Best there is, Best there ever was?

[culantro]

~ Technical Wrestler: i'm apart between Bret and Benoit, since i'm a benoit mark i'm choosing him, altough i don't really think he's better than bret, i do think he was an awesome in ring technician...

~ Entertainer: here i'm between Rock and Hogan, Hogan made wrestling great, so that's the edge he needed here, in the end i'll go with Hogan...

~ High Flyer: Jushin Liger, i would love to say super crazy but my hat is off with jushin liger and i'm amazed not seeing his name in this particular tread more mentioned...

~ Giant/Big Guy: Vader to this very day i haven't see a big man (big as him at least) move like him in the ring and doing the crazy shit he does, it's an spectacle seeing the moonsault that he does, he had tons of talent and i'm still annoyed in the fact that the wwe buried him on a daily basis...

~ Hardcore Wrestler: i don't really care about hardcore wrestling, but the things i saw and because i really liked the character i have to say raven...

~ Tag Team: Hart Foundation, i've always loved them and always will, i really liked E & C, but purely on the comedy aspect of the duo, instead the hart foundation captivated me in the ring and off the ring...

 

[HeenanGorilla]

Technical Wrestler- Bret Hart. It could have been Bob Backlund for all I know. But, I think of it as bringing technical wrestling to the spotlight of professional wrestling and I feel no one pulled that off better, or to a higher level of stardom, than Bret

Entertainer- I found Kurt Angle the most entertaining. As both a heel and face, he had a way of playing several different roles very well. Plus, I feel his in-ring action was also entertaining, not just on the mic.

High Flyer- Jeff Hardy's fearlessness always impressed me. I enjoyed TLC and those types of matches, mainly waitiing to see what he would do next. Rey loses points because I feel he wins way too much for his size. He should win some matches, and an inspiring title run (short-lived) would have been "believable"; but, there is no way he should win most of his matches. Merchandise or no, there is spending money in the underdog/kid's market.

Giant/Big Guy- Undertaker's early agility, as well as longevity and legacy, are very impressive.

Hardcore Wrestler- Mick Foley is the easiest one of these to answer, for me.

Tag Team- The power and speed of the British Bulldogs gets my vote. I didn't watch NWA/WCW much before the Monday Night Wars; so, the Road Warriors don't apply to me, though they seem to be the best. I just didn't see enough of them. I wish I saw more Bulldogs matches when they were healthy.

 

[Ljmccadd]

Technical Wrestler: Kurt Angle, come on Olympic Champion, when he put the straps down, it was OVER!

Entertainer: Stone Cold Steve Austin, The What? Era, Two Man Power trip Era, Hell ever since the King of The Ring: Austin 3:16 promo, he was Must see TV!

High Flyer: It's Rey Mysterio in terms of accomplishments, but in the Ring..Movewise...It's Sin Cara, dude is amazing!

Giant/Big Guy: The Undertaker, No explanation Needed! If he doesn't count, Give me Kevin Nash, he Powerbombed the Big Show....!

Hardcore Wrestler: Rob Van Dam, He was the SOLE reason I watched ECW, his creativeness with a Chair was awesome, The Vandaminator, Van Terminator..Cmon son!!!!


Tag Team: It's Between the Hart Foundation & the Outsiders to me. I love the Moves and In ring ability of the Hart Foundation, but The overall entertainment of the Outsiders was GREAT!

 

[S.J. Maximus]

~ Technical Wrestler~ Bret Hart - People can talk about Benoit all they want but to be honest the only one even close to Bret is Angle, who's definitely behind the Hitman. Bret was probably the best seller we have ever seen in this business (sorry HBK) and could mat wrestle with anyone in the world, I just wish he stayed in WWF long enough to wrestle Kurt Angle, it would've been match of the century.

~ Entertainer~The Rock - In my opinion the only 2 true candidates for this are Hulk Hogan and The Rock. No one had more charisma, more mic prowess, or a stronger connection with the fans, not even Stone Cold Steve Austin. These guys would cut decent promos but you couldn't even hear due to the crowd reaction, they hung off of every word they said. I gave Rock the edge simply because he had more catchphrases, so the crowd was able to participate a little bit more than Hogan's crowd.

