Which wrestlers are synonymous with the sport?

[Wald]

Had this argument recently where a few names were tossed about like the obvious (Hogan), the debatable (Bret Hart) and the probably nots (Edge) so wanted to get your guys opinions.

For me to make this statement about a wrestler I have to think he became almost bigger than the entire industry, to the extent that anyone that is into popular culture would know exactly who they are and what they are about, whilst being also on top of the wrestling world itself.

For that reason I put forward that only the Rock, Hogan and Austin qualify and I don't think they need any explainations. More so what interested me was who I didn't think qualify as I broke the list of wrestlers into three tiers. More can be added obviously as this is just about opinions

First Tier: Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin and the Rock
Second Tier: Ric Flair, the Undertaker, Bret Hart, Macho Man, Roddy Piper, Ultimate Warrior
Third Tier: Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Mankind, John Cena, Edge, Sting

I can argue these ones individually but I will say that a lot of it comes down to who my non-wrestling fan friends would recognise. First tier I'd be safe in saying at least a 95% recognition rate, second tier would drop significantly to about 60%, third tier would be more like 40% I feel.

 

[Adalam]

Outside of his match with the Rock and the countless comparisons to Hogan, someone actually had the guts to mention Cena in the same breath as Rock, Hogan, and Austin? I'm shocked! Cena is not on their level. He doesn't even stack up to the Tier Three guys in their primes! Edge, granted, was someone Cena could contend with, so both are sort of fringe Tier Threes for that in terms of ability. Name Recognition, I hear far more about Hogan, Flair, Warrior, Sting, Rock, and Austin than I ever here of Cena and Edge.

 

[Znelli96]

Outside of his match with the Rock and the countless comparisons to Hogan, someone actually had the guts to mention Cena in the same breath as Rock, Hogan, and Austin? I'm shocked! Cena is not on their level. He doesn't even stack up to the Tier Three guys in their primes! Edge, granted, was someone Cena could contend with, so both are sort of fringe Tier Threes for that in terms of ability. Name Recognition, I hear far more about Hogan, Flair, Warrior, Sting, Rock, and Austin than I ever here of Cena and Edge.

Did you read the question? It wasn't whos the most popular, whos the most skilled, who is the most charismatic its who's is synonymous with WWE. If you ask almost anyone who is caught up with Mainstream stuff, they will about 90% of the time know who John Cena is.

 

[The Average Guy]

Outside of his match with the Rock and the countless comparisons to Hogan, someone actually had the guts to mention Cena in the same breath as Rock, Hogan, and Austin? I'm shocked! Cena is not on their level. He doesn't even stack up to the Tier Three guys in their primes! Edge, granted, was someone Cena could contend with, so both are sort of fringe Tier Threes for that in terms of ability. Name Recognition, I hear far more about Hogan, Flair, Warrior, Sting, Rock, and Austin than I ever here of Cena and Edge.

You missed the point of the topic. Cena is as popular as far as outside popularity and being SYNONYMOUS with the industry. Even if you dont watch wrestling at all you probably know who John Cena is, but if you dont watch wrestling you've probably never heard of Edge.

 

[Wald]

I agree with most of what you have their but its wrong. One thing is wrong. John Cena is and always will be a tier 1 Superstar. No doubt about it.

I honestly don't think he is, I would have him in tier 2 alright but I don't think he has had as much of an impact on the WWF and wrestling as Hogan or Austin and he hasn't come close to the Rock or Hogan when it comes to mainstream exposure.

That said putting him in tier 3 is probably showing my age a bit, he should be tier 2 most likely. Speaking of showing my age....Andre the Giant. I got into wrestling about WM4 when he was very much on the outs so hence my stupidity here, he would make tier 1 alright for his mainstream exposure and wrestling success in the 70s/80s

Also I guess something that should be remembered is that certain wrestlers were more in the public eye in different parts of the world. For example: It's not a massive leap for someone from Europe to say that Bret Hart has more name recognition for non-wrestling fans than Steve Austin. The WWF was at it's peak of popularity in Europe around 1991/92 and Bret was pretty much everyone's favourite and he got on all the TV shows and magazine covers over here

 

[dtroppe]

I think Macho Man may be a tier 1 guy. The guy is very recognizable and did receive a lot of mainstream attention. I think if you asked most people to name famous wrestlers they would name him along with Hogan, Rock, and Austin. I think the tier 2 of the OP is very good. Def Taker and Warrior. Prob add Cena to Tier 2.

Cena is still in the middle of his career so he has time to reach the Tier 1 level. A heel turn one day may gain attention. Also he may get lucky and have a success in a movie role. All of these could catapolt him to tier 1.

