Best Wrestlers of All Time
This is a list of the best greco-roman/freestyle wrestlers of all time.I love Dan Gable, best coach ever hands down, but around 7th best wrestler of all time. Cael Sanderson is around 8th or 9th best all time but the best college wrestler of all time. I love the USA! The sad part is, though, Alexander Karelin is the best wrestler of all time, hands down. He should have had four Olympic gold titles but was screwed by a bad decision by a referee. Before you dis me, I have watched the match he lost to the American, and I think he got screwed.
My Top 10 is:
1. Alexander Karelin
2. Buvaisar Saitiev
3. Saori Yoshida
4. Aleksandr Medved
5. Hamid Sourian
6. John Smith
7. Dan Gable
8. Cael Sanderson
9. Valentin Yordanov
10. Arsen Fadzaev
Now, some of this could be flipped, but Russia is just really good at wrestling.
Are you guys kidding me? The guy has six world championships, two Asian championships, and is the reigning Olympic champion. And he is 5th on your list? He is over a bunch of guys who have one or maybe two gold medals in total on the world stage?
He won 7 gold medals (6 World Championships and 1 Olympic) from 8 World Championship competitions that he participated in, and he just lost 1 competition.
He is the best World Champion from Iran.
Hamid is the most technical wrestler in the Greco-Roman era. He had the brain of a nuclear physicist and the power of a heavyweight lifter. The phrase "Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee" is just perfect to describe him.
Sanderson brought wrestling to an entirely new level. Everyone on this list, I think, would concede that he's the best. Brock Lesnar isn't anywhere close to Sanderson, Gable, Smith, Kurt Angle, etc. He's not even in the top 20 best wrestlers of all time, much less number one.
Undefeated in his NCAA career in the US, probably the world's best wrestling country aside from Russia, and an Olympic gold medal. Maybe not number one but definitely top 2.
If he had chosen to go into MMA, he would have dominated. He attacked from so far out that trying to box or kick would be negated.
The best American freestyle wrestler to date and one of the top freestyle wrestlers in the world. His record speaks for itself. Cael Sanderson is the best collegiate wrestler of all time.
Just look at the hardware. Certainly not an American that can compete. Maybe #2 on this list at worst.
Take out the heavies and he's hands down the #1.
Amazing wrestler and person! His son will soon follow!
Valentin Yordanov is a Bulgarian wrestler, and he is the best freestyle wrestler of the 20th century!
7-time World Champion, 7-time European Champion, and an Olympic Champion.
Only wrestler to win 10 medals at World Championships.
Also has an Olympic bronze medal.
Most of the wrestlers mentioned are worthy all-time candidates, but for me, Buvaisar Saitiev is number 1. An athlete who physically is not the strongest, nor the fastest or quickest, not the most aggressive, and not even the best-conditioned. He won six world championships and competed in four Olympic Games, winning three gold medals. The one Olympic game he did not medal in, he was upset by the eventual gold medal winner Brandon Slay (American), and his brother Adam Saitiev won a gold, wrestling practically two weight classes up.
What is most impressive about Buvaisar is that he was a genius on the mat. Lacking the physical attributes of most world-class wrestlers, he was able to produce a career that is unrivaled in a very difficult and competitive weight class by being the smartest and most creative wrestler of all time.
All due respect to my wrestling brothers.
Peace.
I feel this accomplishment is what no other wrestler comes close to. This is what makes him the GOAT! As the University of Iowa's all-time winningest coach from 1976 to 1997, Gable won 15 NCAA National Wrestling Team Titles while compiling a career record of 355-21-5. He coached 152 All-Americans, 45 National Champions, 106 Big Ten Champions, and 12 Olympians, including four gold, one silver, and three bronze medalists.
All "top" lists, even made with objectivity (if possible), still include personal opinion, varying "top" traits, age (watching video isn't the same, and there's more on younger guys), etc. You could argue for anyone on the list for many reasons. It still comes down to personal favorite. So, I went with mine. I went to his wrestling camp, and he's a big idol. Are there better? Maybe, possibly probably, but not to me.
Sergei cannot be overlooked and has to be placed on the international scale in the top five. Not taking anything away from the 1984 Olympic champions, but he could have been a three-time Olympic champion. Look at his accomplishments. He is probably considered one of the most technical wrestlers.
He is a 6-time World Champion, 2-time Olympic Champion, and beat the '84 Olympic Champion. He is just as impressive as Karelin.
Best technical wrestler ever. He did not have the same accolades as Alexander but was in a tough weight class that he completely dominated for nearly a decade.
Only lost twice while winning 6 world titles and 2 Olympic titles. Won the 1992 Olympic final by a superiority score.
He did not lose a single battle in seven years. The best athlete of the USSR in 1991.
And won silver at the Worlds when he wrestled up a weight class.
Jordan Burroughs is still young, but he will be the best U.S. wrestler in history. Just watching him wrestle, you can see that his athletic ability trumps even the best technicians. When you watch some people wrestle, you think, Wow, that looks hard. But when you watch Burroughs wrestle, you think, Hey, I could probably do that. He makes it look easy. That's how I know he's the best.
