Most Athetic Superstar EVER Step Foot in WWE?

[HBKistheHOF]

I initially thought of "old school" athletes previously mentioned like Verne Gagne & Stu Hart.

Simply due to the times & equipment, "old school" guys like these are probably the overall toughest. My God, Stu Hart wrestled a tiger.... A FREAKIN TIGER! And some other animals if i'm not mistaken!

But just being honest with myself & the technology we have today, I think today's athlete simply have advantages (besides the obvious steroids) that men back in the day simply didn't.

It's not just about being lean, tough, & playing every sport in your highschool gym anymore. Fighters & professional athletes today have their very own training teams to get them into the right shape & inform them on all the "latest & greatest" in athletics & nutrition.

Persoanlly I have to go with Brock Lesnar. This is the very reason I enjoy him as a performer/fighter, THE MAN IS A BEAST! While WWE likes to embelish, his 2002 promos were not really lieing. Lesnar is a unique & gifted physical speciman, not to mention one hell of a wrestler/grappler. He is a college wrestling champion, shot to super-stardom faster than anyone in WWE, had a short stint in the NFL, & won the UFC heavyweight title. He has his own team & brand, DeathClutch, that up until his return to WWE had only one purpose of making him an even better fighter & athlete. Even after battling a deadly illness he is in better shape than most of the world.

I think Kurt Angle is another good choice. It's hard to argue with an Olpympic Gold Medalist than is known for wrestling big matches on a broken neck.

 

[TripleCrown]

Anyone has to be athletic to be able to perform the moves, scripted or not, that go on in a wrestling match. No personal disrespect but it's lunacy to suggest there is no athleticism involved in a pro wrestling match.

Having said that, my vote for the most athletic goes to the Undertaker. You simply cannot take anything away from a man his size who was able to walk the top rope. Neither UT, the ref, the opponent, or any member of the McMahon family could say "Rope, you stay put so UT doesn't fall" - what he did was sheer skill. How about the match where UT dove head-first into a crowd of wrestlers right outside the ring? It wouldn't have mattered if that group of guys had stood there with arms outstretched waiting to catch him - and story-wise it was meant to look like UT dove head first with a blind luck kind of landing.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

This is a tough topic to pin down.

For one, professional wrestling is an athletic endeavor, even if some on here don't seem to think so. The majority of professional wrestlers ARE athletic... even the big, 400+ pound fat guys. Seriously, go find a 400 pound fat guy that you know, ask him to throw a drop kick, and tell us how that goes.

It's been rather annoying reading some of the opinions on this thread, and I'd like to comment on a few in particular.

Kurt Angle - someone said he just beat a bunch of guys at the Olympics, and that doesn't make him athletic. Do you know what the Olympics are? That was honestly one of the most assinine things I've ever read.

The Rock - someone said they didn't think he'd be successful in other sports, so he isn't athletic. Before he was a pro wrestler... he played PROFESSIONAL football. He played NCAA football. I don't care what level he was at professionally. He played pro. You need to be an athlete to do that.

Bret Hart - before he went pro, he was an amateur wrestling champion in Alberta. Had he not gone pro, their was talk he could have gone to the Olympics. Athletic.

Shawn Michaels - No one who wasn't gifted athletically could ever do the things he did in the ring. It takes a lot of athleticism to be able to bump the way he did, and not cripple yourself.

Amateur wrestling is just technique and not athletic? - No. Amateur wrestling is extremely athletic. Try it sometime.

The most athletic wrestler ever? Too many to choose from. The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels, Shelton Benjamin, John Morrison, Bam Bam Bigalow, Curt Hennig, Kurt Angle, Brock Lesner, The Iron Sheik (when he was younger), Bob Backlund... the list goes on and on. I can't pick one, but there are just a few of the guys I'd put at the top of that catagory.

