Greatest wrestler of all time?

[bogussting]

Kayfabe: Bruno Sammartino/Andre the Giant/The Ultimate Warrior

Best worker: Shawn Michaels

Best talker: The Rock/Stone Cold Steve Austn

Best overall: Macho Man Randy Savage

[Jindrak Mark]

I hate to say it because I can't stand him in 2023 but Ric Flair is probably the closest to a general consensus all-around greatest of all time. Any time wrestlers are asked this question he seems like the name that comes up the most.

Shawn Michaels is another who's mentioned a lot by other wrestlers but I never thought his promos were THAT great on average. Like a solid 7/10 for most of his career with his peaks being a 9 or 10 ("who's your Daddy, Montreal?!").

Some guys were great in the ring or great on promos or even great at both but in shorter bursts. Flair was absolutely top tier at both for like 15-20 years and I'm struggling to think of many others you could say that about.

[Gunhaver]

Would Hogan fall under kayfabe with Warrior?

[Hacksaw Chuggin']

Bret Hart.

No-one perfected the art, beauty and storytelling of wrestling like he did.

[J. Hova]

Lou Thesz's ghost is going to haunt you.

[Stone Coke Miami Watson 🥃]

1. Bruno Sammartino
2. Ric Flair
3. Nick Bockwinkel
4. Eddie Guerrero
5. Bret Hart/Macho Man

[repomark]

Before first boom - Sammartino, Thesz
80s - Hogan, Flair, Savage, Dusty
90s - Bret, HBK, Austin & Rock
2000s - Undertaker, Cena
Post 2010 - Lesnar, Bryan, Reigns

[MrElijah]

Terry Funk has a good case. Drew money, longevity, can work face or heel and could talk.

[Clash, Never a Meter Maid]

The disrespect to the WCW Maestro here is appalling.

[firsttimelongtime]

Flair, Funk, or Danielson.

[thecrusherwi]

Such an impossible question to answer and can be taken many ways.

I feel pretty confident that Bret Hart is the best worker. His good matches bring pro wrestling the closest to a competitive sport that I've seen while also being entertaining.

I will agree with the OP that Randy Savage is probably the closest to the best overall total package, slightly over Flair. Flair could get very repetitive at times, even in his good days. Nearly every time I watch a Savage match, he does something unexpected that gets a reaction out of me. His promos were very unique, but also consistently good. And he just "got" pro wrestling in a way few others did. He could be as serious as anyone to get a big angle over, but he would do the goofy things that make wrestling fun, like start arguing with Frankie the Bird at ringside during a glorified squash match with Koko B Ware. And while he could work all of these different styles, he blurred the line so well. You really believed the Macho Man was a real person experiencing these crazy things. Perhaps he blurred the line a little too well. I never get bored watching the Macho Man. Even in his broken down, roided out days in 1999 WCW, he was still one of the most interesting things happening on the show. He's just awesome.

[tafkaga]

Apr 18, 2023 16:02:11 GMT -5 Jindrak Mark said:

I hate to say it because I can't stand him in 2023 but Ric Flair is probably the closest to a general consensus all-around greatest of all time. Any time wrestlers are asked this question he seems like the name that comes up the most.

Shawn Michaels is another who's mentioned a lot by other wrestlers but I never thought his promos were THAT great on average. Like a solid 7/10 for most of his career with his peaks being a 9 or 10 ("who's your Daddy, Montreal?!").

Some guys were great in the ring or great on promos or even great at both but in shorter bursts. Flair was absolutely top tier at both for like 15-20 years and I'm struggling to think of many others you could say that about.

I really liked Shawn as a promo, but his in-ring promo style in '97 got so annoying that I could barely stand to listen to him.  Suddenly he was talking so slow and deliberate, and every sentence either had "THE. HEART. BREAK. KID." or "THE. WORLD. WRESTLING. FEDERATION." 

[XIII]

The answer is Brock Lesnar.

Good look. Legit wrestling/shooting experience. Decent enough promo. Good pro wrestler. Charismatic. Looks like a beast. Ultra athletic. Huge.

You can put Brock in any era from the carnival circuit until now and he’d be the absolute top of the class.

[Billie Gein]

Naked Mideon

[Bo Rida]

I find it increasingly hard to look past Jericho for being near the top for so long through multiple promotions and countries. Great on the mic and in-ring. Others might have higher highs but few can match his consistency and reinventions. Helps that he had a knack for being in places at peak times.

On pure ability I think Danielson. It's hard to compare generations, I instinctively go towards Bret and HBK but to me Bryan built on what a lot of greats that come before and added the best of modern wrestling. However injury and booking (including his own wishes) stopped him reaching the peaks of others. He just doesn't have the rivalries to match someone like the guy below.

Stone Cold, to me only Hogan and Austin reached the same heights. Austin was my favourite and imo was better in-ring.

Of course never saw (enough of) certain guys in their prime to be able to say.

[bob]

Kurt Angle

[Doo Doo Dickhead]

I can only really give it to someone whose prime I was there for. I can't decide between Bret, HBK, Austin, Danielson and nZo.

[firsttimelongtime]

The more I watch Funk, the more I am convinced it is him. Hes one of the only guys whose 70s matches still hold up today. He worked every style, a superb promo, and has unmatched longevity.

[sportatorium]

If the caveat counts about his neck making him a bit short lived,
I think the answer is Steve Austin.

Without the caveat, my answer is Hulk Hogan.

Lots of subjective choices out there on who was the best worker (Bret Hart gets my vote), who was the best talker (Dusty) etc

Hogan & Austin to me seem like the two who would get the most people to buy the most tickets to watch them wrestle.

Flair, Undertaker, Rock, Cena are all truly great- but Hogan and Austin are the greatest. Austin's career was abbreviated by his neck, so in the end it's Hogan for me.

["Playboy" Don Douglas]

It’s one of those things that’s nearly impossible to answer definitively. What are the metrics? Do you try to consider all of them? Do you treat territory stars as “less than” because they weren’t on national TV (which didn’t really exist)? How well can you set aside your own bias?

Trying to weigh everything, I still have to go with Flair, human train wreck or not. The body of work and the duration of it is too much for me to ignore.