Board 8 > B8's Greatest Wrestlers Ever Ranking

(+) Yeah! (+)

wait if I had voted CM Punk would have been my #3 lolz

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Jakyl25 posted...

Also in most places its a poor imitation of Kings Road <_<

yeah i mean, wrestling sucks

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The ghost of Santo will no longer haunt steiner

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Top 20 prediction

1. Shawn Michaels
2. Ric Flair
3. Steve Austin
4. The Rock
5. Bret Hart
6. Chris Jericho
7. Kazuchika Okada
8 .Daniel Bryan
9 .Mitsuharu Misawa
10. Kurt Angle
11. Hiroshi Tanahashi
12. Undertaker
13. Kenta Kobashi
14. AJ Styles
15. Eddie Guerrero
16. Randy Savage
17. Jushin Liger
18. Rey Mysterio
19. Manami Toyota
20. Terry Funk

you're 20/20, good work

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not in order like, but those are the 20

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20. AJ Styles
Score: 130
# of Lists: 10
Highest Vote: .ZeroSignal, 5th

Writeup: NBIceman

AJ Styles is quite simply one of the best in-ring performers in the history of professional wrestling. This is a guy who was good when he had his first match, great when he got his first real shine in the business as part of TNA's first match ever, and exceptional by the time his main event pushes started. He's compensated for wrestling an extremely physically taxing style for his entire career (that, especially in his younger days, saw him taking some of the sickest bumps I've ever seen outside of hardcore wrestling or deathmatches) by progressively making small tweaks to his style that allowed him to adjust to all of the many roles he's played without ever losing that distinct Phenomenal One feel. Fast-paced, high-flying, high-impact matches have been his bread and butter for two decades throughout it all, held together by the backbone of the Pele kick, the Stylin' DDT, one of the best and smoothest dropkicks in history, and the iconic Styles Clash. He's played the underdog youngster, the egotistical heel, the veteran ass-kicker, and the cocky prick you still can't help but appreciate, and it's all worked. Unless your name is Curt Hawkins, if you've wrestled AJ Styles, you've almost definitely had a great match with him. This man made MATT MORGAN look great, and if that doesn't solidify him as a miracle worker, nothing will.

He's finally slowed down considerably in the last few years, but after the career he's had, who could blame him? He accomplished literally everything a wrestler could ever hope for. A final run full of things like bad comedy and being literally murdered in a match doesn't change the fact that for 15 years, give or take, he was always one of the 20 best wrestlers in the world.

That on its own would be more than enough to merit his high placement on this list, but his importance to the places he's worked shouldn't be overlooked. Styles was the lifeblood of the early TNA X-Division (and therefore arguably the promotion as a whole given that division's importance to the product), and he continued to be one of its most prominent assets for his entire run with the company. He held every title, had several of their most memorable matches, and made everyone around him better, even during times where he was put into situations where it was almost impossible to succeed. No matter how relevant or irrelevant TNA was at any given time, Styles was one of their major draws. I actually credit him for being the primary reason I even started to seek out wrestling outside of WWE in the first place, because TNA was my entry point into that world.

But he also played a huge part in establishing Ring of Honor as an early darling of the hardcore fan, his most notable contribution coming in a match with Paul London that I still consider one of my all-time favorite bouts, and then he pumped a bit of new life into the place upon his return a decade later. The real prize of his more recent work, though, is obviously his New Japan run, where he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his first match and overcame some initial fan rejection to become one of its most featured and best-drawing stars for a couple of years. And oh yeah, he had some incredible matches there, too.

Not many wrestlers, if any at all, can claim to be as good AND successful for as long and in as many different places as AJ Styles has been. Honestly, considering the kind of variety he's produced in his long career, I'd be hard pressed to think of many guys that I'd rather watch the lifetime compilation of. He's proven time and again just how accurate his famous epithet is, and it may be a long time before we see anyone quite like him again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U28pyOAMXcI; AJ Styles vs. Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels (September 11, 2005)

19. "Macho Man" Randy Savage
Score: 131
# of Lists: 10
Highest Vote: .Whiskey Nick, 3rd

Writeup: Eddv
Randy Savage is pretty unique among people who are this high on the list. Sure Savage would have a long, even relatively successful, run in WCW post 'retirement' and sure prior to coming to the WWF he was one of the best workers in the world. But no one cares about any of that. Not really. There is only one thing people care about with Savage and its his character arc as the Macho Man.

The story is of course famous, Savage debuts in the WWF and is being made out to be the new hot main event level heel, so naturally every heel manager lined up trying to acquire his services and he went instead with the babyface Miss Elizabeth and set in motion a slow burn character arc regarding their relationship, which provided the framework that produced every hot angle, every great promo, every....everything that Savage produced.

Wrestlemania 3? The whole George Steele/Elizabeth thing played out to cost Savage the title. Savages run with the Mega Powers as a babyface World Champion? Defined by the weird love triangle between he and Hogan with Liz, turning heel via his treatment of the pure chaste Liz. Even his eventual babyface turn came as the result of his embrace of Liz and somehow Savage dragged The Ultimate Warrior to a very very good match in the process.

And without Liz, post Liz? He was a shell of himself. Without her he was merely a good wrestler - and there were much better than him. And sure he had a great promo ability - perhaps the best coke fueled promo of the coke-fueled promo era. But as time passed even that became less true as the working style got faster and the promo style got less insane.

Ironically it's this period that is most well remembered, the Slim Jim commercials, the cheesy pin attempt on Yoko during a Royal Rumble, feuding with Repo Man over the possession of his hat, the movie cameos? All of that came during his down period. He drew more money as a broken down old shell of himself than most wrestlers do in their entire careers.

It's arguably the most successful angle of all time - certainly the most successful valet angle. He feuded with all the greats along the way, giving most of them their best matches or up there. Steamboat. Flair. Jake Roberts. Hogan. Warrior. He provided them all with very high drama and high emotion bouts that tugged on the heartstrings and advanced his relationship with Liz and through that dynamic he was basically able to print money and fan respect. And that's why Savage is here.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1wevii; Randy Savage vs. Jerry Lawler (December 12, 1983)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xjxw0a; Randy Savage vs. Ricky Steamboat (March 29, 1987)

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muddersmilk posted...

