Bigger Draw: The Rock or Ultimate Warrior

[PsychoBlack]

They were both the undisputed number two guy behind two of the top Draws of all time. Everyone went crazy for both of them with every single thing that they did. BUT in wrestling only one thing matters and thats money, which of these guys made more of it?

 

[RJJ]

The Rock, and it's not even close. He stayed at the top alot longer than warrior. Yes, austin was the face of the company, but there is no doubt that he switched that position with the rock many times. Warrior's whole career is defined by his WM match against hogan. Rock has great matches with HHH, Austin, and Hogan. Warrior is a 1 time world champion, the rock is a 9 times world champion.

IMO, warrior is just a flavor of the month, no disrespect.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

The Rock, and it's not even close. He stayed at the top alot longer than warrior. Yes, austin was the face of the company, but there is no doubt that he switched that position with the rock many times. Warrior's whole career is defined by his WM match against hogan. Rock has great matches with HHH, Austin, and Hogan. Warrior is a 1 time world champion, the rock is a 9 times world champion.

IMO, warrior is just a flavor of the month, no disrespect.

I'll argue that the Rock was only on top when Austin was out injured. When Austin and Rock were in the company at the same time, Austin was always seen as the number one guy whether he was face or heel. The Warrior had great matches against Hogan, Rude, and Savage, and the crowd went wild when he ended the record title reign of the Honky Tonk Man. Everyone was fascinated with the Warrior and he was one of the most underrated workers in the business so I'll go with him slightly.

Number of world championships doesn't mean you're a bigger draw. Edge has more than Hogan so would you say Edge is a bigger draw?

 

[Jackal960]

The Rock, and it's -still- not even close. I will go further and think that it's a humiliation to Rock to compare him with Ultimate Warrior. The Rock is one of the all time greats. Period. You don't need to like him but that's a fact.

I'm not taking anything from Ultimate Warrior, but he is simply not in the same league with the Rock. Ultimate Warrior could have been great especially when he could become the top man in the company in early 90's but things turned out differently.

You might have seen threads about who is better: Austin or Rock and see that people are divided. Let's add Ultimate Warrior into the equation and think how many votes he would get.

 

[The Jeff]

I'll argue that the Rock was only on top when Austin was out injured. When Austin and Rock were in the company at the same time, Austin was always seen as the number one guy whether he was face or heel. The Warrior had great matches against Hogan, Rude, and Savage, and the crowd went wild when he ended the record title reign of the Honky Tonk Man. Everyone was fascinated with the Warrior and he was one of the most underrated workers in the business so I'll go with him slightly.

Number of world championships doesn't mean you're a bigger draw. Edge has more than Hogan so would you say Edge is a bigger draw?

When The Rock came back in 2001, he was always ahead of Stone Cold. The Rock was main eventing (SummerSlam 2001) over Austin and was the center of the WWF/WCW/ECW Alliance feud. I'll give it to you that The Rock came after Stone Cold throughout 1999 but 2000-2002, The Rock was THE guy.

 

[vampirek]

I'll argue that the Rock was only on top when Austin was out injured. When Austin and Rock were in the company at the same time, Austin was always seen as the number one guy whether he was face or heel. The Warrior had great matches against Hogan, Rude, and Savage, and the crowd went wild when he ended the record title reign of the Honky Tonk Man. Everyone was fascinated with the Warrior and he was one of the most underrated workers in the business so I'll go with him slightly.

Number of world championships doesn't mean you're a bigger draw. Edge has more than Hogan so would you say Edge is a bigger draw?

Nobody comes close to The Rock in many areas, the way he drew the crowd in, the way he got others over. He could do it as a heel and a face, he was a level way way above the Warrior. The only thing that character had going was his entrance and his high energy. The Rock could come out and people would pay just to see him talk, never mind wrestle

 

[Chauncy Talon]

LMAO. What are you guys talking about. I believe that none of you guys were alive when the Ultimate Warrior was wrestling. Warrior draw way more then most wrestlers. The Rock had the mic, but you must remember, PPV were not every month until Eric Bischoff decided to make them monthly over at WCW.

Warrior was a bigger draw. He sold more toys and he was hired back multiple times. Also, Warrior had creative control on his matches when he went to WCW and he only wrestler for two match. There are more Ultimate Warrior knockoffs in the indy circuit then the Rock.

