Who is the greatest babyface of all time?

[stavros241000]

I don't know if you guys saw my thread about who the greatest heel of all time was, but this is obviously very similar. Who is the greatest babyface of all time and what is the feud that put them over as the greatest babyface of all time? Obviously there are many choices, more than one can count, but here is a few: Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Sting, John Cena, Ricky Steamboat, Dusty Rhodes, Rey Mysterio, Hulk Hogan, etc etc etc. Hoewever, none of these guys are my choice. My choice is... SHAWN MICHAELS! HBK, the greatest in ring performer, one of the best on the mic, wrestled the greatest match of all time when he was 44 years old, and the feud that put him over as the greatest babyface of all time was his feud with Triple H from 2002-2004. When he came back, I think every wresting fan in the world was supporting him 100%(excuse my bias). When he became WHC at the first elimination chamber, the crowd blew the roof off the place. If he did a kip up, the crowd blew the roof off the place. An elbow drop and the crowd blew the roof off the place. A SWEET CHIN MUSIC AND THE CROW BLEW THE FREAKIN ROOF OFF THE PLACE!!! He was extremely over and was in maybe the greatest shape of his career, his matches with Trips were priceless, his mic skills were as good as ever. Now I could go on and on about Shawn Michaels but I don't think anyone wants to hear that. So, who is the greatest babyface of all time? What was the feud that put them over? Throw in your 2 cents but remember, I threw 3

 

[relentless1]

Hogan was the greatest babyface of all time, nobody quite got the crowd reaction he did in his prime, a case can be made for austin but i feel he was more a anti hero than anything so my vote goes to the hulkster

 

[peter_midnight]

I don't know if you guys saw my thread about who the greatest heel of all time was, but this is obviously very similar. Who is the greatest babyface of all time and what is the feud that put them over as the greatest babyface of all time? Obviously there are many choices, more than one can count, but here is a few: Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Sting, John Cena, Ricky Steamboat, Dusty Rhodes, Rey Mysterio, Hulk Hogan, etc etc etc. Hoewever, none of these guys are my choice. My choice is... SHAWN MICHAELS! HBK, the greatest in ring performer, one of the best on the mic, wrestled the greatest match of all time when he was 44 years old, and the feud that put him over as the greatest babyface of all time was his feud with Triple H from 2002-2004. When he came back, I think every wresting fan in the world was supporting him 100%(excuse my bias). When he became WHC at the first elimination chamber, the crowd blew the roof off the place. If he did a kip up, the crowd blew the roof off the place. An elbow drop and the crowd blew the roof off the place. A SWEET CHIN MUSIC AND THE CROW BLEW THE FREAKIN ROOF OFF THE PLACE!!! He was extremely over and was in maybe the greatest shape of his career, his matches with Trips were priceless, his mic skills were as good as ever. Now I could go on and on about Shawn Michaels but I don't think anyone wants to hear that. So, who is the greatest babyface of all time? What was the feud that put them over? Throw in your 2 cents but remember, I threw 3

I seriously don't know how anyone can call Shawn Michaels the greatest anything of all time other than greatest politician and even then he couldn't politick his way out of the leg drop brother! I for one did NOT support Shawn Michaels when he came back and if anything felt that his so-called career ending back injury was just more nonsense so he wouldn't have to put over Steve Austin or anyone else clean (having the guest ring enforcer count you out and turning on you is not cleanly putting someone over).

With that said if I had to pick it would probably come down to Ricky Steamboat, Sting, Bruno Sammartino or the Ultimate Warrior based on careers alone. I don't even think the Warrior ever was a heel or booed once he went to the WWF (yes he was a heel prior to the WWF) and beyond and got a pretty damn loud reaction when he came back every time.

Ricky Steamboat was such a pure babyface that I doubt anyone could ever boo him. He prayed with his family before matches, brought his wife and son to the ring on occasion and was too humble. Seriously a great babyface if not one of the purest ever.

Personally speaking I have never been able to bring myself to boo Sting. No matter how hard Vince Russo and other bookers have tried to make Sting a heel it has never worked and that is because the fans love Sting and how could we not, after all he was friends with ROBOCOP! I think he was slightly booed as MEM, but I'm not sure as I didn't watch TNA at that time. Sting is awesome.

Bruno Sammartino like Ricky Steamboat was such a pure babyface that I doubt anyone ever wanted to boo him. He was such a hero to many and his personal life is a reflection of his true character, which is to stand up for your beliefs and morals and to live as he said in his shoot interview, "a respectable life." Bruno stood up to Vince McMahon and has never gone back on his stance against Vince because he knows Vince's true colors.

Honorable mentions: Bret "The Hitman" Hart to me will always be one of the greatest babyfaces in his heyday. Giving a lucky kid those shades just for showing up was one of the best reasons to buy a live event ticket to see the WWF over watching on TV. He's not in the same league as the other guys, but I always thought his babyface run was unique in that he would sometimes get awarded a win via referee mistake and then refuse to take the win and ask to restart the match. Always a great babyface move.

