The best TECHNICAL wrestler ever....

[CM_PUNK1995]

Hey guys, this thread may have already been brought up but I just wan't to ask you guys, who in your opinion is the best techincal wrestler ever?

Im asking this because there's guys that who get a long way in the wwe just because of sheer popularity rather than wrestling talent. Guys like Batista, Cena and even the legendary Hulk Hogan. Now im not saying they were bad wrestlers im just saying there are guys who were better but they were given less.

For me, I have to say there are three main contender's that were or are the best technical wrestler's.

1. Chris Benoit - His nickname ( The Rabid Wolverine) suited him very well. When he applied a submission move, better yet every move he did in the ring, he did with aggression. He could sell a move better than them all. When he applied that crippler crossface you knew the match was over or his opponent was severely injured.

2. Bret " The Hitman" Hart - He is the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be, When he stepped into that ring, you knew the match was gonna be special.

3. Kurt Angle - He is an Olympic gold medalist. What more can I say? Kurt Angle is no doubt one of the best technical wrestlers of all time. He never in his career had a bad match. Most of if not all his big matches were classics. His submission holds are clean and tight as anyone's, ever. Forget about the fact that he is a nine-time world champion. When he locked on that ankle lock I knew the match was over and just turned the channel.

I couldn't split between the three of them, all three are just pure perfection, but that's enough about my favourite what about yours?

 

[Bill.]

Owen Hart, Bret Hart, Kurt Angle, Daniel Bryan, & CM Punk(no, I didn't jump on the bandwagon). I can't place any of these guys in a particular order, but there all some of the best ever. The only reason I didn't mention Chris Benoit is because I never really liked the guy, so I was never entertained much by his fantastic skills. Plus, after what he "did", even though it didn't involve his skills, I personally feel that no one deserves to be the best of something after that. Sorry to any Benoit fans, but this is just my opinion. Then again, I don't remember much of Benoit. Still, all of the others I mentioned have put on some of the best matches of all time, even with guys who aren't good on their own. So that's what I think.

 

[CM_PUNK1995]

Owen Hart, Bret Hart, Kurt Angle, Daniel Bryan, & CM Punk(no, I didn't jump on the bandwagon). I can't place any of these guys in a particular order, but there all some of the best ever. The only reason I didn't mention Chris Benoit is because I never really liked the guy, so I was never entertained much by his fantastic skills. Plus, after what he "did", even though it didn't involve his skills, I personally feel that no one deserves to be the best of something after that. Sorry to any Benoit fans, but this is just my opinion. Then again, I don't remember much of Benoit. Still, all of the others I mentioned have put on some of the best matches of all time, even with guys who aren't good on their own. So that's what I think.

Im a BIG daniel bryan (bryan danielson) fan, he so fast and fluent in the ring, and without a doubt technically he is definetly one of the best at the moment, and in the coming years he'll be up there with Kurt Angle and the other greats.

 

[Rockyfolifebo!!!]

I don't mean to offend anyone, but I think Chris Benoit was the best TECHNICAL wrestler of all the times! Ignoring the double-murder, suicide case, WRESTLING WISE, Chris was a genius. The viciousness in his moves, the intensity with his attacks, he made it look like it hurt. Especially when he locked in the crippler crossface. Sometimes, I thought he was gonna rip his opponents head off his damn shoulders. Plus, Chris was also good at selling bumps. At one time, I did consider him one of my favorites. It's a shame things ended up the way they did. :/

 

[FlairFan2003]

Steven Regal was very good too, though he didn't have as many opportunities to show it in WWE. I really liked his best of 5 series of strict rules "technical wrestling" matches vs Flair in 94.

The reason some of the better "technical" wrestlers don't get over as much is because you need a lot of charisma and speaking ability (promos, crowd interaction) to truly get over. That's why a Benoit or Malenko, neither of whom ever did anything memorable on a microphone and were average at best at working a live crowd, never got the same reactions as guys like Cena and Rock, guys with slightly above average skills sets but lots of character.

