The Greatest Old School Wrestler of All Time

[It's...Baylariat!]

This is a rather simple question, but deserves to be made. We all talk about who are favorite wrestlers from back in the day were. From Hogan to Flair, to Hansen and Luger. Who's your all time favorite Old School Wrestler?

Criteria to be met

1. We're talking wrestlers who debuted before the year 2000. HHH is fine, Cena is not. Kurt Angle is fine. Jericho is also fine. Orton and Batista are not. Those who don't meet the criteria will be deleted, with no punishment.

2. Obviously this is non-spam. So no spam posts or warnings and infractions will be handed out. This means name your wrestler, state your reason for said wrestler, and hell, even provide a clip from Youtube to prove your point.

3. BE CIVIL. If you disagree with someone, that's fine. But this is ONLY for listing your all time greatest wrestler, not to tell someone that they're stupid for saying 'so-and-so' isn't.

There you go. List away and have fun.

 

[8thwotwATG]

This can potentially make for an interesting thread for at least one reason in that;

A: Just how old school is old School? for example, my version of old school is very likely to be different from what you and many of the posters here consider to be an "old school wrestler".

This is not meant to be a shot just more of a question as to how far back can we go?
Well, that being said, I can list probably a bunch of wrestlers who could be considered the greatest old school wrestler of all time, but for the sake of a semblance of brevity, I will give the name of someone who I consider the epitome of a great old school wrestler

Bruno Sammartino.

The "Living Legend" strongman from Abruzzi, Italy held the WWWF championship in his first tile reign form 1963 to 1971 (I think) and if I'm not mistaken, his appearance on an MSG card during those years pretty much guaranteed a sold out crowd. (over 200 sellouts). While I would admit that outside the northeast, he probably was not as well known, the Living Legend was an absolute GOD here for us kids here in the New England area. Bruno possessed natural charisma and unreal herculean strength; plus he could wrestle a little! His was my first memory of what a champ should look and act like when I was a young marked out kid. Even now I still respect what Sammartino's contributions to sports entertainment were. It's a shame he won't allow himself to be inducted into the WWE HOF. In addition to his phenomenal power, Bruno was quite adept at using ring psycology and an interview to get his point and sell a storyline. I can still remember him promoting his rematch with Stan Hansen after he was injured in the ring against Hansen, and although I was a kid, I still remember hiow Bruno made me and my friends believe just how angry he was and what he would do to Hansen in the ring just had to be seen to be believed. His ability to sell for his opponents, his superman comebacks, and, once again, natural charisma made him for me one of the, if not the greatest Old School wrestler of them all.


Thanks for the opportunity to post here; I like this thread and am looking forward to reading some more responses to this.

 

[Matowar]

I am going to respond to this question with two answers;


1st my favorite old school wrestler is The Macho Man Randy Savage! He was an amazing wrestler who at the time was different from almost every other wrestler. He used speed and high flying combined with strength. Also Savage could give an interview and make you feel his intensity. Even when he was a bad guy he was my favorite. I was just a kid around 9 or 10 but even I knew that he was hooked up with a hot manager and that was also super cool.


2nd is without a doubt Bruno Samartino. The man was a Living Legend long before Sting or Hogan were the Icons. He held the title for what 14 years? Not even Ric Flair can say that about his career. He did stuff that will never be repeated, ever!

 

[onelonesapper70]

I am going to go with three. Bruno of course, if for nothing other than the length of his runs with the belt. Then, Billy Graham, because he was gifted at making people dislike him, he had heel heat like no other. This last one is somewhat strange because he honestly wasnt a wrestler, but the way he handled things with the business, and the way he made people all over the country hate him and created heat is legendary and that is Andy Kaufmen

 

[matman8540]

Like a potato chip, it's difficult to take just one. So, I'll come up with categories, all using the same criteria. If you looked up the definition in the wrestling fan's dictionary, their picture would be there.

1. Greatest old-school face--Bruno Sammartino. He faced just about every monster heel that came through the WWWF during his two title reigns from 1963-1977 (with 3 years off to wander the country), and turned them back. Even the ones he lost to (Ivan Koloff and Superstar Billy Graham), he had either defeated prior to or after he lost to them. All of this done in most of the major population centers of the country, and to huge pops from every one in the building.

2. Greatest old-school heel--The Shiek. Not the Iron Shiek, but Mr. Ed Farhood of Detroit. For the vast majority of his career, he was booed with great gusto from fans all over the world. His actions in the ring caused people to cry and turn away (before we all really knew better). His feuds in California actually caused two of the biggest heels of the time; Freddie Blassie and John Tolos, to get cheered. Not to mention his rivlary over the US title with Bobo Brazil, was probably one of the best (if not best feud) of all time.

