• Top 10 Wrestlers of All Time

  

  Written by Zeromage 114 Comments
  Last Updated:: August 13, 2009

  Who are the greatest wrestlers of all time in WWF history? A just as important question is why does Old-Wizard even care? What, has Old-Wizard become Old-Wrestler now? Our love for Retro extends past video games, it even extends to wrestling! In this list, we will place who we think are the top 10 wrestlers of all time. This isn’t just some arbitrary list. This is a list created with passion for the pseudo-sport of professional staged-wrestling. We spent the past weeks getting ripped watching old Royal Rumbles and Summer Slams arguing who was more perfect, Mr. Perfect himself, or the Undertaker? We compared stats as if the stats actually meant something; like how long a Royal Rumble participant lasted, and how many times The Intercontinental Belt was won by a certain wrestler. Finally we came down to a list that was partially based on stats and partially based on fame. Here then is Old-Wrestler’s (sorry, I meant Old-Wizard’s) top 10 wrestlers of all time.

  10. Shawn Michaels

  Shawn Michaels first started off in the queer tag team “The Rockers”. After high kicking Marty Genetti in the barbershop, he became his own man and took on all comers. He was a force to be reckoned with not only with the girls who swooned over him but with the wrestlers who would have to watch out for getting high kicked any time in the match. This devastating blow was like getting hit with an uppercut by Mike Tyson in Mike Tyson’s Punchout. Shawn Michaels turned back and forth from protagonist to heel numerous times showing his versatility in personality. He was a better heel than hero though; when girls loved him and guys hated him.

  9. Rowdy Piper

  Rowdy Piper was a firestorm. Whenever he hit the ring, the crowd would erupt. He was a solid wrestler, but his greatness came from his Scottish adrenaline when down in a fight. He would run in circles and then start smashing the fighter to his doom. He was a dirty fighter too. He would take people by the nostrils to the middle of the ring and then eye gouge them. He was a Scottish Street Brawler. His record was impeccable and he fought only the best wrestlers. He was always a great main card or mid card wrestler. Simple in suit but strong in heart, Rowdy Piper was one of the greatest.

  8. Bret Hart

  Bret Hart’s venture into the WWF was a slow one. He didn’t catch the crowd as immediately as the rest of the wrestlers on this list, but this is what made him so great. When his physical endurance was shown in the ring along with his wrestling prowess, he slowly gained the respect of his fellow wrestlers and fans in the WWF. He became know as the “excellence of execution” and delivered this excellent execution in matches against the best, from Yokozuna to Mr. Perfect. It was a great moment for wrestling when Bret Hart was able to put the sharp shooter on Yokozuna. Even the greatest beast couldn’t get out of the sharp shooter. If it weren’t for ring ropes, Bret Hart might be the greatest wrestler of all time.

  7. Ric Flair

  Ric Flair never knew when to quit. He loved the sport too much. Just when you thought he was going to retire, he came back and fought with the ardor of a 20 year old. There are many memorable moments with Ric Flair. Most of all though was Royal Rumble 1991 where he won the rumble after coming in at the #3 spot. Looking back, how couldn’t we know he was going to win with Hennan losing his voice trying to prop up the fact that no one could ever win the rumble entering in as early as Ric Flair. He did it though, with poise and professionalism. He was a showman. He knew how to work the angle of being beat and tired. He knew how to drop face first like no one before or after. He was also a good wrestler too executing the figure four leg lock to perfection. Ric Flair was a special wrestler. No heel had ever been as celebrated as him.

  6. Macho Man

  Macho Man was probably the most intense wrestler of all time. You saw it in the veins of his neck. You heard it in the rasp of his voice. You saw it in his wrestling delivery. He was tight as hell throughout a whole match. Simple elbows were executed with an explosiveness that another wrestler would have done lazily, thinking that they were just trying to carry a match. Watch one of his interviews to experience the intensity of Macho Man. Who knows what he was on before a match or even before an interview. Regardless, he pumped up the viewer into making this smaller figure a main card wrestler. His finishing move, the elbow from the top rope devastated opponents. No one got up from it. One of the few finishing moves that no one could ever get up from. This guy wasn’t simply macho, he was pure intensity.

  5. Mr. Perfect

  With a name like Mr. Perfect, how could he not be in the top 10 WWF wrestlers of all time? His name wasn’t just a gimmick though. He was the best pure wrestler in WWF history. Every move was executed to perfection; so much so that he had a manager named “The Genius” to further accentuate the his artistic quality in the ring. Mr.Perfect was involved in some of the greatest matches of all time, regardless of whether he lost or not. Forget the arrogant posture he brought the ring spitting out his gum and smacking it away with his hand or his overly-self-assured smirk upon entering the ring. He was a wrestler’s wrestler. He won and lost with grace. Every match he wrestled to perfection. Has there ever been a more perfect finishing move than the Perfect Plex? He was admired by everyone in the locker room where it mattered the most. A true professional, Mr. Perfect really was the perfect wrestler.

  4. The Undertaker

  The Undertaker’s place in WWF lore is certain. He’s one of the greatest wrestlers of all time, one of the greatest showmen of all time, and the greatest dark figure in wrestling history. This was sedimented with his win over Hogan in Survivor Series 1991. This is when The Undertaker was a heel. The kids in the crowd were crying, the kids who purchased the Survivor Series via Pay Per View at him were crying. How could their hero Hulk Hogan be beaten? Two words, “The Undertaker”. No one gets up from the tombstone. For a wrestler as big as The Undertaker he showed a scary agility being able to fly off the ropes with full body torpedo and could tight walk the ropes and smash a wrestlers arm. There has never been a wrestler who struck their opponent or the fan with a sense of fear like The Undertaker. This presence will always keep in the Top 5 of all time.