I'm not taking nothing away from the Rock. He had the mic, and the in-ring ability. He did some phenomenal things in the WWF. Over selling moves to make his opponent look way better then they were. (Rikishi's clothlines and Rhyno's Gore). He was a part of two of the WWE biggest faction . The Nation and the Corporation. He had the looks, the charisma and the in ring ability, but you guys must never watched the Warrior.

During that time, nobody was winning the World Title from Hogan. Hogan era was wild. The only champions were: Hogan and Savage before the Warrior took it. Warrior's only World Title reign (293 days) is longer then all six of the Rock's title reigns (262 days). I think you guys need to learn you history and do some research before you compare wrestlers.

 

[jayceonblaze]

LMAO. What are you guys talking about. I believe that none of you guys were alive when the Ultimate Warrior was wrestling. Warrior draw way more then most wrestlers. The Rock had the mic, but you must remember, PPV were not every month until Eric Bischoff decided to make them monthly over at WCW.

Warrior was a bigger draw. He sold more toys and he was hired back multiple times. Also, Warrior had creative control on his matches when he went to WCW and he only wrestler for two match. There are more Ultimate Warrior knockoffs in the indy circuit then the Rock.

I'm not taking nothing away from the Rock. He had the mic, and the in-ring ability. He did some phenomenal things in the WWF. Over selling moves to make his opponent look way better then they were. (Rikishi's clothlines and Rhyno's Gore). He was a part of two of the WWE biggest faction . The Nation and the Corporation. He had the looks, the charisma and the in ring ability, but you guys must never watched the Warrior.

During that time, nobody was winning the World Title from Hogan. Hogan era was wild. The only champions were: Hogan and Savage before the Warrior took it. Warrior's only World Title reign (293 days) is longer then all six of the Rock's title reigns (262 days). I think you guys need to learn you history and do some research before you compare wrestlers.

I was alive and watching wrestling during Warriors run and he is nowhere near the draw that the Rock was. Its not even close. Like was said earlier Warrior career moment was defined by beating Hogan and obviously was not enough of a draw to keep the belt off Sgt Slaughter of all people. If Hogan at the top of his career couldnt put you over you were dead in the water. Warriors work on the mic was nothing but gibberish and spit, as where the Rock kept you glued to the tv, Warrior sent you to get a snack.

And you bring in side projects like toys, even in this category the Rock owns the Warrior. How many movies did the Warrior star in? Because with every movie Rock was in WWE had a hand in the cookie jar. Along with numerous tv appearances including:

SAturday Night live
That 7o's show
Star Trek Voyager
Also appearing in a Wyclef song and video
Not to mention authoring a book

It also seems that you somehow forget to mention that the Rock had toys also, and there is no way that the Warriors toy sales eclipsed the Rocks as Warrior only appeared in a couple of lines between 1984-2004 that i know of and there was a large gap between the 1984 line to the next.


So seems like you need to do some research before comparing wrestlers.

 

[Jeritron5000]

LMAO. What are you guys talking about. I believe that none of you guys were alive when the Ultimate Warrior was wrestling. Warrior draw way more then most wrestlers. The Rock had the mic, but you must remember, PPV were not every month until Eric Bischoff decided to make them monthly over at WCW.

Warrior was a bigger draw. He sold more toys and he was hired back multiple times. Also, Warrior had creative control on his matches when he went to WCW and he only wrestler for two match. There are more Ultimate Warrior knockoffs in the indy circuit then the Rock.

I'm not taking nothing away from the Rock. He had the mic, and the in-ring ability. He did some phenomenal things in the WWF. Over selling moves to make his opponent look way better then they were. (Rikishi's clothlines and Rhyno's Gore). He was a part of two of the WWE biggest faction . The Nation and the Corporation. He had the looks, the charisma and the in ring ability, but you guys must never watched the Warrior.

During that time, nobody was winning the World Title from Hogan. Hogan era was wild. The only champions were: Hogan and Savage before the Warrior took it. Warrior's only World Title reign (293 days) is longer then all six of the Rock's title reigns (262 days). I think you guys need to learn you history and do some research before you compare wrestlers.

Yeah man, what are you smoking? The Ultimate Warrior was my favorite wrestler growing up so I hope that I was alive while formulating that opinion. Jayceonblaze said it all and it's hard to believe there's actually a thread comparing these 2 guys. No comparison. No debate. The Rock owns the Warrior.

 

[Jackal960]

LMAO. What are you guys talking about. I believe that none of you guys were alive when the Ultimate Warrior was wrestling. Warrior draw way more then most wrestlers. The Rock had the mic, but you must remember, PPV were not every month until Eric Bischoff decided to make them monthly over at WCW.

