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Post by Hit Girl on Mar 23, 2012 0:06:47 GMT -5
Hulk Hogan
The reason why should be obvious
He's the biggest star the business has ever produced.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2012 0:40:36 GMT -5
Objectively I think Hulk Hogan is flat out the best wrestler in terms of drawing power, mainstream notoriety and longetivity.
The Rock comes close in that he's an insanely successful pro wrestler as well as probably the only bankable movie star/wrestler we'll ever see, but I think Hulk's wrestling career overshadows his.
My personal greatest wrestler of all time is Bret Hart. He stood out in a time where wrestling was more cartoony than ever, and brought incredible realism to the forefront of WWF in ring storytelling. The most believable character in WWF(E) history IMO.
Steve Austin in terms of mainstream success and in ring quality. His in ring performance never took a hit in order to appeal to a broader audience, but I don't think he's as much of a household name as the Rock or Hulk Hogan.
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DragonMasterP
King Koopa
Wait, I turned 30? How'd that happen?
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Post by DragonMasterP on Mar 23, 2012 6:19:14 GMT -5
Mitsuharu Misawa.
The guy could wrestle absolutely anybody and turn it into a five star classic on ring skills alone.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 23, 2012 9:13:18 GMT -5
I still think it's important to mention that many are going to have regional and generational biases. We can't judge what we don't know. That's why I usually don't use the phrase "of all time" when deciding best of lists for pro wrestling. Agreed. You're not going to see a lot of people on the board mention Verne Gagne, Danny Hodge, Jack Brisco or Dory Funk Jr., guys who were some of the greatest technicians of their era. Because there are so many people we forget about, we live by the axiom: "out of sight, out of mind". If any of us seen these guys, it's on old VHS tapes or at a time when they were at the end of a career - when they lost whatever zing they had on their fastball. My personal list would include the phrase "in my lifetime" or "that I've seen". And Bret Hart gets the nod.
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fw91
Patti Mayonnaise
FAN Idol All-Star: FAN Idol Season X and *Gavel* 2x Judges' Throwdown winner
Tribe has spoken for 2024 Mets
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Post by fw91 on Mar 23, 2012 11:48:52 GMT -5
Shawn Michaels. I say this because when it comes to me, I can take the most obscure and random shows, and remember them based on the match Shawn had that night, and chances are they were the match of the night.
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Post by BRAINFADE on Mar 23, 2012 12:33:12 GMT -5
In my opinion, it's Stone Cold Steve Austin. No wrestler ever gained my interest like Austin did. He really did have it all- great look, arguably the best promo in history, radiated intensity and charisma, brilliant in the ring (even after the big injury that forced him to alter his style), and drew an insane amount of money. He was the closest thing I personally have ever seen to the complete package in pro wrestling.
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Post by mysterious on Mar 24, 2012 20:59:25 GMT -5
If you look at wrestling's greatest peaks in popularity it would have to be mid to late 80's and mid to late 90's. During the eighties the WWF was the most watch product. They had the biggest name in wrestling which was Hulk Hogan who happen to be a baby face. During the peak years of the nineties WCW had the highest ratings and their top draw was a heel by the name of Hollywood Hogan. So name another wrestler who was the top draw for two different companies, during two different eras at their peak, as both a face and a heel.
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Post by celtics543 on Mar 24, 2012 23:24:11 GMT -5
Greatest Draw=Hulk Hogan
The one I was most entertained by=Bret Hart
That's really the only way I could objectively answer this question. "Greatest" is just such a vague term.
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Post by RowdyRobbyPiper on Mar 25, 2012 3:40:10 GMT -5
I still think it's important to mention that many are going to have regional and generational biases. We can't judge what we don't know. That's why I usually don't use the phrase "of all time" when deciding best of lists for pro wrestling. Agreed. You're not going to see a lot of people on the board mention Verne Gagne, Danny Hodge, Jack Brisco or Dory Funk Jr., guys who were some of the greatest technicians of their era. Because there are so many people we forget about, we live by the axiom: "out of sight, out of mind". If any of us seen these guys, it's on old VHS tapes or at a time when they were at the end of a career - when they lost whatever zing they had on their fastball. My personal list would include the phrase "in my lifetime" or "that I've seen". And Bret Hart gets the nod. There's plenty of footage of Verne Gagne or Dory Funk or Jack Brisco in their prime. We all have our generational favorites, but I find it hard to imagine a serious wrestling buff not having seen at least one match with an old old-school legend. FYI, my pick for the greatest rock band of all time is the Beatles who broke up 4 years before I was born.