 

[xxxdaniel_ariesxxx]

How can you have a Tier One, let alone Tiers Two and Three, with out Andre The Giant on it? Bruno Samartino? Superstar Billy Graham? Lou Thez? Gorgeous George? you do know that there was wrestling before Vince McMahon Jr. bought his fathers company, right? in the 50's wrestlers like Gorgeous George and Lou Thez were some of the biggest names in the country, not just wrestling, due to how much wresting was on TV at that time. They were as big as Hogan was in the 80's in terms of name recognition, easily.

 

[MaxSteel]

From what I actually noticed:

Tier One: The Rock, Hulk Hogan, Macho Man, John Cena, Ric Flair, The Undertaker (Apperantly people easily remember him due to his gimmic), Eddie Guerrero (Guess why people know him), Andre the Giant, Stone Cold Steve Austin
Tier Two: Triple H, Sawn Michaels, Bret Hart, CM Punk, , Roddy Piper, Ultimate Warrior, Sting, Mike Folly, Big Show
Tier Three: Edge, Chris Jericho, Kurt Angle, Matt/Jeff Hardy, probably many others but I cba remembering all of them

Again, this is from just my personal experience of people knowing wrestlers. And around 50% of it is from my country, which isn't USA. (Other 50% is from non-wrestling forums)

 

[setesh]

Either I'm miss reading the meaning of this topic or most of you are, I think what is being asked is if you were to ask non wrestling fans to name a wrestler or two The Rock, Austin and Hogan will be the top three names. yeah Cena is big IN WRESTLING, but out side of the sport he's done a few movies that are straight to DVD. But would he be someone a non fan knows? maybe.. But again this is how I interpreted the question.

 

[Paralyzer Z]

There is are only 2 answers with this to this question: Hulk Hogan and The Rock.

When a professional wrestling fan looks at Austin, Cena(at the moment, he will inevitably join Hogan and Rock), or even HHH you think of wrestling. However what happens when a non-wrestling fan looks at them? They think of guys that you have either never seen before, or an actor you once saw. It all depends on how synonymous you have not only become with wrestling with fans of it, but with the media and people in general.

Most people wrestling fan or not know that Hogan and Rock have ventured outside of wrestling and exploited their wrestling past to non-WWE fans. More people even if they have never seen RAW or SD know that Hogan or Rock were wrestlers at first glance, as well as of course the WWE fans. They are the men who journeyed outside of the sport and became popular actors or whatever Hogan did, so more people can associate them with wrestling.

 

[IHW]

You have to have Kurt Angle in there somewhere.

He is a great pure wrestler, and many people think of him when you bring up pro-wrestling.

 

[jacdnwarrior]

First Tier: Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin and the Rock
Second Tier: Ric Flair, the Undertaker, Bret Hart, Macho Man, Roddy Piper, Ultimate Warrior
Third Tier: Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Mankind, John Cena, Edge, Sting

Ok I sort of understand your topic and would say I agree with most of what you're saying but disagree with some of your placings.

Randy Savage is a Tier one performer imo, in thanks to his Slim Jim commericals and his run during the 80s in the Hogan era nad with NWO in WCW during the 90s Monday night Wars. These things, events, eras helped bring him to the mainstream. Sting, Triple H, Kurt Angle and John Cena might be on the cusp of that as well in large part to some film roles and their exposure thanks to show appearances and so on. Sting and Triple H might be between tier two and tier one thanks to the amount of exposure they received during the Monday Night Wars.

The other guys, I'd consider to be tier two. Their popularity is within the realm of the wrestling fanbase.

 

[kokoBawesome]

just go talk to someone from your job, anyone with a kid, or just your average guy and slip into the conversation, "you've heard of john Cena right?" if they say no, come back and tell us.

you wont be back.


tier 1 should only be Hogan and Andre, they should be above the top tier in reality.

tier 1b should be the rock, austin and cena

everyone else is only as famous as you want to pretend they are. use the "ask your mom rule." if your mom knows who they are they're famous, if your mom knew who they were before you started watching wrestling they're actually famous.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I am going to answer this question from a UK perspective, and by chance I happened to watch the top 50 superstars of all time yesterday, and my Dad happened to be in the room...and this is a man who DOES NOT LIKE WRESTLING.

He showed an interest in the program, and was shocked that Hulk Hogan was only rated number 17th (or maybe 16th) on the list, as he thought Hogan was the biggest name in wrestling history, which he is.

The fact that a non-wrestling fan, at 60 years of age knows Hulk Hogan, shows how he has crossed into popular culture across the world, same as Ric Flair, Stone Cold and The Rock who were the others my Dad knew. He knows Undertaker and Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart, and is familiar with the names Triple H and Mick Foley, but its really Austin, Hogan and Rock who really are the first names that jump to mind when a casual fan, or even a non-fan are asked about wrestling. They ARE wrestling

 

[lowandmighty]

I think Andre The Giant is pretty synonymous but Hulk Hogan is definitely the one then the rock. Not everyone has heard of Austin somehow or even ric flair. One of my friends the other day asked me who ric flair is when I mentioned him. Its weird how hogan got so famous, he hardly made that many appearances, I think he became kind of mythological somewhere along the line.

