Wrestling has been one if those sports or entertainment which you either love or hate. But everyone growing up has watched wrestling or still does. I don't think its boring at the moment just because I don’t watch it much as I once did.
Remember that professional wrestling is an art form and that everyone has different taste. Some fans are drawn in by a well-developed storyline and some crave hardcore blood-n-guts and wild brawling
For the majority of us, a strong angle that logically brings together two capable in-ring storytellers and climaxes with an emotional, dramatic, technically impressive battle is the absolute best set of circumstances to leave us feeling like we’ve witnessed something special.
On the subject of Special the wrestlers have to be special to in order to produce something memorable.
Its March and its the biggest card on wrestling calendar...Wrestlmania
Its where stars are born and great wrestlers produce some of the most memorable moments.
What makes a wrestler special? key points to a great wrestler: personality, mic skills, charisma, way he sells the moves, in ring skills and technical ability
But who were the wrestlers that stood out not just wrestling but had the full package such as entertain the crowd and produce moment of brilliance.
Well here is my top 10:
10: Joint Tenth place Rey Mysterio and Rob Van Dam
Mysterio came from lucha libre style of wrestling he is able to do a lot more acrobatic moves and that makes him way faster then a lot of wrestler
he's the "best little man", and always the underdog because of his size. But Rey's real purpose for being in the WWE is so Vince can boast about having a bona fide luchador on his roster (and one of the best luchadors ever). This is why Vince insisted Rey put his mask back on when he signed him to the WWE
I remember when he rolled onto the scene in the WWE, he was incredibly innovative. In one of his earlier matches with Jamie Noble, he pulled off an amazingly original finisher. Ray is one of the most consistent wrestlers and always keeping the crown on their feet with his acrobatic moves.
Rob Van Dam
Rob Szatkowski, better known to wrestling fans as Rob Van Dam. Rob is a trained kickboxer and martial artist and He placed 2nd in the Kalamazoo Heavyweight Toughman Contest.
RVD has had an illustrious career in the wrestling business working for every major promotion in the U.S as well as working all around the world doing various tours and one off shows. RVD’s athletic risk taking style brought him into the hearts of many as well as getting known as “Mr. Monday night” and “The whole F’n show.” RVD is truly one of wrestling’s modern day phenomenon’s who has already written himself in to the history books
RVD has always been better on the mic which in my opinion is important to being a World Champion. WWE never really gave RVD the time to talk and when they did they really watered down his abilities.
He has also appeared in several movies and television shows. He also had a radio show called RVD Radio and a tv show called RVD TV
9. The Undertaker
Undertaker is still the most respeceted and feared wrestlers in the game and is probably the third most powerful man in WWE. First of course its Vince, Second his son in law triple h and third yes The Undertaker. He is currently married to Michelle McCool in real lfe.
The Undertaker has two contrasting gimmicks: "The Deadman", an undead occult like figure, and "The American Bad Ass", a biker. The specialty matches connected to The Undertaker are the Casket match, the Buried Alive match, the notorious Hell in a Cell. The Undertaker's half-brother is Kane, whom he has teamed up with as the Brothers of Destruction. Glenn Jacobs (Kane) and Mark Calaway (Undertaker) are not related in real life, but they have trained together for a number of years and are very close friends in real life. The Undertaker is undefeated at WrestleMania with an 18–0 record, which is the single longest undefeated Wrestlemania streak in WWE history
8. Bret Hart
Bret Hart should be higher on this list but his cut and dry style of interview takes him down a notch. Hart was a premiere wrestler for the WWF during the mid-80s to the late-90s. Trained by his father Stu Hart in the famous Hart Family Dungeon in Calgary, he was one of the best technical wrestlers ever. His famous matches range with such greats as Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, Ric Flair, Owen Hart, Undertaker, Sting, Chris Benoit and more.
The infamous Montreal Screw-job led to his departure and quick arrival in WCW. From there he didn’t do much due to backstage politics and suffered a career threatening concussion in a match with Goldberg in 1999. He suffered a stroke, unrelated to wrestling, in 2002 but has since made a strong recovery.
7. John Cena
John Cena is the Hulk Hogan of this generation. He has held countless World Championships, has headlined WrestleMania six different times, has starred in a number of theatrically released films and television commercials, and has sold out the biggest arenas in the world.
However, the reactions he gets from location to location vary too much, from heavy cheers, to heavy boos, to most often a mixed and split reaction within the audience in attendance..
A lot of wrestling fans seem to blame John Cena for everything they dislike in Professional Wrestling. People who say John Cena wins too much are probably too young to remember that Hulk Hogan's first Championship Reign lasted Over 4 Years , And way way way before my time Bruno Sammartino's first reign lasted over 7 years . A big factor in the reason for the fans fickleness is the era that we live in now. A lot of fans still have passion from the attitude era of WWE where The Rock would trash talk, where Austin would drink beer in middle of ring and flashed the middle finger like it was a greeting.
The reason I personally think John Cena is in the position he is in with the WWE, is not only his charisma, which I admit, is top notch, but his position outside the company and the way he conducts himself. He is often seen taking time to sign autographs, help out with charity work and is a common sight in the public eye
6. Kurt Angle
The only Olympic Gold Medal winner to ever wrestle for WWE clocks in at number six. He didn't get his start in professional wrestling until after his 1996 amazing win which in itself is truly unbelievable. How could a guy so young into the industry be so great so fast? Angle is the best technincal wrestler in the world today. With a scary expertise at the entertainment craft and the wrestling craft, he is pure gold. It took about three years from the time he won his Olympic Medal to sign a WWF/E contract but he hasn’t looked back.
