The Most "Once In A Lifetime" Competitor

[S.J. Maximus]

In an era where every successful guy is usually referred to as "The Next ______" or a "Modern day _______" I'm asking you to give me someone who was (or is) simply Once In A Lifetime. A person so great, so epic, that they were not only the first of their kind but the only of their kind. Someone who never replicated, and will never be duplicated.

Feel free to list however many people, just make sure each name you give has a reason behind it. I'll give you my top 3:

3. Mark Calaway / The Undertaker: I imagine this will be a lot of people's top picks, especially since the Undertaker is easily the most unique character of all time. I want to get away from the character though, because to be honest anyone can be given any character at any time. I agree that no one would've been able to make it work as well as he did, but it was because of Mark the man. We are talking about the most agile big man in the history of pro wrestling, a man so dedicated to his craft that even in the digital age he commands a certain level of respect from peers and smarks alike. The only reason he's not #1 is because his whole mystique is so directly related to his gimmick, unlike the two guys I chose ahead of him.

2. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson - You can say he's the first 3rd generation superstar, a group that now boasts the fame of Randy Orton, Natalya, Roman Reigns, and Bray Wyatt. You can say he's the 4th major babyface in WWE history after Bruno, Hogan, and Austin. Neither would quite describe the man now known as Dwayne. He is the only Pro Wrestling World Champion who is also the highest paid actor in Hollywood (sorry David Arquette). He's not in shitty Straight-To-DVD movies like every wrestler today, or corny flicks like Hogan and Piper in the 80's; he is taking lead roles in the biggest movies of the year every year. He completely dominated wrestling as its top face and then completely dominated Hollywood as its top action star. Today, we can say Dwayne has appeared at the last 5 consecutive WrestleManias while he continuously hits it big at the box office. He's bigger than wrestling, is he bigger than Hollywood? Let's get real, he honestly might be larger than life.

1. Brock Lesnar - In my eyes this is a no-brainer. Never before was there ever a more intimidating figure in the WWE. If you thought Ken Shamrock brought legitimacy in 1997, Brock Lesnar completely demolished that ceiling and brought the legitimacy x9000 in 2012. Arguably the greatest athlete in the entire world, I consider myself lucky as a wrestling fan that Brock chose to use his talent to wrestle in WWE. He's the only guy I know that can hit a Shooting Star Press (I know WM19 was bad but YouTube it, he's done it plenty of times) and then throw monsters like Big Show and Mark Henry around like rag dolls. It's going to be hard to recreate the same aura of intensity and reality that Brock brings to every show once he's gone - which is actually one of WWE's biggest problems. Brock is so legitimately tough and skilled, it's really hard to suspend disbelief and accept him losing to pro wrestlers like Dolph Ziggler.


Honorable Mention: Ultimate Warrior, Dusty Rhodes, Mick Foley, Chyna, Randy Savage, Lita, Sting, Steve Austin, Chris Jericho

 

[Mustang Sally]

The first name that occurred to me is.....Bob Backlund.

I was too young to see him in his prime and what I learned about him comes from what I've read and what I've gathered from people older than me, but they told me that the source of Backlund's appeal to so many fans was.....wrestling. No gimmicks, no major programs, no women, no personal revelations on the mic. Just wrestling....and he did it better than anyone else, sold well for his opponents and made everyone look good in the ring.......and apparently, the fans loved it.

Granted, none of it would fly today. Much of today's audience doesn't come for technical wrestling; they come for the spectacle.....and from what older folks told me, you never saw the fans at ringside laughing at the action and trying their best to physically touch the wrestlers while the match was in progress as they do now.

Apparently, they were there to watch wrestling matches. Fancy that!

So, while Backlund was more an extension of guys like Jim Londos and Strangler Lewis in terms of the mode in which he entertained, he is my choice for the 'Once in a Lifetime' category.

If you're a person in your 20's who thinks this choice to be ridiculous, I can understand why you would, since it's the audience that's changed so much since Backlund's era.

Still, for a guy to hold the world championship 5 years while keeping fans at the edge of their seats, Backlund obviously had something special.

 

[peter_midnight]

The first name that occurred to me is.....Bob Backlund.

