My Top 10 Wrestlers

Hey fellow Otaku & Metalheads!

With Wrestlemania 33 taking place in early April, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about some of my favorite wrestlers. I’ve covered at 2 Wrestlemania shows so far, but never really discussed the wrestlers/superstars I liked, and it’s also been some time since I did one of my “Top 10” lists. Well, it seemed that it was only appropriate to finally talk about the combatants that I enjoy watching on my TV & computer screen, so it was time to knock out 2 birds with 1 stone. With that out of the way, here are my top 10 wrestlers of all time. Ring the bell!

10) John Cena (Clip)

When I first began watching WWE again on-and-off in 2003, I came across John Cena back when he was knee-deep in his Gangsta gimmick (Gag me for even using that word), and I was impressed. He was gimmicky enough that it felt cheesy, but at the same time there was a certain amount of believability to him that it seemed real. Fast forward to 2017, and his bite has been taken away (Apart from the Hustle, Loyalty, Respect line, which I think has some charm still), not to mention that he is promoted in just about anything & everything, including children’s cereal. These two factors alone would probably turn someone away, and on a couple times I’ve almost been turned away. Yet, I can’t seem to actually walk away from him, and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s his charm, maybe it’s is wrestling skill (He’s a lot better than his detractors say), I’m not sure. All I can say is that John Cena is still cool in my book, even if he’s lost some of his edge.

9) The Hurricane (Clip) & I.R.S. (Clip)

I had to include two uber-gimmicky wrestlers, which is ironic given some of the other people on this list, and in my opinion, these guys are the most gimmicky of the gimmicky. In all honesty, I can’t really say much, because the characters speak for themselves. For starters, you have The Hurricane: a caped superhero fighting for what is right, and flying in the ring like Superman! Then, there’s Irwin R. Schyster, or more well known for his shortened name, I.R.S.: an angry, bitter tax collector that’ll get his money by legal means, or by beating his opponent within an inch of his life. Again, these two are some of the most out-there characters, and I love them for that! 

8) The New Day (Clip)

To be perfectly honest, I flatout hated these guys. Before their re-introduction, the buildup previews honestly seemed intriguing. A 3-man team inspired by black southern Baptists seemed promising, although it probably would be really stereotypical at the same time. Then, when they finally came out......they kinda flopped. Given the fact that WWE really can’t promote a specific religion on their programming, they kinda took that out real quick. From there, they really weren’t used in any incredible manner. Then, further into their return, something happened. They started getting entertaining. Really entertaining!

Though the “Baptist” angle was essentially cut, there were different things added to the group to make them fun. They were given wild uniforms, over-the-top personalities, and even a damn trombone! Even their intro is spectacular, and it really shows that they’re an honest-to-goodness comedy group. It doesn’t help the fact that they’re surprisingly good in the ring, harnessing their oddball humor to great effect. Don’t believe me? Just check out the example link I used above. In any case, The New Day are easily the most surprising group of wrestlers on my list that got me to smile.

7) Rey Mysterio (Clip)

It’s a shame that WWE doesn’t promote anymore Latino wrestlers than it already does (Promote well, at least), because there are some great Latin superstars that know how to perform. Rey Mysterio is one of those superstars.

If you’ve ever been curious about Lucha Libre, then you’ll want to watch Rey Mysterio, as he’s the closest audiences outside of Mexico will ever see of the art (Apart from Lucha Underground, which I also recommend). He’s like a kid that’s had too much sugar: he hops around, he bounces off of the ropes like Gumby bouncing off the walls, and when he performs the 619, he could lop off heads if he put more force into it. To complement his style of wrestling, he comes out wearing a mask that many Licha Libre artists don when they’re in the ring. A Latino wrestler with a personality is always something to watch. Speaking of personality...