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5zehbt; Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psychosis (July 7, 1996)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4vhkur; Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Eddie Guerrero (October 26, 1997)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6nij5u; Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle (August 25, 2002)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xylbtx; Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho (June 28, 2009)

:O

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnBUbRowRgM

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ninkendo posted...

:O

You just had to quote it before I corrected it huh?

I just copied the wrong matches, not that it is any surprise that Rey Mysterio will show up on this list.

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hopefully he doesn't lose his other eyeball tonight!

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Just realized I never posted these

20. AJ Styles
ZeroSignal - 5 (21 points)
paulg - 6 (20 points)
scarlet - 8 (18 points)
Iceman - 9 (17 points)
Rock - 12 (14 points)
Sultan - 14 (12 points)
junk_funk - 17 (9 points)
Maniac - 19 (7 points)
illuminatusbubu - 20 (6 points)
Mega Mana - 20 (6 points)

19. Randy Savage
Whiskey_Nick - 3 (23 points)
Maniac - 5 (21 points)
malyg - 9 (17 points)
Rock - 9 (17 points)
ZeroSignal - 13 (13 points)
MarkS2 - 14 (12 points)
Tennis - 16 (10 points)
Sultan - 16 (10 points)
WarThaNemesis - 20 (6 points)
Jakyl - 24 (2 points)

a significant jump in number of lists into the top 20, as AJ is the first to make 10 lists. We had 24 entrants total so that's a little under half.

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junk_funk posted...

I had Hulk because he brought the audience to wrestling in America. Every wrestler on my list is likely technically better at wrestling than him, but he knew how to fire up a crowd in match and cut a passionate promo. You ask any random on the street to name any wrestler and he'd be mentioned more often than not. Would easily belong on the Mount Rushmore of American wrestling if he weren't a jackass.

i think it's really fascinating that with this as your criteria, Savage doesn't even make your list. I'm not saying he was level with Hogan by any stretch, but he is pretty close in a lot of ways

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Yeah if I asked my dad (the truest indicator of pop culture penetration) what wrestlers he knows it would probably be Hogan, Andre, Big Daddy, and Macho Man. Even if Macho Man's a distant fourth the fact he's on the list with the most famous wrestler of all time and also Hogan speaks for itself!!

(I'm kidding obviously, the most famous wrestler is Dragon Dragon).

To those people who thought I spoiled Rey Mysterio being next, I laugh at you for thinking my error was that obvious.

18. Jushin Thunder Liger
Score: 136
# of Lists: 10
Highest Vote: CPU, 5th

Writeup: Bidoof

One of the finest of his generation and arguably the greatest junior heavyweight of all time, Jushin Thunder Liger truly had a legendary career that ended this year. Spanning 35 years and over 4000 matches all over the globe, Liger has from the beginning worked to be a totally unique and standout performer. Whether that meant incorporating martial arts techniques in the early 80s or utilizing the striking lucha libre offense from Mexico at a time where it was novel, he always sought to better not just himself but also the Japanese junior style. As a result, Liger found himself to be not just one of the most popular wrestlers in Japan but also one of its biggest influences to future wrestlers.

From a pure match standpoint, its difficult to say what would be the best of Jushin Thunder Liger. Just in the 90s alone, Liger had show-stealing performances with just about every junior of note. His two matches with The Great Sasuke in 1994 basically changed the game when it comes to junior heavyweight wrestling and are still incredible to watch even in the era of Ricochet/Ospreay or Hiromu/Dragon Lee. His match with Shinjiro Otani in 97 is another personal favorite of mine and shows off more of his technical skills. Probably the most well-known match of his to American fans was his amazing match with Flyin Brian Pillman on Superbrawl II. In the 90s alone, I can think of at least a dozen Liger matches that not only were excellent for their day but would likely be among the best matches on any promotions card today. It just goes to show how progressive Liger was as a performer. And as an aside, it was in 1996 that Liger had a brain tumor removed. Not even that slowed him down!

Ligers greatness and impact on the junior heavyweight division is not just limited to the 90s. In the 2000s, he was the leader of a heel crew in NJPW, established himself as the cornerstone of the division, and continued to work around the world with future stars like Brian Danielson, Samoa Joe, and Mistico. That last part kind of became one of the most noteworthy things about Ligers work in the latter half of his career his interest in working with the people that he saw as the future of wrestling. While many Japanese performers tend to be loyal to their home promotion, Liger felt like a guy who cared more about the future of the sport rather than his allegiance to NJPW. During many of these appearances for other promotions and even when wrestlers from other promotions appeared for NJPW, Liger often did the job to younger guys like YAMATO or Austin Aries despite his influence in wrestling. Even for his retirement, Liger felt that it was important to showcase guys like Hiromu Takahashi and Dragon Ryu Lee.

To conclude, if you somehow have not seen anything from Jushin Thunder Liger then go seek it out. If you are only familiar with the Liger of 2016-2020, then definitely go watch his work in the 80s when he was still Keiichi Yamada and especially his 90s work. I especially recommend watching the 1994 Super J Cup. Not only do you get one of the best Liger matches ever in Sasuke/Liger, you get to see possibly the greatest one night tournament in wrestling history. Which, by the way, was Ligers idea in order to show NJPW brass that juniors can be a draw. I did not submit any votes for this list but, over the course of writing this and reviewing Ligers career, I feel it would be a great injustice to not have Jushin Thunder Liger on my personal list of greatest wrestlers ever. Thank you for reading.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xz7gm6; Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Flyin' Brian Pillman (February 29, 1992)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6symm; Jushin Thunder Liger vs. The Great Sasuke (April 16, 1994)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOHMjSfUzEA; Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Yoshinobu Kanemaru (July 10, 2004)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZhe0bWaI2o; Jushin Thunder Liger vs. Minoru Suzuki (October 14, 2019)

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17. Eddie Guerrero
Score: 139
# of Lists: 11
Highest Vote: CPU, 3rd

Writeup: scarletspeed7

Sit down for a cup of coffee and let me tell you the story of a roguish charmer who navigated the most turbulent and yet most successful period of wrestling in history, carving a path through divisions of complete all-stars and hall of famers. When you look at the accomplishments of Eddie Guerrero, the sheer number of accolades earned, the wide variety of opponents with whom Eddie forged unforgettable classics, it's easy to forget that his run as a prominent wrestler and star really lasted just over ten years. From Mexico to Japan to America, Eddie mixed every worldwide style and technique to become his own, slowly articulating a personality that took the devilish demeanor of a villain and turned it into a popular babyface underdog personality. Battling through companies filled with veterans unwilling to give younger talent a shot, pain-fueled drug addictions, and the stigma of being a smaller guy (leading to steroid usage), Eddie forced his body to take an unimaginable toll, all in an effort to inspire the fans of wrestling. His career was a true "Never Give Up" testament, right until the end, the highest point coming just before a tragic, undeniable sudden demise.

