Long List Inspecting #24 GCRN's Top 100 Wrestlers
I was once a big fan of scripted wrestling, not so much anymore in today’s realm. This list kept me interested into the previous scoped list by the same podcast I looked into. With that said the best pro wrestlers from all companies.Five wrestlers that almost made their list… Roman Reigns (thank god), Bobby Roode, Sgt. Slaughter, William Regal, and Road Dogg.
Of these Sgt. Slashter I initially believed would be on the list, but that’s a bit of a surprise. Bobby Roode was TNA's version of Triple H and not a bad interpretation either. Won a ton of gold among the other big draws, but not the same when he hit to the current company WWE. William Regal very underrated wrestler everywhere he went. He was very good as a heel, never much of a face yet he is one of the best Briton wrestlers ever. Not too surprised if he was or not gonna make the list. Surprising hate for Road Dogg, yes he wasn’t the best in the ring, but a great tag team specialists, and I’d even say one of the best talkers even. Well that’s giving me an idea of how many Samoan will probably make this list then, but thank goodness the worst one just barely missed the list. Roman Reigns is one of the worst big draws since Diesel. They pushed him down our throats as a singles competitor, but he is only acceptable if the entire group was on the list in the Shield that’s more fair, but him solo no.
#100 Big Boss Man - Yeah I’d give the nod to the Big Boss Man he did a lot of gimmicks for a long time.
#99 Kerry Von Erich - Texas Tornado huh? Well a least one Von Erich made the made, and perhaps the most memorable gimmick with it as well.
#98 AJ Lee - Very different diva from the rest at that time. The definition of a crazy chick you can’t help, but see what will she do next that has been her career mainly revolved around.
#97 Bubba Ray Dudley - A master tag team specialists, towards the end of his career he eventually would get a world title victory in the form of TNA. The fitting end to the better half of the most winningest tag team of all time.
#96 Jim ‘‘The Anvil’’ Neidhart - Stunning that he is not born from Canada, but otherwise yeah good spot.
#95 Tully Blanchard - The first of the four horseman to be on the list. Probably the most forgotten of the group, but hey he has a daughter whose doing pretty well for herself in a bounce back to her WWE blunder.
#94 Trish Stratus - One of the best female draws of all time, you could see her dramatically improve in the 2000’s alone eventually becoming the defining Diva everyone wants to be. Having been revealed way early in the countdown is a bit of a shock in terms of influence is very high with Trish.
#93 Gorgeous George - I’m not too familiar with him other than in his time he was a top heel.
#92 Greg Valentine - One of the best heels of his time in that 80’s decade.
#91 Nia Jax - Lack of charisma, pretty much like Roman Reigns only they needed a monster heel in which she actually does a good job getting heat. Overall I would not put Nia Jax on this list especially not above Trish Stratus.
#90 Ken Shamrock - A forgotten attitude era pavey like guy that set up for guys like Steve Austin, Bret Hart to really bring in the ratings. Ken Shamrock was one of those guys that could have been big for the company honestly. He has not returned since 99, but man was he over as a face.
#89 Haku - One of the toughest dudes you don’t wanna be nearby. Haku would absolutely take you down quick in real life, while he might have been misused early on. Just the image of him grip his opponents with the claw alone is justified.
#88 Lita - Okay I could see Lita being above Trish in a way. Both are influential with how they were. Trish was more of the model turned turned great worker, and talker. Where as with Lita didn’t need that many words and would hold her own at times.
#87 Samoa Joe - Like Roode, Samoa Joe was a great draw in TNA.
#86 Verne Gagne - I don’t have much knowledge of Gagne to be quite blunt.
#85 Junkyard Dog - You could say a pioneer for that 80’s period when it was more of the cartoon like wrestling.
#84 Tito Santana - One of the best midcarders that never got into a major world shot of any kind. Always a face in the long run he had, I'm okay with Tito being on the list.
#83 The Great Muta - The mysterious one, not too much I got to say other than that.
#82 JBL - Just for the one change of a genius heel run alone puts him on the list. Bradshaw’s conservative views got him a southern gimmick that got him over in major heat. It is interesting that he has won almost every title there was. Yeah he belong on the list in that regard.
