hey scott, how about telling your millions and millions of followers who your top 5 wrestlers of all time are? rock, flair, bret I guess must be in there, and then? foley? steamer? shawn? owen? hennig?
greetings J
I really dislike "top 5 of all time" type lists, because there's SOOOOOO many criteria and types of wrestlers and matches and such that just naming 5 would render the whole exercise meaningless. Top 5 WHAT? Main eventers? Brawlers? Best wrestlers? Favorite wrestlers? Jobbers?
Hang on, now here's a clip from High Fidelity...
If you mean all time favorites, it's generally Rock, Flair, Bret, Owen, and formerly Benoit before all the unpleasantness occurred and now it would be either Randy Savage or Mr Perfect depending on my mood. Although Flair has tarnished his legacy so much that he's retroactively slipping down the list. If you're going by the criteria of "People who I have specifically paid money to go see at live events" then it's Rock, Bret, Savage, CM Punk and Steve Austin. However, that's somewhat skewed because WWF used to tour Western Canada all the time in the 80s, when I COULD go see Randy Savage live, then they stopped for most of the 90s so that I had almost no opportunity to see people like Flair. They started coming all the time in the Attitude Era again, which is why most of my money went to Rock/Bret/Austin. Then I got online and learned about the wonderful world of sucking up to my friends in WWE and getting free tickets, so generally I haven't paid for a show since about 2001. Until last year, when I specifically decided to buy tickets for a house show with CM Punk on top to make a point that I was paying money to see CM Punk.
So there you go. Here's another High Fidelity clip to bookend this.
I'm sure there will be hundreds of top five lists in this thread. So here's mine first (or atleast close to first if someone is posting at the same time as me). This is a list of guys I loved as characters and wrestlers. In some cases their outside the ring antics/personality/politics are considered, in others being a dick isn't enough to keep them off the list.
ReplyDelete1. Mick Foley
2. Chris Jericho
3. Bret Hart
4. Shawn Michaels
5. Ric Flair
I love lists!
ReplyDelete1. Ric Flair
2. The Rock
3. Sting
4. Shawn Michaels
5. Chris Jericho
Honorable Mentions: Kurt Angle, Stone Cold, Mick, CM Punk
here's my list.
ReplyDeleteHonorable metions:Kevin steen,El generico,RVD,Cena(that guy that me watch wrestling so he gtes the mention),Stone Cold,The rock,Bret,Flair.
5-Raven
4-Eddie guerrero
3-Mick foloey
2-Chris jericho
1-The Undertaker
5. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat
ReplyDelete4. Hillbilly Jim
3. Sting
2. Daniel Bryan ("American Dragon" Bryan Danielson)
1. Bret "The Hitman" Hart
If its just favorites throughout my evolution of fandom: Hogan, Flair, Benoit, Guerrero, Rock
ReplyDeleteI've never understood the consideration for artists tarnishing their legacy. I certainly understand it - Flair's been in the business since the '70s and by mathematics alone the suck had been bound to build up - but it shouldn't affect how big a fan you were of someone when they were in their prime or their your favourite run of theirs.
ReplyDeleteHere's my list, quickly put together:
1. Chris Jericho
2. Steve Austin
3. Triple H
4. CM Punk
5. Chris Benoit
1, 2, 3 and 5 are based on how much I liked them *when I cared about wrestling*, and 4 made me care about it again after a good five or six years of not caring at all.
Forgot to add this, but here's my thoughts: DeNiro and Pacino have done so many bad roles, but nothing can take away from the Goodfellas', the Godfathers and the Raging Bulls. Metallica haven't done anything noteworthy since '91, but their first five albums are timeless. That's how I see it.
ReplyDeleteMy top five is generally Bret, HBK, Rock, Savage, and Jericho.
ReplyDeleteFoley and Benoit are outliers, but the long term effects of Foley's style on himself and his imitators have pushed him out of my all-time favorites, with Benoit in a similar state due to his style's damage helping to contribute to his own breakdown. Their matches are amazing, but it's just extremely tough to watch Foley take unprotected chairshots to the head or Benoit perform flying headbutts without knowing the long term consequences anymore.
My top 5 is wrestlers who I always watched their matches, and went as far as scouring the tape trading network and sometimes dealing with scuzzy people to obtains third and fourth VHS dubs of hard to find matches:
ReplyDelete5. Rick Rude (the first heel I found it hard to hate because he was just so damn cool)
4. Jushin Liger (this was most of the tape-trading dealings, as I wanted a lot of his earlier work in Stampede and the time around the Super-J Cups.
3. Randy Savage (His WWF stuff was easy, but his early stuff was a beast to find)
2. Chris Benoit (no matter the end, his career was great)
1. Shawn Micheals (no matter what went on in his personal life, as a wrestler, I never went through a period where I didn't like him or was bored)
I hate the idea of "tarnishing" one's legacy, short of a Benoit-like incident. Yeah, Flair's bad with money and stuck around too long. Does that undo all of his greatness?
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I think the more interesting question here is favorite wrestlers in a specific year/era (the reason I say either/or is because we see far more work in a year's time from a guy in the last 15 years than in previous eras. We've seen more CM Punk in 2012 than Randy Savage from 88-90). My top 10, roughly and in no real order:
-CM Punk, June 2011 to present
-Chris Jericho, 1998
-Chris Jericho, 2008-2009 (my favorite wrestler ever makes the list twice, playing two very different versions of the same character)
-Randy Savage, 1987-1989
-Triple H, October 1999-May 2001
-Shawn Michaels, 2008-2010
-Kurt Angle, 2000-2001
-The Rock, 2000-2001
-Stone Cold, 1996-1998 (narrowly over 2001)
-Ric Flair, 1989
My top five; Ultimate Warrior, Shawn Michaels, 1-2-3 Kid, Rob Van Dam and Samoa Joe.
ReplyDeleteMy fave performers:
ReplyDelete1) Ultimate Warrior/Rock - Early life hero, older life hero!
2) Kurt Angle - For me personally the best wrestler on the planet from 2001-2004 he would be considered the greatest ever if he could maintain that form for more than a few years.
3) Jericho - Appreciated his ability to look good but not at the expense of others, always did what is best for business, that has to be admired. His WCW shtick is some of the best and perhaps unappreciated material in the grand scheme of things in wrestling history, pure gold.
4) Bret Hart - Just a brilliant wrestler who brought a realism to it. I can't put my finger on it, but he was just like a cool dude I couldn't help but cheer for.
5) Shawn Michaels - I hated the guy for so long, but during his second major run I couldn't deny it anymore, he was consistently the best performer in the world, probably of all time based on longevity.
Wow didn't see Flair topping your list! Shocker!
ReplyDeleteMy top 5 would be Kerry Von Erich, Curt Hennig, Ricky Steamboat, Bret Hart and Big Van Vader. CM Punk is pretty much the only current guy who resonates with me at all.
ReplyDeleteBTW, just found this blog and I love it! Great work Scott.