Do you have your coffee yet? Good. Try not to pour it on yourself. Eddie's true rise to prominence came in the mid-90s as a heel in AAA, supplementing his income with excursions to Japan as Black Tiger. In 1993 and 1994, he developed both the beginnings of his technical legend and his longest, most enduring relationships. Notably, Eddie's matches with Dean Malenko were the stuff of pure legend, eventually garnering attention with the promoters of the United States as tapes began to circulate. Before he made the jump to America, however, he helped pave the way for cruiserweight talent like Chris Jericho, Art Barr, and Chris Benoit, all legends in their own rights. Tagging with Barr, he helped developed the Frog Splash and participated in some legendary lucha tag matches, most notably against El Hijo del Santo and Octagon in a mask vs. hair match.

From here, Eddie made his way to Paul Heyman's boutique of rising talent best known as ECW. This short run resulted in a resume primed and ready for one of the big two's perusal, and in 1995, Eddie churned out a brief but memorable series of matches that culminated in a 2 out of 3 falls match with Malenko as a legendary send-off from the promotion.

At this point, Eddie found himself at the bottom of the heap in WCW. Despite the lack of credibility he found with the old veterans at the top of the card (such as Hogan), Eddie used his agile yet powerful move set and fast-paced familiarity with the lucha moveset to enter into some memorable matches for the US Title against men like Konnan, Chris Benoit, and Ric Flair. Eventually, Eric Bischoff realized the value of Eddie's international style, and Eddie was pushed into a featured role in the Cruiserweight division. It would be fair to say that, along with Malenko, Jericho and Rey Mysterio, Eddie established the division that most redefined pacing and storytelling in wrestling for the next generation of workers. Gone was the plodding, slow psychology of Hogan's era - here to stay was a new style of match best exemplified by what is arguably the best single match out of WCW during the Monday Night Wars - the Halloween Havoc Title vs. Mask match against Rey Mysterio in 1997. Built through a series of vignettes highlighting the value of the mask, Eddie was well-positioned to succeed as a heel in the high-water mark of cruiserweight matches, and with Rey, he set the ultimate standard for the division.

This success led to a desire by bookers to raise Eddie out of the division and push him towards the heavyweight division, but a car accident and a desire by veterans such as Nash and Hogan to keep the top tier drawing power focused on themselves meant that Eddie languished in the late 90s, trapped in stories featuring the LWO and Filthy Animals. By 2000, enough was enough, and other neglected talent left WCW alongside Eddie. This crop of all-star talent would send shockwaves in the wrestling community - first, Jericho would debut in front of the Rock in 1999, eventually followed by Malenko, Benoit, Guerrero and Perry Saturn the Radicalz.

In WWE, Eddie excelled in every facet of the business. He helped provide much-needed credibility for Chyna at the height of her success before moving on to the European Title. Fans loved Eddie, but the glut of talent made it difficult to break through to the top tier of WWE's biggest matches. It would take a brand split for Eddie and other talent that excelled in the ring to really showcase their abilities. For many, the early era of the brand split turned Smackdown into the must-watch show that really formed their wresting sensibilities at a young age. Week in and week out, Eddie would churn out clinic after clinic with talent like Benoit, Kurt Angle, Chavo Guerrero, Rey Mysterio, and Edge. With success in the ring, the persona of Eddie Guerrero - a lying, cheating thief - began to gain traction with fans, and by 2004, Eddie realized the years-long goal of becoming the top champion of a wrestling brand, defeating Brock Lesnar for the WWE title at No Way Out. The visual of Eddie and Benoit, lifelong friends and co-champions from both of the top wrestling brands in the world, is the fitting final image for many, a capstone at Wrestlemania 20 and a reward for careers of scraping and climbing to the top of the ladder.

When we look back on the careers of the journeymen of wrestling in the Monday Night Wars, it becomes clear that our fandom became inextricably linked to the careers of certain talents. For many, wrestling died with Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit, two men that had nearly a hundred matches alongside and against one another in multiple promotions over a ten-year period. Eddie's smooth talking and his dirty tactics enamored millions, and when died, a little piece of wrestling as a business went with him. It cannot be ignored how his work as a cruiserweight talent and a member of the Smackdown Six helped to redefined the pace and style of matches in American companies, an impact that is felt to this day in both men's and women's divisions, be it WWE, Impact, Ring of Honor, and even AEW. And of course, his legacy looks to live on today in his son, Dominic.

Rest easy, Latino Heat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1bchiaDP1Y; Eddy Guerrero & Love Machine vs. El Hijo del Santo & Octagon (June 11, 1994)
https://www.bilibili.com/video/av12564651/; Black Tiger vs. Wild Pegasus (June 11, 1996)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3axlv9; Eddie Guerrero vs. Edge (September 26, 2002)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x197561; Eddie Guerrero vs. Brock Lesnar (February 15, 2004)

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muddersmilk posted...

And of course, his legacy looks to live on today in his son, Dominic.

10/10

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18. Jushin Thunder Liger
CPU - 5 (21 points)
sephsblade - 9 (17 points)
illuminatusbubu - 9 (17 points)
Steiner - 10 (16 points)
Rock - 10 (16 points)
Iceman - 11 (15 points)
scarlet - 15 (11 points)
icon - 16 (10 points)
WarThaNemesis - 18 (8 points)
Semi - 21 (5 points)

17. Eddie Guerrero
CPU - 3 (23 points)
Maniac - 4 (22 points)
sephsblade - 5 (21 points)
Semi - 9 (17 points)
Mega Mana - 10 (16 points)
ZeroSignal - 11 (15 points)
icon - 19 (7 points)
junk_funk - 19 (7 points)
Sultan - 20 (6 points)
malyg - 23 (3 points)
Steiner - 24 (2 points)

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Speaking of Dominic...

