Professional Wrestling Mount Rushmore.

[jcs0218]

Who are your selections for professional wrestling's Mount Rushmore?

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[Sheppy]

Austin, Rock, HBK, Taker

I just hate Hogan.

 

[DaaaaB's]

It's only allowing me to pick one option.

My personal Mount Rushmore is Bret Hart, Ricky Steamboat, Chris Jericho and Bryan Danielson with Shawn Michaels just barely missing the cut.

In general though, I'd say Hogan, Austin, The Undertaker and The Rock are pro wrestling's Mount Rushmore. Flair and Michaels are the next closest.

 

[im gangster]

Both posts here are reasonable.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Flair, Hogan, Austin, Taker

 

[CHGoalie27]

Flair, Hogan, Austin, Taker

I put Andre in for Flair.

Andre is the one. Every non personal Mt.Rushmore should have him. He put wrestling on the main stage. Without Andre, wrestling is not larger than life as it is.

Meanwhile The Sheik, Onita, Sabu, Foley

 

[BruinDust]

The only two clear-cut answers for me are Austin and Hogan. They are in a tier above everyone else IMO.

The other two names could be a bunch of guys (Savage, Flair, Rock, Taker, etc). All make solid cases but there are also arguments against.

And I have a hard time comparing wrestlers from what I consider the modern era (late 1983/early 1984 to now) with legends from yesteryear like Bruno and Backlund. Unless you were around in those eras, it's hard to comprehend how popular they were. Same with a guy like Bret to the current generation of fans. You kind of had to experience Bret in his prime to understand the guy was mega-popular for a period of time.

And what about contributions outside of the ring. If you do, how can you leave Vince McMahon off the list. As great as Dusty was, his biggest contributions to pro wrestling may be back-stage as a booker and creator.

So subjective.

 

[Unholy Diver]

Andre, Hogan, Flair, Bruno

 

[CHGoalie27]

The only two clear-cut answers for me are Austin and Hogan. They are in a tier above everyone else IMO.

The other two names could be a bunch of guys (Savage, Flair, Rock, Taker, etc). All make solid cases but there are also arguments against.

And I have a hard time comparing wrestlers from what I consider the modern era (late 1983/early 1984 to now) with legends from yesteryear like Bruno and Backlund. Unless you were around in those eras, it's hard to comprehend how popular they were. Same with a guy like Bret to the current generation of fans. You kind of had to experience Bret in his prime to understand the guy was mega-popular for a period of time.

And what about contributions outside of the ring. If you do, how can you leave Vince McMahon off the list. As great as Dusty was, his biggest contributions to pro wrestling may be back-stage as a booker and creator.

So subjective.

Damn, McMahon is pretty inarguable too.
I stick by Andre being THE number one guy. He was all over the internet before there was an internet. Everyone knew of him.

Andre is, was, and will always be bigger than wrestling itself. After that it's all Vince McMahon anyway. So now I'm left with the only real solids are Andre and Vince. Under Vince, and with the direct help of both he and Andre, Hogan and Austin made it a mainstream culture.

Flair and Rock were the mic masters.
Hart the ultimate in ring master.
And Undertaker was the perfect character that checked off every box. His all around presence spoke for itself the way Rock and Flair's yappers did for them.

Andre Vince Hogan Austin. Final answer.

The three grapplers created pandemonium like no other and Vince put it all together

 

[CHGoalie27]

@BruinDust but wait! Not final answer! I believe Ed Farhat is not just the original Sheik, but the original character and inventor of hardcore wrestling as well! To the best of my knowledge, before him, they were all guys with nicknames at most and he started the foreign object/blood factor. Without him, none of this is what it is.

Andre Vince Farhat

So now with the final spot, do we go with Hogan or Austin? Or Lou Thesz? Or....?

Damn this is tough. Much more so than the hockey Mt.Rushmore lol

@BruinDust but wait! Not final answer! I believe Ed Farhat is not just the original Sheik, but the original character and inventor of hardcore wrestling as well! To the best of my knowledge, before him, they were all guys with nicknames at most and he started the foreign object/blood factor. Without him, none of this is what it is.

Andre Vince Farhat

So now with the final spot, do we go with Hogan or Austin? Or Lou Thesz? Or....?

