GPWT Round 2: Steve Austin (3) -vs- Randy Savage (6)

[Veritas]

Who is the Greatest Professional Wrestler of All Time?
Round 2​

"Stone Cold" Steve Austin -vs- "Macho Man" Randy Savage


View attachment 1013

Steve Austin​

- 6x WWE World Heavyweight Champion
- 3x WWE Royal Rumble Winner
- 1996 WWE King of the Ring​

The Texas Rattlesnake ranked 3rd in the IWF 50 Greatest Wrestling Superstars of All Time, finishing with a score of 369/450.​

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stone_Cold_Steve_Austin
　

View attachment 1014

Randy Savage​

- 2x WWE World Heavyweight Champion
- 4x WCW World Heavyweight Champion
- 1987 WWE King of the Ring​

Randy Savage ranked 6th in the IWF 50 Greatest Wrestling Superstars of All Time, amassing a score of 308/450.​

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randy_Savage​

 

[Veritas]

This is probably the easiest choice of this round for me. I would've voted Kurt over Macho in the last round, so I find it easy to vote Austin over him here.

 

[Italian Outsider]

With all the respect for Savage, Austin all the way.

 

[Airfixx]

Airfixx says "Savage", Vinces billionaire status says otherwise.....

 

[Candido316]

This was the easiest to vote, and it is Savage. No offense, but Austin was the top guy for way too short a time compared to what Savage did. When they talk about WM III, they first talk about Savage/Steamboat and not Hogan Andre! Probably a top 5 drawing show and it is remembered for Savage. He was a better promo guy, a better worker, lasted over twice the time, and was at the top of more places than Austin. It is eay to be the top guy when your the only thing going(Yes, I know WCW and ECW was there early one, but if Austin had hit when WCW took off, he would ahve been MILES behind) while Savage was at the top everywhere he went. More than enough proof that he is better than Austin.

 

[Luke Flywalker]

Savage did some great things in WCW, but I think people tend to overrate his WCW career.

However, that doesn't lessen what Savage has meant to wrestling, imo, and his WCW career was NOT trash. For Austin, it was more a matter of finding the right character, and booking, and Vince did that for him. Savage had it from day one, and that elevated what he did elsewhere. Had Austin started in the Stone Cold persona with the pops he was getting and carried on for over 2 decades with it, he'd be hands down probably the only guy who could compete with HBK and Flair.

I'm giving this one to Austin though, solely because there wasn't a more electric period in WWF/E than when Stone Cold was doing his thing, and helping to build WWF over WCW when WWF was really in their darkest hour. Savage has been huge and important, but he was never able to be THE guy in the company (and like it or not, Hogan WASN'T the man in WCW)... Austin was able to be THE GUY and stayed THE GUY despite numerous people trying to dethrone him. I don't believe there's ever been much more an impressive career than what Austin had in WWF/E.

 

[Dylanfsd]

Austin, he's way better imo in every way.

 

[Candido316]

Sorry, but Austin wasnt always THE MAN during his run. Infact, most people tend to ignore how someone becomes "the man" in a company. There is bever one, there is always two, and that is the person helping build it, and that was Vince himself. Throw in Rock(who at times was also the man ahead of Austin), as well as Foley and the "man" floated around. It always came back to Austin, but it didnt stay as Austin. Too many injuries and time away from the ring make Austin a roller coaster at the top.