16. Rey Mysterio Jr.
Score: 150
# of Lists: 11
Highest Vote: War, 2nd

Writeup: Eddv

Rey reps out as perhaps the greatest underdog of all time. WWE for certain hasnt been able to resist heaping that title upon him ad nauseum and giving Rey the matching booking. Poor Rey had the dubious distinction of having the act of being booked to lose a lot as champion get renamed "pulling a Rey" due to the way they treated him during his main event level run. But this is really par for the course for Rey who managed to get over in America again and again based on almost nothing but raw talent and skill.

He didn't invent high flying wrestling, but the argument can be made that he has perfected it. You can go back and watch old Rey Mysterio matches when he first came to WCW. Schiavone, Heenan and Dusty sit there stupefied trying to call the action, unable to keep up with either his style or his rapid fire delivery or his seemingly off the cuff creativity in how he would deliver his moves. At his athletic peak, he was thrilling audiences who had absolutely no frame of reference for what Lucha was and making them fans of the style and getting the whole division and company over. Tony Schiavone uttered a phrase during one of these early bouts that has stuck with me - "any one of these maneuvers, if done by anyone else would have a name and be their finisher, but for Rey Mysterio it's just one of the hundreds of maneuvers he can unleash at a given time". I can recall watching Rey's matches and feeling a sense of awe and reverence at not knowing what he would do next. They would make a practice of wheeling out the nerdy Mike Tenay just to give the audience someone who could give them some sense of the action.

Years and years later, even now, when people discuss the WCW cruiserweight division, sure they're talking about Malenko and Jericho and Juventud but mostly? They're talking about Rey. He got the cruiserweight style popular and then, perhaps more impressively he shattered the need in the US to sequester that style behind a weight class. Every match in existence now features a tope suicida and that simply would not be the case if not for Rey. I think you can successfully make the argument that Rey has influenced the style and delivery of the actual wrestling we see in front of our eyes more than any other wrestler on this list. And for good reason, the night the nWo was formed? All the smarky nerds could talk about was the clinic he put on with Psychosis instead.

And he did all of this with bookers and management that, mostly didn't get him. Didn't understand what was happening in the ring or what it was about Rey that was getting so popular. Yet that popularity alone got Rey opportunities, even in WCW he was presented as a world title challenger at one point. Russo insisted he de-mask again proving he was as ill-suited to understanding Rey as Heenan was. Commentary on his matches often elicited racist quips from Heenan or Dusty or later on Lawler. It didn't matter that none of them got it. The audience got it. People like Scott Hall would mock them while the entire next generation of wrestlers studied and copied him hoping to thrill audiences even a fraction as well as Rey.

To the point that when Rey made his WWE debut in 2003, he was an instant sensation as WWE loyalists got their first look at what a real high flier looked like and rode that to a certain height as a main event fixture.

The only knock on him, really, is that WWE never quite pulled the trigger on him and yet...he returned to AAA and Lucha Underground in the 2010s as a broken down shell of himself and still put even the modern luchadors not named Flamita and Rey Fenix to shame. While he may not have the pedigree of championships and booking opportunities he deserved, the fact that literally everyone in WWE now has a top rope move and the ability to do a tope rings out as a more tangible legacy than anything more decorated champions have to show for themselves.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5zehbt; Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Psychosis (July 7, 1996)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4vhkur; Rey Misterio Jr. vs. Eddie Guerrero (October 26, 1997)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6nij5u; Rey Mysterio vs. Kurt Angle (August 25, 2002)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xylbtx; Rey Mysterio vs. Chris Jericho (June 28, 2009)

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15. The Undertaker
Score: 152
# of Lists: 11
First Place Votes: 1, paulg

Writeup: Steiner

The Undertaker, more than anything else, is the greatest gimmick in wrestling history. It would have been very easy for The Dead Man to be a one note act with a five-year shelf life, starting as a monster for Hogan to knock down then falling to the midcard. A controversial title victory against Hogan before losing it back days later was itself further than even Vince Jr. would ever go with such a cartoonish character before. So it was unfathomable that The Undertaker would go on to be a constant presence in the main event scene for 20 years, and become interwoven with WWE lore in a way few are just the fact that the gimmick endured for so long (biker phase notwithstanding) is a testament to both Mark Callaway and the WWFs commitment to a character that wouldnt have worked nearly as well in any other setting, or with any other performer.

When the Undertaker debuted in 1990, cartoon characters were par for the course in the WWF. He fit right in this era, alongside the likes of Hulk Hogan, The Ultimate Warrior and Macho Man Randy Savage but, despite showing some flairs of athleticism, early in his career he rarely had a match worth speaking of, as he was often across the ring from luminaries such as Mabel, King Kong Bundy and of course, Giant Gonzales. While he would occasionally be a title challenger in this period, even his first encounter with Bret Hart didnt produce anything too memorable.

Enter 1996, along with two happenings which would alter the trajectory of the Undertakers career. The first, and most obvious, was the signing of Mick Foley, who would debut as the Mankind character. As usual, the newest Dark and Mysterious character in the WWF would go after The Undertaker but, unlike in previous cases, Mankind brought magic from the Undertaker in the ring (or, indeed, the Boiler Room). Undertaker and Mankind would feud through 96, producing all of Undertakers best matches to date. It was later in the year though that the second change occurred one you would have expected to spell doom for the Undertaker. The WWF began to shift in presentation, offering an edgier product with more realistic characters. While there were some remnants of previous eras in the mid and lower cards, the cartoon tones were largely gone from the main events by now and with characters like Stone Cold Steve Austin and Bret Hart at the top of the card, the Dead Man could have easily started to feel out of place.

For whatever reason though, the opposite happened. The Undertaker flourished in this new environment, and while surrounded on the show by Steve Austins rise to the top as a pissed off wild badass and Shawn Michaels and Bret Harts extremely real rivalry, fans were also willing to buy into the lore that developed around the Undertaker in this period, as Paul Bearer would reveal his backstory and hype the debut of the Kane character for months. This would all play into one of WWFs finest hours at Badd Blood in 1997, Undertaker would far exceed even his best previous work as he met Shawn Michaels in the first ever Hell in a Cell match. The match is a masterpiece not just from a workrate perspective and psychology perspective, it also ends with the debut of Kane which, thanks to the months of buildup, got a monstrous reaction and must go down as one of the best debuts of all time.