 

[TREE24K]

I can't believe I'm the first to mention him, but IMO you can't have a discussion about the best technical wrestlers ever without Dean Malenko being at or near the top of everyone's list. The man wasn't called "the Man of 1000 Holds" for nothing. Look at any of his feuds ever. He always put on a clinic. His ECW and WCW matches were his best by far. WWE didn't know how to use him.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I'd toss Bob Backlund in there, too. His amateur background was outstanding and he applied it well as WWWF champion for five years. Most of the others mentioned in this topic were great at the technical aspect, but mixed in tons of brawling. Backlund was one of the few modern-day wrestlers who remained true to the technical side as a pro.

 

[nWo2]

Technical Wrestler is based off mat-skills, grappling, submissions, innovation and etc..

Benoit don't judge him on anything besides his ability in the ring is not the political choice, but its not the sentimental choice either. He's the best because he sold moves better than anyone else during his run.

He's always been my favorite technical wrestler from his fueds with Booker T over the TV title to his run as a heavyweight (albeit undersized) champion.

2. Taz
3. Kurt Angle.... damn maybe Kurt needs to be #1???? hmmm
4. Bret Hart only because he lacked the intensity, but not skill of Benoit.
5. Mr. Perfect

 

[S.J. Maximus]

Bret Hart has to get my vote for best technical wrestler ever, but Benoit and Angle are definitely right behind him. Bret truly was the Excellence of Execution, and was one of the best storytellers in the history of the sport, as well as the best seller. He might not have sold particular moves as well as other guys did but he always sold the weariness and fatigue that settled in during a grueling match. If an opponent worked on his ankle, he'd limp all the way backstage, if they worked on his arm he'd be too weak to hold the belt with it.

The Hitman was simply the best ever at putting on a match that seemed both real and compelling. That's why Hart (the best in ring worker ever) and Michaels (the greatest storyteller ever) put on the greatest matches in WWE history.

 

[ChiefAlot]

Best technical wrestler of all time just happens to be my favorite wrestler of all time. Chris Benoit. Most of his matches if not all were done well and he sold bumps extra well. I would even go out on a limp and say that some cruiserweights could fit in this catagory. Dean Malinko, Chris Jericho, Rey Mysterio Jr (his younger years), Bob Backlund was also very sound in his wrestling abilitys. I would also say the best Big man to me is Big show. good on his feet and he did do some high risk moves. Good thread

 

[Foshinzo]

I don't know if it's accurate to make this argument, but I will. By my vote, Kurt Angle is the greatest technical wrestler, ever.

First off, I defy you to name one bad Kurt Angle match. Don't literally do it, because you probably can, but I still think it makes the point. The thing that separates Kurt from other great technical wrestlers is his intensity when performing. Sure, Benoit had a lot of intensity too, but how often did you see Benoit jump straight up to the top rope, catch a guy, and belly to belly suplex them over his head? Angle was one of the greatest wrestlers ever, but when you combine it with his athleticism and endurance, and you had a wrestling machine. In his prime, which I consider around Wrestlemania 20 and 21, no one could touch Kurt, in the ring. Honestly, I think Kurt got by completely on his wrestling. Sure, the milk bath was funny, but when he ditched the goofy crap and got his head shaved, suddenly he was one of the most intimidating people you'd ever seen.

The list of guys who could keep up with Kurt is really long; Bret, Owen, Bulldog, Dynamite Kid, Benoit, Eddy, Malenko, Jericho, Lesnar, Michaels, Hennig, Flair, probably Savage, etc. are all amazing wrestlers just off the top of my head that could go/have gone with Angle. However, Angle had the X-Factor, and by that I mean he was possibly the most believable of the bunch. I really hope Angle gets his life together, too. I love Kurt as a performer, he's a top ten all-timer for me, and I'd hate to see him hurt himself. If he could get straightened out and maybe even make a comeback to the E, even if it's just for one last match (Taker's #20?), I would be ecstatic.

P.S.
I really wanted to pick Malenko and show him some love, because I think he's right up there with Benoit and nobody gives him credit for it, but Angle is my pick. I don't know what it is about the late 90s/early 2000s guys, but I wish that style would come back. There's a lot of good wrestlers in the business, still, but none of them had the same feel. Maybe if the E brings in some ROH guys, then we could see more of this, because that style is still big, there. I think the high flying, Cruiserweight style reigns over a lot, these days, but I'd rather see a return from the catch/shoot wrestlers. From Lou Thesz to Brock Lesnar, that style always entertains. I mean, it's wrestling, for God's sake!