3. Greatest old-school tag team--Gene & Ole Anderson. They weren't high flyers, they weren't psycho heels, and they weren't brutishly strong. What they were was two men who meshed perfectly as a team. Using a scientific style with a decided mean streak, they perfected the tag team strategy of keeping one man on their side of the ring, and just using a basic shoulder bar; causing their opponents to quit.

 

[triniphenom]

My Favorite Old School Wrestler is The Undertaker since he came in the people liked him and he came in as a heel and he has defeated the unstopable Hogan also, and his character and in ring abilties has evole all them years is 1989, he never gets boring he as always been able to comeback ans has all different kinds of ring abilties he can fight a match with anyone

 

[dafeman]

macho man and steamboat were two of the best old school they had enough new school in them but could also wrestle i would rather watch either one of there old matches than some of the new wrestling they have now. i would also throw tito santana into the mix always had a great match even if they fought iron mike sharpe!

 

[wrestler36]

Yeah, old school is relative to how old each person is or what is considered pro wrestling, rasslin' sports entertainment, whatever. That being said, I think Jake The Snake Roberts was a very good package. Not the best athlete, but he carried his 'character' to perfection. Mesmerizing interviews while most others were screaming and flexing. His motions were slow and calculated. His psychology was amazing and his finisher stopped a match cold. He could get the biggest pops without playing to the crowd or raising his voice. Amazing.

 

[wrestling fan 666]

I've got several also. Lou Thesz was incredible; Bruno of course; The Andersons (tag team, any variation) were great at dissecting a body part; also Ric Flair for he was the total package of mic, in ring, and charismatic skills; Bob Backlund, who never gets the credibility he deserves; the British Bulldogs, they revolutionized tag team with speed, technical ability, and innovation; Ricky Steamboat was a great also. There are so many that lead the way, I wish there was an all around Wresters Hall of Fame (not just NWA, or WWE) so that everyone can participate.

I would've mentioned Angle, but I felt these are the most "old school".

 

[Checkmate]

Just about everyone has mentioned Bruno Sammartino already, and rightly so. As a matter of fact, Matowar pretty much summed up my entire thought process with Bruno and Macho Man Randy Savage.

The question itself it really quite vague. Granted, the younger members will have the 80's and 90's guys to look to, while the older generations can cover the guys who preceeded them. However, this is still really a very open question. There are so many names that could be spit out to accurately represent this answer.

The best two, in my mind, would have to be Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin. Aside from Bruno Sammartino, these guys got over more than anyone else, more than Flair, Savage, Taker, The Rock, Kurt Angle, Mr. Perfect, Rowdy Roddy Piper, etc. Simply put, these two guys defined wrestling for two different periods of time.

This all lies in what you would call the "best". Since wrestling is essentially sports entertainment, the "best" should go to the greatest entertainers. While Bruno really came before the great televised era, Hogan and Austin thrived because of their timing. In the 80's into the 90's, everyone knew and loved Hulk Hogan. He was a figure that trancended the business. The same can be said of the Austin of the mid to late 90's.

There actually is another topic in these forums that was attempting to compare Austin and Hogan to see which was greater. I believe there is no solid answer there, which is why I answered here with two names instead of one. I really don't think there is a good way to accurately rank the "best" guys in wrestling. It is all a matter of opinions, and in my opinion, I think Austin and Hogan are the "best".

I also didn't want to follow the many before me that said Bruno Sammartino or even go with Ric Flair. This isn't because I don't like them, or feel that they could deserve the title of "best". Any answer is a good answer, assuming the supporting case is well thought out. Great thread.

 

[Tougie]

I cant personally sum it down to one, found it easier to break it down into decades. From the 70's, Jack Brisco is the standard for college wrestlers turned pro wrestlers and was easily one of the best champions of all time. Harley Race was just a badass who beat the hell out of everyone. Terry Funk was setting the standard for crazy back in the 70's and obviously continued that for the next 3 decades. In the 80's, easily the top guy was Ric Flair, the looks, the promos, the in ring performances including the consistent one hour draws.

Ricky Steamboat who brought out the best in everyone he worked with and was one of the pioneers of the high flying style in the US. Don Muraco was just a great heel in the early and mid 80's and could easily draw heat just by the sound of his voice. Couldn't do this list without mentioning Savage, easily one of the top 5 best promoters of all time who backed it up with good ring work and one of the longest IC title reigns of all time. Sting had decent promos, good in ring work, but a great eye catching look that made him an instant face.

From the 90's, HBK, Austin, Taker, Rock, and Bret Hart for obvious reasons (if that gets voted as spam ima laugh like hell, cause only an idiot wouldnt know why those 5 were the greatest in the 90's). But yeah there's many more but those are some of the ones who come to mind. I think my all time favorite old school wrestler is Taker especially in 98 and 99. Overall IMO the best is flair.

