The Greatest WWF/E wrestler ever

[Poop Master Flex]

There has been many legends and greats that have made a name for themselves in the WWF/E. The obvious names are guys like Stone Cold, The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Bruno Sammartino, the list goes on and on!

Now what I would like to hear is who everyone thinks is the best of them all. I would like to keep NWA,AWA,WCW,ect. guys off the list (so no Ric Flairs, Stings, or Steamboats) I'm just want to know guys who established themselves in the WWF.

For me its the Undertaker. I've always said that I feel the Undertaker is the greatest ever and to me this guy had it all, the gimmick (which btw was done really well by Mark Calloway, it definitely wouldn't of worked on someone else), character, charisma, mic skills, in ring ability, to me the guy does pretty much everything well. Another huge reason is longevity, it took the guy less than a year to be a main eventer in the WWF and when he got there he never fell off the charts (granted he was a main event guy often wrestling with horrible workers like Giant Gonzalez) and 20 years later the guy is still near the top of the company and still gets one of the best reactions out of all the guys. Granted he didn't make as much as Hogan or Austin, but he was a main staple during the highs and lows (even as a Bret Hart mark I always felt Taker was maybe the biggest reason why the WWE didn't go under in the early 90's, he kept the ship going so to speak) and he consistently drew money, he still is huge draw today.

Well thats my opinion, but let me know what you guys think and be sure to give a reason.

PS if this thread has been done my apologies.

 

[trendkiller]

The best of them all...

Well, I have to say that in my opinion it's The Rock. He was never the greatest mat technician and wouldn't get a degree in in-ring psychology, but man was he the bee's knees on the stick. Unparalleled, absolute in a class of his own, and to me that is the most entertaining part of wrestling programming. That is not to say he couldn't deliver in the ring and he has a lot of memorable match-ups, but most memorable of all he did were his promos and fantastic skits.

He left the wrestling business the right way, too, no matter what anyone says about "selling out": he left with a loss. That's right, he put someone over in his final match (OK, so it was SCSA, but still...).

On the other hand, if we also gaze forward towards the future, I propose that one of the few to come close to being considered "the greatest of all time" will be Randy Orton. This guy had potential in Evolution and as the Legend Killer, but his talent is only now becoming apparent to a lot of people (despite much exposure in the main event).

I think that when we look back at the 00's and 10's of this new millennium, we are going to remember Randy Orton as one of the truly great wrestlers of his day.

 

[One of a kind]

Well for me its between the best there was the best ther is and the best there ever will be Bret Hart. Then theres the texas rattle snake Stone Cold Steve Austin. Then there is the main event, the show stopper HBK. Then there is the phenom, the deadman (the man who will beat HBK at wrestlemania) the Undertaker. Even though the Undertaker is my favorite wrestler out of those four I have to say HBK. To me he is the most entertaining in the ring and the probably the 4th entertain ing on the mic. Next to the Rock, Steve Austin, and Jericho when he wasn't the heelish person he is now. But over all he is the best WWF/E wrestler ever.

 

[Undertaker the 5th]

For me it is the Undertaker. I am biased because he is my favorite wrestler. I started watching wrestling in late 2002 so I didn't really have a chance to see guys like The Rock and Stone Cold. To me he is the greatest because he can always put on great matches and even to this day is still a main eventer. I think his mic skills are good for a guy who only talks a few times a year. He always entertains me for whatever he does. He has the big Wrestlemania streak. He just is the best for me.

 

[Davi323]

Well, I have to remain consistent...How can it be anyone other than Hulk Hogan? Just from a historical perspective, Hogan for all practical intents and purposes, was the WWF for an entire decade, the decade that was the most crucial in the WWF/E's entire history, as it expanded from being a regional territory to a global one. I have all the respect in the world for Bruno Sammartino, but the WWWF was not as globally relevant as the WWF was in the 80s, and Hulk Hogan is half of that reason. (I give equal shares of credit to Hogan's charisma and McMahon's vision, neither could have done it without the other). Hulk Hogan was a celebrity, when being a wrestler was still almost taboo. Maybe some you younger posters weren't around, but, if you were over the age of 9, you simply weren't able to admit you liked pro wrestling. That is, until Hogan came along. Then it was okay, because everyone knew who he was, even if they didn't watch. Hogan made it okay to admit you watched. I also have all the respect in the world for the Undertaker, Steve Austin, the Rock, etc...but lets face it, their success was only possible because Hogan laid down the foundations first. To draw a comparison to the world of baseball, you have your Mickey Mantles, Lou Gehrigs, Hank Aarons, etc, and some of their stats are very very very good. But, when the discussion comes to who is the greatest baseball player of all time, for most people, its still Babe Ruth. Some have better stats than Ruth, but, Ruth is and probably will always be the biggest name in the history of baseball. Hogan is like that.

