Hulk Hogan and it's no contest. as SM pointed out, he is THE icon. he brought the WWF to the masses as it was starting to become big and people just loved him. and he was the biggest name for a long time. he even managed to turn heel with NWO and take WCW to it's peak. he just had charisma and appeal. he was a weak wrestler. and like SM also said, his matches were always the same. Hulk gets in trouble, then miraculously hulks up, throws the guy off the ropes, boot to the face, then he bounces off the rope, does the leg drop, match over. and yet when he started hulking up, the crowd would go nuts. and when the leg drop came and he won, they went even crazier. he just had this hold on people, where they genuinely and intensely wanted to see him come out on top. he was the hero's hero. plus, Hulk vs Andre the Giant and Hulk vs The Rock have to be about the two biggest wrestlemania headline matches ever. which brings up The Rock. even though stone cold seemed to kinda pioneer (at least from my quite casual wrestling fan perspective) the good guy who wasn't all that good (i guess an anti-hero) era, The Rock took it to another level. his mic skills are unrivaled. in fact, no one should even be mentioned with him when it comes to his ability to get the crowd in a frenzy with the mic. from "turn it sideways and shove it up your candy ass" to "jabroni" to "do you smell what The Rock is cookin'?" to so many other phrases and the fact he could just go off on someone and keep rattling stuff off quickly, no one was as electric. like Hogan, he wasn't really a good wrestler, didn't have a lot of high flying moves, wasn't all that agile compared to others, but his ring presence was huge. i mean, like the leg drop, the people's elbow is a pretty weak finishing move. but he sold it like no other. standing over the guy, kicking his arms together, ripping off the arm band and tossing it away, the crowd getting louder and louder with each little move, it worked perfectly. so i'd say Hogan easily wins all time and The Rock edges out Stone Cold for more current wrestlers. honorable mention to The Undertaker for that ominous gong sound entrance he had (easily up there with stone cold's and the rock's little entrace sound bytes) and for being a badass, and for being from houston, and for being undefeated at wrestlemania (i assume he still is). how could you not like his persona.
i think my favorite when i was younger was hacksaw jim duggan (thanks for the pic!) i agree that hulk hogan is the all-time poster child of modern day wrestling, but andre the giant IS the greatest...period.
The greatest in terms of popularity, charisma, wrestling skills and all that goes along with being a WWE/WCW superstar is The Rock. I don't watch wrestling anymore, but the last time I did was right as his prime was ending. That was an awesome time in wrestling - when he, Stone Cold, and HHH were all wrestling and all big. Hulk Hogan is probably the greatest ever if you factor in longevity, name recognition, etc., but for all the time I watched wrestling (the 90's, 00, 01) his matches were so old and tired. His matches looked the fakest by far and were mostly boring to watch, but I still liked his personality. My All-Time Favorites: The Rock, HBK Shawn Michaels, nWo Wolfpack, Sting (Black & White), HHH, Stone Cold, Hall & Nash, Hulk. For the record, I hate, hate, hate Ric Flair.
IMO some of the absolute best non-wrestling moments in WWF history were when the Rock and Mick Foley were on the mic together, especially the Rock n Sock connection where Mick was trying to steal his stuff. You could tell they were both so close to cracking up.
Karelin is probably the best,but as far as "Pro Wrestling",I'd go with Fritz Von Eric and his claw....LOL.
Here are my favorites: Interviews: 1. Ric Flair -- no contest 2. Chris Jericho 3. Triple H In Ring: 1. Triple H - true professional, best heel ever 2. Rob VanDam - a daredevil and athletic freak 3. HBK from 10 years ago - an innovator
Sorry wrestle maniacs, I reget that I forgot to vote in another thread pro wrestling as one of the worst inventions by mankind.
Friends, if you will kindly look back to reply #15 (page one) ~ i've already posted the greatest wrestler of all time. In fact I even put "Game Over" at the end my reply signifying that there should not be any more discussion on the matter. Please limit future discussions to Hacksaw Duggan's greatness. Thanks.
How did he innovate? I can think of one wrestler that did pretty much everything he did except for the micwork and showmanship, and it was a decade or so earlier.
There was Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka...he kinda had a cool Hawaiin or Samoan flying move off the top roap. I also liked the Iron Sheik and Niklolai Volkov. OK, not really. What about Mr. Wonderful Paul Orndorrf? Gentleman Chris Adams and his superkick? Or would it be George "The Animal" Steele? Man, this thread is bringing back memories. I really pulled for Kerry Von Erich though.
Gotta go with Steve Austin: Great character Great on the microphone Can wrestle any style of match (brawl, technical match, high flying in his early days in WCW) Tons of charisma Popularity that almost rivaled Hogan I was tempted to say The Rock because he would probably be my favorite wrestler ever, but his wrestling career kind of seems a little short to be considered the greatest wrestler ever. He was only around for what, 5 years or so.
Some of my favorites included Brett Hart, Scott Hall, Dynamite Kid, and Ricky Steamboat. Good memories. Please rise for the singing of the Soviet National anthem... USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! ...
Anyone remember: Yokazuna, British Bulldog, or I.R.S.? Oh, and Hulk Hogan has to be the greatest wrestler of all time.
Remember that song the Freebirds did? I want to tell you a story about a place you don't wanna be This ain't no home sweet home it's a home sweet misery We knew when we got here they'd try to put us away But when they seen us walk down the street they ran the other way Badstreet, Atlanta, GA! Baddest street in the whole USA! Badstreet, NASTY and HOT! The further down the block you went, the badder it got Street is a jumping, tonight there'll be a brawl Old Lady McDuffie, she done give the cops a call She might as well call the Army Or the United States Marines 'Cause can't nobody handle this Badstreet scene Badstreet, Atlanta, GA! Baddest street in the whole USA! Badstreet, NASTY and HOT! The further down the block you went, the badder it got 17 punks came calling And they thought that they were hot They thought that they were nasty And could make it down our block But I'll never forget hearing that Ambulance driver say, "Someone should have told those boys 'bout Badstreet USA." So don't you come looking On this side of town 'Cause this is where the Freebirds live And everything's going down If you don't know by now we always get our way That's the way it is down here on Badstreet USA Badstreet, Atlanta, GA! Baddest street in the whole USA! Badstreet, NASTY and HOT! The further down the block you went, the badder it got Badstreet, Atlanta, GA! Baddest street in the whole USA! Badstreet, NASTY and HOT! The further down the block you went, the badder it got We live in the last house on the right! Badstreet baby, anytime!
If you take him, I'll take Abdullah the Butcher. He was bloodthirsty, vicious, had battle scars on his forehead that looked like canals, weight well over 350 lbs, had no compassion, and licked the blood from your skull off his hands.... ... but now he's running a rib joint somewhere in Georgia (?) from what I understand.
