Most Influential People in Wrestling (Complete)

[Allison Reynolds]

I have finally Completed the list of The 100 Most Influential Figures in Pro Wrestling. This List was put together by the opinions of Wrestlecrap Members, on who they thought were the most influential.

Don't Agree with some parts on the list? Think there are changes needed? OPINONS ARE WELCOMED.

100 Most Influential People in Pro-Wrestling

1. Vince McMahon Jr.
2. Hulk Hogan
3. Gold Dust Trio (Ed "The Strangler" Lewis, Toots Mondt, Billy Sandow)
4. Gorgeous George
5. Ric Flair
6. El Santo
7. Steve Austin
8. Bobo Brazil
9. Rikidozan
10. Andre the Giant
11. Lou Thesz
12. Buddy Rogers
13. Bruno Sammartino
14. Antonio Inoki
15. Sam Muchnick
16. Verne Gagne
17. Fred Blassie
18. Dusty Rhodes
19. Martin "Farmer" Burns
20. Roddy Piper
21. Killer Kowalski
22. The Shiek
23. Vince McMahon Sr.
24. Frank Gotch
25. Fabulous Moolah
26. Jim Crockett Sr. & Jr.
27. Saturo Sayama (original Tiger Mask)
28. Antonio Rocca
29. The Rock
30. Harley Race
31. Gordon Solie
32. Hart Family
35. The Road Warriors
34. Eric Bischoff
35. George Hackenschmidt
36. The Undertaker
37. Gorilla Monsoon
38. Billy Graham
39. Jerry Lawler
40. Bobby Heenan
41. Bruiser Brody
42. The 4 Horseman
43. Shawn Michaels
44. Randy Savage
45. Miss Elizabeth
46. Paul Heyman
47. The Grand Wizard Ernie Roth
48. The nWo
49. Mick Foley
50. Jesse Ventura
51. Bob Backlund
52. Giant Baba
53. The Freebirds
54. Triple H
53. Mil Mascaras
56. The Von Erich Family
57. Captain Lou Albano
58. DX
59. Sting
60. Ricky Steamboat
61. Carlos Colon
62. Jumbo Tsuruta
63. Stan Hansen
64. Dick The Bruiser and The Crusher
65. The Funks (Terry, Dory Sr, Dory Jr.)
66. Mildred Burke
67. Genichiro Tenryu
68. Mitsuharu Misawa
69. Karl Gotch
70. Riki Choshu
71. Jimmy Snuka
72. Bill Watts
73. Chief Jay Strongbow and Wahoo McDaniel.
74. Jushin Liger
75. Sergeant Slaughter
76. Abdullah the Butcher
77. Vince Russo
78. Gory Guerrero
79. Jake Roberts
80. Curt Henning
81. Pat Patterson
82. Jim Cornette
83. Sabu
84. Eddie Guerrero
85. Kurt Angle
86. Jim Ross
87. Ted DiBiase
88. The Rock & Roll Express
89. Atsushi Onita
90. Dynamite Kid
91. Blue Demon
92. The Ultimate Warrior
93. Akira Maeda
94. Chris Benoit
95. Brian Pillman
96. Nikolai Volkoff and Nikita Koloff and Ivan Koloff (Russians)
97. Rey Mysterio Jr.
98. Tammy Sytch/Sunny
99. Chyna
100. Jim Johnston

My Comments: I just had to go with the suggestion putting, Vince Jr., Hogan, Goldust Trio, Gorgeous George, and Flair into the top 5. In my opinon they are the Top 5 Most Influential people in Wrestling.

RANKING SYSTEM:

• Relative Notoriety: Individual must be considered among the most important and well-known individuals within their own relative eras, Mainstream media appeal, and Box office Draws. Being part of Pop-culture is also part of this criteria.
  
• Longevity: The person's, staying power which allowed him to remain at the top for a long time.
  
• Global Significance: How they impacted the rest of the world. (e.g. Rikidozan in Japan)
  
• Legacy: How much effect did the individual have on the sport after they left, and for which they are still credited to this day?
  

*Credit goes to Glen Harrison for the ideas and ranking system. *FlamingHalo gets credit too.

[David Troy a.k.a legendmythman]

I agree with most people on the list but... What did Liz do?

[nashizzle]

101. Tyson Tomko
102. Gene Snitsky
103. Mark Henry
104. Viscera
105. Orlando Jordan

[The Jeebus]

Interesting, but I'm not really a historian on wrestling or anything, so the list kinda leaves me going, 'Meh.'

[Boku AKA Da Green Guy]

This maybe my inner markness, but I believe Undertaker should be before the Rock. His character changed the face of the business long before the Rock got over.