Plus, his run at the very top wasnt as big as Hogan's in WWF, or even seveeral others in WWF alone, not counting other big names in other big companies. People wrongly state that the money Austin made makes him thee guy. How do you compare the 1970's to the 1990's? you cant. I mean, when X amount of money in the 70's is only worth half as much in the 90's how does it compare? They state that Avatar made more money than any other movie in history so it is the biggest movie of all time, WHAT A JOKE. Gone with the Wind sold more tickets than Avatar did, and that was when the country had one third(or less) total places to view a movie than they do now AND it had less people in America. The bottom dollar is NEVER the dollar itself, it is always a percentage, and in this case Austin doesnt factor in the top 10 if we are honest. Flair OUTDREW Austin by proxy. Being nearly a top draw for 30 years outweights and outdraws, in total, a guy who draws the most for 6-7 years. It is simple math. That is why Austin is being seen as much more than he really was. even Hogan and Dusty drew more than Austin did. I am sure there are many many more who earned more money and drew more ppl than Austin. Lou Thesz, Terry Funk, and several more come to mind based on being in the business as a top draw in their time for 30+ years.

 

[He who knows more than Nation]

*Sigh* The company's highest PPV buyrates, total attendance gross, highest t.v ratings and the fact that he turned a near bankrupt Vince into a billionaire in less than a year testifies to his awesome draw power. Nobody has even came close to doing in ten years what Austin did from March 98- Feb99. Ratings shot up 55%, revenues went from an operating loss in 97 to over a billion net and they sold out like 300 consecutive 15,000+ seat arenas. In the 80's, the average "big" arena shows were usually 3,000-10,000 seat venues. Look at Flair's old stomping grounds, The Greenville Colliseum, The Omni, and all the Civic Centers across the Atlantic territory were mid sized arenas. WWF's regualr grounds, the Nassau Colliseum, Hershey Arenna and the Hartford Coliseum were mid sized arenas. Outside of the monthly run Garden shows, the WWF at it's 80s peak was only running 15,000+ shows for major PPVs, same with NWA, which did it less in the Crockett era. And I'm not even going into the 70's and the fairgrounds and TV studio days. No Flair, Hogan, Funk, Rhodes, Von Erich or any draw from the day can even come close to boasting Austin's unmatched run. In Hogan's best year the E brought in 250 million, even with 12 years inflation, Austin drew 750% more money than him. And that's before the Rock was established. And LMAO at Foley being "the man".

All that aside, as much as I love Savage, he is no match for Austin. Austin had classic matches, lit the fuse to the industry's hottest era and was an extraordinary character. It's Austin all the way.

 

[1chiban]

*Sigh* The company's highest PPV buyrates, total attendance gross, highest t.v ratings and the fact that he turned a near bankrupt Vince into a billionaire in less than a year testifies to his awesome draw power. Nobody has even came close to doing in ten years what Austin did from March 98- Feb99. Ratings shot up 55%, revenues went from an operating loss in 97 to over a billion net and they sold out like 300 consecutive 15,000+ seat arenas. In the 80's, the average "big" arena shows were usually 3,000-10,000 seat venues. Look at Flair's old stomping grounds, The Greenville Colliseum, The Omni, and all the Civic Centers across the Atlantic territory were mid sized arenas. WWF's regualr grounds, the Nassau Colliseum, Hershey Arenna and the Hartford Coliseum were mid sized arenas. Outside of the monthly run Garden shows, the WWF at it's 80s peak was only running 15,000+ shows for major PPVs, same with NWA, which did it less in the Crockett era. And I'm not even going into the 70's and the fairgrounds and TV studio days. No Flair, Hogan, Funk, Rhodes, Von Erich or any draw from the day can even come close to boasting Austin's unmatched run. In Hogan's best year the E brought in 250 million, even with 12 years inflation, Austin drew 750% more money than him. And that's before the Rock was established. And LMAO at Foley being "the man".

All that aside, as much as I love Savage, he is no match for Austin. Austin had classic matches, lit the fuse to the industry's hottest era and was an extraordinary character. It's Austin all the way.

QIA. Pretty much sums up my thoughts too.

