Most of the time when wrestling fans talk about “underrated wrestlers,” they’re talking about guys who maybe didn’t get much exposure on TV or, if they did, guys who never won WWE or WCW World Heavyweight Championships. Guys like Carlito Caribbean Cool and John Morrison are frequently tagged as underrated because the man upstairs didn’t hand them the ball, preferring the tried and true over something new, but the fact of the matter is that those guys aren’t underrated, not really. It’s tough to be underrated when you’re on TV every week, when you have a company’s second most prestigious title, when you’re doing flashy, show-stealing moves on pay per views and at WrestleMania, and it’s hard to say that somebody hasn’t been given the ball when they’re enjoying the relative fame and fortune that comes along with all that.
To me, the word “underrated” doesn’t apply to anybody unless you’re talking about somebody working the bingo hall circuit, somebody sweating and bleeding and putting their body on the line before a packed house of 150 people paying $20 for ringside seats. You can look up and down the rosters of CHIKARA and Ring of Honor and debate who among them is most deserving of the crown, but, for my money, Rickey Shane Page may be the most underrated wrestler in America. (more…)