Top 100 Wrestlers of All Time

REALLLY hulk hogan and ric flair as the top 2 no way wat about shawn micheals and the undertaker and jummy snuka and where is cm punk he is a great wrestler he should be at least 50 (CM Punk is not one of my fav wrestlers its just a coinicidence he is in my pic because there are not alot of good ones) anyway ur list is quite inaccurate john cena should also be in the top 10 for moulding the breakthrough of many excellent superstars.
 
well i took this as in ring skills. and as far as they go, would you dispute that HBK, Flair, Hart, Jericho, Steamboat, Sting, ect. are better in ring workers?
Oh, absolutely. For reasons I've already mentioned.

because as far as wrestling skills go, selling, connecting ect. these guys are far better.
No, they're not. There's a reason why a crowd is more into a Hogan match than any match put on by those guys.

I love WRESTLING. i love being wowed by what is going on in the ring. not some dude shaking after getting his ass handed to him all match, blocking a punch, giving somone a no no no finger shake, then punch punch, whip, boot, leg, three count.
Then you don't love wrestling, because you don't appreciate the skill it takes for a man to be able to make the crowd invest so much of themselves into a match that they erupt in a thunderous cheer when Hogan makes his comeback. You totally miss the point of pro wrestling if you can't appreciate a man who can tell a story in the ring so well, he can do the same routine at the age of 50, and still have people go nuts. THAT'S skill.

and as far as CENA goes... do you know how many more wrestlers have had better matches then him in the last five years???

HBK
CM PUNK
Orton
Angle
Jericho
Undertaker
Rey Rey
AJ Styles
Joe
Morrison

i mean the list goes on. but again, I am talking about match quality.
:lmao:

No, just no. While you're wrong about all of them, I'm just going to take you to task on Punk, Orton, Undertaker, Samoa Joe and Morrison. Because those are just you being stupid. Not one of those guys can claim even 5 good matches, and Punk and Morrison cannot claim even 2. You're just being dumb now.

Cena is the biggest draw in the WWE since Austin. and by your logic the best "wrestler"

Oh, not just my logic, it's also the logic of Hogan, Bischoff, McMahon, Flair, Hart, and any other who has ever been asked about the subject.
Influence or actual skill? This explains it. If this guys ambition was to create a list of the most recognizable and influential guys than the top ten is perfectly acceptable. But if you're looking at wrestling skill and ability than you're list is ludicrous.
Bullshit. You obviously have no clue as to what skill in wrestling means.

Japanese guys are missing who make up like 65 percent of the greatest matches of all time.
Meltzer? Is that you?


I'm not even going to bother going through the rest of this thread, because the ignorance of the two previous posters piss me off. It's people like you who are to blame for wrestling being so poor these days.
 
The problem I have with this list is that it didn't set out what was being looked at. The bottom part of the list looks like guys who can wrestle, while the top of the list is going more toward the guys who were/are big draws.

Only names I really noticed missing from the list were Randy Orton and Jushin "Thunder" Liger.
 
I think people are getting confused, when the dude says top 100 wrestlers of all time, he means the full package. Not actual "wrestling ability". There was an earlier response from some joker suggesting Bryan Danielson should be higher than Hulk Hogan....are you kidding me? He hasnt had 5% of the career Hogan has.

The top ten is very hard. Do you put Cena in there? Like it or not he is one of the biggest commodities EVER.
 
The problem I have with this list is that it didn't set out what was being looked at. The bottom part of the list looks like guys who can wrestle, while the top of the list is going more toward the guys who were/are big draws.

Only names I really noticed missing from the list were Randy Orton and Jushin "Thunder" Liger.

The guys on the top of the list are great wrestlers because they are big draws. The guys on top are considered the greatest of all time because of the way they drew a crowd into a match and had the crowd in the palm of their hand in the ring each and every time. A wrestler may know a lot of moves but if you can't get the crowd to invest and care about you, then you're not a good professional wrestler.
 
This is based on THE TOTAL PACKAGE. Drawing power, wrestling ability, title reigns, titles held, etc.

That's why a guy like Raven is higher than Dibiase. Raven was multiple time ECW champion and had quite a few title runs in WCW. Dibiase could've been top 30, but he never held any kind of major title.

