Who would you say has been the most influential wrestler in the past decade?

[Rollermacka]

So from January 2002 to today, who do you think has been the most influential wrestlers in the past ten years? Not just in the world of professional wrestling but in the media also. The obvious two names are The Rock and John Cena but who would you consider an honorable mention?

[Tom Guycott]

http://images.wikia.com/worldwrestlingentertainment2177/images/1/17/Jimmy_Wang_Yang.jpg

[Tazz Dan]

Chris Jericho

[tjogo]

https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQdejWljdCaQDA-JC8YBpr8q1deC1ixeDkYhlu4H-FrxNTI9f_-

[Tom Guycott]

Chris Jericho

The one guy giving a real answer didn't even post a picture?

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/Bios/thehurricanew.jpg
"Whatsupwitdat?!?!"


In all seriousness, I agree. Outside of Cena and Rock, Jericho. Between actually being in a band, hosting a sat. radio show, hosting a gameshow for a hot second, being all over social media, a B flick or two, and actually being a total package wrestler who's done it all, Jericho has become a cross-culture success and has been for awhile and has managed to keep himself relevant.

[Shisen Kopf]

HHH

[Kane Knight]

HHH

[Theo Dious]

http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/15100000/Hornswoggle-hornswoggle-15125362-442-562.jpg

[Crazy Nick]

Stone Cold

[Juan]

http://vividmediagallery.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/John-Cena-wwe-wallpaper.jpg

[Razzamajazz]

eddie or benoit for "influencing" the wellness policy

[AKin3D]

Edge

[Tazz Dan]

The one guy giving a real answer didn't even post a picture?

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/Bios/thehurricanew.jpg
"Whatsupwitdat?!?!"


In all seriousness, I agree. Outside of Cena and Rock, Jericho. Between actually being in a band, hosting a sat. radio show, hosting a gameshow for a hot second, being all over social media, a B flick or two, and actually being a total package wrestler who's done it all, Jericho has become a cross-culture success and has been for awhile and has managed to keep himself relevant.

I was at work and I can't post pictures from there :mad:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dSV0wvhhcfs/TcOyn5BzU2I/AAAAAAAAAsk/n5J37r_GjCY/s1600/chris-jericho-summerslam-wallpaper-1680x1050.jpg

[Tazz Dan]

Edge

Edge is also a very good answer, and I'm ashamed with myself that Y2J came to me before him.

[MoFo]

Shawn Michaels second run was way better than his first IMO, all the great matches and feuds he's had since he came back makes it hard not to vote for him.

[VSG]

Don't really see The Rock as been most influential for 2002-2012. Also, if we are not including Cena then my answer would be Triple H.

[Tom Guycott]

Part of the problem with HHH is that he hasn't really been that influential outside of wrestling in the timeframe provided. Wrestling has pretty much been his life. Sure, he's damn influential both via his career and as Mr.-hire-&-push, but the question is more about inside and outside of the ring. It's kind of like asking "who was a bigger pop icon in the 80's, Hogan or Steamboat?" Ricky is arguably one of the greatest to ever lace up some boots (and, also arguably, Hogan is one of the worst), but that's neither here nor there in relation to the fact that Hulk Hogan was EVERYWHERE.

"...not just in the wrestling world..."

Sure, HHH's been in movies too, but it's seemed more like his movie career was more about his status than actually pursuing it as even a part-time thing. He hasn't really been a social media phenom, a la someone like Miz or Ryder (who has notably been around a lot shorter duration COMBINED). Also, his most "influential" period on pop culture was during the first two iterations of DX... well before 2002.

In regards to the question, even Edge is a better choice than Hunter.

[Shadrick]

In the last 10 years how exactly has HHH been influential?

[VSG]

Ask the 5-10k employees of WWE

[loopydate]

Just in wrestling:

For good, Chris Jericho. Look at pretty much any successful heel in the last five years in particular, and his influence is all over them. The suits, the cadence, the big words, all "started" with Jericho after his save_us return.

For bad, AJ Styles. AJ is a tremendous worker, but after he exploded onto the scene in late WCW and the beginning of TNA, the independent trend has been toward spot-heavy, psychology-light matches. AJ has matured into a good storyteller, but the workers he influenced largely have not.

Mainstream:

Nobody comes close to Cena. MAYBE Miz at the height of his push, but he's still a distant second.

[XCaliber]

Triple H

[Kane Knight]

In the last 10 years how exactly has HHH been influential?

For better or worse (Mostly worse), Triple H has been a driving force behind where WWE (and wrestling as a whole) is today.

That's a lot of influence, even if it's not necessarily positive. And as its impacted both the wrestling world and how the largest promotion in America is viewed by the public at large, I think it meets the criteria, unless "influence" solely means popularity.

People seem to be voting for who they like most or who has had the best matches, but those don't necessarily carry any actual influence. Eddie and <s>Chris Benoit</s> Rick Rude had more influence than most wrestlers simply by virtue of their deaths. Hate to say it.