 

[Shakin' Abe]

Being from Los Angeles, and I'm sure older than most, my favorite "old school" wrestler is none other that the Maniac John Tolos! He had major fueds in the 70's with Freddie Blassie, Chavo Guerrero Sr., Victor Rivera, Pompero Firpo, and MANY others!!! He ruled Los Angeles in the 70's and was known as the "Coach" in the 80"s with the WWF. His finisher was the Corkscrew! Does anybody else remember the Golden Greek who just passed away last year? Let me hear ya!!!!!!

 

[InterestingDrug]

Dare I point to my avatar? Savage of course. He was a grade A worker, great promos week in and week out, great character. He had it all.

But I really have to go with Ric Flair. He had everything and carried his promotion as a heel mostly. He was an amazing character, great worker, great on the mic. Plus he carried the gold regularly, something that most of the guys mentioned here have not.

 

[TheGame Of FortWayne]

I would have to say on a technical side......Curt Henning.....He was almost to good and made it look too easy and that may be why he never got the wwe push he deserved......

On the Entertainment side.....I would say Hulk Hogan because he is the first wrestler to captivate the entire country ive see Arn Anderson say it best If someone didnt know a damn thing about wrestling it was that thing hulk hogan does......

 

[Rasha]

From the 90's, HBK, Austin, Taker, Rock, and Bret Hart for obvious reasons (if that gets voted as spam ima laugh like hell, cause only an idiot wouldnt know why those 5 were the greatest in the 90's).

I think leaving Hogan off is just wrong. He still owned the early 90s and then had the biggest heel turn in wrestling history in 1996. He remained the biggest villain in the industry until WCW started to go downhill two years later.

I think you have to put him ahead of Hart or Taker on this list. WWF was on top when Hogan was its top face, and then WCW rose to prominence with Hogan has its top heel. Bret was never as big as Hogan and would probably be a smaller blip on the radar if not for Montreal. If your argument is that Hogan sucked too much in the ring, then I'd say so did Undertaker (and honestly... The Rock wasn't THAT great, either.)

 

[hacksawrowdyhogan]

I wouldn't really call pre-2000 old school. That was only 10 years ago. I'd say atleast 20. I could go with Hogan my all time favorite or Macho or Rowdy, but their careers ended within these last 20 years.
I have to go with Bruno. As a kid in the late 80s early 90s, I would rent VHS of his classic matches and was just memorized by the brutality yet almost ballet like way he moved around the ring. Also, seeing him come out at Wrestlemania and helping out his son was one of the earliest memories I have of wrestling. I was too young to watch Wrestlemania 1 live but when I was 3 or 4 I remember this moment

 

[mister_b1LL]

I'm going with Randy Savage. To me, he was the definition of an all around wrestler, a guy with the complete package. He was wicked talented in the ring and was golden on the mic. When I was younger I rooted for him more than I did Hogan. I felt he captivated an audience wonderfully with his extravagant costumes and his entrance theme. Nowadays it's fun watching Jay Lethal try to recreate a legend of old.

 

[jerseyguy1004]

It's hard to distinguish my favorties from the best, and I'm sorry but I just can't consider HHH or Kurt Angle "old school". But where as my favorites would include RVD, Shane Douglas, Paul Orndorff, and Magnificent Muraco, it wouldn't be accurate to include them in this discussion. However, I do feel the need to pick at least one face and one heel. Furthermore, I feel that it's important that the wrestler chosen in each category be both good in the ring (sorry Hulkster) and good on the mic (Sorry Dragon).

Heel: There are two that come immediately to mind. Ric Flair and Roddy Piper. I'd give Flair the nod as an is in the ring wrestler and on the mic, however my final decision would be Piper. Where as Flair was great at presenting himself as "the man you would want to be", Piper was great at presenting himself as the "the man you would want to hate". This is further accentuated by Flair's days as a tweener as opposed to Piper during his stretch run being the best bad guy in the buisness.
Face: This is a lot harder to choose, only because there were so few faces that stand out, but after considering Austin and The Rock, my selection would be: Sting. For a good ten year stretch Sting was the #1 face in WCW, and as fans we never got tired of him! He was good on the mic, could have a good match against a broomstick.

Looking at some of the previous selections I'd take issue with the selection of Bruno. Granted, I'm younger then 40, so my memories of Bruno were all well after they happened, but Bruno's appeal I feel was limited to the Northeast. It's like including Taz on this list. Was Taz a great wrestler? Yes. Was he good on the mic? Yes. But in his heydey if you asked a casual wrestling fan in an area outside of the Northeast who he was, they might know him name and that's about it.

