10 Attitude Era stars who are underrated by fans

#10. Dean Malenko

Dean Malenko is probably the most skilled technical wrestler of all time. His gimmick was 'man of 1000 holds, a feat which he proved to a group of drunken wrestlers at a wrestling training camp.

If there was a wrestling hold, Dean knew it, and ten ways to counter it. He tried out for the WWE in the early 1980s but was told he was undersized. They did hire him, however--as a referee.

Not content to be a referee, Malenko would travel to Japan and Mexico, where smaller wrestlers are given more television time. It was in Japan that he met good friends Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit, and Chris Jericho. Benoit had an in with WCW and worked hard to get the others there. In the interim, Guerrero and Malenko would head to ECW, where they put on a series of five star matches which were a far cry from the chair smashing and disorderly brawls usually offered on the brand.

Malenko did join WCW, and was not only a wrestler but also the head booker of the Cruiserweight division. His influence on wrestling are still seen today on 205 Live and NXT. Malenko would even become one of the Four Horsemen, an honor that still carries weight today.

Malenko and his fellows Benoit and Guerrero all asked for their releases from WCW long before the Monday night War had ended. While Malenko met with some success, he was put into a poorly received and creepy angle where he stalked Lita.

Eventually, injuries piled up and Malenko took a job as a road agent with WWE. Batista is among the superstars he groomed for the WWE.

Why he was underrated: Dean's no-nonsense personality struggled to shine amidst all of the insanity of the Attitude Era. Also, his neck fusion surgery led to pain and lack of mobility in the ring, shortening his career by several years at least.

There you have it; Ten underrated stars of WWE's Attitude Era. Questions or comments? Please leave them below the article and thanks for reading!