Hogan is without a doubt number 1. No, not the best technician. But the greatest draw the business has ever seen. As a face AND as a heel.

And the reason I didn't add Orton. It's not because I'm biased against WWE. lol. He's def borderline right now. But, an argument could be made for either side.

But the list is based on the overall package. What each wrestler means to the sport. NOT just on wrestling ability.
 
This is nothing to argue about really it's just opinion based. Which criteria does each person value most that's making the list etc. Now of course if we are making a top 100 with in ring performers Hogan doesn't touch first place and might not even be in the top 100 period. If we are talking about overness with the crowd, mic skills, and the ability to pull of both heel and face then Hogan definitely belongs near the top somewhere. A combination of all of the above plus whatever other criteria may be important to some that I left out, is what I assume his list was meant to be constructed on.

I personally feel like Flair is the best ever overall.
 
Nice list. I agree with quite a bit of it. Some wrestlers in your top 100, I wouldn't have even included, but that's just me. Personally, I believe Ric Flair should be number one, and Hulk Hogan number 2. My reason being, not only was Flair a draw and the absolute best on the mic, but he could also go in the ring and make anyone look like a million bucks. Sure, Hulk Hogan sold out arenas and was damn good on the mic, but he wasn't the best wrestler to ever step foot in the squared circle.

I fully agree with you and for the exact same reason. Ric Flair is the man.

About the rankings, I would have ranked several wrestlers on different places, like Kurt Angle, Terry Funk and Ricky Steamboat. They would be in my top 10. Also, I would at least have included two ancient wrestlers who had huge influence on the wrestling business as we know it today. With this, I mean Frank Gotch and "Farmer" Martin Burns.
 
People, including myself, love lists! They are always very debatable, and good discussion starters. You just need to put some sort of criteria there...is this your favorite wrestlers, or are you taking titles, longevity, ability, start power...what is the list based on?

This having been said...I love Andre, but couldn't put him ahead of Angle. Kurt has that combination pure ability, size and charisma that shoots him into the top 10. Andre was huge, and was a good draw for a while, but I couldn't put him in the top 10. Hogan made money, and crossed into the mainstream, which was big for pro wrestling. The Rock did the same, but has obviously been more successful in his outside the ring ventures. I'd put AJ ahead of Ultimo Dragon, Mike Awesome and a few of the others, definitely...overall though, it's a pretty good list. I'm just happy that my childhood favorite, Tito Santana, made the list!
 
I don't think it's a bad list to be honest but I've gotta agree with the people who are scoffing at Hogan at number 1. He was a terrible wrestler even in his prime. I just never found him believable at all even as a kid growing up in the 80's.

Vince gave him a good gimmick for the time, alot of hype, and good feuds to get over. I'm from the UK and we had Big Daddy who had a similiar gimmick (i.e. unbeatable patriotic hero) and yeah some people love that (especially kids). But come on apart from having a good physique and appearing in a Rocky film did he have anything else that made him any different from anybody else? Wouldn't just about anyone in that role at that time have got over? I know Big Daddy was far from an outstanding talent yet he was extremely popular here in the 80's.

Hogan's in ring skills were below average, and his mic skills were OK but you could train a parrot to do the same repetitive routine. Don't forget he also came along just as wrestling was going mainstream too so I'd have to say the product being new to a mainstream audience played a part in the buyrates and viewing figures. On top of that Andre The Giant was in all of the highest rated shows too and Hogan never got close to those figures without Andre. The PPV buyrates dropped every year, when he left for WCW it had no impact on either company's figures (until the NWO angle which was largely shock value built from his long running WWF face push). Heck WCW was even giving away free tickets to fill out even small-average size arenas.

Was Hogan popular? Sure. But I could make a good case for Austin or Rock being 1 and 2 on the list since it is clearly not about wrestling ability. They were light years ahead of Hogan in the ring and on the mic, and were very believable at both.

Someone was talking about all of the big names backing Cena. Well Vince, Flair, Cena, Bischoff (Hogan's buddy) have all said Austin is the biggest star in the business.