Damn this is tough. Much more so than the hockey Mt.Rushmore

 

[BruinDust]

Damn, McMahon is pretty inarguable too.
I stick by Andre being THE number one guy. He was all over the internet before there was an internet. Everyone knew of him.

Andre is, was, and will always be bigger than wrestling itself. After that it's all Vince McMahon anyway. So now I'm left with the only real solids are Andre and Vince. Under Vince, and with the direct help of both he and Andre, Hogan and Austin made it a mainstream culture.

Flair and Rock were the mic masters.
Hart the ultimate in ring master.
And Undertaker was the perfect character that checked off every box. His all around presence spoke for itself the way Rock and Flair's yappers did for them.

Andre Vince Hogan Austin. Final answer.

The three grapplers created pandemonium like no other and Vince put it all together

That's a solid final answer. I haven't given Andre enough respect, he's a little bit before my time (his final WM match at VI was the first time I ever saw him). He sort of straddles the line between the what I consider the modern era (83/84 onward) and the previous era which probably hurts more than it helps. He's one of the first pro wrestlers I can think of that a documentary was done by a mainstream 3rd party (A&E/HBO/ESPN) when A&E covered him in 1999.

From Wikipedia:

The documentary described Roussimoff as pro wrestling's "first and only international attraction" and that "on his broad shoulders, wrestling rose from its status as a questionable sport to become big business, and some might argue, performance art."

André the Giant - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[CHGoalie27]

That's a solid final answer. I haven't given Andre enough respect, he's a little bit before my time (his final WM match at VI was the first time I ever saw him). He sort of straddles the line between the what I consider the modern era (83/84 onward) and the previous era which probably hurts more than it helps. He's one of the first pro wrestlers I can think of that a documentary was done by a mainstream 3rd party (A&E/HBO/ESPN) when A&E covered him in 1999.

From Wikipedia:

The documentary described Roussimoff as pro wrestling's "first and only international attraction" and that "on his broad shoulders, wrestling rose from its status as a questionable sport to become big business, and some might argue, performance art."

André the Giant - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

That's what I'm saying, he's the ONLY actual solid no matter how you wanna look at it lol

 

[Megahab]

Hogan, Austin, Rock and Flair.

Taker is incredibly overrated. So is HBK.

My personal one in terms of favourites: Bret Hart, Ultimate Warrior, Owen Hart, Chris Benoit.

 

[BruinDust]

That's what I'm saying, he's the ONLY actual solid no matter how you wanna look at it lol

You got me sold on Andre.

Austin
Vince
Hogan
Andre


That's my list.

 

[Bondurant]

Lou Thesz, Gorgeous George, The Sheik and Hulk Hogan are solid choices from a historical perspective.

Roddy Piper, Stan Hansen, Macho Man and Bret Hart are my personal Mount Rushmore.

 

[Big Poppa Puck]

Unbiased, not picking just my favorites I think it's easily Flair, Hogan, Austin and Rock.

 

[CHGoalie27]

Unbiased, not picking just my favorites I think it's easily Flair, Hogan, Austin and Rock.

Unbiased, easily any of those over Andre?

 

[Fro]

Unbiased, easily any of those over Andre?

IMO, yes...by the time Andre got mainstream notice, he was broken down...he didn't have much of an ability to grow or change from his 1 trick bc he couldn't speak...I grew up in awe of him, but Mt Rushmore...nah for me

I went Flair, Rock, HBK, and Jericho

Thought about Bruno, Hogan, and Austin...but HBK was really my 1st favorite when the Midnight Rockers were in AWA...

 

[CHGoalie27]

IMO, yes...by the time Andre got mainstream notice, he was broken down...he didn't have much of an ability to grow or change from his 1 trick bc he couldn't speak...I grew up in awe of him, but Mt Rushmore...nah for me

I went Flair, Rock, HBK, and Jericho

Thought about Bruno, Hogan, and Austin...but HBK was really my 1st favorite when the Midnight Rockers were in AWA...

By the time he got *Fro* notice you mean?

He was the first international wrestling attraction, the first mainstream wrestler than everybody had heard of whether they liked wrestling or not.

