Best Pro Wrestler Of All Time

[THUNDER HANDS]

I'll hop in the way-back machine so all you old farts who grew up with wrestling in the 50's can vote (like my dad, though he doesn't post here).

:)

[DinahMoeHum]

1. How could you leave out Freddie Blassie !?!?!?

jeez..."nothing but a pencil-neck geek"!!

:evilgrin:

[wysimdnwyg]

2. Gotta go with the Hulkster

He made wrestling into what it is today. (Despite what Vince McMahon might say.)

[Tempest]

3. This poll is woeful

Where's Andre the Giant?

[THUNDER HANDS]

fixed

I knew I was forgetting a few people.

[htuttle]

16. You've got that right

Where's The Crusher?
Where's Ivan Putski?
And at least put in a choice for George 'Scrap Iron' Kadaski!

(geez...did I date myself with these? They are who I used to watch Saturday morning as a kid...)

[madrchsod]

47. blasts from the past

loved those guys from the vern gagne promotions.

[htuttle]

52. It was called 'All Star Wrestling' when I watched it

A far cry from the spandex and fire pots of the WWF.

Hell, I remember half the wrestlers wearing long underwear under shorts as their costume!

And yes, I remember the Gagne family (ie., The Good Guys), and their long-running conflict with the evil Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan...

:)

[Catholic Sensation]

4. whoa

How could you leave out Triple H, Jericho, Angle, and HBK? Three of them are the only grand slam champs (won every belt they could have won) in the WWF/E.

Edit: AHHH YOU FORGOT THE NATURE BOY, THE 16 TIME WORLD CHAMP!!!

[underpants]

10. None of those guys hold a candle to Flair,Steamboat, or Mr.Wrestling

The Mid-Atlantic Wrestling crowd

Baron Von Rashkin
Johnny Weaver
Black Jack Mulligan
etc.

were easily the best ever. The WWF ruined wrestling.

[5thGenDemocrat]

39. I remember the name as "Baron von Raschke," but I've done a lot of drugs

The Baron had his sleeper hold, from which only he could revive the victim. This required draping a cloth over the victim's face (so no one could see the technique).
Also, where's Flying Fred Curry, Leaping Larry Shane, Bull Curry and, oh yeah, BOBO BRAZIL?
And George "The Animal" Steele? And Dick the Bruiser?
Of course, I grew up in Michigan. It's possible our local heroes were slightly different than your local heroes -- but, if you remember The Baron, I suspect we're on the same page.
John
I'm not saying he was the best -- but Bobo (and his Coco Headbutt) was my favorite.
ON EDIT: I'll vote for Andre from this list -- he was the guy who bridged the old days ("Saturday Night!! At the Saginaw Auditorium!!! Plenty of good seats still available!!!) to the new. Tickets were, like, $1.50 -- can you believe it?

[underpants]

44. The Baron and Johnny Weaver had a classic 'hold" match

Sorry about the spelling.

They each got one minute to put their hold on the other. Baron with the claw and Weaver with the sleeper. Weaver "won" but surprise surprise there was controversy.

I don't remember any cloth being used, he put it on someone every match.

Funny, I mock put it on my wife just last night and she flipped. "Don't you know you can cause braindamage?!?!?" I had never heard of this and we grew up about 5 hours away from each other (same state) so it must have been an urban legend when she was growing up.

[mitchum]

87. Mid-Atlantic Wrestling was the best...

Johnny Valentine
Super Destroyer
Tully Blanchard
Ricky Steamboat
The Minnesota Wrecking Crew (hell. I remember when Lars was an Anderson Bro.)
Dusty Rhodes
The Flying Scott Brothers
Argentina Apollo
Ivan Koloff
so many more...

[dwckabal]

5. Andre the Giant or Black Jack Mulligan??

How could you forget them??

[underpants]

6. Ric Flair

YOU MAY NOT LIKE IT BUT YOU BETTER LEARN TO LOVE IT BECAUSE IT'S THE BEST THING GOING TODAY!

WOOOOOOOOOO

60 MINUTE MAN

SPACE MOUNTAIN

[leftbend]

54. Ric Flair

"To be the man , ypu've got to beat the man"
Jet plane flying, limousine riding, kiss stealing son-of-a-gun.
Flair vs Kerry Von Erich in Dallas-great matches!

