Real Men

OK, here's the deal. Jim and I have come to the decision that the measure of a wrestler's manhood is how he takes a Pedigree. For those of you that don't know, the Pedigree is the finishing move of HHH, who at one time was probably the best all around wrestler in the business. These days, he's not anywhere near what he was, but the move is still cool. Basically, it involves smashing someone face-first into the canvass. However, some people (the Little Girls) either stop themselves with their knee, or pull their arms out and hit with their hands first. The Real Men take that Pedigree face first, with their face slamming into the mat. Its a small thing, but I bet taking it like a Real Man hurts like a bitch, and taking it like a Little Girl makes the move look less imposing.

Taking it like a Real Man (note the arms being held up)

Another Real Man

Mick Foley - The King of Hardcore is also the King of the Real Men. HHH dropped the Pedigree on Mick several times, most notably at the 2000 King of The Ring, where HHH Pedigreed him on a chair and thumbtacks. Mick stuck his face out there and smacked into that chair full force.

Lita - She took one on the 4/9/01 episode of Raw, when the Hardys and Lita faced HHH, Austin and Steph in a 6 person tag match. Lita pinned Steph for the win, but afterwards, the usual beatdown took place, and Lita took it very well, almost as well as Mick Foley (see above). She flopped her legs out behind her and made a point to take it full on.

Jeff Hardy - Jeff took one on the same 4/9/01 Raw as Lita did, in the same beatdown.

Trish Stratus - She took a Pedigree as part of a 3-way beatdown by HHH, Steph and Vince. Due to surgical augmentation, she is physically unable to take it face-first, but she took it solidly anyway.

Shane McMahon - Took one in the weeks before Wrestlemainia XVII, again as part of a beatdown by HHH and Vince. This is one guy I fully expected to take it like a Real Man. Shane is awesome.

Vince McMahon - I'm told that Vince has been Pedigreed in the past, and that he took it well. I'm not surprised. Vince is the Man, and he passed that gene onto his son.

X-Pac - I hate this litte puke, but I have to call them like I see them. He took a Pedigree at Wrestlemainia 15, after HHH turned on him and joined the Corporation. He took it very well.

Bubba Ray Dudley - Bubba took one on the 9/30/02 episode of Raw. It wasn't perfect, but it was certainly better than Little Girl style and it was better than On the Bubble. So he's on the Real Men list, albeit low on it.

Stone Cold Steve Austin - The King of the Little Girls. HHH has Pedigreed "the Rattlesnake" several times, and Austin has always pulled his arms out and caught himself before he hit the mat. This didn't surprise me at all. Austin never does anything that even remotely smacks of danger and/or makes the other guy look good.

Shawn Michaels - Dear God, where to start? HHH pedigreed HBK on the 7/22/02 episode of Raw, and it was amazingly pathetic. His arms were out before his legs even got off the ground. In fact, his legs never got off the ground. A textbook example of a poorly taken Pedigree. And it wasn't even a surprise. Shawn Michaels may just be the most selfish WWF "superstar" ever.

Kane - This one surprised me. Kane is usually solid, but when HHH Pedigreed him, he pulled his arms out and caught himself.

The Rock - Like Austin, the Rock has taken several Pedigrees over the years. Usually, he pulls his arms out and catches himself. Other times, he'll stick a knee down before his face/chest hit.

Big Show - Triple H Pedigreed the Big Slow on the 1/10/02 edition of Smackdown. I've always thought that Big Show would join the Little Girls and he didn't disappoint. His wrestling, on the other hand, is a constant source of painful disappointment..

Hollywood Hulk Hogan - Triple H Pedigreed Baldy Hogan on the 6/6/02 edition of Smackdown. Seeing as how Hogan is 467 years old, its not surprising that he took his hands out and caught himself. Actually, he would have done the same thing back in 1984 too. He's just not a good wrestler, and he has no idea how to work a match as a you-and-me-working-together concept. Hogan sucks, plain and simple.