Those of you that are too young to have grown up surrounded by Hulkamania when it was in its prime don't understand. You can't. I don't want to claim ageism, but, really, those of you that are say, 25 and younger have only known a post-Hogan wrestling world, and therefore lack a little perspective on exactly what Hogan is actually worth. If you only know of him as the leader of the nWo, you don't know jack.

Hulk Hogan isn't just the greatest WWF/E wrestler ever, Hulk Hogan is the greatest wrestler ever.

 

[un1earn]

Sorry, I still can't take Hogan seriously with his big boot/Leg drop. Even as a kid growing up watching wrestling each time I saw him use it, I thought really? He just kicked out of a chair shot, but the leg drop knocked him out for the 3!?

Anyways, I'd have to say the Undertaker. I am slightly biased as well due to the fact he is my favourite wrestler, however not many people can say they accomplished all he has. Granted he's not in the best physical condition, and hasn't been a 16 time champion or anything though his number of title reigns has grown in the last few years, but here is a guy that has been through it all. Meaning, never left the WWF/E, never had to be THE main event because he was more of an attraction and accepted it. Say what you want about his character, but with his gimmick in my opinion he just can't go stale. They'll always come up with something... for example buried alive, the ring shaking for no reason, coming out from under the ring, the mind games. He hardly needs to make an appearance, just need to hear a gong and some smoke and the fans go nuts. He's been loyal, put people over, hardly selfish other then the obvious...the deadman can't lose a clean fight. On top of that was successfuly with his switch to modern times as the Badass (not something I personally liked) but regardless managed to pull it off with fans either liking him more, or just grew a new fan base though I was always a fan of the original. And he killed Hulkamania twice! How many wrestlers can say they accomplished that?

Please no TNA lovers coming out to attack that comment, i'm just saying if Hogan is considered one of the greatest big leg drop and all...The Undertaker has to be there. He wasn't force fed to the fans, the fans just accepted him and his gimmicks. How many wrestlers can actually scare little kids and make them cry? Thats how believeable he was at his gimmick.

Lots of respect.

I had to mention the following:

If we are referring to actual WRESTLERS, masters of their art you have to include the following:

- Bret Hart
- Mr. Perfect Kurt Henning
- Kurt Angle
- Chris Benoit

 

[Ferbian]

Shawn Michaels hands down.
Shawn has been a employee of WWE for about 22 years (if you count the 4 years he was out due to his back injury) and he has put a long line of MOTY matches, having held the Pro Wrestling Illustrated award for the past 6 years in a row, and 10 in total.
Now that's just a number, and a bunch of people's votings, and it certainly wouldn't count as a proper argument of why Shawn Michaels is THE greatest WWF/E wrestler of all time.
So it's officially time to put some arguments behind my thoughts. Shawn has won numerous championships, being the first Grand Slam Champion, and have been a part of 4 of WWE's very first "gimmick" matches (the Ladder match, the Elimination Chamber, the Iron Man match, and the Hell in a Cell match, 2 of them having a PPV for themself now)
Shawn has had a constant gimmick throughout his whole solo career, being the Heartbreak Kid, and he definatly was, girls loved him (atleast by the sound of the crowd, he was the 90's John Cena girl popularity wise) and has had the same theme music ever since, ultimately changing it a bit to sing it himself.
Shawn has done basicly everything there is to do, and he's been a groundbreaking wrestler throughout all of his career, be it tag-teaming or solo wrestling, Shawn has done it, as the catchline of Shawn Michaels "my Journey" DVD being: You name it, I've been through it.