Warrior was a bigger draw. He sold more toys and he was hired back multiple times. Also, Warrior had creative control on his matches when he went to WCW and he only wrestler for two match. There are more Ultimate Warrior knockoffs in the indy circuit then the Rock.

I'm not taking nothing away from the Rock. He had the mic, and the in-ring ability. He did some phenomenal things in the WWF. Over selling moves to make his opponent look way better then they were. (Rikishi's clothlines and Rhyno's Gore). He was a part of two of the WWE biggest faction . The Nation and the Corporation. He had the looks, the charisma and the in ring ability, but you guys must never watched the Warrior.

During that time, nobody was winning the World Title from Hogan. Hogan era was wild. The only champions were: Hogan and Savage before the Warrior took it. Warrior's only World Title reign (293 days) is longer then all six of the Rock's title reigns (262 days). I think you guys need to learn you history and do some research before you compare wrestlers.

I don't know what you are on about regarding your assumptions about our ages. I was old enough to watch Wrestlemania I and excited to see Mr T. So i do remember Ultimate Warrior very well, tough i always liked Hogan more, even when he lost to Ultimate Warrior. Sure Ultimate Warrior was a draw at that time, but it wasn't big enough to compare him with the Rock.

Rock was so popular he couldn't even manage to stay heel, people were laughing and cheering for him when they were suppose to boo. Have you heard his phrase "stop singing along with the Rock" because even his heel promos were so popular. Thats what i call being a fan favorite.

And yeah i bought a Ultimate Warrior toy that you can put on your finger and make him wrestle, does that make him a bigger draw?

Or Nash had creative control over his matches as well, or Sean Waltman was hired by WWE several times like Ultimate Warrior does that make them bigger draws? To go further I'm sure Cena'e title reign in days tripled Rock's title reign, does that mean he triples him on being a draw? I never thought so...

 

[drobs85]

They were both the undisputed number two guy behind two of the top Draws of all time. Everyone went crazy for both of them with every single thing that they did. BUT in wrestling only one thing matters and thats money, which of these guys made more of it?

Is this a real post? What a dumb post. Obviously it was the rock but I'm sure you already know this. Although i like warrior, everyone knows about the rock's matches, catchphrases, title reigns, his ability to make everyone he wrestled look like a million bucks, feuds the whole nine. Warrior wasn't even on top long enough. A year if that and he left WWF. WTH

 

[RJJ]

I'll argue that the Rock was only on top when Austin was out injured. When Austin and Rock were in the company at the same time, Austin was always seen as the number one guy whether he was face or heel. The Warrior had great matches against Hogan, Rude, and Savage, and the crowd went wild when he ended the record title reign of the Honky Tonk Man. Everyone was fascinated with the Warrior and he was one of the most underrated workers in the business so I'll go with him slightly.

Number of world championships doesn't mean you're a bigger draw. Edge has more than Hogan so would you say Edge is a bigger draw?

In WM X7, when austin beat rock, he won the title but he lost the position of being the face of the company, that's the big reward rock recieved. When came back, and clearly was the face of the company. Vince tried to save austin's position as the top guy by keeping rock away from the WWF title(which also keeps him away from being in the main event), but rock was too much. After survivor series 2001, rock took over.

And can you please tell me why did austin left the company after WM? That's right, because he's no longer the top guy in the company, and was getting frustrated.

 

[Little Jerry Lawler]

In WM X7, when austin beat rock, he won the title but he lost the position of being the face of the company, that's the big reward rock recieved. When came back, and clearly was the face of the company. Vince tried to save austin's position as the top guy by keeping rock away from the WWF title(which also keeps him away from being in the main event), but rock was too much. After survivor series 2001, rock took over.

And can you please tell me why did austin left the company after WM? That's right, because he's no longer the top guy in the company, and was getting frustrated.

The Rock/Booker T feud was secondary to the Austin/Angle feud that was going on in 2001. I'll say it again. Whenever Rock and Austin were in the company at the same time, Austin was always seen as the top guy even when he was a heel. The Rock always played second fiddle to the Rock and the only time Rock was the top guy was when Austin was out injured and I could debate HHH was right along up there with him.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I'm going with The Rock here because of two main reasons.

1) Rock was a main eventer for a longer time than Ultimate Warrior. Rock was a main eventer for 3 years while Warrior was a main eventer for only a year. Warrior was hot when he was on top but he failed to maintain his heat once the title was taken off him. Rock main evented more pay per views than Warrior.

