Icon....

[logan_punisher]

Numerous times I've heard these type of things.
1. Best In The World
2. Worlds Best
3. Greatest Of All Time
4. Best Of The Best

I've heard them all, but the Icon of all Pro Wrestling is the biggest and most greatest achievement. It can debated in so many different ways. I truly think that's a huge thing for a Guy or Girl. So that's why I'm going to go full throttle on this discussion. We will give The Diva Icon, and The Superstar Icon. From the past abd present. You may dislike this thread due to my opinion that Sting isn't the Icon. Here I go.

Diva Icon Of The Past....

1. Decisions can be tough on a specific diva but the Past Icon Diva is definitely Trish Stratus. Stratusfaction. Yes she has done everything to make this a special Achievement. She deserves it from the storylines that made her look good.

Runner Ups
Lita
Victoria
Molly Holly

Diva Icon Of The Present is....

1. I can't say this is a hard choice due to the lack of the diva division lately. It's an easy decision. It goes to The only diva that has any future stardom. AJ Lee.

Runner Ups.
None.

Here we go towards The Icon of the past and present of the Superstars of the Wwe.

1. Man you know how hard this is.... You have so many to choose from. It's that crazy. I have to pick The guy of the Attitude Era. Stone Cold. The badass of the wwe and the most exciting guy to watch. EVER. I MEAN EVER.

Runner Ups.
Edge
The Undertaker
Shawn Michaels

Holy crap that was as difficult as me trying put a ring on Mae Youngs Finger. Now its time I successfully bring my huge opinion on the Icon Of this present. The best of the best, the best in the world, the greatest of all time. Here we go. I can't say John Cena. He's the icon of merchandise. Plain and simple. No. I wont say Alberto Del Rio. He's not worthy to be holding that World Heavyweight Champion. Randy Ortons in the discussion, but he's not the Icon.

1. Unfortunately we do have a tie. All because of how over these 2 are in the sections of the Promos, crowd reaction, match performance. The first person in this tie. Is Daniel Bryan. The most over guy today. You guys are wondering who that guy is who is tied. Its the best promo performer in this damn business today. Damn if you think He's terrible. Damn if you think this guy isn't worthy all because of his in-ring style. Stealing really? Nope. Cmpunk is that guy who has tied this up.

Runner Ups
Kane
Brock Lesnar
Christian

The Icon of the Mid-Card division of all times is....

1. Rey Mysterio. He's been dropped to mid card so many times and brought back yp to main event picture that its crazy not to add him to this thread.

Runner Ups
Christian
Rvd
Shelton Benjamin
Jeff Hardy
John Morrison
Dolph Ziggler
Umaga

 

[Slash-LN]

If you're going to discuss the icons of Wrestling and leave guys like Hogan, Andre, Flair and The Rock off your list then you don't know what an icon is.

A guy like Hogan or The Rock are the arguably the biggest names in the history of pro wrestling.

If you're going to have "diva" icons how can you leave The Fabulous Moolah off the list?

If you really feel like you need a current "icon" from today's wrestling then it would easily be John Cena.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

An icon is a symbol that represents something. Despite the carnival atmosphere, the sports entertainment moniker, and the Hollywood themes - WWE at it's core is still based on the tradition of two strong overgrown men grappling competitively in a wrestling ring. No one fits this image in my mind of WWE history than Bruno Sammartino. He has that old school hunched over, under, and out build that will stand the test of time. Maybe someone like Gagne, Gotch, Thesz, or even Cena might work as well to convey this image but to me every picture of a young Sammartino screams of what you think of when you think the term icon.

As far as women go, no offense but they don't have enough identity within WWE to get an Icon.

 

[Spidey Revivey]

Diva Icon Of The Past....

1. Decisions can be tough on a specific diva but the Past Icon Diva is definitely Trish Stratus.

No way. No way you could possibly give Trish Stratus this Past Icon Diva title when a pioneer like The Fabulous Moolah did a ton more for the company. Stratus is minor league compared to what Moolah did for women's wrestling. That's like saying Bret Hart did more than Hulk Hogan.

Here we go towards The Icon of the past and present of the Superstars of the Wwe.

1. Man you know how hard this is.... You have so many to choose from. It's that crazy. I have to pick The guy of the Attitude Era. Stone Cold. The badass of the wwe and the most exciting guy to watch. EVER. I MEAN EVER

.

