Board 8 > B8's Greatest Wrestlers Ever Ranking

(+) Yeah! (+)

TheRock1525 posted...

Angle got super concussed from there.

and this is when hunter is at his best!

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Seething HHH hate here.

It's all about the Game baby. He was my +18, and I'm a WCW and WWE guy.

There might be some great wrestlers that were or are only in NXT, TNA, AEW, Japan, or Luchadors...but WWE is the NFL of wrestling and if you're the best on that program then you've spent time on top of the wrestling world.

You have to be an epic wrestler to be globally recognized on any other program...like Omega or Styles for instance.

Also happy for Jerry Lawler, nicely done B8!

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WWE is the CSI of wrestling.

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but WWE is the NFL of wrestling and if you're the best on that program then you've spent time on top of the wrestling world.

But he wasn't ever the best or even that close to it, even in WWE.

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junk_funk posted...

but WWE is the NFL of wrestling and if you're the best on that program then you've spent time on top of the wrestling world.

correction - WWE has been the NFL of wrestling since 2001. That still makes around 100 years of wrestling where that is not the case. and point 2, besides the year 2000 where he was legitimately one of the best workers in the world for a year, he's never been great - he's just been there

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Steiner posted...

correction - WWE has been the NFL of wrestling since 2001. That still makes around 100 years of wrestling where that is not the case. and point 2, besides the year 2000 where he was legitimately one of the best workers in the world for a year, he's never been great - he's just been there

Hulk Hogan joined the WWF in 1983. WWF has never not been on top since then, minus a few back and forths during the Monday Night Wars.

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the NFL never has back and forths. the NFL is a monopoly like WWE has only enjoyed since 2001.

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Triple H isn't Peyton Manning. He's Tom Brady.

You can kinda slant things such that he looks pretty good but the truth is hes not an all time great to any existing eye test.

In much the same way that simply watching the two play football allows you to see that Brady ain't got shit on say Drew Brees or Peyton Manning, the same holds true of H.

He's not as good as Cena.
He's not as good as Bret.
He's not as good as Michaels.
He's not even as good as Orton or Booker.

He's just there politicking well to get a good spot day in and day out.

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Eddv posted...

Triple H isn't Peyton Manning. He's Tom Brady.

yeah this will settle the arguments

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Eddv posted...

Booker.

pump the fuckin brakes there man

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Booker > HHH

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I'll take Booker in one of his Best of 7s against Benoit over Triple H doing seven of anything.

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junk_funk posted...

Hulk Hogan joined the WWF in 1983. WWF has never not been on top since then, minus a few back and forths during the Monday Night Wars.

This isnt actually true
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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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I like that we have the two kinds of stars back to back.

The relatable (albeit tall and muscular) everyman vs the larger than life Greek god.

Both are probably too low.

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For how cool the rest of Brock's moves look, isn't the F5 really underwhelming? I didn't even know it was supposed to be hurting the guy's face for a long time

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Even though I didn't bother to vote still interested in reading all these results

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Hhh has a few runs where I was massive on him. His run from the cactus jack feud into his thigh injury was incredible, he was probs one of the best performers in the world during that time.
And from around 2004-2005 where he was putting over Benoit/Batista I thought he was sound. Did Orton dirty but I wasn't too upset about that coz I didn't think Orton was particularly good at the time, and thought the Batista feud made up for it.
And I liked his smackdown run in 2008 but that mightve been mainly down to be being a massive Jeff hardy fanboy and smackdown 2008 was built around him.

Other than that tho. In my eyes he's been just as much of a negative as he has been a positive,if not moreso.

malyg posted...

Hhh has a few runs where I was massive on him. His run from the cactus jack feud into his thigh injury was incredible, he was probs one of the best performers in the world during that time.
And from around 2004-2005 where he was putting over Benoit/Batista I thought he was sound. Did Orton dirty but I wasn't too upset about that coz I didn't think Orton was particularly good at the time, and thought the Batista feud made up for it.
And I liked his smackdown run in 2008 but that mightve been mainly down to be being a massive Jeff hardy fanboy and smackdown 2008 was built around him.

i agree with all of this. I also enjoyed the 2008 run and was mocked for that in the discord the other day!

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Steiner posted...

I also enjoyed the 2008 run and was mocked for that in the discord the other day!

2008 run was fine; HHH worked with what he had, which was...

Orton - Possibly cut short due to Orton's collarbone injury, though Trips had won 3 straight at this point.
Cena - Hyped rematch from WM22 and HHH getting even
Edge - Welcome to Smackdown, Hunter!
Khali - LOL
Jeff Hardy - The best development story on here. Also sprinkled here was Shelton, MVP, and Kendrick
Kozlov - LOL again

Honestly I was surprised we never got HHH vs Taker during that title run, but they insisted on Taker vs Big Show back then.

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I had never seen the Great Baba wrestle. Appreciated that video and write up.

Still hate Brock and pretty much any other star who thrives off majority squash matches. Not wrestling on Raw or Smackdown or being a "fighting champion" irritated me too. If he didn't have one of the best managers in the business he'd be nothing.

