Shawn Michaels = the best EVER, period.

[Ajax]

I'd say HBK is best in ring performer of all time, but best ever period, not really. If your talking best impact on wrestling industry then top 2 are Hogan and Austin, If your talking best mic skills and character then there is a whole list better than Michaels such as Hogan,Rock,Machoman,Flair.

 

[SnackZ]

ahhhhhhhhhh, her we go again with this shit. Some say Flair, some say Michaels, some say Hogan, some say Austin.

Its really all on how you view 'best ever'. And as for your comment on Michaels being the Michael Jordan of wrestling, that is not true, that would be Hogan. And for the dude who said "Babe Ruth, Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky, Tom Brady, and Hulk Hogan. Those are real icons who transcend their respective sports. HBK does not." To even include Tom Brady in that list should make you feel a little embarrassed. Babe Ruth, yes, made baseball more popular than it had ever been and will forever go down as the guy most people associate with being the man in baseball. Michael Jordan, yes, probably the greatest player ever (some would argue Bill Russell but not me) who brought basketball into the mainstream again with his charisma and striking personality. Wayne Gretzky, well I don't know since I don't watch hockey but I sure as hell know who this guy is and I won't (or better yet can't) argue this. Now Tom Brady???? Serious????? There are guys like Dan Marino and Joe Montana, who are FAR better than Brady and who are just known as the stars of the NFL. Yeah Brady is good but transcending an industry??? Nah.

Now back on topic. Hogan is and always will be the greatest when it comes to who put wrestling on the map and who made people care about wrestling who didn't even watch wrestling. He had the charisma and mic work to make everyone love him (early years) and everyone hate him (NWO years). But as we all know, even me, Hogan was not the best technical wrestler (even though his selling skills should not be underestimated or underrated).

Flair is probably the best at ring psychology and mic work and storytelling but he cannot, in my eyes be considered a draw or be considered someone who EVERYONE outside of wrestling knows.

Michaels has it all IMO, he sells every move, he is gold on the mic, he is great at showing emotions, whether happy, mad or sad (his speech on Raw when he lost his smile made me cry then and still does today). He is the reason I still order WrestleMania, he is who I look forward to who they are going to put him against at mania because no matter who suck ass the card is you KNOW that his match will entertain you like no other. That Taker/HBK match at WM25 cemented HBK as the best to me. So much that my next wrestler tattoo will be of HBK. Only person who has that honor now is Hogan, who is on my left forearm.

 

[He who knows more than Nation]

Misawa was a stiff mother fucker, and back in the early to mid 90's he was an absolute beast. But unfortunately he fell victim to the unfortunate "wrestle till you die, literally" demographic. I'd say even after the year 2000 his performances started to tank and has even been known in the industry to have quite a few championship stinkers with people whom he shouldn't have. In my mind that tarnished his legacy, and of course beyond being a tough as nails Puro fighter, he's hardly the best.

I think it's more than fair and justifiable to discuss Misawa as a G.O.A.T.
From mid 1990 till about when the nWo took off, All Japan was producing the highest quality wrestling product on the planet. Misawa was a huge part of that and AJPW was drawing well with him as a top draw. At this point the man must've had countless top shelf matches. Shawn was absolutely awesome but his best string of matches just isn't as long as Misawa's who had just so so so many gret matches and he helped innovate a style that was ahead of it's time and now 90% of American indy workers wrestle the "Strong-style" that is basically modified Puro. RoH for it's first 6 years modeled itself after the glory days of AJPW. The same can be said of HBK, but I was just trying to show what being a "Stiff motherfucker" has done for wrestling styles in another country.

Misawa was also well liked. He was charismatic and professional and when the shit hit the fan when Baba died and his Yoko like wife took over, Misawa had such a loyal following that he took every top, legit act from AJPW to start his company, Noah, which quickly became a top force in Puro. Not a single top act in America could ever be liked enough by enough people to try this, especially HBK. That is a huge credit to his character.

So what if Misawa had some sub-par matches after he was forty, I would hardly call them stinkers. He was a draw.I'm almost certain he was a bigger draw in the 90's than HBK. I know AJPW made more money from 93-97 than the E, so it's a fair comparison. But eitherway, Hogan and Flair stunk up rings for 20 years in top spots. So what. They outdrew everyone who could outperform them in the lockerroom. Same can be said of Misawa except he could still go. What matches were particularly "stinkers? I know some didn't live up to expectations (Joe, Morishima and Shiozaki) but stinkers?

To me he has Jordan-esque qualities, he was a draw, he was charismatic, was the undisputed best at a time and his style helped mold a style across the globe. Plus he was a savvy business man and his print is still left on the biz despite his death.

Misawa isn't near the greatest wrestler ever. He was a legend, but in Japan, where wrestling is a SPORT. I think people are throwing him in the discussion because of his death.

Nope. Not me. Dude's always been in the discussion to me. You gotta be aware of what's goin on everywhere in the world before you can say someone's the best ever or best in the world.

 

[The Rated R CMStar]

The fact that HBK is known in Japan and US but not that many people know who Misawa is basically rules him out.

 

[SuzieLightening]

Shawn Michaels = the best EVER, period

I don't want to hear any crying from the Flair marks, or the Bret Hart marks, the bottom line is this, when HBK decides to call it a career, he will go down as the single greatest wrestler in the history of this business. Shawn Michaels is the Michael Jordan of wrestling, there is absolutely no doubt about it.

When he went down with a broken back, he was still one of the best, but probably not THE best because his career was cut short due to the injury. However, ever since his comeback 7 years ago, he has cemented his legacy and will now go down as the best ever. Classic match after classic match with Triple H, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle, Undertaker, Chris Jericho, John Cena, and many more, those can't be ignored. Shawn Michaels can sell better than anyone, I hated the stupid angle they did with JBL "buying" HBK, but if there was anyone on this planet that could make you BELIEVE that it actually happened, it has to be Michaels. The man was supposed to come back one time only and give us one more classic match, but he felt good and stayed for 7 more years where he bled for us, he put his body on the line every night, and he helped to create future stars. Once you combine that with his career before the back injury, I don't care what you say about Flair, Hogan, or Bret Hart, when it comes down to it, the single greatest wrestler to ever lace up a pair of boots...

The Heart Break Kid, The Showstoppa, The Icon, The Main Event, Mr. Wrestlemania himself...


Shawn Michaels.

HBK & Flair run neck and neck. Have you seen Flair v Race? Flair v Brisco? Flair v Lugar? Flair v Sting? Flair v Vader? Flair v Kiniski? Flair v Rhodes? Flair v Ivan Koloff? Flair v Road Warrior Hawk? Flair v Lewin? Flair v Terry Funk? Flair Dory Funk Jr? Flair v Hogan? Flair v Nikita Koloff? Flair v Windham? Flair v Bruiser Brody? Flair v Antonio Inoki? Flair v HBK (not the retirement match)? Flair v Ole Anderson? Flair v Dibiase Sr?

I've seen them all on my dad's tapes and on materials I've ordered. And HBK said this about Flair:

Ric Flair is the wrestler that's influenced me more than anyone else. He was a villain in the ring, but was still so cool with the machismo, the wheeling and dealing. He always had the best clothes, the best women, the jewelry and the belts. And from a performance standpoint, he was always the best part of the show. I always tried to pattern my persona and my ring style after him for sure. I always felt like I wanted to be the '90s version of Ric Flair. I was actually joking with him a while back about how I made a career out of stealing a ton of his stuff and telling everybody it was mine

That was from an article titled King of the Ring, Why Ric Flair's Peers Think He's The Best Ever

So there you have it from HBK himself. That said, I think that HBK is a present day Ric Flair.

 

[Airfixx]

...Maybe HBK's being modest?

Seriously, what HBK says about Flair has no bearing over the measure of HBKs own abilities.

 

[This Guy]

HBK & Flair run neck and neck. Have you seen Flair v Race? Flair v Brisco? Flair v Lugar? Flair v Sting? Flair v Vader? Flair v Kiniski? Flair v Rhodes? Flair v Ivan Koloff? Flair v Road Warrior Hawk? Flair v Lewin? Flair v Terry Funk? Flair Dory Funk Jr? Flair v Hogan? Flair v Nikita Koloff? Flair v Windham? Flair v Bruiser Brody? Flair v Antonio Inoki? Flair v HBK (not the retirement match)? Flair v Ole Anderson? Flair v Dibiase Sr?

I've seen them all on my dad's tapes and on materials I've ordered. And HBK said this about Flair:

Ric Flair is the wrestler that's influenced me more than anyone else. He was a villain in the ring, but was still so cool with the machismo, the wheeling and dealing. He always had the best clothes, the best women, the jewelry and the belts. And from a performance standpoint, he was always the best part of the show. I always tried to pattern my persona and my ring style after him for sure. I always felt like I wanted to be the '90s version of Ric Flair. I was actually joking with him a while back about how I made a career out of stealing a ton of his stuff and telling everybody it was mine

That was from an article titled King of the Ring, Why Ric Flair's Peers Think He's The Best Ever

So there you have it from HBK himself. That said, I think that HBK is a present day Ric Flair.

Guess who suzzie is and win a prize*






*no actual prize will be rewarded

 

[Airfixx]

Here's the TRUE test......



POLISH WRESTLERS SUCK..... PROVE ME WRONG!

 

[noumenon]

Best wrestler as far as the criteria most would follow..yeah.

Most popular and most known or best on the mic? No fuckin way. That would easily go to Austin, Hogan and even Rock before HBK.

 

[Great One]

Was watching the Flair induction/goodbye earlier, and he even admitted that Shawn Michaels is better than he ever was. Gotta say it's pretty obvious that he's right, and I don't know why anyone would disagree that he is probably the best ever. Of course, people nitpick about the most popular, best on the mic, etc. etc. shit. Obviously Hogan was more popular, Rock was better on the mic, but HBK is just a crazy good performer.