Whose career would you have loved to have had?

[Wald]

Re-watching the Hulk Hogan Anthology here and there's a lot of talk from Mean Gene and Jimmy Hart about Hogan having possibly the greatest career of all time and it got me thinking about this.

On one hand I look at who was the biggest star of all time and I think Hogan is going to be the obvious answer. But then I think about how Austin clawed his way to the top and became as big a star as Hogan, I also think Austin is more respected as a performer than Hogan, so is it him? Could be but I also like HBK's story of redemption, I love Flair's entire career, Undertaker is a contender, Andre and The Rock jumped from wrestling to movie stardom. There's others too that had great careers like Edge, Triple H, Sting etc. that are in the equation.

So who would you pick?

 

[Eyebrows]

I'd go with Jericho. He might not be a Austin/Hogan/Rock type of guy but he's still a main eventer. The guy has worked with the best of the best in multiple countries, got to see the world, has been involved in so many memorable matches and when he was playing the Y2J character he just looked like he was having a ball. Crucially though, he doesn't seem to have had any major injuries which is a big plus, has kept his body healthy and the exposure from wrestling has allowed him to tour with the band.

 

[ilapierre]

I would want to be Virgil. He got to be a bodyguard for Ted Dibiase and Andre the Giant. Unfortunately he never got to hold the world title for either as Dibiase bought the belt from Andre and it was subsequently vacated. He had excellent and memorable matches with Doink the Clown, Repo Man and the Barbarian. There was even that one time Virgil beat Dibiase at a PPV. Now we all know Virgil was phased out during WWE's youth movement 'eye roll'. But that wasn't the end as he was given new life in WCW. Resurfacing there, he eventually became Vincent and joined old friends Hogan and Dibiase in the New World Order. Back in the role of body guard and petty servant at the bottom of the NWO pecking order, he helped take out some of his former allies like Ray Traylor. He got to hold Hogan's belt for him which must have made him feel like a 3 year champion. He was always beaming with pride every time the NWO porn music theme would signal his entrance. In 1999, he joined the legendary NWO B Team and got to hang out with the likes of the legendary Scott Norton, Brian Adams and Stevie Ray among others. As one of the last members of the NWO, Vincent obviously felt vulnerable with the threat of having to be an individual performer. So he jumped directly on board the West Texas Rednecks with Henning, Windham and Bobby Duncam. Helped Curt put together some of the best verses in the history of crap. Since WCW folded, Vincent has made one time appearances on RAW and at high school gyms across the country. Although Vincent only draws about 140 people in a small American town, Vincent travels all the way to Moncton, New Brunswick every few years for antique car shows and wrestling events and draws upwards of everyone in all the Maritime provinces. Ok that might be an exaggeration. But he is a big draw in Eastern Canada.

Now he's no Hogan, most of us would agree. But there's still something appealing about being so famous and part of so many legendary storylines yet be the world's best jobber. He was the ultimate foot soldier and his job was essentially to get beaten up. He got to hold the NWO title belt and pretend it was his own. He got to be part of the best faction of all time and be the bodyguard for 2 giants who never needed bodyguards. While many of his peers dropped dead way before their time due to drug use and bumps and bruises, the supposedly most easily beat up wrestler in history goes through life essentially pain free as he never had to do a whole lot of anything except hang out with the best.

If I could be one wrestler, I'd be Virgil/Vincent because I'd still want to be alive and healthy today.

On a serious note: I would have loved having Randy Savage's career without the health consequences. Savage will always be the best in my book.

 

[Kidpolean]

I would have to go with either HBK or Jericho...these two have had awesome careers and have achieved things that other wrestlers haven't. If careers outside of wrestling count as well than I would go with the rock.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I'd keep things in the present tense. If I could have anyone's career, I would definitely be John Cena. The top guy in the biggest company in professional wrestling for the last decade or so. Look at the money he must have made, the opportunities present for him in the present and the future. Look at the exposure and the fame he's achieved. And I think it must be a really interesting experience received the mixed reviews he consistently gets. Being the top dog, but still being booed by a significant percentage of the fan base, I think this would present a unique and interesting experience.

 

[Dagger Dias]

As much as I'd like to say John Cena, Shawn Michaels, as they are my all time favorites.... I'm going to go with The Undertaker!

I would have loved to have had The Undertaker's career. If anything for the undefeated streak. It would be amazing to have bragging rights on being undefeated at the biggest show of the year for two decades. There's the issue of having to deal with the horrendous biker character for a couple of years, but it's worth it. Other than that gimmick I've loved Taker's entire run. The ministry, the angles with Kane, the undefeated streak (HBK and HHH years in particular), a cool outfit, an awesome entrance, a few World Championship reigns; I'd certainly enjoy it all!