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Not gonna sit here and go "LOL youre being worked" but you are aware that being a 'fighting champion' is a babyface move right?

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I'm aware and I get it what you're saying.

For 504 days, Brock Lesnar was WWE's Universal Champion, and he missed TV appearances all together 57 times out of 72 times. The ten matches he did have all lasted shorter than 10 minutes.

Eat. Sleep. Disappear. Repeat.

I get its certainly a work to make audiences hate him as a heel, but there's no denying he was spoonfed the lightest workload ever. Not even house shows or audience signings.

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Tom Welling played Superman 200 times and Christopher Reeve played Superman 4 times. One of them is an icon despite the lack of workload involved.

Point is, perfect attendance gets Cal Ripken a Hall of Fame spot and Cal Ripken only; you don't get stickers for showing up at this level. Brock's had less appearances in WWE than ever this year, and yet one of them was a phenomenal, unforgettable performance in the Rumble that highlighted why his undeniable charisma and intimidating presence works perfectly in comparison to the parade of forgettable talent that WWE uses interchangeably with one another right now.

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muddersmilk posted...

Not everybody needs to be a Good Employee (Contractor, should I say). Some people are special.

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I mean Brock could absolutely do more. Him appearing on TV less really isn't a point in his favor. Not saying he should show up every week but more appearances that aren't just him awkwardly bouncing around to a Heyman promo (working the occasional live TV match) would help.

I don't think it would make him any less special an attraction if he did.

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The idea that Brock needs Heyman more than Heyman needs Brock is laughable.

Edit: Of course, the reality is they love each other and both are probably cackling on all the piles of money they've gotten thanks to working together.

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nobody says this shit about andre the giant because it's not how wwe framed him

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I mean, we saw Brock trying to cut promos before Heyman came back. We all had a good cackle about him talking about "this feeling I'm feeling" but long term there was no way Brock could continue doing his own promo work.

Brock doesn't NEED Heyman but he's better off with him.

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I mean I certainly haven't seen Andre defend a title on the WWE in years, it makes you think.

Agreed, Andre could definitely be doing more.

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I wonder if Andre had wrestled during the era of weekly television, how many appearances would he make?

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junk_funk posted...

The ten matches he did have all lasted shorter than 10 minutes.

Summerslam 2017
Survivor Series 2017
Royal Rumble 2018
Wrestlemania 34

Those were more than 10 minutes. Brock did a couple house shows too during said 504 days against Kevin Owens and possibly Rusev (could be wrong about that one. Owens did happen though).

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TheRock1525 posted...

I mean, we saw Brock trying to cut promos before Heyman came back. We all had a good cackle about him talking about "this feeling I'm feeling" but long term there was no way Brock could continue doing his own promo work.

Brock doesn't NEED Heyman but he's better off with him.

PISS

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TheRock1525 posted...

I wonder if Andre had wrestled during the era of weekly television, how many appearances would he make?

He did. He literally never appeared on Superstars.

He did on VERY Rare occasions work Saturday Night's Main Event.

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Steiner posted...

nobody says this shit about andre the giant because it's not how wwe framed him

Is this the worst way theyve tried to get Roman over or the best one?

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it's the worst but it started with painting rock this way in the cena feud. you never heard this bitterness towards special attractions before then

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Eddv posted...

He did. He literally never appeared on Superstars.

He did on VERY Rare occasions work Saturday Night's Main Event.

I actually looked this up because I was curious

He did have two singles matches on Superstars during the 5 years it existed while he was a singles guy.

Then once he started the Colossal Connection with Haku as he wound down his career, they had a handful of tag matches on Superstars, including winning the tag titles on that show
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Glad to be the Naito #1 guy.

I think he's pretty fairly ranked, tho he should've been ahead of Ishii.

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32. Kevin Owens
Score: 67
# of Lists: 6

Kevin Owens/Steen is one of the all around most entertaining wrestlers in modern history. There is an elite tier of performer who can blend comedy with an aura of toughness with the obvious example being Steve Austin. For my money, Owens has everything necessary to get to the same level as Austin did, but unfortunately things have never quite broke that way in WWE. Still, I think its clear his WWE run has done him favours in this list in fact, he is the highest-ranking NXT graduate on the list.

His career will always be indelibly linked with that of El Generico/Sami Zayn, with both breaking into the business together in the Canadian independents, before beginning to be booked as both a team and as opponents in the likes of CZW and PWG. Its PWG where Kevin would begin to break out as not just a worker but a character, entertaining not just on promos but also in interactions during his matches, and commentary during everyone elses. Steen on commentary produces some of PWGs most memorable moments
Steen would reach new heights as his team with Generico began to get booked in ROH, leading to a feud with the Briscoes that gave us the first Ladder War in ROH, my personal favourite ladder match or ROH match. A few years later Steen would win the ROH title, and around this time would feud with Generico in the best executed version of that feud to date, resulting in a feud of the year award in the Observer.

