They doesn't have to be the best wrestler, they don't have to have won the most titles, your choice doesn't even have to make sense to anyone else. But who is your favourite wrestler of all time?
Bret Hart for me. There was just something that captured my imagination when I was young and he quickly became my absolute favourite. I met him at Mania a couple of years back and he was courteous and genuine, totally reaffirmed my love for him.
Alright, who is your fave?
Bret Hart. Wasn't fussed about wrestling until I saw him hobble out at Royal Rumble '94.
Just last night I watched him and 'Taker from One Night Only in 1997, a show I was at. His shit just looked good and everything he did in the ring and from a character standpoint you could believe and it made sense. Taking himself too seriously probably helped him in that regard.
I think Angle is number 2 for me. Very similar reasons. He too of course nailed the comedy as well. Hell of a talent and he just 'got it' straight away.
Sean Waltman. The dude had so much swagger as this roughneck hooligan, and when he was at his best, no one could touch him in the ring. Obviously, his work after 2001 is lacking, but that never stopped me for marking out for him hard.
Ultimate Warrior for me. The music, the energy, the face paint. As a young lad he was my favorite and I wouldn't be a wrestling fan without him.
Ric Flair. Was just captivating for me as a kid. I was aware of him in NWA and WCW, but when he came to WWF in 91, it blew my mind.
His promos, matches, robes, charisma was just amazing. Royal Rumble 92 topped it off - up to that point, I was cheering all the faces and hating all the heels, but Flair was just different. For a 10 year old, I marked out huggggge when Flair won that, even though all my mates were Pro-Hogan/Savage, whatever.
From that point on, Flair was my guy. GOAT.
Hulk initially as a youngster who knew nothing apart from I enjoyed wrestling, Once I got into it a bit more and could appreciate talent etc (And Hogan left) It was all about Bret and Bulldog.
Adrian Street and Mark Rocco were the two wrestlers that got me into wrestling back in the day.
However my favourite of all time is probably Rick Martel, mainly as The Model but I enjoyed his work as both a face and heel.
Nobody could fire up better than Rick Martel, not a great promo as a face but as a heel his accent really worked for him.
I am still annoyed that WWF/E never released Arrogance as merchandise.
.
Last edited by Peter Griffin; October 20th, 2020 at 10:58 AM.
I have had many favorites over the years. Bruno was the best. Macho Man was amazing. Eddie was great at everything he did.
Bayley is absolutely my favorite on the current roster.
Kevin Nash/Diesel. Match-wise I prefer Diesel's work, he had better opponents. Promos were always good either way but when he went to WCW the 2nd time for the nWo I just felt like he was on another level.
You do know wrestling existed before we were born right? Shit we're old now too man lol Wait until some 15 year old wrestling fan calls you old when you tell them Kevin Nash is your favorite wrestler.Originally Posted by Peter Griffin
I feel twice as old as I am.
Dunno what you are on about mate I never said that.
Daniel Bryan
He's perfect, literally perfect. The ultimate underdog babyface who also happens to be one of the best heels in the world. Has an innate charisma and likability unmatched in any, and I mean any, pro wrestler I have ever seen. Summerslam to WM 30 is the single best story ever told in professional wrestling, and when you consider a hefty chunk of it was forced by the fans rather than planned, it just magnifies its greatness. That moment - "Tap out Batista! Tap out Batista! Batista's gonna tap!" pips out Foley's first title win and Gargano's NXT Title win for the most emotionally happy moment I've had as a fan. Then, to top it all off, he's a total and utter dude.
All time favorite is probably Randy Savage. Loved his promos, his outfits, the elbow finishing move. And Miss Elizabeth on his arm didn’t hurt. Ted DiBiase is a close second.
Current favorite is probably Daniel Bryan but admittedly I don’t watch much anymore.
Best storyline ever? That's a hot take mate.
I loved the whole story (especially the fans changing direction on it too), but can you honestly tell me it was better than the Mega Powers or Austin/Vince?
I love D Bryan though
At least younger wrestling fans may have heard of Diesel / Kevin Nash from the Network. Try telling a 15 year old wrestling fan your favorite was Bruno Sammurtino - and they not only ask "who?", but then they flip their phone out and then ask doesn't he have any matches on the network....
Try telling a young wrestling fan that the last WWE tee shirt you bought was James Ellsworth.
Hey at least the last wrestling shirt you bought was someone from this era. The last 2 I bought were nWo Wolfpac and the Outsiders shirt lol.
Yep, better than both. Asutin/McMahon was amazing, but was more a collection of stories combining into a larger one. I was too young to have the emotional impact of the Mega Powers, but I'd argue for Bryan even if I were older. Bryan's story was about the fans, he was their avatar in a a time (which is still going on) that the WWE tries to actively ignore its fan base and tell them what they want instead of reacting to what is actually wanted. .Best storyline ever? That's a hot take mate.
I loved the whole story (especially the fans changing direction on it too), but can you honestly tell me it was better than the Mega Powers or Austin/Vince?
I love D Bryan though
Last five I bought were Strowman shirts.
Bret Hart brought me in as a kid - he was just cool and smooth, a wrestling machine.
Steve Austin brought me back as a young adult - the perfect act at the perfect time, the double middle fingers and brawls and beer swilling and texas shit talking.