[angryfan]

I get why Hogan is up there, especially for fans that grew up with him as the "face" of wrestling, but.....truly, he doesn't belong there. Was he produced correctly? Yes, but that credit goes not only to Vince, but Verne Gagne (and Lord, I never thought I'd credit Verne with much) before him. Also to Iron Sheik and Andre, who made Hogan legit to "wrestling fans". The four people I mentioned, to me, are all more influential then their creation.
Sheik drew massive crowds in the middle east, Andre was the kind of star that, just by showing up, garaunteed a sell out all over the place. Hell, dude went untouched for 15 years and was mainstream before Hogan. So, to me, if we put Vince at the top, Andre has to be second, has to, because if he wouldn't have been there, and willing to put Hogan over, what would we have had?

[The Jeebus]

Wasn't Hogan a knock-off of Billy Graham?

[angryfan]

Yeah, he and Jesse both were.

[wingspeed]

Hogan didnt need to be put over by Andre when he was in 1987. By that time Hogan had been by far and away the biggest character in wrestling for over 3 years. No doubt the WM3 event helped Hogan and probably gave it enough gas to push on into the early 90s but it wasnt in any way essential for Hogan to be at the top.

Also Hogan drew more fans than any guy ever in the history of professional wrestling so, you know its kinda mean spirited to say that the biggest name in wrestling history doesnt deserve to be ranked as high as he is

[The Jeebus]

angryfan said:

Yeah, he and Jesse both were.

That'd make them more influential. They were the influencers of the influencer.

Go back down to 4, Hogan!

[angryfan]

wingspeed said:

Hogan didnt need to be put over by Andre when he was in 1987. By that time Hogan had been by far and away the biggest character in wrestling for over 3 years. No doubt the WM3 event helped Hogan and probably gave it enough gas to push on into the early 90s but it wasnt in any way essential for Hogan to be at the top.

Also Hogan drew more fans than any guy ever in the history of professional wrestling so, you know its kinda mean spirited to say that the biggest name in wrestling history doesnt deserve to be ranked as high as he is

The argument of who drew more money is speculative as hell. You've got to incorperate inflation, currency exchange, and whatnot to really know. Andre wrestled a long time in Europe, so if he drew so many pounds, or francs, we'd have to say "that's woth this many dollars, and for the time period, the inflation would make it worth this amount of money" to know who drew the most cash. DId Hogan draw a ton? Hell yes he did. However, when you look at a guy who's gimmick was the same as a former champ's gimmick, put over by Sheik, a massively over heel, and Andre, the undefeatable legend, there's a lot that goes into that.
I'm willing to bet, take JUST gate figures for the Hogan years, and shows Andre was on in Europe, Japan, the US, and whatnot, and add up the numbers, then calcuate for inflation, I will bet money, all being equal, Andre drew more cash.

[Topher is Human]

i reckon as a good role model for fans you'll need CM Punk, he lives a straight edge lifestyle (in otherwords no drugs)... in character and in real life

[wingspeed]

serjtankian said:

Interesting, but I\'m not really a historian on wrestling or anything, so the list kinda leaves me going, Meh.

Meh? Isnt that the sound sheep make after disapointing sex?

[Topher is Human]

wingspeed said:

serjtankian said:

Interesting, but I\'m not really a historian on wrestling or anything, so the list kinda leaves me going, Meh.

Meh? Isnt that the sound sheep make after disapointing sex?

Rrriiiiiigggggghhhhtttttt...
You're not from New Zealand by any chance...

[tamuthetongantiger]

Great list and such a great top ten that I don't know who I'd knock down a peg in order to say this, but... Andre should be in the top ten, I think. The "hoss" wrestler is essential to the sport, after all, and Andre is the hoss that set the standard with a presence so startling and intimidating that even years after Hogan had been booked as invincible, Andre presented a legitimate and attention-grabbing threat to him.

Also... no Stan Hansen? With Bruiser Brody high on your list, you might not need Stan. However, in a lot of ways, Stan Hansen really defined the brawling style.

And, one more... No Great Muta? I can see why not, in a lot of ways. But, when I was a kid, I remember seeing Muta in WCW and him doing moves like the moonsault that are now commonplace but that, at the time of his US debut, I'd never seen before. Without Muta, there's no cruiserweights trying shooting star presses to the outside of the ring.

Okay, and finally (really this time): No Randy Savage in the top 25? Again, his flying axehandle to an opponent on the outside was way ahead of its time and paved the way for guys leaping over the ropes to hit an opponent at ringside (at least, it paved the way in America). Also, pre-Warrior, he was really the only guy in 80s WWF who even had a shot at carrying the belt for an extended period during the Hogan era. While there's no doubt that his influence has waned over the last decade, he was still recognizable enough that, when the first Spider-Man movie came out in 2002 (years after Savage had lost frequent TV exposure) he could play a wrestlers role and be familiar to the audience without any build up.