2) As the OP says that both men were the second biggest draws respectively of their times. But the thing is that Rock did carry the company at a time when Austin was out injured. The TV ratings as well as the PPV buys hardly dwindled even when Austin was absent due to Rock's presence. Warrior never had to face Hogan's absence. Hogan was involved in a feud with Earthquake even when Warrior was champion and a major portion of the draws that WWF did during that period should be credited to Hogan as he was the bigger star. Warrior always had Hogan by his side. It would have been interesting to see how much he would have drawn had Hogan been absent from WWF at the time Warrior was champion. Rock dealt with Austin's absence pretty well though.

So my vote goes to The Rock.

 

[RJJ]

The Rock/Booker T feud was secondary to the Austin/Angle feud that was going on in 2001. I'll say it again. Whenever Rock and Austin were in the company at the same time, Austin was always seen as the top guy even when he was a heel. The Rock always played second fiddle to the Rock and the only time Rock was the top guy was when Austin was out injured and I could debate HHH was right along up there with him.

As i said, they tried to keep rock away from austin and his WWF title(Even though "Rock going after austin" was the right thing to do, considering what happened between them before rock got suspended) , because they knew austin-rock fued would effect SCSA position as the top guy would be in jeopardy, and vince would have to put rock over this time). The WWF title was the only reason that kept austin in the top at that time, once he lost it to Y2J, austin was never been the same. You can't say that about the rock, who was hot at that time, beating hogan at X8(Arguably the greatest match ever), being the 1st ever draft pick, becoming the 1st 7 times wwe champion. He came back in no way out 2003, beat hogan(main event), beat austin in WM (raw's main event), and he lost to goldberg at backlash (main event).

As i said, austin did won the wwf title at X7, but he lost his position as the face of the company to the rock.

 

[Kcorthe]

The Rock/Booker T feud was secondary to the Austin/Angle feud that was going on in 2001. I'll say it again. Whenever Rock and Austin were in the company at the same time, Austin was always seen as the top guy even when he was a heel. The Rock always played second fiddle to the Rock and the only time Rock was the top guy was when Austin was out injured and I could debate HHH was right along up there with him.

This is somewhat true. In 1999 and obviously 1998, Steven Austin was far ahead of The Rock. In 2000, when Austin was injured, Rock was the top guy. When Austin came back, both were the top guys and it was very close, but I will go ahead and give the edge to Steve Austin.

In 2001, when Rock came back, again: very close as to who was the top guy, but I'm actually going to go with Rock here., Its debatable, and I could see how someone could choose Steve Austin for the last half of 2001. But in my opinion, Rock was the bigger priority.

2002: Both Steve Austin and The Rock were there, at the same time, for the first half of the year. There is no contest for this one: Rock was above Austin in 2002. Look at 'Mania 18. Who did they choose for Hogan? Rock or Austin? Rock was bigger in 2002. Steve Austin was feuding with Ric Flair, Big Show, and Scott Hall in the mid-card for most of his time in 2002.

Austin started as the bigger star. But by the time both men were nearing their retirement from pro wrestling (late 2001 - 2002/03ish), Rock had surpassed Steve Austin in the WWF's mind. That's my take.

And to answer the original question of this thread: Warrior was huge and I find him to be underrated, but there is just no way that he was a bigger draw than The Rock. No way. Rocky proved that he could draw and carry the WWF through its highest ratings even without Steve Austin (2000), where as I don't believe Warrior would have been able to do the same without Hogan. Keep in mind that, up to that point (and it may still stand today, not sure), Rock led the WWF to its most financially successful year EVER in 2000 (without "Stone Cold," mind you).

There are only two men who are bigger draws than The Rock. And that's Steve Austin, and Hulk Hogan. Other than those two, there is no debate. The Rock is number three, and by a wide margin. Those three stand far above all the others in terms of drawing power.

 

[nickg_90]

I say The Rock.

Both Rock and Warrior were the number 2 guys in their respective eras, and at one point surpassed Hulk Hogan and Steve Austin, the number 1 draws from their respective eras.

The Rock, however, was a main event star for a longer time. In the long run Warrior was basically a "flavor of the month." After winning the WWF title and having the "torch" passed to him by Hogan, Warrior did nothing. He dropped the ball and fell back down the card. The Rock took over as the top guy when Austin was injured, and was even on equal footing when Austin returned. People are STILL wanting The Rock to return, despite the odds of that happening being the same odds of the devil buying a winter coat.

