LogFAQs > #941641969

Speaking of Hogan, here are a couple other larger than life wrestlers to talk about.

34. Brock Lesnar
Score: 58
# of Lists: 5

Its very difficult to come off as special in modern WWE, in large part because they book in a way designed to prevent that. And while even he has been victim to it I argue wed be talking about a different pantheon of star to this day if he hadnt lost that first match back to Cena there isnt too much you can do to stop Brock Lesnar being special.

In my mind hes without a doubt the greatest athlete in pro wrestling history. Thats backed up by not just his credentials which youre all familiar with, NCAA champion, UFC heavyweight champion, nearly made the Vikings on a whim but his ring work too; his explosiveness and power are close to unique in the wrestling setting and its what sets him apart from everyone else.

One thing I always think about with Brock is his video game, Smackdown: Here Comes the Pain. In that game Brocks moveset was pretty much all unique variants on standard moves but made to look much more impactful. You bet your ass I always played as Brock in that game! But that is true to life Brock doesnt have many fancy moves (especially so since becoming the Suplex City variation), but a few simple moves look devastating in his hands.

While the power game might be obvious, I think whart's not so obvious is Lesnar might be the most underrated seller in the business. Hes one of the very best and I think people have it in their head because they dont like Lesnar and he doesnt sell when he shouldnt, that he doesnt sell. Theres a number of matches I can point to but the ones that stand out in my head best are the ones where an underdog story is told vs. Eddie, vs. Balor, vs. Bryan and Lesnar is the one who convincingly makes you think the other guy has him in danger.

Its a shame WWE have spent years telling you Lesnar doesnt care about wrestling and doesnt want to be here its a storyline but for some reason its the only storyline in modern WWE people have bought into. More importantly, its totally irrelevant. Not everybody needs to be a Good Employee (Contractor, should I say). Some people are special.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3tt7kr; Brock Lesnar vs. John Cena, April 29 2012

33. Giant Baba
Score: 62
# of Lists: 4

(Guest writeup: voltch)

Is Giant Baba a great in ring wrestler? No, if you're going to watch a Giant Baba match, it'll probably be a tag affair.
But pretty quickly you'll notice one thing, no matter how over the other guys in the match are, Baba's going to be matching them
While people now look back on him as more as an awkward tall guy with short T-Rex arms. The guy has become a legend back in Japan
For all of his shortcomings in the ring, Giant Baba had one of the greatest minds in wrestling and his run as owner and booker of AJPW showcased that.

AJPW for sure was outmatched and outgunned by NJPW, who were putting up stadium shows and had a roster filled with iconic names.
But Baba made the call to stick with the Budokan as his promotion's home and built his own collection of stars through some of the best matches we've ever seen.
His decision to have Misawa beat Jumbo has gone down as one of the best examples, as it helped further establish Misawa as the guy.
Baba is the perfect booker, he knew what stories needed to be told, how to use foreign outsiders, how to build homegrown stars. In his promotion, moves just had a lot more meaning, finishers in particular.

When you look at some of these other old Japanese legends, Rikidozan is a hero with the sumo background who carried a nation on his shoulders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev5X01wJrH4; Giant Baba & Jumbo Tsuruta vs. Dory Funk Jr. and Terry Funk

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Maniac64