Who is the greatest babyface of all time?

[Just Do It]

Either Hogan or Austin IMO, but it's hard to answer. That's like saying who was better, Freddie Mercury or Michael Jackson - you'd be an idiot to discounter an argument for either.

[8thwotwATG]

Wow, this is a helluva topic, despite anyones' opinion or viewpoint..However, that being said, there are a handful of wrestlers who can be put on the list of the greatest babyfaces of ALL time..
[b]Ricky"the Dragon"Steamboat
This man, in his near 25 years as a pro,NEVER wrestled as a heel, and to the best of my knowledge,was beloved and respected as a first class pro in, and out , of the squared circle... a genuine class act...his feuds w/Ric Flair in the NWA and w/ Don Muraco in theWWF/E are the stuff of legend..

[b]Andre the Giant
All of us know that he finished his career as a heel, but in spite of this, (and his exploits in Japan as a heel), his most dominant period as a pro in North America between 1973 and aprox. 1984, saw him portrayed as a face, and due in no small part to his natural charisma and ebulliance, he was, perhaps one of the single most beloved wrestlers on the face of the Earth...During his decade plus run of dominance in the wrestling business, whenever a heel was pushed into the monster prominance, you always knew that, especially during this time, that somebody would ALWAYS be brought in to stop the monster Heel......And 99 times out of a hundred it would be ANDRE THE GIANT! As a babyface, Andre would ALWAYS sell to the monster heel, but it wasalways understood that,
A: No One pinned Andre
Andre's appeal as a great equalizer to the monster heel remained undimmed well into the 1980's until he physically broke down, and was forced to turn heel in order to put Hogan over the top.....
[b]Bruno Sammartino
The second, and arguably most dominant WWF/E Champion in the history of the company, was another wrestler who never wrestled as a heel anytime during his long career, and was SOO good as a babyface, that his rub on his one and only protege made the career of his protege... Of course I speak of one of the more sucessfull heels in the buisness known to all as Larry Zybysko. had it been not for his heel turn on one of the single most beloved babyfaces in the history of the buisness, he would NEVER have had the runs he had outside of the WWF/E. Sammaartino's two runs as champion are, to this day, unmatched in longevity and, more importantly, in drawing power...dollar for dollar, few, if any, can match what Bruno did during his years as Champ..one of the greatest faces ever!!!!!

[comrade_mario]

Hogan, Hart and Cena would be the top 3 for me as I'm basing this on a kayfabe sense.

Hogan is the biggest wrestler of all time and his babyface run in the WWF up until 1993 was his peak, but does Hollywood Hogan impact on the Hulkstar's character? Maybe and I'm unsure if I give him the top babyface of all time because of that.

Bret probably took the role of rolemodel to kids as seriously as anyone in the industry, his character in the WWF was built on respect and fighting for the underdog. I know he was heel in the WWF previously to 1997 but as a babyface champion he never once showed heel tendencies, he had seen the light if you will. So does the anti-American period diminish his babyface character? Not that much in my opinion. His heel character was based on US wrestling fans losing respect for him and the industry itself, he was almost a babyface battling a crowd of heels at that time. Less said about his WCW career the better, I don't think it blights his WWF character, like Hogan's did, because no one really remembers anything about it.

Cena was also heel, saw the light and has been a good guy ever since. No-one is presented as caring about the fans like Cena does, he's a modern day Bret Hart (in terms of character), so for me it's between Cena and Bret.

Today I'll say it is John Cena, another day I might have said Bret Hart

[Just Do It]

I will say about Bret Hart - WWE for whatever reason ignores this guy to a criminal extent, considering he was THE face of the company for the majority of the 90's.

Granted he is one of the few wrestlers on the WWE Signature opening - but go back and watch Raw 1000 and see how little he is featured: he appears one time, hugging Shawn in 2010. All his classic raw moments ignored. What did make the cut: loads of mark Henry, Sheamus, the muppets, all the guest hosts, laods of HHH... just wrong.

[lowandmighty]

Just as Hulk Hogan was the greatest heel he was also the greatest face. He was the greatest so far.

His face character changed the way wrestling was run as a business for the better and kick started the evolution of wrestling that resulted in much of what we see today.

[Mustang Sally]

Originally Posted by relentless1

Hogan was the greatest babyface of all time, nobody quite got the crowd reaction he did in his prime, a case can be made for austin but i feel he was more a anti hero than anything so my vote goes to the hulkster

Totally agree. I wonder what wrestling fans in the 60's and 70's would have made of Austin. Back then, good and bad were strictly defined.....and no "bad guy" had any redeeming qualities, whatsoever. Can you imagine how a performer who threw middle fingers at everyone, smiled when arrested by the police, and drank beer in the center of the ring, would be received by the wrestling fans? Yes, he was an anti-hero, probably the prototype for all anti-heroes.

Hogan was the greatest babyface.....at least in the modern era. As much animosity as I have for him today, especially since we've learned what a selfish self-promoter he was (at other people's expense), there's no question his All-American schtick cast him as a genuine hero to tons of people. It's impossible to forget the real excitement he generated.

As to "olden" times, I'd pick Bruno Sammartino. To millions, he was the ultimate good guy....and couldn't be seen as anything else. Today, many folks detest John Cena, which shows only how things have changed in the last generation or two. Cena is nothing but good in the same way Bruno was, yet it's typical of today's fans that many "hate" him.

Well, I suppose Bruno and Hogan had their haters, too, but that doesn't alter their status as all-time babyfaces.

[midgensa]

Flat out Hulk Hogan.

I don't even think this one is close. He could be argued as the greatest heel as well ... but there is little doubt that red and yellow Hogan was the top face in the history of wrestling.

His rise to the top took the business to an entirely new level and he continues to draw money to this day.