Your last two sentences are why I made my list specific eras/years for wrestlers. I'll take 99-01 HHH up against anything ever in mainstream North America. Same with current Punk, even though, as you said, I've never seen much of him pre-ROH (and only some of his ROH stuff).
ReplyDeleteCena's an interesting case. I'm generally a fan of him as a performer even though I'm as sick of his character as most of you are. I think a majority of people would even acknowledge he's somewhere between a competent and great worker. But when putting together this list I couldn't think of any era that stands out.
In hindsight, I could have probably put 2006-2007 Cena on the list. His character still had an edge and some uniqueness to it, and his matches with HHH, Edge, Umaga, HBK and RVD were terrific.
Come on Scott, Perfect was awesome but we're talking about The Macho Man here, don't see how that's a back and forth.
ReplyDeleteIn their primes..
ReplyDeleteBret for being my childhood hero and the man that I wanted to be for the first 15 years of my life. Cool, stand up guy, and really, really good.
Rock for being pretty much the definition of cool, and the man I wanted to be from about 17-23 (and just a little bit still)
Angle for just busting his ass harder than almost anyone I've ever seen, with a killer moveset, and fun character
Perfect for being a cocky prick better than most
Savage for alternately scaring me, and awing me as a kid. I was really pulling for him during his last, brief, run with TNA. I really wanted to see one more run out of him.
Not necessarily in that order, but more or less in that order.
Honourable mention to
Austin for being such a great foil to Bret, and just generally really awesome until Rocky redefined the word.
HBK who I legitimately hated for many years but have to give mad credit for the comeback run.
Benoit, who just seemed tough as nails. Like he just showed up fresh from a logging camp because he'd already beaten up everyone there too many times
And worth a brief mention
Ted Dibiase Sr, Jake Roberts, Brock Lesnar, Roddy Piper, Ric Flair (thought he was a huge pussy as a kid but learned to love him as an adult), Razor Ramon
Favourite wrestlers are like favourite movies: they're not necessarily the best ever; just the ones you love most, and can watch again and again without getting tired of them.
ReplyDeleteI can basically narrow this down a "Top One" list: Shawn Michaels.
ReplyDeleteTo me, Shawn Michaels is so many rungs above every other wrestler that he's basically in his own league. Great matches? Shawn had the GREATEST matches. Mic skills? One of the greatest talkers in history. Versatility? He could be the most sympathetic face, or the biggest asshole; a high-flyer, technical wrestler, or brawler; he could work sixty-minute broadways, or bloody gimmick matches; he had great chemistry with pretty much everyone, could work in any spot on the card, and provided credibility to much younger and/or less-talented workers.
And longevity? He did all of that for fifteen years.
There were a lot of other wrestlers I liked, but they weren't a total package the way Shawn was. Austin? He captured the imagination like no other, but was only on top for about four years. Trips? He was amazing for about a year-and-a-half, and that's it. Tajiri? Absolutely LOVED him in ECW, but he was never given a chance as a main-eventer. Savage? I really didn't appreciate him until after his prime; in retrospect, he was amazing, but he was never positioned as THE star of the show. I felt the same about Owen and Eddie. Bret, Hennig, and Benoit were amazing technical wrestlers, but weren't well-rounded enough. Foley? Amazing talker, but his best matches were just him getting the shit legitimately beat out of him. Brock? I'm as big a fanboy as Skeith, but he basically had ONE great year (plus one amazing match earlier this year). Dibiase, Jake, and many other quality mid-carders were great, but they were just that - mid-carders.
I like Cena a lot, but he obviously has a lot of negatives. I never really liked Rock; never thought he was great in the ring, and never liked his "sizzle over steak" promo style. Never really liked Flair, either, definitely thought he was overrated.
Shawn, though? Just the absolute GOD of professional wrestling.
"Like he just showed up fresh from a logging camp because he'd already beaten up everyone there too many times"
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredibly vivid description. Bravo.
Cena's has some fantastic feuds / matches during his run with HBK, Edge, Punk, Batista, and Rock. Unfortunately, his character is also the stalest of any main eventer ever at this point.
ReplyDeleteI loved the McMahon-Helmsley-era Triple H as well (I was even such a fan I bought that silver/black basketball jersey he used to sport.) He's just never been the same after the first quad tear and I pretty much lost all respect for him when he got on the mic at WMX8 after the cameras stopped to whine that people were leaving during his "moment."
Bret, Rock, Angle, Benoit, Punk.
ReplyDeleteMy personal top 5 in no particular order: Flair, Rock, Angle, Punk, Lesnar.
ReplyDeleteTaker, WCW Mysterio, and The American Dragon get the honorable mention spots.
Snap judgment after reading the first 23 comments: I'm seeing far less Austin and Hogan than I would have expected.
ReplyDeleteto be 100% honest and pure means to include Benoit, so here we go...
ReplyDeleteBenoit
Michaels
Austin
Bret
Flair
High Fidelity is a great movie
that's fuckin legit!
ReplyDeletei like this one a lot too
ReplyDeleteI couldn't make a top 5 list. There are just too many great wrestlers to do a list of just 5. If I tried, the actual list would depend mostly on my mood at that time and would probably change within a few weeks.
ReplyDeleteIf you're going with WWE right now, Punk, Bryan, Orton and Del Rio easily make my top 5 and the 5th guy changes constantly. Among the current TNA roster, my list would definitely include Roode, Aries and Hardy (I've been a Hardy fan since his ladder match with Undertaker, although my perception of that match was inflated because I was a relatively new fan at the time). My favorite US mainstream women's wrestlers would definitely include Gail Kim, Winter, Tessmacher and Molly Holly. My favorites from past US mainstream wrestling would include Flair, HHH, HBK and Lesnar. My favorite gimmicks of all time would include Cena 2003 (first heel I ever rooted for, which just makes me hate even more what he eventually turned into), Edge 2006, Punk SES, and Winter. My favorites from NJPW would definitely include Goto, Naito and Minoru Suzuki. I'd probably go back and forth constantly between Tanahashi, Nakamura, Okada, Devitt or Ibushi for the other 2 spots. In the past, there were times when Ken Anderson and RVD would have made my list, but I've soured on both of them in the last year and a half or so.
1 & 2 - Hogan & Savage (Childhood favourites)
ReplyDelete3 - Austin
4- the Rock
5 - Not sure toss up b/w Piper/Flair/Angle/Foley
5. Jericho (mostly for his WCW runin 98)
ReplyDelete4. Heel Rock (hate his crowd pandering baby face routine)
3. Flair
2. The Outsiders ( for nostalgia )
1. Brett
#1-whoooooooooooooo
ReplyDeleteI up voted you because benoit would be in my 2nd or 3rd too, but seriously your list needs MOAR FLAIR
ReplyDeleteWhooooooooooooo
ReplyDelete4
Absolutely. Shawn was the fuckin man, bar none.
ReplyDeleteAlso if you begin to sour on Flair just watch either the clip from after a Raw in Greensboro in 2003 when all the wrestlers celebrate his career or the "Leave the Memories Alone" tribute. If you don't get fired up for the man then you just werent watching him enough in his prime.
