WWE Mount Rushmore?

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

Not to mention Cena is UNQUESTIONABLY the biggest star of his era. While the Rock in his prime wasn't. It was Austin. Whether you want to admit that or not.

I'm not sure what bizarro world you're living in but Rock was the the face of WWF after 99.

Also, Cena is the biggest star in the most unpopular era in wrestling, good for him lol.


The Rock > 1000X Cena

 

[Bythedockofthebay]

I hope you're joking about the "he has done more for the business than any of his predecessors".

Austin in 98 brought 500 millions to WWF which is 5x more than Cena did last year.

Also, Rock did in two years more than Cena will ever do in 2 decades.

It's not about how much you stay, it's about how much you can produce in your stay.

Vince McMahon, when asked in an interview before RAW 1000, about the biggest stars of RAW, he mentioned the names of Austin, Rock, Hart, Hunter, Shawn.

Didn't mention Mr Johnny Cena, the "face" of RAW and WWE for the last 10 years lol.


Just like Vince said at post-MITB 11 RAW "Just like I made one John Cena, I'll make 1000x john cena".

The Rock was a once a generation talent.

Rock is superior than Cena in pretty much everything.

Cena is a good looking bodybuilder who is sociable. Other than that, he's nothing.

He makes a good ambassador for WWE. Good for him. That's his role.



Bottom line: Cena on the Mt Rushmore of WWE and not Rock is pure BS.

Of the top ten highest grossing ppv in WWE history, as of wrestlemania 28 7 of those involved John Cena in a title match or the main event. Four of them had the rock involved at all. . Yes, the rock draws some, but he draws better against Cena, and why? Because CENA draws. Saying that Cena doesn't is flat out ridiculous. Rock didn't draw great all the time. He drew great with Cena because Cena draws whether you like it or not. The rock wouldn't have drawn like that against most of the roster. I won't say anyone because I could see Taker vs Rock being a big deal, but giving Cena no credit when he does it ALL the time, is insane.He's more than a bodybuilder or a good ambassador, he's a better wrestler than the rock IMHO, and he's been one of the best draws in WWE history, whether you ignore that fact or not.

 

[NaptownMVP]

Vince McMahon - Can't have a monument to the WWE without the guy who MADE the WWE what it is.

Hulk Hogan - Took the WWF out of the doldrums of the early days and made it mainstream and "cool" to be a wrestling fan.

Steve Austin - Same as Hogan. Took WWF to new heights, and was king of the wave that was the Attitude Era.

Shawn Michaels - Mr. Wrestlemania. Greatest in the ring and on the mic. HBK was the total package.

 

[NtwrestlingMaster]

There are a lot of different possibilities on this topic. If there are 5 people, like some people put, I'd have to go with;

Stone Cold Steve Austin
He was the main man in the attitude era, and WWE may not have existed today without him,

Hulk Hogan
He got the WWE mainstream popularity, and may not have been the best wrestler, but certainly was a WWE Superstar.

John Cena
It kills me to say this, but he is similar to Hulk Hogan where he is getting WWE mainstream popularity. He is making money, and a lot of it.

Shawn Michaels

This man put on a wrestling clinic day in and day out, and was a master of the mic, and the ring. He overcame a severe back issue, drug problems, and was one of the all time greats.

The Rock

The Rock is mostly on here based on what he did outside the ring, but had a very memorable career in the WWE, and came back and drew a ton of money.

If I cut anyone from the list it would be the Rock, due to his short career.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

Of the top ten highest grossing ppv in WWE history, as of wrestlemania 28 7 of those involved John Cena in a title match or the main event. Four of them had the rock involved at all. . Yes, the rock draws some, but he draws better against Cena, and why? Because CENA draws. Saying that Cena doesn't is flat out ridiculous. Rock didn't draw great all the time. He drew great with Cena because Cena draws whether you like it or not. The rock wouldn't have drawn like that against most of the roster. I won't say anyone because I could see Taker vs Rock being a big deal, but giving Cena no credit when he does it ALL the time, is insane.He's more than a bodybuilder or a good ambassador, he's a better wrestler than the rock IMHO, and he's been one of the best draws in WWE history, whether you ignore that fact or not.