He’s endured a number of surgeries to repair a painful neck injury stemming from his amateur wrestling days. There’s no telling how much time left he has to wrestle so it’s suggested that you take in everything you can and enjoy
Kurt now with TNA has recently started to focus on helping out the young wrestlers within tna. Expect to see him and the rest starting to put over these younger guys, and bring them up to the main event level.
5. Chris Benoit
Benoit was widely regarded as one of the most popular, respected and gifted technical wrestlers in history Benoit also won the 2004 royal rumble and went to win the WWE Champion ship at Wrestlemania that year.
He such a perfect wrestler that in the end thats what killed him. His ridiculous intensity, workrate, and obsession with making it look 'damn real' is what finished him off. For example, a normal guy would protect himself from a direct chairshot. Benoit didnt, he wanted it to look more real.
Benoit was one of the extremely rare wrestlers that never phoned it in, and could have a great match with anybody.
At the WWE Vengeance: Night of Champions PPV Benoit was set to win the ECW title but he missed a house show and told WWE officials he missed it because is wife and son was vomiting blood due to food poisoning. And then told them he will have to miss the PPV because of a family emergency.
On June 27th 07Nancy, Daniel, and Chris Benoit were found dead.
Over a three day period, Benoit had killed his wife and son before he hanged himself. His wife was bound before the killing. Benoit's son was drugged and likely unconscious before Benoit strangled him. Benoit then committed suicide with a weight machine
After all signs pointed to a double murder-suicide WWE stopped selling all Chris Benoit Merchandise.
chris Benoit was a "different" kind of person be it for better or worse, his personal life doesn't take away from the "On-screen Chris Benoit".
Unfortunately the negative publicity he gathered has pretty much buried him in the history books and I doubt the WWE will ever recognize him again
Unfortunately the negative publicity he gathered has pretty much buried him in the history books and I doubt the WWE will ever recognize him again
4. Hulk Hogan
I put hogan at #4 because of the publicity he gave wrestling and so many fans were pulled in by hogan. He did OK as a heel for NWO but even then, his mic skills were average. In my opinion Hulk along with a few others was the demise of wcw. Instead of putting the younger guys over he had to be pampered by wcw and stay in the top spot
But he did possess incredible charisma and physical stature he helped transform wrestling from a niche pastime; spread out over several regional promotions to a mainstream brand of entertainment. Hogan’s marketability and appearances in movies and television helped turn the WWE into a billion dollar industry and paved the way for today’s high paid stars and elaborately produced shows. His in-ring ability; however left much to be desired, as he is widely regarded as a below average wrestler. Nevertheless Hogan rarely lost a match, even into his 50s. Yes I know most people would be quick to put the hulkster at number one. As much as I respect Hogan, I just don't feel like he is the best wrestler
3. Shawn Michaels
Shawn is hands down the one of the greatest "In ring performer" in the history of the business. No one has more Five Star matches/Matches of the year than Shawn. i.e. WM21 Kurt Angle,The Undertaker, WM12 Bret Hart WM14 Stone Cold. WM10 Razor Ramon WM24 Flair WM25 Undertaker WM20 Benoit Triple H. You name it. First man ever to win every major title (grand slam winner). Why do you think Shawn was in the first Iron Man Match, Hell in a Cell, Elimination Chamber, etc.
Shawn has made many wrestlers careers, and has headlined wrestlemania more times than hulk hogan.
This guy was like super man particularly before his back injury and even after to perform at the level is just special). the ability to tell a story and bring his real life issues into the story was fascinating for fans too. fantasy mixed with some reality always with HBK
Even Ric Flair said so, Shawn Michaels is the best! Shawn has done it all, winning ever major championshp in the wwe before being forced to retire early due to a severe back injury
2. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Austin personified the “Attitude” era of professional wrestling (mid to late 1990s.) At this time wrestling was at its peak and he was its brightest star. Austin captivated both hardcore and casual fans with his rebellious personality. Austin vs his boss Vince Mcmahon proved to be one of the most successful wrestling angles ever portrayed. The extremely charismatic Austin was hugely popular due to his tireless effort inside the ring and flawless microphone skills.
Steve Austin is the sole reason why WWE is still in business today. In the mid-1990s the WWF was at a crossroads, business was down and WCW was beating the hell out of ‘em. It was at this point in 1996 that a guy
Together with The Rock he helped make wrestling as popular as it is today
1. The Rock
If God was to create a wrestler, it would be The Rock. Blessed with all the natural attributes and charisma possible, Dwayne Johnson quickly went the way of Hollywood. He is easily the best athlete on this list and accomplished a great deal in the business in a very short amount of time. Wildly popular and extremely entertaining, The Rock is and probably will always be the best wrestler ever to pick up a microphone.
The Rock has done as much as anyone in the wrestling business. He jumped on the national scene in 1996 and less then a year he become the brunt of fans loathing him. It wouldn’t take much long until he would jump into stratosphere and become on of the all time greats. His ability to entertain people on the microphone is unmatched by anyone, Nobody had a crowd in his palm much like he did.
When he returned to the ring to take on Hulk Hogan a few years ago, he helped create an unforgettable night in Toronto. The Rock just hasn’t become a movie star but also has open the floodgates for other wrestlers to become movie stars. Such as John Cena and triple H.
