True Icons

[Unrated Superstar]

I was thinking about how there are a handfull of wrestlers who have been called icons in the business, and how most of them are, but to different degrees. Basically I want all your thoughts on wrestlers you think are true icons and to what extent they are.

First off, let me explain what I think defines an icon. An icon, in my opinion, is someone who's such a huge star in the business that even people who aren't wrestling fans know who they are. In this way, they are the epitimy and representation of the sports entertainment industry.

Let me make my point of the difference between being a legend and being an icon by pointing out someone who's most definitely a legend but I don't consider an icon...Ric Flair. He's come soooo far in his career, (although his current run in the WWE has shot him straight down the crapper), still more world title reigns than anyone else who will easily come to mind. But does the general public really know who he is? Granted, I'm not quite sure what the wrestling scene was like when he was in his prime, and for all I know he could have been the talk of the town back then...but the way I see it, icons have names that withstand the test of time. Ric Flair's name, if you ask me, has not.

First guy I'll discuss who I feel is an icon is Sting. TNA has referred to him many times as an icon, including in the title of his DVD. I'd say they're right. Granted, if you ask someone if they've heard of Sting, they might be first enclined to respond "Yeah, didn't he sing that song 'Desert Rose'?" But still, when it comes to wrestling, Sting is a huge and well-known name. I created Sting in SD Vs. Raw 2007 and could only get a short hairstyle to go remotely well with the way he looked, but still, when a friend of mine who doesn't watch wrestling saw him, he was like "Oh, isn't that Sting?" And as far as WCW in particular, he was the ultimate icon.

I also feel the Rock vs. Hogan match at WM 18 was billed appropriately as an "icon vs. icon" match. They both are icons in the true sense of the word. People still know who The Rock is, he's been all over the place in the media, even before The Mummy Returns got his acting career off the ground and he went to hollywood. People don't mostly know The Rock as an actor, they know him as a huge star in the world of wrestling. I'll get to Hogan in a minute.

A big-deal match that I feel was not appropriately billed was the "icon vs. legend" match at Summerslam 05 between Michaels and Hogan. If you ask me, it should have been reversed. Michaels is destined to be known throughout the wrestling community as a legend. But most non-wrestling fans don't know who Michaels is. Hogan, however, is without a doubt THE biggest icon in wrestling of all time, at least in my opinion. He got his start decades ago, and even though he hasn't actually wrestled for WWE in a long time, I'd still say his name is more well-known than any current wrestler I can think of.

Honorable mention goes to Steve Austin. He was a big name back in his day, and a lot of people have heard of him. But I say honorable mention because he's not quite as mainstream as the others in my opinion.

I'd say John Cena's getting there, heaven help us.

So who do you guys think are icons, and to what degree?

 

[Da Vinci's Nightmare]

The only people I can think of his Hogan, The Rock, and SCSA(only just though)

Hogan for obvious reasons, he was soo big back in the day that it was inevitible that he was going to get reconised outside of the biz. He stared in Rocky, and back then that would av bin a big deal.

The Rock is a another easy choice, even tho I think he will be forever remember for his films than his work in the ring, but the match at WM18 was correct to be billed as Icon vs Icon, as Unrated Superstar said.

SCSA I think is a Icon just because he was a larger than life charecter and he was the main point of WWF/E during there best time in the recent memory (attidue era for those of you who didnt know). Plus he even has/had a STREET named after him somewhere in canada I think

 

[IrishCanadian25]

According to American Heritage Dictionary, an "Icon" is defined as "One who is the object of great attention and devotion; an idol." It also lists an icon as "a sign or representation that stands for its object by virtue of a resemblance or analogy to it." Basically, a picture that represents something bigger or greater.

So to answer this question, I sat down to think of whose picture would be representative of either professional wrestling, one of the wrestling leagues or brands, etc. An icon must be respect and praise worthy, longevitous, and easilly recognizable by all fans, and even mainstream non-fans.

1. Hulk Hogan. Can't stand the man, but the fact is, along with Arnold Schwartzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, he was the closest thing the 80's and 90's got to a legitimate, real life superhero. He carried the WWF banner for about a decade, longer than any other man since the 50's or 60's, and everyone knows who he is.

2. The Undertaker. You can't deny loyalty. The Undertaker has been a mainstay in the WWF for longer than just about any other wrestler without switching brands (except Shawn Michaels), and has never been fired, never been in trouble, etc. When the WWF or WWE was on a downturn, he was the man they looked towards to reconnect with the fans and pull them out of it.

3. Sting. No question. Sting was the WCW equivalent of The Undertaker in terms of fan connection, loyalty, longevity. His matches and programs with both Ric Flair and Vader were legendary and he may be the #1 icon of all time in my mind.

4. Kurt Angle. Despite being relatively new compared to the other names on this list, he represented legitimacy to wrestling fans as a former Gold Medalist in olympic wrestling. His rise in wrestling was almost meteoric, and will absolutely go down in history among the best ever.

5. Andre the Giant. His imposing stature and recognizability helped make wrestling in the 80's. Largely undefeated, hung in there as long as anybody. His size and strength was 80% of the story that was told at Wrestlemania 3. A true icon of the sport from the 80's.