ReplyDeleteShawn, Owen, The Outsiders, Daniels, and a tie between CIMA, Ohtani, Hyabusa, and Lyger for #5, though Daniel Bryan is about to knock them off the list.
ReplyDeleteChrist I'll give this a whirl too.
ReplyDelete5. Vader (especially Big Van Vader with the awesome smoke helmet)
4. Flair (he may be a wreck now but he loved DIS BISNESS and was one of the greats)
3. Austin (made EVERYBODY care about wrestling in the 90's and went from awesome technician to awesome brawler and back and forth again)
2. Foley (loved Cactus way back in Abram's UWF and even more once I heard his story and saw more of his matches.)
1. HBK (like many others just marvel at his ability to do any kind of match with any kind of opponent and turn shit to gold)
Almost impossible to do this - do you take a top five of all time or list the performers who made you watch wrestling in each era? For what its worth here's mine:
ReplyDeleteSteamboat - for me still the greatest face of all time.
The Hollywood Blondes - my favouite tag team.
Bret - got me back into watching wrestling after a break. No-one could make a match seem real like he could.
The Outsiders - the best angle ever. Switched me to watching Nitro on a Monday night.
Austin - the best pop ever and so many great moments. Switched me back to watching Raw.
Shawn Micheals. The greatest of all time. Saw Micheals vs Flair and Micheals vs Taker live and never forget either.
In the current era I think Daniel Bryan has tools to make this list.
In no particular order. I'm excluding Japanese wrestlers because I can only see their matches, I can't relate to them as characters, sorry Misawa.
ReplyDelete5) Chris Jericho, the most well-rounded wrestler in history, a guy who can fill any role anyplace on the card, the Madonna of wrestling (in a good way) and one of the guys who kick-started my fandom.
4) Daniel Bryan, the best worker in the Americas, and a fantastically funny man as well, while he's not exactly Flair on the mic, he more than carries himself, he has a presence and charisma that draw me to everything he does. I honestly think that even if he was a shit wrestler his "entertainment" value would make him a boon to WWE.
3) Edge, Edge is like if Chris Jericho...actually got a chance to shine, and he did excel with all the opportunities he was given, sure it took him some time to get going as a legit main-event babyface, but his heel work was exceptional. Yeah he might've been a WWE creation, but hey, that doesn't make him any less entertaining.
2) AJ Styles, the best babyface working. He is the Sting of TNA, and has carried that ugly, bastard of a company on his back for many, many years. Great worker, not much of a promo guy, but he 's not nearly as bad as people say he is, and he's loaded with charisma.
1) CM Punk, my favorite wrestler of all time, he is the guy who carried me through much of the dark day of the latter aughts, I don't really need to tell everybody here how good he is, but all the things he does to make his character complete blow me away everytime. Honestly he probably could've become a badass actor if he put his mind to it, but I'm glad he's wrestling. And I hope he doesn't retire in like...three years.
Honorable mention, Austin, great in almost every aspect of wrestling, unfortunately he was before my time, and watching his best work retroactively doesn't do him justice, I am undone by my youth. Foley, while his promos have aged better than Austin's, and remain as some of the most real and heart-wrenching words ever spoken in a ring, I never really loved his matches, c'est la vie.
And for the hell of it
ReplyDelete6. Savage (pretty much what you would picture if somebody says wrestler. Jacked up, crazy sounding, awesome gravelly voice, flashy outfits, the whole shebang)
My list is one of those ones that doesn't include many tippy-top guys...I tend to like guys who get close, but once they get to the top, I tend to get bored.
ReplyDeletePerfect - My first favorite "character," who just happened to be a great wrestler as well.
Jericho - Really started liking him during his "Trophy Collector" days, this last run was a huge disappointment for me.
Hurricane - My bizarre entry. I loved him most as a dillusional heel - plus the blue screen, music, and cape were all great touches.
Punk - One of the rare guys who can do it all, and did it without the "machine" supporting him until lately.
Owen - When I was a kid, the Blue Blazer was the #1 wrestler picture I would draw. My favorite infrequently mentioned part of his career was his guest commentary, especially when explaining away him using his cast ("I was coming off the apron to congratulate him, and he tried to headbutt my arm!")
I have a weird one on my list too (Hurricane), so I want to know the story -- Hillbilly Jim?
ReplyDeleteAs A big Shawn fan, I applaud this comment
ReplyDeleteIn no particular order: Austin, Foley, Liger, Vader and Samoa Joe. If any of them come up when wrestling is turned on as background noise, I'm compelled to stop what i'm doing and watch.
ReplyDeleteMy list isn't as much about workrate or the obvious choices...my list is more about the guys I was psyched to see on Saturdays and Sundays/Mondays...
ReplyDelete1. The Rock (any incarnation of him, never got boring and could do it all)
2. The Road Warriors (The NWA years vs. Horsemen/Russians/Express/Dusty)
3. Vader (WCW years as champ...A MONSTER heel as champ, awesome)
4. Austin (Stunners and middle fingers never got old...they're still not)
5. Samoa Joe (ROH years, total bad ass...still pissed he never got a WWE run)
I love Flair, Savage, Nikita Koloff, Bryan and Punk. That would round out my top 10....well, 12 is more like it. Also, I can't forget my first favorite wrestler, JYD. All that being said, I can't think of anyone currently out there that I enjoy, outside of Bryan and Punk. Generic is the only word I can come up with for the period we are in now.
Damn it...I totally forgot Dusty. How can I forget him?!?
ReplyDeleteOwen is probably the funniest heel of all time. That shit with him at the Slammy's, I mean, it deserves to be in the Hall of Fame of Pop-Culture. "Yes! I did it! I'm a winner!" It's so funny. Absolutely classic.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Jericho is so fantastic, that we expect every time he comes around for it to be like it was in his last year of WCW, or his first few years in WWE, or his heel turn with the Michaels stuff. His latest run was still great. Two classic matches with Punk, a decent 4 way bout. A sweet jacket. His whole trolling gimmick was awesome too. When he comes back, he'll bring us something great. You have to remember when he came back in 2008, it took quite a while for him to get into his groove.
I'm seriously not trying to be a dick.
ReplyDeleteBut if Bret is your all time favorite, why'd you spell it Brett?
Sorry, Shawn isn't the man simply because of the fact no non-wrestling fan would buy into his bullshit for a second. Skinning the cat? That RIDICULOUS bullshit where he lays on a turnbuckle, and when he gets kicked he flies 10 feet up in the air? His constant goofy selling and need of theatrics over reality?
ReplyDeleteLike Bret Hart said, I wouldn't be caught dead doing shit like that.
It sucks, because every time I think about Kurt Angle, I think about rape & animal sex.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard about the WMX8 thing before.
ReplyDeleteRock, Hart, Hogan, Savage and Austin. Punk will probably replace Savage eventually.