 

[Mustang Sally]

How can you have a Tier One, let alone Tiers Two and Three, with out Andre The Giant on it? Bruno Samartino? Superstar Billy Graham? Lou Thez? Gorgeous George? you do know that there was wrestling before Vince McMahon Jr. bought his fathers company, right? in the 50's wrestlers like Gorgeous George and Lou Thez were some of the biggest names in the country, not just wrestling, due to how much wresting was on TV at that time. They were as big as Hogan was in the 80's in terms of name recognition, easily.

Good for you! Just because something happened before we were old enough to remember it doesn't mean it wasn't important. I've been told that little old Italian grandmothers in Brooklyn knew who Bruno Sammartino was, even though they had never watched pro wrestling in their lives. ("That sommanabeetch!") That's what I call being synonymous with the sport. Gorgeous George had the same fame outside his profession; everyone knew who he was. To that list, I would add Strangler Lewis, Dick the Bruiser and Ric Flair.

By the same token, I don't see guys like Edge and Warrior being synonymous with wrestling. They were great stars in their time but you don't hear their names raised when non-wrestling people think of the sport. I'd wager that many people who saw Edge's recent appearances on TV didn't even know he was a wrestler.

Let's not be so quick to throw the "synonymous" honor around, otherwise we're going to see people like Barry Horowitz and Shannon Moore make the list.

 

[The Eighties]

If it's a case of asking the question to people who don't like wrestling I'd suggest you need to use an age filter, because older people will list Hogan, Andre and Piper, maybe Savage as well, but if you are asking a 20 year old non fan they aren't likely to name 3 of those 4.

Rock is mentioned a lot but I think he's more famous for being the wrestler who made it as an actor, the others like Hogan, Andre and Austin were household names because of wrestling.

 

[Harthan]

The first man that has to be mentioned here is Hulk Hogan. Love or hate what he's become, no matter whom you speak to, if you mention wrestling, the stereotypical, prototypical pro wrestler of the modern era is Hulk Hogan. He built the modern era of wrestling along with Vince McMahon and essentially created the business as it is today. There's no one more synonymous with professional wrestling than Hogan is.

The Rock is probably a good number two. I think if you ask most people for another wrestler, they'll mention the Rock. Arguably, that may be more for his wrestling career rather than his wrestling career exactly, but nevertheless, the Rock has become an icon whose general recognition has surpassed Steve Austin. If you want a banner name to represent the post Hogan era of the WWF, the Rock is probably the safest bet. Right behind him is Austin. A bigger star in wrestling, but I don't think he's as well known overall or as synonymous (for the layman) with wrestling.

There are a lot of other names you can consider. Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Triple H, Mick Foley, Randy Savage, Ric Flair, Sting. The thing is, I'm thinking "synonymous" is a pretty big deal. I'm thinking the guy that's the first in your mind, and especially in the mind of someone who doesn't know wrestling well, when you talk about wrestling. I don't know that any of those guys really, really fit the bill. Synonymy is a big deal, and I think you have to reserve it for a select few.

Good for you! Just because something happened before we were old enough to remember it doesn't mean it wasn't important. I've been told that little old Italian grandmothers in Brooklyn knew who Bruno Sammartino was, even though they had never watched pro wrestling in their lives. ("That sommanabeetch!") That's what I call being synonymous with the sport. Gorgeous George had the same fame outside his profession; everyone knew who he was. To that list, I would add Strangler Lewis, Dick the Bruiser and Ric Flair.

By the same token, I don't see guys like Edge and Warrior being synonymous with wrestling. They were great stars in their time but you don't hear their names raised when non-wrestling people think of the sport. I'd wager that many people who saw Edge's recent appearances on TV didn't even know he was a wrestler.

Let's not be so quick to throw the "synonymous" honor around, otherwise we're going to see people like Barry Horowitz and Shannon Moore make the list.

I also wanted to address this. The question here has to be carefully considered. What wrestlers are synonymous with wrestling. Not which wrestlers were. Wrestling has a short memory, moreso than, say, baseball or football. Maybe Willie Mays is still synonymous with baseball, but Sammartino isn't. 50 years ago, everyone knew who Sammartino, Gorgeous George, and Lou Thesz was when they talked about wrestling. Now? They're names reserved for the few who keep the history. We're talking about synonymous with wrestling. The name that everyone, not just the people who are passionate wrestling fan, associates with it. The old names no longer fit the bill. You can bemoan it all you want, and well you should, but the fact remains - Sammartino and his contemporaries have faded into obscurity.

