Best wwf world champ - '80s/2000

[Guest Maurizio C... Version 2]

of course, the battle will be between Hogan and Austin since theyve both been the renaissance men for their respective eras... but Yoko could very well be the dark horse of the poll.

[Guest Daredevil21]

I picked Bret Hart, simply because he was the first WWF champ that wasn't a big man and was given a good run. He wasn't the first non-big man champion, but he was the first one to be given a run as a serious champion. For whatever reason, they were never fully confident of Randy Savage and felt it to be necessary to have Hogan there too. Flair was a great champion as well, and could also be considered the first non-big man to get a serious championship run. However, Hogan was there in the main event picture while Flair was champion. I just consider the fact that Bret was finally given the chance to be THE man in his secong reign. Vince finally accepted the facts and let Bret be the top dog.

[Guest Tony149]

I voted for Austin just for the fact he was the guy who brought the WWF back to the spotlight. Hogan did it in the '80s, Austin did it in the '90s. WCW should get a lot of credit for letting go of Austin. If SCSA doesn't get fired by WCW, history could have been different. Bret's a good choice as well.

[Guest Kahran Ramsus]

Randy Savage was my favourite, but probably the greatest was Hogan.

 

Austin (at least until 2001) wasn't that great a world champ.  He never really brought any prestige to the belt.  He just acted like he wanted it to screw with Vince.

[Guest Maurizio C... Version 2]

from a marketing standpoint, Austin is the best wwf champ of them all. yes, hogan put wrestling on the map, but while wrestling in the 80s was hot, it was still considered poor man art. Austin, with help from Vince and yes... Russo, took wrestling and took it to the extreme.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Bret Hart and Austin are 1 and 2 for me.  but lately I've been thinking that Austin should be #1.

[Guest JAMES900]

Match wise: Bret hart

 

Business wise: Hogan

[Guest SplendidStorm]

Gotta go with Austin then Hogan. Austin did for pro wrestling in the 90's what Hogan did for it in the 80's.

 

Austin gets the advantage due to his ability to put on a good, watchable match.

[Guest areacode212]

Considering the combination of match quality, charisma, business and mainstream exposure, I'll go with Steve Austin.

[Guest FakeRazor]

I'll go with Austin, closely followed by Hogan and Bret Hart.  Triple H is up there too, he's one of the better recent champions if you ask me.

[Guest J*ingus]

Okay, time for another round of Jingus's Poll Analysis:

 

Steve Austin: the definitive champ of the 90's, and maybe even the 00's if Angle doesn't keep getting better.  Good matches, great drawing ability.  My overall pick.  

 

Hulk Hogan: probably made more money for Vince and the WWF than any other man in history.  Matches started out okay, but got worse as time went on.  The definitive 80's champion.  

 

Bret Hart: great in-ring talent, but was booked in a scattershot manner which didn't say much for the WWF's confidence in him.  Possibly affected his drawing power, which was not bad but not great.  

 

Shawn Michaels: my favorite in-ring performer of all of these guys, but a headache to the company and a proven money-loser.  

 

Triple H: an unknown quantity.  Athletic ability wasn't anything unusual, but he had an awesome grasp of psychology and called his matches very well.  He did good business with Cactus, Rock, and Angle in 2000, but hasn't been the champion since then.  Could rank higher on the list a few years later.  

 

The Rock: underrated and underpushed.  The only man in history to lose in the main event of Wrestlemania three years in a row, twice as the top babyface.  A proven money draw, brings the goods for his PPV matches, but is often shunted aside and jobbed out to elevate the newer stars.  

 

The Undertaker: nothing special as a champion.  Got cheered for pinning Hogan, didn't draw money in '97, had the belt for a forgettable month in '99, that's about it.  Lots of his title matches weren't mat classics, partially due to the opposition.  

 

Kevin Nash: single worst-drawing champ in WWF history.  Put on unforgivably bad matches with just about everyone except HBK and Bret.  Worthless.  

 

Yokozuna: an odd case, was the only heel to hold the belt for an extended period of time.  Not a great in-ring performer, obviously.  Not a great money draw either.  A transition champ while Vince tried to figure out what to do post-Hogan.  

 

Randy Savage: good matches, decent money, but very little confidence shown in him.  Was never allowed to be the top guy in the promotion.  

 

I would add to the list: Ultimate Warrior (almost Nashian in his worthlessness), Ric Flair (good matches, but didn't have the belt long enough to do much), Sid (over with the crowd, but didn't draw big money), Kurt Angle (good matches, weak booking), and Jericho (mediocre so far, time will tell).  Andre, Kane, and Big Show all had reigns far too short to rate.

[Guest dreamer420]

Bret Hart here all the way.  His matches were all top notch and every performance he put forward was 110%.

 

I would put Steve Austin in a distent second.

[Guest TheDames7]

I would have to say Bret Hart for a few reasons.  

 

1. He defended the title often and regained its credibility after guys like Yoko and Nash provided for some horrible main events.  

 

2. The match quality of the world title matches were skyrocketing towards the roof.  When did Yoko, or Hogan, or Nash or any of the other champs of that era consistently put on great matches?  I'd include Flair but his reigns were too short.  

 

3. Bret's first reign was 175 days, and held the title a total of 5 times.  Even though one of the reigns was a 24 hour one (his 4th), as champion, he made the reigns seem important.  Most of Austin's reigns were marred by feuding with McMahon, or being with the Alliance or other factors.  

 

4. He made his matches believable.  Everyone knew Hogan would retain his title, same thing with Diesel or even Austin if the matches were one on one.  I can't remember one world title main event that Bret looked as if he was unbeatable.  

 

Dames

[Guest Marius714]

I can't believe nobody thought of the Iron Shiek? Man I hated that guy and marked out huge when Hogan beat him for the strap. Not a great champ but what a transition guy.

[Guest Drury37]

I was going to vote for Bret Hart because yes he was the first guy who wasn't big to be WWF Champions,but Hulk Hogan is like the Babe Ruth of wrestling,although his records have been broken he was still the original best and the fans loved him.

Thanks.

[Guest 5_moves_of_doom]

Where the hell is Bruno Sammartino?

[Guest gwf0704]

Sammartino didnt wrestle in the 80's!  My pick is Hogan just for charisma, what he did for the sport, and how over he was in his time period.  Also I tend to remember his feuds more than what Rock/Austin/Brett had, but I would have elevated Brett higher if they had him and Owen feuding over the world belt more with Owen winning it at least once!

[Guest Makaveli]

I picked Bret Hart also, he had alot of awesome matches and was a 5 time champ, back when the belt didnt change hands so often. Now being a 5 time champion hardly means anything anymore.

[Guest Your God]

Ignoring the business sense, I'd say Shawn Michaels.  Yeah, he was very egocentric and furthered the downfall of Vader by not jobbing the title to him at both SUMMERSLAM and SURVIVOR SERIES.  But at the time the WWF was failing and he was holding the federation together with his constant string of ***+ matches with men ranging from Bret Hart and Diesel to Shinobi (Al Snow) and Sid.  I mean, come on...he got a good match out of Sid!