I could go on ranting about how come Shawn Michaels is the greatest wrestler to ever step foot in the WWE squared ring, but I think I'll just be telling people what they already know.
Many people mentioned The Undertaker, and certainly he is worth a mention without the shadow of a doubt, yet Shawn Michaels just goes a notch above Undertaker, and proves himself in yet another way, could it be put on paper, or added as a title, it would definatly be another accolate to Shawns amazing career.

 

[Mr.Superstar]

Shawn Michaels hands down. Unlike most of the WWE's main eventers he doesn't need a bunch of world title to his name to be a great WWF/F suerstars. He hasn't had a world title since 2002 and he's still had a great career with great fueds. He has alot of charisma and he's mr.wrestlemania he's the head liner he's the main event. But I think he should also have the nick name The Best There Was, The Best There Is, And The Best There Ever Will Be. No one can live up to HBK.

 

[ashe draven]

This is an extremely difficult question to answer. As my opinion could differ on any given day u ask me. There are so many intangibles to take into account.
Hogan- arguably the biggest icon in wrestling. Carried WWE through the '80s and WCW into the monday night war.
Shawn Michaels- Countless unforgettable matches against all the top talent throughout the years. Still to this day may be the best in ring performer. DISPITE serious back problems & previsiously taking off 3 yrs!
The Rock-Best all time on the mic bar none. Electricfying entertainer & multi-time champ. HUGE draw & one of the most popular ever.
Stone Cold- most popular EVER. Almost soley responsible for saving WWE. His character broke the glass ceiling & no one has came close since.
Bret Hart- if u held a gun to my head i'd have to say him. Imo the greatest techician & story teller in the ring. Bret could have a great match against anyone. He made Austin at WM 13. Had the greatest match of alltime against Shawn at WM 12. The greatest i.c. match against Bulldog at SS '92. Was apart of one of the greatest tag teams in the Hart Foundation. He brought up the prestige w/ every title he had & in my opinion the best ever. {Shawn is real close.}

 

[Dr. Stinger A. Zoidberg]

Without a doubt, It's Shawn Michaels. Undertaker, Austin, Trips, Rock, and Angle arent far behind though.

The thing with HBK is that he could turn what should have been a shitty 1 star match, into a match of the year candidate. He could make a jobber look like a legend in the ring. No matter what feud he was put into, he would put his heart and soul into making sure it was great. Automatically, his feud with Chris Masters comes to mind. Masters is pretty good in the ring, however, Michaels pushed Masters to the limit and made it look like Masters was a legend. There will never be another like HBK.

Undertaker, One of the most legendary competitors to ever step into the squared circle. He had it all. Similar to HBK, he could put on a clinic in the ring. He could make you look good too. He brought back many moves we saw from the 80's into Pro Wrestling's 90's and 00's. The Leg Drop, The Old School Rope Walk, the Piledriver, and The DDT were all huge moves in the 80's being perfected by the likes of Hogan, Flair, Rhodes, and Dibiase just to name a few. The Undertaker is the best gimmick the world of Wrestling has ever seen.

Austin, Rock, and Trips single handedly made The Attitude Era what it was in the WWE. Their feuds and alliances with each other, proved to be like something we've never seen before. These guys took the WWE by storm. All 3 men were either in their prime or just starting to get to it. They all headlined countless Wrestlemanias during that time period, and even today, even though many people are sick of it, Triple H is still headlining. When Austin returns, he still gets a pop, and Im sure that when Rock returns, he too will get a huge pop.

Angle- When he was in the WWE, he was great. Arguably one of the best technical wrestlers ever. He was always looking out for you in the ring. When Lesnar botched the SSP at Wrestlemania 19, Kurt was trying to help him get back up, so Lesnar could pin him for the win. Angle is always willing to put a new guy over, and that makes a true superstar.

 

[Safari.GFX]

I must choose three men, and I will explain each.

Ric Flair- One of the best workers in the company. Ate breathed and slept for McMahon and the wwf. great wrestler in his day.

Steve Austin- Great wrestling skills. As Ringmaster, he was one of the best at the time. Raw wrestling talent. After injuring his neck, he became one of the best mic workers of all time. Great heart.

