WWE: Who's the Best Ever? Part Infinity

[Ben Grimm]

Who's the Best Ever? Some possible "Other" choices are Andre the Giant, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Chris Jericho, Chyna, Dusty Rhodes, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, and The Ultimate Warrior.

Click to read more...

 

[GarbageGoal]

Didn't you post a thread on this like 6 months ago?

There are soooooooo many metrics involved. Way more than real sports.

 

[SeidoN]

Chris Jericho

 

[Sheppy]

Austin for me. No wrestler ever popped me out of my seat on a weekly episode of RAW.

Austin’s pops are just absolutely insane.

Longevity, Jericho has to be up there. He’s incredible.

 

[Ben Grimm]

Didn't you post a thread on this like 6 months ago? There are soooooooo many metrics involved. Way more than real sports.

Not that I remember, but some possible metrics are Entrance Music, Finishing Move, On the Mic, and In the Ring.

 

[M.C.G. 31]

Wrigley is a bot trying to infiltrate HFWF.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Tough call. Think I'll abstain from voting and break it down like this:

Best talker - Foley

Most entertaining - Rock

Best wrestler - HBK

Best "storyteller" - Undertaker



I hope that makes sense.

Foley is better on the mic than anyone, IMO. Rock and Jericho are definitely up there but Foley paints the best picture.

Rock is the "total package", equally amazing on the mic and in the ring....but not really the best at either.

I think HBK is the best wrestler of the group, and most technically gifted.

But Undertaker's matches are more epic, IMO. Much bigger aura. At least they used to be.

 

[Ben Grimm]

Tough call. Think I'll abstain from voting ...

You can still view the results. I added a video in the first post.

 

[JackSlater]

Michaels for me. There are plenty of answers for which a legitimate case can be made however.

 

[sabremike]

The fact someone could do this as a topic and not mention Bruno is just mindblowing.

 

[CHGoalie27]

Andre. There is only one Andre The Giant.

 

[Dr Pepper]

Andre. There is only one Andre The Giant.

Truly the greatest spectacle there will ever be in professional wrestling. I sometimes rewatch the many docs that have been done on Andre but especially the latest one, and how those who remember him or who were lucky enough to share the ring with him, were just in awe of what he brought to the table.

 

[GarbageGoal]

Not that I remember, but some possible metrics are Entrance Music, Finishing Move, On the Mic, and In the Ring.

To mention "Entrance music" and not "drawing money" is pretty funny.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

Promo - Foley
Talker - Rock
Worker - Shawn/Bret
Most Over - Flair or Hogan
Total Package - Austin

 

[JackSlater]

I hate the "drawing power" metric when it comes to who is or was best. It's one of the more carny things wrestlers say, and when I see fans go to it then I typically assume that they are just parroting wrestling personalities (wrestlers, Meltzer and so on). Of course if the person's best actor is whoever's movies make the most money (and their best movie ever is Avatar) and their top singer ever is whoever has the most downloads then at least they're consistent.

 

[GarbageGoal]

I hate the "drawing power" metric when it comes to who is or was best. It's one of the more carny things wrestlers say, and when I see fans go to it then I typically assume that they are just parroting wrestling personalities (wrestlers, Meltzer and so on). Of course if the person's best actor is whoever's movies make the most money (and their best movie ever is Avatar) and their top singer ever is whoever has the most downloads then at least they're consistent.

Dude, have you ever heard the story about Vince McMahon screaming at the writers and agents about John Cena "THIS MAN PUTS FOOD ON YOUR TABLES!!!!!"

I'd say it's a pretty big deal, seeing the business is about making money and filling buildings and selling merch and all. And I'm a total workrate geek. But I get what the business is.

 

[ColePens]

Love @Dr Pepper 's version of doing it so i'm stealing and adding:



Best attraction - Austin
Most entertaining - Rock
Best wrestler - HBK
Best "character" - Undertaker
Best "storyteller" - Cena (omg... someone is going to kill me but i swear the guy had money matches and tells a story with pretty much anyone)
Best all around - Jericho

On their way to being immortalized - Daniel Bryan, Flair or Becky (goat woman), Omega.



Realistically there are just too many options. Wrestling has entertainment, in-ring, promos, attraction, etc. There is no definitive answer. I think at the end of the day there are about 10 people who can have an equal share of GOAT.

 

[JackSlater]

Dude, have you ever heard the story about Vince McMahon screaming at the writers and agents about John Cena "THIS MAN PUTS FOOD ON YOUR TABLES!!!!!"

I'd say it's a pretty big deal, seeing the business is about making money and filling buildings and selling merch and all. And I'm a total workrate geek. But I get what the business is.

Vince McMahon's business decisions have no bearing on who I consider to be the best wrestlers ever, and really shouldn't impact what anyone else thinks either. He's just one guy, one who I assume has pretty bad taste regarding wrestling actually, and his business decisions don't even necessarily reflect who he thinks is actually best.

Who is the best draw is a completely different thing, and yet a large segment of wrestling fans trot it out as though it's a legitimate metric. The entertainment industry, from wrestling to music to movies to sports, is about making money. I don't often see people rating actors, musicians or athletes by who drew the most fans. No one would claim that McDavid is the best player in hockey due to gate receipts when Edmonton rolls into various arenas or that Jim Parsons is the best actor working today because his TV show has great ratings. No one claims that the best car in the world is whatever one sold the most. I find it very weird that it happens in wrestling. I won't deny that there is some correlation between ability and drawing but there is a lot of context involved that has nothing to do with the quality of the wrestler.

