I will create MY Top-25 wrestlers list. Just a reminder, this is MY list, and will encompass MY favorite wrestlers from MY childhood. I grew up in the 90s so most of the stars you will see will come from the era of early 90s to early 2000s. I will no doubt leave some of the most acclaimed and celebrated wrestlers in the history of the business off my list, but as Bobby Brown says, It's my Perogative.
Growing up we all hear the rumors that pro wrestling is fake, these are just muscle-bound actors playing parts for an on-going t.v. series. At first, we don't want to hear anything of the sort. To young boys in America, wrestlers are just as much of heroes as the athletes in the 4 major sports; we watch them on Saturday mornings or Monday nights, get invested in their stories, their plights and their triumphs. We feel like we know these guys, we grow attatched, root for our favorites and develop deep hatreds for the villans.
As we get older, we begin to understand the nuances of professional wrestling. We can now see the storylines that were created for each of these athletes, and we understand that it, is indeed, fake. Yet, we have so much invested in these characters that we don't care if it's fake, because it is so entertaining. It is like watching a live-action movie a couple times a week.
As we move through our teens, wrestling gradually takes a back seat to school, friends, girls and sports. We don't watch the shows as religiously as we used to, but if we happen to flip to an episode, we will gladly sit, watch and become enthralled by the non-stop action, shotty acting, and over-the-top, if not predictable, storylines.
This list is a comprehensive look at the wrestlers I grew up watching on a weekly basis. Feel free to comment on your memories of wrestling, your favorite wrestlers, or on the omissions I have made with my list.
This will be a 3-part series. Today will be a countdown from #25-#16.
Here are a few guys that didn't quite crack the Top-25 but deserve an honorable mention:
Bam Bam Bigelow
Goldberg
Million Dollar Man
Jake the Snake Roberts
Scott Steiner
Chris Jericho
25. Doink the Clown (WWF 92-94)
Doink was a fan favorite in the early 90s. His ever present pranks on villianous wrestlers never got old, especially for a grade-school aged boy who thought whoopie cushions were the best invention since Mario Bros. 3.
His circus-esque entrance music was classic.
Not too mention that to add to his humorous repitoire, Doink incorporated a midget sidekick named Dink. Doink and Dink, I couldn't think of two better names a clown could have other than Dwight and Howard.
I will never forget the rivalry Doink had with Jerry "The King" Lawlor. In this on-going battle, Doink and Dink incorporated two other munchkins Wink and Pink, to face-off agains Lawlor's band of "little kings" Queezy, Sleazy, and Cheezy. Epic.
6 little people, a clown, and a king in one ring. Genius.
24. Yokozuna (WWF 92-98)
The almost 600 pound Samoan, fighting under a Japanese flag, made an immediate rumble in the WWF, with his '93 victory at the Royal Rumble.
At Wrestle Mania IX, Yokozuna faced off against Bret Hart for the WWF Championship. As Yokozuna was about to submit to Hart's sharpshooter, Mr. Fuji, a great name for a Japanese manager, threw salt in Hart's eyes and allowed Zuna to escape. Eventually, the big man was able to perform 4 Bonzai Drops, again the WWF was extremely creative in their naming of finishing move, to win the title. As Fuji and Zuna were celebrating victory, Hulk Hogan came to the ring, challenged him for the title and won the title from Yokozuna.
At King of the Ring in '93 Yokozuna re-gained the championship belt, by beating Hogan and ending Hogan's run with the WWF.
Yokozuna's most famous match had to be with the Undertaker in a Casket Match. The premise was that the person who lost, would be put inside a casket and buried alive. The first time Yokozuna successfully put the Taker in the box, but during the celebration, an image of the Taker appeared on the Titantron to announce that he would not rest in peace.
Several months later another Casket Match was held, this time Yokozuna was thrown in the casket, thus ending his run as a headlining wrestler. This match was refereed by non other than Chuck Norris.
On a side note, the Boston Bruins were interested in signing Yokozuna as their goalie, but upon realizing that he had passed away, they had to settle on the next fattest guy they could find...Tim Thomas.
23. Captain Lou Albano (53-95)
Arguably the greatest manager of all-time. He managed over 50 different wrestlers in his career, leading those men to over 2 dozen world titles. He also led 15 different teams to the Tag-Team championship.
Let's get serious though, he was a great manager, no doubt about that, but the real reason he is on this list is because of his goatee. I mean, it has a rubberband in it.
Captain Lou imatators:
Alexei Lalas
John Salmons
Guy Fieri
Brad Pitt22. "Double J" Jeff Jarrett (WWF 93-96, 97-99; WCW 96-97, 99-01)
J-E-Double-F, J-A-Double-R, E-Double-T!
A country music gimmick, portrayed as an arrogant self-absorbed man was just what the WWF needed. From his trademark strut, to the smashing of his guitar over people's heads, Jarrett was perfect in the "Attitude Era" of the 90s.
Other famous Double J's:
Jimmy Johnson
Jimmy Johnson
Jaromir Jagr
Jenna Jameson
Jane Jetson21. Hacksaw Jim Duggan (WWF 87-93, WCW 94-01)
HOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
The crazy American wielding a 2x4 and yelling HOOO! while chants of U-S-A rained down from the crowd. Perfect gimmick.
Duggan's career started off well with his winning of the first ever Royal Rumble in 1988. After a few years toiling with minor rivalries, Duggan the American Patriot stuck up for America after Mr. Fuji and Yokozuna started bad mouthing it. Yokozuna is actually from Samoa, which is a U.S. territory.
No one at the time had knocked Yokozuna off his feet and the stipulations to the match were if Duggan knocked Yokozuna off his feet, Duggan would win. On an edition of Superstars, Duggan won the match after knocking Yokozuna down completely but was subsequently manhandled by the mammoth Yokozuna after the match. Yokozuna gave him about four more Banzai Drops, sidelining Duggan for several months.
