Foley didn't create the hardcore era, ECW and Paul Heyman created the hardcore era, which both WWE and WCW borrowed. And yes, Foley was in the highest rated Raw segment, but think about what that segment was. It was a vehicle to get Rock over, Foley had nothing to do with that segment being popular. And 3 classic moments involving Foley, any big moment I think of with Foley involved him falling off or into something, which is nothing special. Moments involving Flair, let's see, winning his first World Title from Harley Race, surviving and coming back from a horrific plane crash that left several dead and him with a broken back, the dominance of the Horsemen, the classic time limit draw with Sting, the tremendous series with Ricky Steamboat, the emotional reunion of the Horsemen on Nitro in 1999, not to mention every single time he did an interview which were classic on their own. I could keep going on and on with classic Flair moments, as I haven't even scratched the surface yet. Then you talk about originality, well what was original about falling off a cage? Catchphrases, what's special about Foley's catchphrase, "Have a nice day", boy that's original isn't it? Something that is said everyday by millions of people, hardly anything special. And also lets not forget, that if it hadn't been for JR, Foley would have never gotten over at all. Jim Ross made Foley a star.
But hey, you like Foley, that's your opinion, and that's fine. Like who you want, but when all is said and done, and the list is made of top stars, Flair will always be at the top, way ahead of Foley.
Foley and Funk were soaked in blood in Japan while Heyman was hitting people with big cell phones in WCW. The Rock had no need of getting over at that point, he already was. That segment was seen by more people than any other because it was funny and entertaining. People had plenty of chances to turn the channel and watch Flair, and whatever faction he was in at the time get beat up by Hogan, Hall, and Nash, but they were tired of it.
Flair is great at appearing to be star. He's got the robe (another unoriginal) he's got the announcers telling everyone how great he is, and he's got the cult following.
And there always will be a lot more people who like Flair. Just like fans in the 80's were practically programmed to like Hogan, they are given the same treatment with Flair, If you've watch wrestling almost anytime in the last 30 years you've been told how great these two were. In my opinion there may be two dozen wrestlers who were better than these two, but they were guys who the boss didn't want pushed. So many were so much better at in ring work, story telling, cutting promos, and other skills, but don't get the recognition. Flair was selected to be this great legend of wrestling, not by fans but by promoters, the people who knew fit the image they wanted portrayed.
In all those scenarios listed above, if you insert an alternate for Flair, you have basically the same result, a good match. If you remove Flair from wrestling history all you really lose is a few good matches. Someone else could've replaced Flair in all his factions and championship matches. Someone else could've said WOO and slapped men in their chest. His performances and accomplishments are nothing special, just promoted well. His 16 title record is hard to argue with, but many of the did come from a 'B' promotion though. WCW sucked for like ten years, so him, Sting and whatever former WWF wrestler WCW had at the time could keep trading their title back and forth and begin to rack up those 16 titles.
If you remove Foley from wrestling history, the attitude era suffers greatly. There is no work horse there to make Austin, Rock, Taker and HBK look like super bad asses. If Foley doesnt popularize barbwire and over all hardcore, then we may never have ECW, which helped WWE put pressure on WCW. And the fall of the cage was possibly the most dangerous stunt ever attempted at that time. Foley was the golden goose of the Attitude era, He was always there to put over the guys that fit the image the promoter wanted. People credit Austin, Rock, DX, McMahon with the Attitude era, but Foley presented the shock value that didn't come from language or body exposure. When you watched him you knew he'd get his ass whipped, but you had no idea how. You didn't know if it would be a clean 123, or trip off a HIAC, or a dozen or more chair shots. When you watched Flair you knew exactly what was coming a strut, a woo, a chop, a leg lock.
Yes, Flair will be honored more than Foley, but he's not a better wrestler.
