Bernkastel
Reaper of Miracles
When one thinks of Mount Rushmore they think of "innovation," "lasting influence," and "popularity." Now of course there are reasons why the 4 presidents are on the monument in South Dakota, but how about a monument dedicated for pro wrestling? Working with 4 faces, who would you choose to represent the whole industry? Through its multiple booms and doldrums. Through periods of obscurity and pop culture phenomena. Celebrated sports stars and entertainers. Which wrestlers best captured the essence of pro wrestling?
Here's mine...
Hulk Hogan - I feel that this monument cannot be genuine without the Hulkster. He was the biggest draw of the modern era and his style of working really influenced the current sports entertainment product. Known everywhere throughout the 80's as a pop culture icon, Hogan led the boom that put wrestling back on the map and paved the way for plenty of others that came after him. His success also opened the door for WWE to take the steps necessary to start putting their competition out of business. And later, when Hogan jumped ship to the competition, he reinvented himself with the NWO becoming a pop culture sensation in two separate decades.
Lou Thesz - I feel Thesz is a pivotal choice as he was the biggest wrestling star in the 50's. The NWA was the organization that not only unified all the world titles from before WW2 under one banner, but through their partnerships the different promoters would eventually give rise to the territories, and it was the NWA champion's job to make sure the demands and needs of each promoter in the organization were met, and no one did this better than Lou Thesz. He traveled everywhere, defended everywhere, and drew everywhere.
Ed Strangler Lewis - Lewis is an important historical figure. He was one of the sports greatest champions after Frank Gotch. He possessed great charisma and used his lasting appeal to set many of wrestling's foundations. The Lewis trope placed time limits on matches. Developed new finishes. They ran cards. They demonstrated that wrestlers without legit grappling skills could be used to draw money. Lewis working heel developed many of the techniques that modern heels still use today. He also ran some of the earliest pro wrestling story lines, and found ways to continuously dupe fans from parting with their money. At his peak he enjoyed popularity on par with Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, and John Barrymore.
Jim Londos - I went back and forth on this one. Jim Londos is generally regarded as the best drawing card in pro wrestling history. For 28 months he drew more big gates than anyone ever, and all during the 30's where people had little to no money to spend, but yet they'd gladly spend a weekly wage on a ticket to go see Jim Londos. Londos is credited as being one of the first gimmick wrestlers in the industry. One of the first to really use showmanship to his advantage, and the boom period he led in the 30's was one of the most important as it established solid business in cities, like New York, that did not have a strong pro wrestling presence or tradition before.
So those are the 4 heads of my pro wrestling Mount Rushmore. What are yours?
Here's mine...
Hulk Hogan - I feel that this monument cannot be genuine without the Hulkster. He was the biggest draw of the modern era and his style of working really influenced the current sports entertainment product. Known everywhere throughout the 80's as a pop culture icon, Hogan led the boom that put wrestling back on the map and paved the way for plenty of others that came after him. His success also opened the door for WWE to take the steps necessary to start putting their competition out of business. And later, when Hogan jumped ship to the competition, he reinvented himself with the NWO becoming a pop culture sensation in two separate decades.
Lou Thesz - I feel Thesz is a pivotal choice as he was the biggest wrestling star in the 50's. The NWA was the organization that not only unified all the world titles from before WW2 under one banner, but through their partnerships the different promoters would eventually give rise to the territories, and it was the NWA champion's job to make sure the demands and needs of each promoter in the organization were met, and no one did this better than Lou Thesz. He traveled everywhere, defended everywhere, and drew everywhere.
Ed Strangler Lewis - Lewis is an important historical figure. He was one of the sports greatest champions after Frank Gotch. He possessed great charisma and used his lasting appeal to set many of wrestling's foundations. The Lewis trope placed time limits on matches. Developed new finishes. They ran cards. They demonstrated that wrestlers without legit grappling skills could be used to draw money. Lewis working heel developed many of the techniques that modern heels still use today. He also ran some of the earliest pro wrestling story lines, and found ways to continuously dupe fans from parting with their money. At his peak he enjoyed popularity on par with Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, and John Barrymore.
Jim Londos - I went back and forth on this one. Jim Londos is generally regarded as the best drawing card in pro wrestling history. For 28 months he drew more big gates than anyone ever, and all during the 30's where people had little to no money to spend, but yet they'd gladly spend a weekly wage on a ticket to go see Jim Londos. Londos is credited as being one of the first gimmick wrestlers in the industry. One of the first to really use showmanship to his advantage, and the boom period he led in the 30's was one of the most important as it established solid business in cities, like New York, that did not have a strong pro wrestling presence or tradition before.
So those are the 4 heads of my pro wrestling Mount Rushmore. What are yours?