[Allison Reynolds]

legendmythman said:

I agree with most people on the list but... What did Liz do?

Well.. Miss Elizabeth was eventually known as “the First Lady of Professional Wrestling,” as she is generally regarded as the trailblazer for the scores of WWE and WCW divas that would follow in the next decade.

Along with Randy Savage, the two would become the most popular and well-known couple in wrestling history. They influenced the inclusion of on-screen couples in Wrestling Storylines.

Despite being apart for years, Randy “Macho Man” Savage and Miss Elizabeth remain forever attached as wrestling’s premier couple. *credit goes to Glen Harrison for the facts.

[tamuthetongantiger]

surfan808 said:

legendmythman said:

I agree with most people on the list but... What did Liz do?

Well.. Miss Elizabeth was eventually known as “the First Lady of Professional Wrestling,” as she is generally regarded as the trailblazer for the scores of WWE and WCW divas that would follow in the next decade.

Along with Randy Savage, the two would become the most popular and well-known couple in wrestling history. They influenced the inclusion of on-screen couples in Wrestling Storylines.

Despite being apart for years, Randy “Macho Man” Savage and Miss Elizabeth remain forever attached as wrestling’s premier couple. *credit goes to Glen Harrison for the facts.

Good explanation. While wrestling had attractice female valets for a long time before Liz, Elizabeth was really the WWF's first diva. She also played her role very well in one of the best written WWF feuds of all time -- The Megapowers Explode.

[wingspeed]

Its not case of just going by gate numbers its a case of global drawing power.

Hogan benefitted greatly from the move that WWF made in the mid-80s to go national/global with the TV deals but its a fact that if it wasnt for Hogans successful character WWF probably wouldnt have had a big enough fanbase at that time to do it.

The asses-in-seats factor is important to and Hogan could easily sell out three or four of the biggest arenas in america in any week and he often did between 1984-1988.

Also as wrestling is a telelvision event these days you simply MUST take in to consideration ppv buyrates, ratings, global TV ratings etc and they ALL show Hogan was and remains number 1.

Was it all his doing? No. Could Andre have done the same? We dont know. Its the MTV situation. There were music shows on TV before MTV but MTV was the first one to really break through the bounderies thus was and will always be considered to be the biggest and most influencial music TV channel in the world.

Hogan so far has been the ONLY character to make the mainstream stand up and take notice of wrestling. Like all things on TV the mainstream popularity didnt last that long, around six years but its six years longer than anyone else managed.

Andre with respect to him was from the generation where wrestling was a circus. They would pitch up in town and everyone would come and see them. I also wonder how much of Andres influence was due to a factor that he and nobody else had any control over and that is his height. If youre living in a backwards village in Beligum and a circus came to town boasting a wrestler standing at 7ft 5 inches called Andre The Giant its hardly suprising people went to see him.

[Allison Reynolds]

tamuthetongantiger said:

Great list and such a great top ten that I don't know who I'd knock down a peg in order to say this, but... Andre should be in the top ten, I think. The "hoss" wrestler is essential to the sport, after all, and Andre is the hoss that set the standard with a presence so startling and intimidating that even years after Hogan had been booked as invincible, Andre presented a legitimate and attention-grabbing threat to him.

Also... no Stan Hansen? With Bruiser Brody high on your list, you might not need Stan. However, in a lot of ways, Stan Hansen really defined the brawling style.

And, one more... No Great Muta? I can see why not, in a lot of ways. But, when I was a kid, I remember seeing Muta in WCW and him doing moves like the moonsault that are now commonplace but that, at the time of his US debut, I'd never seen before. Without Muta, there's no cruiserweights trying shooting star presses to the outside of the ring.

Okay, and finally (really this time): No Randy Savage in the top 25? Again, his flying axehandle to an opponent on the outside was way ahead of its time and paved the way for guys leaping over the ropes to hit an opponent at ringside (at least, it paved the way in America). Also, pre-Warrior, he was really the only guy in 80s WWF who even had a shot at carrying the belt for an extended period during the Hogan era. While there's no doubt that his influence has waned over the last decade, he was still recognizable enough that, when the first Spider-Man movie came out in 2002 (years after Savage had lost frequent TV exposure) he could play a wrestlers role and be familiar to the audience without any build up.

I decided to put Andre higher because of your explanation. Stan Hansen is on the list at #63. I didn't put Great Muta on the list because no one suggested him until now. It was a difficult list to make and there were many people I thought deserved to be in the top 25. I considered putting Randy Savage higher.

[Topher is Human]

what about the Straight Edge CM Punk... does he get anything