Kane would go on to be an integral part of the Undertakers career, and the two would share many of the WWFs most iconic moments both as opponents and as partners. Its while sharing the screen with Kane that The Undertaker is at his wackiest and most supernatural vanishing from burning coffins, firing lightning with a point of his finger, so on and so forth. But for whatever reason, despite the changing wrestling business in the late 90s, audiences lapped up all of this. Youll struggle to find a fan of the late 90s WWF who cant tell you intricate details of Undertaker and Kanes backstory. Theres nothing else approaching this fantastical at the time, and it really is testament to everybody involved that it was received as well as it was.

Its incredible then, that a character to whom the story, gimmick and all the other trappings around It was so important, was able to disappear in 99 and return as The American Bad Ass, Biker Taker. Its tough to say the Deadman character had outlasted its welcome considering hed be back to it in under 4 years, for another 16 years from that point but the Biker character did add new dimensions to the playbook of the Undertaker. A more important thing happened during this era though the first mention of The Streak.

Now, to fact check that a little bit JR had mentioned Undertaker being undefeated at Wrestlemania at least as early as WM12 vs. Diesel, but it really started to be something they would promote the match around with Ric Flair, as Taker hit 10-0 at Wrestlemania 18. The next decade after this is, to me, the most important of Undertakers career, and the reason hes deserving of this spot. The man could and should have only wrestled once per year and would have had as much impact on WWEs business as anybody they had as a centerpiece star of that period. For the 10 years of The Streak from Mania 20-30, it was The Undertakers match that made the show special. It was this same time period that Wrestlemania became the supershow we know it as today while it had been WWFs biggest show, it hadnt been the year defining spectacle wed come to know today. I would argue now that WWEs business shifted to be far more focused on Wrestlemania than it had in the 90s and none of that happens without The Undertaker match as a cornerstone of each one. The proof lies in what has come since Has any Mania really felt like a Wrestlemania since Lesnar ended the streak at Mania 30?

And besides the impact on the business lets just look at some of those matches. Most will probably circle his last 5 wins HBK, HBK, Triple H, Triple H, and CM Punk. Id like to at least stretch that back a further two years to include Edge and Batista. Id argue all 7 of these would be in the upper echelons of Wrestlemania matches ever with the top few of these being the favourites for greatest ever. In fact, Im fairly sure the Michaels match at 25 is the consensus greatest WWF/E match of all time and if not its splitting hairs with the winner.

The Undertaker isnt for me never has been. Im not into magic zombies, urns, lightning, caskets and all the rest. I like wrestling where one guy is a wrestler and the other guy is also a wrestler and theyre going to wrestle each other. But in Vince McMahons absurdist world of sports entertainment, The Undertaker is a part of the fabric. When you look at everything Ive put to you here and, please, consider that Hulk Hogan was made before he ever came to the WWF I think my closing argument to you is this: The Undertaker is Vince McMahons greatest creation.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x51u6mw; The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (October 5, 1997)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x50cdbp; The Undertaker vs. Mankind (June 28, 1998)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xy9fsz; The Undertaker vs. Kurt Angle (February 19, 2006)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgASnGbbKn8; The Undertaker vs. Shawn Michaels (April 5, 2009)

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muddersmilk posted...

In fact, Im fairly sure the Michaels match at 25 is the consensus greatest WWF/E match of all time and if not its splitting hairs with the winner.

I still remember that match giving me a pit in my stomach because I thought there was a real chance Taker paralyzed himself. That bump (everyone knows the one) looked horrific.

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these are some good wrestlers

one might say some of the greatest

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WM25 vs HBK is my all time favorite match. I will always remember how everyone at my Mania party was just glued to the screen and living and dying with every move. Most of these people were 1 or 2 wrestling show a year people so it was cool to see them super into it.

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I mean, never was there a weirder juxtaposition in pro-wrestling when you look at how Taker was handled after his 2004 return.

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16. Rey Mysterio Jr.
WarThaNemesis - 2 (24 points)
malyg - 3 (23 points)
Maniac - 9 (17 points)
Eddv - 10 (16 points)
icon - 11 (15 points)
Steiner - 12 (14 points)
Rock - 15 (11 points)
ZeroSignal - 17 (9 points)
Jakyl - 17 (9 points)
scarlet - 18 (8 points)
junk_funk - 22 (4 points)

15. The Undertaker
paulg - 1 (25 points)
junk_funk - 3 (23 points)
CPU - 6 (20 points)
Tennis - 7 (19 points)
Sultan - 7 (19 points)
Whiskey_Nick - 10 (16 points)
Extha - 14 (12 points)
ZeroSignal - 18 (8 points)
Mega Mana - 22 (4 points)
MarkS2 - 22 (4 points)
malyg - 24 (2 points)

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also I'm only finding out courtesy of this topic that the character limit is now 8000! maybe i'll try to stick to that for everything going forward <_>

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Eddv posted...

Is that our first #1 to drop since Naito?

Steiner posted...

oh yes, great spot Ed I had meant to mention that!

I lied, Bull Nakano at 41 was sephsblade's number 1. So for those keeping count of number 1s, so far we have:

ExTha - Tetsuya Naito (60)
sephsblade - Bull Nakano (41)
MarkS2 - Hulk Hogan (23)
Semi - Jumbo Tsuruta (21)
paulg - The Undertaker (15)

19 first place rankings remain

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lol oops i fucked up the taker vs shawn mania match; lets try again

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6ckqzb

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i thought that was on purpose

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+25 Bull Nanako
+24 Dusty Rhodes
+23 Lioness Asuka
+22
+21 Eddie Guerrero
+20 Aja Kong
+19
+18
+17 Liger
+16 Sting
+15
+14 Scott Steiner
+13 Takahashi
+12 Pentagon Jr.
+11 Kagetsu
+10
+9
+8 Shingo
+7 Orange Cassidy
+6
+5 Jon Moxley
+4 Kenny Omega
+3 Awesome Kong
+2 random placeholder from blackpool
+1

Can't believe random placeholder from blackpool is going to be in the top 15.

Sorry, writeup still isn't done today. Hopefully get all of my remaining ones done over the weekend now
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Sorry its been a busy weekend.