Duggan survived kidney cancer in '98 and can still be found on the independent wrestling circuit.
Duggan claims to have wrestled in all 50 states, as well as, Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Belgium, Bermuda, Canada, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, France, Germany, Guam, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Scotland, England and Wales.
20. British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith (WWF 84-88, 90-92, 94-97, 99-00)
Due to Smith's mother mistakenly writing his gender in the line where his middle name was supposed to go, his legal middle name was Boy.
The brother-in-law of Bret and Owen Hart, the Bulldog rose to fame mostly in the WWF. One of his many stints with the organization was cut short when it was found out that he, the Ultimate Warrior, and Roger Clemens were receiving shipments of HGH from BALCO.
Ok, so BALCO didn't exist yet, and Clemens wasn't juicing up with wrestlers but still it was an ample opportunity to take a shot at the ol' Rocket.
During his third run with the WWF, the Bulldog, teamed with brother-in-law Bret in an ongoing feud with Owen and Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. This was his most successful, but not his last tour with the company.
Smith was also involved in one of the greatest moments in Royal Rumble history. He entered the match as the second entrant, outlasted all the other wrestlers and faced off against Shawn Michaels as the final two competitors. After hitting a staggering Michaels with a clothesline, Michaels flipped over the ropes and the Bulldog thought he won the Rumble. As the British anthem roared through the arena, Michaels clung to the ropes, never letting his feet touch the ground, pulled himself back over and knocked the stunned Bulldog over the ropes to gain the Rumble crown.
19. Vader (WCW 90-95, WWF 96-98, Boy Meets World 95-96)
An All-American Offensive Lineman at Colorado, Vader was a 3rd Round pick of the L.A. Rams in 1978, played in Super Bowl XIV against the Steelers, before pursuing a career in real estate and then professional wrestling.
For much of his career Vader was used as villian, or heel, to terrorize wrestlers, officials, and executives with his size and Vaderbombs.
While having a successful and lucrative career, Vader's career peaked in 1995 when he appeared in Boy Meets World as Frankie Stechino Sr., father to Tuna from Blow, Ethan Suplee. He appeared in three episodes, all of them with great titles: The Thrilla' in Phila, New Friends and Old and Sixteen Candles and Four-Hundred-Pound Men.
Not too much not to like about Boy Meets World, except that it takes place in Philadelphia. To me, if I were Mr. and Mrs. Matthews, I would have thought something was a little fishy with all the attention Feeny spent with my sons. He followed them through middle school, high school and even to Pennbrook for college.
If Dateline's Chris Hansen were around, he would have told Feeny to take a seat, and have a cookie.
Has there been a bigger turn around for hottness of a girl in a t.v. series than Topanga. Initially, she was a space cadet who didn't care about the way she looked, but as Danielle Fishel grew up, the producers did the right thing and let her be hot. Too hot for Kevin Arnold's little brother, but that family has been over achieving since the days of Winnie Cooper
Also want to mention Griff Hawkins, the ringleader behind the freeloading intimidators Frankie and Joey, played by Adam Scott, not the over-hyped Aussie golfer, but the actor who played Will Ferrell's brother in Step-Brothers and Henry on Party Down. If you haven't seen it yet, watch Party Down on Starz. It is the anti-Entourage. Wannabe actors and writers working for a catering service in L.A. Hilarious.
18. Harlem Heat (WCW 93-99)
Can You Dig It, Suuuuuckkka!!!
Real-life brothers, Booker T and Stevie Ray formed the most successful tag-team duo in WCW history. They would go on to win the WCW Tag-Team Championship a record 10 times.
It's just funny that WCW threw political correctness to the wind and took two black guys and a black woman and created Harlem Heat and Sista Sherri. It's not even like they tried. The name Harlem Heat is better than the moniker the team wrestled as when they first got into professional wrestling...The Ebony Experience.
They had one of the most unique entrance songs...A mix of Salt-n-Pepa's Push it, Freddy Kruger music, and Ice Ice baby.
17. Sgt. Slaughter (80-84, 90-02)
In the 80s Slaughter was a symbol of America as he feuded with the Iron Sheik, even getting his own G.I. Joe action figure, but upon returning to the WWF in the early 90s his character denounced America for "going soft" and became an Iraqi sympathizer, a bold move by the WWF considering the U.S. was involved in Desert Storm. Don't know how good of an idea that was, but it definately cemented himself as definable heel.
Eventually, he "wanted his country back" and turned pro American. Outside of the annual Brett Favre summer retirement campaign the world hasn't been that much flip-flopping since a John Kerry debate.
I've always hated Slaughter, I don't know if it was that porn 'stache, but his character and image have always been classics.
16. Diamond Dallas Page (WCW 91-02)
A great showman, with a hot wife, who combined wrestling, NBA and late night t.v.
In '98, Page not only teamed up with Utah Jazz great Karl Malone, but he also formed a partnership with late-night titan Jay Leno.
Malone and Page wrestled Dennis Rodman and Hulk Hogan
In 2005, Page filed a lawsuit against Jay-Z, who, he claimed, had illegally adopted his trademark hand gesture. In '96, Page created and copyrighted the "Self High Five" and "Diamond Cutter" hand symbols. He sued Jay for monetary damages, courtside Nets tickets, Beyonce's bra, a life-time supply of Roca-Wear jeans, and a lunch-in with Ja Rule.
The next installment will be a run-down of wrestlers number 15 through 6.
Great premise Frank! You can't beat a top 25 all time wrestlers to really get things going. I can't wait for the rest and will wait until then to comment specifically.
ReplyDelete