Alright, I'm a bit confused. How far is "past"? I can respect a pick like Stone Cold, but not even include Hulk Hogan in your Runner-Ups? Is this just a favorites' thread or are we going by historical backing?

Holy crap that was as difficult as me trying put a ring on Mae Youngs Finger.

If you loved her, you would've mentioned her in Past Icon Diva.

1. Unfortunately we do have a tie. All because of how over these 2 are in the sections of the Promos, crowd reaction, match performance. The first person in this tie. Is Daniel Bryan. The most over guy today. You guys are wondering who that guy is who is tied. Its the best promo performer in this damn business today. Damn if you think He's terrible. Damn if you think this guy isn't worthy all because of his in-ring style. Stealing really? Nope. Cmpunk is that guy who has tied this up.

Once again, I can respect you thinking Daniel Bryan as the best present male Icon. Even though any answer that isn't Cena right now is still technically wrong, I'm all for Bryan and Punk.

But once again I'm confused. Your Icons of the present Runner-Ups feature 2 Superstars who were around in the Attitude Era, 1 of which hasn't really done anything noteworthy in years:

Runner Ups
Kane
Brock Lesnar
Christian

Past Icon Diva: The Fabulous Moolah

Runner-Ups: Wendi Richter, Sunny, Chyna, Trish Stratus

Present Icon Diva: Mickie James (still)

Runner-Ups: AJ Lee, Natalya

Past Icon: Hulk Hogan

Runner-Ups: Andre The Giant, Randy Savage, Steve Austin, The Rock

Present Icon: John Cena

Runner-Ups: CM Punk, Randy Orton, Daniel Bryan

Best Mid-Card Icon: Eddie Guerrero

Runner-Ups: Rey Mysterio, Billy Kidman, Rikishi, Christian

 

[FlairFan2003]

I guess my take is when someone uses a word like "Icon" they are talking about the absolute very best at something and all the success, high standards, and notoriety that represents. Johnny Unitas, Walter Payton, Jim Brown, they are NFL Icons. Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron are MLB Icons.

In wrestling there are a handfull of truly special, popular, important historical figures, a step below "ICON" perhaps. I see Bruno Sammartino, SuperStar Graham, Buddy Rogers, Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, Sting (Ironically nicknamed "The Icon"), Kevin Nash, Brett Hart, and a few more in this category. Probably put Cena here, maybe Punk, Nick Bockwinkle, Harley Race. To be an Icon you truly have to symbolize the very best of popularity and skill with a tremendous amount of success. Troy Ainkman was very good but Montana is an Icon for example. At this level, you only have a handfull of guys... Hogan (all time biggest star, top draw of the 80s, one of the top draws of the 90s, the public face & main star of wrestlings massive leap in popularity in pop culture), Flair (behind only Hogan as top draw in the 80s, major draw throughout 90s & 00s, trendsetter who adapted and prospered through four different eras, historically known for outstanding in ring performances and promo style that directly influenced HBK, HHH, & Rock), Austin (biggest draw post Hogan, public face of WWE 2nd major expansion in late 90s, huge figure in Monday Night Wars that lead to one of most prosperous periods in industry history, Biggest star of "Attitude Era"), after that I mite see Undertaker (2nd only to Flair in maintaining appeal and drawing power through numerous eras and three different decades, going on four, universally recognized for locker room leadership & dedication to craft, one of best examples of hard work & dedication in industry, maybe greatest gimmick ever) as well as Rock & Randy Savage. It just takes so much in my view to reach that level to be called an "Icon", the true representation of success and popularity in your field, a revolutionary, I just cant see bestowing that label to too many guys.

 

[Kidpolean]

I dont understand the real point of this thread. IMO there are only five Icons in pro wrestling history and that is Hogan, Andre, Rock ,Austin, and Cena. Nobody on the current roster besides Cena even has a chance or can even come close to being an Icon.

You have to understand that being popular or being your favorite does not give a wrestler legendary or iconic status. Out of the five guys I named, The Rock is the only one I enjoyed. DB is nowhere near being an Icon. The guy has wrestled at WM twice, one he took one move and lost his title, and the other he was in a tag match that nobody cared about. Besides putting on entertaining matches, what has DB really done....NOTHING!