I was too young to see him in his prime and what I learned about him comes from what I've read and what I've gathered from people older than me, but they told me that the source of Backlund's appeal to so many fans was.....wrestling. No gimmicks, no major programs, no women, no personal revelations on the mic. Just wrestling....and he did it better than anyone else, sold well for his opponents and made everyone look good in the ring.......and apparently, the fans loved it.

Granted, none of it would fly today. Much of today's audience doesn't come for technical wrestling; they come for the spectacle.....and from what older folks told me, you never saw the fans at ringside laughing at the action and trying their best to physically touch the wrestlers while the match was in progress as they do now.

Apparently, they were there to watch wrestling matches. Fancy that!

So, while Backlund was more an extension of guys like Jim Londos and Strangler Lewis in terms of the mode in which he entertained, he is my choice for the 'Once in a Lifetime' category.

If you're a person in your 20's who thinks this choice to be ridiculous, I can understand why you would, since it's the audience that's changed so much since Backlund's era.

Still, for a guy to hold the world championship 5 years while keeping fans at the edge of their seats, Backlund obviously had something special.

I think Lou Thesz would disagree with this and probably Verne Gagne as well. Those guys drew way more money than Bob Backlund and were better wrestlers.

I also disagree w/the Undertaker choice. Mike Awesome was a much more agile big man and better wrestler in my opinion. He just got screwed over due to his choice to listen to distant relative Hulk Hogan and jump to WCW while ECW world champion. But I'm in the Undertaker sucks camp, so I admit I'm biased on this one.

I would say that Goldberg is probably the most once in a lifetime guy. I don't think I've ever seen anyone become a top star so fast while hitting mainstream at the same time. It's very possible that given a better booking situation, he could have broken some box office records as evidenced by his Georgia Dome match against Hogan on Nitro.

I say this as not a big fan of Goldberg's, but I remember in high school that even teachers and coaches, people that never watched wrestling or at least didn't admit to watching it, they liked & watched Goldberg.

Another guy that comes close to once-in-a-lifetime IMO is Bret Hart. That might sound ridiculous at first glance, but how often does a world champion/main event guy come around that can make people like Diesel look good. Chris Benoit was probably the only guy to come close after that, but he never reached the same heights as a Bret Hart.

Also, look at his explosive style of moves. Everything looked sharp, crisp, and mostly (not everything) made you wonder how hard was he actually hitting the guy (particularly the pendulum backbreaker). Couple that with the unique record of main eventing a major pay-per-view as the intercontinental champion while drawing 82,000 fans with Ric Flair, Ultimate Warrior, and Randy Savage were on the card and it's obvious to me that this guy deserves whatever recognition that he gets.

 

[Mustang Sally]

I think Lou Thesz would disagree with this and probably Verne Gagne as well.

Obviously, the choices of each poster in this topic are based on individual opinion, and the two men you chose are undoubtedly good picks.

Those guys drew way more money than Bob Backlund and were better wrestlers.

How do you know what they drew? What are your sources?

Also, how do you know Thesz & Gagne were better wrestlers? I admit to having seen none of them in their prime. Have you?

 

[Seosa]

Mike Awesome? He came across as a complete ******. He looked like a hillbilly when he jumped to WCW & a Sunday Night Heat specialist when he joined WWF. And his mic work, ugh...

I agree with the OP's choice of Brock. With better mic skills he'd be absolutely everything but thank Jebus for Paul Heyman.

 

[OYDK]

I would say that Goldberg is probably the most once in a lifetime guy. I don't think I've ever seen anyone become a top star so fast while hitting mainstream at the same time. It's very possible that given a better booking situation, he could have broken some box office records as evidenced by his Georgia Dome match against Hogan on Nitro.

Brock Lesnar? Both jacked up explosive guys that built their reputations solely on being ass-kickers. Both were super-athletes before their wrestling careers. Both ran through their respective rosters relatively quickly. Neither could speak particularly well. And yet both were on top of the company within a year of debuting. I honestly don't see much difference in these two guys. I would have agreed with you and OP if one of these men had never debuted, but these two were cut from the exact same cloth.