~ High Flyer~ Rey Mysterio - I really wanted to say Rob Van Dam but I'm a firm believer that the best high flyers are the ones that wrestle the lucha libre way, which very few do better than Rey Mysterio jr. In WCW he was doing moves that were never done before and few have been replicated, even by Rey himself. He's on a whole new planet of high-flying and definitely deserves the recognition.

~ Giant/Big Guy ~ Undertaker - A lot of people don't count Undertaker and Kane as big men due to their agility, which is ludicrous in my opinion because they're just as tall as all the other big men and that's what should matter. Their agility makes them at the top of the list of big men, I'd have Taker at #1 and Kane as #2 seeing as how they're the only big guys I know (other than Bam Bam Bigelow) who dive off of the top rope consistently. If we are excluding them, then Big Show definitely gets my pick he's wildly entertaining and can be the mean giant and the jolly giant whenever you need him.

~ Hardcore Wrestler~Mick Foley - I don't know how anyone else can be chosen for this title, seeing as how Mick Foley has been in the most legendary, inspiring, breath-taking, death-defying hardcore matches in the history of mankind (pun intended).

~ Tag Team~ New Age Outlaws - Oh you didn't know? Well your ass definitely needs to CALLLLLLL SOMEBODAYYYYYYY because these 2 guys were probably the most over tag team of all time. As a matter of fact, they were both so over that people still believe to this day that both men should've been World Champs as singles stars even though they never really had the goods to make it alone. Road Dogg's sizzling charisma and mic skill combined with Billy's look and attitude made them a must-see legendary combination that held the tag titles 5 times and feuded with the best tag teams ever such as LOD, E&C, the Acolytes, and more

 

[dRAIL2K3]

TECHNICAL: KURT ANGLE-Just ahead of Benoit; watch WM X-7 for a clinic.
ENTERTAINER AND GREATEST OF ALL TIME: SHAWN MICHAELS SEE BELOW
HIGH FLYER: REY MISTERIO-Opened the doors for clowns like Sin Cara
GIANT/BIG GUY: UNDERTAKER- No doubt
HARDCORE: MICK FOLEY...Who else?
TAG TEAM: The Dudley Boyz- They've won like 85 tag titles geez lol



Out of all the wrestlers named one man seems to only appear a few times. I'm talking about THE ICON...not Sting... THE MAIN EVENT... THE SHOWSTOPPER... MR. WRESTLEMANIA...MR. HALL OF FAME... THE HEARTBREAK KID SHAWN MICHAELS.

Its one thing for the company to place those names on a wrestler but its another when that wrestler's peers actually acknowledge and agree with it.

HBK was and will forever go down as the best to ever step in the squared circle. You wanna talk Mic Skills? He had it. In ring ability? He can't be touched.

Shawn put on a show like no other man could. You can't argue with people who are in the business when they say that he is the greatest of all time.

 

[Rocky!Rocky!Rocky!]

Technical Wrestler: Bret Hart...without a doubt the guy that all future technical style guys should be compared to. He even managed to drag a pretty decent match out of the infamous Tom McGee! Nobody else could do that lol!

Entertainer: Can only be one man...The Rock is hands down the most entertaining guy in WWE history. Some, if not most, of his mic work is awesome and being able to sing, commentate or a combination of the two during his matches makes him the best showman in the business.

High Flyer: Shawn Michaels...the blueprint for all future high flyers. Morrison should buy a copy of one of HBK's many DVDs and sit infront of his TV and learn that even as a highflyer, less is more...Shawn was never Jeff or Rey but he is still the best.

Big Man: Undertaker...19-0...nuff said methinks!

Hardcore: Mick Foley...Hell in a Cell in Pittsburgh against the man above him and I Quit against the guy two categories down...nuff said again methinks!

Tag Team: The Legion of Doom...won the titles in every company they worked for and came to the ring on motorbikes at Summerslam 1992, 8 years before The American Badass!! OOOHHHHH WWWHHHAAAT A RUUSSSSHHHHH!!!

 

[Mustang Sally]

~ Technical Wrestler--Bob Backlund. With his amateur background and the way he adapted it to the pros, his ability couldn't be topped. Could do it all.

