Who Is The Best On Screen Technical Wrestler On WWE Now?

[Mudlup50]

With the firing of Del Rio(or not firing but whatever), Daniel Bryan's injury, CM Punk leaving the company...who is the best technical wrestler left? Of course this is also a question of the way they're shown on TV, because we could argue most anybody can be a good technical wrestler.

I'd have to say personally Jack Swagger, with an actual amateur wrestling background and a very technical style pretty much always on display it seems like he's the best one left.

So what are your thoughts? I'm genuinely curious so I can watch Raw more intent to see if they impress me xP

 

[pipebomber]

Chris Jericho. He's a true technician. He's easily the best currently active technician in WWE.

 

[Reflection]

If it was TNA, it would be a very easy answer- Kurt Angle, since the commentators keep acknowledging his Olympic past and mat-wrestling skills.

However, in WWE, they rarely, if ever, put any emphasis on mat wrestling or acknowledge a wrestler's skills in that field. We on the internet call Alberto, Jericho, Cesaro, Punk and Tyson Kidd technical wrestlers, but WWE presents them as a great Mexican export, (currently) a Rockstar, a strong guy, a burst-your-bubble guy, and a female wrestler's husband.
Still, if we had to name one, I guess it would be Daniel Bryan. CM Punk called him "a submission specialist" in one of his promos, he had "Submission Wrestling" written at the back of one of his T-shirts, and him wrestling internationally was also acknowledged a few times. None that I can think of apart from him (and Jack Swagger, that you mentioned).

 

[blueskyy]

Technical or non-technical aside, I've been thinking about an even broader question. Who else, aside from the temps, and tag-teams can work a match properly? I could think of only a few.

1. Chris Jericho
2. Sheamus
3. Luke Harper
4. The Usos (but they're tag-team)
5. RVD (but he's a temp)
6. Triple H (but he's a temp)
7. Broke Lesnar (but he's a temp)
8. John Cena (can't really tell)

In regards to Jack Swagger, I don't regard him as a technical wrestler because he's a bad technical wrestler. Cesaro is a better technical wrestler than him, though he seldom does that nowadays. And they were both not that great at working a match, it depends a lot of time who their opponents were.

That's the sad state of affair of WWE now (at least to me). Maybe they're heading in a different direction now - more acting and gimmicks, less wrestling.

 

[Pedigree1]

As far as in ring technician goes,I guess Y2J,but after he leaves then who? I would say Jack Swagger.. Swags is an all-american wrestler at OU and a great in-ring worker.. Plus Tyson Kidd can wrestle! Wrestler his ass off,he is great at what he does its just too bad hes not on Raw or Smackdown..

Plus Ziggler can wrestle in case anyone hasnt noticed.. He is a great seller and can mat wrestle with the best of em! Plus coming soon to a WWE ring near you will be Kurt Angle

 

[Mudlup50]

I completely forgot about Tyson Kidd xP as I remember he could work a good match. Obviously Jericho is up there, but I don't see how Swagger isn't a technical wrestler. Cesaro seems like he can, but I personally haven't seen enough to tell.

 

[TheDrix]

I think Evan Bourne was fine But I would choose as everyone Y2J..or Usos

 

[Sweettre15]

As far as "technically gifted" performers on the roster currently with Daniel Bryan injured :

Dolph Ziggler: Brilliant seller with a strong amateur wrestling background. Having a record breaking amount of wins during his time in Kenn State

Antonio Cesaro: an imposing performer that has shown that he can alternate between mat wrestling and brawling easily

Seth Rollins: Great mix of highflying and mat wrestling in a way that makes his style seem like a cross between Mid 90s HBK and Jeff Hardy

Dean Ambrose: Crisp worker that does his best to avoid any wasted movement ala Randy Orton/Jake The Snake

Randy Orton: Very similar to Ambrose and Jake The Snake in the way he approaches offense in his matches. Crisp, no wasted movement and can have any match you want him to have easily.

 

[S'All Goodman]

There are a few "Technically Gifted" Wrestlers on the WWE and NXT roster IMO. I'll stick with the main roster and say Sheamus, Cesaro and Randy Orton. Although Orton bores the hell out of me, i can't recall him making any botches and his matches on his side are near perfect. He has amazing offence when in the "Viper" persona but I haven't been interested in a one-on-one match with him since his series last year.

I don't know why Sheamus gets so much stick on here, he can have great matches with almost anybody. I think he can be a great US Champion and if the titles where to ever get Unified, and Brock was to win the WWEWHC Championship, i'd love to see Sheamus feud with Bryan/Cena for the USIC Title.

Finally Cesaro, IMO he is the complete package, if he had more time on the mic i think he would be fighting for the WWEWHC at the earliest, NOC. I'm definatly not an "indie mark" but i have watched a lot of Cesaro throughout his career and i think he is the most technical wrestler on the roster.