Cena and Michaels may still be my favorites, but as far as actually living out a wrestler's career I would pick Taker for the reasons listed above. I could never pass up the opportunity to not only be undefeated for 20+ Wrestlemania events, but also to get to do the bone chilling entrance and wear his awesome outfit. I have a trenchcoat and a black hat of my own, but they aren't as cool as Taker's. His style of promos could also be fun to do too.

 

[Dave_duncan]

Re-watching the Hulk Hogan Anthology here and there's a lot of talk from Mean Gene and Jimmy Hart about Hogan having possibly the greatest career of all time and it got me thinking about this.

On one hand I look at who was the biggest star of all time and I think Hogan is going to be the obvious answer. But then I think about how Austin clawed his way to the top and became as big a star as Hogan, I also think Austin is more respected as a performer than Hogan, so is it him? Could be but I also like HBK's story of redemption, I love Flair's entire career, Undertaker is a contender, Andre and The Rock jumped from wrestling to movie stardom. There's others too that had great careers like Edge, Triple H, Sting etc. that are in the equation.

So who would you pick?

ok going on a differant anhle here I would say RVD. simply because he was a top guy or upper mid card were ever he went. He has done what he enjoys in life. When he felt he was no longer enkoying WWE he went to TNA. So ultimetly he can be defined as a wrestler that did what he wanted so his career has been ultimetly successful


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[#heel420]

I would say Undertaker, there is nobody more respected in the locker room than Mark Calaway. He's been a top guy since arrived. Won the World Title from Hogan exactly a year after he debuted. 21-0 at the biggest wrestling event ever. Always did what was right for business.

 

[Kizzani]

My pick is a twisted pick, I would pick HBK.....Now the twist before all the fake religious crap.

Now before you quote and slam, read on further.

HBK's new found religion is his own thing and I DO believe he is 100% sincere. However I am not a child and I stop believing in phony crap with out evidence when I was around 10. His beliefs are real, when he believes in is stupid. If anyone wants to believe in it more power to them as long as they know they are wrong.

Rewind to the time he made the change and replace that change with him staying the same egotistical ass he was, Super kicking kids, mooning TV etc etc. That is what made DX amazing and funny. If he stayed on the same road 1 of 2 things would have happened he would have moved on and flopped like Kurt Angle and the rest of TNA or........He would have forced the idea of beating the undertaker at wrestlemania.....Becoming the 1 and only to beat him.

These are just my opinions and I can't see the future.

 

[Blade]

If we're talking non-kayfabe here, I don't thing there's such thing as the perfect career.

Flair and Hogan are working well past their prime, screwing up their legacy and destroying their bodies so they don't go broke. Bret Hart and HBK, as good as they were, had to always be second best to WCW. The Rock got a lot of legit hate early in his career and when he left. Cena also has a lot of hate. And some, like Edge and Austin had terrible injuries that kept them away from the ring for months and months and shortened their career significantly. Guys like Triple H and Orton are always in the shadow of those more talented than them.

It's tempting to go with Jericho, for having both been the most over face and most over heel for the top company at different stages of his career, but points taken for becoming a bit of a jobber to the stars and his awful first title reign. I could also go with CM Punk working his way to the top, not only against the odds but never compromising who he was, though he's still arguably in Cena's shadow and his first world title reign wasn't exactly spectacular. Then there's Sting's legendary career, though he's in danger of becoming like Flair and Hogan at his age.

So I think I'll have to go with a few other people and say the Undertaker. Consistently over for two decades, respected by anyone who has ever been in the business. Several world titles, countless fantastic matches and great feuds. And he has the everlasting legacy of the Wrestlemania streak. Sitting here, racking my brains, I can't think of a negative period in Undertaker's career. When the worst thing about your career is a match with Giant Gonzalez, you've done amazingly well. Even his foray into the hardcore division was pretty great, and a breath of fresh air for that title. So yeah, Taker I think has as close to a perfect career as we've seen.

 

[El Clandestino]

Bret Hart had a perfect career up to Montreal (was a tag champ, IC champ then WWF champ and was a sublime wrestler). Unfortunately things went rapidly downhill after that through no fault of his own (terrible booking in the WCW, Owen dying, severe concussion by Goldberg, having a stroke etc).
Undertaker for sheer longevity at the top and being one of best big guys ever. Austin and Hogan for being the biggest stars. I like the RVD pick, because although he maybe lacked drive, he's probably enjoyed himself the most.

 

[cawsnallthis]

It's HHH, hands down. He gets to bang Steph and stole the entire company in the process. He can book himself whatever legacy he wants and bury anyone who dares cross him, past or present. Paul Levesque, for the win.

