Top 11-20 Greatest Wrestler of All Time? The guys just outside the list?

[mizowns]

Pretty much we all sum up 10 wrestlers of all time. But who's outside that list in your view?

Who should be on a Top 11-20 list?

Hogan,Rock,Austin, Flair, Sammartino,Andre Giant, HBK, Undertaker, Triple H, Sting, - That's my 10.

But most important: How do you rank them?

11. Bret Hart
12. Randy Savage
13. Lou Thesz
14. John Cena
15. Roddy Piper
16. Mick Foley
17. Dusty Rhodes
18. Buddy Rodgers
19. Chris Jericho
20. Kurt Angle

Just outside: Rey Mysterio, Steamboat, Eddie Guerro, Scott Hall, Harley Race,

Shoot.

No biased shit. Just rank them from the brain.

 

[roipdh123]

Top 10: Hogan & Austin & Rock & Sammartino & Flair & Savage & Cena & Andre The Giant & Undertaker & Michaels.

11.Ultimate Warrior
12.Triple H
13.Harley Race
14.Bret Hart
15.Sting
16.Lou Thesz
17.Kurt Angle
18.Dusty Rhodes
19.Roddy Piper
20.Ricky Steamboat

Just outisde: Buddy Rodgers & Goldberg & Jericho & Mysterio & Orton & Yokozuna & Eddie Guerrero & Scott Hall & Mick Foley.

 

[BillAlfonsos_Whistle]

I am baffled that two people actually rank Paul Levesque above Bret Hart in a wrestling list. Insane really.


Instead of re-hashing the list which will contain all the same names as above I would add some sleepers who at least deserve mention IMO

Vader
Bam Bam
Mr. Perfect

 

[LBGetBack]

Pretty much we all sum up 10 wrestlers of all time. But who's outside that list in your view?

Who should be on a Top 11-20 list?

Hogan,Rock,Austin, Flair, Sammartino,Andre Giant, HBK, Undertaker, Triple H, Sting, - That's my 10.

But most important: How do you rank them?

11. Bret Hart
12. Randy Savage
13. Lou Thesz
14. John Cena
15. Roddy Piper
16. Mick Foley
17. Dusty Rhodes
18. Buddy Rodgers
19. Chris Jericho
20. Kurt Angle

Just outside: Rey Mysterio, Steamboat, Eddie Guerro, Scott Hall, Harley Race,

Shoot.

No biased shit. Just rank them from the brain.

Hart, Flair, Savage, Angle, Austin, Rock, Hogan, Michaels, Sting, Steamboat. That's my top 10.

11. Chris Jericho
12. Roddy Piper
13. Chris Benoit
14. Curt Hennig
15. Rick Rude
16. Undertaker
17. Eddie Guerrero
18. Jake Roberts
19. Arn Anderson
20. Dynamite Kid

Others: Scott Hall, HHH, RVD, Foley, Andre, Davey Boy Smith, Owen Hart, Rick Martel, Dusty Rhodes

* I don't rate guys that I didn't watch.

 

[That N Word]

Pretty much we all sum up 10 wrestlers of all time. But who's outside that list in your view?

Who should be on a Top 11-20 list?

Hogan,Rock,Austin, Flair, Sammartino,Andre Giant, HBK, Undertaker, Triple H, Sting, - That's my 10.

But most important: How do you rank them?

11. Bret Hart
12. Randy Savage
13. Lou Thesz
14. John Cena
15. Roddy Piper
16. Mick Foley
17. Dusty Rhodes
18. Buddy Rodgers
19. Chris Jericho
20. Kurt Angle

Just outside: Rey Mysterio, Steamboat, Eddie Guerro, Scott Hall, Harley Race,

Shoot.

No biased shit. Just rank them from the brain.

I'm gonna guess you mean based off of careers and not based off of "wrestling ability."
In that case

1.)Hulk Hogan- Unarguably
2.) John Cena-debatable with Stone Cold or The Rock. But in my opinion Cena has done more than both combined and has the more years in WWE (full-time wise) than the two combined. And he still has a good 5 years left whether full-time or part-time.
3). The Rock- Some would argue Austin is the bigger legend. But IMO Rock has surpassed him in terms of who is the bigger legend.
4.) Stone Cold- Without a doubt he is up there in the top 4.
5.) Ric Flair- Let's face it he is next on the list after the Mount Rushmore...despite the face Andre was the one who use to be on it before Cena.
6.) Andre The Giant- Undisputed
7.) The Undertaker- Either him or Bret Hart
8.)Bret Hart- Either him or Taker get this or the above spot IMO
9.)Bruno Sammartino - Should be farther up the list but not by WWE standards.
10.) Shawn Michaels I could be wrong but I feel he is a bigger legend than Macho Man or Ultimate Warrior and deserves this spot.

Guys just off the list by WWE standards (Not WCW or ECW guys- Triple H,Bob Backlund,Warrior,Macho Man,Lou Thesz, Randy Orton,

 

[Radical Canadian Goose]

Top 10. No Particular order. Hogan, Flair, Rock, Michaels, Undertaker, Andre, Austin, Savage, Sting, Hart

The rest.