ReplyDeleteHogan, Savage, Muta, Raven, HBK
ReplyDelete1. Chris Jericho - Flat out, there has never been, nor will there ever be a wrestler who was so good at being a heel, and so good at being a face. He was 10 for 10 for both characters. His stuff from 1998 WCW is absolute genius. I mean, waiting for Goldberg in the parking lot, while Ralphus taps a 2x4 in his hands? Then Jericho sees some shitty, red Geo Metro and is like "is that him?!". Unreal. Then when he goes heel, he's so far above everyone it's unreal. And all that stuff isn't even talking about his ring work! He's got just as many classic matches as Flair, Shawn, or Bret.
ReplyDelete2. Foley - Perhaps the greatest promo man in the history of the business? He was so creative, and so passionate. Always busted his ass to have fantastic matches, and cared about his practice. He's probably the only guy to retire, and then go on to have perhaps the best matches of his career afterward.
3. Austin - I was with him every step of the way. I still remember the night I realized he was one of my favorites, and it was the Raw where he tried to help Bret win the title from Sid. My mom even questioned my statement by asking "You like him? He just tried to hurt Sid. You love Sid". I did love Sid. But Stone Cold was just so damn cool. There was a kid at my school who use to run his mouth at me. So, after a while I got sick of it and beat his ass. Well, he kept telling everyone he was gonna get his older brother to beat me up. So, one day in shop class like, 10 people came up to me and were like "What are you gonna do? His brother is coming". And this was about 3 days after Austin ran his promo on Mike Tyson. So, no joke, I sat there telling people "He can come here, run his stupid little mouth, but when he places his beadly little eyes on me, I'll give him the two finger salute before opening up a serious can of whoop ass. Hell, I might even stomp a mud hole in him and walk it dry".
If you wanna know what happened later that day when his bigger brother came a callin', well, you'll just have to wait for my next article...
Wait...are you serious?
ReplyDeleteFave wrestlers
ReplyDelete1. HBK
2. Flair
3. Angle
4. Benoit
5. Eddy
Fave matches
1. WarGames I
2. 20 man tag Survivor Series 88
3. Cena/Punk MITB
4. Rock/Hogan I
5. AMW vs XXX
Fave finishers
1. BUUUUUUUUUUUURNING HAMMER
2. GO TO SLEEEEEEEP
3. BRAINBUSTAHHHHHHHHHHHH
4. Phoenix Splash
5. Canadian Destroyer/Gringo Killer
Fave Cards
1. GAB 1989
2. WM 17
3. WM 21
4. Anarchy Rulz 1999
5. Starrcade 1995
Fave Heels
1. Flair (85-88)
2. Raven (ECW)
3. HHH (2000)
4. Bobby Heenan
5. Honky Tonk Man
Fave Faces
1. Hogan
2. Austin
3. Macho Man
4. Flair
5. RVD
Fave Tags
1. MX
2. LOD
3. Brainbusters
4. Steiners
5. Skyscrapers
Fave Managers.
1. FUJI
2. Cornette/Heenan
3. Slick
4. Larry Sweeney
5. Paul E. Dangerously
Fave Valets
1. Dawn Marie/Francine
2. Sunny
3. Trish Stratus
4. Precious/Sunshine
5. SHerri Martel
Fave performers on the stick
1. Rock
2. Flair
3. Jim Cornette
4. Bobby Heenan
5. Jimmy FUCKING Garvin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqoPLozClUg
ok im done
I'm seeing more Benoit than I would like to have seen.
ReplyDeletelol you are trying to be a dick
ReplyDeleteIf it had been a top ten, Flair would have made the cut simply because he's a guy who's promos and interviews I love to still watch to this day. But as I said before, after 92, I lost alot of my fervor for his matches, bar he Vader series and a few others here and there. Not that they weren't good, I just lost some love for the Flair Formula.
ReplyDeleteMy favorites (In no particular order......)
ReplyDeleteRic Flair - dude is the man. Simply put, the greatest of all time. He could literally have a great match with anybody. The Michael Jordan of our industry. As a guy who appreciates a good 5* match. As far as diminishing the legacy goes, does anybody really think of Michael Jordan in a Wizards uniform? Exactly. I dont think of Flair blowing all his money, or flopping around bloody, wrinkly, and half-bald in his 60s. I think of all those 4 and 5 star matches he had in each territory......or how while every heel was trying to scare the crap out of everyone, he was that one heel who was different......he did promos about lavish lifestyles, space mountain and such....he and the Horsemen were the best.
Jerry the King Lawler - How one man could stay on top, have great matches in the same arena every week, and STILL be over is amazing. Keep in mind also I grew up in Arkansas (1 hr from Memphis)
Macho Man Randy Savage - The guy had ALL the tools (great mic work, athleticism, in-ring work, charisma, intangibles). I mean one of the few who had EVERYTHING.
Hacksaw Butch Reed - Some explanation here: As a black man who grew up in the 80s, Butch Reed was the first really cool ass black guy who really got over huge (besides JYD) in the territories in my childhood. Wasnt a bad worker in his prime either (though when he dyed his hair blond in the WWF, I kinda stopped being a fan)
The Rock - The one guy who re-defined what cool was in the 90s. I Respect HBK, Undertaker, Austin, and all the rest, but as far as favorites, Where would the Attitude era be without the Rock?
Honorable mention:
Benoit - Couldnt be top 5 for obvious reasons, but lets face it: The guy was awesome
Eddie Guerrero - Especially the "lie cheat steal" version
Shawn Michaels - Because hes freakin Shwan Michaels
New Jack - See my notes on Butch Reed.....even if he wasnt a worker
Kurt Angle - The best wrestler of the last 20 years
The Von Erichs - Tragic as they may be
Rob Van Dam - the ECW TV title version
You mean Bret demeaned someone else's work for the purpose of patting himself on the back? SHOCKING.
ReplyDeleteAnd non-wrestling fans find all of it ridiculous. Some of the stuff I've seen you give 4-5 stars and you're criticizing Shawn? You're a weird dude.
You'll get over it.
ReplyDeleteBeardMoney really likes Hillbilly Jim.
ReplyDeleteBarely related side note: it's weird to me to think that Cena's gone on last at WM only four times. (22, 23, 27, 28).
ReplyDeleteYes. My friend and I were there live. It's well known that a good chunk of the crowd was already leaving post-Hogan, but after he won the true exodus began as he was celebrating. We were just about back to the concession area when he got on the mic to complain that people were leaving.
ReplyDeleteFun fact, when Hart first started with the WWF, the graphics read "Brett Hart."
ReplyDeleteShawn Michaels, Chris Jericho, Steve Austin, Edge, Chris Benoit.
ReplyDeleteI was in on Austin pretty early to. I can remember having his skull logo and 3:16 written on my school books and I was going for him against Bret at Survivor Series 1996. I can't really recall what he'd done to win me over at that point, but I was a rebellious 14-year-old, skulls and badass bible verses go a long way.
ReplyDeleteAustin's like Starbucks. Great investment but you feel a sense of pride being one of the first one's in.
If they ever get this WWE Network off the ground, I'd watch a sitcom that's just Austin stunning people.
ReplyDeleteI'm nothing but predictible ;-)
ReplyDeleteJesus, you went all out here.