6) Eddie Guerrero (Clip)

March 2, 2005. It was the first time I had ever gone to a wrestling event. My parents had paid for the tickets as a early Birthday gift (I was going to Disney in Florida over a month later), so it was me, my Father (Mom would rather shoot herself), and my at the time best friend Trevor. We got to the at-the-time Pepsi Arena, and Smackdown came to Albany. We got through halfway of the show, when all of a sudden, we heard this roar from behind where the wrestlers came out of (Our seats were on the bottom floor, on the left side of where they came out. Yeah, we were almost deaf by the time the show was done). All of a sudden this lowrider came out, it’s occupants being Rey Mysterio and the driver in question, Eddie Guerrero. The two of them had been tag-team champions for some time at the show (I forgot how long), and it was one of the greatest spectacles I had ever seen.

Now, I had seen Eddie before this show. In fact, he was one of the first wrestlers I saw when I got back into it (The very first was John Cena, ironically enough). What drew me too him was his character, his energy, etc. He knew how to be as energetic and fun as Rey Mysterio was, but he also knew how to be serious, and had a hell of a sense of humor to boot. Yes indeed, Eddie Guerrero was one of the best. However, he was not the cherry on my Smackdown sundae.

5) The Undertaker (Clip)

On the same night, John Cena had been the Intercontinental Championship for some time (Like Rey & Eddie, I didn’t know how long he had the title), and at the end of the show he was set to defend it against Orlando Jordan (Who was J.B.L.’s partner/handler when he was still a wrestler). Right around the end of the match, J.B.L. cost Cena the title, and now Orlando Jordan held it. He & J.B.L. were making their way to the entrance, laughing & bragging along the way. Then, without warning, all the lights went out, and a familiar “Ding” noise echoed throughout the arena. That was when my Dad, Trevor, and I knew who arrived.

While I had known about The Undertaker, I hadn’t seen him before this show, mainly because I was watching Raw when I started back up. My Dad was telling me stories about the guy (I sorta forgot about him when I was younger), like how he was large, yet had the ability to tightrope walk using the top rope of the ring (The other wrestler was used as a counter-weight). While he teamed-up with John Cena to take on Orlando Jordan & J.B.L., and Cena was fun in the match (Funny Thing: as Cena was about to haul off on O.J., he shouted out “I have the power! I’m gonna kick his ass!”), the real star was Undertaker. Everything my Dad told me about him was true, and then some. The guy was large, surprisingly agile, and was one of the most sinister sights I ever saw. Loved it. Just friggen loved it!

I would have put The Undertaker a little lower on this list, but due to his loss at Wrestlemania 30, I couldn’t do it. If anything, I thought that breaking his streak was nothing more than a slap to the face of Undertaker and his fans, not to mention practically killing the character’s mystique. However, I honestly could not leave him off this list, due to my first memory of him, not to mention when WWE respected the guy. I still smile when I think of that night.....those were the days!

4) “Macho Man” Randy Savage (Clip)

The only reason that the Macho Man isn’t any higher is that I find him to be too similar to my number 3. He seems to move, wrestle, and act too much like my 3rd choice. With that said, I can’t hate on Randy Savage (Although WWE still seems to). The man sure knew how to come out with a lot of lights & flash, he knew how to be one of the best wrestlers of yesteryear, and he also knew how to talk on the microphone. Accompanied to the ring by Miss Elizabeth, and later by "Sensational" Sherri, and you have one of the most stylish wrestlers of all time (The most stylish, of course, was Nature Boy Ric Flair, who’s another good superstar).

3) Hulk Hogan (Clip)

From here on, my numbers 3 to 1 are what I consider to be my “Big 3” of favorite wrestlers, and what better way to start off the Big 3 than with one of the biggest of all time!

Many fans consider “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan to be one of the most iconic superstars of all time, and they’re generally right. Granted, he’s done & said some stupid crap over the years, one can’t deny that Hogan is the pinnacle example of the word spectacle! His matches over the decades are legendary, especially with some of the biggest guys on the roster. Hell, some of his best matches were against many of the superstars on this list, and everytime he went up against somebody, he always gave it his all. From his entrance theme, to his antics in and out of the ring, to even some of his time in TNA (Ugg, shoot me for even talking about those guys), Hulk Hogan is an old-school guy that deserves whatever respect comes his way.

