Best WWF Main-Eventer 1985-present

[Guest DeputyHawk]

Again, decisions based on overness, drawing power, in-the-ring ability, charisma & the ability to successfully carry any card as either champion or challenger.

 

SECOND ROUND

1--Steve Austin vs. Brock Lesnar

2--Kurt Angle vs. Mick Foley

3--The Rock vs. Psycho Sid

4--Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage

5--Bret Hart vs. Rick Rude

6--Triple-H vs. Ted DiBiase

7--Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair

8--The Undertaker vs. Ultimate Warrior

[Guest DeputyHawk]

my own picks:

 

SECOND ROUND

1--Steve Austin vs. Brock Lesnar: austin by a country mile

2--Kurt Angle vs. Mick Foley: very close. both struggled to be taken seriously through their dorky personas. they're both absolute gold on the mic, but neither has proven to be a fantastic draw on top. kurt just gets the nod due to the consistent topline quality of his matches.

3--The Rock vs. Psycho Sid: again, rock by a country mile

4--Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage: savage was never given a tremendously fair shake at the stick due to hogan's constantly upstaging him during his year on top in 88-89. you have to give it to the hulkster.

5--Bret Hart vs. Rick Rude: bret stayed in or near the main event for five years, rude bombed as no.1 heel in 1990

6--Triple-H vs. Ted DiBiase: another very close one. hhh clawed his way to the top of the card and has stayed there when he really shouldn't have, dibiase came in at the top then ended up floundering in the midcard undeservedly for several years. both drew insane heel heat in their prime years and put on great matches. hunter's intensity & dibiase's arrogance made for great interviews. dibiase however knew when to call it quits to preserve his legacy, hhh is detracting from his own with each passing week. the million dollar man gets the nod.

7--Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair: close again. shawn was around for longer and ushered in the attitude era with d-x, but was largely a failure during his big babyface run in 96. both had fantastic matches, but ric flair owned the wwf during his legendary 92-93 run, and has done nothing to tarnish his legacy since. it could go either way, but to me flair's quality outweighs shawn's quantity.

8--The Undertaker vs. Ultimate Warrior: yet another close call. taker has been the cornerstone of the wwf for over a decade, but as a main eventer i would use words like 'solid' and 'dependable' rather than great. warrior in his prime (88-91) was just phenomenally over, despite flopping as champ, and his persona had so many directions it could have ended up going. both were able to pull the occasional great match out of the bag despite generally sucking. i give it to warrior for the short burst rather than taker for the long haul.

[Guest Big McLargeHuge]

SECOND ROUND

1--Steve Austin vs. Brock Lesnar - Austin

2--Kurt Angle vs. Mick Foley - Angle

3--The Rock vs. Psycho Sid - The Rock

4--Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage - Hogan Goddamn you!

5--Bret Hart vs. Rick Rude - Bret Hart

6--Triple-H vs. Ted DiBiase - HHH Fuck.

7--Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair - Flair

8--The Undertaker vs. Ultimate Warrior - Taker

[Guest nWoScorpion]

1--Steve Austin vs. Brock Lesnar

Winner: Steve Austin

 

2--Kurt Angle vs. Mick Foley

Winner: Kurt Angle

 

3--The Rock vs. Psycho Sid

Winner: The Rock

 

4--Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage

Winner: Hulk Hogan

 

5--Bret Hart vs. Rick Rude

Winner: Bret Hart

 

6--Triple-H vs. Ted DiBiase

Winner: Triple H

 

7--Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair

Winner: Ric Flair

 

8--The Undertaker vs. Ultimate Warrior

Winner: The Undertaker

[Guest meanmaisch]

Austin

Angle

The Rock

Hogan

Hart

HHH

Flair

Undertaker

[Guest El Gigante]

1--Steve Austin

2--Kurt Angle

3--The Rock

4--Hulk Hogan

5--Bret Hart

6--Triple-H

7--Ric Flair

8--The Undertaker

[Guest cue_meanie]

1--Steve Austin vs. Brock Lesnar - Austin

2--Kurt Angle vs. Mick Foley - Foley

3--The Rock vs. Psycho Sid - The Rock

4--Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage - Hogan

5--Bret Hart vs. Rick Rude - Bret Hart

6--Triple-H vs. Ted DiBiase - HHH

7--Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair - Shawn Michaels

8--The Undertaker vs. Ultimate Warrior - Warrior

[Guest croweater]

1--Steve Austin (Steve in a 2 minute squash against the Green Machine Brock. DUD)

 

2--Kurt Angle (SHIT. THis was one hard pick and for all the right reasons. Kurt in a classic match which involved Mick being carried to a technical masterpiece while working in brawling and psycology and some massive bumps ****)

 

3--The Rock vs. Psycho Sid (Rock wins as Sid lays down for him)

 

4--Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage (both have charisma and were/are MEGA over. Damn this is hard as I am and was and forever will be a massive mark for Savage. Infact. I'll give it to Savage. He was never given the ball, but pulled out a great angle with Miss Elizabeth, Great matches and was a strong champion. Pitty he was booked as Hogan't bitch most of the time though he was by far his supirior in talent.)