[JackDragna]

7. I shall vote for "other"

And then vote for Ric Flair. Wrestling is all about one's schtick and he had the best..a perfect combination of arrogance and blather. He also did a very good job of making it look like he was hurt when the other guy got the better of him in a match.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

9. What Kind Of Poll

No Jack Brisco

No Terry Funk

No Billy Superstar Graham

No Dusty Rhodes

No Ernie Ladd

No Don Muraco

[GOPisEvil]

14. Ooooh...Don Muraco and the Figure Four leglock!

I spent many a night watching him on TV when I was a kid! :D

[DemocratSinceBirth]

23. He Used To Bust On Dusty...

He called him cottage cheese legs......


Roddy Piper had a good schtick too..


And Kevin Sullivan....

[JackDragna]

15. There are some others that should be there..

Randy Savage, Abdullah the Butcher, Terry Funk, The Undertaker..it's so hard to pick because who one thinks is the best is very much a matter of what one watches wrestling for. Still, we should be easy on the ol' author of this poll. He was just trying to be friendly. :)

[underpants]

13. I completely agree

My wife met him where she used to work and said he was a really nice guy. A great wrestling persona.

[Loonman]

8. They Live!

Rowdy Roddy!

[Khephra]

51. Rowdy Roddy!

.

[GOPisEvil]

11. Superfly Jimmy Snuka!!!

Dammit!

:D

[MrBenchley]

12. Antonina Rocca

The wild man of the pampas...

[progressivejazz]

83. Absolutely!

That guy provided great entertainment by means of his physical prowess. The Jackie Chan of his age.

[GOPisEvil]

17. Oh yeah...where are the Von Erichs???

Fritz, Kerry, etc? :D

From the world-famous Sportatorium in Dallas...WCCW baby! :silly:

[Catholic Sensation]

24. The Texas Tornado!

The Von Erichs are like the Kennedys, they keep having all this unfortunate shit happen to them :(

[GOPisEvil]

27. No kidding!

I felt so bad for Mr. Adkisson (Fritz). He lost two sons so young. :-(

[VelmaD]

91. What he said...

Fritz was THE MAN!

Did you know he started out as a bad guy? My mom remembers those days. He goose-stepped around the ring and the fans loved to hate him.

Hey, did you ever go see WCCW live at the Sportatorium as a kid? I did. It rocked!

[SweetZombieJesus]

92. From what I've read, Fritz was a huge asshole/abusive father

Kevin's the only Von Erich who didn't die tragically. Most of the boys didn't want to be in the business, and Kerry ended up killing himself after serving a prison term and losing his leg. Can't remember all the specifics but I'm sure it's out there somewhere on the web.

[WilliamPitt]

18. What? No Haystack Calhoun?

[THUNDER HANDS]

31. you and my father

are the only people I know of who remember him. Wasn't he some big, fat hillbilly wrestler who used to wear overalls and sit on people?

[Hawkeye-X]

76. I stilll remember Calhoun

Anyone remember Adorable Adrian Adonis.. the world's FIRST gay wrestler. (or was supposed to be)

Hawkeye-X

[mitchum]

88. I remember Hystack Calhoun...saw him in "Requiem for a Heavyweight"

[chiburb]

62. Or Gorgeous George? Or...

Killer Kowalski?
"Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers?

[Caution]

19. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat!

[spaniard]

20. Mr. Wrestling II

[Loonman]

21. Fred Blassie?

n/t

[MiddleRiverRefugee]

22. Haystack(s) Calhoun

..if you wanna get really old.

on edit: pic

[displacedvermoter]

25. The Vachon Brothers

aand George "The Animal" Steel (former Michigan State football star!)

[Blitz]

95. George The Animal Steele

Was a VERY intelligent man who was a teacher (English, I believe) when he wasn't wrestling. Also, apparently, a hell of a nice guy.

[regularguy]

26. Bulldog Brower? Ivan Putski?

Mil Mascarasce?

[The_Gopher]

28. no Leaping Lanny Poffo?!?!? (a.k.a. The Genius)

.

[THUNDER HANDS]

35. quick bit of trivia

did you know that he's the Macho Man, Randy Savage's brother?

Oh, and did you know that the Macho Man also used to play minor league baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals?

[frylock]

45. he is also the voice of space ghost's (tad ghostal) grandfather..

Leonard Ghostal.

[The_Gopher]

49. snap into a slim jim!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

.