 

[OwenHart100%legend]

Because i cant split them and I really can't live with the guilt of picking one over the other Ill say:

Joint 1st. Bret Hart and Kurt Angle

Joint 3rd. Owen Hart and The Great Khali lol no Chris Beniot

I can not find anything to say that Bret is better than Kurt or vice versa, the same for Owen and Beniot however I do think Owen could have progressed further and would have become even better than he was and he wasn't half bad! RIP Owen

 

[GrandSword]

I'll have to go with Christopher Daniels and Bryan Danielson as the two best technical guys running around today.

Retired I'd go with Dean Malenko. Malenko has innovated many of the moves we see today in the ring and I wish he got more credit for what he has contributed to the industry.

 

[The Future Rises]

So hard to decide. There are a lot of great wrestlers to choose from. So I'm just gonna go with Mr.Perfect Curt Hennig. I didn't see anyone mention him and I think it's a crime to leave him out of this thread. Not only did he have natural charisma. But his in ring skills were great. I think he's on the same level as Bret Hart when it comes to good technical wrestling. And the reason I said Curt Hennig is because no one mentioned him. Like I said before it's a crime to leave him out of this thread.

 

[atkinson1717]

Am i the only one who is gonna credit william reagal here as much as i love jericho and think benoit and angle were awesome technical wrestlers the fact that reagal taught daniel bryan everything he knows as well as being an awesome wrestler himself then my vote goes with reagal

 

[CM_PUNK1995]

I don't think anyone forgot William Regal, as good as he is and even though he trained Bryan Danielson, there are so many wrestlers that are technically superior than Regal. But even though I say that he would have to be in my top 10 as I have so much respect for him.

 

[Davi323]

This is easy. As you can tell by my signature, its Ricky the Dragon Steamboat. I feel sorry for anyone too young to remember his classic matches against Ric Flair, and if you want to see a wrestling clinic, I highly recommend watching his Wrestlemania III match against Randy Savage. Steamboat was an absolute perfectionist in the ring. Then, consider this: when Ricky Steamboat was brought back for a short term program against Chris Jericho a few years ago, the man looked 20 years younger than he had any business looking. Ricky Steamboat, at age 56, 15 years removed from his last competitive match, was a better pure wrestler than 90% of the WWE Roster. 15 years off, still capable of 5 star match.

Technical wrestling means more than just "count the number of moves they know". It also means how WELL do they execute the moves, how fluid do they look in the ring, their overall motion. Ricky Steamboat knew a ton of moves, to be sure...but that isn't why he is the best technical wrestler. Its the way he flawlessly performed the moves that give him the bump. If there is ONE wrestler that could get a wrestling skeptic to change their mind about pro wrestling, it would be Steamboat. Man wasn't just a wrestler, he was an artist of motion.

 

[frostbite2819]

not even close. jack brisco (imo). my uncle has all these old vhs tapes of him and others and i tell you that man could go. all the old timers say he was the greatest ever so i will defer to them.
if anybody were to surpass him it would be angle, but i dont think that will happen.

 

[ThUnDeRpHoEnIx]

Chris Jericho because his the man of 1004 holds including the legendary Armbar.

But seriously Chris Benoit due to his intensity he displayed when he applied hte submission.Bret Hart would be close but he didnt display the intensity of Benoit.

And I also have to put Eddie Guerrero here.He could also go when technical wrestling was needed.

 

[Skinsley]

Chris Benoit.

His in ring ability was all he had.
He didn’t have the look, the size or the ability to talk on the mic.
But Jesus Christ almighty that man could move in the ring! He could make the worst talent look like absolute gold and when he had matches against other great in ring performers they were the best technical matches I have ever seen.

Chris Benoit vs Bret Hart was a match in WCW I watched before being old enough to know anything about in ring performance....infact I probably still thought it was real then. And I loved it and didn’t know why....they weren’t favourites of mine before that match but I was just sold on them because of that match.
A WWE match between Christ Benoit and William Regal took place and at the time I was still oblivious to anything else other than storylines and who won or lost...yet I was hooked on the match, and only recently rewatching them have I come to understand just what it was I was so enthralled by and it was the sheer fluency from start to finish that these guys could put on.

My vote hands down is Christ Benoit.

Bryan Danielson I fear will run out of worthy talent to make such godly matches with unless WWE revive his MITB push soon.