ReplyDelete1. Shawn Michaels
ReplyDelete2. Randy Savage
3. Kurt Angle
4. Sting
5. Ultimate Warrior
You forgot top 5 theme songs, top 5 ring attire, top 5 t-shirts produced, top 5 gimmicks....you know, there's a book here somewhere.
ReplyDeleteBTW, loved the lists, just busting on ya.
5 guys that TNA needs to sign to their X Division
ReplyDeleteKota Ibushi
Ricochet
Prince Devitt
Mascara Dorada
Jack Evans
Big fan of Devitt. No idea was TNA or WWE hasn't signed him yet.
ReplyDeleteHell yeah. I went to a house show here in Seattle, and the next day I came back drenched in Austin gear. I had the hat, and the shirt, and the action figure with the gold signature. I left the figure at home, but the shirt & the hat had the religious girls at my school SUPER pissed at me. They didn't know about wrestling and just thought I was being blasphemous.
ReplyDeleteHeh, it may seem like it, I'm really just curious. Because I see people at shows with signs that say "Jon Cena is #1"...and I can't understand why they claim to be such big fans, but don't know how to spell the name right.
ReplyDeleteNo one is gonna watch a match with Bret and find anything ridiculous, I don't think. But Shawn? Not so much. He really makes you suspend your disbelief.
ReplyDeleteHigh Fidelity is overly pretentious, and I feel, highly overrated. It's a half-decent way to kill 100 minutes, but nothing more.
ReplyDelete5. Bret
4. HBK
3. Savage
2. Piper
1. Austin
Top 5 Favorites
ReplyDelete1a. Shawn Michaels
1b. Bret Hart
3. Brian Pillman
4. The Rock
5. Daniel Bryan Danielson
Top 5 Revolutionaries (guys who should've changed the business or were far too ahead of their time)
1. Brian Pillman (1995-1997) - He will always be the yardstick for underappreciated guys who were too clever and too ahead of their time
2. Edge (2005-2006) - If the WWE would've just called an audible after his title win and kept the belt on him up until or through Wrestlemania, we could have had a completely different company. His feud with Hardy, his feud with Flair, the shocking win over Cena, the live sex celebration--Edge had captured fans' attention and imagination.
3. Eddie Guerrero (1997, 2003-2004) - If anyone remembers El Caliente from the autumn of 97, you're awesome. Then, in WWE, he became and stayed a face because he cheated and outwitted his opponents. The finishes to his matches were filled with so many twists and so much creativity as well.
4. CM Punk (2010-present) - Yeah, I think we know why he's here.
5a. Randy Savage (1986-1989) - Same here. Redefined what a WWF wrestler was and could be.
5b. Dolph Ziggler (2011-present) - If you haven't seen his work on YouTube, Smackdown, or Main Event, then you probably have very little idea why he made the list. But, believe me, he's a rare breed.
Some of y'all are missing the point of the post. It's not top 5 BEST (probably impossible to quantify/qualify), it's top 5 FAVORITE. Reading some of your comments, I'm seeing things like "he was only on top for 2 years / he could only talk / he could only work / he wasn't well-rounded enough."
ReplyDeletec'mon...who made your heart pound most throughout the course of a match? who could you not WAIT to see come on the television? who would you pay oodles of money to see? don't ask yourself who had the most impressive movesets. go with your heart; not with your head, people!
you didn't put steve austin on your list of "revolutionaries," yet you included dolph. ziggler. interesting. sure he's athletically impressive, continually improving in the ring (psychologically-speaking) and has potential on the stick, but he's not there yet.
ReplyDeleteabove and beyond.
ReplyDeleteNothing like playing follow the leader! Anyways, here's my top 5.
ReplyDelete1. Randy Savage
2. Ricky Steamboat
3. Ric Flair
4. Ted DiBiase
5. Jake Roberts
No one could entertain like Savage could, and Flair/Steamboat were simply two of the best workers ever. Ted was always cool and one of the best heels, hell he carried Duggan to a semi good match!. Jake, before he fell apart, was a fantastic worker, awesome on promos and a phenom of a heel. Sad, no one from the current era cracks my top 5, although I would put Edge and Punk just bubbling under the top 5. Along with Backlund, Shawn & Jericho to round out the top ten.
I have no doubt that if Pillman was healthy, he would have won the WWE title and been their biggest heel. Pillman vs Michaels = $$$$$$$$
ReplyDeleteI'm noticing that a certain Cerebral Assassin is conspicuously absent from these lists.
ReplyDelete(which is fine with me. Great entrance, overrated wrestler)
Depends - Shawn was definitely more theatrical, but wrestling as a whole is just loaded with too many implausibilities. I mean, when Bret whipped someone into the ropes, the old "why doesn't the other guy just stop running" question still holds true.
ReplyDeleteBret was definitely one of the most realistic wrestlers of all time, but it's not like Bret actually tricked non-fans into believing that what they were watching was real.
Jesus.
ReplyDeleteNon-wrestling fans think all of it is ridiculous.
I really don't know what else to tell you about how asinine this criterion of yours is.
1. La Parka
ReplyDelete2. Norman Smiley
3. Lash LeRoux
4. El Dandy
5. Damien 666
Exactly. A Bret match isn't gonna give a non-fan pause to think, "Hey, this isn't stupid after all!" and convert them into believers.
ReplyDeleteMY FAVE TOP FIVE
ReplyDelete1. BENOIT, MS
2. CHRIS BENOIT
3. "DYNAMITE" CHRIS BENOIT
4. THE PEGASUS KID
5. BENOIT THE MURDERER
That's six people yet you only list to five. Odd.
ReplyDeleteTheatrics over reality? Isn't that the whole idea of wrestling? And who gives a fuck what non-wrestling fans think of anything wrestling-related? The workers aren't out there to entertain people that aren't watching anyway.
ReplyDeleteThat Austin 3:16 is such a classic. By far the coolest wrestling shirt ever, and the rebellious factor was huge. I'm Canadian, went to Raw in the midst of the Canada vs US angle and I was so proud to walk around in that shirt. I was yelled at and spit on, but it was so much fun.
ReplyDeleteBut Austin did change the business. My list was about guys who SHOULD have changed the business.
ReplyDeleteGood point. My top four are definite favorites. I wanted to add RVD because I loved him in ECW and early WWE, but I let his later years bump him from the list. Benoit or RVD...that's a tough one.
ReplyDeleteI'm such a nerd for ring gear. Top 5: Sting, Savage, Bret, Roberts, HBK.
ReplyDeleteYeah I have others who are more sentimental favorites but when it all comes down to it Shawn really is the GOAT.
ReplyDeleteIn no order
ReplyDelete1) HBK
2) Perfect
3) Nikita Koloff
4) Benoit
5) Road Warrior Animal
Road Warrior Animal is such a random choice.
ReplyDeleteI always found Jake to be overrated.
ReplyDeleteHow about least favorite wrestlers?
ReplyDelete1. DDP
2. Gangrel
3. Mr. Anderson
4. Matt Hardy
5. Khali
Way easier for me:
ReplyDeleteBushwhacker Luke
Bushwhacker Butch
Brian Knobbs
Jerry Saggs
and George The Animal Steele
dont click the link then...
