Alright guys heres another one to pass the time

[Guest Cubbie78]

Say top five why not, or however many you want.....and by this I mean North America, cause I havent seen much puro outside of Benoit...And when I say Best wrestler, I wont really include the sports entertainment aspect of it (although in-ring charisma means ALOT), just pure out and out, in-ring pro wrestling, selling, bumping, athleticism, storytelling, which I place a high value on....so I am gonna have to go with:

 

Bret Hart (head and shoulders above everyone, imo)

Owen Hart

Benoit

Flair

Steve Austin

[Guest dreamer420]

5. steve austin

4. owen hart

3. ricky steamboat

2. ric flair

1. bret hart

[Guest RazorxEDGE]

1. Shawn Michaels

2. Bret Hart

3. Stone Cold Steve Austin

4. HHH (Grr...)

5. The Rock

[EL DANDY~!]

I'm gonna say Bret, Austin, Flair, Steamboat, Savage, DiBiase, Guerrero, Benoit, Malenko, Dynamite Kid (OK, so only about 4 years...but hey, why not?), and last but not least...your hero and mine....

 

 

 

 

...HHH. HA! You really think I'd pick HIM?>

 

Punk bitches.

 

Number 10 IS the man, the myth, the legend...Shawn Michaels.

[Guest Cubbie78]

I thought seriously about Steamboat, but in top five, I couldnt figure out who to bump, plus he just doesnt seem to have the sheer number of classic matches as the other guys do....also I forgot, honorable mention to Dean Malenko

[EL DANDY~!]

I'm gonna say this...Steamer has ***** matches out the wazoo in the late 90s...and then has one with Flair when they are BOTH in their 40s. Wow...I'd have him up there for sure. In fact, I do.

[Guest TheyCallMeMark]

Well I'm not really familiar with "all-time" sorts of things about the WWE, so I'll just list the guys who I've seen in great matches and hear good things about otherwise, because odds are if it predates when I started watching wrestling, I have only seen the match if it kicks royal ass. That being said, here is a sketchy list:

 

1. Steve Austin. Well, he spent all of his time in North American, so he's seems a pretty obvious choice for the best N.A. wrestler to me. I don't really recall any ***** matches that he was in (why the hell wasn't he in any?) he definatly paved his own way, really taking the brawling style to a whole new level (along with Mick Foley) bringing it above something that was just brutal into something that was an artform. A brutal artform, but still. Come to think of it, maybe he was one of the first N.A. wrestlers to really incorporate the Japanese brawl-psych into an American style. Anyway, he was a pioneer as well as a great bumper, seller, brawler, wreslter and athlete.

 

2. Shawn Michaels maybe? I'm not really sure but I think he's a good choice, as I rate the one Michaels/Ramon ladder match as *****, making it IMO as good as any match could be. Anybody involved in that kind of match is special, and if Hall hadn't become such a fuckup later, maybe I'd put him a bit higher on the list. As is, I don't think I'd put him in the top ten, but maybe the top twenty. Anyway Michaels was innately great in the ring and just had a way of having great matches with anyone.

 

3. Ric Flair prolly. Most people think he's better than I do but hey, I don't really dig much old-school. Too slow for me. Still, I have to admit he was bitchin' in the ring for all I have seen of him and I think he was consistantly have fucking awesome matches in a time period that in my mind yeilded shit for ring-work. His matches with Winham and Steamboat all seemed great.

 

4. Mick Foley, basically the same reasons as Austin, but I think his matches are really overated. Although, his work made this generation of superstars (Austin, HHH, Rock) and by helping them before they were great by walking them through great, great matches. Anyway, I just think he was a less great version of Austin, though he was indeed more original (since he really was the first to do the whole attitude thing).

 

I can't really say any more with alot of conviction but the rest of the top ten probably looks like:

 

5. Chris Benoit. He would be higher but the majority of his work that was fantastic was over in Japan, and since we're talking America he gets points here for just being a sheer badass in the ring.

 

6. Bret Hart. I'm not a big fan but he was really good, and had alot of sweet matches. I probably should put him higher than Benoit but I just like Benoit more despite Bret having more great American matches.

 

7. Chris Jericho. Three canadians in a row. Sweet. Anyway, a combination of the badass wrestler factor and having great matches as well as being like Captain Carry of the new millenium ranks him this high IMHO.

 

8. It's getting tough as hell now, so I'll give Eddy Guerrero the nod. Really, he should be ahead of Jericho because his badass meter is higher and he had that one hella sweet match with Juventud, but for whatever reason I'm too lazy to move him up on the list. If we included his work from elsewhere in the world, he'd be in the top three.

 

9. Rey Misterio Jr. Mostly for his work in WCW, but the guy was really brilliant in Mexico. Greatest spot machine ever, period. No one can work spots seamlessly into a match better than this man. No one. He is the king of the top rope, and I don't think the world will ever find a high flying wrestler with a greater sense of psychology, ever. Bow down, suckaaas.

 

10. Owen Hart. Very good wrestler, though I think overhyped because of the whole dying thing. Still very good. First guy on the list so far who couldn't be randomly changed with everyone else.

 

After that you have guys like Steamboat, Windham, Angle, Rock, Jarrett etc. etc. And I hate my fucking list so far so fuck doing any more. If I hadn't spent ten minutes typing this long diatribe of total suckshit BS I'd delete it and not posted. The guys I listed were all so good they could be interchanged in any order and the list would still make sense. Honestly I think my list goes like this:

1. Chris Benoit.

2. Eddy Guerrero.

3. Rey Misterio Jr. tied w/ Ric Flair.

5. Steve Austin.

6. Shawn Michaels.

7. Bret Hart.

8. Chris Jericho.

9. Mick Foley.

10. Owen Hart.

 

But I guess that just goes to show how HARD IT IS TOO REALLY CHOOSE. ARRRGHH.