 

5--Bret Hart vs. Rick Rude (Bret, easily. RR wasn't really a big Main event player. Bret was on top for 8 years.)

 

6--Triple-H vs. Ted DiBiase (HHH- his number of matches at main event level destroy DiBiase. They are about the same in quality. However, give me a few more months and I may change my mind as HHH's main event legacy is turning to POO)

 

7--Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair (Flair. Michaels never really "did" it for me with his first 2 title runs, with weak angles like the one with the British Bulldog, he either was defending against mid-carders or losing the title. He never had any GREAT matches as champion. Both could easily still headline any PPV against almost any opponent and both were Great in their prime, but Flaire just on consistency.

 

8--The Undertaker vs. Ultimate Warrior (Crap. Crap. I'm a mark for the Warrior. But the orriginal gimmik of the Undertaker would have any and everyone watching WWE MARKING OUT MADLY. Taker wins but only just.)

[Guest Monday Night Jericho]

1--Steve Austin

2--Kurt Angle

3--The Rock

4--Randy Savage

5--Bret Hart

6--Ted DiBiase

7--Ric Flair

8--The Undertaker

[Guest Dynamite Kido]

SECOND ROUND

1--Steve Austin

2--Mick Foley

3--The Rock

4--Hulk Hogan

5--Bret Hart

6--Ted DiBiase

7--Ric Flair

8--The Undertaker

[Guest BorneAgain]

1: Austin

2: Foley (Very tough)

3: The Rock

4: Hogan

5: Hart

6: HHH

7: Flair

8: Undertaker

[TheOriginalOrangeGoblin 0]

SECOND ROUND

1--Steve Austin - Easy

2--Kurt Angle - Very tough

3--The Rock - Easy

4--Hulk Hogan - I like Savage a lot better but he didn't draw asm uch as Hogan, although he never got the chance to

5--Bret Hart - Rude was never that big a ME'er. In 1990 Hogan/Quake ME'ed most shows.

6--Triple-H - See Rude, sub Hogan/Andre

7--Ric Flair - HBK was best as an upper card heel

8--The Undertaker - Tough call but I despise Warrior

[Guest WrestlingDeacon]

SECOND ROUND

1--Steve Austin

2--Kurt Angle

3--The Rock

4-- Randy Savage

5--Bret Hart

6-- Ted DiBiase

7-- Ric Flair

8--The Undertaker

[Danville_Wrestling 0]

1--Steve Austin

2--Kurt Angle

3--The Rock

4--Randy Savage

5--Bret Hart

6--Ted DiBiase

7--Shawn Michaels

8--The Undertaker

[Mecha Mummy 0]

1--Steve Austin

2--Mick Foley

3--The Rock

4--Hulk Hogan

5--Bret Hart

6--Triple-H

7--Shawn Michaels

8--The Undertaker

[Guest Andy]

1. Steve Austin

2. Kurt Angle

3. The Rock

4. Randy Savage

5. Bret Hart

6. Ted DiBiase

7. Ric Flair

8. The Undertaker

[Guest DeputyHawk]

This kind of died on its ass a little bit, so I'll just go ahead and add the Quarter Finals in this thread.

 

TIP- it makes for a more interesting read if you, you know, give reasons for your choices rather than just listing them.

 

QUARTER FINALS

1--Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle

2--The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan

3--Bret Hart vs. Triple-H

4--Ric Flair vs. The Undertaker

 

My own picks:

1--Steve Austin (defined the late 90s boom, is synonymous with wrestling, played his role to absolute perfection, and produced a string of great matches over a number of years)

2--Hulk Hogan (Rock is cooler and has better matches, but Hogan has stayed at or near the top for more than two decades and despite his critics, stays unbelievably over with the masses)

3--Bret Hart (a great heel AND a great face - Trips can only really pull off nasty - Bret carried the WWF through their mid-90s lean period with poise and dignity. HHH isn't cutting it on top and isn't letting anyone get into a position to threaten him)

