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Post by dlg3000 on Mar 4, 2012 8:06:09 GMT -5
I will go out on a limb and say Hulk Hogan.
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Post by Allison Reynolds on Mar 4, 2012 8:22:32 GMT -5
Hulk Hogan. He is like a pop culture icon.
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Post by onestepplan on Mar 4, 2012 8:39:20 GMT -5
Within wrestling? Hogan currently, but I think he benefits very heavily from nostalgia goggles that I expect will treat Austin very kindly as well once people get further removed from his prime. Non-fans remember Hulk's era, they don't give a damn what he's doing now. They might have heard of Hulk, but they have no idea that he's featured prominently in a wrestling company every Thursday. His star power is tied to his era. Austin will get a similar treatment.
Overall? The Rock. The guy broke into Hollywood which has an audience and prestige that prodigiously dwarfs the WWE. He was massively well-known as a wrestler and has only expanded his visibility since then.
As a wrestler? Shawn Michaels. Whatevs, money is Vince's problem. No one entertained me more.
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DragonMasterP
King Koopa
I'd change my avatar, but beardless Luke Harper is too funny.
Posts: 12,018
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Post by DragonMasterP on Mar 4, 2012 8:47:44 GMT -5
It's gotta be Hogan, brother.
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Post by mayabristow on Mar 4, 2012 8:48:46 GMT -5
As much as I depise him but Hulk Hogan
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Post by Piccolo on Mar 4, 2012 9:19:51 GMT -5
Hogan, without a doubt. I used to think Austin would be at this level as time marched on, as one of the guys who was synonymous with wrestling, but it hasn't really turned out that way. Hogan remains the icon. I do also agree with the write-ins for Vince and Andre, though.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2012 9:57:21 GMT -5
Love to vote for Austin but w/o Hogan there is no WWF brand. Ric Flair was wring Vince could not have done that with anybody. No trigger, no explosions. If Hogan dosnt make WWF in 85, than a lot is different in wrestling history. You mean if Piper didn't make Hogan... If you want to keep playing chicken and egg, you have to give all of the credit to Vince for bringing these guys in and putting them in the right spots.
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Post by Slingshot Suplay on Mar 4, 2012 10:11:39 GMT -5
Hulk Hogan Anything less would be uncivilized.
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Post by Zaq "That Guy" Buzzkill on Mar 4, 2012 10:27:18 GMT -5
Hogan for sure. Also, I love him to death but Macho man does not belong on this list. Was he popular? yes, but nowhere near the levels of Austin, Rock, or hell even Cena in terms of mainstream appeal and marketability.
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Mac
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by Mac on Mar 4, 2012 10:34:28 GMT -5
It's Hogan, without Hogan the others on the list are half the superstars they wound up being and they wound have been competing in an industry that isn't nearly as big as it is today.
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Post by YAKMAN is ICHIBAN on Mar 4, 2012 10:35:48 GMT -5
If you asked someone name 5 pro wrestlers off the street, I think the most often list would be Hogan, Macho Man, Undertaker, Steve Austin, The Rock. Others that would pop up most frequently would probably Andre the Giant, John Cena, Rey Mysterio and Bret Hart
My MOM knew about it when Macho Man died. I think you're selling him a bit short,even if his widest exposure was through Slim Jim.
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Arrow
Hank Scorpio
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Post by Arrow on Mar 4, 2012 10:37:31 GMT -5
Hogan, easily.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2012 10:39:20 GMT -5
If you asked someone name 5 pro wrestlers off the street, I think the most often list would be Hogan, Macho Man, Undertaker, Steve Austin, The Rock. Others that would pop up most frequently would probably Andre the Giant, John Cena, Rey Mysterio and Bret Hart My MOM knew about it when Macho Man died. I think you're selling him a bit short,even if his widest exposure was through Slim Jim. Didn't Macho even get some ESPN mentions when he died? And that was after he hadn't been involved with wrestling for 10-12 years.
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Post by hossfan on Mar 4, 2012 10:39:25 GMT -5
Hulk Hogan. And I think Macho Man definitely deserves to be considered among the top five biggest names in wrestling. Heck, I'd bump Austin off the list before I did Savage, and Cena for sure.
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Mac
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
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Post by Mac on Mar 4, 2012 10:40:09 GMT -5
If you asked someone name 5 pro wrestlers off the street, I think the most often list would be Hogan, Macho Man, Undertaker, Steve Austin, The Rock. Others that would pop up most frequently would probably Andre the Giant, John Cena, Rey Mysterio and Bret Hart My MOM knew about it when Macho Man died. I think you're selling him a bit short,even if his widest exposure was through Slim Jim. Savage was HUGE, but the other guys on the list like Hogan, Rock and Austin carried their respective eras. Wrestling in the 80's and 90's would have existed without Savage, you can't say the same about the other three
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BigWill
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Posts: 16,619
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Post by BigWill on Mar 4, 2012 10:41:03 GMT -5
Hogan for sure. Also, I love him to death but Macho man does not belong on this list. Was he popular? yes, but nowhere near the levels of Austin, Rock, or hell even Cena in terms of mainstream appeal and marketability. I don't know if I'd go that far. I think Macho man is a much bigger superstar overall than Cena is. I wasn't even into wrestling back then, and I knew who Randy Savage was. I don't think I'd know who Cena was if I wasn't a wrestling fan.
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Post by Bob Schlapowitz on Mar 4, 2012 11:21:19 GMT -5
This is not a knock on Cena, but I would EASILY put Andre the Giant, Roddy Piper, Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, Ric Flair, and maybe Ted DiBiase above him.
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sryans
Don Corleone
BROOKLYN, BROOKLYN
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Post by sryans on Mar 4, 2012 12:39:01 GMT -5
Does Gorgeous George count? If so, him.
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Post by bitteroldman on Mar 4, 2012 12:40:56 GMT -5
"Gorgeous" George Wagner blazed the trail that Hogan and others followed later. He was the arch-type for the bleached-blonde cowardly heel, was the first wrestler to use entrance music (Pomp and Circumstance which was later used by Savage), was one of the first if not the first to have a valet and the list goes on and on. George was the first pro wrestler to break through to mainstream popularity and helped to establish TV as a medium for mass entertainment during the late 40's and early 50's.
George accomplished everything that Hogan did and did it first.
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Essential1
Hank Scorpio
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Post by Essential1 on Mar 4, 2012 12:48:21 GMT -5
The Miz.
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