#81 Sid Vicious - He had big profiled feud, but was always on the losing side of things. A big draw that worked his gimmicks well, and of course just seeing that leg injury is just ugh… its always hard to watch.
#80 Ultimo Dragon - The first of the japanese wrestlers on this list. I only know of his WCW work though since he had a short stint on WWE.
#79 Fabulous Moolah - Well when you have wrestled for 3 decades that alone deserves a spot on this list right?
#78 Billy Gunn - Great tag team specialist, not that great as a solo guy.
#77 X-Pac - Yeah he has been with a ton of factions, and has won a fair share of titles.
#76 The Iron Sheik - Great heel, I find him hilarious post retirement what he has to say what’s on his mind. Paved the way for guys like Muhammad Hassan, and a few others with how to attract hate, and apply similar finishers.
#75 Antonio Inoki - No background that I could come up with other than great japanese wrestler that was in the hall of fame almost a decade ago.
#74 Barry Windham - Not too familiar with his works really, but I have heard the name before, but I got nothing on him.
#73 Jushin Liger - A bit surprised he even made the list, but he and Rey Mysterio might be the main reason for having these mask wrestlers seen on something like Lucha where there doing a lot of cool high flying maneuvers.
#72 Yokozuna - An absolute mastodon like man, when you seen him in the ring good luck trying to beat him in a single bout. Yeah he had a short lived run, but it was memorable enough to the point the humanity where he crushed those ribs with a banzai coming down ouch!
#71 Brian Pillman - The loose cannon! Brian Pillman might be more known for his segments than of actual in ring work. I mean when they went as far as Pillman had a gun still cracks me up to this day, and that was pre-attitude era.
#70 Charlotte - Too high, sure she is one of the best in today’s lineup, but not more impactful than Moolah, Lita, or Trish.
#69 Chyna - Oh most definitely an impactful diva, the only woman to win an I.C. title. Chyna was fearless and its a shame all we get into the hall of fame is only apart of the stable. This was the time era where most of the competitors were eye candy, and she was the only one who would actually achieve things no other diva could pull off.
#68 The Miz - Way too high for me, he was not great until Maryse returned than I started to go okay maybe he can be good. Otherwise I never really got Miz much.
#67 Rob Van Dam - Mr. Monday Night R! V! D! This was a guy that was always over even when he was a brief heel.
#66 Christian - At least he made the list, but above RVD? Definitely underrated no doubt though.
#65 Rick Steiner - Tag Teams specialist, don’t recall the singles run he had, and if that’s the case I would not have Rick Stiener anywhere near this list.
#64 The British Bulldog - Definitely the better of the bulldogs, Davey boy is what I think of in terms of the top Briton superstar that won almost everything except a major title.
#63 El Santo - Not too familiar with him, but he seems to have been a famous name back than that inspired the likes of Rey Mysterio and others with having a mask.
#62 ‘‘Superstar’’ Billy Graham - His almost like a real life villain for some reason. I would always see a clip of him saying things about past wrestlers such as Chris Jericho being one of those. I have never seen the guy much, but based off what I have seen he is a great heel in terms of promo cutting.
#61 Bam Bam Bigelow - One of the best big men ever. He was with three different wrestling companies, and always put on good to great matches. That main event match though is what it is, but Bam bam was a unique pro wrestler that could actually move around pretty well.
#60 Matt Hardy - Jeff Hardy is the better half for me, but I did like what he did toward the end in his TNA run changin up his character to a crazed up dude. Otherwise Matt Hardy is not only a bit too high, but somebody I would not have in.
#59 Buddy Rogers - Basically wrestlers in the early days when none of us were around. He is significant due to the fact he put over Bruno in the first ever title match where he would be beaten fairly quickly.
#58 ’’Hacksaw’’ Jim Duggan - I do like his gimmick, but not too many accomplished aside from being the first ever Royal Rumble winner.
#57 Batista - That’s fair where he is, one of those give or take wrestlers that is decent in acting roles.
#56 Bob Backlund - An entertaining guy both as a face and heel. When he does show up once in a blue moon I don’t mind it simply a legend.