 

[Mustang Sally]

The question here has to be carefully considered. What wrestlers are synonymous with wrestling. Not which wrestlers were. Wrestling has a short memory, moreso than, say, baseball or football. Maybe Willie Mays is still synonymous with baseball, but Sammartino isn't. 50 years ago, everyone knew who Sammartino, Gorgeous George, and Lou Thesz was when they talked about wrestling. Now? They're names reserved for the few who keep the history. We're talking about synonymous with wrestling. The name that everyone, not just the people who are passionate wrestling fan, associates with it. The old names no longer fit the bill. You can bemoan it all you want, and well you should, but the fact remains - Sammartino and his contemporaries have faded into obscurity.

Point taken, but I see the term "synonymous" a little differently. I say that time doesn't diminish whether a person is synonymous with something, it's just that the people remembering them get older. After all, Jesus Christ is still synonymous with Christianity and Abraham Lincoln is still synonymous with freeing the slaves. The passage of time doesn't change this.

So, granted there aren't as many people who remember Bruno Sammartino in the ring, but anyone, young or old, who has heard of him would most likely consider him synonymous with pro wrestling. Same with Hulk Hogan or Gorgeous George. If a person has never heard of them because they're too young to remember, then yes, they might see it as you do. But these guys will always be synonymous with wrestling; they transcended their profession, whereas guys like Edge and Warrior were simply popular performers during their careers.

 

[Harthan]

Point taken, but I see the term "synonymous" a little differently. I say that time doesn't diminish whether a person is synonymous with something, it's just that the people remembering them get older. After all, Jesus Christ is still synonymous with Christianity and Abraham Lincoln is still synonymous with freeing the slaves. The passage of time doesn't change this.

So, granted there aren't as many people who remember Bruno Sammartino in the ring, but anyone, young or old, who has heard of him would most likely consider him synonymous with pro wrestling. Same with Hulk Hogan or Gorgeous George. If a person has never heard of them because they're too young to remember, then yes, they might see it as you do. But these guys will always be synonymous with wrestling; they transcended their profession, whereas guys like Edge and Warrior were simply popular performers during their careers.

Christ's synonymy with Christianity or Lincoln's synonymy with freeing the slaves hasn't got anything to do with their actions themselves; it has everything to do with history remembering them, and the number of people that keep that history. I can't continue these analogies because they're not entirely analogous to wrestling, but I can offer another one. Who's more synonymous with rock music - Buddy Holly, or the Beatles? The Beatles are, because more people remember them. Meanwhile, Buddy Holly is remembered on a smaller scale, in small circles. In terms of quality, or notoriety in his prime, one could debate his merits versus the Beatles. But synonymy isn't about quality in prime, or how the inside circle remembers you. When you ask whether someone is synonymous with something, you ask how everybody - the broadest audience possible - associates you with that thing. I doubt that the majority of people you could consult today even know who Bruno Sammartino is. To those of us who are part of the small group of fans who remember this history, it's a different conversation. But absolute synonymy is too broad to include Sammartino and his compatriots.

 

[Papa Pillman]

What I take form what you're saying is this... If I stopped random people on the street and showed them pictures of people/celebrities and asked "who is this person, and what are they most known for?", what wrestlers would the average person be able to recognize and identify?... in other words Household Names, guys who have transcended professional wrestling to some degree to become more a part of the greater pop-culture landscape...
With that understanding of the question in mind, I'd say the list is(more or less in this order):
Hogan
Rock
Austin
Flair
Macho Man
Cena
Sting
Undertaker
Mick Foley
Chris Jericho
Also, maybe to some degree, Hart and HBK
And for the slightly older crowd, also throw in Piper and Andre.

All of those guys would be familiar, to some varying degree for some specific reason or another, to a person who has no interest in, or experience with, following pro wrestling.
I don't think there is anyone else who has transcended the business enough to be lumped into the "household name" category.

 

[Jaystrong322]

How can you have a Tier One, let alone Tiers Two and Three, with out Andre The Giant on it? Bruno Samartino? Superstar Billy Graham? Lou Thez? Gorgeous George? you do know that there was wrestling before Vince McMahon Jr. bought his fathers company, right? in the 50's wrestlers like Gorgeous George and Lou Thez were some of the biggest names in the country, not just wrestling, due to how much wresting was on TV at that time. They were as big as Hogan was in the 80's in terms of name recognition, easily.

Thank you!!!

Those names would definitely be on my list. Bruno Sammartino is a local legend where I live and is one of the most recognizable names in wrestling history. Those 5 certainly have their hand in the pot of most recognizable from a historians perspective, of course a modern, common fan probably wouldn't have a clue about any of them aside from Andre.