14. Terry Funk
Score: 158
# of Lists: 9
First Place Votes: 1, Eddv

Writeup: Steiner
Its so difficult to know where to start with Terry Funk. Its hard to point to one career high point for him, or one thing that makes him great. But therein lies his strength for over 40 years, Terry Funk wrestled everywhere around the world, wrestling at the top of cards, drawing money and wrestling some of the greatest matches of all time. If I have to point to one thing that sets Terry Funk apart, its the breadth of his work brawls in Texas, mat wrestling in St. Louis, tag teaming in Japan. Terry Funk would have no doubt had an all-time great career if he had wrapped up in 1989, but if theres one thing we all know about Terry Funk, its that he never wrapped it up. While the 90s may not have matched some of the in ring peaks of his 70s and 80s, by freshening up his style and changing with the (at that point, rapidly changing) times, Funk was able to not only work well into his 50s, he remained relevant in doing so.

Funk first wrestled in 1965, and would continue to wrestle until, at time of writing, 2017. Now, theres definitely a tail end there, but simply having a 52 year career is a feat in and of itself. His career started in his fathers promotion, Western States Sports, based in Amarillo, Texas, where hed first find success teaming with his brother, Dory Funk Jr. The Funk Brothers would go on to be one of the top tag teams in the country, and this would lead to their first trip to Japan in 1971 where they would win the NWA International Tag Team Titles from B-I Cannon the team of Antonio Inoki and Giant Baba. The Funks were one of the top teams in All Japan throughout the 70s and early 80s, feuding initially with the likes of Giant Baba, Jumbo Tsuruta and The Destroyer, before eventually turning babyface and wrestling alongside Jumbo and Baba in their feud with Abdullah and The Sheik.

But while theres a catalogue of incredible Funk Brothers tag matches, its as a singles Funk really finds his greatest success namely, defeating Jack Brisco in 1975 for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. Hed hold the title for 14 months, defending against names like Dusty Rhodes, Andre the Giant, Dick Murdoch, Jerry Lawler among others before finally losing it to Harley Race in February 1977. Dory Jr. had held the title earlier, from 1969 to 1973, making them the first (only? Im pretty sure) pair of brothers to hold the title. And so through the rest of the 70s, Terry Funk was an established name, main eventing all through the US and Japan. By the time he has his first retirement match in 1983, hes a surefire hall of famer.

To me, though, its everything after that makes him one of the greatest of all time. His return to the NWA in 1989, first as a commentator, and then interviewing Ric Flair after the conclusion of the legendary Steamboat series before attacking Flair in one of my favourite angles ever setting up a pair of Flair-Funk matches in 1989 that would round out Ric Flairs 1989 perhaps the best single year a wrestler ever had. The I Quit match especially is one that, for all the legendary matches Ric Flair had in his career, is one many cite as his best ever. After this, hed continue to work WCW, have a USWA title reign in Memphis, and start to work with ECW.

Ive seen some argue that ECW doesnt affect Funks Greatest Wrestler case, and I think thats nuts. Its by no means his greatest in ring work, but its definitely an important time in his career. He first comes to ECW in 1993, in the early days of the promotion while its still NWA affiliate Eastern Championship Wrestling. But his first match there is an I Quit Texas Death Match quickly becoming a part of the tone shift that was taking place in Philadelphia at this time. (As an aside, a few months later, FMW owner and Deathmatch legend Atsushi Onita brought in Funk as his opponent in the FMW 4th Anniversary Show main event a No Rope Exploding Barbed Wire Time Bomb Deathmatch that really has to be seen. Funks clearly developed a certain type of rep by this point). Theres no doubt that Funk is a pioneer when it comes to the hardcore wrestling style both in the US and Japan, but it cant be understated the legitimacy that former NWA Champion Terry Funk participating in matches like this offered, to ECW especially as they made their name in the early 90s. Funks run was a crucial part of early ECW, and throughout his tenure there which ended in 97, like everywhere else he wrestled before, he was wildly entertaining.

And thats the thing with Funk I had to cover how many places he worked, his impact, his history but, more than anything, in doing all that he did, he was always entertaining. As a worker, he had one of the best minds for the business ever his sense of timing and grasp of the crowd is really unlike any other. Theres so few workers in history with the diversity of Funk, and the ability to switch face/heel so effortlessly. When he was a mad eyed vicious heel, a bloody babyface in peril, a cowardly weasel or any other role hes ever played, Terry Funk makes me love this dumb sport. May he wrestle another 50 years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEXneiWdDSE; Terry Funk vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (June 11, 1976)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xy58e1; Terry Funk vs. Stan Hansen (April 14, 1983)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HitHAHRTmcU; Ric Flair vs. Terry Funk (November 15, 1989)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPbn8Hsrv1g; Terry Funk vs. Atsushi Onita (Exploding No Rope Barbed Wire Exploding Ring Time Bomb Death Match)(May 5, 1993)

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13. Manami Toyota
Score: 166
# of Lists: 10
First Place Votes: 1, Icon

Writeup: voltch

When you look back on the the mid 90s, the state of wrestling in North America looked to be in a transition period of sorts, but the main events on many occasions still featured lumbering stiffs. Japan on the other hand was putting on a showcase with NJPW and AJPW riding high selling out stadiums or arenas and delivering all time classic matches. It was a great time for the scene, with even smaller promotions like FMW having their best years. But you could argue that the women's scene with AJW and JWP were producing match quality that was on par and in some cases, surpassed what the men were putting on.

Thanks in large part to Japan's bubble economy, money was flowing through all feds over in Japan and the women's scene was no exception, the 80s saw the scene flourish thanks to stars like Bull Nakano, Devil Masami and the Crush Gals. Early 90s AJW had one of the deepest and most talented rosters of its time, with many of them trained by the legendary Jaguar Yokota. Thanks to those girls, just about any show you watched would for sure feature a great match. But the one who stood out above the rest in the ring was none other than Manami Toyota. Now this is taking into account that her peers included Aja Kong, Akira Hokuto, Kyoko Inoue, Mayumi Ozaki and many many more.

What Toyota and co brought to the table were a series of fast paced, highly athletic, stiff matches. This was accompanied by huge frenzied crowds, on a show that displayed a lot of glitz and glamour. With so many future legends among her peers, Toyota didn't have to carry her opponents, she was free to have the best matches possible and the result was the best run of matches any woman has ever had.