 

[bigsexy8track]

I was around when Warrior first started, I saw Hogan v. Warrior at Wrestlemania live on pay-per-view as well as Hogan v. Rock, and Hogan v. Rock at X8 was by far the more epic match. Probably my favorite ever. The Rock transcended into mainstream pop culture in a way that Warrior never did, in a way that only Austin and Hogan have in my opinion. The Rock/Austin feud was probably the greatest feud ever between two single competitors. The Ultimate Warrior was a big draw but I don't think he had any real staying power, regardless of his personal and professional issues with the company and his co-workers. He was tedious on the mic and was incredibly dated. He would not have lasted long, even if he was a consummate professional. No comparison, sorry.

 

[TheMainMan32]

The Rock wins his one, hands down. It's not even a decent comparison for reasons already stated.

However, I would like to say one thing about The Rock / Austin. The Rock was my favorite wrestler of all time, but does anyone remember why the WWE made him stop with some of his catch-phrases? It's because the Rock was getting booed. I can't remember what year that was, but it culminated in he draft where Vinny Mac made the Rock promise not to call anyone a "Roody-Poo" ever again. Austin kept the same gimmick from the time he became Stone Cold till the day he left for good.

As much as I loved the Great One, he always was number two. And we who watched them in person knew it.

P.S. Triple H was a distant third. Sorry, Triple H fans.

 

[UltimateHitman]

Ok, here's the rundown. Warrior, at the beginning of his run, was a way bigger draw than the Rock. At the time he won the title from Hogan, it was almost unheard of for anybody to do. And the people were mad crazy for the guy. Once he won the title though, and soon after started to go downhill, Rock definitely takes over. The Rock definitely was a better LONG TERM draw than Warrior, hands down. He had the ability to get on top and STAY on top. But if we're comparing him to the Warrior's peak popularity when he first took off, there's no way he could touch Warrior. But, like I said, Warrior, unfortunately, was a very short term draw while Rock definitely wins the lasting power debate. So, the correct answer to the question is both. Warrior definitely for having a much larger draw in the short term (if you go strictly by prime peaks) but Rock definitely wins out across the board because he proved to be a longer term draw which ultimately (damn these unintended puns) brings in more money if you can draw big for a longer time. Sidebar to that, finding Rock merchandise and memorabilia is pretty commonplace and pretty cheap, but try to get your hands on some good Warrior merchandise. Gonna shell out more pretty pennies for that. So even though Warrior didn't last, he definitely has memorable status for the short time he was on top. And just to mention Warrior being number 2 at the time, he definitely became number 1 when he beat Hogan for the title. He just didn't stay number one. I mean the Warrior's fan base took over the Hulkamaniacs at the time, that was apparent by not only the difference in reactions both men got, but he had to have gained more popularity (and again, albeit brief) to be even considered to go over Hogan, much less have both belts at that point in time which Hogan himself had never even done. And to Jackal, I know people probably love the Rock and all, but Cena's got him beat in the draw dept. Hell, he's this generation's Hogan. Just a small side note...

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I am going to go with The Rock. Warrior was just more of a short term draw, The Rock was able to draw as both a face and a heel and is one of the most beloved wrestlers of all time. Yeah, Warrior was HUGE at one time, but he flopped as a champion and people began to realise he was just a one trick pony.

Rock was one of the faces of the WWE during the biggest boom time the company ever had, and when you consider he was around at the same time as guys like Austin, Triple H, Undertaker, Angle, Lesnar, to be the top dog took some doing. You had to prove you could draw in order to be pushed ahead of those guys.

Warrior beat Hogan at Mania, that was massive, but what else did he do? His entire career is contained in that one match. Other than that he is not memorable to me at all, apart from his mad promos and physique. The Rock consistently put on top quality matches against a variety of top quality opponents at main event level, proving his success as a draw. His matches against Austin, Mankind and Triple H are legendary and his talent on the mic got him mad over.

Put it this way, the fans love The Rock so much, he could draw huge numbers simply by being on Raw again. After he left the company (and had been away for the number of years The Rock has), if Warrior had been announced as being on the show, there would not have been the same buzz as for The Rock's return.

Could you ever imagine the fans chanting "One More Match!!!" for Warrior? I can't.