[5thGenDemocrat]

101. When Randy played in the minors for the Cardinals

His roommate was Larry Herndon, who went on to be a fan favorite for the Detroit Tigers.
John
Larry hit the HR which clinched the division title for the Tigs in 1987 (our last, alas). Frank Tanana made it hold up for a 1-0 victory over Jimmy Key (it was on my b'day, Oct. 4 and I was in the bleachers).
ON EDIT: Oh, yeah -- Haystack Calhoun was a legend. Good catch, Mr Pitt.

[tridim]

29. Princess Bride vote for Andre the Giant

n/t

[DemocratSinceBirth]

30. I Saw Andre The Giant Live

Terry Funk

Kevin Sullivan

Jack Brisco

Abdullah the Butcher

Dory Funk Jr.

Terry Funk

Johnny Valentine


and a host of others...

[phillybri]

32. The Nature Boy....Ric Flair

WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

[underpants]

34. Woooooooooooo

Spit flying and all.

:thumbsup:

[Beer Snob-50]

33. Captain Lou Albano

Manager of Champions- Manager of 24 Tag Team Champs-The originator of the rock-wrestling connection-NRBQ wrote a song about him-The greatest!!!

[Kamika]

43. you mean this guy?

[Beer Snob-50]

50. Unfortunatly

that is the same guy. But he was a great manager of champions.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

36. How About Lex Lugar

I was working out at Ballys near the Orlando International Airport back in 93 and saw him... Went up and shook his hand.... He was really quiet and 180 degrees different from his wrestling personnae....

[THUNDER HANDS]

38. probably because he was drugged out

I don't know if you've all heard this, but the valet Miss Elizabeth was found dead in a hotel room a little while ago.

Lugar was busted for drugs. I belive he was in the apartment with her at the time of her death.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

42. That's Disappointing

He seemed low key not drugged out...


What kind of drugs?


btw- u forgot The Assasin.... I was at at a wrestling match about thirty years ago... He was standing by the dressing room smoking a cigarette through his mask.....

[Cleve Steamer]

71. Miss Elizabeth

If I recall correctly, she choked to death on food as a result of drugs (painkillers + vodka??). Painkiller abuse is rampant in the pro wrestling environment due to the punishment they take on a nightly basis.

Her boyfriend Luger had nothing to do with her death, but the cops found massive amounts of painkillers and roids at his place. No one was surprised.

Anyway, like a lot of post-Hogan WWF goons, Luger was a bodybuilder first, wrestler second. All he had was the roid-induced physique.

Edited to add link (now somewhat outdated) from the Smoking Gun:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/lexluger1.html

[MissMillie]

37. stuck up nerd?

Can one simply not like it?

It's really nothing more than a testosterone-filled soap opera with highly physical stunts.

[Kamika]

40. One thing i dont get

How can you vote for the "best" wrestler, all the fights are made up.

[GOPisEvil]

41. Yeah, but each wrestler has a personality and character.

Plus, even though it's all made up in terms of the outcome, those moves require a lot of athletic ability.

Now, are you smelling what GOPisEvil is cooking? :D

[Red_Storm]

46. Jimmy Superfly Snuka !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Beer Snob-50]

53. I remember going one weekend at the local civic cnete

and some cowboy wrestler was having a massive fued with the russian bear, ivan koloff. blood every week, they threatened to kill each other, blah, blah, blah. well they were there that week and as I was standing outside the door the wrestlers went in, i saw the two of them get out of the same car talking and laughing with each other. My childhood was ruined at that point.

[thebigidea]

55. and the award for most obvious insight goes to...

[THUNDER HANDS]

56. best is classified

In wrestling circles, as the ability to capture the imagination and attention of the audience.

You either have to get them to love you, or love to hate you. Apathy is a wrestler's worst enemy.

The actual skill, athletic-wise, is second to showmanship.

Basically, you'd grade a pro wrestler very similaraly to how you'd grade a figure skater. If all things are equal, the figure skater with the most charisma wins.

[Cleve Steamer]

69. The outcomes are predetermined

In that regard, movies are "fake" too, but people don't have a problem ranking actors, actresses, and directors.

Charisma/look, acting/speaking ability, athleticism, technical ability (e.g., number and "degree of difficulty" of moves), ability to tell a story in the ring, etc., are all elements of a pro wrestler. Wrestlers vary greatly in all respects, and wrestling matches vary in quality as well.

[thebigidea]

48. Andy Kaufman

[ArkDem]

57. I don't see The Great Bolo

.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

58. What??? No Chief J Strongbow?

http://www.hammerhed.com/wrestling/39.html

[Drifter]

100. Yeah ... he was my favorite as a kid (n/t)

.

