Top 50 Stars of the Last 50 Years

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

The Rock 'n' Roll Express had the teenage girl dynamic. And as good as the Midnights were, none of them headlined a stadium show against Ric Flair like Morton did. If I were to select another team, it would actually be the Fabulous Kangaroos.

That's a good qualification if you were arguing for Morton to be included as a singles guy, but it doesn't do anything for the RnR's as a team.

 

As for the Midnight's inclusion, I think their main event program with Bill Watts and Stagger Lee in Mid-South makes a good qualification; it drew $1.2m for 14 dates, set gate records in every city but one, which was New Orleans at the Superdome, and even then they only missed out on the record by $6,000 with a crowd over 20,000.

 

 

 

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

The Rock 'n' Roll Express had the teenage girl dynamic. And as good as the Midnights were, none of them headlined a stadium show against Ric Flair like Morton did. If I were to select another team, it would actually be the Fabulous Kangaroos.

That's a good qualification if you were arguing for Morton to be included as a singles guy, but it doesn't do anything for the RnR's as a team.

 

As for the Midnight's inclusion, I think their main event program with Bill Watts and Stagger Lee in Mid-South makes a good qualification; it drew $1.2m for 14 dates, set gate records in every city but one, which was New Orleans at the Superdome, and even then they only missed out on the record by $6,000 with a crowd over 20,000.

Good argument for the Midnights. The problem I think is that the big star in that pairing is Bill Watts, and Stagger Lee (Junkyard Dog) is on the list as it is. The Junkyard Dog and Bill Watts had many other main event feuds in Mid South. The Midnights did not.

 

Looking things over though, I can see dropping the Rock n Roll Express in favor of Scott Hall and Kevin Nash. I think that switch needs to get made.

 

One deserving wrestler I overlooked entirely is Bobo Brazil.

[Guest]

If I was going to add another team, I'd look at the Bushwhackers. They'd obviously be at the lower end of the list, but within the criteria of the list, two of the three apply. I assume that being recognizable is part of it. Not that I'd add them, but they should be close. Chyna should be too.

 

As for the list, I'd add Ted DiBiase and Eddie Guerrero. I'd take out Buddy Rogers and Mil Mascaras. You ask people about the Million Dollar Man, chances are that they'll know what you're talking about.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

The Rock 'n' Roll Express had the teenage girl dynamic. And as good as the Midnights were, none of them headlined a stadium show against Ric Flair like Morton did. If I were to select another team, it would actually be the Fabulous Kangaroos.

That's a good qualification if you were arguing for Morton to be included as a singles guy, but it doesn't do anything for the RnR's as a team.

 

As for the Midnight's inclusion, I think their main event program with Bill Watts and Stagger Lee in Mid-South makes a good qualification; it drew $1.2m for 14 dates, set gate records in every city but one, which was New Orleans at the Superdome, and even then they only missed out on the record by $6,000 with a crowd over 20,000.

Good argument for the Midnights. The problem I think is that the big star in that pairing is Bill Watts, and Stagger Lee (Junkyard Dog) is on the list as it is. The Junkyard Dog and Bill Watts had many other main event feuds in Mid South. The Midnights did not.

But how many of those feuds set the kinds of records that the feud with Express did? Don't forget that adding the MX, and the RnR's to Mid-South, helped the territory to it's best year in business. You can't discount the MX's contribution to that success, or to the the success of the feud with Watts.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

If I was going to add another team, I'd look at the Bushwhackers. They'd obviously be at the lower end of the list, but within the criteria of the list, two of the three apply. I assume that being recognizable is part of it. Not that I'd add them, but they should be close. Chyna should be too.

 

As for the list, I'd add Ted DiBiase and Eddie Guerrero. I'd take out Buddy Rogers and Mil Mascaras. You ask people about the Million Dollar Man, chances are that they'll know what you're talking about.

There's a difference between a popular nostalgia act and true stardom. The Bushwackers fall into the former. If there's an obvious determination it's whether they could main event a major show. The Bushwackers never did, and I don't believe Chyna ever did either.

 

Ted DiBiase is a good choice, and a tough cut if not on the list. Eddie Guerrero I'm not certain, I don't know if he has much mainstream exposure. Mil Mascaras was a star for decades on the regional circuit. If he toured a territory, he came in and wrestled on top, and drew money. Guerrero was a main event star for a year, a mid-card star otherwise. Great wrestler yes. But how big a star was he?

 

Buddy Rogers is not well known today. In 1961 however, his match with Pat O'Connor set a record for a live gate and drew the biggest crowd for a wrestling match since Jim Londos. Rogers' mannerisms set the stage for wrestlers in the future. When Andy Kaufmann came into wrestling for example, Buddy Rogers was his template. He really was THE biggest star of the early television era.

[Hunter's Torn Quad 0]

Does Eddie's work in Mexico not count in his favor? What about AAA's excursions into LA or CA, when he was part of the success?

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

But how many of those feuds set the kinds of records that the feud with Express did? Don't forget that adding the MX, and the RnR's to Mid-South, helped the territory to it's best year in business. You can't discount the MX's contribution to that success, or to the the success of the feud with Watts.

 

I can't. What it comes down to is that it is simply a crowded field, and every successful act can't quite crack the list. What holds the Midnight Express is that they never cracked the wall from wrestling into mainstream recognition. You can argue them over the Rock 'n' Roll Express, but they are not the strongest candidates on the list either. There are maybe 5-6 candidates on the list they could bypass, but that's not terribly strong.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Does Eddie's work in Mexico not count in his favor? What about AAA's excursions into LA or CA, when he was part of the success?

Mexico no. AAA into LA is interesting, did they draw favorably among english-speaking fans or did they draw large portions of the spanish speaking community? I honestly don't know. I don't think the majority of American wrestling fans are familiar with AAA, but living on the east coast I'm probably not in the best position to know.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

I'd say American wrestling fans are familiar with the lucha libre style moreso than any of the lucha promotions. Still, Guerrero is important, as he and Mysterio are the two biggest hispanic stars of the last 10-15 years.

[BruiserKC 0]

Some others that need consideration for the list...

 

Rick Steamboat- One of the truly great stars of the business...at the very least "The Dragon" should be considered

Bruiser Brody- He inspired hardcore wrestling for our generation

Barry Windham- Very solid big man...was a tremendous wrestler in his day.

Arn Anderson- One of the most underrated performers of all-time. Solid work rate and his promos were gold

 

 

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

Check the criteria, it's a list of STARS. Nothing to do with in-ring ability, promo work, etc.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

I feel if Rey is there, then Eddie should be there.

[EVIL~! alkeiper 0]

On Eddie Guerrero:

 

There are two problems with the AAA run. One is that his opponent was El Hijo del Santo, one of the greatest stars in the history of Mexican wrestling. If you can't draw against him, you can't draw against anyone. Second, after the run Guerrero didn't set the world afire as a huge star. He went to ECW and then on to the WCW midcard. Hardly their biggest star at the time.

 

People get emotional about Guerrero, as I've well found out. This is not to discredit Eddie in any circumstance. There are just too many wrestlers on a higher level. What places Mysterio above him? Existing popularity, very popular among young fans. One way to know for certain though, does anyone have dvd sales figures of Guerrero and Mysterio's dvds?