Best Wrestler under 40

[Strong Style X]

I seem to get this a lot. WRESTLING. Pro wrestling. It is based off wrestling and telling a story in the ring. That's the foundation of all wrestling. Not talking on a microphone, storylines, etc. Doesn't mean that those things are bad all the time; but I'm strictly talking about wrestling. WWE doesn't have wrestlers; they say it themselves. They have superstars. It's not so much a pro wrestling company as it is a TV sports-like soap opera. But it uses wrestling.

Sports entertainment is different than wrestling in a sense, it's a sub genre. To base what a wrestler needs to be a good wrestler <-- (keyword, not entertainer; wrestler) off of what a sub-genre of pro wrestling does is quite narrow minded. We're strictly talking about the art of pro wrestling. In-ring stories, no scripted lines, or gimmicks. Most WWE wrestlers can't do that. They need microphones and flashing lights and a big budget to do it. But WWE has earned that big budget I suppose. But it's an entertainment market. A sub-genre.

To base what makes a good professional wrestler, you need to go to the roots. Technical ability, ability to tell a story, work moves, and sell moves. None of that BS Sports Entertainment stuff where none of that matters and when it is done it's completely over-the-top or horribly acted.

The kids you hear in the audience are Sports Entertainment fans. Not pro wrestling as a whole, they only know a tiny fraction. To base a company on that is good business-wise but the kids don't truly understand every little aspect of wrestling going back to it's roots. All they know is Sports Entertainment style. That style is FAR from the roots of pro wrestling and has diminished the the importance of actual wrestling over talking.

 

[Mekanik Kommandoh]

I seem to get this a lot. WRESTLING. Pro wrestling. It is based off wrestling and telling a story in the ring

Okay. I get it. I know what pro wrestling is. I've been a fan of it for almost 15 years. Cena wrestles and tells stories in the ring. I've seen them with my own eyes.

WWE doesn't have wrestlers; they say it themselves. They have superstars. It's not so much a pro wrestling company as it is a TV sports-like soap opera. But it uses wrestling.

Superstar = pro wrestler. If you were to ask someone in WWE what type of product they produce, they would say pro wrestling.

Sports entertainment is different than wrestling in a sense

How? Pro wrestling = sports entertainment for the simple reason that it's all a work. Pro wrestling is a form of entertainment that involves athleticism. Every pro wrestling company, be it TNA, CZW, or NJPW, creates a product in which predetermined matches are booked. It's not a real competition, therefore it's entertainment. It's not a subgenre; it's what pro wrestling is. Sure, those companies have different styles of wrestling, but it all leads to the same end - to entertain. It's not narrow-minded at all to think that Cena is a good pro wrestler because he's good at his job.

To base what makes a good professional wrestler, you need to go to the roots. Technical ability, ability to tell a story, work moves, and sell moves. None of that BS Sports Entertainment stuff where none of that matters and when it is done it's completely over-the-top or horribly acted.

Okay, here is where I avoid going off-topic. Have you seen the WWE Title match from Royal Rumble 2007, Umaga vs. Cena? It told a story: Cena was facing a vicious challenge from a seemingly unstoppable monster heel and his devious manager in a match where you must incapacitate your opponent to win. Umaga, being the equivalent of a savage, continually got the upper hand over Cena no matter what offense the champ got in. As Cena was finally starting to catch his second wind, Armando Estrada dismantled a turn buckle with the intention of allowing Umaga to use it to basically kill Cena. However, Cena avoided the attack, hit the FU, and choked the poor bastard out with the newly removed ring rope, finally defeating Umaga. Being a hero, Cena likely would not have gone that far against a typical challenger, but in kayfabe, he knew that Umaga would do anything to destroy him, so he had to play fire with fire.

That match told a hell of a story that night and cemented Cena's place as one of today's best young wrestlers- it wasn't over the top or horribly acted unless you consider the Umaga character ridiculous. They sold moves and worked moves with each other as pro wrestlers should and had the best match of the night. So storytelling and working moves clearly matters in WWE, as they have monthly pay-per-views such as this where multiple matches are worked in such a manner. You make it seem like all the wrestlers do in WWE is talk, which is obviously not correct, as I just proved to you that they wrestle as well. They may not wrestle in a style that you enjoy (puro, as I would gather by your user name and avatar), but they still wrestle. To discredit WWE wrestlers just because they wrestle in an American-style is quite narrow-minded, far more so than me praising Cena for being a good wrestler because he's the top draw.

 

[CerebralViper96]

CM Punk.Its pretty obvious that he is going to be one of the top guys in a year or two.Hes a god on the mcrophone,his wrestling skills are amazing,and he can play a great face or heel (better as a heel though).

 

[Strong Style X]

Superstar = pro wrestler. I think not. If you ask a WWE "superstar" what their job is they will say they're in the sports entertainment business. That's their job. WWE is shying itself away from being called a wrestling company. Why? Because they don't focus on the aspect of pro wrestling. They're about storylines and talking; not actual wrestling. Ask ROH what kind of company they are and they say wrestling. Ask New Japan; wrestling. Ask Pro Wrestling Noah; wrestling. Get it? WWE survives because of it's TV shows so WWE wants to focus on just that: being like a TV show. A soap opera with tights. Is that bad? No. The Attitude Era and early 2000s brought great action, drama, and comedy to the scene. Does that mean you can't be a superstar if you're a pro wrestler or vice versa? No. Bryan Danielson and CM Punk are damn fine pro wrestlers and also good entertainers.

Pro wrestling = sports entertainment = false. You seem to be mistaking what I'm saying here. Yes, wrestling is sports entertainment. But the likes of WWE/TNA also fall under the style (could also be considered sub-genre as pro wrestling of the Golden Age is long gone) of wrestling known as sports entertainment.

I have a hard time believing a majority of Cena's matches. Isn't that a part of wrestling? To make people believe what's going on is real? Sure, you can say that wrestling in generally as fighting isn't very realistic. But no-selling attacks (which is how WWE works for the most part; such as the multiple strikes and punches that are made to look like extremely weak attacks), lots of talking/scripted events, and rarely using actual wrestling (not just collar and elbow tie ups) is what WWE and Sports Entertainment-style wrestling is all about. John Cena excels in this category.

Here's my point: could Cena work hard and get over in a technical company such as ROH? What about working strong-style in Japan? Could he work a deathmatch in CZW? If he can't perform in all of these different climates (and yes, people can) than how exactly is he a good all-around pro wrestler? Cena succeeds perfectly in Sports Entertainment such as WWE, despite his flaws. WWE can cover these flaws simply because they're the biggest name in wrestling (at least in the majority of the world). But Cena couldn't do these different styles at this point in time. That's why I believe Cena isn't a good wrestler. He's a good sports entertainment superstar; sure. He simply doesn't have what it takes to be good wherever he goes like Eddie Guerrero could, like Jericho, like Bryan Danielson, and so on and so forth.

 

[Next Jericho]

Now that is a hard one when you have guys like Styles, Cena, Wolfe, Miz and Punk all trying to get the spot. So my chocie is going to be base on what they are doing/have done so my choice is going to be A.J Styles. I picked A.J Styles because he has a lot off charisma, he has speed unlike any other main eventer, does a lot for TNA with the house shows he does and also he can wrestle a good macth with just about anyone he is put in the ring with. Now I am not saying none off the others have not done these things for example Miz and Cena have done lots for WWE now and the past but I think A.J Styles has been the prince off TNA for a long time so that is why I chose him.