Booker T - Booker is a rising star, and hopefully he'll redeem himself. But for now, he took one of the worst Pedigrees I've ever seen..

Stephanie McMahon - Stephanie took one at Wrestlemania 18 in 2002. One of the worse Pedigree's ever taken. Disappointing. She pulled her hands out, and put a knee down.

Chris Jericho - Jericho took a Pedigree on the 4/5/01 episode of Smackdown! He was on the bubble because he stuck his knee down, but he also put his head down and took it on the knee and the head almost at the same time. Then, he took one at Wrestlemania 18, and he put both is hands and knees down, thus taking him off the bubble and into the Little Girls.

Billy Gunn - I've never been a fan of this guy, and now I have another reason. He took a very poor Pedigree on 6/20/02. And unlike the Undertaker, Gunn is in the prime of his career and has been healthy the entire time. No excuses. And if anyone has watched the WWF's "Before they were stars" video you can attest to the fact that The Artist Formerly Known as Mr. Ass might be one of the dumbest guys on the WWF roster, sort of a Anti-Bradshaw. Plus, his wrestling is awful.

Ric Flair - Sure, he's getting up there in age, but a Little Girl is a Little Girl. Flair took a poor pedigree on the 9/2/02 episode of Raw

D'Lo Brown - The internet buzz is that WWE is totally misusing D'Lo. They throw around things like "solid workrate" and "mic skills." I've always though D'Lo Brown is Mr. Overrated, sort of like the Ozzie Smith of the WWE. And on the 10/7 edition of Raw, he took a piss poor Pedigree after a "Blindfold" match.

Scott Steiner - In the last days of WCW, Steiner was their only bankable star. I think that the WWF thought they'd be getting that Scott Steiner. But even that Scott Steiner wasn't a good wrestler. And he took a Pedigree very poorly on the 1/20/03 episode of Raw.

The Undertaker - UT is the ultimate team player, and his help in putting up-an-comers over is to be commended. And maybe 10 years ago he would have taken a Pedigree well. On 6/20/02, he took one that Jim and I disagree on. I say he took it poorly, Jim thought there were extenuating circumstances. Either way. I still have to say that the WWF would not be as successful as it is without the Undertaker.

Kurt Angle - Angle was in the Real Men. On 1/7/02, he took a Pedigree on HHH's first night back with the WWF. He took it face first. But then on 6/13/01, he took one poorly, so now he's back on the bubble.

Golddust - Originally, I had Golddust on the Real Men list as a result of several still photos I found on the web. However, Jim pointed out that still photos are not as good of proof as video evidence (which we have for everyone else on this page). So, I am on a mission to find video evidence of Golddust taking a Pedigree at some point. According to the still shots, it was during HHH's Prissy Boy phase that the alleged Pedigree took place.

Rob Van Dam - RVD is a new entry into this list. He took a Pedigree at the 2002 Royal Rumble, but opinion was divided. I thought he put his knee down, but several others gave him props. So, he's on the bubble until we can see either another Pedigree, or a replay of the 2002 Royal Rumble.

Spike Dudley - Spike took a pedigree on the 9/9/02 episode of Raw, and he took it strangely. He sort of turned his body and took it sideways. So, he's on the bubble.

Chris Benoit - He hasn't had much of a chance to work with HHH and get Pedigreed, but my bet is that when/if the time comes, Benoit will join the Real Men.

Bradshaw - Jim's favorite wrestler. I bet that Bradshaw would be a Real Man if given the chance. Sadly, I don't think we'll ever get to see Bradshaw vs HHH. They're just not on the same level.

Eddie Guerrero - When he was in WCW, Eddie was a stud, and I think that he would have been a no brainer for the Real Man list. Recently, he has proven pretty brittle, and he seems to have lost something. I'm not willing to make a prediction on him and the Pedigree at this point.

Lance Storm - Storm is a stud, and he seems to have "it." One of these days, he'll take a Pedigree, and he'll take it well.