 

[ilapierre]

Hey Kizzani. Do you believe in the government and the current political system? The pseudoscience of global warming? The corporate 'celebrity' media and their staged media hoaxes? It's pretty obvious you do believe in phonier things than religion based on how you've narrowly defined it and labeled those who believe in it as 'wrong'. So many people out there like you define religion based on a lifetime of Godless media spin. These people are blind to the fact that political or scientific belief, like religious belief, is also just another form of worship where mankind puts their faith in their master without any concrete proof. Same thing.

So it's pretty easy to slag those who believe in something that can't be scientifically proven or endorsed by government-paid stooge scientists. It's way too easy to 'paint' all followers of a major religion or of anything as the same thing. Cause a lot of spiritual people believe in different things. Some Christians believe God sits on a throne in the sky. Others believe that Muslims should be destroyed because God backs the Jews who will restore his throne in Israel. And some just believe God and Jesus are good role models.

I'm gonna bet Shawn turned to religion to turn his life around when he was in a dark place. Just because he follows the word of God doesn't mean he is stupid for taking it seriously. And no one is wrong for believing in something that actually makes them a better person. And who are we to judge another's religious beliefs as wrong? We all believe we're right when it comes to media spin we've been conditioned to believe from the moment we're born. So some of us barely educated folk are conditioned to hate, judge and argue based on the things we think we know. While others have been anti-conditioned through religion and are thus God-like to everyone even if persecuted.

So you can twist religion into anything you want it to be. But that doesn't mean you're right and the religious of the world are wrong. It just implies that you're ignorant and your opinion is naive.

 

[Pedigree1]

What No one has said Triple H fine i will. Triple H has done it all seen it all. He is married to stephanie McMahon whos a fox BTW! Who in their right mind wouldnt want to be HHH a 13 time world champion Royal Rumble winner KOTR winner just accolade after accolade.

Part of the best group ever in Evolution,Co-Founder of the best renegades ever in DX i am picking Triple H hands down. The best ever IMO

 

[TheHitMark-SirJoseOle]

I would pick Bret Hart's career. Reason being is simple, he was born and raised in a wrestling family, but despite being the son of a renowned performer, he made it on his own merits. I'm sure that being the son of Stu Hart didn't hurt at certain twists and turns in his career. However, he still had to produce and he couldn't and didn't rely on that as his ticket to stardom. He didn't rest on his laurels either with that distinction, and when the play called for it he played his part well in Stampede Wrestling, as a young up and comer, he said it best on his DVD retrospective that no one could take a shit kicking like him, and he was right. His feud with Dynamite Kid alone proved that. It's true that his first few months with the then-WWF were underwhelming but once his tag team got started with "The Anvil" Jim Neidhart, that's what things really started to pick up.

With that said, what intrigues me about Bret Hart was his ability to tell a story in the ring, yes it's true he was a champion during a commercially weak time in the WWF, and he left the promotion before things really took off. Some even say that his leaving was a big shot in the arm for the Attitude Era and that quite possibly that era would not have been the same without it. It's very likely, after all, the Mr. McMahon character really came to be through the "Montreal Screwjob."

The biggest reasons I would have loved to have a career like Bret Hart's are the following:

The stories in his book, like anything else in the world of entertainment and sports. I do feel some things are a subject of embellishment and sometimes fabrication. But even if that is the case, I do indeed feel strongly that a lot of what Bret Hart wrote about had truth to it. I've no doubt of that, if he took creative license to enhance some of these stories, so be it. I mean, he's in the wrestling business to begin with, hyperbole and embellishment are prerequisites of his job. There was just something great about the way he put this book together, and it's my favorite book of any wrestler. I've read a few others but none compare to what Bret wrote. I think the fact that it wasn't published by WWE is the biggest reason why I liked it so much. A lot of his stories about seeing the world and meeting people from other countries and sharing their perspectives on life made this a very interesting read. Basically, if I met someone who had no prior interest in wrestling but wanted to read about someone who was in the business, I'd say pick up Bret's book.

His presence in the ring, man I know that he wasn't the biggest or the baddest on the surface. After all his character wore pink for most of his career. But it worked and he sold it. His ring psychology was great, put him against Kevin Nash, he'd cut him down to size just look at how he wrapped Nash's legs around the ring post to wear the big guy down at Survivor Series 1995, then an inside cradle from out of nowhere starts Bret's third WWF Title reign. Put him in against Yokozuna, and Bret's prowess comes into play when dealing with someone he can't lift. Like he said during the Summer of 1993, "I may not be able to slam Yokozuna, but I know I can beat him". Then put him in there with a guy closer to his style and physical size, i.e. his brother Owen Hart or Shawn Michaels and it was an in-ring version of human chess within the storyline. Bret did it so well, I loved it. The detractors who say he had no "charisma", I beg to differ. Sure, he didn't have the most intense promos when it came to his talking but I thought he was well spoken, but for that lack of intensity his body language more than made up for it. Just go back and watch WrestleMania X, Bret Hart's reaction to Owen catching him in a victory roll was classic. Bret's expression said "What did I do wrong?" he was brimming with self doubt and it was sold flawlessly. Those were things Bret Hart had that I have to say a lot of wrestlers these days just don't have. Bret excelled at that. Body language should be just as big a factor in gauging someone's charisma as anything verbal, in my opinion at least.