~ Entertainer--The Rock. I never saw anyone with his rapid-fire mind for innovative rambling. His comedy and ability to ignite passions had no equal. Plus, his movements in the ring were lightning-fast and crowd pleasing.

~ High Flyer--Owen Hart in his early days as Blue Blazer. His control while in the air was amazing; he never missed a spot.

~ Giant/Big Guy--Kane. With the mask......and then without it, he kept his character fresh. Plus, he could move better than any of the other big guys.

~ Hardcore Wrestler--Mick Foley. Really no choice involved; he practically invented it.

~ Tag Team--Edge & Christian. They were athletic, talented, daring and always entertaining. Man, they would do anything for the people who watched them. Probably Bill Buckner's least favorite tag team.

 

[themiketryon]

Technical Wrestler: I would say the best technical wrestler would either be Dean Malenko or Chris Benoit. Those two individuals epitomize mat-based wrestling. (Honorable mention to Bret Hart, Mr. Perfect, Jake "the Snake" Roberts and Kurt Angle)

Entertainer: Hands down, I would say the best entertainer is the Heartbreak Kid. No other superstar was ever "on" quite the same way the Showstopper was. (Honorable mention to DX and Austin)

High Flyer: I personally liked watching Juvitude (spelling?) Guerrero, and most of the cruiser-weight matches from the WCW days. While all cruiser-weights put on exciting matches, I think Juvi takes the cake for me.

Big Man: I really can't pick a "best" big man. There were plenty great ones, and some pretty bad ones too. I say it's a tie between Kane, Undertaker, Show and Andre.

Hardcore: I would have to say Terry Funk takes the cake for me. Not only could he take a whoopin', but he was no slouch in giving one either. (Honorable mention Tommy Dreamer, Crash Holly, Shane McMahon)

Tag Team: This is another hard choice for me. There are two teams I would rate as the best; the Road Warriors - Hawk and Animal, and the Rockers - Marty Janetty and Shawn Michaels. The Road Warriors get the nod for being the unstoppable juggernaut powerhouses they were. If you were in a match with them, you knew it was going to be a tough fight. The Rockers also get the nod, because they epitomized the fluidness of what tag-team wrestling should be. No other team has been able to match their ring savvy.

 

[Dynamitekid2012]

This seems fun.


Best Technical: Chris Benoit. He had a certain level of intensity that made you believe wrestling was real even when you knew it wasn't.

Best High Flyer: Shawn Michaels. He kind of put high flying on the map in the United States and is by far the most successful wrestler considered to be a high flyer.

Best Bigman: Undertaker. He has had such an amazing reign on top of the WWE mountain that its hard to even consider anyone else.

Most Hardcore: Mick Foley wins if this is a WWE thing, but my pick has got to be Terry Funk. He basically invented modern hardcore wrestling. Everything we see traces back to him.

Most Entertaining: Ric Flair!!! Hell I'd still rather watch him cut a promo than almost anyone. He set the standard for great promos and had one of the most memorable and entertaining characters of all time!

Best Tag Team: Rock N' Roll Express. They were the greatest tag team of all time. LOD might have been more successful so you can consider them more like the Hulk Hogan of tag team wrestling, but RNR Express was like the Shawn Michaels of tag teams; they put on amazing matches with everyone!


Greatest of all time: Stone Cold Steve Austin. I feel like he just had the right amount of everything: He was the biggest star in wrestling at its highest peak, he sold more merch than anyone in history, he could cut a hell of a promo, and the guy could actually go in the ring. He was truly the best of all time.

 

[Ruthless-RKO]

Technical Wrestler
How can it not be Bret Hart? This guy was really good at what he did, he made wrestling not all about entertainment, but he added that entertainment in a pure wrestling match, he made anyone look good. He was methodical, worked body parts, had unparalleled ring psychology, had great submissions and was purely a technical wrestler.

2nd I would pick Davey Boy Smith..

Entertainer
The Rock.. No questions asked.. HBK takes 2nd palce..

High Flyer
Rey Mysterio because if he wasn't so big anymore, he would blow every other wrestler away when it comes to high flying. There was a time he was known as the best high flyer in the country before he got much bigger for WWE, there by limiting himself in the ring.

