Most Groundbreaking Wrestlers

[SavageTaker]

Which wrestlers do you think are some of the most groundbreaking wrestlers there has ever been?


I am going to name Brian Pillman as the most groundbreaking wrestler of all time. He was one of the first wrestlers to introduce the Lucha Libre style of wrestling to the mainstream audience in the United States. Lucha Libre was and still is a very popular style of wrestling in Mexican wrestling promotions and there weren’t many wrestlers using that style in America. He at the time was using aerial moves which he added to his arsenal and doing things that other wrestlers in America weren’t doing. He started using this type of wrestling in WCW then he went on to ECW and if I am correct he might have used Lucha Libre there too. Afterwards he went on to the World Wrestling Federation and still used the same type of wrestling. He has been described as being “ahead of his time” by many of the people and his peers that he either worked for or with. He introduced Lucha Libre to the American main stream wrestling fans and ever since he was using that style of wrestling it has become very popular in America and it still is very popular in America and of course other places around the world.

Unfortunately for Pillman there came a day in his career that something happened to him. It was something that happens to almost all wrestlers and the ones that it doesn’t happen to are some of the lucky ones. He got injured when he was driving his Hummer and fell asleep resulting in a coma and a shattered ankle. Do to him being injured he was no longer going to be able to do his aerial moves and he couldn’t use the Lucha Libre style of wrestling because of the shattered ankle injury. He was forced to change his style of wrestling to a more mat based style of wrestling.

Pillman in my mind will always be remembered as one of them most groundbreaking wrestlers because of the introduction of the Lucha Libre style of wrestling to main stream American fans.


So my question to you guys is Which wrestlers do you think are some of the most groundbreaking wrestlers there has ever been?

 

[JenovasWitness]

I'm going with Keiji Mutoh/the Great Muta. What other wrestler out there has a heel alter ego that he has changed into in the middle of a tag match? I can't think of anyone else, but if there are, I'm sure he was the first to do it. I love watching his matches in Japan, he is terribly entertaining.

 

[Dre Guevara]

I gotta go with The Undertaker. 2 be 6'10'' 300 plus lbs. he was agile, & still is 2 some degree, B4 the injuries began 2 take their toll.

 

[gunslinger72]

If we are talking a wrestling CHARACTER, I would have to say Golddust. Dustin took something that at face value should have failed miserably, and made it work. During the early years Goldy was increadibly entertaining and really pushed the envelope. Yes, there had been "gay" or effeminant wrestlers in the past...but this went FAR and beyond. The music, the entrance, the mannerisms were fun to watch. The affect he had on his opponents was wild to say the least. Once it got to the Luna Vachon BDSM stage it was just stupid. When he got "electrocuted" by DX he turned into comic gold (no pun inteneded) with the way he started talking.

 

[loretta]

I would say bret hart was groundbreaking as before him you had musculsar giants like hogan, billy graham, warrior ruling thr ring and then when hogan left, bret opened the door for smaller, technical wrestlers to take center stage. Shawn, benoit, edge, and many others credit bret for opening the door for smaller guys to suceed in this uisness

 

[The Infant Finite]

I can't list just one because I have so very many wrestlers that I have found to be something special through my 25 years of viewership. So i'll make a list of 5 or 10.


1. Kurt Angle: Kurt was the first guy I had ever seen that had all the trimmings and build of a pure babyface that was truly despised by the fans. Despite his wholesome character, that would have been wildly popular in the 80's and even the early 90's, the fans did not like him. So the WWF got wise and began playing into it, making him wholesome, yet arrogant and self important in the same hand. The character was groundbreaking. Then came the evolution of his in ring style. Once he got his wits about him in that ring, he molded his olympic style into a very compelling display everytime he wrestled. His ankle lock was one of the most compelling holds to watch be locked in (see micheals/Angle at wrestlemania 21 for a main illustration of my point). Angle was amazing, he gave us something very unique in the world of pro wrestling. No matter how mediocre his TNA incarnation is now.