Toyota could do it all; if you needed her to face a big hulking monster like Aja Kong or Dynamite Kansai, she'd tank the huge hits and deliver red hot comebacks. Against an Akira Hokuto, you're more likely to see an athletic showcase with huge dives, tons of impact moves and a lot of fired up screaming. Tag Matches? Just like the Four Pillars of Heaven, she had 5 star quality matches there too.

Toyota's workrate was essentially unmatched and in some cases, it might be considered a downside. She could keep up a frenetic pace for some lengthy matches, but as we've seen many times before, that can sometimes crossover into a dull spotfest. Though I would say in her case, she would consistently keep the match fun and engaging. Just like all the other true greats on this list, when the matches mattered most, she would rise up to the occasion. In a high stakes situation, you could rely on her to have one of the best matches of the night.

Again this is taking into account that she was working in a fed that had a supremely talented roster, with all the other girls striving to put on killer quality matches. Her career had longevity too and she would continue to wrestle deep into the 2010s. Unfortunately, the stage would be far smaller as with the economic bubble bursting, the money tap was shut and AJW went bankrupt. Toyota would never again perform in front of the same crowds or headline supershows, but she stuck with wrestling and would show up against old foes or the latest upcoming talent of the day. She could have created her own fed like Chigusa or Nanae or Ozaki, but that just wasn't her style.

Now that her career's over and you look at her legacy, ok so she's not the most famous women's wrestler, Hokuto had a higher peak, as did the Crush Gals and a number of others had more crossover fame on TV. But in the context of wrestling alone, she's got the collection of matches any woman's had and her wrestling style ended up having a rather deep influence.

You look at the state of women's wrestling in Japan right now and after much trial and error, it would seem that the winning formula is to go the idol route. The personalities are fun, the gimmicks are cute, the matches are actually better than you'd expect, but it's a niche scene. It shows that women's wrestling won't be getting back to the top by copying what the old guard did. Though at Toyota's peak, we got to see what women's wrestling looked when given time and money and the results were fantastic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_L0GTTbBUk; Megumi Kudo & Combat Toyoda vs. Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada (February 4, 1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RAIw7VTNy1A; Dynamite Kansai & Mayumi Ozaki vs Manami Toyota & Toshiyo Yamada (June 12, 1993)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrEXm-kvy5A; Manami Toyota vs. Akira Hokuto (September 2, 1995)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33uEiXg9_4w; Claudio Castagnoli & Sara Del Rey vs. Manami Toyota & Mike Quackenbush (September 19, 2010)

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14. Terry Funk
Eddv - 1 (25 points)
Steiner - 2 (24 points)
CPU - 4 (22 points)
voltch - 8 (18 points)
Semi - 8 (18 points)
WarThaNemesis - 11 (15 points)
sephsblade - 11 (15 points)
Rock - 13 (13 points)
Iceman - 18 (8 points)

13. Manami Toyota
icon - 1 (25 points)
malyg - 2 (24 points)
sephsblade - 4 (22 points)
illuminatusbubu - 4 (22 points)
Semi - 5 (21 points)
Steiner - 11 (15 points)
Iceman - 12 (14 points)
Jakyl - 13 (13 points)
voltch - 17 (9 points)
Eddv - 25 (1 points)

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8 top 5 rankings between those two - things are heating up quickly before we hit the top 10!

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As some hype for whats to come, we are at another break point on the list. The next rankings break 200 points and one of them will be the first to appear on 15 lists.

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I know he has a hernia or something and he's probably legitimately done but a part of me wishes Funk'd announce a new match just to spite the writeup, 'time of writing' hedging aside.

muddersmilk posted...

First Place Votes: 1, Icon

Icon ranking a woman as the greatest professional wrestler of all time is exactly the kind of thing our society needs. It's also about time we start having the Lisa Leslie vs Michael Jordan GOAT discussion imo.

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that 4 karma account seems worth engaging with

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Sorry, insane couple of days. Post tomorrow most likely!
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Wrestling

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Just realized a very important Terry Funk detail was left out of his writeup.

He ain't wear no damn moufpiece.

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Post will come tonight.

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any guesses as to which 2 of the remaining 12 are going to miss the top 10?

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Shawn Michaels
Ric Flair
Steve Austin
The Rock
Bret Hart
Chris Jericho
Kazuchika Okada
Daniel Bryan
Mitsuharu Misawa
Kurt Angle
Hiroshi Tanahashi
Kenta Kobashi

These are the ones left, right? Angle, Kobashi, and Tana are the ones that jump out to me, but I could see a scenario when Bret and the Rock drop too.

I don't have much basis for it, but my guesses would be Tanahashi and the Rock.

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Kobashi and Rock

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Let's find out!

12. Mitsuharu Misawa
Score: 205
# of Lists: 10
First Place Votes: 1, CPU

Writeup: Steiner

In America in the 80s there was Ric Flair and the Big Gold Belt, the NWA World's Heavyweight Championship. In Japan in the 90s, there was Misawa and the AJPW Triple Crown Championship. The title was born in 1989, and a year on in the summer of 1990, Tiger Mask II would unmask and begin his ascent to that title, as the legend of Misawa was born. He would immediately wrestle the company's current Ace, Jumbo Tsuruta, in one of the greatest matches of all time, a match that would be pointed to as the birth of the King's Road style - a style that would become the dominant style wrestled around the world to this day, and which would produce a slew of the best matches of all time.

He wouldn't win the Triple Crown championship until 1992, but by that time the era of Misawa was already in full swing. It would be at the beginning of this reign that he'd first face his tag team partner, Toshiaki Kawada, which would kick off maybe the greatest rivalry of all time, as the pair would face off in not only numerous singles matches, but legendary tag team matches as well with Misawa teaming with Kenta Kobashi to take on Kawada and Akira Taue.

He'd continue having great matches with the other 4 Pillars of Heaven, as they would come to be known, and also the gaijins like Stan Hansen, Steve Williams and Terry Gordy, all through the 90s, holding the Triple Crown championship for 1799 days over his 5 reigns (that's 26 days short of being half the decade!) and in the process making that known as the most prestigious title in the sport.

As the 90s ends, so too does Misawa's time with AJPW, and he leaves to form the new promotion NOAH, which would go on to be the biggest wrestling company in Japan for the first part of the millennium, due in large part to Misawa himself as the top star. He would go on to have more legendary matches in NOAH - most notably another "GOAT" candidate in the epic singles match with Kenta Kobashi in 2003. As the 2000s went on, both the passing of time and the wear on Misawas body started to show first in Misawa slowing down, and then in his tragic passing in the ring.