11. John Cena
12. Chris Jericho
13. Ultimate Warrior
14. HHH
15. Rey Mysterio
16. Ricky Steamboat
17. Mick Foley
18. Kane
19. Kurt Angle
20. Roddy Piper

Outside the list are Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Eddie Guerrero, Davey Boy Smith and Bam Bam Bigelow. P.S. Not including Sammartino, Thesz, etc as I just know their history and haven't seen many or any of their matches

 

[stingray11214]

Top Ten: 1, Sammartino 2, Flair, 3 Thesz 4, Harley Race. 5, Misawa 6, Andre 7, Hogan 8, Bobo Brazil 9, Stan Hansen 10, Bret Hart

11-20: 11, Mil Mascaras 12, Chris Jericho 13, Kurt Angle 14, Steve Austin 15, The Original Sheik 16, Mick Foley, 17 Jack Brisco 18, Undertaker 19, Sting 20, Giant Baba

Just missed: Nick Bockwinkel, The Rock, Shawn Michaels, Bob Backlund, Daniel Bryan/Bryan Danielson.

 

[FlairFan2003]

Without getting into particular order.....Flair, Hogan, Dusty Rhodes, Steve Austin, Randy Savage, Andre, Harley Race, Sammartino, Buddy Rogers, Lou Thesz.....

Next 10 (no certain order).... Terry Funk, Sting, Cena, Nick Bockwinkle, HBK, HHH, Stan Hansen, Verne Gagne, Brett Hart, Undertaker.

There are a lot of guys who are close including Kevin Nash, Gorgeous George, The Road Warriors, The Freebirds, Midnight Express, Piper, Fritz Von Erich, Ted DiBiase, Jerry Lawler, Arn Anderson, Bob Backlund

Mount Rushmore would be 3 faces....Hogan (public face of WWE's national expansion, single biggest wrestling attraction all time, main event star in three decades)....Flair (most revered by his peers, second only to Hogan nationally in the 1980s, main event attraction for three decades and still today a cultural touchtone for both athletes and entertainers).....Vince McMahon Jr (promoter who revolutionized the industry promotional style and business model, first billionaire wrestling owner).

Again this list was based on careers which includes longevity and contributions as a main event performer. There are a lot of guys who had nice runs for brief period but over all it's hard to say they were all time contributors, such as Edge, Kurt Angle, Mick Foley....Lex Luger had a HOF worthy career but I don't think he reached the heights in most cases and/or matched or exceeded the longevity of the ones I listed in the Top 20 but he's real close....I chose against The Rock for the same reason I didn't include Ultimate Warrior & Goldberg....all three reached a Zenith that was unreal, but it was short lived and they had no real longevity. Goldberg & Rock chose to leave for other projects on their own or I think they both would have made The Top 20, Warrior's career just fizzled post 1991 but from 1988-90 he was about the hottest thing on the planet. Still, when I look at someone like Terry Funk who wrestled every style imaginable all over the US, Japan, and South America and lasted 40 years as a top attraction I cant rank someone like Warrior ahead of him. It's like a singer who has one song that is mega huge, the biggest of the year, but it's his only hit while another guy scores multiple Top 10 hits over several years....who had the better career ??

Plus, some on this list not only made huge contributions in the ring but behind the scenes as well such Von Erich, Gagne, and to a lesser extent HHH & Rhodes.

 

[ajdb]

11- Mr. Perfect
12- Jumbo Tsuruta
13- CM Punk
14- Toshiaki Kawada
15- Hiroshi Tanahashi
16- Bret Hart
17- Ricky Steamboat
18- Megumi Kudo (Yeah I put a woman in there, sue me)
19- Stone Cold
20- Lou Thesz

First Four Out: Austin Aries, Kurt Angle, Cesaro & Naomichi Marufuji

 

[That N Word]

The top 11-20 legends of all time
11. Randy Savage
12. Ultimate Warrior
13. Triple H
14. Bob Backlund
15. Lou Thesz
16. Rowdy Roddy Piper
17. Randy Orton
18. Buddy Rodgers
19. Sting
20. CM Punk

 

[ABMorales787]

Oh wow, a list. How creative.

 

[Mr. Artistic guy]

I once made a list of my favourite lists.

 

[Ric 'The Nature Boy' Flair]

In order: My top 10: Hulk Hogan,Stone cold,The Rock,John Cena,Undertaker,Bruno Sammartino,Ric Flair,Bret Hart,HBK,Sting

11-20 In no order: HHH,Randy Savage,Ultimate Warrior,Lou Thesz,Andre,Eddie,CM Punk,Randy Orton,Mick Foley (because of his contributions to extreme)

Close guys: Mr Perfect,Trish Stratus,Edge,Paul Heyman ( I know,he isn't a wrestler, but his contributions are over the moon)

 

[tdmoon]

1: Flair 2: Hogan 3: Andre 4: Austin 5: Sammartino 6: Race 7: V. Gagne 8: Undertaker 9: Rock 10: Bockwinkel

11: Buddy Rogers
12: Sting
13: Angle
14: Bret Hart
15: Backlund
16: Cena
17: Gorgeous George
18: Dusty Rhodes
19: HHH
20: Savage

EDIT:
I can't believe I left off Thesz. Put him at six and bump everybody back a slot. Sorry, Macho Man.