Giant/Big Guy
The Undertaker has been the best 'big man' since his debut in 1990 no doubt.

Hardcore Wrestler
I want to pick Sabu, but something is pushing me more towards Cactus Jack, from his WCW days to ECW to WWF/E.. This guy has put on some entertaining hardcore matches and has put himself through soo much just for his fans.. Honourable mention to Terry Funk, he adapted the hardcore style pretty quick..

Tag Team
I could name loads, Dudleys, Hardys, E&C, The British Bulldogs, Demolition, New aged Outlaws, Outsiders, Hart Foundation.. But no one comes close to the Legion of Doom..

 

[tyler14isnexus]

best technical wrestler:i have to go with eddie guerrero i mean he could do it all and put on 5 star matchs with any body. best entertainer:i would have to say shawn micheals i mean he just did so many entertanig things from dx to so much more. best high flyer:jeff hardy hands down he jumped from cages,ladders,and stages. best big man:i have to say undertaker he does things that no other big guys can do like suicide dives and so on. best hardcore wrestler:thats an easy answer mick foley he has used every weapon u can imagne. best tag team:i would say beer money but since were being honest i have to say team 3d they have won every major tag title there is.

 

[profx92]

Okay I'm all about making picks that most people may not have thought of (for the most part anyways)

Best Technical: Mr. Perfect

He definitely got slept on for his mat skills. I would also give MADD credit to the man of a 1000 holds Dean Malenko and the enforcer Arn Anderson.

Best Entertainer: Sting

I guess too many people have forgotten how great Sting was/is. The best match I have ever seen was The first Clash of the Champions with Sting facing Ric Flair for the very first time. How could anyone forget the Stinger Splash?

Best High-Flyer: The Great Muta

If you ever seen him wrestle, you know why I picked him. No offense to HBK or Mr. 619 but the Great Muta was the MAN!!!!

Best Big Man: Big Van Vader

Extremely Nimble for a guy that size.

Best Hardcore Wrestler: Mick Foley

Tried to go with a lesser known choice but how can you not pick Cactus Jack.

Best Tag Team: The Four Horsemen

Okay so I could have went with The Legion of Doom, or Harlem Heat, the Dudley Boyz, The Rock N Roll Express, DOOM, Steiner Brothers, the Midnight Express, the Hart Foundation, Edge & Christian, the Hardy Boys, or the New Age Outlaws but the Horsemen were a group where any two guys could win the Tag team belts. You hated to like them.

 

[Peoples_Champ]

Who in your opinion is the best of all time in each of these categories...

~ Technical Wrestler
~ Entertainer
~ High Flyer
~ Giant/Big Guy
~ Hardcore Wrestler
~ Tag Team

Great topic. My knowledge only goes back to the mid-80s, so my apologies to the great wrestlers of the past.

Technical Wrestler: Bret 'Hitman' Hart - No man had the technical proficiency that he had. Every move was textbook perfect and his storytelling was superb.

Entertainer: Hulk Hogan - The reaction that Hogan got in the 80s, in my opinion, far exceeded was Rock and Austin got in the 90s and what Cena gets now.

High Flyer: Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka - He gets this because he was the first high flyer. Splashes from the top rope / top of the cage were innovative. Credit due to those who built off of his legacy, but Snuka was the first and for that, the best.

Giant / Big Guy: Andre the Giant - He wasn't defeated for years. Let me repeat, for years. Unstoppable, he didn't need the title to get over. Big Show and Undertaker are distant second and third in this category, Andre is one of a kind for me.

Hardcore Wrestler: Rob Van Dam - This man could do anything in a hardcore match. Sometimes I watch his old ECW matches in awe. He had the creativity and athleticism that comes once a generation. He was WWE & ECW champion simultaneously, a major accomplishment and one that was well-deserved (for the week that it lasted )

Tag Team: Legion of Doom - The Road Warriors were insane. Great promos, killer finisher and were champions all over the world. I remember watching the Summerslam where the three-man Demolition were taking on Hart Foundation and the crowd was pretty warmed up. The ref took a bump and out came the Road Warriors to do a run-in. The crowd lost their shit. The Hart Foundation's first tag title win was overshadowed by Legion of Doom's appearance and deservedly so. That right there is my proof they were the best.