While the 2010s have brought about a revival in New Japan, its hard to argue theres ever been a stronger scene in Japan than in the 90s. To me, Misawa is at the head of that. He was the ace during the golden age, both from a critical and business perspective. Once that run slowed down, he formed the next hot promotion, and NOAHs trajectory is completely tied to Misawa the hottest promotion in Japan while Misawa could still go, struggling as Misawa started to wear out, and quickly turning into just another glorified indie after Misawas death. Sad as it was to see, NOAHs rapid decline after Misawa is a clear sign of the huge draw he remained right up to his passing.

Ive talked a lot about how great Misawa was, but not what made him great. Its a very simple case, in my eyes hes the best in ring story teller of all time. You can point to the crisp technical wrestling skills, or the stiff work and level of punishment he took all points that made his matches stand out, for sure. But the reason so many consider his matches with Jumbo, Kawada and Kobashi to be amongst the greatest ever is the interwoven story threads be it throughout a single match, or over the course of their careers. The booking clearly helped, but there are so many threads woven through the major feuds of Misawas career that put all of these matches over the top and make it one of the most rewarding time investments youll ever get out of wrestling.

It takes a certain stature in wrestling to become synonymous with a colour but once that happens, its eternal. The red and yellow will always be Hulk Hogan. Pink and black may evoke images of other Harts, but more than anything its the Hitman. And the emerald green, for as long as there are ropes and a canvas, will be reminiscent of Mitsuharu Misawa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg8KoSf_fCg; Mitsuharu Misawa & Akira Taue & Kenta Kobashi vs. Jumbo Tsuruta & Masanobu Fuchi & The Great Kabuki (May 26, 1990)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOXYWZt3Fw8; Mitsuharu Misawa vs Steve Williams (July 28, 1994)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1KJ102doqE; Mitsuharu Misawa & Jun Akiyama vs. Toshiaki Kawada & Akira Taue (December 6, 1996)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARcmU_oTO6k; Mitsuhau Misawa vs. Kenta Kobashi (March 1, 2003)

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11. The Rock
Score: 211
# of Lists: 15
First Place Votes: 2, junk_funk, Rock

Writeup: scarletspeed7
The Rock may very well be the greatest sports entertainer of all time. Of course, that wasn't always the case for the People's Champion. Most people tend to look at the last five years of his full-time career, running from 1999 to 2003, as his apex. A time period filled with headlines at Wrestlemania, where a four-way, a match against Hogan, and a trilogy against Austin capped the most successful period of his career, the Rock helped brand WWE as the premiere wrestling company of all-time. The Rock was more bankable than wrestlers often considered more talented - Shawn Michaels never drew the sort of crowds the Rock could draw, and Hogan was not able to capitalize on higher-priced tickets in the way the Rock did. And never forget, the Rock and Cena were able to put together the most profitable wrestling shows in history in their duology that also, for some reason, featured the Miz.

The talent of the Rock was innate and raw from the get-go. His charisma and his look were undeniable, but it took the assistance of an all-star roster to overcome the bad booking that easily turned crowds against a young Rocky Maivia. Sitting in sessions with talent like Steve Austin and Vince McMahon helped the Rock craft and hone his unforgettable style of promo. The Rock relished in subverting the cartoonish style of Hogan's bygone era, utilizing overselling and goofy larger-than-life power moves to capture fan attention with his tongue-in-cheek antics that, when necessary, could be turned on their heads to create great intensity and high-caliber drama in the right places and at the right times. The Rock knew his audience, and more importantly, he knew the men across the mic from him - the Rock could churn out chemistry with nearly anyone, and thanks to the murderer's row of talent at the turn of the millennium, the Rock never had a dance partner he couldn't lift to the challenge.

It's important to note that every talented wrestler has dabbled in the entertainment industry, but only the Rock was able to pioneer a successful path for future talent to emulate. Without the Rock, Batista and Cena wouldn't have a surefire road to success. Even Hogan couldn't translate from in-ring godhood to box office glory. That's because the Rock has a keen self-awareness of his talents and his shortcomings. This self-awareness is exactly what the Rock used to capitalize on his talents in wrestling, taking a genre that had some of the worst writing and plot pitching of its time and pushing that aside. The Rock could take a terribel unscripted concept and turn it on its head with well-placed, tested and practiced formulaic promos, knowing where to change a word or how to find a perfectly timed insult. His ability to act always relied on his own personality shining through his character, and that's exactly what has led to the Rock becoming one of the most bankable stars in Hollywood.

It's easy to dismiss the Rock's Hollywood success as separate from his in-ring career, but that celebrity status derives its origin from the Rock's wrestling talent - more specifically his ability to be the very best of the sports entertainment style. Steve Austin was still a wrestler at his heart, regardless of what tales were spun around him, but the Rock was groomed from the very start in the WWF style of sports entertainment, and he was able to flourish and thrive, driving WWE to its greatest peak alongside Austin. The two were the ultimate dance partners, the greatest and pulling the best from each other, on and off camera. Without them, the industry suffered a slow decline. Truly, it's clear that the Rock was the truest draw, thanks to his brief return against Cena in a high-profile year-long feud.

It's easy to forget that wrestling has objective metrics. Money is undeniable. It represents the only true sign of success in this industry. And while artistically the Rock lacks the attention to detail or the emotional resonance of the apex of the wrestling crop, he was able to become the most thoroughly successful wrestler ever by knowing how to cater to a large-scale audience, ravenous for his every word, every eyebrow quirk. And while we can spend years arguing Okada or Tanahashi, neither man has ever proven themselves as truly household a name as the Rock. Hell, who is Hulk Hogan in comparison to the Rock? A second-rate also-ran. A rudypoo candy-ass. The Rock truly, truly is the most electrifying man in sports entertainment.

https://www.facebook.com/NewAttitudeAggression/videos/454443221587419; The Rock vs. Triple H, Iron Man (May 21, 2000)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5vqnqh; The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin (April 1, 2001)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xz5oko; The Rock vs. Chris Jericho (October 21, 2001)
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7laqzs; The Rock vs. Hollywood Hulk Hogan (March 17, 2002)

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Two very different angles to these write-ups! Good job, Steiner.

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rock too low

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