Jordan Burroughs will, without a doubt, be the greatest of all time when it is all said and done. He simply makes things look far too easy.
You would have a hard time combining two men to beat her gold medals. She is the winningest and most dominant international wrestler of all time. With that being said, she is the best. I hope Helen Maroulis beats her in Rio!
13 World Golds
3 Olympic golds
Only 2 senior losses since 1998. A decade undefeated. These numbers are better than Karelin. She's the best ever. If you don't agree, you are sexist.
Brock Edward Lesnar is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler, professional American football player, and mixed martial artist who is currently signed to WWE. Wow, so much hate. None of you could have beaten him on the mat during his collegiate years. The only thing embarrassing here is the number of keyboard warriors talking trash from their mommies' houses.
Brock Lesnar is simply the best wrestler of all time because he dominates the whole pro wrestling universe. He demolished WWE and now he's kicking asses in the UFC. Simply the best.
Kurt Steven Angle is an American professional wrestler, actor and former amateur wrestler currently signed to professional wrestling promotion WWE, where he was the on-screen general manager of the Raw brand and an occasional wrestler. Kurt Angle, hands down, is the greatest. The fact that Bret Hart and Brock Lesnar are ahead of him on this list is a tragedy in itself.
Great wrestler, and I believe if he had been in the UFC, he would have been champion!
A gold medal is a gold medal. Need I say more?
How is Medved at #15? You guys are crazy if you think someone like Burroughs should be above him. Even Smith and Sanderson haven't come close to Medved's success in international wrestling. College wrestling is good, but the competition in college wrestling comes nowhere near international freestyle and Greco.
Medved should be at 2 or 3, alongside Saitiev.
In 1972, I saw Medved winning the gold medal. He was an outstanding wrestler. I met him in 1985 in Colorado Springs, where he was a referee. It was the Espoir World Championship. Very pleasant person. I am surprised to see him at number 10. He won three gold medals in the Olympics.
The most decorated super heavyweight wrestler in American history. Bruce achieved three golds at the Pan American Games, 17 American titles, and eight World Cup wins. He won an NCAA National Championship, 2 NCAA Runner-Up finishes, 2 AAU National Titles, and a Junior National title. All of this is on top of the three world titles and two Olympic gold medals he won.
Bruce Baumgartner won four Olympic medals and nine world championship medals in his career. That is more than any super heavyweight freestyle wrestler. In his prime, I would pick him to beat any freestyle wrestler in history. Kurt Angle beat a 300 lb roided Brock Lesnar in a freestyle wrestling match, and Angle wasn't even in his prime. Angle also had neck problems and still beat Brock.
Bruce is a super heavyweight. Angle is a heavyweight. Bruce is more accomplished than Angle by miles. So, imagine what a prime Bruce would do to Brock in a wrestling match. I don't even know why Lesnar is number 1. He has never even been to the Olympics, let alone won it. Bruce has won the Olympics twice in the heaviest weight category. Bruce has accomplished more than any other wrestler in history, which is why he should be number 1.
Greatest pure athlete ever to step on a mat. Northern California All-Around Gymnastics champion. Winner in UFC 9 under no holds barred rules.
Among the best, but not the best. Love his style the most, though.
Bryan Lloyd Danielson is an American professional wrestler best known for his tenure in WWE under the ring name Daniel Bryan. He is a five time WWE world champion.How can you have an all-time great list without this man? He was phenomenal and would be a 2-time Olympic champ had he not been brutally murdered.
Should be top 2... Even without the tragic story, the man was an animal.
Seriously? 24?
He should be in the top 5. Bruce Lee got inspired by his workouts. He challenged himself to wrestle back-to-back against 10 players in England.
He defeated a 7-foot wrestler in minutes.
If he is the only undefeated wrestler ever, shouldn't he be the best?
Only one undefeated wrestler. Undoubtedly the best.
Started wrestling in 9th grade at age 14.
Undefeated in 11th and 12th grade, winning two State Titles.
Beat legend Dan Gable as an 18-year-old college sophomore (Gable was 27).
Won his first of three World titles at age 21, becoming the youngest World Champion in United States history. He held that distinction for 30 years.
First three-time World Champion. Held that distinction for 7 years.
Won three NCAA titles and placed 2nd as a true freshman. He held the longest collegiate winning streak without a loss, with 101 consecutive wins, and held that distinction for 23 years.
After winning his third World Gold, he was the most accomplished American wrestler of all time and held that distinction for 7 years.
He started wrestling at 19! He was on the national team 8 months later. He won six straight world titles with an Olympic gold in the middle. He gave up no takedowns in 6 years! Dan Gable was lucky Movahed injured his shoulder in his first match in the 1972 Olympics and had to pull out.
Dominated the world of wrestling from the mid-60s to early 70s. Never lost at the major competition level.
This guy never lost an international match. NEVER. Several world and Olympic golds.
Crazy that this guy is so far down!