 

[HBsam31]

This is one of the tougher threads so I read some posts, thought about it for a while, and I tend to agree with Mustang Sally in that Shelton Benjamin would excel in any sport that he attempted. Some people are just born with that type of athleticism, and I think he has it. A very close second for me would be Brock Lesner. I know he got cut in football, but it takes a lot to even get as far as he did. I respect all of the WWE stars, but being good in a wrestling ring doesn't make you an automatic athlete just the same as being a good baseball player doesn't. Athleticism is not something that you learn. It is something you are born with, and the two i mentioned definitely have it.

 

[mr.perfect88]

Lol if you name more then 2 ppl then you should be ignored. Theres only 2 names that are valuable and intelligent answers. thats Mr. Perfect and Owen Hart. These 2 had the most amazing matches during their time and if they were still alive, they could keep pae with kofi Sin Cara or anybody else you can think of. Really Brian Pillman was way more athletic then some of the names I've seen, I mean shoot Undertaker is for a big guy. I think some og these answers are bias.

 

[Peoples_Champ]

Fantastic question, but ultimately it will be an endless debate because the criteria is so subjective and there's very little we know about the wrestlers' before they got into the ring. The Rock and Faarooq (among countless others) played college football, does that make them more athletic than a spot monkey type (Kofi Kingston or Evan Bourne)?

For the record, Ric Flair deserves some credit. He was always seen working out constantly. In Bret's autobio, he pointed out that Flair was always the most fit wrestler in the game. He would party all night then be up early as hell to sweat out his demons. All this late into his 60s and after surviving a plane crash. I'm not a Ric Flair fan per se, but if that's not athleticism, I don't know what is.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

Nobody is mentioning Hulk Hogan. The man has been totally ripped for longer than most of us have been alive.

Ted Arcidi once held the world bench press record. Mark Henry at one point in his career was one of the if not THE strongest man in the world. Roadwarrior Hawk and Animal both were quick, agile and could both bench over 500lbs.

Hell as much as I hate John Cena, I've seen videos of him deadlifting over 600lbs on Youtube. On top of that, the guy has a ton of endurance, he's quick and agile. He's definitely a genetic wonder.

 

[sicmcnasti]

If John Morrison ever competed in sport I'd have legit gone with him, but alas he didn't. Guys like Rock, Pillman and Goldberg just didn't really show enough in the ring. Pillman I would say got hampered by the car accident, but fell into an amazing gimmick that didn't require athleticism. The shot against Brock actually has to do with his second foray into 'real sport'. In the UFC, he demonstrated nothing but the giant heavy blanket technique and that hurts how people will see his athleticism. truth be told, Brock doesn't win the UFC title from Couture if Randy doesn't get away from his game plan. He was winning the fight until he let himself get grabbed and human blanketed.

Morrison did do Greco-Roman style wrestling so alas you're wrong, junior. Also with guys like Rock and Goldberg they were football players so they're supposed to be big. Being big gives you ability in some areas and limitations in others. There needs to be a more specific question as far as athleticism goes because you're dealing with too many key factoros. If you mean in agility, endurance, and power then Kurt Angle and Shelton Benjamin are the top two with the edge being to Benjamin because there are things he did that we wouldn't normally see. Out of the current roster I'd give it to Kofi Kingston.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

Morrison did do Greco-Roman style wrestling so alas you're wrong, junior. Also with guys like Rock and Goldberg they were football players so they're supposed to be big. Being big gives you ability in some areas and limitations in others. There needs to be a more specific question as far as athleticism goes because you're dealing with too many key factoros. If you mean in agility, endurance, and power then Kurt Angle and Shelton Benjamin are the top two with the edge being to Benjamin because there are things he did that we wouldn't normally see. Out of the current roster I'd give it to Kofi Kingston.

Yeah, words like Athletic are too vague. I mean, typically we're thinking of guys who are doing incredible leaps, real quick, great dexterity and endurance. But a powerhouse is just as athletic as one of those guys too. Just in a different way. Really, most of the current WWE roster I would consider to be highly athletic. Khali being one of the exceptions to that.