When you said Cena is a better wrestler than The Rock, that completely discredited all your arguments.

The Rock in his prime was a good wrestler, John Cena is an average wrestler, I don't think he's bad not at all, he improved a lot over the years but he's definitely not a better wrestler than Rock.


Wrestling skills: The Rock
Mic skills: The Rock
Drawing ability: The Rock
Popularity: The Rock
Better face: The Rock
Better heel: The Rock
Impact/Legacy on the biz: The Rock
Better entrance: The Rock
Better theme song: The Rock
Better finisher: The Rock
Better stables: The Rock
Better tag teams: The Rock
Better rivalries: The Rock (Rock-Austin>Cena-Punk, Rock-HHH>Cena-Orton...)
Charisma: The Rock



The Rock is better and should be on Mt Rushmore

 

[Papa Pillman]

assuming we can only have four people, and we are talking active competitors and not promoters, my four would be:

BRUNO SAMMARTINO
HULK HOGAN
STEVE AUSTIN
JOHN CENA

This is the four, and its hard for me to imagine anyone arguing that.

And as pointed out each clearly defined an era for the company. Bruno was the guy in the "Vince Sr. era", Hogan was the face of the "Rock'n'wrestling era", Austin was the man that dictated the Attitude era boom, while Cena coined the switch to Ruthless Aggression as well as carrying the company into the PG-era.

The four men listed are the only four guys who were "the undisputed #1 guy" for an extended period of time for the company. Backlund spanning the gap between Bruno and Hogan may be the only other one who fits that description. Anyone else who was the number one only had that role for a very short time, and it was usually by default due to extenuating circumstances. The attempt to make Warrior the face off the company was short lived. HBK and Hart only had their chance because of Hogan taking the heat for the steroid scandal. Rock only got to be the number one for a short time when Austin was out of the picture and then left the company when the chance would have existed for him to be the top guy long term post-Austin. There may have been a time that HHH was the number one between Rock moving out of the picture and Cena emerging, but again that wasn't as successful and only lasted short term. Flair's time with the company in his later prime years was too short to put him in the conversation. Other guys like Andre, Savage, Taker, Foley, etc. have an undeniable place near the top of the company's history, yet they always played second-fiddle to someone else on the roster with higher standing.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

This is the four, and its hard for me to imagine anyone arguing that.

And as pointed out each clearly defined an era for the company. Bruno was the guy in the "Vince Sr. era", Hogan was the face of the "Rock'n'wrestling era", Austin was the man that dictated the Attitude era boom, while Cena coined the switch to Ruthless Aggression as well as carrying the company into the PG-era.

The four men listed are the only four guys who were "the undisputed #1 guy" for an extended period of time for the company. Backlund spanning the gap between Bruno and Hogan may be the only other one who fits that description. Anyone else who was the number one only had that role for a very short time, and it was usually by default due to extenuating circumstances. The attempt to make Warrior the face off the company was short lived. HBK and Hart only had their chance because of Hogan taking the heat for the steroid scandal. Rock only got to be the number one for a short time when Austin was out of the picture and then left the company when the chance would have existed for him to be the top guy long term post-Austin. There may have been a time that HHH was the number one between Rock moving out of the picture and Cena emerging, but again that wasn't as successful and only lasted short term. Flair's time with the company in his later prime years was too short to put him in the conversation. Other guys like Andre, Savage, Taker, Foley, etc. have an undeniable place near the top of the company's history, yet they always played second-fiddle to someone else on the roster with higher standing.

You can say whatever you want about Rock but you can't deny the fact that Rock was the biggest star from late 99 to 03.

Stars like Cena will come and go but SUPERSTARS like The Rock are unique.

The Rock is a once a lifetime talent.

Rock is arguably the greatest WWE superstar of all time.

 

[ThePhenomLives]

HBK - best performer ever.
Steve Austin - most popular wrestler ever.
Ric Flair - best heel ever.
Vince McMahon - might be clueless now but we woulnd't have all of this without the man.
Hulk Hogan - enough said.

