Top 10 Biggest Draws Of All Time

[Skillz]

Who are the top 10 biggest draws of all time?

Hogan is the biggest, I don't think there's much doubt about that. Then there's Austin and Rock who must also be definite top 5 draws. But who else makes the top 10?

What makes for a bigger draw, someone who was a good draw for a long period of time (i.e. Flair), or someone who was a great draw for a short period of time? (i.e. Austin and Rock).

Perhaps there are too many factors to make a realistic and accurate top 10?

Discuss.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

1. Hulk Hogan. Nobody can or will deny this fact. He drew EVERYONE from the territory systems with WWF in the 80's and early 90's. He drew many away from WWF to WCW in the mid-late 90's. He continues to draw whenever he shows up.

2. Steve Austin. Helped SAVE the WWF / WWE in the late 90's by being the major factor in turning the tables against WCW and ultimately putting them out of business. Personal problems aside, this guy may have had a better 5 year run in the business than anyone else EVER, including Hogan.

3. Bruno Sammartino. If you made a short list of the top 5 draws in the history of Madison Square Garden, Sammartino would be in the discussion behind the Knicks, Rangers, Roy Jones Jr., and few others. The man sold out so many MSG shows it's laughable.

4. Mil Mascaras. A legend if ever there was one - he single handedly drew for the IWA and is still one of the WWF's biggest draws. And BTW, you think Flair's longevity is impressive - Mil was born in 1938. That makes him 70. HE STILL WORKS!

5. Dusty Rhodes. Loveable underdog, very identifiable with the common American - wrestling's target audience - who fell in love with the Rocky Balboa's and Rudy Ruddiger's of the world. Helped the NWA stay relevant for a long stretch.

6. Ric Flair. The man drew. Not as big as Hogan or Austin, but he drew. Yes, I understand that much of his draw was the bi-product of working with guys like Rhodes, Morton, and Steamboat - but the man still drew for the NWA and WCW.

7. The Rock. I can't rate him as high as some, because he inherited the boom of the late 90's, whereas it was Austin who basically helped create it. He was a "right place, right time" performer who jumped ship when things cooled off - but thanks to this guy, the word "Smackdown" is in the dictionary.

8. Gorgeous George. In the 50's, it really was Thesz and George. This man really helped solidify professional wrestling as an attraction, selling out Madison Square Garden in the late 50's. Sad story late in his life, but the man drew LONG before TV and PPV made wrestling mainstream.

9. Buddy Rogers. The man drew based off of his good looks, sick physique, and stunning arrogance. He practically INVENTED mic skills. Most of the business's top stars, from Hogan to Flair to Blassie, owe Buddy Rogers a debt of gratitude. This man drew like crazy.

10. Freddie Blassie. The man drew in the territory system like few others could, albeit Atlanta or California. Blassie vs Sammartino basically MADE the WWWF. He even drew in Japan when he feuded with Rikidozan.

 

[Slyfox696]

1. Hulk Hogan. Nobody can or will deny this fact. He drew EVERYONE from the territory systems with WWF in the 80's and early 90's. He drew many away from WWF to WCW in the mid-late 90's. He continues to draw whenever he shows up.

2. Steve Austin. Helped SAVE the WWF / WWE in the late 90's by being the major factor in turning the tables against WCW and ultimately putting them out of business. Personal problems aside, this guy may have had a better 5 year run in the business than anyone else EVER, including Hogan.

3. Bruno Sammartino. If you made a short list of the top 5 draws in the history of Madison Square Garden, Sammartino would be in the discussion behind the Knicks, Rangers, Roy Jones Jr., and few others. The man sold out so many MSG shows it's laughable.

4. Mil Mascaras. A legend if ever there was one - he single handedly drew for the IWA and is still one of the WWF's biggest draws. And BTW, you think Flair's longevity is impressive - Mil was born in 1938. That makes him 70. HE STILL WORKS!

5. Dusty Rhodes. Loveable underdog, very identifiable with the common American - wrestling's target audience - who fell in love with the Rocky Balboa's and Rudy Ruddiger's of the world. Helped the NWA stay relevant for a long stretch.