In all, I put Bret Hart in a personal Top 10 of my favorite wrestlers. There are so many moments to list here, that it'd take an eternity to name them all. But moments like SummerSlam 94, WrestleManias 12 and 13, Survivor Series 92, Stampede Wrestling, his first WWF World Title reign and so on. Again, we all know he doesn't have the name recognition's some of wrestling's other powerhouses but he still contributing great memories to the wrestling world. And if you're a hardcore fan, there's no way you could ever deny such a thing. For me, I'd pick Bret Hart just because of how well he could make what happened in the ring look like an actual battle. The Excellence Of Execution was a nom de guerre that just rolled right off the tongue as the late, great Gorilla Monsoon used to dub him.

 

[Carpathian Florist]

I'd pick Lanny Poffo because he got to experience the wrestling world back when, to me at least, it seemed more fun. Territories, long road trips in the car with the boys, most things unscripted and unexpected.... but then after Randy signed to WCW he was put on €150,000 a year despite never making an appearance with them, so he had a guaranteed pay cheque and the freedom to live his life how he chose to with little, if any, restrictions. Sounds pretty damned awesome to me

 

[Owen 3:16 says I just stole your Slammy!!]

I would love to have Randy Savage's career, he was highly regarded as one of the most popular wrestlers of all time. Savage was a great wrestler, had great matches of whose who of wrestling. Savage was a main event guy for WWF and WCW (He was in his 40s when he was still kicking ass in the nWo.)

Macho Man was a smart business man. He saved his money so he could retire and be financially secured. Also, he is one of the most popular wrestlers of all time, people can identify him just by his voice. He was in movies, he was Slim Jim's spokesmen for a decade.

Randy Savage was both successful in and outside the ring. He could draw money from the wrestling and make money outside the wrestling. Macho, also had the respect by his peers and the fans.

 

[RKOrob]

easily Chris Jericho for me. He's won everything there is to win, he's always been one of the best talkers and one of the top faces or heels. he's also had some memorable storylines in different eras, he's still in unbelievable shape and he lives a rock and roll lifestyle on top of that!

a slightly less obvious one though who I nearly chose - JBL. Would have loved to have had the kind of fun he did with Bradshaw in the attitude era. I was also a huge fan of his in the "wrestling god" era, and now he's smashing it on commentary!

 

[LegendKiller716]

I'm taking Jim Ross. He got to sit front row for some of wrestling's greatest moments. Some of his sound bites will be forever coupled with those same historic moments. He's well respected by everyone in the business. He got to scout young talent and is responsible for bringing in some of the biggest names in wrestling history. He was able to write his own cook book, open his own restaurant, and has a successful line of BBQ products (delicious jerky BTW). One of the best parts is, he was able to pull the Barry Sanders. He went out on a high note. Everyone misses him and wishes he'd return. He was one of the best ever. Also, a WWE Hall Of Famer. Amazing career!

 

[#MrScissorsKick]

This is going to be truly biased on my part but if I could've had any wrestlers career, it would be Booker T. I do realize that he isn't too high on many people's list which I can see but Booker came from rough childhood to the top of the world in the dying days of a crumbling company in WCW. Multiple tag-team, TV championships and he was a company guy. Booker was pushed to the moon in the late years of the company. Booker had most likely one of the better and more successful careers of anyone who was in the original alliance back in 2001. Booker won the IC Title, tag team titles, 3 time US title, won King of the Ring. Booker also won a hardcore title and a world heavyweight championship. He became a member of an elite class of guys who won the Grand Slam Champions. For everyone else in the alliance that was thrown in front of a bus, Booker made the best of what he could do.

 

[str8 edge]

i would rather have stone cold Steve Austin because he the most consistency of most superstars and he was a muli champ and had many great feuds also

 

[InsomniaMusic]

I would say HBK but Montreal kind of hangs on him. Same as Bret Hart. I think I might say HHH. He got to get rich with his friends be the top guy for awhile. Then he gets to bang the bosses daughter and run the company

 

[HBsam31]

I would have to pick Jericho as well. He has done it all and has done it all over the world. He has gotten to travel everywhere, and wrestle absolutely everyone. He has taken enough time off to do other things so it seems like his body is still in pretty good shape. Just one of the more well rounded careers of guys still active, and would have been an interesting career to have.