 

[southrnbygrace]

For my money Ziggler and Cesaro are more technical wrestlers than many others. But Seth Rollins is probably the best in the company at the moment. Like you said, however, WWE doesn't put much stock in technical skills much to their detriment.

 

[Creepy Old Man]

Being the best technical wrestler is like being the guy with the biggest biceps. It means nothing without other catalysts for greatness, which is why ROH and most of TNA is garbage.

That said, it's Jericho. A guy who could easily be argued as one of the top 10 ever.

 

[Good Golly It's Ollie]

For my money Ziggler and Cesaro are more technical wrestlers than many others. But Seth Rollins is probably the best in the company at the moment. Like you said, however, WWE doesn't put much stock in technical skills much to their detriment.

They put a lot of stock in technical skills, it's just not the be-all and end-all. Look at how many ex-ROH or other indy guys have been snapped up over the last couple of years.

As for the best? It's a tough call but of the people consistently on screen every Raw, possibly Swags or Dolph. They are two of the legit wrestlers after all. Or Cesaro. The immediate handful have mostly been mentioned already.

But WWE clearly value technical skills to some degree or they'd never have employed all these guys. They'd be looking entirely at ex-footballers and bodybuilders otherwise.

 

[southrnbygrace]

If they truly put stock in it the matches would be way more entertaining. Don't get me wrong, there's a place for the brawlers. Heck, my fav wrestler of all time is Stan Hansen. He was not by any stretch of the imagination a technical wrestler. But there is something so beautiful about two guys that know the ins and outs of all those amazing moves. If anything, I believe WWE tells the guys NOT to use all the technical stuff they know because most fans today couldn't give a rats ass. They just want to see guys punching and kicking and jumping for 10 or 15 minutes. I don't think it's WWE's fault. They had to change with their audience.

 

[Kidpolean]

First off....CM Punk should not even be mentioned here AT ALL. Punk was super sloppy in the ring, slow, not athletic, and uncoordinated. I love punk but he was not a great technician.

If we are talking about active "every week" wrestlers than Its hard to put anyone over Orton, Rollins, or Cesaro. Ziggler is up there as well but I think he is slightly below those three. HHH when active is a great as well...I know people wont agree with that lol. If I had to choose one right now...Id go with Cesaro.

 

[bryan vs cm punk wm30]

First off....CM Punk should not even be mentioned here AT ALL. Punk was super sloppy in the ring, slow, not athletic, and uncoordinated. I love punk but he was not a great technician.


Are you serious punk was one of the best performers wwe had. He carried the undertaker at wrestlemania 29, had a great match with Jericho at payback, had one of the best matches of 2013 with Brock Lesnar at summerslam and John Cena before wrestlemania 29.

 

[Aquaman6686]

Discounting Chris Jericho who is part-time, best technical wrestler on the roster is Jack Swagger, best overall in-ring performer is Dolph Ziggler.

 

[Kidpolean]

First off....CM Punk should not even be mentioned here AT ALL. Punk was super sloppy in the ring, slow, not athletic, and uncoordinated. I love punk but he was not a great technician.


Are you serious punk was one of the best performers wwe had. He carried the undertaker at wrestlemania 29, had a great match with Jericho at payback, had one of the best matches of 2013 with Brock Lesnar at summerslam and John Cena before wrestlemania 29.

First off Punk didn't carry Taker to anything. Taker had the best match at wm 25, 26, 27, and 28 without CM Punk. Secondly, Brock, Cena, and Jericho are all great with or without Punk. Punk has had great matches but he isn't a great technician. They aren't the same thing. Punk is entertaining and knows how to control a match while telling a good story but he botches 50% of his moves, no mat skills at all, is slow, and at times he tries moves that he is clearly not athletic enough to pull off.

 

[NegativeFeedback]

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert and say who has the best "workrate", or who has the best in-ring psychology. But I will tell you who does the most beautiful looking moves, whose selling I believe the most, and who puts on the most entertaining matches. CM Punk, Daniel Bryan and Alberto Del Rio were up there on that list so it's sad to lose all of them. But here would be my current list:

(An honorable mention goes to Adrian Neville, Sami Zayn and Tyson Kidd, who are all sitting down at NXT putting on some spectacular matches but have yet to come to the main roster.)

The Top 5

My current top 5 would be (1) Dolph Ziggler, (2) Seth Rollins, (3) Cesaro, (4) Dean Ambrose & (5) Stardust. Dolph is just phenomenal in the ring, and I never feel like he has disappointed me. Dean and Cesaro have been stepping it up and I can't wait until they have a time to shine and maybe crack the top spot on this list. They still haven't had that instant classic yet though, but their weekly performances have yet to disappoint. Cody has always been a personal favorite, and I'm really digging his performance as Stardust. I just wish he got to face some newer opponents every week.