"The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith- I know this guy had a heel run, but who honestly wanted to boo Davey Boy Smith? I didn't know anybody that did and how could you. He was truly a star that was so unique and just too cool to boo. If Davey Boy were alive today, he would be one of the few people I would actually be awestruck by in person as his background, physique and uniqueness made him one of the more lovable characters. How Vince McMahon never gave this guy a title run is beyond me. Everyone remembers his match from Wembley, but I can tell you he was very over in the U.S for quite some time before turning heel.

 

[Madico_Fs]

From what I have gathered, Rickie the Dragon Steamboat has never been a heel so I would have to say the Dragon is the Ultimate Babyface

 

[xavyer]

If you mean baby face in a way that he's never been booed, i agree with Ricky Steamboat, the man was/is a legitimate good guy all around, but i also got to give it to John Cena, ok, i know he gets tons of boos, but that is not because he does bad thing, is because of the IWC and fans that don't like anything, but if you take a look at this guy, he fights clean in the ring, he doesn't want to win by cheating, that's how CM Punk defeated him the first time, plus, he's allways granting wishes to the make a wish foundation, he's allways doing something for a charity of any kind, and unlike Hulk Hogan, he's not selfish and is willing to put another superstar over, the adults may not like him, but the kids love him a lot, and i also have to mention guys like Hacksaw Jim Duggan, the Junk Yard Dog or Hillbilly Jim........

 

[HBsam31]

I have to go with Hulk Hogan. The way the crowd would erupt when his music hit the pop he got was second to none. You could argue that Stone Cold's pop was louder, but I am not so sure. Hulk Hogan was a lifestyle to wrestling fans especially kids. The training, the prayers, the vitamins was huge. He even has a workout set aimed to get kids moving. He had the American hero thing going for him to. I know Hogan later turned heel, but at the time of his original face run he was loved by the world. He was everything a parent would want in a hero for their kids as back then no one really knew about these guy's personal lives.

 

[rpwilbur]

Here's the impact of Hulk Hogan as a babyface. When Hogan went to WCW, he was a babyface for years. Then he founded the NWO, which was created by WCW as a WWF Invasion. When WCW had finally died, Vince McMahon brought Hogan, Nash and Hall in as the original NWO. Hall? Nash? Heels all the way. But Hogan? Despite a massive beatdown on the WWF's most popular wrestler, the Rock; despite running over the Rock's ambulance with a semi-truck; despite entering WrestleMania as the decided heel; Hogan got cheered tremendously. The cheering became so strong that it turned the Rock heel. So Hogan, the WCW's ultimate heel, was WWF's (and wrestling's) ultimate babyface.

Hogan over all.

 

[Tattooed Jesus]

I may not care for how his career in his later years and what he is doing now in front of and behind the cameras but there is no doubt that Hulk Hogan is the greatest baby face of all time. I don't think there has ever been a wrestler heel or face or ever will be a wrestler heel or face that was as over with the crowd as Hulk Hogan was in his prime. He was the first wrestler to transcend wrestling and make it cool to like wrestling. Austin and Rock were immensely popular and there were probably more people watching wrestling during their era than during Hogans but I still think that he was probably the most popular wrestler there ever was.

 

[thebarber]

agreed, HULK HOGAN is the greatest babyface in the history of professional wrestling. Sure guys like Tito Santana, Ricky Steamboat and Kerry Von Erich never wrestled heel, but Hogan outshines those three together. No question,

 

[Nate DaMac]

Yeah, it's Hogan. You may hate his in-ring style or his personality or whatever bullshit reason you can come up with. Hogan was the biggest star ever in wrestling. Austin is the only one who could have a claim against him because his peak may have been higher than Hogan's, but Hulk did for pretty much twice as long.

Hell an argument can be made that he was one of, if not the greatest heel ever as well. I think Flair may have him beat just by the longevity of his dominance as a heel, but Hogan's at least top 5.

 

[Just Do It]

Either Hogan or Austin IMO, but it's hard to answer. That's like saying who was better, Freddie Mercury or Michael Jackson - you'd be an idiot to discounter an argument for either.

 

[8thwotwATG]

Wow, this is a helluva topic, despite anyones' opinion or viewpoint..However, that being said, there are a handful of wrestlers who can be put on the list of the greatest babyfaces of ALL time..
Ricky"the Dragon"Steamboat
This man, in his near 25 years as a pro,NEVER wrestled as a heel, and to the best of my knowledge,was beloved and respected as a first class pro in, and out , of the squared circle... a genuine class act...his feuds w/Ric Flair in the NWA and w/ Don Muraco in theWWF/E are the stuff of legend..