 

[PedigreeTHE619Chokeslam]

I like a lot of the replies. Thanks for commenting!
My original were Hogan, Stone Cold, The Rock, and Cena.

The most popular seems to me Sammartino, Hogan, Stone Cold, and Cena.
That's the one I like the most and most agree with. For mine I would substitute The Rock for Sammartino. But Sammartino is well before my time and don't really know much about him, other than his long championship reign.

Some people make a good case for Vince McMahon himself. He made the WWE what it is today, and it most likely wouldn't be here of it weren't for him. But like an earlier post said, Vince McMahon would be the person building it in my opinion, so I would leave him off and leave it for the wrestlers.

 

[Papa Pillman]

You can say whatever you want about Rock but you can't deny the fact that Rock was the biggest star from late 99 to 03.

Yes I can. Other than the period of time that Austin missed rehabbing his neck surgery from late '99 until mid-2000, Austin was still the company's biggest star. Rock was the top babyface for a lot of that time, while Austin played a whiny heel for a good portion of it, but Austin still never played second-fiddle to the Rock as the company's top guy.

Stars like Cena will come and go but SUPERSTARS like The Rock are unique.

The Rock is a once a lifetime talent.

The Rock is unique as the best "crossover star" in the company's history. He is the likely the most famous face to ever emerge from the wrestling business, but that shouldn't over amplify what he was to the WWE as a performer in the company. Rock may be a "once a lifetime talent" as you say, but he's no bigger as far as a star in the WWE than Cena. John Cena's don't grow on trees. The guy has had the longest run as the company's #1 guy of any star the company ever pushed to that role. The Rock could've been that guy for the last decade instead of Cena, but he chose to pursue fame outside of the WWE instead(I'm not criticizing that decision, just pointing out the facts).

Rock is arguably the greatest WWE superstar of all time.

Most recognizable mainstream face to transcend the business? That I'd give you. "Greatest WWE superstar of all time"? Not even close. Many guys had better and/or bigger and/or more memorable matches than The Rock had. And Cena, Hogan, and Austin all drew more money for the WWE.

 

[5_thirteen]

Sammartino-Similar to Washington, he was the company's first figurehead as the first major champion. Some may argue that Buddy Rogers should take the spot, though I would argue that Rogers' tenure was too short to be considered the companies first face.
Vincent K. McMahon-The visionary of today's company, similar to Jefferson, author of our Declaration of Independence
Vince J. McMahon-Freed the WWWF from NWA, like Lincoln freeing the slaves
Hulk Hogan-Brought the wrestling and the company to mainstream media, similar to Roosevelt's strong campaigning of the country's navy in the early 1900s.
I wish I could include performers like Undertaker & HBK, but if we're being honest & realistic...

 

[Kliq69]

Vince has to be first. Without him, there is no WWE.

Next has to be Hogan. Without him, the massive rise in popularity in the 80s might not have occurred preventing Vince from buying up all the territories.

Then I'd place Austin. Took the WWE to it's highest point in terms of popularity and ratings.

Last, and this one is tough one: John Cena. He's been headlining for a decade now, is the undisputed "face" of this era and is by far the biggest star created since the Attitude Era came to a close. I thought about the Rock, I thought about Flair (and if this was the pro wrestling Mt Rushmore he'd have been #1), thought about Taker, even thought about Andre. However, Rock was overshadowed by Austin when he was active, Taker has never been "the guy" at any point of his career, Flair is as known or more known for his NWA days as his WWF days, and Andre's biggest moment in WWF was shared with Hogan who is already on the list.

So

Vince
Hogan
Austin
Cena

That would be my mount rushmore of WWE.

 

[TheOneAndOnlyGOAT]

Yes I can. Other than the period of time that Austin missed rehabbing his neck surgery from late '99 until mid-2000, Austin was still the company's biggest star. Rock was the top babyface for a lot of that time, while Austin played a whiny heel for a good portion of it, but Austin still never played second-fiddle to the Rock as the company's top guy.

Austin was still the company's biggest star?

Hmmm ok.

The Rock main evented 12 PPVs in 2000 as a babyface and he wasn't their top star.