Rounding out the Top 10

The rest of the top 10 would be (6) Luke Harper, (7) Goldust, (8) Chris Jericho, (9) Sheamus and (10) Randy Orton. Luke is someone that has been impressing me every week, but he has yet to have a proper long singles match to take him to that next level. His tag team performances have been great though. Goldust and Jericho are both past their prime, but they are still killing it at great levels. They can still carry green guys to great matches and that's all you can ask from them. Sheamus and Randy are 2 of the best main eventers WWE has, but it also feels like their best work is behind them. Still, their weekly matches are still above and beyond the rest of the roster.

Places 11-15

Beyond those, I would put (11) Jey Uso, (12) Jimmy Uso, (13) John Cena, (14) Kofi Kingston, and (15) Diego. John continues to compete at a high level and put on good matches with the top 10 ring generals, but he still isn't really able to get a great match out of the people at the bottom of this list. The Usos however have gotten some great matches out of guys like Ryback and Erick Rowan, so they are obviously doing some great work. Kofi and Diego are also 2 guys who compete at a high level, but WWE just doesn't do much with them, which is a bummer.

Places 16-20

(16) Sin Cara, (17) Bray Wyatt, (18) Jack Swagger, (19) Damien Sandow & (20) Heath Slater. I'm probably Hunico's only fan left, but I'm a big fan of his work and get upset every time he's called out to do the job. I'm hoping he can get pushed in a tag team with Kalisto, because he's being severely underused. Bray is amazing at incorporating his character to his matches, but he's still got miles to go to compete with the best of the best. Jack, Damien and Heath are all guys who have it in them to be top workers, but they need lengthier matches and more exposure in big match situations. Jack is getting his due though, let's hope he doesn't drop the ball.

Beyond the top 20

After them, you have (21) The Miz, (22) Erick Rowan, (23) Rusev, (24) Big E & (25) Kane who are all capable of putting on good matches, but only when sitting across someone who knows what they're doing. The above guys have been able to carry these guys to some good matches recently, so they deserve some high placement.

(26) Fandango, (27) Rob Van Dam, (28) Curtis Axel (29) Xavier Woods & (30) R-Truth have left a lot to be desired recently. They should all be much higher on the list if I gave more weight to their much older material, but they have really been boring me on a consistent basis in 2014. But they have enough great matches under their belt for me to keep them in the top 30.

(31) Roman Reigns, (32) Mark Henry, (33) Ryback, (34) Zack Ryder & (35) Titus O'Neil all need some work in the ring. Henry has never really done well in a face role and at his age, he's not going to get any better. He should turn heel where he feels more comfortable in the ring. Titus and Ryback both need some grooming and to find their swagger, but I think they are both better suited on the face side of things. Ryder is just criminally underused not letting him improve at all, and on the opposite end, Roman Reigns is being overexposed on TV giving him more opportunities to blunder. He hasn't really put on anything memorable between the bells.

(36) El Torito, (37) The Big Show, (38) Adam Rose, (39) Hornswoggle, & (40) The Great Khali. Honestly, I see no future in any of them. Big Show keeps putting on the same match over and over again and I'm frankly dreading his return. Hornswoggle and El Torito might be amazing technicians, but WWE would never show that. Khali and Adam are both comedy guys and bring nothing to the table other than a few laughs at how pathetic their characters are. They're the bottom of WWE's talent pole.

I'm not counting the NXT guys (including Justin Gabriel & Tyson Kidd) because they aren't working the main roster and it's unfair to bundle them together. Brock Lesnar isn't working either. He'll be back for one match and then leave. And if I only count his last match, he's probably at the bottom. Hopefully he's back in form for SummerSlam.

Bad News Barrett, Christian, Daniel Bryan, Darren Young, Fernando & Rey Mysterio are all supposedly injured, so they couldn't make the list. When they all return, I bet they will all easily make the top 30, as long as they still got it.

 

[Hbk4life]

Chris Jericho is so overrated here it's insane. And this is coming from someone that likes him. He USED to be great, but he's a shell of himself in the ring these days. Nowhere near one of their best wrestlers anymore.

 

[Mudlup50]

Chris Jericho is so overrated here it's insane. And this is coming from someone that likes him. He USED to be great, but he's a shell of himself in the ring these days. Nowhere near one of their best wrestlers anymore.

Well where's your list out of curiosity? I'm not arguing against you, just curious

 

[Mustang Sally]

Tyson Kidd, by a mile. It's a shame that technical ability doesn't benefit his career path, but I'll bet every man in the company enjoys facing him since he works so smoothly and improves the overall quality of the match.

It's ironic that in college or high school wrestling, the term "technical" means something entirely different than in the pro game. In scholastic wrestling, you don't have to make your opponent look good; in fact, the better you can execute technical moves against him, the more success you'll enjoy. As a pro, the goal is to make your enemy look good in the ring while having him return the favor. In that regard, no one does it as well as Tyson.