Andre the Giant
All of us know that he finished his career as a heel, but in spite of this, (and his exploits in Japan as a heel), his most dominant period as a pro in North America between 1973 and aprox. 1984, saw him portrayed as a face, and due in no small part to his natural charisma and ebulliance, he was, perhaps one of the single most beloved wrestlers on the face of the Earth...During his decade plus run of dominance in the wrestling business, whenever a heel was pushed into the monster prominance, you always knew that, especially during this time, that somebody would ALWAYS be brought in to stop the monster Heel......And 99 times out of a hundred it would be ANDRE THE GIANT! As a babyface, Andre would ALWAYS sell to the monster heel, but it wasalways understood that,
A: No One pinned Andre
Andre's appeal as a great equalizer to the monster heel remained undimmed well into the 1980's until he physically broke down, and was forced to turn heel in order to put Hogan over the top.....
Bruno Sammartino
The second, and arguably most dominant WWF/E Champion in the history of the company, was another wrestler who never wrestled as a heel anytime during his long career, and was SOO good as a babyface, that his rub on his one and only protege made the career of his protege... Of course I speak of one of the more sucessfull heels in the buisness known to all as Larry Zybysko. had it been not for his heel turn on one of the single most beloved babyfaces in the history of the buisness, he would NEVER have had the runs he had outside of the WWF/E. Sammaartino's two runs as champion are, to this day, unmatched in longevity and, more importantly, in drawing power...dollar for dollar, few, if any, can match what Bruno did during his years as Champ..one of the greatest faces ever!!!!!

 

[Wald]

Hogan, Hart and Cena would be the top 3 for me as I'm basing this on a kayfabe sense.

Hogan is the biggest wrestler of all time and his babyface run in the WWF up until 1993 was his peak, but does Hollywood Hogan impact on the Hulkstar's character? Maybe and I'm unsure if I give him the top babyface of all time because of that.

Bret probably took the role of rolemodel to kids as seriously as anyone in the industry, his character in the WWF was built on respect and fighting for the underdog. I know he was heel in the WWF previously to 1997 but as a babyface champion he never once showed heel tendencies, he had seen the light if you will. So does the anti-American period diminish his babyface character? Not that much in my opinion. His heel character was based on US wrestling fans losing respect for him and the industry itself, he was almost a babyface battling a crowd of heels at that time. Less said about his WCW career the better, I don't think it blights his WWF character, like Hogan's did, because no one really remembers anything about it.

Cena was also heel, saw the light and has been a good guy ever since. No-one is presented as caring about the fans like Cena does, he's a modern day Bret Hart (in terms of character), so for me it's between Cena and Bret.

Today I'll say it is John Cena, another day I might have said Bret Hart

 

[Just Do It]

I will say about Bret Hart - WWE for whatever reason ignores this guy to a criminal extent, considering he was THE face of the company for the majority of the 90's.

Granted he is one of the few wrestlers on the WWE Signature opening - but go back and watch Raw 1000 and see how little he is featured: he appears one time, hugging Shawn in 2010. All his classic raw moments ignored. What did make the cut: loads of mark Henry, Sheamus, the muppets, all the guest hosts, laods of HHH... just wrong.

 

[lowandmighty]

Just as Hulk Hogan was the greatest heel he was also the greatest face. He was the greatest so far.

His face character changed the way wrestling was run as a business for the better and kick started the evolution of wrestling that resulted in much of what we see today.

 

[Mustang Sally]

Hogan was the greatest babyface of all time, nobody quite got the crowd reaction he did in his prime, a case can be made for austin but i feel he was more a anti hero than anything so my vote goes to the hulkster

Totally agree. I wonder what wrestling fans in the 60's and 70's would have made of Austin. Back then, good and bad were strictly defined.....and no "bad guy" had any redeeming qualities, whatsoever. Can you imagine how a performer who threw middle fingers at everyone, smiled when arrested by the police, and drank beer in the center of the ring, would be received by the wrestling fans? Yes, he was an anti-hero, probably the prototype for all anti-heroes.

Hogan was the greatest babyface.....at least in the modern era. As much animosity as I have for him today, especially since we've learned what a selfish self-promoter he was (at other people's expense), there's no question his All-American schtick cast him as a genuine hero to tons of people. It's impossible to forget the real excitement he generated.

As to "olden" times, I'd pick Bruno Sammartino. To millions, he was the ultimate good guy....and couldn't be seen as anything else. Today, many folks detest John Cena, which shows only how things have changed in the last generation or two. Cena is nothing but good in the same way Bruno was, yet it's typical of today's fans that many "hate" him.

Well, I suppose Bruno and Hogan had their haters, too, but that doesn't alter their status as all-time babyfaces.

 

[midgensa]

Flat out Hulk Hogan.

I don't even think this one is close. He could be argued as the greatest heel as well ... but there is little doubt that red and yellow Hogan was the top face in the history of wrestling.

His rise to the top took the business to an entirely new level and he continues to draw money to this day.