 

[Hulkamaniac]

If we're counting Hulk Hogan, than obviously that's who I'm going with. Hogan was the man. He wasn't the greatest worker from the moveset perspective, but his matches always had great psychology, and he told a story in his matches, both of which are lost arts with al ot of modern wrestlers. He's the most charismatic wrestler of all-time, nobody has ever connected with the fans like Hogan did, Hogan made the fans a part of his match. He wasn't the greatest promo in history, but he was pretty damned good. He drew the most money, adjusted for his era. He also showed himself to be very versatile and, after being the greatest face, turned around became one of, if not the, best heel ever. Hogan entered the public conscious far beyond ANY other professional wrestler. I mean, for God's sake, the man was on the over of Sports Illustrated as a pro wrestler! He's a pop culture icon, and he transcends wrestling, and yet embodies it, in a way nobody can. The Rock has moved beyond wrestling, but a lot of the ame he has now isn't from his wrestling, it's from his movies. Hogan will always be, and always has been, that professional wrestling guy. Hogan is just the man.

 

[Lancer]

Ric Flair is a name that will always come up in conversations such as this one. In my opinion, he set the standard for "old school" in the minds of many wrestling fans today, young or old. He worked well within the old NWA territory system, to the poorly-ran early WCW, to the WWF, then back to WCW where he was never truly appreciated, and then WWE and now TNA. He is one of the longest-tenured active performers around, and still one of the most recognizable in the business.

He set the bar for many things: being a heel champion, "Iron Man" matches, promos, being part of a stable, utilizing valets / managers.....the man could do it all and would never stop it seemed. A lot of the things we see used by today's superstars were revolutionized, and popularized, by Flair. He made almost every opponent of his look like a million bucks, due to his ability to draw and read crowd reactions...as well as his technical abilities in the ring.

It's a shame we had to wait so long to see him tie it up with Randy Savage, another performer with as much technical prowess as he.

 

[NWODXRULES]

I would go with Hulk Hogan as best old school face. Hogan really put wrestling on the map. It's really cool watching old dvds and see people go nuts when "Real American" starts playing. Even I smile everytime I see him come out of that curtain. Ric Flair is by far the best old school heel. He could do it all. He really made you hate him. It was tough finding opponents that wrestling ability came close to his in the 80's, but he made them all look good.

 

[CaptainCrazy74]

I dislike the idea of considering Hogan as "old school". Bruno, Bob Backlund, and Flair are all good choices. But, For full coverage of "old school" I would say my favorite to watch video of would have to be ..... Andre The Giant. I know he was not much of a power on the microphone. He was the first real internationally known phenomenon in the squared circle. He put America's Professional Wrestlng on the map and we have him to thank for the buildng of the WWE and Wrestlemania. I think we would be sadly remissed if he were to be exempted from this list.

 

[NWODXRULES]

I dislike the idea of considering Hogan as "old school". Bruno, Bob Backlund, and Flair are all good choices. But, For full coverage of "old school" I would say my favorite to watch video of would have to be ..... Andre The Giant. I know he was not much of a power on the microphone. He was the first real internationally known phenomenon in the squared circle. He put America's Professional Wrestlng on the map and we have him to thank for the buildng of the WWE and Wrestlemania. I think we would be sadly remissed if he were to be exempted from this list.

I tried going with wrestlers from pre 1990, which Flair and Hogan to me were the best. I've seen lots of matches from both from pre 90 and Hogan's weren't terrible and Flair's were great. I've only seen 1 or 2 of Sammartino's matches and while I know of his legacy, it wouldn't have been right for me to put his name on the list since I know so little of his matches. And with Andre I know of his legacy, but the videos I've seen of him were from when he was broken down, so I really couldn't judge him. Think the only match I saw of his pre 85 was vs. Kamala in a steel cage.

 

[nick_theGreek]

My vote has to go to The Hitman. The original underdog. His nicknames say it all. The excellence of Execution. The Best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be. Growing up in The Dungeon in Calgary n trained by his father Stu, being stretched day to day quite literally.
he is an amazing ring technition, and always gave his best. there's very few poor quality matches, if any. remember such bouts with The British Bulldog, Owen Hart, Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Chris Benoit and Curt Hennig (mr perfect) who are all great in their own right, but for me the one who brought them all together is Bret.
if you were to compile a top 10 of greatest matches in the 90's, Bret Hart would feature in probably 75% of them. nuff said.

 

[LascoX]

So far everyone has been coming up with good selections. My personal favorite is Harley Race. He was a badass that would come into a territory and take the local talent apart. Rick Flair took alot of his moveset from Race and it's no wonder,the wars they had over the strap were epic. The old school NWA champs were always legit tough guys who could handle it when somebody would start to shoot on them.