Many jobbers in professional wrestling have a cult-like following. They are paid to do a job – make a champion look good, get beaten up in a matter of minutes. For the majority of them, it’s a labor of love.
Who else would want to lose night after night?
These men made their careers out of losing night after night, on television and in dark matches. And for some, they are just as popular as some of the greats of the 1980s and 1990s.
Here’s a look at 10 of WWE’s greatest jobbers of all time. Yes, there are more, but these 10 stick out as the luckiest losers of all time.
George South
If you are a wrestling fan and lived in the south, you knew who George South was. While he wrestled in WCW and the NWA, South did spend time in the WWE as well.
His claim to fame might be that Ric Flair loved working with him. South may not have been as talented as the main stars on wrestling rosters, but he made heroes look like a million bucks.
South was used as enhancement talent but he always got in some offense and was very good at getting heel heat with the fans.
While in WWE, South worked as a preliminary wrestler.
Bastion Booger
Whether he was Bastion Booger or Norman the Lunatic in WCW, the same results always found Mike Shaw, the man behind both characters.
Booger was a character of an unkempt, slovenly and gluttonous man who wrestled in dingy, too-small, gray/beige singlets tailored to give him the appearance of a hunchback. It worked at the time, but it did not mean he was a singles hit.
He received nominal success as was known as a jobber to the stars. He did once have a clean win over Owen Hart.
Jim Powers
You would have thought Jim Powers would have been a bigger deal in professional wrestling and the WWE. He was trained by Big John Studd. That alone should have gotten him some street cred. Not a chance.
Powers was a solid wrestler who was loved by the ladies and looked like he could “pull it out” against top talent.
He continued to lose.
Teaming with Paul Roma to form the Young Stallions didn’t help him much either. He was better in tag team action rather than in singles competition. But he still lost more than he won.
Paul Roma
It’s hard to believe that he was once thought to be a replacement for Tully Blanchard in the Four Horsemen. Roma is without a doubt one of the most mocked wrestlers of all time.
If you look at him back in the day, you swore he could substitute for Ken Shamrock’s body double.
Make no mistake, he didn’t have half Shamrock’s talent.
Roma had a great look, a solid physique and no clue of how good he could have been. Even the ill-fated tag team with Jim Powers couldn’t help him.
The Italian Stallion
He had a pretty good run in both the WWE and NWA as a jobber and a trainer. His long 1980s locks combined with his pudgy build was perfect for his job of putting better talent over.
Among the wrestlers he has trained over the years include Henry Godwin, Ron Killings (R-Truth) and The Hardy Boyz.
It’s hard to believe he parlayed his talents for 23 years in the wrestling business.
Barry Horowitz
Go ahead and pat yourself on the back, Barry, you have earned it.
Horowitz became somewhat of a cult hero in WWF for his long losing streak and his trademark patting himself on the back for executing a scientific wrestling move.
Horowitz was really quite talented and was successful in Florida under the name of Jack Hart in the old NWA, before moving on to the WWE.
Wins were scarce for Horowitz, who was a mainstay on the company roster from 1987-1990.
Duane Gill (Gillberg)
I think we all got a kick out of seeing this scrawny character come to the ring, trying to imitate Goldberg and essentially get squashed in every match.
Of course, this started out as a parody from when WCW was still an active wrestling promotion, and Goldberg was the king of the ring.
He did have some moments, however. Gill became a one-time Light Heavyweight Champion, a title held by the likes of Jeff Hardy, Dean Malenko, Tajiri and X-Pac. He would go on to hold the title for 15 months, becoming the longest reigning Light Heavyweight Champion as recognised by WWE. But in the end, all he did was suffer at the hands of the better competition.
Brooklyn Brawler
It’s hard to believe Steve Lombardi was released from his contract with WWE after over 30 years with the promotion. Honestly, I did not know he was still with the company.
He started in the company in 1983 under his real name, assigned to help rising talent and make them look good. He could play the role of heel or babyface. But when he was “transformed” into the Brooklyn Brawler in 1989, his heel persona was defined.
Lombardi was a rugged sort who came to the ring in torn shirts and blue jeans and a mean scowl on his face. He would face his opponent with the goal of making them look good and of course, lose.
SD Jones
I always got a kick out of listening to Gorilla Monsoon talk about SD Jones. The “SD” stood for “Special Delivery” but in reality, all he delivered was a win for his opponent. Jones, although a jobber in the late 1970s and early 1980s, was a fan favorite.
His claim to fame would be to give a bigger name a hard time and eventually lose.
Jones was a successful wrestler, having wrestled in Jim Crockett Promotions and the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), and he won the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship three times. But he is most known for his time prior to the birth of Hulkamania in Vince McMahon’s promotion. That’s Vince Sr. to you and me.
He passed away in 2008.
Salvatore Bellomo
It’s hard to believe it, but Bellomo’s career spanned three decades. He is most known for his run with WWF from 1983-1987. He was a Belgian-Italian wrestler who was often on the losing end against the machine’s top stars.
He jobbed for Bob Backlund’s last match of the 1980s.
Bellomo also lost in a clean match to Bobby “The Brain” Heenan.