I'll go with Stone Cold Steve Austin. Pretty much the first guy to get thunderously cheered while portraying a very heel character, and he actually turned against the most popular face of the previous era. After watching the squeaky clean Hulk Hogan for over 10 years, I don't think anybody was expecting somebody like Stone Cold to become the next face of the company. From saying your prayers and eating your vitamins to drinking beer, driving monster trucks, and flipping the bird, Stone Cold was the epitome of a new era in wrestling. One that we will likely never come close to again.

Not before or since has somebody been able to capture the anti-hero gimmick as effectively as Stone Cold. And I doubt anybody ever will.

 

[The Yes Guy]

I'd go with Mick Foley.

I do not know a guy that will ever be able to replicate the amount of insanity surrounding his performances.

The whole 3 gimmick thing, the intensity of his matches, his promos, all of it.

There will never ever be another Foley. Ever.

 

[whoopin' ass]

I will agree with Foley.

How about Kurt Angle? There have always been shooters in wrestling but no one like Angle. wwe won't want to admit it but having an Olympic Gold Medalist in your company makes a difference. He also picked up the entertainment side of it very quickly. We have seen other amateur wrestlers get into pro wrestling but none of them have been nearly as good as quick as Angle was.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Shawn Michaels: The ultimate combination of athleticism, wrestling ability, and limitless charisma.

The Undertaker: Nobody else could have taken a cartoonish gimmick and made it work so well, for so long, and become one of the biggest stars of all time. Sadly his entire career was for absolutely nothing since everything he ever did was deleted off his accomplishments and replaced with "Cannot defeat Brock Lesnar".

Kurt Angle: In my book, the single most gifted technical wrestler of all time. It's truly sad that WWE passed on the opportunity to bring back Angle by refusing to give him a part-time schedule. He's a million times more deserving of it than Brock Lesnar and a million times better.

 

[J.D Lethal]

I would add John Cena hate him or love him the man no one will ever be like him he is once in a generation person and sooner or later will be a 17 time champ.

I'll put in HHH as he man who went from being buried to creating a faction that changed wrestling to becoming the Game and say what you want but there will never be another game.

Also i'll add women Trish,Lita,AJ,Gail Kim,Kong and hell Sara Del Ray and Kana they are real game changers in Women's Wrestling.

 

[edgehead113]

It's the Rock, plain and simple.

No one will ever be able to duplicate his success both in the "sports entertainment" industry and at the box office in Hollywood. While Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar give the industry "real" wrestling superstars, the Rock is and will always be the guy who brings in the most attention from a global perspective, as he's the most recognizable superstar in the history of the industry.

That doesn't even account for how great he is and was on the mic, how good he was in the ring in his prime, and how he was - heel or face - the character that could draw money with anyone in the attitude era

 

[hbkmark]

Obviously, when you call yourself "HBKmark" one of the answers to this is obvious. Shawn Michaels went from generic long-haired athletic guy to the highlight of each night. Seamlessly going from Heel to Baby Face to Truly Obnoxious Heel that started an era and then the most respected guy in the business puts him over the top. Guys took his template and kept taking it farther because they knew that everything they did would be compared to the original.

The other is Kurt Angle. The Olympic Gold Medal was his ticket to fame and fortune but it could have also been the ticket to being boring. The character could have been incredibly dull as with every Olympian who preceded him but being able to be a Heel Olympic Gold Medialist because he was so full of himself was brilliant. Also, he kept tweeking things from the personality to the move set he used and we have one of the Best Ever.

On the other end of things, I still believe that Barry Horowitz was brilliant. To become a world famous jobber simply by doing the Pat Himself on the Back gimmick was Genius. He made the stars look good and was never a threat and yet he worked for years and was as well-known as someone in that position could be.

 

[mkw1962]

The most well known by wrestling fans and non wrestling fans would have to be The Rock, he is awesome in the ring and the best on the mic. you can not duplicate him.
The gimmick would have to go to Undertaker there will never be another one like him.
Wrestling skills and in ring ability goes to Kurt Angle he was the best forget about Brock Lesnar(boring).
Rick Flair and John Cena have the hardware and HBK is my personal favorite but I would have to say Undertaker, you can make another Rock or Stone cold, there is going to be great in ring technicians but there will never be another Undertaker they can try like with Bray but it is not the same.
I am just sorry to see that streak come to and end by someone like Brock, it should have never ended.