2. TAZ: The casual fan barely remembers Taz as the little guy who got squashed a lot in WWE and did commentary tha was largely forgettable after that. I remember TAZ as the Human Suplex Machine and the guy who's "stuff" was more instense in that ring than I had ever seen before had the good fortune of stumbling across Extreme Championship Wrestling one day as an adolescent. A man who spent a year and a half building up to one of the greatest and most real, heated feuds in all of wrestling with Sabu.
As Heyman said in the Rise and fall of ECW, TAZ brought with him, the "big fight" atmosphere. Something we hadn't been treated to since the mid 80's and haven't really been treated to since. Sure Taz was too small to gain any signifigant recognition in the WWE, most intelligent fans and even he himself had to have known that when he signed with them, but in ECW Taz reigned supreme. Heyman knew what a minature monster he had in TAZ and he allowed that aspect of Pete Senerchia to flourish and that he did.


3. The Duley Boyz: Not team 3-d, not the camo wearing WWE bastardization of this name. But the overalls and tie dye sporting, eight to ten member strong (including they're own ring announcer and "sign holder") original incarnation of the Dudleyz. Buh-Buh Ray Dudley, D-Von Dudley, Big Dick Dudley, Dudley Dudley, Little Spike Dudley, sign guy Dudley and Dances with Dudley, along with joel gertner of course. Was prime comic heel entertainment and also probably the most incediary tag team (bubbah and d-von of course) I have ever seen in the ring. These men would cause near riots in the crowd on a nightly basis, picked fights that i'm sure led to them having a few folks "waiting outside" for them, and preformed some of the most dastardly heel tactics ever. say what you will about the steiner brothers, the wild samoans, The pit bulls, The eliminators (obscure i know), The Hardys, Edge and christian, Harlem heat, the road warriors and Money incorporated and this is not discrediting any of those great teams, but Nobody got you involved like the Dudleyz of old did.


4. Jake "The Snake" Roberts:
"Trust Me". A moniker that still echoes throug my head to this day, Roberts introduced a different sort of wrestler alltogether. He never overwhelmed people with his muscle or his finesse, he overwhelmed people with his mind games. The man practically re-wrote the book on ring psychology IMO.
His DDT was THE move for any kid growing up in those days, forget about a hogan legdrop or a macho man elbow, every kid was trying to do Jake's DDT whn i was a youth. His promos are work of legend, that today's wrestlers could benefit from taking a look at if you ask me. Then of course there was Damien, his python, something that never failed to get an uproarious reaction from the crowd. Sure there were guys who were bigger draws and guys who were better wrestlers in that ring, even then. But nobody put on a show quite like Jake did.


5. Cactus Jack:
He may be soiling his hard earned reputation a bit with this silly run with TNA, but Mic Foley's impression on the wrestling buisness will definately outlast this horrid time. Foley was the first man to earn respect and glorification for making the other wrestler look great, because he knew how to do it in a way to make them both look good. Foley was and still is very intelligent and that is how he was able to carve his niche into wrestling history. Next to another wrestler i am going to name later in this list, Foley has taken some of the most severe and grandious bumps I have ever seen. If you ask me, he is largely responsible for the sustained success of preformers such as Sting and the Undertaker. And he greatly aided in "making" guys like the Rock, Triple H, Ron Simmons, Vader, Tommy dreamer, Mikey Whipwreck, Edge and randy Orton IMO. Foley was a glutton for punishment and he knew how to make a name for himself with it.


6. Rob Van Dam

Only with the arrival of john Morrison have I seen a guy who has ever been capable of doing some of the things RVD was capable of doing in his prime. Rob made the most astounding physical feats look almost effortless. From split legged moonsaults to fluid no step insuguri's to five star frog splashes from 3/4 across the ring. the man was flat out amazing to behold. Nobody copied his moves, because mainly, they couldn't and van Damn remained one of the most unique preformers ever due to that. If you dont agree or weren't impressed with his WWE work (which was still pretty damn good by WWE standards), then I implore you to go look up jerry Lynn vs. RVD or RVD vs. Sabu or RVD and Sabu vs. the Dudleys, any of hi old ECW work and you will be treated to something special.