Austin vs HHH had all the buzz and hype around it, it was the main event, the survivor series buyrates was the lowest ppv buyrate of the year.

WWF put The Rock in the next 5 PPVs and put multiple stars with Austin in the main event because they didn't trust him anymore to draw good buyrates in one on one bouts.

The plan for WM2000 was for Austin to turn heel and put over Rock but he left for a surgery that he could've done anytime before.

Rock main evented Summerslam 2001 in his return match against Booker T over the WWF title match between Kurt angle and Austin.

You're right, Austin never played 2 fiddle to Rock. In 2002, what was he 3rd fiddle, 4th fiddle?

Rock beat Austin at Survivor Series 01. WWF wanted Rock to become the undisputed #1 at WMX8 by beating Austin but WWF was able to sign Hogan and it was better if Rock went over the hulkster.

How was Austin the "biggest star" when him and Bradshaw were feuding with X-Pac and Hall?

WWF's plan was for Lesnar to beat Hogan on SD and Austin on RAW, the two former big stars and finally beat the true face of the company The Rock at Summerslam.

WWF were planning on bringing Goldberg to wrestle their BIGGEST STAR The Rock at wrestlemania 19 not Austin.

In 2000, The Rock surpassed Austin. In 2001, Austin lost his relevancy. In 2002, Austin never recovered and became an afterthought, nWo, taker, hunter were all becoming more important than him.

Most recognizable mainstream face to transcend the business? That I'd give you. "Greatest WWE superstar of all time"? Not even close. Many guys had better and/or bigger and/or more memorable matches than The Rock had. And Cena, Hogan, and Austin all drew more money for the WWE.

Rock as the greatest wwe superstar of all time not even close? Lol ok. Rock was the G.O.A.T. before he left, it has nothing to do with his acting career.

 

[JoVilla21]

Figured someone who watches both the nba and the wwe would make this topic up. It's more difficult to do it with basketball than it is with the WWE.

Funny how its the Mount Rushmore of the WWE as the Mount has faces and it will include the "faces of the WWE."
Easily its: Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, The Rock and Cena.

 

[PedigreeTHE619Chokeslam]

JoVilla21
Figured someone who watches both the nba and the wwe would make this topic up. It's more difficult to do it with basketball than it is with the WWE.

Funny how its the Mount Rushmore of the WWE as the Mount has faces and it will include the "faces of the WWE."
Easily its: Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold, The Rock and Cena.

I'm not sure what you mean by that first statement....
But I agree with your answer.

 

[L@RISANO]

In 2012, the WWE did its own poll through its website(www.wwe.com) for the Mount Rushmore of WWE.

Here is the Link:
http://www.wwe.com/classics/mount-rushmore-2012

Below is the Final Result of their poll by way of an image.

Doing a Mount Rushmore for the WWE isn't easy at all. The criteria isn't rigid and defined, thus everyone will have their own selections based on very different criteria. As you guys can see in the above image, even the website of the company poll ended with a result that many will debate.

Here are the Superstars, whom I think are the Main guys for an eventual Final 4, and everyone will pick a different 4,lMO:

Bruno Sammartino
Andre the Giant
Hulk Hogan
the Undertaker
Shawn Michaels
Stone Cold Steve Austin
the Rock
John Cena

Out of the above Superstars, each guy has his own merits, and depending on how each is viewed, the fans will obviously pick their preferred 4.

Some members have even put forward Vince J. McMahon and Vince K. McMahon
Personally, whilst I do recognise their immense contributions, I would put them as the builders of the Faces on the WWE Mount Rushmore.

I guess it is to each his own.
Cheers.

 

[S.J. Maximus]

Best idea for a thread I've seen in years - I'd say Hulk Hogan is the most important person in this equation. No one has spent more time on top of the WWE than he has, and unlike John Cena the WWE was relevant EVERY YEAR Hogan was on top.

Vince McMahon is definitely right there with Hogan in terms of importance, but I'm disqualifying him because he's not (and never was) a full-time wrestler. In that case, the next spot goes to wrestling's second biggest draw in Stone Cold Steve Austin. Right next time him would be his biggest rival and the most famous man to ever wrestle a WWE match The Rock. The fact that so many people have omitted him from their list is appalling and borderline blasphemous; there is no former WWE wrestler who is more recognizable in 2014 to ALL demographics than the Rock.