 

[tdmoon]

I'm a little surprised nobody has mentioned Andre the Giant. There are a lot more big wrestlers out there now so the size isn't the huge deal it was during his era. His stature and reputation was such that he was not only a huge attraction in wrestling but outside the sport as well. Near everybody, wrestling fan or not, knew who Andre the Giant was. He didn't even have to do much wrestling, just show up and he was among the most popular wrestlers in the world for a long time. There's also the fact that his Wrestlemania match with Hogan my be the biggest event in the history of wrestling. He's one of the most well-known men to ever step into the ring and he didn't even need angles or great opponents to be so-all he had to do is be Andre.

 

[relentless1]

Hogan. Nobody will ever be able to singe handedly carry a company on his back like Hogan did in the 80s, nobody will have the crossover appeal that Hogan did purely as a wrestler, Rock doesnt count because he's transitioned into being a full time actor now. Hogan was the man that the WWF was built around and he was solely responsible (as a superstar) for the wrestling boom that elevated the entire industry not just the WWF

 

[Wald]

Good question because it makes you skirt around the 'who sold more PPVs' way of looking at top guys. When I sat down and thought about I'm not sure I'd pick guys like Austin, Hogan, Cena, Bret, Michaels or Triple H for this. I know a lot will disagree but I think you could plug someone else into their spots and at least have a chance of getting that guy to the main event. Then there are guys like Foley and Savage who are so unique it is hard to say they were anything other once in a lifetime.

For me though I think it probably does come down to the three listed in the OP. I'd probably switch The Rock to being number one though.

 

[MrMojoRisin]

When talking 'once in a lifetime', I can't really look at the actual gimmicks they had, but rather the men behind them.

Andre the Giant - There had been big men before him, and there were big men after him. Some of them were able to 'wrestle' better. Do more in the ring. Talk better. Have better matches. All of that. But no other 'Giant' was able to catch the imagination of fans literally everywhere like Andre. Before Andre, shows were sold by traditional means. By championships. By hot feuds. If fans were going to buy a ticket to see one particular guy, you had to spend time building up that guy to get your local fans invested in him. If that guy went to another territory, the process would have to start again and he'd have to be rebuilt, and new fans would have to get invested in him.

With Andre, that wasn't the case. People all over bought tickets to watch Andre, even if they'd never seen him before. His reputation preceeded him. He was larger than life. You never needed to give Andre a title belt to get him over, which was never even a concept promoters had until Andre came along. And people wanted to see Andre wherever he went.

Hulk Hogan - Hogan's success followed a similar formula to Andre's. Larger than life attraction that people everywhere couldn't get enough of. But where Andre never needed a title to get over, part of Hogan's appeal was that he was the champion. Where no other wrestler had entered popular culture like Andre had previously, the footprint Hogan left on pop culture dwarfed Andre's.

Hogan basically was professional wrestling. He was the guy who's name everyone knew. His was the face that everyone recognized. He was the guy that helped kick off boom periods over a decade apart. Simply put, he's the biggest star wrestling has ever seen.

The Rock - You can only include the Rock in a category like this because of his post wrestling career. When he was a full time wrestler, he was huge. No question about that. He'd have never gotten the breaks he did if he wasn't. But something that's been a little ret-conned about the Rock over time is the fact that when he was active, he was at best the 1B to Austin's 1A. If you took the Rock off of the show, people were still happy that they had Austin. If you took Austin off of the show, people were never content with just the Rock. They still needed their Stone Cold fix.

But the Rock was a huge, charismatic star in wrestling. Was he the most charismatic guy that ever set foot in a ring? No. Was he the greatest wrestler to ever set foot in a ring? No. Did he get the best opportunities to cross over to Hollywood? No.

Some might read that, think of where he is today, and not understand how he didn't get the best opportunities. But look at where Dwayne Johnson first started? The Mummy Returns was a big movie, but I wouldn't say that the part of the Scorpion King when written was any bigger than Thunderlips, or that the Mummy Returns was a bigger movie for it's time than Rocky 3.

Plenty of wrestlers probably had better initial opportunities in Hollywood. What made the Rock a once in a lifetime guy though... is how he made the most of that initial shot. He transformed a bit part into a sequel based off of his character. He parlayed that into new feature films. He became one of the biggest stars in the World.