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Post by rouge on Mar 25, 2012 6:03:11 GMT -5
For me personally, its Bret Hart. He could make anyone in the ring with him look good (especially guys like Issac Yankem) and he was a no frills wrestler during a time when WWF/E was having cartoonish gimmicks
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Post by linecookguy on Mar 25, 2012 8:26:30 GMT -5
Got to go with Steve "Mongo" McMichaels
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Post by dlg3000 on Mar 25, 2012 9:15:38 GMT -5
I don't even think he was the best of the 1970s. I think Terry Funk, Nick Bockwinkel, and Harley Race were better overall performers from that time period. I'm just glad you mentioned Terry Funk, who should definitely be up there.
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Celgress
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
The Superior One
Posts: 19,009
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Post by Celgress on Mar 25, 2012 9:44:20 GMT -5
Hulk Hogan. Any other answer is wrong. This, both in terms of popularity and impact on the industry.
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Post by willywonka666 on Mar 25, 2012 10:50:40 GMT -5
Hulk Hogan of the modern era, and Bruno Sammartino before that. Say what you want about ability(or Hogan's seemingly lack of, which I don't agree with) but in entertainment, your charisma is just as important, and noone could touch either of them. They became household names. Even grandmothers knew who they were. I'd put Andre in there too.
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Sam Punk
Hank Scorpio
Own Nothing, Be Happy
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Post by Sam Punk on Mar 25, 2012 11:38:04 GMT -5
Bret Hart
He made all his matches seem real plus he was great on the mic.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2012 11:44:37 GMT -5
To me "greatest wrestler" is something entirely different than "biggest star," Hogan is the biggest star in wrestling history(and it's not even close), but to me he isn't the "greatest wrestler" if that makes any sense.
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NOwave
Don Corleone
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Post by NOwave on Mar 25, 2012 12:53:02 GMT -5
This is an impossibly difficult question to answer because there are no objective criteria that are universally accepted to define the "Greatest wrestler."
if you go with greatest performer, I'd go with Ric Flair, as many here have said. He was the best promo man, among the best technically, and (my favorite) he could back and forth from face to heel with only minimal changes in his promos! I like to think of Ric as the greatest World Heavyweight Champion of all time. He seemingly was born to play that role.
If you define the "greatest" as the guy who drew the most money(and that's a legitimate argument-after all, thats what the business is really all about) without question it's Hogan. He was the top guy during the first wrestling boomtime of Hulkamania, and was among the top guys during the 2nd boom of the Monday night Wars. Steve Austin and/or the Rock may have actually drawn more money and gotten higher rating than Hogan, but only for a brief period. Hogan did it longer by far than either of them.
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Post by 2CSultan on Mar 25, 2012 13:22:54 GMT -5
In ring I think it's Flair or HBK, flip a coin.
As far as money drawn, Hogan easily.
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Post by mysterious on Mar 25, 2012 13:42:05 GMT -5
Wrestling fans always question in ring ability. Just because Hogan couldn't do super kicks and moon saults does not mean he's bad in the ring. They forget that Hogan is much larger than guys like HBK and Brett so he can't move as quick as them. No one ever criticizes smaller wrestlers for not being able to slam Andre the Giant. What Hogan was great at was something the wrestlers call working. He also had great ring physcology, something a lot of wrestlers and fans praise Jake Roberts for. Also fans enjoy the power that larger wrestlers display so they'd rather see Hogan body slam an opponent than put him in a submission hold. It's how the fans perceive the image of the wrestlers.
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spec
Hank Scorpio
Bum Wiping Aficionado
Posts: 5,676
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Post by spec on Mar 25, 2012 20:33:40 GMT -5
So i am thinking everyones in this tread is having the keyboard troubles? You all mean to type The Great Power Uti is the greatest of all time but because of having the broken keyboards it is all coming out with the how you say, jibberwish?
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