7. Raven

This is definately about more groundbreaking character than ring work here, but Scott Levy and Paul heyman truly created a special character in Raven.
A man who tormented Tommy Dreamer psychologically for years, who stole the sandman's wife and brainwashed his own son against him. A character who got so much heat on him he actually had to break character and apologize to the crowd for offending them. his Dark and eliquent promos were haunting and no matter what the WCW and the WWF did to ruin this character, he was something profound.


8. Sabu:

Sabu was a man who, unlike Foley, truly could wrestle, but chose to play on th fact that he had no regard for his own well being. Sabu had endured so much scarification before he even hit ECW that his mangled form alone was enough to keep the big two away from him, despite his remarkable in ring talent. I've seen this man wrap himself in barbed wire, dive on terry funk and then have to be cut loose after the match because the two wrestlers were stuck together. I have seen him pu himself through tables, i've seen him fall head first onto the concrete floor. Sabu was truly insane, and that made him unique to watch.


9. Steve Austin:


I dont need much reasoning here because we all know how Austin changed the buisness. Austin made the anti hero character and marked probably the most fun era of WWF wrestling ever. Nuff said.


10. The undertaker:


To this very day, his entrance sends chills up my spine. His character is so powerful and well played that I will be sad when the Dead man calls it quits. never has there been a more powerful presence in a WWf ring. The undertaker has lasted for almost twenty years for very good reason, and nothing i say here will be anything that hasnt been said before about this wrestler.

 

[dd23beatlesfan1]

I think all of the wrestlers that have been mentioned thus far are good ones. However, those are wrestlers that were groundbreaking for the last 20 years. Pro wrestling has existed long before that, so I feel it's important to acknowledge some of the wrestlers from the first half of the 20th century, as without those wrestlers, none of the more modern greats like Flair, Hogan, Hart, HBK, Stone Cold, Rock, Taker, Sting, etc. would be here.

There's been many groundbreaking wrestlers. But I am going to go with one that may be the most "groundbreaking" wrestler in history. No, it isn't Frank Gotch (the first major American pro wrestling star). No, it isn't Ed "Strangler" Lewis (arguably the toughest wrestler to ever live, and one-third of the "Gold Dust Trio") No, it isn't Lou Thesz (the greatest champion in wrestling history). No, it isn't Rikidozan (the godfather of Japanese pro wrestling). No, it isn't El Santo (the biggest star in Mexican pro wrestling history). It's not Verne Gagne (one of the biggest stars of the '50s and '60s, the king of the AWA, and the man responsible for training a good portion of the greatest wrestlers of the last 25 years). No, it isn't Bruno Sammartino (the wrestler who got the WWE going). And no, it isn't Buddy Rogers (the main who set the standard for a heel character).

Nope. It's Gorgeous George, hands down.


Before Gorgeous George, you didn't have full-fledged heel wrestlers. Before Gorgeous George you didn't have wrestlers portraying characters or gimmicks, outside of being a legitimate, basic wrestler/fighter/athlete. Before Gorgeous George, you didn't have wrestlers who came out with valets or managers. Before Gorgeous George, you didn't have wrestlers come out to entrance music. Before Gorgeous George, you didn't have wrestlers who genuinely tried to get the crowd to hate them.

Gorgeous George was not the greatest wrestler of all-time. He wasn't a great wrestler technically (though he was underrated according to some of the greats). By the time he came up with his character/gimmick, he relied more on theatrics and entertainment than in wrestling technique. He wasn't the greatest heel wrestler ever, as people like Buddy Rogers, Ric Flair, Terry Funk, Stan Hansen, Roddy Piper, Harley Race, and even HHH went on to perfect being a heel better.

But if you want to talk about groundbreaking wrestlers, wrestlers who paved the way for the wrestling industry that we have today, Gorgeous George is the most groundbreaking wrestler ever.