Now if there was such a thing as a women's icon in wrestling than it would have to be Moolah and maybe Trish. But AJ is not an Icon. She barely ever wrestles. The only reason she gets any tv time is because she is the only Diva on the roster that has any sort of mic skills.

And........WTF is a mid-card Icon?

 

[Eyebrows]

When I think of the word icon I think of people who are synonymous with a particular field and for me it has to be a person or an image which is ingrained in the consciousness of not only the fans of the sport but in the wider public in general. In films, you have iconic actors (DeNiro/Pacino/Hoffman/Bogart/Nicholson) in music you have iconic artists (Dylan/The Beatles/The Rolling Stones/Elvis Presley/Marley). They're figures that almost transcend the medium they're known for because in a way they're bigger than it. It's not about quality necessarily. There are a ton of actors like Philip Seymour Hoffman or Steve Buscemi, or bands like Pavement or The Platters who are amazingly talented but will never reach the iconic status of the examples mentioned.

So when it comes to wrestling icons guys like Christian and Kane are out despite being talented and despite being around for a long time. The idea of a mid-card icon is a bit of an oxymoron. Bryan is out as he hasn't been in the main event scene nearly long enough yet.

You're looking for people who personify and represent the industry, the same way Pele and Maradona did for football, the same way Becker and Sampras did for tennis. You're looking for guys like Sammartino, Hogan, Undertaker, Hart, Rock, Austin, Flair and as much as I don't care for him, Cena.

As far as Divas go, Trish Stratus personified women's wrestling in the 21st century. Moolah, Mae Young, Wendy Richters.

Molly Holly and Victoria are great but they're not iconic.

 

[Kidpolean]

When I think of the word icon I think of people who are synonymous with a particular field and for me it has to be a person or an image which is ingrained in the consciousness of not only the fans of the sport but in the wider public in general. In films, you have iconic actors (DeNiro/Pacino/Hoffman/Bogart/Nicholson) in music you have iconic artists (Dylan/The Beatles/The Rolling Stones/Elvis Presley/Marley). They're figures that almost transcend the medium they're known for because in a way they're bigger than it. It's not about quality necessarily. There are a ton of actors like Philip Seymour Hoffman or Steve Buscemi, or bands like Pavement or The Platters who are amazingly talented but will never reach the iconic status of the examples mentioned.

So when it comes to wrestling icons guys like Christian and Kane are out despite being talented and despite being around for a long time. The idea of a mid-card icon is a bit of an oxymoron. Bryan is out as he hasn't been in the main event scene nearly long enough yet.

You're looking for people who personify and represent the industry, the same way Pele and Maradona did for football, the same way Becker and Sampras did for tennis. You're looking for guys like Sammartino, Hogan, Undertaker, Hart, Rock, Austin, Flair and as much as I don't care for him, Cena.

As far as Divas go, Trish Stratus personified women's wrestling in the 21st century. Moolah, Mae Young, Wendy Richters.

Molly Holly and Victoria are great but they're not iconic.

Sammartino, Hogan, Undertaker, Hart, Rock, Austin, Flair and Cena?
Where is Andre? If you are going to include those guys than you have to include Lou Thesz, HBK, Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race, Billy Graham, Roddy Piper, The Hammer, I mean I could go on and on and on

 

[Eyebrows]

Sammartino, Hogan, Undertaker, Hart, Rock, Austin, Flair and Cena?
Where is Andre? If you are going to include those guys than you have to include Lou Thesz, HBK, Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race, Billy Graham, Roddy Piper, The Hammer, I mean I could go on and on and on

I was just giving examples to get my point across instead of listing everybody. You're right though, those guys are every bit as iconic as the ones I mentioned. Nobody has mentioned Gorgeous George yet either.

 

[rkinne01]

Past Icon Diva: The Fabulous Moolah

Runner-Ups: Wendi Richter, Chyna, Trish Stratus, Lita

Present Icon Diva: Mickie James

Runner-Ups: AJ Lee, Stephanie

Past Icon: Gorgeous George he was the first wrestler/celebrity, he was the Hulk Hogan of his time.

Runner-Ups: Andre, Macho Man, Hulk Hogan

Present Icon: Undertaker

Runner-Ups: CM Punk, Kurt Angle

Best Mid-Card Icon: Jake "the Snake" Roberts

Runner-Ups: Bo Bo Brazil, Arn Anderson