Column: My Top Five Favorite Wrestlers
(Based on all around true passion for the sport of Professional Wrestling)
5) Undertaker- The Phenom will go down as a man that has been able to evolve his persona and in-ring skills throughout his tenure in the WWE. His 16-0 Wrestlemania streak will never be beaten. He is a multi-time tag champion and World champion. The reason he is on this list is because of his work building young talent into future superstars this past decade. John Cena, Brock Lesnar, Kurt Angle, The Rock, Steve Austin, Kane, & Big Show all competed against Taker in their first year; all are former World Champions. Now Undertaker is leading Smackdown and helping make it the most dominant brand in WWE. Today he has helped Edge and CM Punk and dominant heels and possible future Hall of Famers.
4) Ric Flair- The 16 Time World Champion, The Nature Boy Ric Flair. WOOO. Ric Flair is professional wrestling, everyone knows his as the greatest professional wrestler of all time. I appreciate is amazing abilities inside the ring and on the mic like the next person. What I admire the most however is the fact he was in the WWE for almost 8 years and never became a 17 Time World Champion. WOW! He only won the Intercontinental Championship and World Tag Team Championship with Batista and Roddy Piper. While in WWE he created future Hall of Famers in Triple-H, Batista, and Randy Orton. Even though he did not stay true to his word on retiring he did last one year which I guess is more than many athletes can say.
3) Stone Cold Steve Austin- The Texas Rattlesnake was the Attitude Era superstar that helped WWE defeat WCW. He is one of the top three most popular wrestlers of all time. No one can deny the presence he created in the ring, no matter how hard creative wanted him to be a heel, he got more cheers than boos. What I admire the most was the way in which he retired. He told no one and did not ask for a retirement tour and any pomp and circumstance. He wrestled one of the greatest Wrestlemania matches ever against The Rock in a losing effort and just walked away. Since Wrestlemania he has not been in a single match, possibly the only wrestler to stay true to his word. It takes a real man to admit when he was wrong and during his acceptance speech into the Hall of Fame he made sure to apologize to the fans that he walked out on them many years earlier.
2) Shawn Michaels- The Heartbreak Kid may not have the streak, but he will always be known as Mr. Wrestlemania. He has never had a bad match at Wrestlemania and has elevated everyone he has faced from Chris Jericho, John Cena, Triple-H, and The Undertaker. What is amazing is that since his miraculous return he has only won one World Championship; which only lasted a month. Since then he has spent his time in heated feuds against Cena, Orton, Edge, Triple-H, Undertaker, Jericho, and Legacy. He does not seem to have any problem focusing on elevated younger talent. Remember the remarkable match he had against Shelton Benjamin on Raw? If there is any man in the entire industry that deserves one last long run as a World Champion is Michaels. He is one of the most charismatic and talented wrestlers in the industry. Let’s not even mention the fact he is a former Royal Rumble Winner, European Champion, Intercontinental Champion, Tag Team Champion, WWE Champion, and World Champion.
1) Chris Jericho- That’s right Y2J. Why? Why not? He has done it all in this sport and still has many more years left in him. Ever since he was in ECW he has always worked a very busy and non-stop schedule. Yet he has never suffered a serious injury. That is because he is a perfectionist in the ring and it shows. There is truly no one better on the mic or in the ring than Jericho right now in the WWE. He was a European, Intercontinental, Tag Team, World Heavyweight, WWE Champion, and not to mention the first ever Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. Now let me tell you why he is truly number one in this column. When Jericho took a sabbatical to spend time with his rock group the unthinkable happened in professional wrestling; the Chris Benoit incident occurred. I spent the following days and weeks glued to all the news stations as they interviewed several people over time. John Cena and McMahon defended the WWE and did a fine job, but came across as cocky and emotionless. Then you had idiots like Marc Mero and Warrior ruin the image of Pro Wrestling with their idiotic comments. Suddenly Chris Jericho appears on the news and is in a suit and clean cut. He spoke as a friend of Benoit, as a wrestler, and most importantly as a professional. He was very articulate and clear about his beliefs and in my opinion saved the image of wrestling. Jericho was the voice of wrestling and if Vince is smart he will let him talk if anything else were to happen. His love for this sport is obvious in everything he has ever done. I am unbelievably excited to continue to watch his career grow. “WWE is Jericho!”
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I respect your opinion on having Y2J as your all time favorite. I couldn’t disagree more really though that he’s the best of all time. I guess I’m really surprised that The Rock wasn’t on the list. But to each their own. Good job on laying out your case for each of them.
No.1 no doubt is the undertaker
no.2 i knew he isnt very established but he is phenomenal AJ styles
no.3 Mainly just for his in ring work because he is kinda of a b*****d outside the ring Shawn Michaels
No.4 THE GREAT ONE THE ROCK
No.5 The high flying perfectionist who helped revolutionize high flying in the nineties Rey mysterio
I’d like to correct you on two points… Flair did not make Triple H Hall Of Fame material, that was set in stone before Flair. Shawn Michaels is my favourite wrestler but HBK Vs Tatanka at Wrestlemania IX, not so good. Wasn’t a bad match but certainly wasn’t a classic or rememberable.
the only person who i dont agree with in ur list is Ric flair yes he is great bt nt that great n hell yeah jericho is the best wrestler currently n HBK is a legend plus where wuld u place the rock?
Paul, I respect your opinion, but my next column about 5 wrestlers that have tarnished their image over the years you will see Mr. Mysterio.
Jimmy, though that was not the most memorable, it was still probably a better all-around match than some of the Undertaker Wrestlemania matches in the past.
Also, I do not believe that Jericho will be remembered as the greatest of all time. I believe he is one of the most professional and articulate of all time. He has shown more passion for the business that anyone else in a great while.
I can’t argue that point, but that wasn’t Undertakers fault he has had the task of fighting some sheer brutal opponents. Tatanka wasn’t a bad worker. I’m trying to think my top fav of all time.. 1 – Shawn Michaels
2 – Rick Rude
3 – Randy Savage
4 – Sting
5 – Bret Hart
Only the first 3 are set in stone and always on my top 5 list… 4 and 5 could be changed depending on my mood.
If you’re talking top all round wrestlers ever in the business (Mic, Ability, Charisma)
I’d say easily… Top 3
Ric Flair
Shawn Michaels
Randy Savage
Oh and yes Jericho would probably be in the top 10 all rounders.
By the way the top 3 all rounders is my opinion.. Obviously Flair isn’t one of my personal favourites, but he probably is the greatest ever. The top three all rounders is me tyring to be unbiased in my opinion.
1) Shawn Micheals
2) Randy Orton
3) The Rock
4) Eddie Guerrero
5) Edge
5) Kurt Angle (best in the business)
4) Chris Jericho (best heel in the business)
3) Edge (My personal favorite heel)
2) Ric Flair (Greatest of all time, period)
1) The Undertaker (Calling him a legend, or an icon somehow isn’t enough)
Bret Hart has tarnished his own reputation with his continuous bickering and complaining about the business.
And for the record if The Rock was still in the business he would be on my list.
1 JEFF HARDY
2 EDGE
3 THE ROCK
4 STONE COLD
5 KANE
I liked your 5 favorite wrestlers. Picking favorite wrestlers to me is a personal thing. Some people love John Cena while others are big Ric Flair fans. Here are my 5 favorite wrestlers. In no particular order:
Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat
Dean Malenko
Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig
The American Dragon Bryan Danielson
A.J. Styles
5)Christian
under rated
4)Chris Jericho
heel or face, always entertaining
3)RVD
the fact that his popularity grew mostly due to his in ring work
2)Eddie Guerrero
always loved yet could get booed when a heel and get cheered when a face
1)Undertaker
One of the greatest of all time
Very good choices, and wonderful explanations behind them. I might not have considered Jericho, but you made me reconsider.
My top 5:
#5: Batista
Yah, I know, 99% of you are saying “why the hell would you ever choose him? He’s got terrible form, he’s dull on the mic, and all he does is squash people.” True. But, you need to consider Evolution. Batista literally went from someone whith just a body to becoming the World Heavyweight Champion in one of the most epic and suspensful storylines of this decade. That era, from late 2004 up until Wrestlemania XXI, was Batistas. And in the months following, he put up some fantastic matches, including Backlash and Judgement Day against Triple H, with JD bein Hell in a Cell. Now, he doesnt look as roided out as he did, and his skills are improving. Plus, I’ve always been kinda favored towards the ‘bigger’ guys; ex. Batista, Triple H, Cena, Goldberg, you get it.
#4: Randy Orton
Can you say, “Wow!”? Everyweek, Scarlett Harris does the ‘Heel Report’ (if you havent read it, I strongly advise doing so). Back in Janurary-March, no one, NO. ONE. could touch Orton. That was probably the greatest heel turn in recent history (despite he was already heel). His look, his mic skills, and his in-ring ability made him the absolute best in the WWE; ‘nee Chris Jericho. When I went to the Smackdown X Anniversary show, all the kids booed him and cheered for Cena. For a solid half hour, I started just about every RKO chant you could hear that night. If the WWE will stop this 21 average-holding-the-title bullshit, he could very well go down as one of the greatest heel champions in all of professional wrestling.
#3: The Undertaker
Six-time World Champion. 16-0 Wrestlemania. One of the two longest tenured-wrestlers in the company today (for the other, see next paragraph). Need I say more? Hall of Famer the minute he leaves the ring for the final time. I completly agree with the above, Taker is someone whose character has evolved over time. Its because of this that we can still enjoy the ‘Dead Man’ gimmick (even though the WWE has KILLED his once-fantastic promos because of the effin kiddies). Take is a 300 pound monster who wrestlers like a cruiserweight. Plus, he was the reason I started watching pro wrestling. Handsdown, The Undertaker is easily one of the greatest ever.