As for the fourth and final spot, I'm seeing a lot of HBK, Undertaker, Bret Hart, John Cena, and Andre the Giant. Cena and Hart were both faces of down times of WWE so despite my immense amount of love for the Hitman I will disqualify them both. I'd say longevity puts HBK and Taker over Andre the Giant, but in the end I'll give it to Bruno Sammartino. His statistics are unprecedented and it's safe to say they will NEVER be duplicated. He will be the George Washington of this WWE Mount Rushmore, making my final four Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, The Rock, and Bruno Sammartino.

 

[MCMG]

I think Vince is pretty obvious so I'll leave him out and say strictly in-ring performers.

Hulk Hogan - Everything has already been said about Hogan.

Stone Cold Steve Austin - The guy who helped win the Monday Night Wars. Austin during the Attitude Era helped save the company and he is an absolute mega-star. His merch was so vital for the company and he had everything else. He could wrestle and his promos are iconic.

Bruno Sammartino - He really helped define and build the company at the start. He was the very first "face" of the company. He was putting bums in seats while Hulk Hogan was still a kid.

Cena or HBK is tough.

Shawn Michaels - In my opinion, the best. HBK is the greatest in ring performer there has been. Every time he wrestled was magic, it was effortless for him. He could hype matches incredibly well and his stuff as HBK, in DX and then post-injury were all of high quality. He was never a guy like a Sammartino or Hogan but he was so talented.

John Cena is the face of the company at a time when they are having incredible success. He is really gluing the company together with his merch, promos, matches and feuds. Not to mention all the things he does; helping the image of the comapny.

I love The Rock as well. He is probably the most entertaining wrestler there has been but the aforementioned four (five) are my picks.

 

[ajdb]

This is simple for me.

Bruno- He was the first WWE Champion of any significance. Really stood for old school values.

Hulk Hogan- You have to include Hulk. He carried the wrestling industry for almost a decade. Without Hulk, wrestling would not be what it is today.

Vince McMahon- This man was the brains behind driving the WWE into the future and to what it is today. His ideas and visions brought us to 3 hour weekly wrestling programs and monthly pay-per-view shows.

Mark Calaway- I refer to The Undertaker by name. Mark Calaway the person has been able to stand the test of time. He's been apart of every major era in the WWE's history. He's been able to tweak his character and style to continue to be a draw.

 

[The Perfect Max]

Vince McMahon
First and foremost, Mr Vincent Kennedy McMahon. The creator of WrestleMania breathed new life into the mainstream, and made WWE and wrestling what it is today. His "empire" is incredibly dominating, and his ability to evolve the business into an international phenomenon is awesome. You cannot not have him.

Hulk Hogan
Okay, so I don't like that guy, but it's the same thing over and over. There's no Vince McMahon without Hulk Hogan, and in turn, there's no Hulk Hogan without Vince McMahon. One of the most popular, well known and influential superstars of all time, the multi-time WWE Champion deserves it above any superstar for his contribution to making the WWE what it is today, and wrestling for that matter.

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin
Austin was the Hogan of the late 1990's. Austin, along with a ton of other performers, launched the WWE to new, unforeseen heights, and in his quite frankly short run with the company from an in-ring perspective, he managed six WWE Championship wins, and headlined WrestleMania four times for that title. Immensely popular and, in my books, the greatest WWE superstar ever, he has to be on here.

The Rock
In a way, this is a similar situation to Hogan and Vince. You say Austin, you also think The Rock, and it's true. They climbed the ladder almost simultaneously, and The Rock carried the company for a year while Austin was out, at the company's most popular time. The Rock became bigger in the mainstream, and faced Austin three times at WrestleMania. He's considered the most charismatic superstar of all time, and did an amazing amount during his tenure.

I omitted John Cena purely because he isn't done yet. I'm taking the retrospective look here. Maybe in a few years, Cena could replace The Rock, but for now, Dwayne stays up there.