2) Jake “The Snake” Roberts (Clip)

Here’s a cute little story: back when I was watching in the early 90s with my Dad, one of the first wrestlers I saw was Jake “The Snake” Roberts, who is one of the most sinister guys back in the day. He choices of words sent chills down your spine, his mannerisms in & out of the ring were creepy, his quieter yet powerful voice, and when he laid out the snake on his opponent, you knew that their fate was sealed. Anyways, when I tried to say his name, I always said “Jick the Snick” instead of Jake the Snake. My parents were charmed by this, and to this day they still bring that up when I talk about him. It was only by a few inches that Jake missed my number one spot, but I can hear him hiss even to this day.

Before we actually get to my number 1 wrestler, I wanted to give you some of my Honorable Mentions in this category.  Wrestlers that, while very enjoyable, just didn’t make the cut. Maybe it’s because of controversy, or talent, or whatever other reason comes to mind. With that said, here they are:

HM1) Diamond Dallas Page (Clip) & Mick Foley (Clip)

- To be perfectly honest, it’s not the wrestling factor that I like about these two. Not to say that they didn’t do anything impressive, cause they both certain did (Especially Mick Foley & his legacy). To me, it’s what they did after their wrestling career that gets me to like them. With the invention of DDP-Yoga, Page’s new outlook on life has helped numerous people improve their health & their outlook on life. Mick Foley has had an amazing career outside of WWE as well: he has become a humanitarian, family man, and a professional Santa Claus (No joke). The wrestling was great, but the man behind it was better.

HM2) The Great Khali (Clip)

- There are guilty pleasures, and then there are guilty pleasures. Chief among all the wrestlers I ‘ve watched since 2003 was The Great Khali. Let’s be honest: he’s not that good. Khali is so slow, he makes The Big Show look like a graceful swan. Khali is so bad, he makes Barron Corbin look like a guru of wrestling. Despite the numerous faults of Khali, in a warped way he’s kinda entertaining. He’s definitely fumbles mc fumbler, and he slurs his words more than a drunk, but taken in doses, Khali can be fun......again, in doses.

HM3) Chris Benoit (Clip)

- Right now I’ve probably turned just about all of you away, and I’m not blaming you. Given how horrific an act he committed, I most certainly understand why anybody with common sense would look the other way when talking about Chris Benoit. Hell, I still hold an immense amount of hatred towards the man! That being said, I feel a weird sort of sympathy towards the man. The man was in pain....a lot of pain. He had the brain of an 85-year old Alzheimer’s patient, and given the steroids that was pumping through his system, he wasn’t in a right state of mind....and WWE did nothing. It’s been nearly a decade since the murder-suicide incident, and I guarantee you nobody will say a damn thing.....especially the company that he was loyal to once he came over from WCW. A great wrestler, but died a tragic end.

1) The Ultimate Warrior (Clip)

If Hogan was about spectacle, and Roberts was about the dark side, then The Ultimate Warrior was all about energy & intensity. Some of you might say that it’s cheap of me to put The Ultimate Warrior at my number 1 because of his death in 2014, and to a certain degree it’s true. However, when this man died, he died during a high-note: he & WWE finally cleared up past grudges, other superstars he had a problem with in the past made up, and he even managed to get rehired back by WWE (There was to be a whole bunch of new Ultimate Warrior themed goods produced for the fans & such. A new DVD collection was released as recently as the first of April in 2014).

I wasn’t kidding when I said that The Ultimate Warrior was all about energy & intensity. From his out-there personality (He makes just about everybody else on this list look like kittens), to his roaring charge to the ring, and to his nigh unstoppable force inside the ring, Warrior was a wrestler that few during his time could be compared to, and cannot be compared to in this modern age of wrestling. We all have the warrior spirit within us. Unleash it when you can!!!

So these were my top 10 wrestlers. Hope you enjoyed it, and I’ll see you in a few weeks for my look at Wrestlemania 33.....along with RAW & Smackdown. I’ve got 1 more thing for this month, but until then, farewell.