#55 Terry Funk - Oh man now here’s a real hardcore legend wherever he went. Terry Funk you could say deserves to be in the top 50. Everyone should know that name in future years.
#54 Jeff Hardy - Brother Nero! Jeff Hardy is one I definitely could not help but watch going wow! He is one of those dudes who will dare to go off serious heights. By the time he finally won a major title that was great to see. Would I have him above some of the names past no, but he deserves to be on the list.
#53 Jerry ‘‘The King’’ Lawler - Commentary was good for a long time up until now where he is more face than heel. Not quite on par with his wrestling career other than the infamous feud with Andy Kaufman was awesome.
#52 Jimmy Snuka - A tad bit too high for me, while he is an innovative high flyer. He was not all that in the ring, and he actually killed somebody outside the ring. A decent midcarder that would never get a major title run ever.
#51 Lex Luger - Oh god Lex made the list? While he did much more than some of the wrestles on the list. Lex should be much lower than just barely a top 50 wrestler.
#50 Dean Malenko - One of the best technicians and cruiserweights in his era.
#49 Lou Thesz - The name will go on thanks to Steve Austin using it as a signature move as a tribute.
#48 Goldust - A very unique gimmick that’s very bizarre you can’t think of what Goldust is suppose to be. I would put em on the list, but above some these other names feels more like he needs to be in the 80’s.
#47 Owen Hart - Great wrestler, but what the alluge to him being a not liked heel in a way they don’t appreciate does bring up an interesting discussion. I do like Owen, but its hard where to rank him exactly seeing how good he was in the ring, but top 50 is tough to say.
#46 Rick Rude - Great creative heel that’s for sure. Rude did a great job to just hate him.
#45 Seth Rollins - He is sadly one for the better wrestlers of today, but at the same time I take points off of Rollins for being given the pedigree by Triple H because they had to briefly switch up his finishing maneuver due to concussion scares to the head. Top 50 no, but I could see him on the list not nearly this high.
#44 Chris Benoit - Perhaps the greatest technical wrestler I have ever seen. Granted what he did went way far depending on the view of many. Cannot argue that he was a great wrestler who would always put on matches each time he was in action.
#43 Randy Orton - Mic skills are weak compared to the rest in the top 50 aside from maybe one. If it was not for the RKO’s that were basically Diamond Cutters I would say Randy Orton is just a bland wrestler in the shadow of his father Bob Orton. Who you argue being on this list. Yet with the accomplishments he has made him stay on the list ultimately just not with the upper tier.
#42 DDP - Yeah I'm just amazed at when he started wrestling is what’s impressive about DDP. He has a Yoga fitness system that ends up working for retired wrestlers to get in better shape so in that regard I'm okay with DDP being above most of these wrestlers thus far being more of a good guy outside the ring, than or whatever other case there is.
#41 Ultimate Warrior - He was pretty much your real life kinda superhero on steroids is what I always viewed Ultimate Warrior as. Not saying anything bad about him, but yeah his matches are good when it comes to Hogan or Savage being that, but squash matches and lack of good promo cutting do hurt the Warrior, but in terms of memorability he is about right where he is.
#40 Ron Simmons - While he does make the list for historical purposes. I'm not sure if I would have Farooq in the top 40 or let alone top 50.
#39 Daniel Bryan - Interesting how a guy with unoriginal finishers that resemble Chris Benoit is higher than him. Not ripping the guy I like Daniel Bryan, but a lot of what he does comes from that wrestler in my eyes.
#38 AJ Styles - Styles to me of the current set of pro wrestlers should be in the top 25. Everywhere he went he would live up to his phenomenal nickname.
#37 Arn Anderson - Way too high, while he is apart of a great faction in the four horseman he needs to be in the lower 50.
#36 Ted Dibiase - Great memorable heel, he might even be one of the best to never win a major world title.
#35 Goldberg - He was just a jacked up dominator that everyone at this point recognizes when you do catch him everybody would be like ‘‘oh that’s Goldberg.’’
#34 Bruno Sammartino - Never really watched a single match of his, but when you have a reign that will never be toppled you deserve a high spot alone.
#33 CM Punk - Cm Punk is great on the mic, won a ton of titles in the WWE. Had a soso start in TNA. He is a top draw, but at the same time it was in those years where he reached his peak when he left the company. To this day you hear the crowd going ‘’CM Punk’’ probably due to their not likeness of the current product.
#32 Scott Steiner - Scott definitely was the better half of the steiner bros. Yet he is better than the last few names we have past?
#31 Vader - A beast in WCW, early on in WWE he was given a decent push only toward the end he fizzled out to nothing pretty much. Vader is an icon to which that face we will never forget, and yet I could see him as a borderline top 50 to 60 wrestler more than anything.
#30 Harley Race - Outside of WWE he was a very good wrestler, and deserving of the top 30. I mean in the NWA he was their top draw.
#29 The Big Show - ‘’Well its the Big Slow’’ No seriously though he does deserve to be on the list he did win a lot of titles, and he is a name many know of.
#28 Kane - Great repacked gimmick of Kane, Undertaker’s younger brother. I mean even Jim Ross said it best ‘’bah god that’s gotta be Kane!’’ When he first started he was very scary, but cool silent big guy, but when he started to the mask off is where he kinda loses it down a bit. While he is now mayor and all. The later portion of his career was a bit unnecessary.
#27 Kevin Nash - I mentioned him earlier, but yeah as a big draw for WWE in the mid 90’s Diesel was not a good draw to fans. Yet when he made the change up to WCW he won over the fans right away. Sure we laugh at the quad tear ups over the years, but hey there’s something he seems to entertain us at.
#26 Mr. Perfect - Lives up to his name, you could argue that he was the perfect wrestler of his craft. I always had the what if he had won the 2002 Royal Rumble instead of what ended up going down?
#25 Brock Lesnar - Disgushable name, a draw that had one of the greatest first year runs I could ever recall. Just a dominant styled champion that show no remorse in the ring. Pretty fitting he was the one to end Undertaker’s undefeated streak.
#24 Booker T - Not sure about top 25, but he does do enough to the point yeah he was a very entertaining wrestler many different personas he went of. ‘’The 5 time!, 5 time!, 5 time! WCW Champion!’’
#23 Jake ‘‘The Snake’’ Roberts - Great promo cutter, inventor of DDT definitely belong near the top of the list. Not the greatest in the ring, but just those two things alone are enough to have him top 25 worthy.
#22 Scott Hall - Like Kevin Nash jumped shift to WCW and just became great with the NWO formation.
#21 Ricky ‘’The Dragon’’ Steamboat - Definitely a great in ring worker, but he was on and off in the days he was with WWE, and other promotions.
#20 Edge - Yeah of those tag teams mentioned way earlier Edge was the best of those. Did great in both fields, just had a great career retired at the right time during his peak.
#19 Mick Foley - Many people think of Rock, Austin, Taker, and many of those others. Somtimes Mick Foley gets left off he did somememeorbel things as well that went way to extreme to help bring the ratings for Vince. To me one you have multiple great faces of gimmick that alone is genius.
#18 Dusty Rhodes -Top 50 sure, kinda high seeing I only know of his WWE run, but everywhere else he seemed to have done better in the territorial promotions.
#17 Kurt Angle - I’d vouched for top 10, Kurt Angle is one of the best technical wrestlers who would always put up great matches. Very entertaining on the mic, everytime I hear the ‘’You Suck chant.’’ It reminded me of the brilliance that is Kurt Angle embracing the crowds strong reaction.
#16 Eddie Guerrero - Another great technical wrestler, not sure if I would have him top 20 per say. He was really reaching his peak clearly at the time. Maybe since the blood shots he took to the chair might have had something to do with him having the heart attack much later.
#15 Rey Mysterio - Very exciting high flyer, puts on great matches. A name that will always be there in the wrestling world.
#14 Shawn Michaels - Sure he was not the nicest guy to be around back then, but he would always put on 5 star matches. A bit surprised he is not in the top 10 considering if your going by all sorts of criteria he’d be up there.
#13 Triple H - Yeah he has won a lot, but at the same time he had major help along the way that hurts from being one of the all time best. He is a top 25 wrestler, but more at the bottom tier than mid pack.
#12 Sting - The man of WCW period, for the longest time he was dedicated to that company. Might be a big conspiracy why he is not in the top 10, and that is how bad his career ended in WWE.
#11 Andre The Giant - Yeah I would put Andre up here, a name known around the world. Sure he was not the best in the ring, but when you seen this giants you could help go wow. A huge draw for that time period 70’s, and 80’s. He may have never won a world title, but when a main attraction of that size made significant impact means a lot especially if you had a great role in one movie being Princess Bride.
#10 John Cena - Wow above Kurt Angle, Sting, Shawn Michaels, AJ Styles, Bruno Sammartino, and Andre the Giant? Okay Cena can be on the list, but my god no you are not top 10 worthy. Granted your a name that we can’t forget, but at the very least your 40's-30's wrestler at most. The only time I ever liked John Cena was when he had the thuganomics gimmick other than that I was done with him when he turned face and buried everybody in his way. I’m just glad he is not on as much anymore just quietly left to do movies makes me appreciate him a little bit more.
#9 ‘’Macho Man’’ Randy Savage - Yeah, many know of the great Macho Man. From voice impersonations, great in the ring, and promo cutter. Randy Savage had it all.
#8 Chris Jericho - Fits everything in the criteria Jericho is still going, and doing very well respected. I mean when you can think of an idea of having a list at hand is just pure genius. Worthy of the top 10 absolutely.
#7 ‘‘Rowdy’’ Roddy Piper - A tad too high, not sure about top 10. He had the mic skills, decent in the ring. A memorable name no doubt might just be the best at making you hate him as well.
#6 Bret 'The Hitman' Hart - The biggest draw of the new generation era, always put up solid matches, but was never the best on the mic. Not until the end going off script.
#5 Ric Flair - Of what’s left three of the five wrestlers may have had the biggest draws from their era, but try being so good at an all time high motor like Ric Flair was. He would be 1, 2 to me. 16 time world champion, he was apart of two great factions. The crowd was always into him.
#4 Steve Austin - Somehow not top 3 aye? My biased is I would put him number one because Steve Austin for me was how I was addicted to this type of scripted wrestling in the first place.
#3 Hulk Hogan - Stunning to see Hulk isn’t number one. Thought for sure it was gonna be the case, but not to be. Yes he had that one slip up post retirement, but otherwise a big name that had an attraction name you can’t help but know of him right away.
#2 The Rock - Yeah he can be on the top 10, maybe the cusp of top 5 but 2nd? Now clearly the Rock is greatest promo cutter of all time perhaps, but in ring work was not all that great as I remembered it. Entertaining yes, but then again above the last three is very debatable.
#1 Undertaker - I would not have disagreed with that if he had retried when the streak was first broken. Now he just makes few apprentices to the point he can’t even end his career properly.
Here’s a couple of names that didn’t make the list to my initial reaction. There was no Sabu, Kenny Omega, Gorilla Monsoon, Hiroshi Tanahashi, Pedro Morales, Nick Bockwinkel, & Pat Patterson are some big names that to me are top 100 pro wrestlers in what they striked impact. Sabu was just as a big draw as RVD in that ECW prime he had going he was a death defying wrestlers who took things to his body. Jerry Lawler made the list well I could argue for another distinctive voice in Gorilla Monsoon who also had a decent wrestling career of his own. In terms of the current era Kenny Omega is a trendy name to go by worth a mention. Same goes for Tanahasi who is more exclusive to Japan, but has been with them for a long time as a true loyal guy. Pat Patterson was a standard to the intercontinental champion, and was the brilliant mind behind the Royal Rumble creation. Pedro & Nick definitely belong on the list for their time they were very good established wrestlers that seemed to have gotten lost in the shuffle of these other tag specialist who ended up making the list. So yeah from all generations of pro wrestling maybe one of these days I could challenge this list from top to bottom but for now there’s my thoughts on geeking out over scripted wrestling that is all for now, see you next time.