[TacticalPeek]

59. Gorgeous George? Mr. Moto?

:)

[underpants]

60. DANNY WUERRFEL!!!!!!!!!!

Oh sorry wrong thread.

[GOPisEvil]

63. Popcorn!

Sorry, wrong version of DU.

[underpants]

66. LOL

I wonder what happened to all those great philosophical discussions that were on there. :think:

[bif]

61. Bobo Brazil

n/t

[OneBlueSky]

77. beat me to it . . .

used to love the coco-butts . . . guy had one hard head . . .

[retread]

64. I remember hearing Lee Atwater was seen leaving a wrestling

match during the Poppy - Dukakis campaign. He was asked what he was doing there and said he watched the crowd to see what excited them and what angered them and then incorporated it in his campaign strategy. This was when there were still "true believers."
I knew then Dukakis was doomed.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

65. The much shorter Duke would have been a great wrestler

too bad they didn't settle affairs that way... :-(

[mitchum]

67. Johnny Valentine used every dirty trick in the book...

while castigating the fans as unsophisticated cretins. Gotta love him.
also:
Rip Hawk (what a name!)
"Nature Boy" Ric Flair

[Cleve Steamer]

68. Flair, hands down

Ric, not David!

Poll any wrasslin "smarks" about the greatest matches of all time, and Flair will be in a substantial number. Flair had tremendous charisma, storytelling ability, workrate (for his time), longevity, and unselfishness. He was at the top of the biz for years; he drew money in the 70s, 80s, 90s, and arguably in the 2000s. There's no comparison.

How can people vote for Andre the Giant? Because he was in a movie? Sheesh. Andre was never a reliable draw, and he certainly wasn't an impressive technician. He was a nice guy, and he was big, and he had a feud with Hogan. That's it. Next.

Hogan was (still is) a shrewd backstage politician and hence, always at the top of the card. However, he was (still is) a technically terrible and extremely selfish worker who consistently refused to put over any up-and-coming talent.

My top three of the 90s would be Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Austin. (And it pains me to say that, because I vastly preferred ECW and WCW to any of McMahon's product.) Yet none had the longevity or lasting impact of Flair.

[THUNDER HANDS]

84. you're dissing Andre the Giant?

Who, arguably is the most legitimate claim to being the best wrestler because there's no way any other wrestler could have beaten him in his prime.

In fact, I think nobody ever did pin him until Hulk Hogan did at Wrestlemania III. And a few years after that he died.

His feud with Hogan was at the very end of his career.

And Flair was great because he wrestled in a lesser league. The WWF has always been the tops. Nobody would have beaten Bruno Sammartino (says my dad) and that includes Flair.

Now, to be ultimately fair, we have to also say that Japan has had a lot of great wrestlers as well, as has Mexico.

Pro Wrestling is as big as soccer in the world.

[JVS]

70. The word is "cretin"

What kind of troglodyte would spell that incorrectly? ;-)

[Bake]

72. Jerry "The King" Lawler

Back when he was wrestling out of Memphis, The King was a GREAT performer!

Sgt. Slaughter
Tojo Yamamoto -- also on the Memphis circuit

And I can't believe that nobody has mentioned:
THE FORMER GOVERNOR OF MINNESOTA.

Bake

[Jonte_1979]

73. No Razor Ramone!?

Razor was the man, chico.

[Cleve Steamer]

75. Talk about a guy who wasted his potential

Good ol' Scott Hall (aka Razor Ramon) coulda been one of the greats. Like a lot of guys who failed to reach the top (or stay there), drugs and drink did him in. They don't call him "Alky Hall" for nothin'. :(

[Hawkeye-X]

74. I met Mick Foley about two months ago.

He's surprisingly gentle, and very kind.

I have a photo with me & him from a couple of weeks ago. I just have to find the CD.

Hawkeye-X

[absyntheNsugar]

78. What About Gorgeous George???

I don't know that much about wrestling, but even I heard of this guy as the father or modern wreslting....

[trof]

85. "absynthe makes the heart grow fonder"

Welcome to DU.
:hi:

[gratuitous]

79. Sting

That's all.

[Twillig]

80. Playboy Buddy Rose!

Staple and legend of the Northwest Wrestling scene. Headliner of "Portland Wrestling." (brought to you by Tom Peterson's (check Gus Van Zant Movies you auslanders!))

Quite a few greats went through there. (Snuka, Ventura, Piper...)