6. Shawn Michaels. Along side Bret Hart, Shawn proved that great things could come out of the tag team ranks, and Shawn has gone on to become one of the greatest and most recognizable performers of all time. Despite backstage issue with Vince McMahon, he and the Undertaker have been the unyeilding, loyal mainstays for 20 years. When we are all 60, we will still talk about HBK.

7. Bret Hart. Despite his rocky end with WWF and the fact that wrestling was on a bit of a downturn when he was on top, he brought back such terms as "fighting champion" and "respect" when he wore the belt. He was also among the first to really connect internationally, aside from just domesticaly.

8. Ric Flair. I almost left him off the list due to how many times he switched companies, but when you discuss professional wrestling, Ric really is the first name that should come to mind. His credentials speak enough.

9. Steve Austin. Steve Austin represents the re-connect of professional wrestling to mainstream fans for the first time since Hulk Hogan. His working class hero persona was actually (at one time) original and entertaining, and oddly enough he left a real problem in his wake - fans who wanted to root for the bad guy.

Honorable mention: The Rock, The Ultimate Warrior, Mr. Perfect, Arn Anderson, Bruno Sammartino.

 

[Da Vinci's Nightmare]

Honorable mention: The Rock, The Ultimate Warrior, Mr. Perfect, Arn Anderson, Bruno Sammartino.

Why you given him mention?

I forgot about sting, he is a true icon of this business. He showed such loyalty to WCW, I mean whilst with the Crow gimmick, he didnt wrestle on TV for around a year, now thats a long time for someone to be contracted and not wrestle. It was fantastic, and he was the backbone of WCW

 

[Unrated Superstar]

Those are some good points, irishcanadian...but how could you only give Rock honorable mention?

I guess I relate the word icon as far as celebrities go more with that second definition. You said they should be representative to mainstream and non-mainstream fans, but what about people who aren't fans at all? I see an icon as someone who EVERYONE can equate with an industry or profession.

As far as Austin goes, I'd say if you wanna bill him as a true icon, I'd say give him the title of the ultimate icon for the attitude era. But that's what I'm talking about when I say different wrestlers are icons to different degrees. When you think of the attitude era though, Austin comes to mind right away.

But the way my mind works, when I think of any concept, there are only a select few pictures that come to my mind to represent it. That's why I'm so hesitant to throw the word icon around to just anyone. Because when it really comes down to it, it's like I said...what non-wrestling fan who doesn't know anybody who watches wrestling is gonna think of Ric Flair when they think of wrestling? Or even Kurt Angle or Bret Hart? Yes, I'd say those three are definitely icons among wrestling fans, but that's about as far as it goes. Same with Shawn Michaels. Undertaker is kind of borderline in my opinion, I'd say a lot of people know who he is, but not like The Rock, Hogan, or Sting.

As far as your honorable mentions, the only one I agree with is The Rock, but I think he should be higher on the list. I'm a huge wrestling fan, and when I think of wrestling, I don't automatically think of any of those guys you honorably mentioned.

 

[IrishCanadian25]

I think it will be a Universal Truth among wrestling fans that Austin is an icon because he truly defined an era. As the Rock goes though, I am going to say something that is extremely unpopular.

The Rock is an all time great performer, but let's also look at his longevity and impact. He did sort of ride the coat tails of Austin and other guys who truly started "The Attitude Era." The fans who cared about The Rock the most were the ones brought to the dance by some of the others. That isn't condemming the man, and yes he did help push the Attitude Era, but Austin is the Icon of the era.

Then. let's look at the fact that The Rock never went through one of the WWE "droughts" like right now. The Rock grabbed the fame at the peak of wrestling popularity in the 90's, made it even MORE popular, but then skipped out when Hollywood came calling. In terms of longevity, all of the guys listed were the glue that held things together in the bad times. The Rock can't really say that, can he?

I placed him on honorable mention for the same reason Kurt Angle made my list - ability to identify with non-mainstream fans. For God's sake, The word "Smackdown" is now oficially in Webster's dictionary! THAT is mainstream.

Da Vinci, I knew somebody would call me on The Ultimate Warrior, and I am glad you did. To determine whether or not someone was an icon, you have to take them for what they are worth at the time they defined. Michael Jackson was a pop icon in the 80's and 90's, but to take the last 7 years into account would taint the overall body of work. In the 80's and 90's, Warrior was a main-eventer, polarized fans, gave children an alternative to the yellow and red, and scored a clean win over Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 6. He was in numerous commercials, was the orignal Slim Jim guy, and some say really was the biggest impact on merchandise sales for a 4 or 5 year period. But, again the longevity thing comes in, he didn't last long enough to be on the list of true Icons. Hence, honorable mention.

Given the logic that kept Rock and Warrior on H.M. and off the list, I could concede moving Angle down, but his legitimate contact with the real sporting world is too glaring to pass up.

 

[Unrated Superstar]

I don't really think being an icon is a matter of whether or not a guy was in the right place at the right time. I think the bottom line is that The Rock was such a big mainstream star, regardless of when he was at his peak, or leaving for Hollywood. I guess I just think of icons more based on their image and representation of the business than their actual accomplishments and longevity and such.