I mean even if they move like a tree in the ring, if they have that bodybuilding look, they are probably incredible athletes. I really think there is no way to judge who is MORE since somebody like Ziggler is totally differently athletic to say Mason Ryan or even Ryback. I'm sure if we all had no lives, we could probably come up with some imperfect system to quantify their athleticism though.

 

[HeenanGorilla]

Goddamn.. that's a hard question. I mean.. honestly.. beyond the preconceptions of the business. , most "athletes" couldn't do what these guys do for twenty minutes.
When you say athlete ... that's so vague. Since we are talking about wrestling.. I have to say.. .as far as the "athletics of wrestling" are concerned... well.. you can't even be in the conversation until you have done an iron man match then. The defining of a wrestling athlete is tough. .. Because you are talking about a whole different set of skills and endurance. As far as it being Kofi... nope. Kofi is an awesome athlete . ... maybe.. I don't know. He's definitely extremely talented and is developing into a real great wrestler.

As far as Athlete are you talking about real world athletics? Are you talking physical IQ? Or are you talking about who is the most physically gifted performer?
Athletics.. its probably Goldberg or Brock. or as the Mark that I am... Mr. Perfect... ( i saw those promo videos.. super athlete 2000)
Physical IQ, probably Angle, CmPunk comes to mind, Bret and Shawn as well Triple H, Flair,
Gifted? The Undertaker, Hogan, Rey, Austin Aries, RVD (his body just bends in ways unthinkable. .. ever seen him laid back-first over a steel railing.. makes you want to cry)

Athletic is real hard to discuss. If you have the old skool wrestling training that lets you wrestle for 40 minutes at a time.. you are an Iron man.. a total freak. As a fat man.. I want to say Beautiful Bobby Eaton, Samoa Joe, Dusty, totally gifted cuz they did what they did.

Can Kofi jump the highest.. maybe... is he becoming amazing to watch.. and this is a real special time to watch him.. sure...
Best Athlete... fuck... thats just tough. Too many great athletes.. at different things... MARK HENRY... Kurt Angle.. One had a record to prove it .. the other had gold medals... followed by Brock who had Gold from another sport.

What a terrible ramble making a mountain out of a molehill. Mark Henry...yeah ok, that's where the OP was going with this. Terrible.

My choice is Shelton Benjamin. I agree Kofi is way up there. But, SB is my pick. Running up the ladder, his high spots, his technical manuevers. I always wished he was showcased more.

And let me go back to the previous posts for a second. So many posts on this board have people responding with "too vague" "can't say for sure because you aren't specific enough" That's why boards exist, dummies. So, different people can share their opinions. IWC is so hellbent on repeating and repeating the "facts" that the rest of the IWC agree on. Most of you answer with "Wrestler X...nuff said" or "So-and-so...no need for explanation" Yeah that's fun! Thanks for logging on. Vague questions is what causes debate. If you are looking for specifics, go to a trivia page. Idiots.

 

[justtxyank]

Athletic implies being an athlete. Given that wrestling is a rehearsed preformance, the only guys you can really consider are guys who have genuinely played or performed in sport at a high level. This means at a minimum College. With that being said the one and only answer, you would think, is Kurt Angle. He won the Olympic Gold medals 'with a broken freakin neck'. lol BUT, I would actually say that Shelton Benjamin demonstrates more athletcism in a pro wrestling ring that Angle does. If John Morrison ever competed in sport I'd have legit gone with him, but alas he didn't. Guys like Rock, Pillman and Goldberg just didn't really show enough in the ring. Pillman I would say got hampered by the car accident, but fell into an amazing gimmick that didn't require athleticism. The shot against Brock actually has to do with his second foray into 'real sport'. In the UFC, he demonstrated nothing but the giant heavy blanket technique and that hurts how people will see his athleticism. truth be told, Brock doesn't win the UFC title from Couture if Randy doesn't get away from his game plan. He was winning the fight until he let himself get grabbed and human blanketed.

