Greatest Wrestling MegaStar of all times.

[Domamania]

The question of the Greatest Wrestling Megastar has been asked for a few years now. On the bottom I will list some of the biggest names in wrestling History and let you decide who is the Greatest, Now the criteria are, Ticket sales, merchandising sales, national and international fame, crossing the media line into movies and tv shows, and over all who had the biggest impact in the history of wrestling.

Geogeous George
Buddy Rodgers
Bruno Sammartino
Bob Backland
Harley Race
Dusty Rhods
Ric Flair
Hulk Hogan
The ulitamate Warrior
The Undertaker
Sting
Shawn Micheals
Brett Hart
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Goldberg
HHH
The Rock
Andre The Giant
Kurt Angle
John Cena
Brock Lesnar
Randy Orton
Eddie Guerrero
and The Miz.


Now , Its all up to you all on who you think out of this list is the Grestest MEGASTAR in wrestling history

 

[AntiChristDeicide]

This kind of thread has been done before dude. Anyways on to the topic at hand, the only name that can be considered wrestling's (yeah WWE i said wrestling) greatest megastar is Hulk Hogan. If it wasn't for him WWE wouldn't exist right now, hell no wrestling company would exist right now. Hogan is the one that made wrestling mainstream. If you say otherwhise you have to get your head checked.

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

Hulk Hogan #1, The Rock #2, John Cena #3 that simple.

Hulk Hogan changed wrestling in the 80's and made it possible to be the force it is today. The Rock and John Cena along with others like Stone Cold Steve Austin just followed in Hogans footsteps reinventing themselves and the sport to take it to greater levels.

 

[Rockyfolifebo!!!]

Damn, i hate these questions lol! It's always hard tell , but i'll give you my top 3


Hulk Hogan: do i even have to say it, he's a household name. 3 years olds know who he is!! He did what no man has ever done for the business and took it national! He put WWF on the map. I respect him, i don't really like him. But that doesn't change what he did for the business

Stone Cold Steve Austin: He defined an era. Period. Around '95, '96, and '97 when WWF was losing all of its stars (Bret, Diesel, Razor, etc) to WCW, WCW made a major mistake in not taking advantage of his star power. He came in the WWF, made his famous "3:16" speech, and the rest is history. And that's the bottom line!

The Undertaker: He's a multi-time world champ, RR winner, and has a streak (19-0) at the grandest stage of 'em all! The fact that he's been in WWE for almost 21 years, and never jumped ship, is tremendous. Then it's his character. It's changed so much over the years (ministry, biker, deadman, etc), but it's become the most awe-inspiring, legendary gimmicks of all time!

 

[ltrav1984]

cant understand y the miz is in that list hes only just become a big name i'd have 2 say the rock he had everything when he was at his wrestling peak and his rivalrys with austin and triple h were awesome he was so good to watch hogan was awesome but had no charisma imo so rock gets it 4 me even tho i am bias towards him seein as i'm a big rock fan

 

[conici]

It's Hulk Hogan without a doubt if it wasn't for him WWE or Professional Wrestling would not be here he did it all he was the only true Wrestling Mega Star

 

[LordKoz]

The correct answer is Hulk Hogan.

By the way, "hogan was awesome but had no charisma imo" is one of the most bizarre statements I have ever read, even by Internet standards.

 

[BobbyDigital]

Its Hulk Hogan, hands down. Everyone knows Hulk Hogan. If you ask anyone who doesn't watch wrestling to name a wrestler, his name comes first.

As far as #2 goes, its The Rock. He's a big star now in Hollywood but I think his stock might drop as now he's going by his real name. People will forget eventually, at least the ones that don't know the biz

 

[marklouis]

First of all, the fact that you included The Miz, Orton, & Guerrero on this list make me question your sanity. In any event, the answer is Hogan, & it's really not close. It may be difficult for younger fans to understand based on his current standing, but for people who don't watch wrestling, Hulk Hogan is wrestling. He is the biggest draw the business has ever seen, and he carried 2 different companies through arguably their most profitable eras. Hulk Hogan was on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Could you see any wrestler doing that now? Number 2 for me would be Steve Austin, since he was the face of WWE in the Attitude Era, & you could make the case that he turned the tide of the Monday Night Wars. But as much as I like Austin, he's not close to Hogan.

 

[sharpsh00ter23]

Although Hulk Hogan was the cornerstone of putting WWF on the map, w/o Austin AND The Rock, there would be no WWE at all today...we would be looking at WCW programming instead. Hogan could've kept that moniker if he would've just stayed away and retired...but he didn't, so now people are tired of seeing him.

As far as MegaStar is concerned, it's The Rock by far. The Rock carried the company in the final act of the Monday Night Wars...and always did what was best for the business, which was pushing upcoming superstars. After he had done everything needed to do, he transcended the business right to the silver screen and has become an extremely versatile and successful actor. Furthermore, he has returned and shot the ratings up significantly and is giving everyone one more dream match at WM XXVIII.

 

[Trill Co$by]

You know, I find it funny that people don't realize the legacy that Gorgeous George left in the wrestling world is the TRUE reasoning for why it's as popular as it is. I mean sure, Hulk Hogan bodyslammed a giant and starred in a Cindy Lauper video to gain WWF some recognition, but before there was a WWF or a Hulk Hogan, there was Gorgeous George who was on the television screens, in newspaper headlines, and was actually welcomed by local politicians for whatever region he was located in.