After Austin left I didn't think it'd get much better than Eddie Guerrero - hilarious, charismatic, intense, athletic, technical, he had literally everything.
Then finally came Daniel Bryan - a wrestling maestro summed up perfectly by JP above..
..and since Bryan's peak I pretty much tapped out of watching, by and large satisfied.
I can't pick just one, but they make up my own personal mount rushmore of wrestling favs over time.
I remember at Survivor Series 1989 when my favorites at the time were on the same team. Hogan, Jake the Snake, and Demolition.
Going back to Nash, I even liked him as Vinnie Vegas. I remember seeing him in WCW doing some segment with British Bulldog and thought man look at this badass motherfucker. I did not watch a lot of WWF in 1992-1993, I was very into WCW because I would watch Saturday Night at my grandparents religiously. So when my best friend was like "You need to see this big dude Diesel with Shawn Michaels now", I was like holy fuck, that's Vinnie Vegas!
I might be Vince's son, because I prefer the jacked up, huge guys rather than the smaller types. I appreciate Bret Hart, thought he was excellent, but was never one of my favorites. Same with Daniel Bryan. I did really love heel HBK from the early-mid 90s though.
When I was a kid Warrior, then after he left bret, then after he left it was HHH then he tried being Flair and I lost interest and it’s been Taker ever since. Taker was always one of my favorites but he was generally always stuck with shit wrestlers.
Eddie Guerrero: He connected w/ me and when he beat Brock it was so heartfelt. I cried real tears when he passed.
Daniel Bryan: I dunno. He's ok.
The Undertaker/Shawn Michaels. Both captured me as a kid and they continue to wow me. What incredible careers.
All time favorites: Undertaker and Goldust.
I've explained a few times that Taker was the guy that really got me into wrestling as a kid who loved comic books and monsters/Frankenstein and obviously I doubt that I have to explain much else about Taker, his career speaks for itself. I'll admit there were a few years in there and a few feuds and things that weren't the best and my fandom did wane at points, he probably should have hung 'em up a bit sooner than he did, too, but yeah, overall, dude is one of the best to do it.
As for Goldust, I started watching in '98 and his uniqueness caught my attention straight away even just from an aesthetic standpoint, no one looked like him and I've always had an eye for the freaks and weirdos (again going back to the comics and monsters). The androgynous/drag-esque aspect of the character always intrigued me, too, rather than invoking a negative homophobic-type reaction which makes sense now as I'm a big LGBTQ advocate and fan of drag and folks being loud and proud and self-expressive and all that. Beyond that, dude could/can go in the ring and seemingly has only gotten better with age, is severly underrated on the mic (should be in the best mic workers conversation), is versatile as fuck as a character able to be a nasty heel, a brilliant comedy character, or the grizzled veteran.
Honorable Mentions: John Cena, Mick Foley, Steve Austin, Mark Henry, R-Truth, Asuka, Roman Reigns (in another few years), I'm pretty sure Macho Man would be in there if his career wasn't almost entirely before I started watching...
All time is Vader. Current would be Brian Cage and Thunder Rosa.
Last edited by Eddie Brock; September 23rd, 2022 at 3:12 PM.
The Hitman, The Rock, Edge.
Shawn Michaels was the guy I emulated as a kid. When he returned I was ecstatic. He's so good at everything he does and was so good at being both a face and heel. I loved the SCM as a finish as well.
Currently it's down to AJ Styles and Daniel Bryan for me. Both are the best in the ring while being convincing on the mic.
Hennig, Regal, Angle, Benoit and Saint would all be up there, but probably Les Kellett. Could play for laughs while still being the meanest bastard alive.
Maybe a little biased, but probably Regal.
Actually Huss's answer made me wonder whether Regal was the modern-day Kellett
I don't think anyone has ever matched the excitement of seeing Hogan when I was a kid. Even though his legacy has been tarnished, I can't pretend I don't get a rush when I hear his music. Other than that, I guess The Rock, Austin and Triple H because their peaks synced with the peak of my obsession with wrestling.
I adore Regal but no. Not even close.Maybe a little biased, but probably Regal.
Actually Huss's answer made me wonder whether Regal was the modern-day Kellett
Austin for me, the ultimate rebel and with him and McMahon would make you want to tune in every week to begin with. Not having internet and being tempted to look up spoilers at the time definitely helped too.
Awesome choice (and an awesome gif). That guy is so underrated.Mil Muertes, far and away. Dude embodies all the dumb fun they should be doing with The Undertaker. Plus, having Catrina as an actively participating manager was a stroke of genius.
It takes a lot to turn a simple spear into a hype move.
Vampiro is still my easy favorite. I want to say it's because he played a general creepster so well, but really I think he just comes across as a genuine person, one that I could get along with. Although i wish his career went differently, i still like hearing what he has to say.
For the brief period I was into Lucha Underground, Mil Muertes was awesome.
Bit of retroactive fantasy booking here, but that time when Brock was bullying Rey who ended up getting Cain Velasquez who ended up getting injured, imagine if they got in Mil Muertes to stand up for him instead. Mil/Brock would’ve been a great spectacle!
Rob Van Dam. His moveset in the ring was fun to watch, and the way he looks around before doing the "RVD", entertaining and loved it.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote
