Greatest in-ring performer of ALL TIME?

[Waylon Mercy]

Hopefully someday not too far in the future, we'll be putting CM Punk among the ranks of Bret, Shawn, Macho Man, Mr. Perfect, Ric Flair, Eddie Guerrero, etc. as one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time. He has proven himself time and time again as being worthy of consideration.

[Flying Fox]

If you're talking in-ring, t's Chris Benoit in my opinion. No contest.
Chris couldn't have a bad match. I thoroughly enjoyed his work from all promotions. His battles with Eddie, Jericho, Booker.T, Jushin Liger, Kurt Angle and Bret Hart, to name a few.

Benoit was the absolute best. Not a promo guy, but he was a ruthless brawler, a badass psychologist - I'm surprised by how many folks think that good psychology comes down to solely giving good promos. Allow me to blow your mind! Yes, it is possible to be a 'silent psychologist', just ask Jake Roberts and Undertaker - and we all know he was unmatched from a technicality standpoint. He doesn't get enough credit for being such an adaptable wrestler in my opinion.

A lot of people make argument that unless you love technical wrestling, Benoit was boring, but ye here faithful are quick to forget: He had the ladder match with Jericho, the cage match with Angle, the kickass faction work with the Radicalz, as well as his knock-down/drag-outs with Kevin Sullivan and many others. Another classic example of Benoit's adaptability is when RAW emanated live from Japan in 2005. He and Jericho put on a great submission match that fused contemporary styles with traditional Japanese wrestling. The match would have been shit on in front of an Americanized crowd, but it stole the show that night in Japan.

To me, Benoit is the ultimate wrestler's wrestler. He's the guy who would bring up the young guys and truly make them good. Whereas many radiate personality, Benoit radiated a passion that the viewers could feel. Hadn't been done quite like that before him; hasn't been done since.