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There's quite a few that deserve mentioning but I'm narrowing it down to three men: Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and Chris Benoit.
All three guys could make you believe they were really suffering hits or damages in the ring (getting slammed on the canvas alone doesn't count, as I'm sure that really does hurt.) Bret Hart was probably the best at getting punched and kicked. Every time he sold a punch or a kick, he'd use body movement and facial expression to make it look like he'd really been punched or kicked by a 300-pound wrestler.
Shawn Michaels can make it seem like he's in the worst kind of pain and it looks legitimate, whether it be through his facial expression or body language, such as limping and whatnot. Just look at Wrestlemania 14 and his match with Austin, where he really IS in pain from his back, and compare that to most of his other matches. You won't be able to tell the difference.
And Chris Benoit was probably the best in general period when it comes to selling. He made people at times really believe he was hurt. I don't mean he made it possible for them to suspend disbelief, I mean he had people in the back worried for his well being... Like the chair shot from Edge at the end of the MITB ladder match at WM21. Or on Raw soon after when he and Edge were wrestling and the look on Benoit's face when he was laying on the outside had people thinking he was genuinely in pain (I remember his eyes were bugged out or something.) I also believe the way he responded to punches and kicks was on par with Bret. Benoit always made everything he did in the ring, whether it be the damage he dished out to his opponent or the damage he took himself, look as real as possible.
All three guys could make you believe they were really suffering hits or damages in the ring (getting slammed on the canvas alone doesn't count, as I'm sure that really does hurt.) Bret Hart was probably the best at getting punched and kicked. Every time he sold a punch or a kick, he'd use body movement and facial expression to make it look like he'd really been punched or kicked by a 300-pound wrestler.
Shawn Michaels can make it seem like he's in the worst kind of pain and it looks legitimate, whether it be through his facial expression or body language, such as limping and whatnot. Just look at Wrestlemania 14 and his match with Austin, where he really IS in pain from his back, and compare that to most of his other matches. You won't be able to tell the difference.
And Chris Benoit was probably the best in general period when it comes to selling. He made people at times really believe he was hurt. I don't mean he made it possible for them to suspend disbelief, I mean he had people in the back worried for his well being... Like the chair shot from Edge at the end of the MITB ladder match at WM21. Or on Raw soon after when he and Edge were wrestling and the look on Benoit's face when he was laying on the outside had people thinking he was genuinely in pain (I remember his eyes were bugged out or something.) I also believe the way he responded to punches and kicks was on par with Bret. Benoit always made everything he did in the ring, whether it be the damage he dished out to his opponent or the damage he took himself, look as real as possible.