And yeah Hogan's been around a while but when he couldn't wrestle worth a shit to start with it's easy not to let his standards slip. I can't deny he's had a few peaks in popularity in his overly long run (i.e. his first run in WWF, the NWO angle for a time, and his nostalgic return to WWF) but overall I just don't rate him that much and don't think he's as big a draw as he thinks he is. He's currently doing nothing for TNA except putting a dent in their finances.

Cena's a similar example with the push and gimmick but it's not the 80's and alot of people just don't buy the unbeatable patriotic superhero anymore. I would say he's better than Hogan in the ring and on the mic but again not a patch on Austin, Rock, and many others at one or both.

Sorry for going on so much about Hogan but you did put him at number 1. I'm not sure who I'd have at number 1 since I'm not entirely sure what your basing it on.

I would go for Austin & Rock probably for all round entertainment closely followed by Flair (if longevity was a factor maybe Flair first). For in ring ability the likes of Bret Hart & HBK with Flair again quite high on the list.
 
Dean Malenko happens to be the most underrated wrestler of all time. But I can't blame you for thinking that way if you never watched original ECW, because Dean Malenko was treated terribly in WCW and WWF.
I watched a LOT of ecw from the bingo parlor. People routinely mock my infatuation with "sign guy dudley". And I have a tremendous respect for Malenko's ability to wrestle. But that was it, he was a technical presence, he told a great story in the ring. But out of the ring, he was a short milktoast dishrag. His biggest claim to fame is being mocked out by his friend "armbar".

Very, very good wrestler. But more important to wrestling than even Taz at the bottom of the one list. Hell, no! I'd say the lack of Russians on the list is sad. Their names twist together in my head, but Nikolai Volkoff in the 80s was a pros pro. Always a solid match... And gave Hogan the heat he needed to become immortal.

And Crl DeBeers means more than a couple of those guys, too.

Malenko was GREAT as a lower mid carder. But that's it.
 
I don't think it's a bad list to be honest but I've gotta agree with the people who are scoffing at Hogan at number 1. He was a terrible wrestler even in his prime. I just never found him believable at all even as a kid growing up in the 80's.

Vince gave him a good gimmick for the time, alot of hype, and good feuds to get over. I'm from the UK and we had Big Daddy who had a similiar gimmick (i.e. unbeatable patriotic hero) and yeah some people love that (especially kids). But come on apart from having a good physique and appearing in a Rocky film did he have anything else that made him any different from anybody else? Wouldn't just about anyone in that role at that time have got over? I know Big Daddy was far from an outstanding talent yet he was extremely popular here in the 80's.

Hogan's in ring skills were below average, and his mic skills were OK but you could train a parrot to do the same repetitive routine. Don't forget he also came along just as wrestling was going mainstream too so I'd have to say the product being new to a mainstream audience played a part in the buyrates and viewing figures. On top of that Andre The Giant was in all of the highest rated shows too and Hogan never got close to those figures without Andre. The PPV buyrates dropped every year, when he left for WCW it had no impact on either company's figures (until the NWO angle which was largely shock value built from his long running WWF face push). Heck WCW was even giving away free tickets to fill out even small-average size arenas.

Was Hogan popular? Sure. But I could make a good case for Austin or Rock being 1 and 2 on the list since it is clearly not about wrestling ability. They were light years ahead of Hogan in the ring and on the mic, and were very believable at both.

Someone was talking about all of the big names backing Cena. Well Vince, Flair, Cena, Bischoff (Hogan's buddy) have all said Austin is the biggest star in the business.

And yeah Hogan's been around a while but when he couldn't wrestle worth a shit to start with it's easy not to let his standards slip. I can't deny he's had a few peaks in popularity in his overly long run (i.e. his first run in WWF, the NWO angle for a time, and his nostalgic return to WWF) but overall I just don't rate him that much and don't think he's as big a draw as he thinks he is. He's currently doing nothing for TNA except putting a dent in their finances.

Cena's a similar example with the push and gimmick but it's not the 80's and alot of people just don't buy the unbeatable patriotic superhero anymore. I would say he's better than Hogan in the ring and on the mic but again not a patch on Austin, Rock, and many others at one or both.

Sorry for going on so much about Hogan but you did put him at number 1. I'm not sure who I'd have at number 1 since I'm not entirely sure what your basing it on.