6. Ric Flair. The man drew. Not as big as Hogan or Austin, but he drew. Yes, I understand that much of his draw was the bi-product of working with guys like Rhodes, Morton, and Steamboat - but the man still drew for the NWA and WCW.

7. The Rock. I can't rate him as high as some, because he inherited the boom of the late 90's, whereas it was Austin who basically helped create it. He was a "right place, right time" performer who jumped ship when things cooled off - but thanks to this guy, the word "Smackdown" is in the dictionary.

8. Gorgeous George. In the 50's, it really was Thesz and George. This man really helped solidify professional wrestling as an attraction, selling out Madison Square Garden in the late 50's. Sad story late in his life, but the man drew LONG before TV and PPV made wrestling mainstream.

9. Buddy Rogers. The man drew based off of his good looks, sick physique, and stunning arrogance. He practically INVENTED mic skills. Most of the business's top stars, from Hogan to Flair to Blassie, owe Buddy Rogers a debt of gratitude. This man drew like crazy.

10. Freddie Blassie. The man drew in the territory system like few others could, albeit Atlanta or California. Blassie vs Sammartino basically MADE the WWWF. He even drew in Japan when he feuded with Rikidozan.

Um...you totally left off Andre the Giant. This should have been in the Live Disucssion and Spam Zone.

I would put Andre above Dusty Rhodes. I don't know anything about Mascaras. I would put The Rock number 3. Yeah, he may have inherited the boom started by Hulk Hogan and then furthered by Austin, but Rock was VERY much a part of the reason the ratings were averaging in the 6s back in 1999. Steve Austin wasn't even around much of 2000, and with the Rock heading the company, 2000 was the best financial year for the WWE ever (at the time).

So, Hogan goes 1, Austin goes 2, Rock Bruno or Andre fit somewhere between 3-5, and then the rest of your list is fine. At least as far as North American wrestling goes. I'm sure guys like Inoki drew quite impressively as well.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Um...you totally left off Andre the Giant. This should have been in the Live Disucssion and Spam Zone.

"Um..." I know I did. That was intentional. Andre was a huge draw, but his appearances were purposely staggered because of the fear that people would get sick of him or see him as a novelty. And hey, maybe that along with other criteria make him a top ten (and I'd considered him about 3 different times before ditching him) but in the end I felt the others should be above him.

I don't know anything about Mascaras.

He's someone you should read up on, especially as an old school mark who loves to discuss drawing power and criteria like that. I think you'd find him interesting.

I would put The Rock number 3. Yeah, he may have inherited the boom started by Hulk Hogan and then furthered by Austin, but Rock was VERY much a part of the reason the ratings were averaging in the 6s back in 1999. Steve Austin wasn't even around much of 2000, and with the Rock heading the company, 2000 was the best financial year for the WWE ever (at the time).

You see, I cannot in good conscience place the rock too high. I don't think he drew well as champion - he was a better draw as a chaser. It's been pointed out a few times that he didn't have more than a couple truly meaningful WWF Title runs, though his feud with Foley did control the Title picture while the Austins and DX's of the world were being solidified.

So, Hogan goes 1, Austin goes 2, Rock Bruno or Andre fit somewhere between 3-5, and then the rest of your list is fine. At least as far as North American wrestling goes. I'm sure guys like Inoki drew quite impressively as well.

Well, I am glad my list earned your approval!

Inoki is another one of my fringe guys, but when he bought the NWF in 1973 he killed a lot of his drawing legacy. I'd put Andre over Inoki because Inoki also didn't draw terribly well outside of Asia. Respectable - but not top 10.

 

[Shadowmancer]

Well it depends what you want to have in there. Hogan and Austin are automatics. So lets ignore them for the purposes of this Excercise. Why? because it makes it more of a debate than going 1)Hogan and 2)Austin or Vice Versa if you are that way inclined. Im also going to try and avoid the usual litany of names that you see.

And IC if you want to bring Longevity into the story that means Gypsy "Fuckin" Joe would win hands down. He is still Wrestling at close to 80 and just had a toe amputated and he is still going.

1)Bruno Sammartino: It is too hard to argue with this guy being one of the Biggest Draws. He held the WWWF title for how long? Something like a total of 11 years. He still has the longest Title Reign in the History of Professional Wrestling. Sold out MSG a record number of times. Something Hogan or Austin haven't matched.

2)Antonio Inoki: Fairly easy to put this man in here a student of Rikidozan, had the first major promotion of a MMA match with Muhammed Ali. He along with Ric Flair drew 120,000-190,000 for a match in Korea. I can't remember the exact number on this right now. One of the few Japanese names that American fans know. Over time has probably earned more money than Hogan ever has.

3)Andre the Giant: This is an easy one really. Andre was a proven Draw around the world. He drew wherever he went. He got movie roles because of who he was (Best role being in the Princess Bride). He was the exception to the rule in terms of how big men usually are used. He was a face, he fought the odds and won. Not in a Cena or Hogan method but was literally outnumbered and won. But He is one of the greatest draws of all time.

4)Shohei "Giant" Baba: Baba-san is one of the biggest draws in Japan history. Again another exception to the rule in terms of how he is portrayed by the company. Another Wrestler that could be a bigger draw monetary wise than Hogan. Based on Exchange rate and other similar factors. Also in movies. You want to see Baba in the movies go and watch Yokimbo.

5)Bruiser Brody: At one stage he was commanding the highest asking price for his services in the Wrestling industry. A touring wrestler and was huge as a draw in WCCW AJPW and NJPW as well as elsewhere. His murder is the reason that the Pro Wrestling in Puerto Rico is shit these days (Nice going Invader 1 yah murdering a-hole) But again a huge Draw.

6)Nick Bockwinkle: There is a reason that he was AWA champion all that time. He Drew. The only reason that the AWA doesn't exist as it was is because Verne Gagne was going with the Stable Draw of Bockwinkle over the new and unproven star quality of Hogan.

7)Lou Thesz: You can tell Im not really ranking these in any particular order when you have Thesz down this far. He is part of the reason for Pro Wrestling taking off as it did all around the world. He is part of the reason Wrestling took hold in Japan with Rikidozan going over in a 60 minute matchup. He is the Gold Standard of a Champion. He also drew wherever he went.

8)Rikidozan: The third of the major Japanese names that I am going to name in this list. He is the catalyst of Japan being the pro Wrestling nation it is. I have a book out now called "A Nation of a hundred million idiots?" with that being a short title for it. But it covers the beginnings of TV in Japan in the early 50's and in that Pro Wrestling was a major part. Rikidozan was the face of that era of Japanese fans.

9)Frank Gotch & Georg Hackenschmidt: I put these two together because combined they put on two of the most important matches in Pro Wrestling history and those matches set records that stood for a fairly long time in terms of attendants of the matches. Both of the Matches being held in Chicago.

10)El Santo: I was tossing up on whether it would be El Santo or Blue Demon or Mil Mascaras that I had in this thing but I thought about it and I came to the conclusion that is most likely El Santo that is the biggest Draw. Not only did he popularise the mask in Lucha Libre but again movies. I use movies as an indication for Drawing ability as we have known revenue numbers for the movies as opposed to gate numbers which we don't have unless it is of some important number. But El Santo is perhaps one of the names that people will come up with if you ask them for the name of a Luchadore whose name isn't Rey Mysterio.

This list is harder to do than first thought. Not because of the number that is easy. But it is because I left off names that could easily be on this list Like Bret Hart and numerous other wrestlers from Japan and the US. Mexico is not that great as an Indication of how much of a draw a person is because of the lower socio-economic makeup of the country.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Fantastic list, Shadow. A lot of your choices were guys I had JUST on the fringe, like Baba and Hackenschmitt. Honestly, any of the guys we've mentioned could make the top 10 - funny how the only recent stars being mentioned are Austin and Rock.

I didn't know about the 80-year old toeless guy. That's awesome!

 

[Shadowmancer]

I did mention Bret Hart in the end bit, but I ran out of room to include him as a number. He was a proven Draw in International markets, The WWE DVD states this as does other sources that I can't be bothered trying to find right now. There are also other guys that I can see getting there but it is too early in the Main Event Career to judge against these guys. And Also it is a lull in the Pro Wrestling interest as the cycle goes.