  3. The Ultimate Warrior

  The Ultimate Warrior went through a couple different incarnations, at least, due to alleged death via steroid use. There was only one Ultimate Warrior though, and that was the original who was as close to as important as Hulk Hogan. Who could ever forget him beating Hogan in Wrestlemania 6?  Surely one of the greatest matches of all time, but the warrior had the intensity to take the belt, and just like that, he was basically done from the WWF. He accomplished what needed to be accomplished; holding the belt once, instead of losing it, and winning it over and over (Hogan). The one word to describe The Ultimate Warrior is ‘Fire’. He ran to the ring with fire, fought with fire, and got up from a beating with fire. Trying to understand his explosive and solipsistic interviews is like trying to read James Joyce’s “Ulysses” which made him even that much more intriguing. The fire of WWF lore belongs to The Warrior alone.

  2. Hulk Hogan

  What can be said about Hulk Hogan that hasn’t already been said? He changed wrestling even though he couldn’t wrestle. He had one of the worst finishing moves of all time, yet somehow he was the most popular wrestling in the history of the sport. He wore awful and entiointrepid tights. When Hogan came to the ring though, the crowd would erupt. Events were based soley on him. Every mid card match was a lead up to seeing Hogan come down the ring. The inspiration he caused in the degenerate fan was earnest. He is human and non-human at the same time. Hogan was the one who started the phenomena of getting up from seemingly interminable finishing moves; shaking his head with the eyes of a maniac. After that it was a boot to a face then a leg drop that would never touch the wrestler. The only person Andre would “pass the torch” to was Hogan, and he carried it for some time to come. Andre saw something in Hogan, as did everyone else who every experienced wrestling.

  1. Andre the Giant

  Many things can be said about Andre the Giant. He was the biggest wrestler of all time. He was the most entertaining figure to see in all of wrestling. He was the greatest heel of all time, except that he became a non-heel without ever wanting to become a non-heel. This was quite the phenomena. Never has there been a wrestler that was meant to be disliked but people began to like them anyways (Undertaker broached this until he become a full-on protagonist once McMahon saw the phenomena happening). What was it about Andre that inspired this reaction? In one small gesture, Andre would give a slight smile even when he was fighting Hogan and this made the fans of wrestling see in his soul; A passionate and caring wrestler who believed in the non-sport of staged wrestling. There will never be another 8th wonder of the world. While Hogan made wrestling popular, Andre was the first to make it a legitimate show. It was not only his size, but his heart that made for staged-wrestling’s ascendancy.

114 Comments

1. #1 Fedricco Rabaya says:
   March 17th, 2010 at 1:36 am

   “It’s not my fault your vagina’s so dry, it’d turn a mummy to dust.”

   – Troll 4 Life

   Could someone explain what the hell this means.
2. #2 Delta says:
   March 17th, 2010 at 7:19 am

   It’s an idiot’s piss-poor attempt at being witty, Fedricco.
3. #3 wrestling guru says:
   March 17th, 2010 at 3:02 am

   this is a retarded list…… stone cold should be on here and andre off……andre the gian was just an enourmous fat slob that drew crowds bc of his size…..the undertaker like 2 inches shorter than him n can fly from the top rope at 45 years old…..n even though i loved the warrior he is no where near the top 5…… where is triple H?? sucky list
4. #4 Blake says:
   March 17th, 2010 at 4:05 pm

   where is god’s name is Big Daddy!!!!
5. #5 Ravana says:
   March 17th, 2010 at 5:28 am

   AHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh yo……….macho man the most intense wrestler of all time huh, where the hell is the rock he should #1.
6. #6 BloodPump says:
   March 17th, 2010 at 9:53 am

   Would have been an acceptable list, had you added ‘WWE’ to it. You didn’t, thus the list is only mediocre in my opinion. Still, its better then a good 90% of the lists here.
7. #7 BloodPump says:
   March 17th, 2010 at 9:54 am

   Let me rephrase that, I meant add ‘WWE to the Title’.
8. #8 Bikram Chhetri says:
   March 17th, 2010 at 8:53 am

   Its a boring and retarded list, actually. The biggest, the most popular of them all has to be The Rock. Then Shawn Michaels. Then HHH, then Bret Hart, then The Undertaker and then Stone Cold. The rest should follow thereafter.
9. #9 karthik says:
   March 17th, 2010 at 10:46 am

   stupid ediot r u batista is always 1st !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol
10. #10 muathm says:
    March 17th, 2010 at 12:29 am

    good choices
11. #11 curiousbystander says:
    March 17th, 2010 at 5:56 am

    just read the whole commentary about delta and poland, curious what was the jist of your argument between the hulk and superman?

    also is zeromage swedish? and how advanced are there military? examples?

    also, haha on polish trying to argue the fact he can beat someone up ON THE INTERNET…WOW!

    on topic: chris benoit is probably the best wrestler, his finishing move Crippler Crossface, is probably the most lethal he’s what 5′10? and he can put it on people who are 7′0 are u kidding me? also all the moves he does, suplexes, chops, etc, is 999% intensity!
12. #12 curiousbystander says:
    March 17th, 2010 at 7:37 am

    i forgot to check the lil box to remind me for any followup comments
13. #13 John says:
    March 17th, 2010 at 11:02 pm

    This list is a lot better than some of the ones I have seen. The Rock and Austin should be on here but Triple H shouldn’t even be in a Top 100 list. Roddy Piper and Mr. Perfect were close to the top 10, but shouldn’t be here. Sting could also be here instead of Andre, although that’s debatable. For all those morons who like the bland wrestlers of today, go look up Bruno Sammartino or Bob Backlund, two guys much more deserving than Cripple H