I would go for Austin & Rock probably for all round entertainment closely followed by Flair (if longevity was a factor maybe Flair first). For in ring ability the likes of Bret Hart & HBK with Flair again quite high on the list.

So what? Hogan was the hottest thing on the planet in the late 80's. You could put him against any schmuck in the business and Hogan would make it work. He was the main event of almost all the first ten Wrestlemanias because he was that great. He revolutionized the business twice, was the main figurehead in WCW being on top of the Monday Night Wars in the mid 90's, and was a top draw for almost two decades. The Rock is second fiddle to Austin and nowhere close to Hogan.
 
Decent list. I agree with a lot of it for the most part. I did my own top 100 about half a year ago. I based my list on not just in ring wrestling or on drawing but on both and also a mix of other things like longevity, World Title (or any title) reigns, and classic matches against other legendary wrestlers. In ring wrestling is extremely important but is only half of it (although for some reason it's everything that counts for smarky hacks here). Rey Mysterio is a much better wrestler than Hulk Hogan but Hogan is a million more times important than Rey. My list is subjectively based on how important to wrestling the 100 best wrestling entertainers were and how these entertainers put everything together to sell wrestling to their generation and capture fans imagination. To me, the best wrestler is the best entertainer: whether they use their amazing wrestling skills or their larger than life invincible superhero status, or a combination of both.

No band did for music what the Beatles did. Not even the Rolling Stones no matter if you prefer them over the Beatles. The same goes for Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair when it comes to wrestling. Shawn, Bret, Taker, Ric did not do for wrestling what Hogan did and for me will never be the best wrestling entertainer of all time. Austin and Rock would be the closest to Hogan in that respect but Austin was only a main eventer for less than half a decade and only had a mainstream career for a decade. And the Rock just disappeared in the midst of rising to Hogan status.

Anyway, I've adjusted this list many times and especially the Top 10. I combined things like in-ring ability with drawing power, with an eye to longevity, World Title reigns, high caliber feuds/matches with other legends (win-loss records), and overall importance to each wrestler's generation(s).

Here are my Top 100 wrestling entertainers:

100 Hacksaw Jim Duggan
99 Jesse 'The Body' Ventura'
98 Brutus 'The Barber' Beefcake
97 Jimmy "Superfly' Snucka
96 Kerry Von Erich
95 Haku aka Meng
94 Big Boss Man
93 Iron Sheik
92 Sgt. Slaugther
91 King Kong Bundy
90 Bam Bam Bigelow
89 'The Rock' Don Muraco
88 Ken Patera
87 Gorilla Monsoon
86 JBL (i don't care how big this guy was, he put me to sleep)
85 Ron Simmons aka Farooq
84 Classy Freddie Blassie
83 Lance Storm
82 Christian
81 Dean Malenko
80 The Sheik
79 Raven
78 X Pac
77 Goldust
76 Ivan Koloff
75 Paul Orndorff
74 Arn Anderson
73 Wahoo McDaniel
72 Barry Windham
71 Sabu
70 Jushin Liger
69 Mil Mascaras
68 Terry Funk
67 Pat Patterson
66 Vincent K. McMahon
65 Nature Boy Buddy Rogers
64 Stan Hansen
63 Flyin Brian Pillman
62 Scott Steiner
61 Diamond Dallas Page
60 Nick Bockwinkel
59 Masa Chono
58 Antonio Rocca
57 Jake 'The Snake' Roberts
56 Honky Tonk Man
55 Million Dollar Man Ted Dibiase
54 Jerry 'The King' Lawler
53 Owen Hart
52 Rey Mysterio Jr.
51 The Great Muta
50 Dusty Rhodes
49 Big Van Vader
48 Harley Race
47 Ravishing Rick Rude
46 Davey Boy Smith
45 Superstar Billy Graham
44 Psycho Sid Vicious
43 Booker T
42 A.J. Styles
41 Brock Lesner
40 Rob Van Dam
39 Batista
38 The Big Show
37 Kane
36 Mick Foley
35 Jeff Hardy
34 Goldberg
33 Jeff Jarrett
32 Curt Henning
31 Gorgeous George
30 Antonio Inoki
29 Pedro Morales
28 Yokozuna
27 Edge
26 Scott Hall
25 Eddie Guerrero
24 Ricky Steamboat
23 Chris Benoit
22 Randy Orton
21 Chris Jericho
20 Lex Luger
19 Ultimate Warrior
18 Kevin Nash
17 Andre the Giant
16 Rowdy Roddy Piper
15 Kurt Angle
14 Bob Backlund
13 John Cena
12 Triple H
11 Lou Thez
10 Sting
9 The Rock
8 Bruno Sammartino
7 Stone Cold Steve Austin
6 Macho Man Randy Savage
5 The Undertaker
4 Shawn Michaels
3 Bret 'The Hitman' Hart
2 Nature Boy Ric Flair
1 Hulk Hogan
 
you made 1 big mistake, you forget who the current best wrestler in the world is. how could you put william regal on there, im pretty sure randy orton is better him. orton should have been at least in the 30's if you ask me.
 
To those shitting on Hogan and thinking Cena or Rock or Hart or Austin should be number one.... yeah, guess who they can thank for their chosen profession being so god damned popular... noooo Hogan isn't the most recognizable face/heel/wrestler of all time... oh wait, YES he IS... overall pretty good list although ofcourse like anyone I would change a few but still good... and to whoever said Edge pioneered tag team wrestling.... are you 5? high? or just plain stupid? seriously edge helped PIONEER tag wrestling? do you know what pioneer means?... I'm honestly asking
 
Great list, you can juggle the wrestlers in the top 20, but they all deserve their place in it. I love the inclusion of Tito Santana at 100. However, not knocking you or anyone else, but I'm curious how many of these 100 wrestlers that you have actually watched. Also, I may have skimmed past but where were Gorgeous George and Ivan Koloff.
 
Great list, you can juggle the wrestlers in the top 20, but they all deserve their place in it. I love the inclusion of Tito Santana at 100. However, not knocking you or anyone else, but I'm curious how many of these 100 wrestlers that you have actually watched. Also, I may have skimmed past but where were Gorgeous George and Ivan Koloff.

Gorgeous George is in the 20's somewhere. and Ivan Koloff almost made the list, but I just felt he didn't make a big enough impact of the business as the rest of the list.

I might have missed out on another guy too. Blackjack Mulligan must have slipped my mind but he def deserves to be on the list. I'm gonna make some revisions... lol.
 
There will always be controversy because you have some nerds who will get on here and say that Hogan only had 3 or 4 moves. I think we should start renaming this list that are made...Let's go top 100 wrestlers/entertainers/money makers of all time.

That way no one will lie to themselves and say that Hogan isn't the best. Anyone who lies and says that they like Flair more than Hogan if they were a kid in the late 80s and early 90s is full of themselves. I'm 30 and when I was younger I love Sting and hated Flair...then when things changed and I got older and started liking bad guys as well (I was afraid of Skandar Akbar) Flair became liked. True Flair can wrestle circles around Hogan...but could Flair sell out Madison Square Garden if he wrestled King Kong Bundy...Hell No.
 
The objective of professional wrestling is to draw and make money and be entertaining and Cena does it better than anybody in the WWE right now. I don't care if the other wrestlers use a hundred moves more than Cena. Cena is still a better professional wrestler. He makes Vince money, he tells a story in the ring, and has great matches. Maybe one day, you and people of your ilk will understand.

RVDisTNA himself posted that the list is based on everything including wrestling skills. Cena gets carried during matches. Think of a time were Cena put on a good match when he was against a bad opponent. Never has. He needs his opponents to be able to make the match interesting.

The fact is that there is people in WWE right now who deserve to be in a higher position than Cena
 
RVDisTNA himself posted that the list is based on everything including wrestling skills. Cena gets carried during matches. Think of a time were Cena put on a good match when he was against a bad opponent. Never has. He needs his opponents to be able to make the match interesting.

The fact is that there is people in WWE right now who deserve to be in a higher position than Cena

How about matches with Khali and Umaga. Those were certainly good matches and everyone considers Khali bad, which I don't and Umaga fairly average.

Who are these people that deserve to be in a higher position. Tell me the reason and I'll tell you why it's wrong.
 
Any list that has Hogan at #1 needs Cena in the top 10 at least.

If you have a criteria stick to it. I don't agree with HBK at #4 either.

He was never the best anything at any point. Wasn't the best talker at any point in his career, wasn't the best technical wrestler at any point in his career, was a lousy draw at his peak, didn't have the best attitude, didn't want to put people over, the fans hated him during his face run 1995/1996.

Going by your Hogan #1 criteria, you're probably looking at impact, drawing ability, overness etc. I'd have Hogan #1, Austin #2, Bruno Sammartino #3, The Rock #4 and John Cena #5. Maybe Flair in there too, or 6th perhaps.

Michaels wouldn't be top 10.

Some Michaels mark will probably come in to flame me, but at the end of the day they're a Michaels mark.
 
Any list that has Hogan at #1 needs Cena in the top 10 at least.

If you have a criteria stick to it. I don't agree with HBK at #4 either.

He was never the best anything at any point. Wasn't the best talker at any point in his career, wasn't the best technical wrestler at any point in his career, was a lousy draw at his peak, didn't have the best attitude, didn't want to put people over, the fans hated him during his face run 1995/1996.

Going by your Hogan #1 criteria, you're probably looking at impact, drawing ability, overness etc. I'd have Hogan #1, Austin #2, Bruno Sammartino #3, The Rock #4 and John Cena #5. Maybe Flair in there too, or 6th perhaps.

Michaels wouldn't be top 10.

Some Michaels mark will probably come in to flame me, but at the end of the day they're a Michaels mark.

Cena is modern Hogan. BUT, the difference is, Hogan was huge when wrestling itself was very popular. Lets face it, wrestling isn't that popular these days... If people tuned in to see Cena like they did Hogan (WWE or WCW), he would be higher. I just don't see Cena being much more than being "the guy" at one specific time in wrestling. Where as Hogan continued to transition.
 
Cena is modern Hogan. BUT, the difference is, Hogan was huge when wrestling itself was very popular. Lets face it, wrestling isn't that popular these days... If people tuned in to see Cena like they did Hogan (WWE or WCW), he would be higher. I just don't see Cena being much more than being "the guy" at one specific time in wrestling. Where as Hogan continued to transition.

Cena is not a modern day Hogan. Just because you are the top face in the company does not make you Hogan. Cena does not rank in the atmosphere of Hogan, Rock, Austin, or, Flair. These guys drew more money than any other American wrestlers in history and it's not even close, not to mention the memorable feuds and moments that they had.
 
Cena is not a modern day Hogan. Just because you are the top face in the company does not make you Hogan. Cena does not rank in the atmosphere of Hogan, Rock, Austin, or, Flair. These guys drew more money than any other American wrestlers in history and it's not even close, not to mention the memorable feuds and moments that they had.

Hogan = entertaining wrestler, drew in tons of fans, drew lots of money in his era

Cena = entertaining wrestler, drew in tons of fans, drew lots of money currently

How is Cena not the modern-day Hogan and I would argue that Flair didn't drew in as much money as the other three. With marketing and merchandise sales as a factor, the top guys are Hogan, Rock, Austin, and Cena. Sorry Flair.
 
And your IQ probably is lower than your post count. My age is clearly displayed in my profile. And John Cena is a fantastic wrestler, better than Edge. Don't believe me? Then why has Cena been the main star of the WWE for the last 5 years, while Edge has been floundering for the past year? How come Edge never could break into the main-event until Cena put him there? From the two posts you've made in this thread, it's clear to me I know far more about wrestling than you do. So listen to me, kid, and you might learn a little something.

Being a tag team wrestler means basically shit. What matters in pro wrestling is how entertaining you are. Entertainment value is measured by drawing power. Hulk Hogan is the biggest draw ever, which means he is the best ever. It's quite simple. Edge, on the other hand, isn't even in the Top 5 of drawing power on Raw RIGHT NOW. Being in the 40s is quite generous.

Cena was great up to the point when he won the wwe champ and ill tell u why
1) WHEN he won it he was the thuganomics charachter but after tht he was a nice guy tht said never give up and tht was not wut the cena i wanted to win was,he was a really crappy wrestler

most tag team wrestlers end up being world champs like kane,edge, big show, batista ,randy orton,rey mysterio,bret hart and if he wins at survivor series...wade barrett and ur telling me tht these guys r shit??
 

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