Post by KAMALARAMBO: BOOMSHAKALAKA!!! on Jul 7, 2011 6:48:57 GMT -5
I was just reading the Chyna HOF thread in WWE Current and it got me thinking about the most influential wrestlers and how influence is often mistaken for the unusual or the popular.
Take Chyna for example, she was the first/one of the first female wrestler/wrestlers to compete with the boys on a national stage. That was certainly unusual, but then you look at how much of an impact that actually had. Beth Phoenix might have followed in her footsteps, but other than that, not many others have.
Then you have popular people like The Rock. He might be one of the greatest wrestling stars of all time, but he just flourished in a path that was already blazed for him. He was a cool, anti-hero with catchphrases.
So who would you say are the top 5 wrestlers who really added things to the world of wrestling?
Here is my attempt at an objective list. It is off the top of my head so I'm sure it is not perfect.
1. Gorgeous George- Often credited as the first "character" in wrestling. I'm not sure if he was actually the first, but he really popularized a lot of heel tactics that future stars learned from.
2. Hulk Hogan- Before the Rock N' Wrestling era, in-ring work was much more central to the product. Not necessarily good in-ring work, but in-ring work nonetheless. For example, if you watch a WWF Title match from the 1970s, a lot of the times you'll see Bruno Sammartino who was just a big pissed off Italian guy who punched his opponents into defeat. If you watch a WCCW match from the 1960s, it is more methodical and looks like something Dave Meltzer would enjoy. Hogan showed that less methodical, WWF-style wrestling could be popular if it was dressed up enough and given the added element of great mic work. Also, I think he pioneered (or at least popularized) the "Super Man Comeback."
3. Al Costello (The Fabulous Kangaroos)- Okay, more accurately it would be Al Costello and Roy Heffernan, but I wanted to make a list of just wrestlers with no one sharing spots or anything. Anyway, most people do not probably know much about the Fabulous Kangaroos, but they pretty much pioneered and developed modern tag team wrestling. Al Costello was the original member who stayed around longer and tagged with other wrestlers as the Fabulous Kangaroos after Heffernan left, so I'll give Costello the nod.
4. Haystacks Calhoun- Pioneered the "special attraction" and super-heavyweight aspects of wrestling in the TV era. Every time an announcer says something like "You have to see the Big Show in person, he is just so big his hands are like skillets" they are using Big Show's size to draw people into the live shows, which Calhoun really helped establish, even before Andre the Giant.
5. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin-Showed that a company could be led by an anti-hero. Also was a pioneer in general of "The Cool Heel."
Honorable mentions:
Ricky Steamboat/Shawn Michaels/Bret Hart/etc.-I really wanted to put someone in who popularized the idea that you can be a small guy and still be a great wrestler/leader of the company. However, while Shawn Michaels is most often credited with this it is kind of tough to credit to one person. For example, Steamboat was a world champion years before Michaels was ever a main eventer. However, Steamboat never had that kind of popularity. So, I thought of giving it to Michaels, but all in all, comparatively he is not that small. He is about the size of Bret Hart who was champion years before Michaels. However, Bret is not really considered a small guy because of his moveset. I think you can credit a lot of people with this accomplishment. Thus, getting smaller guys consistently in the main event was a process that cannot really be credited to one person.
Michael Hayes (The Fabulous Freebirds)- Inventors of the Freebird Rule of course, but also pioneers of "The Cool Heel" gimmick and just having ring music. Still, I thought Austin turned it up a notch more, especially in regard to being "The Face" of the company.
Take Chyna for example, she was the first/one of the first female wrestler/wrestlers to compete with the boys on a national stage. That was certainly unusual, but then you look at how much of an impact that actually had. Beth Phoenix might have followed in her footsteps, but other than that, not many others have.
Then you have popular people like The Rock. He might be one of the greatest wrestling stars of all time, but he just flourished in a path that was already blazed for him. He was a cool, anti-hero with catchphrases.
So who would you say are the top 5 wrestlers who really added things to the world of wrestling?
Here is my attempt at an objective list. It is off the top of my head so I'm sure it is not perfect.
1. Gorgeous George- Often credited as the first "character" in wrestling. I'm not sure if he was actually the first, but he really popularized a lot of heel tactics that future stars learned from.
2. Hulk Hogan- Before the Rock N' Wrestling era, in-ring work was much more central to the product. Not necessarily good in-ring work, but in-ring work nonetheless. For example, if you watch a WWF Title match from the 1970s, a lot of the times you'll see Bruno Sammartino who was just a big pissed off Italian guy who punched his opponents into defeat. If you watch a WCCW match from the 1960s, it is more methodical and looks like something Dave Meltzer would enjoy. Hogan showed that less methodical, WWF-style wrestling could be popular if it was dressed up enough and given the added element of great mic work. Also, I think he pioneered (or at least popularized) the "Super Man Comeback."
3. Al Costello (The Fabulous Kangaroos)- Okay, more accurately it would be Al Costello and Roy Heffernan, but I wanted to make a list of just wrestlers with no one sharing spots or anything. Anyway, most people do not probably know much about the Fabulous Kangaroos, but they pretty much pioneered and developed modern tag team wrestling. Al Costello was the original member who stayed around longer and tagged with other wrestlers as the Fabulous Kangaroos after Heffernan left, so I'll give Costello the nod.
4. Haystacks Calhoun- Pioneered the "special attraction" and super-heavyweight aspects of wrestling in the TV era. Every time an announcer says something like "You have to see the Big Show in person, he is just so big his hands are like skillets" they are using Big Show's size to draw people into the live shows, which Calhoun really helped establish, even before Andre the Giant.
5. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin-Showed that a company could be led by an anti-hero. Also was a pioneer in general of "The Cool Heel."
Honorable mentions:
Ricky Steamboat/Shawn Michaels/Bret Hart/etc.-I really wanted to put someone in who popularized the idea that you can be a small guy and still be a great wrestler/leader of the company. However, while Shawn Michaels is most often credited with this it is kind of tough to credit to one person. For example, Steamboat was a world champion years before Michaels was ever a main eventer. However, Steamboat never had that kind of popularity. So, I thought of giving it to Michaels, but all in all, comparatively he is not that small. He is about the size of Bret Hart who was champion years before Michaels. However, Bret is not really considered a small guy because of his moveset. I think you can credit a lot of people with this accomplishment. Thus, getting smaller guys consistently in the main event was a process that cannot really be credited to one person.
Michael Hayes (The Fabulous Freebirds)- Inventors of the Freebird Rule of course, but also pioneers of "The Cool Heel" gimmick and just having ring music. Still, I thought Austin turned it up a notch more, especially in regard to being "The Face" of the company.