 

[straight_edge76]

I love Savage. But this isn't fair. Savage is one of the greatest ever, but Austin is undoubtedly the sole purpose as to why we are still talking about Vince McMahon. Before Austin took off the WWE was on the verge of going under. Austin single handedly saved the McMahon empire. He is the top draw ever in the states, some want to make the case that Hogan was bigger? Well Austin was the top draw, in the top company during the industries biggest influx of money and fans. Taking nothing away from what Hogan did putting wrestling on the map, Austin did what Hogan did, but made it 10x bigger than it ever was. There is a entire generation of fans (and up and coming wrestlers) that are only there because of Austin.

And Austin's in ring work is often overlooked. Granted he was never the type of worker with dozens of moves. But he never had to be. I am a firm believer in it's not the amount of moves, but it's how you use them. He used his limited moveset to perfection. He had epic feuds/matches with the who's who of the late 90s. From HBK to Taker, from Rocky to Foley, he worked them all. You could honestly make a case for him being the single most important American worker of all time (however I may be a little biased here lol)

 

[Candido316]

*Sigh* The company's highest PPV buyrates, total attendance gross, highest t.v ratings and the fact that he turned a near bankrupt Vince into a billionaire in less than a year testifies to his awesome draw power. Nobody has even came close to doing in ten years what Austin did from March 98- Feb99. Ratings shot up 55%, revenues went from an operating loss in 97 to over a billion net and they sold out like 300 consecutive 15,000+ seat arenas. In the 80's, the average "big" arena shows were usually 3,000-10,000 seat venues. Look at Flair's old stomping grounds, The Greenville Colliseum, The Omni, and all the Civic Centers across the Atlantic territory were mid sized arenas. WWF's regualr grounds, the Nassau Colliseum, Hershey Arenna and the Hartford Coliseum were mid sized arenas. Outside of the monthly run Garden shows, the WWF at it's 80s peak was only running 15,000+ shows for major PPVs, same with NWA, which did it less in the Crockett era. And I'm not even going into the 70's and the fairgrounds and TV studio days. No Flair, Hogan, Funk, Rhodes, Von Erich or any draw from the day can even come close to boasting Austin's unmatched run. In Hogan's best year the E brought in 250 million, even with 12 years inflation, Austin drew 750% more money than him. And that's before the Rock was established. And LMAO at Foley being "the man".

All that aside, as much as I love Savage, he is no match for Austin. Austin had classic matches, lit the fuse to the industry's hottest era and was an extraordinary character. It's Austin all the way.

Funny, in one of wrestlings down times, the last 3 WM PPV's have absoultely killed even the highest rated Austin PPV, and that is just the beginning.

You also seem to ignore the total outlook. I mean, wrestling in the 70's and 80's was known to 1/25th as to compared to today. Cable TV wasnt everywhere, the net wasnt everywhere, they just simply didnt get the info out then like they do now. All of that contributes to who sees it. Claim a total number of people all you want, and claim the total amount of money all you want, it simply is wrong mathmatical. The guy with the single highest test score doesnt lead the class, it is the one with the higest average and it is always going to be that way. On average, being first 3 out of 6 times means less than someone else being 2nd in all 6 of those. Averages proves cosistancy. Simply put, a long time good average outweighs a short time peak. Business fail on short time peaks but keep going on long term average. You are ignoring so many other factors that your comparison isnt even fair.

Funny, they claim that more people die in motor cycle wrecks because they do not wear a helmet so that is why you should wear one. What they dont tell you is that so many more people dont wear a helmet you have to have more deaths without it. The simple fact is for the last 3 years, a higher percentage of people have died with a helmet on. You can also find that in any ABATE(which I am a member of) news letter or via the states own records.

Stop throwing numbers only and account for everything around it, which noone wants to do.

Oh, and WM 2,3, and 4 outdid every WM PPV Austin was in, both via the gate(for inflation purposes) and buy rates.

 

[He who knows more than Nation]

Mathematically Austin's billion dollar run means he outdrew anyone ever. Mathematically he brought in higher ratings than anyone ever did. Mathematically he sold out more large venues consecutively than anyone else. Keep trying. Good effort with those blanket statements and analogies.