I can't find my thread-starter but I'm glad to see the vast acknowledgement of Flair's supremacy. Hogan was not a great wrestler, though he was the greatest draw ever. I always found Bret Hart robotic, stiff and droning and untertaining on the mic. Besides Flair, my top 10 includes HBK,HHH, Steamboat, Kiniski, Piper, Thesz, Bockwinkel, Magnum TA, Road Warrior Hawk and Owen Hart. The Rock was not much of a wrestler , though a great entertainer. Steve Austin's prime was cut short by neck and back injuries sustained in his I-C title match with Owen. Warrior was a poor wrestler and a flash-in-the-pan. Goldberg was an exciting performer and was well handled, but had limited skills. Same with Diesel/Nash. Sting comes close to making my list but lacked the versatility of a Flair or Michaels. Of the young crop of performers I rate John Morrison, Shelton Benjamin, Jeff Hardy, and Jack Swagger very high. Honorable mentions go to Edge, Jericho, Orton and David Hart Smith.
I just found this thread and I am pleased to find a poster who can express himself articulately, and with whom I am in general agreement. I'm surprised that Mr Bad Example (a great Warren Zevon album, btw) hasn't seen my thread on Flair. But he's right that the contest is between Flair and HBK. Bret doesn't even list. The lowest financial period in WWF/E history was the "Bret Hart Era". He didn't draw in the US and his disc set didn't sell and he struggled to croak out a promo.
My top 10 is close but a bit different from Bad Example's:
1A. Flair
1B. HBK
2. Thesz
3. "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers
4. Inoki
5. Gagne
6. Bockwinkel
7. Angle
8. HHH
9. Morisson
My top 10 is close but a bit different from Bad Example's:
1A. Flair
1B. HBK
2. Thesz
3. "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers
4. Inoki
5. Gagne
6. Bockwinkel
7. Angle
8. HHH
9. Morisson
Seriously? How are you going to have a list consisting of Morrison if you have Thesz on it? How much Thesz have you legit watched?
Buddy Rogers??? Really?? Have you ever watched Buddy Rogers? Even by Golden Age standards he was just awful in the ring. He had some sweet charisma but his ring work was equivocably worse than Hogan's and he's not on your list. Then I wonder how much you've seen of Inoki, because he might have been a top draw of his era overseas, he too was pretty stinky in the ring. He sure wasn't as good as Baba.
I'm not calling you a liar, but it's hard to believe that you really have watched enough of all the names you dropped to think of them as the best wrestlers of all time. Anyone who has watched guys like Bock, Thesz and Gagne (technically sound but BO-ring as fuck) and has a true appreciation for that style and era would never call John Morrison the best of anything. Morrison is a spot monkey with nice hair and abs, but best wrestler? Ever? Pffttt...
Again, not calling you a liar, it's just hard to believe you've watched these dude's matches and if you have why is Buddy Rogers, Inoki and John Morrison on your list? And please don't try and justify it with some Wiki type shit. Be legit.
Read the edited post. I never rely on Wikipedia, though Ive updated it a few times. Question my legitimacy if you want. All the men on my list, I've seen either live, on tape or on TV.
I don't why some men have to question a poster's credibility when they read a good post like the one in which you give your final list. I think it's almost bang on, save that I think you're unfair to Hart, though I agree that he doesn't list. As far as your assessment of Morrison goes, you're right, but your inclusion of him in the all time top 10 is outrageously premature.