You're never going to see another professional wrestler reach the heights that the Rock reached.

 

[Goldie]

I wouldn't disagree with many of the picks here but to name one guy? Hulk Hogan?

Never has one single wrestler transformed the wrestling industry.
Sure it was Vince McMahons brainchild to globalise the product and bring wrestling to the mainstream audience... but he needed the right guy to spearhead the campaign- which is why he specifically chose Hogan and raided him from the AWA.
Whereas the previous big champion Bob Backlund represented old school wrestling and athletism... he was quietly spoken and bland compared to Hogan- loud and boisterous, full of catchphrases - and the perfect guy for Vince to market his product to kids and casual adults. The boom period also popularised the PPV market, mass production of wrestling merchandise and it was Hogans name and face that drove this brand awareness.

Even now over 30 years later Hogan is still the most famous wrestler ever (note Rock is now better known for his films than is wrestling).
You ask 100 random people to name a wrestler and Hulk Hogan will get the most replies.

Hogan literally bulldozed through the industry and brought it into the sports entertainment era. Austin, Cena, Hart, Michaels, Taker etc. all benefited from the foundations that Hogan laid down for them.

 

[FlairFan2003]

For me "Once In A Lifetime" means one of two things....their look & gimmick was so original and different (as well as being polarizing & popular) that they are memorable all time for that alone as much as their matches and career....or they were so incredibly popular they eclipsed everyone by a wide margin and set a new standard in marketability.

Ric Flair: Easily one of the most popular wrestlers all time, but his look and gimmick were heavily gleaned from "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers. Flair took it creatively to a new level, adding some of the Joe Namath vibe to it, but he basically took something that worked elsewhere and improved it - That's great, that's not "Once In A Lifetime" - His over all career is incredible and among athletes and stars of today he is probably the most popular but.....

Shawn Michaels: Michaels basically took Flair's character and adjusted it by making it a bratty kid instead of a grown adult. Again, another example of taking someone else's look, promos, and style and adjusting it to fit you.

HHH: See Shawn Michaels

Rock: Hugely popular, but much of his presentation and promo style was very similar to Flair & HBK - and he only wrestled for a brief time before leaving the industry and becoming a film star - In terms of popularity he was huge but he wasn't leaps and bounds ahead of the other top stars of his time (Austin, Foley, Flair, Hogan, Sting, Nash, Goldberg, etc).

Austin: He's close - his basic gimmick is very NWA/Mid South rebel red kneck, not very groundbreaking for the late 90s as it was at least 20 years old if not older by then. Austin wasn't the first bad guy who's charisma was so strong fans cheered him forcing him to be scripted as a fan favorite, both Flair & The Road Warriors had gone through similar stages, Austin did become a singular sensation in terms of popularity that was unseen since the height of Hulk Hogan in the 1980s. It can be argued that guys like Goldberg & The Rock were neck and neck with him in term of marketability and popularity at his height as well as a few others already named but Austin appeared to be bigger at his height than all of them. In terms of the height of his presence on the national scene it's close with him, but we'd already seen guys like Hogan enjoy that kind of success before (and Goldberg was enjoying the same level of popularity in WCW at the same time). He's not the best choice....

Hulk Hogan: He was the public face of wrestling during the biggest business boom the industry has ever seen, the biggest star the biggest company pinned all of their major stories around during the biggest expansion nationally and internationally that company or the industry in general ever experienced. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated and even main evented a pro wrestling special on network television that was watched by more than 15 million people (we will probably never see that level of wrestling entertainment treated as mainstream and culturally significant ever again). Like Austin he his height included some of the most popular and marketable stars of all time as well (Dusty Rhodes, Andre, Randy Savage, Flair, Roddy Piper) but there always seemed to be a bigger gap between Hogan and his nearest rivals than their was between Austin & his. In short, Hogan became the industry's biggest star ever and was the face of it's greatest boom period, Austin was the biggest star in a big boom. Hogan's gimmick was heavily borrowed from Billy Graham and Dusty Rhodes. He is a good choice here because of his importance in the 80s and just how huge his star got and I wouldn't necessarily argue with someone who chose him, but I do knock him down a peg for how much his look & gimmick were gleaned from other top stars.