ReplyDeletewhat i tell you about shitting on other peoples opinions?
ReplyDeleteThe Nasty Boys post 1992 for sure. But I never cared enough about the Bushwackers to hate them.
ReplyDeleteDon't do it unless I can do it as well as The Fuj?
ReplyDeleteI've watched a lot of wrestling with people who weren't fans, and I'm not joking when I say I can remember two very specific instances where people laughed out loud at Shawn Michaels.
ReplyDeleteIt's all opinion. Shawn is great, I just think he's too over the top a lot of the time.
It's true. I felt like a rock star in my Austin gear.
ReplyDeleteI also wore my Al Snow 'Got Head?' shirt to school, and was told to take it off. I tried to plead my case by saying "No, see....the mannequin head on the back...that's the head....and the guy...he talks to it...and, uh....alright, I'll take it off..."
except in exact order
ReplyDeleteAh, c'mon Cult.
ReplyDeleteYou'd rather watch a Khali match than DDP vs Goldberg, or vs Sting, or vs Savage, or his triple threat with Benoit & Raven?
He didn't say that. He didn't say he had the worst matches. He said DDP was his least favorite.
ReplyDeleteThank you for pointing out the obvious so I didn't have to.
ReplyDeleteVery tough. I'm not going to go with longevity, I'm going to go with peak.
ReplyDelete1. Randy Savage: 1991/1992 - The run between the Warrior feud through the Flair feud was just a huge chain of awesomeness in both work and story, plus a couple of great matches with Warrior and Shawn Michaels to cap off his WWF run. Elizabeth deserves some credit too for giving those angles a real emotional hook.
2. Ric Flair: 1989 - Some of the best matches ever, great angles with Steamboat, Funk, and Sting plus a huge and unlikely babyface run. He's got both one of the best heel and babyface runs ever, which I think only Hogan can really match.
3. Steiner Brothers: 1991 - Especially Scott Steiner, but maybe my favorite run for a tag team ever, they brought a much harder hitting style and groundbreaking offense to North America. Could mix it up with anyone pretty much and have a good match.
4. Bret Hart: 1993/1994 - This is where he basically perfected his style. Great matches with great workers, great matches with bad workers, and a very solid interview. Brought a sense of working-class prestige to the title that had been lacking during the more gaudy 1980s WWF and set the stage for the title to be held by guys like Shawn Michaels and Steve Austin later.
5. Hulk Hogan: 1987/1997 - Just doesn't feel right leaving him off the list, given the levels he brought wrestling to in the 1980s and helped bring it to in the late 1990s. Insanely charismatic and mostly entertaining despite his lack of ring ability. Biggest money making babyface run ever that took nearly 10 years for people to get sick of, then he turned it around and did the same thing as a heel. It's hard to argue with success.
Special mentions: Vader, Shawn Michaels, Curt Hennig, Roddy Piper.
1. touche
ReplyDelete2. shut up
3. gotta earn the right to shit on opinions son... with tact... "Sorry, Shawn isn't the man simply because of the fact no non-wrestling fan would buy into his bullshit for a second"
apparently some wrestling fans bought it...
They just drove me nuts, even as a kid. The first thing I can ever remember that made me want to change the channel.
ReplyDeleteHey duders.
ReplyDeleteI think I've tried this twice before, but now that I write for the site I can keep the fact it's around known.
http://boardforpeople.proboards.com/index.cgi
Message board for the Blog of Doom. If anyone wants to be an admin, just let me know
This is actually a harder list for me. I know a couple years ago, I would have had Kane and Mark Henry on the list. Not anymore. Even for guys like Big Show or Orton, I know I liked them in multiple angles in the past.
ReplyDelete1. Jeff Jarrett
2. Goldberg (I don't get why people are upset that Ryback is compared to him... Goldberg had almost everything given to him)
3. Jim Duggan
4. Hornswoggle
5. Bushwackers or the Million Dollar Corporation (a stable with absolutely no purpose or success)
Oh and add in Dusty Rhodes and Mick Foley too, the brothers in waistline and emotional resonance.
ReplyDeleteAgreed on the Steiners. First thing I'm doing when they invent time travel is going back to 91/92 and putting a world title on Scott. Whether he wants one or not.
ReplyDeleteDisagree big time on Goldberg. He worked the house shows, worked hard in the ring and was massively over. He deserved everything he got.
ReplyDeleteYeah no kidding. Steiner vs Vader in 1993 anyone?
ReplyDeleteFor least favorite wrestlers, it's a little easy to put in a guy like Khali, or the Bushwackers or as @JohnPetuka:disqus put, Hornswaggle...c'mmon.
ReplyDeleteGo big or go home.
Least Favorite (no particular order):
* Yellow and Red Hogan. Hated him and I think I was in my rebellious going into teenage years stage, plus my younger brother was a "hulkamaniac" which didn't help. Hence why I love Savage.
* John Cena. Awesome in the ring, but my life would be just fine if he retired tomorrow.
* Midnight Rockers/The Rockers. As an NWA fan throughout the 80s, I just saw these two as rip offs of better teams.
* Jeff Jarrett. I have not liked a single incarnation from JJ.
* Lex Luger. Actually celebrated as 12 year old when the Horsemen kicked him out. Hated the Lex Express. Hated his limited moveset.
Hey, McFly, can you also have him change his gimmick to Big Poppa Pump as well? That gimmick, with 91/92 Scott Steiner in-ring prowess....print the mo-ne-y!
ReplyDeleteBig Bad Booty Daddy with skanky Missy Hyatt seems like a natural fit.
ReplyDeleteBret Hart vs Scott Steiner for the title was the main event at WM10 in an alternate universe.
ReplyDeleteIt was actually kinda hard to come up with that list past DDP.
ReplyDeleteJust because 97-99 WCW had the laziest roster around does not mean he should get bonus points for working house shows. Almost every champion before and after worked house shows Next, worked hard in the ring... right, for two minutes at a time. Over half of his career matches are squash matches that went less than four minutes.
ReplyDeleteHe was nothing on the mic (please name one promo that was memorable and went past three sentences) or in the ring. He injured wrestlers. He permanently injured Bret Hart and knocked him out of wrestling.
He was given main event status based on mystique rather than talent. Now, I'm not saying it was the right or wrong thing to do business-wise. But I am saying he was given a whole heck of a lot more than he gave.
What is it about DDP that rubs you the wrong way btw?
ReplyDeletedrive up to da pay-winduh!
ReplyDeleteAh yeah, I should have included JJ in mine.
ReplyDeleteMy own criteria for least favorite is whether or not I groan when they come on TV and want to run away as fast as possible because I know there is no chance of being entertained. The Bushwhackers, Nasty Boys, and Jeff Jarret fit the bill perfectly for me.
The Nasty Boys are the only group from that last that have a legitimate ***** match that is one of my favorites of all time though too, so it's an odd relationship.
Dear God...
ReplyDeleteHe could have easily got out of working house shows like the rest of the top stars, so I'll give him bonus points.