While Generico was signed some time before Steen, their WWE careers would quickly become intertwined again when Steen showed up the night Sami Zayn would win the title, powerbombing him on the stage in a memorable angle that signified that these two would never break apart from each other. Owens had a short run as NXT champion before moving on to probably his most significant WWE program his Raw debut against John Cena. Delivering some of WWEs best matches of 2015 with the top guy in the business (and one of his last programs as that) should have been the arrival of a certified Superstar

Of course, its WWE, and it never quite materialized like that but hes still one of the biggest success stories of NXT or the recent WWE. And while maybe hes rarely delivering in ring at the level he did in the independents, hes still consistently one of the most entertaining, compelling and convincing characters in wrestling and well always have great moments like the Festival of Friendship to take from his WWE run.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1036033213107651; Kevin Steen & El Generico vs. The Briscoes (November 30 2007)

31. John Cena
Score: 68
# of Lists: 4

(Guest writeup: Eddv)

I imagine seeing John Cena this high on a list like this would send the circa 2009 APWT that existed when I first came back to wrestling a series of shocks but having missed the rough transitional years of 2006 and 2007, it has always been plain for me to see that John Cena is and always has been the star of our generation.

He goes out and turns a horse "dookie" promo idea into something fun and memorable. He got a PPV feud with Johnny Ace to become something we still laugh about and have fun with in the 2010s. He served as the catalyst for every single good story WWE has told since 2004 save maybe Bryan at mania 30. He had classic matches with Umaga, Edge, Michaels, Hunter, Angle, Punk, Bryan, Lesnar, Rusev. Theres no one he crossed paths with who didn't at least temporarily feel like a big effing deal as a result. I was temporarily fooled into thinking Cryme Tyme was gonna be huge just because they were associated with Cena. He is the man who singlehandedly delayed the current dog dookie WWE from being totally exposed for an extra decade.

He does all this while working a style that, if you weren't too busy whining about it, was noticeably identical to how Bret worked, just less crisp. He's not a ring general yet unlike a Triple H he holds his own with every talent he crosses paths with and made the matches the dramatic affairs they tended to be. He is the entire genesis of my belief that you don't need to be a greater ring technician to be a good worker. Despite how sloppy he is he brings so much emotion and psychology to the table. He gets you to maybe temporarily believe The Miz is a bad ass. He can work a crowd better than anyone ever has, even when a large portion of the crowd was demanding and insisting that Cena was terrible and I don't say that lightly. I know the split crowd stuff mars his legacy to some respected voices but in the end I believe they weren't rejecting Cena, they were rejecting WWE and just didn't know it yet.

And whats crazy he has done all of this with just horrendous booking. He had the talent to be an all around great. There is a fairly basic debate in wrestling, the Vince Jr vs Vince Sr debate, where you think the best quality a star can have is to be relatable or to be larger than life. Cena was booked exclusively as a larger than life superhero for much of his career to his extreme detriment. How much better could Cena have been if he had ever been allowed to show vulnerability. Cena is a great relatable guy. He's got the immature sense of humor that Triple H wishes he had, he genuinely loves people and kids. In the wake of so much of wrestling being filled with grifters and sex pests, John Cena stands a league apart as what you would want wrestlers to be like - big goofy frat boys with a heart of gold.

Steiner note: It's interesting that Cena ranks so highly while only being on 4 lists. This lines up with my thoughts that a large portion of the fanbase does not give Cena his just due.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x17af0f; John Cena vs. Rob Van Dam (June 11, 2006)

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I understand Nick's taste in wrasslemans better than I understand the Lesnar worship

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Cena was so misery inducing from 2006 until 2015 with the exception of his feud with Punk.

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I know what you mean by it but Owens being classified as an "NXT graduate" still makes me twitch a little.

As far as Cena goes, I certainly considered him and I'll never argue with anyone who does believe he's a legitimate all-time great, but I'll never be able to get past the overwhelming feeling that his long run is, above all else, representative of almost everything that's been wrong with WWE for years and years. That last match with Owens was the straw that broke the camel's back for me and led to my final handwaving of the company for good, and those sorts of bad tastes in my mouth will always be the first thing I think of when I see Cena's name. It's not really his fault in a lot of ways, but it's still too much for me.

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Tom Bombadil posted...

I understand Nick's taste in wrasslemans better than I understand the Lesnar worship

did you blindly hate him in 2003 and 2013 too or only once they told you to

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I'm interested to see if Matt Riddle can go as far as Owens has gone on the main roster. Of course it's all how the booking goes, but he doesnt' seem afraid to put himself out there.

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I have at no point hated Brock, actually! I just don't see him as God's gift to us foolish mortals, and I don't like his booking.

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ninkendo posted...

I'm interested to see if Matt Riddle can go as far as Owens has gone on the main roster.

Nope.

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Tom Bombadil posted...

I have at no point hated Brock, actually! I just don't see him as God's gift to us foolish mortals, and I don't like his booking.

if you don't hate him it seems weird to label praise of him as seeing him "as God's gift to us foolish mortals" - i mean he ranked in the 30s

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I didn't see this nomination topic and don't have an acute sense of Board 8's wrestling preferences, so is it more likely that Bruiser Brody made the top 30 or missed the top 100?

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CaptainOfCrush posted...

so is it more likely that Bruiser Brody made the top 30 or missed the top 100?

wish you voted

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