The opinions of wrestlers.

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

There's a lot of debate among wrestling fans as far as "great workers"- who is the best, who is the worst, who deserves to be where, etc.

I was wondering- who trusts what the wrestlers themselves have to say? Has anyone taken the word of those who say that so-and-so is a blast to work with, or who is the least desirable to wrestle?

(This is not the same as "who is entertaining".)

[WHATAMANOOOVER]

Why wouldn't you believe the people who actually laced up the boots?

Generally, Ricky Steamboat, Brad Armstrong and Bobby Eaton are considered the best workers of the past 20 years (considering only in-ring work).

[mcmahonfan85]

empirewf said:

Why wouldn't you believe the people who actually laced up the boots?

because it depends on what the wrestler in question's idea of a "worker" is. according to Raven, a "good worker" is someone who draws a lot of money by doing little in the ring, and not someone who does a bunch of fancy moves (he then went on to say that Jim Duggan was one of the best workers in the 80s)

['Foretold' Joker]

mcmahonfan85 said:

empirewf said:

Why wouldn't you believe the people who actually laced up the boots?

because it depends on what the wrestler in question's idea of a "worker" is. according to Raven, a "good worker" is someone who draws a lot of money by doing little in the ring, and not someone who does a bunch of fancy moves (he then went on to say that Jim Duggan was one of the best workers in the 80s)

I'd agree with that, you can't deny that Jim Duggan does get a decent reaction from the crowd everytime he goes out there, even today.

Hooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

[NOwave]

After reading the autobiographies of Jerry Lawler, Terry Funk, Dusty Rhodes, Hulk Hogan, Mic Foley, Steve Austin, Shawn Micheals, and now Bret Hart, as well as others I'm forgetting, I'm convinced most wrestlers (if they are honest) would say Ric Flair was the best worker of them all.

Essentially all of them (with the notable exception of Bret Hart) concede that Ric Flair in his prime could have a match with the least talented, least experienced jebronie on anybody's roster and make it look good. Further, with another good worker like Steamboat, Savage, Piper, Funk, Race, etc, he could put on a 5-star, 60-minute classic every night of the week.

An analogy would be the description of legendary football coach Bear Bryant: "He could beat your team with his, or his team with yours" Most of the above-mentioned wrestlers at least grudgingly agreed that Flair could have a great match with anybody.

The exception is Bret Hart, which I still don't fully understand. I know Ric hurt him in the ring once, and that Bret takes great pride in the fact that he never seriously hurt an opponent. Also, their styles were different-Ric learned to call matches on the fly, and thinks that is the best and most artistic way to work. Bret is, in a sense, more methodical. He feels that the story of the match should be planned in advance, and should follow a fairly rigid script. Those two styles don't necessarily work well together. Finally, Bret is a very proud man, deservedly. I suspect there is at least some professional jealosy affecting his opinion of Ric Flair.