Hulk Hogan- Really propelled the wrestling industry to what it is now. Never going to be a grecco roman champion, but put on some awesome matches.​

 

[8thwotwATG]

Hulk Hogan has been mentioned more than once in the context of this thread, and with good reason: love him or hate him, he is by far the single most important figure in WWF/E history; or pro wrestling history for that matter. There is no wrestler that has come since his near two decades of dominance that could match what he did for the organization. Yes I know that SCSA was huge also, but I still believe that Hogan's legacy still outshines that of SCSA.
This being said, there are a pair of wrestlers that I feel also belong on this list, due partially in part to the influence that they had on the WWF/E, on the business in general, and on Hulk Hogan in particular.
Superstar Billy Graham
All of us oldtimers here on this site that lived in the Northeast during the mid to late seventies knew there was something special about the "Superstar". I have no doubt in my mind that Graham WAS Hogan before Hogan was Hogan. From his colorful ring attire, to his great rap on the mike, Superstar Graham was definitely a man ahead of his time in the WWWF. Not only did the Hulk emulate him to a large degree, so did HHH, Jesse Ventura, and pretty much every single bleached blond muscleman that put on a pair of tights. It's a shame that Graham never got a chance to carry the gold as a face.
The other wrestler that I believe should be mentioned here is Andre the Giant. As a performer, he was probably "over" on a global level almost as much as the Hulk was in his prime as the WWF Champion. Not to mention that he was, up until Hogan's rise in the WWF,he was the single most well known professional wrestler on the face of the earth. I also believe that he helped cement Hogan's legacy as the greatest wrestler of all time when he put him over at WMIII.
Thanks for letting me post, I'm looking forward to seeing some more responses.

 

[Bozzaholic]

Angle is always willing to put a new guy over,

Tell that to Daniel Puder...

My vote goes to Bret Hart. Bret pleased all of the people all of the time with the correct balance of enough in ring technique, psychology & work rate to keep the smarky of marks happy and he was entertaining, great on the mic and had the sort of charisma that would keep the casual fan happy too. Bret's matches always seemed a step up from everyone else's on the card and he always managed to get the best out of who ever he faced, Heck he even managed to get a *** match out of Yokozuna!!

 

[Ferbian]

Tell that to Daniel Puder...

I think what you fail to realize is that Daniel Puder, if you ask me, tried to make a name out of him self going against an established WWE wrestler by directly using an legit MMA move that could've broken Kurt's arm had the hold been kept on for much longer (at least thats what the sources claim).
So I really can't blame Kurt for being downright pissed about Puder, and bringing a bit of influence into the decision.

 

[Travaje]

Shawn Michaels. Steve Austin is second. Shawn has been having the best, or close to the best match on any card he was on since the moment he got there over 20 years ago. That alone gets him the nod, but obviously, Shawn has so much else going for him.

The fact that almost everybody that's ever worked there in the last 20 years would agree and also pick Shawn should speak volumes to those who aren't sure.

I'd like to add, to people who hate on him and that Vince gives him preferential treatment, I don't blame Vince at all. Shawn's biggest achievement may have been the fact that when everyone left WWF for WCW in the mid-90's and he stayed. Remember, these people didn't just leave, they tried to put Vince OUT OF BUSINESS. If I were Vince, I'd hold a grudge against guys like Hogan, Nash, Savage, and so on until the end of time. Shawn deserves everything he wants.

Shawn really has no peers and there will not be another guy on his level to come along, maybe ever.

Had Stone Cold been around twice as long, I could have made an argument, but Stone Cold is a distant second.

 

[SteveAustinsucks]

The Undertaker, no doubt. Followed by Hart and Michaels. Bret Hart carried the company and was in the 90s among with Michaels the best performer in the WWF. Both told a great story in every match.

Austin maybe has done alot fot the business, and revolutionized it and so on. And yeah, maybe Flair called him at the Hall of fame the biggest Superstar in WWE history or something like that.
But Flair was just going with the politics. WWE calls a different wrestler the greatest ever all time. From Hogan to Flair to Austin to Shawn Michaels. Personally I think Austin is the most overrated wrestler of all time, and his matches never were really great in WWF. Austin is not the biggest star in the business. And hes no way bigger than Hogan.

So called Steve Austin was only the biggest draw in WWF.
Hogan was biggest draw for both WWF and WCW. WWF had their highest ratings in 99 - 2000. That was the Rock's time. Not Austin's.
Bishoff changed wrestling with NWO in 96. Attitude era was in 98.

No way i put Austin above Taker, Hart or HBK.