And had a solid decade of being very agile before his health started taking him down.

If your opinion is that he was not an international sensation while literally no other wrestler was, then perhaps you should change your opinion?

 

[NextBigThing]

Tony Khan, Kenny Omega, Young Bucks

 

[Fro]

By the time he got *Fro* notice you mean?

He was the first international wrestling attraction, the first mainstream wrestler than everybody had heard of whether they liked wrestling or not.

And had a solid decade of being very agile before his health started taking him down.

If your opinion is that he was not an international sensation while literally no other wrestler was, then perhaps you should change your opinion?

By the WWF and even his pre WWF days he could barely move...I was like 8 when WM3 happened so yeah it was when I noticed...I've seen the docs and footage pre WWF...and I stand my my comment...

Yes he was known by a vast amount of people...but a 1 trick pony (granted a big trick)

Not enough for me to put him there...and a few other voters it seems too

Tony Khan, Kenny Omega, Young Bucks

Not Kevin Owens, Adam Cole, and the Young Bucks lol

 

[lomiller1]

I wonder how many people voting for Hogan actually watched him wrestle. He was boring as **** in ring and if you didn't enjoy his mic work (which I did not) he made it almost impossible to be a wrestling fan once WWE pushed everyone else off the air and left Hogan as the only game in town.

I never really saw Andre in his prime so I don't know how to rank him. I never saw Bruno in his prime either but selling out MSG night after night after nigh for 20 years says he belongs there.

Went with Rock & Austin for their work in bringing wrestling to it's modern peak. Final was Jericho, not sure he really belongs but the man has been very good for a very long time and no one has ever been able to re-invent themselves at the drop of a hat the way he can, no one can even come close.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

I went Flair, Hogan, Austin, Vince.

 

[HoseEmDown]

I think people are forgetting what Hogan did in WCW. If it wasn't for the heel turn and the creation of the NWO are Austin and Rock as big as they became? Sure he was super generic, the Rock is a bit too, but he was everything to kids in the 80's. Looking back he was super cheesy with his promos but he was packaged perfectly for kids in the 80's and early 90's.

Rock and Austin for me are next because of how they took it even further then the NWO had. Then the last spot is tough. Not old enough to really see prime Andre so hard to put him there even if he was a world wide star, I remember him more for princess bride than his ring work. Flair is another, watched only WWF in the 80's so missed most of his best years. When I did see him he was on the tail end even though he was still over to the fans his ring work wasn't the same. With the internet you can catch his great matches and legendary promos but not see them in the moment kinda takes some luster off. Loved Macho but wasn't given his due because of Hogan. Liked Bret way more then Shawn but neither really were big enough to me. If you include promoters then it has to be Vince because we wouldn't be having this debate if not for what he did.

So for me Hogan, Austin, Rock and Vince or Hogan, Austin, Rock or Flair if wrestlers only.

 

[Bondurant]

I wonder how many people voting for Hogan actually watched him wrestle. He was boring as **** in ring and if you didn't enjoy his mic work (which I did not) he made it almost impossible to be a wrestling fan once WWE pushed everyone else off the air and left Hogan as the only game in town.

I never really saw Andre in his prime so I don't know how to rank him. I never saw Bruno in his prime either but selling out MSG night after night after nigh for 20 years says he belongs there.

Went with Rock & Austin for their work in bringing wrestling to it's modern peak. Final was Jericho, not sure he really belongs but the man has been very good for a very long time and no one has ever been able to re-invent themselves at the drop of a hat the way he can, no one can even come close.

Hogan was a better worker than he gets credit for. Vince did not want him to work. He had matches in Japan that were nothing like a Vince booking. In retrospect I do not care for the bulk of his notable work in the States but his career cannot be denied.

IMO, yes...by the time Andre got mainstream notice, he was broken down...he didn't have much of an ability to grow or change from his 1 trick bc he couldn't speak...I grew up in awe of him, but Mt Rushmore...nah for me

I went Flair, Rock, HBK, and Jericho

Thought about Bruno, Hogan, and Austin...but HBK was really my 1st favorite when the Midnight Rockers were in AWA...

Andre was one of the biggest draws of the 70's into the early 80's.