Brian Pillman wrestled for 11 years. Shleton Benjamin is right around that number. If Pillman didn't show enough then Benjamin certainly hasn't.

Athleticism is a really hard word to define. A lot of people in this thread are limiting it strength. For me, athleticism means the quick twitch muscle movements. Explosiveness, regardless of strength.

Lifting 800 pounds isn't a sign of athleticism, it's a sign of strength.

I'm going to go with Goldberg. He was obviously not a great wrestler, but his explosion was insane. The way he would just explode into maneuvers was awesome to watch. A lot of people have said that anyone could have done his role, but I disagree. His athleticism is what made it work. He was an athletic freak of a monster that moved fast in the ring and when he hit the spear it looked like it would hurt. A freight train just exploding into your midsection. I think Shamrock is another one that could fit on the list.

 

[RockandSock]

when I think athletes I think far beyond wrestling. Just because somebody is muscular does not make then a great athlete. Kurt Angle is an Olympic Gold Medalist therefore he may be the best athlete ever. Also Ken Shamrock and Shelton Benjamin come to mind as great athletes. 1996 Shawn Michaels was an amazing athlete and as far as the WWE today I would say Dolph Ziggler hands down.

 

[The HEEL JuiceLee]

I got to show some love to Ron Simmons.He was a heisman finalist on the defensive side of the ball.I think if he would of went to WWE around 92 he would of been 1 of wrestlings biggest stars ever!!!

Then there is Brian Pillman.The man had almost 50 surgeries on his throat before the age of 7,then went on to make it to the NFL when he played behind Refridgerator Perry in college.The Fridge had to of been atleast 150lbs heavier then Pillman,so for Flyin Brian to get noticed by NFL scouts he had to be one hell of an athlete. I havent even mentioned he was trained to wrtestle in the dungeon by Stu,Dynamite,& Bret.You think they took it easy on him...HELL NO!!!

Honerable mentions:Big Van Vader,Butch Reed,Randy Savage

 

[HBsam31]

I got to show some love to Ron Simmons.He was a heisman finalist on the defensive side of the ball.I think if he would of went to WWE around 92 he would of been 1 of wrestlings biggest stars ever!!!

Then there is Brian Pillman.The man had almost 50 surgeries on his throat before the age of 7,then went on to make it to the NFL when he played behind Refridgerator Perry in college.The Fridge had to of been atleast 150lbs heavier then Pillman,so for Flyin Brian to get noticed by NFL scouts he had to be one hell of an athlete. I havent even mentioned he was trained to wrtestle in the dungeon by Stu,Dynamite,& Bret.You think they took it easy on him...HELL NO!!!

Honerable mentions:Big Van Vader,Butch Reed,Randy Savage

I had to chime in here and say great call on Brian Pillman. He went through a lot as a kid and overcame it all to make the NFL not to mention the stuff he could do in the ring. That dude had some natural God given talent.

 

[DJS92491]

Definitely a dark horse, but if I had a choice, it would have to be PAC from DGUSA when he eventually enters developmental.

No Superstar, past or present, can defy gravity like that man can.

 

[Rshadow]

I would have to say Kofi because the things he do in the ring is just amazing. Same thing for Shelton who comes in 2nd. Billy Gunn is 3rd. Need proof. Look at the 55 second mark of this video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8RUkjRGAt8

 

[Jdulemba1001]

I gotta go with either Goldberg, Lesnar, or Angle. An athlete is someone who excels at athletic competition. All three are guys who made it in other sports. Whats more athletic than exceeding in more than 1 sport?

 

[Moneyinc]

I'd have to go with Undertaker. The way this guy used to jump was insane. Almost 7 feet tall and he was doing flying clotheslines as if he was a basketball player.