Coming up with a Mt. Rushmore for WWE is extremely difficult; much like it is for all sports. LeBron James and Kobe Bryant recently came up with their Mt. Rushmore for NBA players. Each man had 3 of the same, but they disagreed as to who would be number for.
As far as WWE, it is not much different, and is equally as difficult. Many fans will have one or two of the same wrestlers on almost every list, but will disagree as to who the other two should be.
A few weeks back I pondered to myself who I would have in my top 5 wrestlers of all time; I took into consideration everything including in-ring ability, mic skills, gimmick, championships, longevity, etc. But the one factor I would not allow myself to use (although many people probably do use as one of their top factors) is who I considered to be my favorite wrestlers.
Mt. Rushmore only allows for 4 wrestlers, so here are my top 4, in no particular order:
Hulk Hogan - The man had it all. He made wrestling what it is today. He had the look, the mic skills, and the championships. A crowd favorite as both a face and a heel. He excelled in both WWF(E) and WCW. Definite legend, and I don't think anyone can argue for him not being on Mt. Rushmore.
Undertaker - One of the best gimmicks in wrestling history. He has "The Streak" on the grandest stage of them all, Wrestlemania. I also factored in something that I don't think many people have considered, the fact that he is largely responsible for the creation of fan favorite matches, such as casket matches, buried alive matches, and hell in the cell. He has been in the ring with all the superstars from the late 80's, 90's, 2000's, to today. He has the fanfare, the look, and the mystique about him that makes him legendary.
Bruno Sammartino - It is extremely difficult for me to put a guy like Sammartino on here. That is because I am not old enough to have seen him wrestle, I am only 29, so I cannot fully appreciate his impact. But he did hold the belt for the longest time. He was Hulk Hogan before there was a Hulk Hogan. He carried wrestling longer than almost any superstar in history. Fans loved him. Crowds came to see him. I think it would be very interesting to see what impact he would have had on wrestling if he came say 10 to 20 years later, when WWE really started to take off. I could not leave him off.
Ric Flair - The Nature Boy. It pained me to include him, it really did. I never really liked him. But I did not let that influence the fact that I feel he belongs here. Before the days of the NWO and Monday Night Wars, Flair carried WCW. He was WCW. One of the best on the Mic. He talked the talk and walked the walk. He held the world championship on many occasions, and his longevity is almost second to none. I felt he needed to be included.
Now, let me say this. I think that a lot of time people choose who they remember for their Mt. Rushmore. They pick the guys who they grew up with. I too grew up with The Rock, Stone Cold, Shawn Michaels, etc. If you ask me who was my favorite wrestler of all time, I would probably have Shawn Michaels as one or two. If you asked me who I thought was the funniest I would say The Rock or Stone Cold. I loved these guys. They were so fun to watch, and in my opinion were superstars in some of the best days in wrestling history. I like all three of these guys better than Flair and Sammartino. But, I factored in everything. I didn't include guys like the Rock or Stone Cold over Flair and Sammartino, because I felt like they were not as great in-ring workers, which was one of the biggest factors I looked at. I think people tend to overrate them (slightly) because they were hilarious, and made wrestling extremely fun to watch. If they were not given free reign on the microphone, then I do not think they would have been as over with the fans. Heck, when SCSA entered as the Ringmaster, virtually nobody gave a crap about him. Just my thoughts.
If I could choose a second, or follow up Mt. Rushmore it would probably be Shawn Michaels, Mick Foley, Stone Cold, and the Rock.
