From A Kayfabe POV, Who Is The True GOAT?

[Roadster]

Bruno Sammartino..

The guy held the title for 8 years, sold out MSG more than 60 times and was a big gate figure in his time.

 

[edge4ever]

Bruno Sammartino..

The guy held the title for 8 years, sold out MSG more than 60 times and was a big gate figure in his time.

very true, but totally different when compared to today. They didn't perform nearly as much, didn't travel as much, and weren't global. Different era's. If cena was in the same setting, he could've reigned for 10 years for all we know, brother!

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

Kayfabe in wwe usually puts very clearly that things worked differently back then. I know you don't like punk, but his quote of "If I wrestled back then, I would hold the title even longer." seemed pretty beliavable. Sure he was a heel, and taking a heel's word to heart is kind of silly kayfabe, but still. There have been several times where WWE seemed to effectivly bury the superstars of the past by making clear the competition got fiercer on the attitude era.

Also, lockard said in the post that he is only counting the past 30 years to avoid Bruno and Backlund name drops.

If Punk wrestled in the 50s he would have been a curtain jerking jabroni, who are you/he kidding?

 

[Tgmiveld]

HHH

Orton would be in with as shout if he was booked right

 

[Wacokid27]

Kurt.
Motherfucking.
Angle.

wk

 

[Green Jesus]

If Punk wrestled in the 50s he would have been a curtain jerking jabroni, who are you/he kidding?

I'm not talking about punk specifically, we are speaking kayfabe here, remember? Sure, back in the day punk wouldn't stand a chance to the standards wwe had for its wrestlers, but in kayfabe, the wwe puts quite clearly that those were other times, with a different degree of competition.

So maybe following that logic, a "small' reign with fierce contenders is more impressive than a huge ass reign with a more forgiving schedule. That's obviously just my opinion though, there is no such a thing as the ultimate kayfabe guide, I'm just providing a counter-point to your "Sammartino is the greatest by a long shot" remark

 

[Just Kevin]

Ric Flair or John Cena since we are talking kayfabe.. if we were talking actual skill then The Rock or Bret Hart.

 

[The GOAT]

Just occurred to me how successful Michaels has often been when it comes to first-time scenarios. Won the first-ever Iron Man match, won the first-ever Hell In A Cell match (not cleanly though, which should count against him from a kayfabe viewpoint), won the first-ever Elimination Chamber match, was the first-ever man to draw the #1 entry in the Royal Rumble and win, etc. All that counts for something.