Not only did Gorgeous George pioneer the gimmick, entrance music, the art of having a valet or manager, and being a full-fledged heel, but even more importantly than that he is the star that put wrestling on the map in the modern era.

With the invention of television and the mass sales of them to the American public in the late 1940's, wrestling became a phenomenon on TV. Because it was cheap programming and easy to make. And while wrestlers such as Buddy Rogers, Antonio "Argentina" Rocca, Lou Thesz, and Verne Gagne became stars through television, none of them became full-fledged American pop-culture icons. But Gorgeous George did. Gorgeous George got people watching wrestling all the time on TV in the early 1950's, and gave rise to the first "golden age" of pro wrestling in the modern era.

Gorgeous George changed the overall art and concept of pro wrestling forever. Before Gorgeous George and the rise of television, wrestlers entertained fans simply through action and technique in the ring. Wrestling became staged long before Gorgeous George, but the art of wrestling was simple before his arrival or the beginning of his portrayal of his gimmick. The art of wrestling was simply having a wrestling match and make it look as believable as possible. That's it. No entertainment, no major plots or storylines. No pandering to the crowd. No getting the crowd involved. No theatrics. Just making a fight look as legitimate as possible. Gorgeous George changed all of that.

He introduced the concept of coming out to entrance music. He introduced the concept of having a valet or manager, which added so much more to the art of being a heel. Heck, he was basically the first heel in wrestling. Sure there were some wrestlers before him that acted more heelish, such as being more agressive in the ring. But there was no one that would insult the crowd or annoy them on purpose or get the crowd to hate him in whatever way possible. No one until Gorgeous George.

He made pro wrestling more about characters and entertainment. He made those elements to a match just as important as the in-ring action. John Cena said a few years ago that Hulk Hogan "brought the entertainment to "sports-entertainment"" No he didn't. Gorgeous George did. Just around the same time that Hulk Hogan was even born.

If you don't believe how groundbreaking or influential he was or how wide-spread his appeal really was, just ask the most famous boxer of all-time, Muhammad Ali. Gorgeous George was so charismatic and influential, that Muhammad, himself, was inspired by him. Muhammad Ali also broke new ground in boxing early in his career for giving colorful interviews and getting the people to hate him, just like a heel in wrestling. His interview skills and his art in trying to hype his matches by getting people to boo and hate him, were inspired and influenced by none other than Gorgeous George. Muhammad Ali has stated this on numerous occassions. His character was inspired by watching Gorgeous George on TV as a kid. That's why Muhammad was associated with wrestling throughout his career. Because he in reality was a heel pro wrestler that simply boxed instead of wrestled. Gorgeous George influenced the most important boxer and arguably the most famous athete of the 20th century. Now that's impressive.

Once again, Gorgeous George is not the "greatest" pro wrestler of all-time. But this thread asked who is the most "groundbreaking" pro wrestler ever. That award, my friends, goes to Gorgeous George.


I could list plenty more, but I'll let some others do that.

 

[Punk13]

I'd Go with the HEART BREAK KID He really was ground breaking being involved in many firsts in wrestling aswell as being the smallest WWF champion of the 90's and his very edgy character. He is truly ground breaking.

 

[1C3-M4N]

A few of the most groundbreaking wrestlers I have seen in the past 20 years are:

1- 'Macho Man' Randy Savage
From his unforgettable interviews to his amazing matches Randy Savage is at the top of my list. I'll never forget seeing him wrestle Ricky Steamboat, or when he was 'The Macho King'. One of my favorite commentators of all time as well.

2- RvD
Rob Van Dam was impactful during his whole career. Paul Heyman made a very good choice in bringing RvD to Ecw. He became the whole f'in show to put it frankly and had some of the best matches that company ever put on. When he went to WWE and won Money in the bank, and challenged Cena for the WWE at Extreme Rules06(back when the pay per view was good) and had both the WWE title and Ecw at the same time I thought it was really amazing to watch.

3- The Undertaker
Probably at the moment one of the most popular wrestles currently on any roster. He's been around for 20 years and has a following with both old fans and new. He is known by people that have never even seen wrestling and is the best performer with mind games to his opponent I've ever seen. Plus an undefeated Wrestlemania streak isn't bad either.

There are many others but those 3 came to mind.

 

[lamo78]

By far the most groundbreaking wrestlers are Alex Wright and Glacier. That was a joke people. I think that Mick Foley really led the way for the attitude era. He was ahead of his time with his hardcore style. I guess that means you could put Terry Funk in that category as well. There are others too. Big John Stud was one of the first big men who was athletic and could do more than just stand there.

 

[Blade]

I think I have to go with the Undertaker too.

Not because of his wrestling ability or his career, but simply because of his gimmick. Simply put, that was the first gimmick that went past being just a heel or face. A gimmick that surpassed being booed or cheered. It was the first gimmick to strike true fear in the hearts of fans. He didn't even need to anything to cause the fear, he jsut had to roll his eyes or no sell a move or two and people would have a look of terror on his face.
Even with guys like Andre the Giant didn't strike fear like the undertaker, cause they were still human. Undertaker was an undead soul.
That gimmick was revolutionary and made way for gimmicks like Kane, 1997 Sting and even Umaga.

 

[mr.davidson]

When I look at ground breaking 4 names come to my mind right away.

1. Hulk Hogan: No one has metioned him cause everyone knows he was the ground breaker for sports entertainment... He is the GOD of this industry and made everything the way it is 2day...... Without him this wrestlingzone would probably not even exsist...... interveiws ... the look..... the presents.... he is the best ever in this bussiness.

2. Stone Cold: He brought me back into watching the WWE and turned it into somthing to enjoy ( even when WCW was ruling ass) I would still want to watch WWE just to see his segments.... and his interveiws... I remember laughing my ass off in a segment where he was making fun of Scott Hall... soooooooo great.... If anyone could chase hogans legacy and give him a run for his money it would be him... he was great and ground breaking.

3. The Undertaker: Truly great... Where i can compare Hogan and Steve Austin and I cannot compare him to anything... just a great gimmick.. and intence... his matches have always imprssed me and he stands on his own .when he retires... he will have his own legacy. bar none.

4 Road Warriors: Truly they stand on there own aswell.... they made tag teams mean somthing and they did it before they even entered the WWE.... they made somthing of themselves and were cheered when they were being a heel or a babyface. They reminded me of the guys u just didnt f@#k with on the street.. because i believe thats what they were in real life... I dont know y they have not been intucted into the HOF yet... But in the end I truly believe they will go down in history as the BEST tag Team Ever....

 

[Chris in SC]

Gorgeous George - As noted above, he was the first pop-icon from the industry and really brought the 'Entertainment' into sports-entertainment.

Superstar Billy Graham - His routine heavily influenced greats from Hogan to Triple H and others.

Roddy Piper - Really took promos and mic work to another level. How many 'Piper's Pit' knockoffs have been tried and flopped in the last two decades? A bunch.

Ric Flair - Has anyone ever had the combination of skill, ring work, durability, charisma and mic work that he had? Screw Lex Luger, Ric was the 'total package'

Stone Cold - As noted above, made the anti-hero a true third option besides heel and face. And no one will ever do it as good as he did.

Undertaker - No one can deny the unique talent that he is. It will be a LONG time before we find a guy that is that big, that good in the ring, and can sell a character that much. He's one of the VERY few that can take the same gimmick and be a heel, face, tweener, whatever and keep it relevant for two decades.

 

[PBA_Sensation]

What seems to be happening since the great Georgeous George post, is that these kids are just throwing their favorite wrestlers in. HBK is not really the groudbreaking. Sure, he was in the first Hell in a Cell, and the first ladder match with Brett Hart (Not Razor). Big deal, he didnt "pave the way" things are done. His HiaC match is forgetable if Kane didnt make his debut. His ladder match with Hart wasnt even televised, so thats not really groundbreaking. And he was not the smallest champ of the 90's. I do believe Hart was smaller, and Backlund might have been too. He's just a guy who has stood the test of time. Almost the same as Undertaker. He isnt really that groundbreaking, he is just a great character.

-Gorgeous George: already stated, no need to add more to it
-Dudleyz: already said
-Jake Roberts: already said
-Vader: Surprised no one mentioned him. I know he may not be the first big man to do what he did. Before he was in WWE(F), he was the most agile "fat guy" you've ever seen. He moved around the ring like a "Sting build", he was brutal to everyone he faced, and he could perform top rope moves when guys his size normally would even think about it.

Also...IMO, Hogan was not at all groundbreaking. Sure, he IS wrestling and he "saved" wrestling. BUT, what did he do that was so different besides catch a tidal wave of popularity. He was a blantant Billy Graham rip-off, who just happened to catch on more than Graham did. Hogan basically took elements of a lot of greats before him and put them together. All Hogan ever got was a good break and he had the charisma to make it work.

If someone is groundbreaking, they are supposed to be the first to do something that has been constantly referenced, or the first to make something extremely big and is constantly referenced. How many HiaC get referenced to the first one??? NONE, they get compared to Foley/Taker.

 

[evilshizno]

my top 5

5) Syxx/X-Pac-This guy paved the way for all the small dudes in the biz.

4)Hulk Hogan-Personally not a big fan of the guy,i would pick Macho Man over him any day but hogan but you cant deny what he has done for this "sport" that we all love.

3)Shawn Michaels-Maybe the best workers of all time.He is the show stoppa the main event and the icon and dare i say the best there is the best there was and the best there ever will be.haha.

2)Steve Austin-C'mon thats a no brainer.

1)The Great Muta-My all time favorite wrestler so im kind of biased and put him at number one,but can anybody really deny this mans accomplishments i mean c'mon people he won the 92 battlebowl in dub ya see dub ya lol bad example.

 

[PBA_Sensation]

you pretty much just proved what I said... You are just using this as a way to mark out for your favorite wrestlers.

Zac Gowen was a groundbreaker and he was by no means a great wrestler. He etched in our minds that a one legged man can win an ass kicking contest, therefore, groundbreaking. He beat the Big Show clean

 

[THTRobtaylor]

I agree on Zac Gowan... that he got a shot at all was groundbreaking for disabled people in wrestling... but Flair was also groundbreaking for surviving his plane crash, being told he will never walk again and then winning 16 titles...

To me its about who brought something never seen ANYWHERE before to the table.

Pillman counts for his latter "loose cannon" gimmick as nobody had ever pulled used insider terms like Booker man, or threatened another wrestler with a gun, or threatened to urinate in the ring, or made an announcer drop an F-Bomb on live TV... Not the Lucha though, as by definition he was using a style others were using elsewhere...

Andre was groundbreaking in that he was the first legitimate Giant of the business... a man who you believed was unbeatable.

The British Bulldogs were groundbreaking in their teamwork, no other tag team has ever looked as crisp and exciting as they did and they raised the bar for every team.

Scott Steiner was a groundbreaker in his day, for moves like the Frankensteiner that are now so commonplace, when he first introduced it, and the fact it was a "big man" doing the move, it was the most amazing thing I have ever seen.

But the winner for me is a toss up between Sabu and RVD... When I first saw Robbie V in the Tv title tourney in WCW, I saw something very unique and special. How many moves has he invented? The Van Terminator, the Van Daminator, the Van Dam Lift, an actual recognised lift... He was also one of the first guys to use a legit stoner angle too and to reference his enjoyment of the weed... forget Austin swearing or Sandman drinking beer... all that was missing was being allowed to spark up a dooby during a promo for RVD...

Sabu similarly in his younger days was a phenom, jaw dropping moves, innovation and propensity to take punishment. On balance, I give it to RVD, just cos the VD Lift is in the Guinness Book or Records...