 

[ABMorales787]

Nothing more interesting than a random list of names with no entailing explanation to add some context. Or a reason to reply.

 

[Uncle Sam]

I think there's wholly too much Chris Jericho and, if I'm honest with myself, Kurt Angle. And CM Punk.

The most conspicuous absence from this thread is probably Frank Gotch - who, no, I probably wouldn't know about either if it weren't for Gelgarin, WWE's documentary on the world heavyweight title and Wikipedia. The first paragraph of his Wikipedia article explains why he belongs on the list, really:

Frank Alvin Gotch (April 26, 1878 – December 16, 1917) was the first American professional wrestler to win the world heavyweight free-style championship, and credited for popularizing professional wrestling in the United States. He competed back when the contests were largely legitimate (see catch wrestling), and his reign as World Heavyweight Champion (from 1908 to 1913) is one of the ten longest in the history of wrestling. He became one of the most popular athletes in America from the 1900s to the 1910s.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Gotch

I am baffled that two people actually rank Paul Levesque above Bret Hart in a wrestling list. Insane really.

Much as I bristle at the mention of a wrestler's real name, I feel the need to say that yeah, it's entirely plausible that Triple H ranks above Bret Hart in an all-time list. Hart was king of the WWF during The New Generation and then had an underwhelming WCW career. There is some absolute gold during his WWF tenure - his matches with Owen, WrestleMania 13, etc. - but there's no getting around that it was a pretty big slump compared to what followed. In terms of quality, I think Triple H between late '99 and his injury in '01 is absolutely top tier (and that was a time when business was booming).

 

[ABMorales787]

Silly Sam, trying to bring some interest and discussion into a thread about lists. Silly Sam.

 

[FunKay the Inevitable]

Shows how much WWE dominates the wrestling culture if you note the distinct lack of a) old school names and b) international dudes. Inoki, El Santo and (he's been mentioned) Thesz are must haves, for me, n the top 10 alongside Austin, Cena, Rock, Hogan etc...

 

[Bernkastel]

Clearly this is supposed to be an "all time" list. And I disagree with the OP's choices for his top 10 list. Hogan, Austin, and Flair are solid choices but Undertaker, HBK, HHH, and Sting? Nope. Not buying it.

A top ten for me [barring international names] would be...

1.) Lou Thesz
2.) Strangler Lewis
3.) Hulk Hogan
4.) Jim Londos
5.) Bruno Sammartino
6.) Steve Austin
7.) Frank Gotch
8.) Verne Gagne
9.) Ric Flair
10.) Wild Bill Longson

With criteria being mixtures of drawing power, longevity, legacy, charisma, ability, and accolades.

Those that I would count among my 11-20 would be...

11.) Antonino Rocca
12.) Gene Kiniski
13.) Harley Race
14.) Jack Brisco
15.) The Rock
16.) Andre the Giant
17.) John Cena
18.) Sting
19.) Nick Bockwinkel
20.) Dory Funk Jr.

I feel that the more I read about wrestling history the more I've come to realize how WWE culture has warped it. Look at their personal "greatest ever" DVD. They list HBK and Taker at #1 and #2. Yet Hogan was like mid #20's. Lou Thesz was listed above Hogan and I think George was too. Harley was like 15 positions higher than any of his contemporaries. The list was purely done for marketing purposes and wasn't accurate at all.

 

[Bockwinkel's Class]

Clearly this is supposed to be an "all time" list. And I disagree with the OP's choices for his top 10 list. Hogan, Austin, and Flair are solid choices but Undertaker, HBK, HHH, and Sting? Nope. Not buying it.

A top ten for me [barring international names] would be...

1.) Lou Thesz
2.) Strangler Lewis
3.) Hulk Hogan
4.) Jim Londos
5.) Bruno Sammartino
6.) Steve Austin
7.) Frank Gotch
8.) Verne Gagne
9.) Ric Flair
10.) Wild Bill Longson

With criteria being mixtures of drawing power, longevity, legacy, charisma, ability, and accolades.

Those that I would count among my 11-20 would be...

11.) Antonino Rocca
12.) Gene Kiniski
13.) Harley Race
14.) Jack Brisco
15.) The Rock
16.) Andre the Giant
17.) John Cena
18.) Sting
19.) Nick Bockwinkel
20.) Dory Funk Jr.

I feel that the more I read about wrestling history the more I've come to realize how WWE culture has warped it. Look at their personal "greatest ever" DVD. They list HBK and Taker at #1 and #2. Yet Hogan was like mid #20's. Lou Thesz was listed above Hogan and I think George was too. Harley was like 15 positions higher than any of his contemporaries. The list was purely done for marketing purposes and wasn't accurate at all.

Great list! WWF/E propaganda has created the widespread perception that wrestling didn't exist outside of McMahon's sandbox.