I know, I'm 19 going on 20 so my true knowledge of him is little to nonexistent, but the fact of the matter is that Gorgeous George was the first, best, and greatest Megastar to ever enter into the professional wrestling world. So great that at times, the guy wasn't even considered a part of wrestling.

 

[ugotpwned999]

Hulk Hogan beyond a shadow of a doubt. If it wasn't for hogan, chances are 3/4 of the people on that list wouldn't exist right now. When nobody knew about pro wrestling, Hulk brought it from small arenas to the international spotlight. He became a household name. Everybody knows who Hulk Hogan is. The hulkster is the one man that made wrestlemania a worldwide phemonenom and cemented his place in history.

The answer to your question, no doubt, is Hulk Hogan.

 

[Stryder402]

Without a shout of a doubt it is hulk hogan, not exactly the best wrestler but the greatest megastar,

Everything had one huge name that instantly anyone would recognize .

Football/soccer - Brazillian Ronaldo
Boxing - Muhammad Ali
Tennis - Andre agassi
Wrestling - Hulk Hogan

 

[ilapierre]

How could you have Dusty Rhodes, Goldberg, Brock Lesnar, and The Miz on your list of megastars and no mention of Randy Savage? Savage was one of the best wrestlers ever and he was a Mega Power and a mega star. Had he and Hogan been the two big stars of today instead of 20 years ago, Savage would have been the bigger star because he could keep up with the guys of today in his prime. The fact you have no Savage on your list is mega proof that you know shit about wrestling.

 

[drk_knight]

SCSA AN THE ROCK NO DOUBT. Im sick of people saying Hulk Hogan. He did alot for the buisness made it go mainstream or everything but never could've done it without Mchmahons help. Stone cold and the Rock created their OWN characters. Hogan was at the right place at the right time. Austin and Rock is the best ever WITHOUT A DOUBT.

 

[mikeyboy]

My all time favorite is Flair but the answer has to be Hogan he is the main reason(besides Mcmahons guidance) that took wrestling out of the territoties and into national exposer , he was probably the first wrestler ever that was a household name , hell, even people who dont know wrestling know who Hogan is.nuff said.

 

[The Prodigal Anti-Lemming]

The question of the Greatest Wrestling Megastar has been asked for a few years now. On the bottom I will list some of the biggest names in wrestling History and let you decide who is the Greatest, Now the criteria are, Ticket sales, merchandising sales, national and international fame, crossing the media line into movies and tv shows, and over all who had the biggest impact in the history of wrestling.

Geogeous George
Buddy Rodgers
Bruno Sammartino
Bob Backland
Harley Race
Dusty Rhods
Ric Flair
Hulk Hogan
The ulitamate Warrior
The Undertaker
Sting
Shawn Micheals
Brett Hart
Stone Cold Steve Austin
Goldberg
HHH
The Rock
Andre The Giant
Kurt Angle
John Cena
Brock Lesnar
Randy Orton
Eddie Guerrero
and The Miz.


Now , Its all up to you all on who you think out of this list is the Grestest MEGASTAR in wrestling history

Interesting take on the top 24. Some of your criteria are a mite ambiguous though; by listing merchandising sales, you’re granting a marked advantage to anyone who wrestled in the WWF/E between, oh say, 1985 and the present. National fame is an unnecessary criteria, as anyone listed in a logical top 100 (and perhaps even a top 200) should have attained a large amount of it, saying as superstardom and national fame pretty much go hand in hand.

As far as international fame goes, while I would agree it is an important criteria, probably a handful of those on your list have wrestled in huge international markets regularly (Hogan, Flair, Andre, Sammartino, Lesnar, Guerrero), another handful wrestled in puro or lucha rings a couple times or else had very limited success in foreign markets (Hart, Austin, Backlund, Angle), and I believe both the Miz and Warrior think Japan is a cooking oil that prevents food from sticking to their pan when they’re frying bacon. Which is pretty appropriate for them considering both “wrestlers” would undoubtedly head my personal list as all-time flash in the pan.

Lesnar belongs in the same category as Goldberg (sans the “not that gifted a wrestler” assessment), that of a supposed “can’t miss superstar” who burned out after a few years on the road and utterly destroyed his own legacy with one foolhardy decision. Cena is a guy who will probably rise on the universal all time list eventually, but for now is young and relatively unaccomplished compared to the true greats. The same goes for Orton.

The Miz, meanwhile, is just some idiot who has been handed everything in his career because Vince McMahon woke up one day and decided he wanted to promote an obnoxious heel champion. The guy cannot wrestle. He cannot work. He has no enduring legacy whatsoever, and anyone who argues with me differently needs to have his or her prescription bottles refilled.

 

[Lucid]

I'm at a loss as to how to reply to this thread. It seems clear to me that Pro Wrestling would not exist at all without so many people. Who is the greatest megastar? None would exist without the first. It would seem to follow logic, then, that the first megastar would be the greatest.
Hogan, for all his strengths, would be nothing without Sammartino and so on back into history.
I asked my grandmother who the best pro wrestler was and she said, Gorgeous George.
I asked her about Hogan, she said "Who?"

 

[AntiChristDeicide]

Everybody look at this and tell me Hogan is not the man. Without Hogan (yeas with Vince Mcmahon's help) we wouldn't have forums like this one to discuss the subject.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXOVllBGcjM&feature=grec_index