#2. Shawn Michaels
This was incredibly tough. He is one of the greatest wrestlers who has ever lived, quite arguably the greatest ever. His in ring talent, along with his mic skills and character development have made him a living legend. I hope everyone truely appreciates watching him in DX, because we are now literally counting down the weeks to Wrestlemania 26, where he could very likely retire. Shawn revolutionized this industry; he was one of the first (and best) people to mix wrestling with entertainemnt. Around the time Shawn was like Orton today, wrestling took the turn from actual skill to the more flashy, entertainment part of it. Shawn became the first real superstar in that part of the industry. He hasnt gone 16-0, but its undisputed that he’s Mr. Wrestlemania. He has officially immortalized himself as one of, if not the, greatest professional wrestler ever.
#1: The Rock
I have always debated between Michaels and The Rock as to who was the greatest heel ‘96-onward: and i choose The Jabroni-beating (oohhhlaalalaouuu), pie-eating, trail-blazing, eyebrow-raising, simply amazing, “Can make a movie, catch a pass, still layeth the Smackethdown on your candy ass” the peoples champ The Rock. He was such a great heel the people made him a face. Honestly, in my own opinion there was no difference from his heel character in 97-98 to his face character in 98-00. He was still cocky, arogant, attacked faces, and gave insulting promos. Yet it was becuase he was cocky, arrogant, attacked faces (Austin?) and gave insulting promos, mixed with his incredible technical ability that has made the Great One number one on my list.
My list is like this:
1. Ric Flair
2. Terry Funk (to do what he does at the age he is is simply incredible)
3. The Undertaker
4. Curt Hening
5. Eddie Guerero
i agree with you on undertaker. and its not a bad spot for him right now and you are right’ he will never be deafeted at wrestlemania and he has done it all in the 90’s. and also helped wwe to grow on what it is today and he has pushed younger talents to become champions i couldnt agree more. and hey! he is not a possible hall of famer he is certenly a hall of famer its just a matter of time.
as goes to Shawn Michaels you have said it all. he has done it all in the ring he is a true future hall of famer and you forget to minsion his phenomenal match at wrestlemania 25 against the undertaker a match that we wanted for long time and got it on the right time in the right place and may i add that wwe did it all in this match i say this match was the whole wrestlemania.
i wont say much on rick flair because i havent watch him in his prime time and didnt know him that much except from my father storys about him back wccw with the legendery von eric family and i realy didnt notice him well except in his last days in wwe but i will take your words and say he is one of the greatest of all time
as goes for stonecold i also cant say much about him because back in the 90’s i was acutaly a wcw fan so i cant say much about him and i wont lie and say that i do but after i have watch some of his matches and promos back in his days i say that he is one of the rare wreslters that made the fans realy like him and love him for his bad attitude and we all know its realy hard to get that much light and heat from the fans so there was defnetly something about him and he earned his hall of fame spot
and you have said it all about Chris Jericho i cant add anything else
thanks
5. C.M. Punk – (Rebel beatdown)
4. HHH – (Cerebral beatdown)
3. Chris Jericho – (Smartass beatdown)
2. Undertaker – (Undead beatdown)
1. Stone Cold – (BMF beatdown)
Since I only started watching wrestling a little over ten years ago my list is a bit more contemporary but personally:
1. Kurt Angle (Still looks amazing in the ring)
2. Chris Benoit (The guy who turned me from an 11 year old punk who laughed at the show to an avid fan for life)
3. Randy Orton (Constantly evolving his character and skills)
4. Chris Jericho (Possibly the most versitile guy in all of wrestling)
5. C.M. Punk (Remarkably charismatic and intellegent)
Oh and John D, thanks for the plug but it’s me that writes the heel report every week, not Scarlet, altbough I greatly enjoy all of her articles and advise everyone to check them out as well:)
Hehe..sorry James.
1 stone cold
2 y2j
3 kurt angle
4 brock lesnar
5 mick foley
6 ken shamrock lol
1 undertaker
2 ric flair
3 stone cold steve austin
4 bret hart
5 shawn michaels
I pretty much agree with this thing except for Ric Flair. To be honest, I’ve never understood his popularity. He comes off as a wuss in the ring and I can’t stand his speeches. The only thing I can say for the guy is he’s the best bleeder in the industry, which I guess goes back to the wuss comment.
In his place, I would probably put Kurt Angle. There’s no man that’s as intense, will play through pain and will put guys over as much as him. He’s also the only guy I can think of who can flat out amateur wrestle AND be extremely entertaining.
1 Shawn Michaels
2 Ric Flair
3 Undertaker
4 Stone Cold Steve Austin
5 Rock
To Simon finally someelse that doesn’t kiss Flair’s ass like the rest of the wrestling world seems to do
and my top 5 are
5:Kurt Angle
4:Stone Cold
3:Bret Hart
2:AJ Styles
1:The Rock