4--The Undertaker (toughest choice of the quarters. If this tournament was an all-company open, Flair takes it easily but it's limited to WWF and Taker has been an on-&-off ME'er for over ten years, whereas Flair only had his 15 months of glory 91-93. Taker has been a bankable star for a long, long time though he's the obvious weak link of my Final Four)

[Guest ISportsFan]

SECOND ROUND

1--Steve Austin vs. Brock Lesnar

2--Kurt Angle vs. Mick Foley

3--The Rock vs. Psycho Sid

4--Hulk Hogan vs. Randy Savage

5--Bret Hart vs. Rick Rude

6--Triple H vs. Ted DiBiase

7--Shawn Michaels vs. Ric Flair

8--The Undertaker vs. Ultimate Warrior

 

All the top seeds win. I picked Michaels over Flair based on WWE-only work (Flair would win by a few million acres if it were all-inclusive), and I valued drawing over work (as evidenced by HHH over DiBiase, although HHH had that run in 2000, and Hogan over Savage).

 

Jason

[Guest ISportsFan]

QUARTER FINALS

1--Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle

2--The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan

3--Bret Hart vs. Triple-H

4--Ric Flair vs. The Undertaker

 

I guess the second round results I just posted don't count.

 

Oh well, here goes nothing.

 

Steve Austin defeats Kurt Angle.

- This is simple, actually. I love Angle's work and everything, but Austin has had just as many awesome matches, had to wrestle crappier workers for a longer time. Plus, ya know, Austin had the added advantage of drawing kabillions of viewers and stuff.

 

The Rock defeats Hulk Hogan.

- This one is not as simple, but I attribute Rock's drawing power to be similar to Hogan's. Then, adding Rock's work on top of Hogan's makes it a lot easier than I thought it would be.

 

Bret Hart defeats Triple H.

- Bret wins in a no contest. Bret was on top for longer, had better matches for longer, and worked harder after his 1996 absence than HHH has since his 2001 quad injury.

 

Ric Flair defeats the Undertaker.

- Ric Flair spent only a little over a year in WWE as a main eventer. But, Undertaker drew so little money and has only been carried in main events to good matches while Flair made the Royal Rumble in 1992, had a **** match with Savage at WrestleMania, made SummerSlam's main event watchable when he wasn't even in it in 1992, and had the best Raw match in 1993 with Perfect.

 

Jason

[Guest Big McLargeHuge]

1--Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle - Austin: Austin was easily the bigger draw and while Kurt has had many great matches over the a relatively short period of time, Austin has had CLASSICS that will be remembered for decades. His heel character was brilliant and proved he could be compelling without fueding with Vince.

 

2--The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan - The Rock: This was a very tough choice. Hulk managed to become synonomous with wrestling and was the most recognizeable star ever. He probably still is. His heel turn was pulled off brilliantly when no one thought it could be pulled off, even though he'd been receiving jeers for years. However, the Rock's entertainment value and work-rate are far and ahead of Hogan's IMO. And he's successfully made the transition to movie star. Something Hogan was unsuccessful at doing.

 

3--Bret Hart vs. Triple-H - Bret Hart: This was pretty easy. Bret wasn't the biggest draw ever, but he made the WWF title seem like something worth fighting for. Like Hogan, his heel turn was brilliantly executed. As I said before, Hunter's had great matches, but Bret's been involved in classics. HHH is not only holding a title that has yet to see any credibility, he's also grasping for heat and dogging it in the ring.

 

4--Ric Flair vs. The Undertaker - Ric Flair: Taker's had good matches, but it's usually guys like Flair who are carrying him to those good matches. Flair is Flair. What really needs more to be said?

[Adam 0]

QUARTER FINALS

1--Steve Austin vs. Kurt Angle

2--The Rock vs. Hulk Hogan

3--Bret Hart vs. Triple-H

4--Ric Flair vs. The Undertaker

 

1-- Austin. The man is a bon-fide legend in the biz, and while Angle has had amazing success in a short period of time, Austin is better known.

 

2-- The Rock. Sure, Hogan revolutionised the business, but Rocky has been just as successful, plus he is a much better wrestler.

 

3-- Bret Hart. By a streak. Hart is one of the greatest of all time. It is no sevret that I don;t like Triple H, but Hart is just that much better anyway.

 

4-- Ric Flair. The man is a 16 time World Champ, and possibly the greatest. Taker, while a legend, is not at the level of Flair.

[Guest Aero]

1--Steve Austin

2--Kurt Angle

3--The Rock

4--Hulk Hogan

5--Bret Hart

6--Triple-H

7--Shawn Michaels

8--The Undertaker

[Guest Monday Night Jericho]

1--Steve Austin

2--The Rock

3--Bret Hart

4--Ric Flair