddy-Piper-Verschnitt dargestellt, oder als eine Mischung zwischen Roddy Piper u. Jake "The Snake" Roberts, hätte evtl. mehr draus werden können. Die Stiefel waren aber cool."
[4.0] "He was only good when he was with his brother, Scott as the Long Riders. He mainly jobbed throughout of his career. I remember him when he was the Goon in WWE. Terrible gimmick, one of the worst wrestling gimmicks ever. he couldn't really fight. All he did to his opponents was punched and grab them like an actual hockey fight. He was low card status mainly beating up jobbers. The only matches he had with superstars were against Marc Mero, Flash Funk and the Undertaker. He didn't even last WWE that long. The reason I remember him was that he stood out. I am surprised that he returned at Wrestlemania 17 and Raw 15th anniversary battle royals."
[5.0] "Wild Bill Irwin war auch bei WCCW vom Stellenwert nur um eine Handbreit weiter oben anzusiedeln, als es der Goon in der WWF dann später war. Solider Under- bis MidCard-Brawler, der aber auch nicht wirklich über die Entertainment-Fähigkeiten verfügte, wie sie spätestens ab Ende der 80er Jahre gefordert waren. In Interviews stets ein treuer und selten um eine Anekdote verlegener Soldat. Das Goon-Gimmick alleine ist kein Bewertungskriterium, das für ihn spricht."
[6.0] "Zu seinen besten Zeiten ein sehr guter Brawler. Dann kam das "Goon" - Gimmick und der Zahn der Zeit, der hier nicht nagte, sondern sich mal richtig satt ass."
[2.0] "Kenne ihn nur als Goon-und das verhindert selbst den Ansatz einer unterdurchschnittlichen Bewertung. Aber leid hat er mir schon getan-in der Attire zu wrestlen war bestimmt nicht umbedingt förderlich."
[2.0] "Die Gimmick-Ära brachte schon seltsame Gestalten hervor. Hängen geblieben ist eigentlich nur sein Einzug zur Eishockey-'Musik'. Ein bisschen wenig..."
[0.0] "Sorry, aber der Goon als Gimmick führt Pro-Wrestling ad absurdum. Nur weil er mal Eishockey-Spieler war, heißt das noch lange nicht, dass man in kufenähnlichen Stiefeln auch Wrestling betreiben kann! Selbstironie ist ok, aber das ist einfach nur lächerlich."
[2.0] "Leider kenne ich ihn nur noch aus seiner Zeit als The Goon bei der WWF. Es war furchtbar. Eine bessere Bewertung ist erst nach Sichtung alter WCCW-Tapes vielleicht möglich."