 

[KingJoe316]

There is no way Rock does not belong on a WWE Mt. Rushmore. Hogan and Austin are definitely 1 and 2, but Rock has to be third. While Austin may be more important to the wrestling business, Rock is definitely the bigger star and more recognizable face of the 2 long term. Rock also came back after 7 years and main evented the 2 highest grossing Wrestlemania's of all time. I admit it is tough to choose just 4 guys when you got Taker, HBK, Sammartino, Flair and Cena in the mix, but Rock has to be there. I would omit HBK, Flair and Sammartino. As great as HBK was, probably the greatest overall, he just wasn't a huge drawer. Sammartino was top dog, but in a less commercial time and Flair was more of NWA/WCW guy. Taker is iconic at this point. He is a proven drawer, not as much as the other 3, but still a big drawer. Also his gimmick is legendary and his longevity crosses generations. As far as Cena it is tough to leave him off, because he has been the man of the last seven years. He is more dominantly the top guy for a longer period than either Rock or Austin, but let's be honest, has he made more of an impact than either of them. Do more people know him than either of those guys? More importantly he has not been able to carry the company as strongly as either of those 2 without outside help, such as bringing Rock and Brock back as part timers. I respect Cena and I agree he is definitely in contention for this, but I just can't put him over The Rock and Taker at this point.

 

[HBKistheHOF]

I'd have to agree with those who don't consider the promoters as eligable since they had their hands in creating these stars & also the fact that it's incredibly hard to compare a regular in-ring performer to a promoter who only had a handful of matches. I also took the liberty of coming up with a few others for the heck fo it.

-WWE Mnt. Rushmore: Bruno Sammartino, Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin & John Cena - (It's hard to leave off guys like The Undertaker, Bret Hart, The Rock, etc. But like it or not, these are the 4 Superstars who shaped the major eras & generations in the WWE.)

-NWA Mnt. Rushmore: Lou Thesz, Buddy Rogers, Dusty Rhodes & Ric Flair

-WCW Mnt. Rushmore: Ron Simmons, Kevin Nash, Goldberg & Booker T - (I think this one was actually the hardest. There are several guys all on about the same level that made a big imact in WCW: Vader, Luger, Sid, DDP, etc. I landed on Simmons due to the fact that his title win also effected the poltical landscape in wrestling & impacted culture in general.)

-ECW Mnt. Rushmore: Tommy Dreamer, The Sandman, Sabu & Rob Van Dam

-TNA Mnt. Rushmore: Jeff Jarrett, Sting, AJ Stlyes & Kurt Angle

-ROH Mnt. Rushmore: Bryan Danielson, CM Punk, Samoa Joe & Low Ki

-PWG Mnt. Rushmore: Super Dragon, Joey Ryan, El Generico & Kevin Steen

-My Own Personal Mnt. Rushmore: "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Shawn Michaels, Brock Lesnar & Dean Ambrose

 

[Bythedockofthebay]

When you said Cena is a better wrestler than The Rock, that completely discredited all your arguments.

The Rock in his prime was a good wrestler, John Cena is an average wrestler, I don't think he's bad not at all, he improved a lot over the years but he's definitely not a better wrestler than Rock.

No you completely discredited your argument by saying Cena is average. Cena vs Angle and vs Punk, and HBK, and Daniel Bryan, are better than most of if not all of the matches Rock's ever had.

 

[MattBrady425]

Bret Hart

Hulk Hogan

The Undertaker

Mr. McMahon

-The legacies of these four men cannot be matched by any other WWE superstar ever. I was surprised no one even mentioned Bret Hart.
He deserves to be in the WWE Mt. Rushmore than anyone else.
Honestly, what is wrong with having a spot for Bret?
You guys are all stupid for not even thinking about including Bret Hart "The Best there is, the Best there was, and the Best there ever will be."

 

[Kidpolean]

If you had to choose any 4 wrestlers of all time to start a company with, who would you choose??? I guarantee you that Cena would not be one of them, so to put him on the MT. RUSHMORE of pro wrestling is stupid as hell and makes NO sense. You guys saying Cena are idiots.