ReplyDeleteA ton of people have been given the main event because of mystique. You want those guys as your champions. Goldberg created that mystique, therefor he deserved what it got him.
Regardless of one's stance on all of the THIS BUSINESS stuff, I'll say he sure was fun to watch for me.
ReplyDeleteI think with a little attention paid to nurturing what ability he did have and experience, he probably could have carried the torch of the company after the popularity of the vulgarity wore off and wrestling went looking for Cena anyway. I don't think he would have ever been great on the mic, but I'm sure he could have learned enough catchphrases to be passable. Goldberg was like a total throwback to the 1980s super hero babyface, but not in a retro 'this is cheesy' sort of way, but in a 'this is as awesome as it seemed like it was in 1985" sort of way.
Maybe it's the constant self-promotion, the reliance on the "Bang" catchphrase, the nonsensical reliance on adding the word "scum" to someone's name like it was clever (Hollywood "Scum" Hogan...ooh), or the fact that he looked and talked like someone who belonged on the Jerry Springer show back in the day.
ReplyDeleteI still liked him, though. I respected the man and his journey.
He seems like a giant douche. He had a very short peak in 98 but the celebrity feuds crushed him and he stayed in the main event even though people stopped caring about him.
ReplyDeleteHard not to extend Bret's peak back to '92, what with Piper at WM 8, IC ladder match with Shawn, Bulldog at SummerSlam, Flair for the title win, Shawn again at Survivor Series...
ReplyDeleteGeez, talk about a perfect pairing!
ReplyDeleteI am seeing a Rick Rude vs Big Poppa Pump feud with Missy Hyatt in the neutral corner (with Erik Watts) and Jessie Ventura on commentary arguing with Tony over who has the better biceps and traps now.
You're NEXT! was all the catchphrases he needed. And I think Goldberg's success predicted MMA's massive rise in popularity with the same crowd.
ReplyDeleteFair enough. I never felt strongly one way or the other about his character I guess, but I enjoyed his matches and presence for the most part.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of, I just saw his match versus Chavo Guerrero at Fall Brawl 1996 the other day and it is a pretty sweet match.
And after it's over, Missy goes to our favorite gullible hero Sting for help. And, surprise! She turns on him and Rude/Steiner form an unstoppable super team.
ReplyDeleteYeah, but the mystique was created because he was given 180 wins in a row or whatever it was. He loses that first match to Hugh Morrus or drops a BS win to Mongo early on--we would've seen what he was made out of. Much like Warrior, things were handed to him on a silver platter. And they both had varied degrees of success.
ReplyDeleteBut like I said, he's in my least favorite list, not in my overrated list. I'm not saying it was a bad business move to push him or have him on top. I just didn't think he could talk or wrestle, and he knocked out one of my favorites of all-time in Hart. So, even today, when he talks smack on Ryback because of his over-inflated sense of ego and self-worth, I just wish he'd go away for good.
It's weird, because DDP just always seemed like a heel to me that was over as a babyface given his character traits. Actually, he basically did the same schtick as many American rappers did in the 1990s -- catchphrases, boasting, the whole rags to riches rise from the gutter to the top narrative.
ReplyDeleteFunny enough, I was a huge DDP fan back in 97. I even bought the classic diamond logo shirt at a house show back in the day.
ReplyDeleteI think that's a good call. People really dug that kind of intensity and brutality.
ReplyDeleteLOL. I'm suddenly very sad that none of this ever actually happened.
ReplyDeleteYeah true, he basically tore up the card for the second half of the year there too. Piper vs Hart is one of my favorite matches ever too.
ReplyDeleteRebooking that era of WCW is my favorite because the roster was loaded but the storylines and angles were terrible.
ReplyDeleteI will agree that I think the streak got him noticed and over, but I think it was his physical presence that intrigued people more than anything. There was nothing like him in wrestling at that time. I think the Ultimate Warrior comparisons are apt in terms of trajectory, but as fun as Warrior was, he wasn't ever really a hard hitting kinda guy. I think the Road Warriors make a better comparison -- Goldberg just seemed like he could kill a dude.
ReplyDeleteget over it. this list isn't about the how quality of a human being anyone is. it's about which wrestlers we've enjoyed watching ever.
ReplyDelete5 most overrated wrestlers
ReplyDeleteMatt Hardy
Jake Roberts
Kerry Von Erich
Great Muta
Davey Richards
I'm sorry, I just don't agree. I think saying Shawn is the best ever is like saying Jay-Z is the best rapper ever. Good? Yes. Great? Yes. Best of their era? I think the aegument can be made, but both have contemporaries that can also be the answer to that question. (For Shawn, there's Bret and Sting, as well as some Japanese guys. For Jay-Z, his Bret is Nas, and there's Eminem.) Both Shawn and Jay-Z have some pretty substantial negatives. Shawn's losing his smile and prima donna act; Jay-Z's ghostwriters and using Tupac's cadences.
ReplyDeleteDon't really have a top 5 but I will put Jericho number one with a bullet.
ReplyDeleteI can't get over child murder. Sorry, I have a soul.
ReplyDeleteOne has nothing to do with the other. I'm not advocating for Benoit matches to be put out on dvd, b/c I think it's best not to do that. I don't think Benoit should be in the HOF. I don't even rewatch his old matches. However, to be 100% honest about who my favorites of all time were, then yes, I've gotta include Benoit. Truth is I was a big fan of his from 96-his death, and his watching his matches and cheering him on was a big part of my life.
ReplyDeleteI'd personally rate HHH higher if he worked shorter, brisk matches -- he does some good stuff in the ring, but especially from 2002 on it seemed like he got the idea in his head that to be considered the best worker in the world, you have to work a forty minute match, even though he doesn't have the offensive moveset or pacing to carry that off. So much punching and so much lying around.
ReplyDeleteIf it was a greatest of all time list there would probably be more Triple H, but this is a personal favorites list
ReplyDeleteThe question is who are your 5 favourite wrestlers. If that includes a child murderer, you should feel ashamed.
ReplyDeleteNo one yet with Hogan in their top 5? Might not be my favourite, but being born in 85', he sure as shit was the reason I started watching, and if not for him/Savage... I never tune into WCW. And when my interest in wrestling was subsiding as a preteen... Guess who sucked me in with the NWO. And to this day, nothing compares to seeing him live for the first time at WM 18.
ReplyDeleteI'd slot Jeff Hardy in place of Muta.
ReplyDeleteThey can call him Prince McDevitt and put him on a losing streak, as a rib on the WWE attorney Jerry Mcdevitt!
ReplyDeleteHe's my #5
ReplyDeleteNope!
ReplyDeleteA better idea, I have never heard.
ReplyDeleteGood list and from a bit of a different angle than most people are doing it.
ReplyDelete1. Jeff Hardy
ReplyDelete2. The Undertaker
3. The Miz
4. Goldust
5. Randy Orton
(Dis)honorable mentions: JBL, RVD, Shane Douglas, Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart.
must be so nice atop your pedestal. who are you to tell me how i should feel about anything ever? You are aware that the world is not black and white, and is entirely shades of gray. That feelings are complex, and old good feelings that you might have about something or someone don't magically delete themselves after a tragedy.