Undertaker: This is my choice - he's a legend, who like Flair & Hogan has transcended at least three different generations of wrestling fans and maintained top star power the entire time, consistently among the biggest drawing names of every era he has been a part of. While not quite as well known outside die hard wrestling circles as Hogan, Flair, Austin, Rock, he is well known (there were actually TV news reports that mentioned when his WrestleMania streak ended). And simply put, that gimmick is as original as they come. I don't think that even needs a discussion. This was probably the most stupid gimmick Vince ever came up with (in a period of horrible gimmicks, The Red Rooster, voodoo master Papa Shango, Isaac Yankem the evil dentist, Repo Man, Skinner the backwoods man, a LOT of terrible gimmicks) and everyone of them very quickly fell flat and died on impact....except this one. It takes rare combination of charisma of skill to get fans invested and keep them interested in you when your basic character is A) written really bad B) totally unbelievable, a joke - Taker was saddled with option B out of the gate and instead of failing like all of the others I named he actually did very well, extremely well. For me Undertaker is my choice as a "Once In A Lifetime Star"

 

[DetectiveZelix]

Brock Lesnar hands down in terms of physicality and being athletically blessed

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

For me, based on purely their impact on wrestling (and not additional things like movies- which is why I didn't pick The Rock), there are 2 stand outs for me.

Hulk Hogan and Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Hogan is without a doubt the single most famous and important figure in wrestling history. He is the guy (coupled with Vince's genius) that made professional wrestling mainstream, and even until the end of the 90s was headlining PPVs month after month and without a doubt the most recognisable face ever in wrestling. He was THE man for so long, the guy the fans believed in, he looked like a superhero (the look that Vince loves) and even today hearing "Real American" would make an arena pop. EVERYONE knows Hulk Hogan, not just wrestling fans. He truly was/is THE superstar in wrestling.

If Hogan brought wrestling out of little arenas and into the mainstream, then Austin is the guy who took in to the next level. His immense (and unexpected) popularity in the late 90s helped WWE out of the doldrums and to levels of success and profit never seen before. The whole Austin persona connected with the crowd better than any other gimmick, as fans could live vicariously through Austin as he was able to do what so many of them wished they could- beat up their boss. Austin's bad ass character fitted perfectly with the times and the WWE's new target audience of teenagers-adults. He led the move to the new WWE attitude and helped the company defeat WCW and remain the dominant brand in wrestling.

 

[THTRobtaylor]

Truly I think Dwayne/The Rock is the one who is "Once In A Lifetime" - for all Hogan's success, Austin's explosion, Taker's longevity or Brock's legitimacy - Rock is the one who has not only become the most popular and successful wrestler ever, but the top guy in Hollywood. Arguably only Robert Downey Jr. is in front of him at the minute in terms of earning power, buzz and being able to get a movie made on his name alone.

A high percentage of people of the planet know who Dwayne is, have seen at least one film of his and knew going in he was a wrestler called The Rock... No one else has come close to that and I doubt you will see it again.

 

[ShinChan]

For me There are three....
Goldberg
Stone Cold Steve Austin
The Ultimate Warrior
I love these three...... They were/are awesome...

 

[CrucifiedRaven]

The Rock is no more "once in a lifetime" than any top babyface like Cena, Austin or Hogan.

There is an ongoing debate between Rock / Austin, Hogan / Flair, etc - so if you can be closely compared to a peer like that, you're clearly not once in a lifetime. Cena is a bland, watered down version of these guys who draws half as much as they did. He's a dime a dozen, so not him either.

The Undertaker and Brock Lesnar are good choices. Undertaker for longevity and uniqueness of gimmick alone. Lesnar for sheer size and athleticism. Andre The Giant should be considered here as well, for similar reasons. It's hard to pick one, but you could probably at least pick "once in a generation".

Once in a lifetime means you're never going to see someone like them again. Have we seen another Hogan? Yes, we have. Have we seen another Cena? 10 of them. Can you say you've seen another 'Taker or Lesnar? Not really...

 

[OYDK]

Can you say you've seen another Lesnar? Not really...

Again I'll say, Goldberg? Both huge athletes before their wrestling careers. Both got over on sheer presence and intensity alone. Both sucked on the mic but were champs within a year of debuting. Only difference really is Brock's wrestling ability.