[Guest Brian]

I'll just go with guys who performed in the US, but had work in Japan that was judged a little;

 

1. Dynamite Kid

2. Ric Flair

3. Chris Benoit

4. Eddie Guerrero

5. Steve Austin

 

Maybe I'l do an explanation as to why I chose who later.

[Guest godthedog]

i'm limiting myself to 14 years, cause that's as far back as my wrestling experience goes.

 

1. ric flair--you know why

2. (tie) ricky steamboat, bret hart--i was gonna put bret above steamboat, as he could wrestle great as a heel, but it's just as much a testament to steamboat's ability that he never had to wrestle as a heel

4. steve austin--GREAT heel, made a completely successful change of his wrestling style after the injury & ended up changing the entire style of wwf wrestling

5. shawn michaels--not that great as a heel, a little iffy as a babyface, but he did help change the face of wrestling

 

sadly, benoit is barely edged out of the list.

[EL DANDY~!]

OK. Can somebody explain the sanity of Michaels being ahead of Benoit when a lot of what Michaels did was the hellacious bumps?

[Guest godthedog]

the best i've seen of hbk is better than the best i've seen of benoit. benoit didn't have the same unique, inventive way of looking at a match that hbk did. plus, benoit didn't really do anything to help change the face of wrestling.

 

i myself am a much bigger fan of benoit, but in american wrestling i gots to give michaels more credit.

[Guest Midnight Express83]

Shawn Micaels is the lean mean super bump machine. Thats why he is retired now, thats why his body is falling apart. Thats why he and Foley are lucky that god lets the still stand. Shawn did alot to help bad wrestlers have great matches. But if you are looking top 5, HBK is NOT going to really make it.

 

1: Ric Flair

2: Dynamite Kid

3: Chris Benoit

4: Bret Hart

5: Ricky Steamboat

6: Owen Hart

7: Steve Austin

8: HBK

9: Eddy Guerrero

10: Arn Anderson

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

1.Flair

2.Dynamite

3.Misawa

4.Jumbo Tsuruta (fourth because I need to see MORE, dammit!)

5.Bret

[Guest BionicRedneck]

Jumbo and Hokuto get mentions although I haven't seen enough really.

 

I would say:

 

1.Mitsuharu Misawa-IMO, no-one can compete with this guy for sheer number of classic matches. He was involved in probably the best singles match ever and the best tag team match ever (as was Kawada). In addition if you look at the best AJPW matches of the last decade (arguably the best wrestling federation ever, during that time) most the classic matches involved this guy.

 

2.Toshiaki Kawada

 

3.Ric Flair

 

4.Jushin Thunder Liger

 

5.Chris Benoit

 

as I mentioned Jumbo etc. don't feature as I haven't really seen enough.

[Guest dreamer420]

10. Owen Hart. Very good wrestler, though I think overhyped because of the whole dying thing. Still very good. First guy on the list so far who couldn't be randomly changed with everyone else.

Watch any Owen match very closely though. Every single move he does is pulled off cleanly and without mistake. I don't think he was ever given the run he truly deserved and his untimely death cut off what could have been one great run in the WWF.

[Guest Strike Force!]

Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Ricky Steamboat, Bret Hart, Ted DiBiase.

[Guest WrestlingDeacon]

So we're talking since 1982 and pretty much looking at ring work only.

 

1) Ric Flair

2) Ricky Steamboat

3) Bret Hart

4) Randy Savage

5) Curt Hennig

6) Kurt Angle

7) Chris Benoit

8) Ted Dibiase

9) Steve Austin

10) Arn Anderson

[Guest Coffin Surfer]

The best that I have seen. Keep in mind I don't like lucha and haven't seen much of the New Japan heavies(which I don't like that much either), and I haven't seen enough Joshi to form an intelligent opinion just yet.

 

1. Jumbo-For over 20 years he produced ****+ matches. Most of his matches are so perfectly worked, paced, and excuted they make Steamboat/Flair look like RVD/Lynn. Unlike his descendents in All Japan, Jumbo would never piss on a moves credablity, he possesed an uncanny ability to tease his finishers as well as his opponents without actually using them.

 

2. Kawada-The greatest seller I have ever seen in the history of wrestling. Every move he does serves a purpose and furthers the match. He also played a huge role, in developing the complex storytelling of some of the 90s greatest matches. Not to mention that he carried Gary Albright to a ****1/2 MOTYC.

 

3. Lyger-The greatest junior I have ever seen. His emotion and mannerisms are second to none. And unlike most junior wrestlers, he managed to develop deep storytelling to go along with the flawless matwork.

 

4. Beniot-Has worked a shitload of great matches in mulitply styles.

5. Misawa-Played an important role in some of the decades greatest matches.

6. Kobashi-Despite his flaws, when he is on, nobody can touch him.

7. Ohtani-One of the Junior's greatest performers. His series with Ultimo and Lyger produced some of the deepest storytelling in Junior history.

8. Flair-I don't think you'll ever find a better old school heel, and of course his matches with Steamboat are some of the 80s best.

[Guest Mad Dog]

1. Ric Flair

2. Chris Benoit

3. Bret Hart

4. Arn Anderson

5. Randy Savage pre 1994

6. Curt Heenig (early 90s)

7. Ricky Steamboat

8. Steve Austin

9. Ted Dibaise

10. tie HBK and Eddie Guerrero

[LaParkaYourCar]

I hate putting them in order cause it would take me forever to post so here's my picks.

 

Bret Hart

Ric Flair

Ricky Steamboat

Owen Hart

Arn Anderson

Chris Benoit

Dynamite Kid

Jushin Liger

HBK

Steve Austin

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

Flair.

 

That was easy.