All that said... I recognize that wrestling is highly subjective. I just find it odd that money is used as a measure of quality in wrestling but in few other areas.

 

[Sheppy]

I always found Austin more entertaining than the Rock, honestly.

 

[GarbageGoal]

Vince McMahon's business decisions have no bearing on who I consider to be the best wrestlers ever, and really shouldn't impact what anyone else thinks either. He's just one guy, one who I assume has pretty bad taste regarding wrestling actually, and his business decisions don't even necessarily reflect who he thinks is actually best.

Who is the best draw is a completely different thing, and yet a large segment of wrestling fans trot it out as though it's a legitimate metric. The entertainment industry, from wrestling to music to movies to sports, is about making money. I don't often see people rating actors, musicians or athletes by who drew the most fans. No one would claim that McDavid is the best player in hockey due to gate receipts when Edmonton rolls into various arenas or that Jim Parsons is the best actor working today because his TV show has great ratings. No one claims that the best car in the world is whatever one sold the most. I find it very weird that it happens in wrestling. I won't deny that there is some correlation between ability and drawing but there is a lot of context involved that has nothing to do with the quality of the wrestler.

All that said... I recognize that wrestling is highly subjective. I just find it odd that money is used as a measure of quality in wrestling but in few other areas.

It's a worked sport, promoted to make money and draw crowds. Much like boxing, where gate numbers and PPV buyrates are also heavily cited historically. It's just not the same as a team sport like hockey because those games are going to played regardless of if people show up or not. In wrestling if no one is making money or losing massive amounts of it, it ceases to exist at a certain point.

All I'm saying is it's a bizarre stance to take that you question why it has a bearing when you yourself admitted in the first post just about every respected voice in the business who knows the history of it from Jim Cornette to JR to Flair to Meltzer to Keller brings it up all the time.

 

[HandsomeHollywood]

1993-1997 Bret Hart is my be all, end all. I would personally find it hard to tell me anyone otherwise.

 

[tony d]

"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair

 

[Dr Pepper]

Love @Dr Pepper 's version of doing it so i'm stealing and adding:



Best attraction - Austin
Most entertaining - Rock
Best wrestler - HBK
Best "character" - Undertaker
Best "storyteller" - Cena (omg... someone is going to kill me but i swear the guy had money matches and tells a story with pretty much anyone)
Best all around - Jericho

On their way to being immortalized - Daniel Bryan, Flair or Becky (goat woman), Omega.



Realistically there are just too many options. Wrestling has entertainment, in-ring, promos, attraction, etc. There is no definitive answer. I think at the end of the day there are about 10 people who can have an equal share of GOAT.

Ok, in that case then I'll RECLAIM it and I'll even add one for the women.

Most popular - Austin
Most entertaining - Rock
Best wrestler - HBK
Best "character" - Undertaker
Best "storyteller" (mic work) - Foley
Best all around - Rock

Most popular - Trish
Most entertaining - Chyna
Best wrestler - Lita
Best "character" - Mickie James
Best "storyteller" (mic work) - AJ Lee
Best all around - Trish

I don't remember enough of the 80's (Miss Elizabeth, Sherri Martel, Wendi Richter, Fabulous Moolah) to include them here so I made it 90's and up, same as we did for the men's side.

It's worth noting that none of my picks are currently active, save for Mickie I guess. Today's crop has a ways to go, I guess.

 

[JackSlater]

It's a worked sport, promoted to make money and draw crowds. Much like boxing, where gate numbers and PPV buyrates are also heavily cited historically. It's just not the same as a team sport like hockey because those games are going to played regardless of if people show up or not. In wrestling if no one is making money or losing massive amounts of it, it ceases to exist at a certain point.

All I'm saying is it's a bizarre stance to take that you question why it has a bearing when you yourself admitted in the first post just about every respected voice in the business who knows the history of it from Jim Cornette to JR to Flair to Meltzer to Keller brings it up all the time.

Which part of that has to do with "who is the best"? Hockey is only played on a large scale because of the money aspect, very similar to wrestling. Again, just like movies, music and most other entertainment industries that you for some reason didn't mention. Most people would laugh at someone who suggested that Avatar was the greatest movie of all time because it made the most money, and yet in wrestling people make analogous statements as if there is nothing odd about it.

I'm aware of the general history of wrestling, I don't need Cornette and company to tell me who the main draws were when that has essentially nothing to do with who the best wrestlers were. It's a bizarre stance to take that is almost exclusive to wrestling, and as I already noted I don't get why wrestling people go for weak appeals to authority rather than generating their own opinions when it doesn't happen in most other entertainment fields. No one cites the opinion of a film studio executive for instance when looking for the best movie or actor of all time. I honestly would like to find out why it comes up fairly often in wrestling as opposed to other entertainment industries. I lean toward it being the carny aspect but who knows.

As for my own:

Most popular - Rikidozan or Londos I guess (Austin in modern times)
Most entertaining - The Rock
Best wrestler - Michaels
Best "character" - Flair (very hard to pick)
Best "storyteller" (mic work) - Austin
Best all around - Michaels (HM to Savage)

 

[Falco Lombardi]

I love that Bret Hart wasn’t even listed as an option (as well he shouldn’t)