ReplyDeleteThe wrestling industry is not full of angels. Far from it. Most of these guys haven't done anything as bad as Benoit, but there's A LOT of spousal abuse, drugs, other instances of violence against women, and other general shitty behavior. Benoit's the worst thing WE KNOW ABOUT, who knows who else has done what. Your list which includes Hogan, Michaels, and Raven--you think those guys have spotless records? Basically spare us the judgement, twat.
Good times then!
ReplyDeletePretty sure they never murdered a child. So many words trying to defend the fact that you love a reprehensible sack of garbage. Just admit that you're without morals and your soul is corrupt.
ReplyDeleteI started watching wrestling with the Rock n' Wrestling cartoon. I feel like all of the guys have gotten some kind of nostalgia rub except Hillbilly, so I've taken it upon myself to champion his cult status.
ReplyDeleteWell I think religion is for mouth breathing idiots so there's that. Don't agree about the sack of garbage part. I do have to wonder about the guy who gets on a moral high-horse about others opinions so eagerly. Who hurt you Dougie? Why are you so angry Dougie? Was your father mean to you Dougie? Did he drink Dougie? Dougie, did you not live up to his expectations and did that make him angry? I feel bad for you Dougie
ReplyDeleteNowadays, most of mine would be wrestlers whose matches I enjoy rewatching. Therefore:
ReplyDeleteCM Punk - I met him at an indie show in the UK in 2004 and, even then, he had a uniqueness and assuredness that really appealed.
Mitsuharu Misawa
Shawn Michaels
Bret Hart
Kurt Angle (WWE only)
Others who've been my favourites at one time:
Hulk Hogan (1991) - I was six.
Diesel (1995)
Jeff Hardy/Rob Van Dam (2001)
Eddie Guerrero/Chris Benoit (2003-2005)
Daniel Bryan (current)
Attention the-Bo: you can try and distract from your love for a child murderer all you want. But the truth is that everything that raven, HBK and hogan did don't come remotely close to strangling a child to death. And the fact that you don't see that is honestly frightening. Get some therapy.
ReplyDeleteAttention Dougie.
ReplyDeleteYou want me to get therapy. You somehow got want me to
I also think it's funny that you don't seem to mind the fact that he also killed his wife
ReplyDeleteAnd now you're just making stuff up. I'm gonna cut this off right now little man. Frankly, people like you make me sick and I'd rather not lose my dinner. Good luck on your child murderer worship though.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's hard to deny his place and he definitely had some very entertaining moments. He is a larger than life comic book character in a world where I prefer a different type of character, but he's certainly the best of his type.
ReplyDeleteYou're so funny Dougie. Yes, clearly I worship Benoit. Yup, i chant "Silent but Violent." 5 times in the morning, 5 times at night. I take a pilgrimage to Edmonton once a year.
ReplyDeleteWhat's for dinner?
Kisses,
The Bo
Which in the end, is really all that matters anyways.
ReplyDeletehe's trolling Bo. Just let it go. He's been trolling for years under different names and it's a shame Scott let's it continue.
ReplyDelete5 worst WWE storylines:
ReplyDeleteKatie Vick
Al Wilson
Vince McMahon vs. god
Invasion
Vince McMahon paternity storyline
as of right now...
ReplyDeleteOrton
Cena
Khali
Mr. Anderson
Nash
shut up dougie.
ReplyDeleteits old. we have heard this shit for years now. If you still get butt-hurt about Benoit the child murderer fine. Thats your bag, Im not gonna knock it, but for God sakes, please stop jumping down peoples throat because they can separate the wrestler from the murderer and and learn to live with his matches. Nobody here knew Benoit personally and im sure nobody here condones the actions that he did. Nobody sits here and goes "those tragic last few days" everybody freely admits Benoit was a sack of shit for killing his family.
The people against Benoit have said thier piece on the matter and pressed on. Why do you still carry the torch for any and everything anti-Benoit?
Do you lose sleep over it?
Do you get a sharp stinging pain in ur pancreas when the name is mentioned?
OR..... OR... you are just trolling because you are a sad pathetic low-life that needs to feed on the comments of others just to get a rise out of people.
Well you found one. Troll me Dougie. I dare you.
If not, then shut the fuck up and move on with your life. But to sit here and claim that people have morals is bullshit and you know it.
Dont sit here and proclaim that you are above the rest because you can sit here and condemn people for liking a wrestler who killed people.
You are a sad little person. But I challenge you... troll me. It'll be fun!
I have no qualms about going round and round with a pretentious lil twat like you.
I always found Bret's insistance that his matches were so realistic that people watching thought it was a real fight pretty absurd. All wrestling matches require a suspension of disbelief, including, (gasp!), yours Bret. He always points to his face-first bumbs into the turnbuckle as super-realistic, because, according to him, why would anyone spin around and go back-first into a turnbuckles when getting whipped in. Of course, five minutes later in the same match Bret would get whipped into the ropes..........and spin around and go back first into the ropes
ReplyDeleteAnd the king of 'if somebody doesn't agree with me, they're trolling' pops in. It's a shame that you shut out the real world and live in a hive mind.
ReplyDeleteOh and 'fuj', I'm eating sushi right now tough guy. Maybe later.
Guy, Dougie's dad was REALLY mean to him, so he takes it out on everyone.
ReplyDeleteRUDE!!!
ReplyDeleteHe never murdered me. Which too many of think would have been a-okay.
ReplyDeleteDo you want some cuddle time?
ReplyDeleteCorrect. If somebody had a difference of opinion, comdukakis immediately labels that person a troll.
ReplyDeletedid the neglect sometimes make you wish he did?
ReplyDeleteEnough with the Jeff Hardy hate. You sound like a bitter ex girlfriend. You give him more publicity than anyone on the blog always name dropping him. Get over it already, people like him.
ReplyDeleteYet dougie is called the troll?
ReplyDeleteBE A STAR DOUGIE!
ReplyDeleteBenoit for the Hall of Fame!
ReplyDeleteAnd do not worry about me. I don't post on this blog. This will be my first and only time I will be here. Good night.
ReplyDeleteA few things about Austin that stick with me and why is remains my co-favorite of all time (with Steamboat). First, when my Mom was forced to watch wrestling my my brother and I, she would always comment during Austin's entrance that "he seems real and actually angry and tough." Everything else was a soap opera with men in tights to her, but Austin had such a commanding presence that even she took notice. Second, as a young mark, I absolutely loathed Stunning Steve and only in retrospect did I realize he was just a tremendous heel. Finally, I went to a house show in late 1996 and my brother and I were pumped to see Austin even though he was still a heel at that point. He got one of the most positive reactions of the night, busted his butt like it was the ME of WM and everything he did was garnering a response. I thought, damn, this guy is good.
ReplyDeleteQUIT TROLLING WTF
ReplyDeleteAJ-Cena-Vickie is already ahead of Invasion.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
ReplyDelete