He and 'Big' Ed Wiskoski were my fave heels.


http://playboybuddyrose.com/Gallery/Photo-011.html


Creator of the 'Blow Away' diet


(edit to not leach off 'The Playboy,' and a resize to not piss you off)

[LTR]

102. If you like Buddy Rose..

...check out this site:

http://www.wrestlecrap.com

Nothin' but the worst of wrestling! Hilarious site!

[trof]

81. Gorgeous George

It has been argued that Frank Gotch put the sport of Professional Wrestling on the map - no one can argue the fact that it was Gorgeous George Wagner who brought it into the homes of the American public. Even more important than the dramatic effect he had on the rise of Pro Wrestling as an entertainment products, Wagner has been silently credited with establishing network television as a viable entertainment medium.

George Wagner was born in Seward, Nebraska and began his Professional Wrestling career when he was around the age of 14 and competed regionally for over ten years before developing a gimmick which would change the sport. He grew his hair out long and curly then dyed it blond. WeaRing gold plated bobby pins in his hair and long sequened robes, George would enter the Ring escorted by one of his Ring butlers, Thomas Ross or Geoffrey, who would spray the Ring and/or opponents with disinfectant or or perfume, all to the sounds of "Pomp and Circumstance," (the same entrance music used by "Macho Man" Randy Savage today.)

http://www.wrestlingmuseum.com/pages/bios/george2.html

[goobergunch]

82. I voted the last option (n/t)

[tom_paine]

86. I can't vote: Ivan Putsky The Polish Power!

:thumbsdown:

[SweetZombieJesus]

89. Flair, no question

Best mic skills, best in ring skills, best psychology ever as far as North American wrestlers go.

The only reason he never really got the push he deserved in his first WWF stint was because Hogan had a death grip on the top spot and would not job to him. Hogan's a dick, and never had even a tenth the talent Flair had.

From about 1986 to 1993, Ric Flair could have carried a broomstick to a four star match. The Flair/Steamboat feud from 88-89 was the greatest feud ever up until the Bret Hart/Steve Austin feud came along.

Flair still continues to outshine many of his peers in the current WWE, while being almost twice their age. He's still a hell of a lot more entertaining than HHH or Goldberg could ever hope to be.

He's the best heel ever. He's one of the best faces ever. His feuds with Vader and Terry Funk did something I never thought possible for a young Steamboat mark such as myself: I rooted for Ric Flair as if my life depended on it.

Hogan may have popularized pro wrestling with the mainstream, but Ric Flair almost single-handedly carried the second biggest North American wrestling promotion throughout the dark ages of the 80s workrate shortage.

NO one trumps Flair. No one.

[Bossy Monkey]

90. Pro Wretling boycott: Day 15,000

Sorry, just making fun of another DUer. I don't particularly care about wrestling one way or another. Couldn't vote the nerd way, though 'cause I've found out the hard way that voting on a 20+ reply thread gets you View All, and though I love you all every single one, my desire to see 90 replies on the pros and cons of wrestling is uh, somewhat limited.

[Twillig]

96. Since you don't care, I shall quote 'The Rock'

It doesn't matter what you think!

[TennesseeWalker]

93. Does anybody remember the "Mongolian Stomper"?

He was in the old Southeastern Champsionship Wrestling...along with "Hands of Stone" Ronnie Garvin (who was also "Mr. Knoxville"; The "Tennessee Stud"; "Mr. Fuji"; and the inimitable Flair...who is no doubt the Greatest of all time.

[Beaker]

94. George "The Animal" Steele

gets my vote

[alfredo]

97. Or Red Berry?

He was Gorgeous George's big adversary

http://www.geocities.com/percivalafriend/friend050602.htm

[TrogL]

98. Who's made the most money?

That's what's really the goal.

The Hulkster has to be pretty up there. (pun intended)

[carpetbagger]

99. No Harley Race? No Dusty Rhodes?

Someone put a sleeper hold on Magic Rat?

[HEyHEY]

103. THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR!

[LTR]

104. Verne Gagne

I mention him because

a. He's a Minnesota boy
b. A legend and the force behind the old AWA, where McMahon stole a good chunk of his roster.
c. Wrestled into old age (is he still alive?)
d. I met him and he's a heckuva nice guy (although he is in rough shape physically)

Otherwise, a few more:

Bret Hart
The Rock
Stone Cold

and the best of 'em all...MICK FOLEY!!!

Most overrated: Hulk Hogan (just plain obnoxious)