So, The Rock is my pick

 

[Whatsinaname696]

Warrior was def. NOT a flavor of the month, fotm's don't get world titles (or at least that USED to be the way it was), they didn't get pops like he got and they didn't sell like he did, his character will always be remembered, thas not a fotm... that being said, The Rock, hands down, is the clear winner, if for nothing else than longevity and mic skills, that in my opinion, are only rivaled by Hogan when he was Hollywood and Jake The Snake, ... not to mention Rocks mic skills weren't just dead on... they were fucking hilarious (although the same may be said for Warriors gibberish... but thas diff) love Warrior, love Rock, this one def goes to The Great One tho

 

[X]

It's without a doubt The Rock here, Warrior bombed as the world champion, strange that no one seems to remember that. House show attendance took a huge hit when Warrior won the title off Hogan, it's why they took the belt off of him so quickly after declaring him the new Hogan of the next generation in the WWF.

Rocky on the other hand helped draw some of the WWF's best ratings, PPV buyrates, and house show attendance.

This is really just silly. Warrior wasn't half the draw Rocky was.

 

[SCrooked1]

The Rock/Booker T feud was secondary to the Austin/Angle feud that was going on in 2001. I'll say it again. Whenever Rock and Austin were in the company at the same time, Austin was always seen as the top guy even when he was a heel. The Rock always played second fiddle to the Rock and the only time Rock was the top guy was when Austin was out injured and I could debate HHH was right along up there with him.

You have to remember that this was during the Invasion Era where Vince practically was burying everything that was WCW. Obviously he wasn't gonna let the WCW Title main event above the WWF Title. Also along with that Booker T. was not really a draw at the time like Kurt Angle was, which is why the feud seemed secondary, Booker had a hard time adapting there at first and it wasn't until he was paired with Goldust that the fans really started to react to him. Rock
was already a huge draw in '99, he actually was #1 on the top drawing stars list in 1999, Austin was #2, I know it sounds baffling but it's true. Here's the list:

http://wfigs.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=prowrestling&action=print&thread=198109

And you can't say it's because "Well that's the year Austin's absence began" because he left in mid November 1999, which is way too late in the year for him to be bumped to #2 because of that. 1998 was the only year Austin was the undisputed #1, He was #1 in 2001 but that was because he had the belt almost the entire year and Rock took off for 4 months. I know that the list looks funny because Hogan and Sting weren't at the top of the list in 1997 when WCW peaked but you have to remember that Hogan hardly wrestled that year while Sting didn't wrestle almost at all, which is why Hogan was only at #9 and Sting isn't on there at all. Same for '98 with Kane at #3 above guys like Hogan and Goldberg. Hogan wrestled a bit more and Goldberg was the biggest draw for WCW that year but WCW on a whole was a huge mess at the time so there was no consistency on where people were positioned in the card. Also Kane was a lot more popular in '98 than people think, he drew against Austin and especially against Undertaker, who is #2 for '98.

 

[Why Always Me]

You have to remember that this was during the Invasion Era where Vince practically was burying everything that was WCW. Obviously he wasn't gonna let the WCW Title main event above the WWF Title. Also along with that Booker T. was not really a draw at the time like Kurt Angle was, which is why the feud seemed secondary, Booker had a hard time adapting there at first and it wasn't until he was paired with Goldust that the fans really started to react to him. Rock
was already a huge draw in '99, he actually was #1 on the top drawing stars list in 1999, Austin was #2, I know it sounds baffling but it's true. Here's the list:

http://wfigs.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=prowrestling&action=print&thread=198109

And you can't say it's because "Well that's the year Austin's absence began" because he left in mid November 1999, which is way too late in the year for him to be bumped to #2 because of that. 1998 was the only year Austin was the undisputed #1, He was #1 in 2001 but that was because he had the belt almost the entire year and Rock took off for 4 months. I know that the list looks funny because Hogan and Sting weren't at the top of the list in 1997 when WCW peaked but you have to remember that Hogan hardly wrestled that year while Sting didn't wrestle almost at all, which is why Hogan was only at #9 and Sting isn't on there at all. Same for '98 with Kane at #3 above guys like Hogan and Goldberg. Hogan wrestled a bit more and Goldberg was the biggest draw for WCW that year but WCW on a whole was a huge mess at the time so there was no consistency on where people were positioned in the card. Also Kane was a lot more popular in '98 than people think, he drew against Austin and especially against Undertaker, who is #2 for '98.

Wow, thats awesome, I thought The Rock was the bigger draw in 1999, but people kept saying that Austin was, the proof is in the pudding there.

Maybe this should be changed to 'Austin v Ultimate Warrior' for second biggest draw........

Anyway, Ultimate Warroir should not even be mentioned in the same breath as The Rock, The Rock was at least tied with Austin and shouldn't even be in this equation.