[CSL]

Cena for sure. Dunno about Rock given he was pretty much off from 2003 onwards and only decided he wanted anything to do with wrestling again like 18 months ago. Don't really get the Jericho suggestions, nobody cares about Fozzy and other wrestlers have outshone him (and wrestlers simply aren't influential outside of the business bar Rock who you could only recently class again as a wrestler. Wrestling is still that silly fake fight stuff to like 90% of people, who is there to influence?) Triple H, Orton, Edge etc have "influenced" more than Jericho. But would go with either Taker for reinventing himself and seemingly having the quality of his matches and "legacy" go up as he gets older, which is pretty much unheard of, Shawn Michaels for pretty much cementing himself as the greatest performer of all time (or at least I'm pretty sure more people decided they wanted to be a pro wrestler off the back of HBK/Taker than Jericho standing in a suit cutting witty promos) or Eddie because he died whilst in the spot that he was in and it lead to the wellness policy.

[Gertner]

Ryback

[Emperor Smeat]

Cena as the obvious answer considering a good chunk of the Rock's career and achievements occurred before 2000.

Jericho would be my honorable mention just because of his music gig outside of wrestling and he's been on tv a bunch of times even if its mostly musical related.

In terms of just wrestling, was leaning towards HBK but Undertaker is a lot more influential mostly due to every year around the time of the Rumble the hype for Mania revolves around the winner of the Rumble and Taker's streak. The streak alone could sell Mania which is why it became a huge selling point for most of the 2000s. Its at the point where Taker can barely be on tv most of the year and yet the streak doesn't lose any hype or significance once he finally shows up.

[Rollermacka]

I just want to throw out Sting as one of the most influential wrestlers of the past 10 years. He hasn't done much outside of the world of professional wrestling, but he is one of the only reasons TNA is still around. He's manages to continue to stay relivent and one of (if not the biggest) draws for TNA since 2004

[Curtis Anderson]

If you are not picking Cena, Shawn Michaels is the correct answer here. Ever since he came back at Summerslam in 2003, he has crafted a legacy which I frankly think overshadows what he did before breaking his back at the Royal Rumble in 1998. If you compare the number of good matches he had before and after, it is obvious.

There is also the fact that he has made Wrestlemania feel even more important than before. His match with Ric Flair, his two matches with Undertaker, his triple threat with Benoit & Triple H even his encounters with the McMahons and John Cena were all parts in making Wrestlemania a bigger deal than it already was. He made the matches and the even mean something more than just a card with random matches thrown on it, surrounded by fireworks to make it look important.

[Shisen Kopf]

Ryback

Oh poo, how could I forget Ryback? He is the greatest thig ever but he wasn't around in 2002, just that cheap rip off Goldberg

[AKin3D]

Edge is also a very good answer, and I'm ashamed with myself that Y2J came to me before him.

I think it's easy to over look Edge's work outside the ring since it's always been swept to the side in favor of reporting on other superstars except during his peaks. Still he's done it all when it comes to the media and we all know he's beein infliential in the ring.

[DLVH84]

Shawn Michaels, hand down. Since he returning from what supposedly was a career-ending back injury, his matches got better and better.

The matches with Triple H at SummerSlam and Armageddon 2002 and Royal Rumble and Bad Blood 2004 were totally brutal.

The matches with Chris Jericho, especially the one at WrestleMania XIX, was athletic and fast-paced.

Hell, he even put over Hulk Hogan and John Cena.

And his last three WrestleManias (against Ric Flair and The Undertaker) were classic matches.

[Kane Knight]

I just want to throw out Sting as one of the most influential wrestlers of the past 10 years. He hasn't done much outside of the world of professional wrestling, but he is one of the only reasons TNA is still around. He's manages to continue to stay relivent and one of (if not the biggest) draws for TNA since 2004

Has Sting ever been a demonstrable draw for TNA?

[Kane Knight]

Clarification: Outside of his initial TV appearance?

[Nicky Fives]

The Rock and his multi-multi-million dollar movies.....seems very influential to me.....

[James Steele]

I think you know my answer.

[DLVH84]

I just want to throw out Sting as one of the most influential wrestlers of the past 10 years. He hasn't done much outside of the world of professional wrestling, but he is one of the only reasons TNA is still around. He's manages to continue to stay relivent and one of (if not the biggest) draws for TNA since 2004

Good point, Rollermacka. Plus, unlike some people (i.e. Hogan, Flair, and Nash), Sting has always been the one veteran always willing to put over newer, younger talent in TNA. He did a pretty damn good job putting over Bobby Roode at Slammiversary.

[VSG]

Shawn Michaels, hand down. Since he returning from what supposedly was a career-ending back injury, his matches got better and better.

The matches with Triple H at SummerSlam and Armageddon 2002 and Royal Rumble and Bad Blood 2004 were totally brutal.

The matches with Chris Jericho, especially the one at WrestleMania XIX, was athletic and fast-paced.

Hell, he even put over Hulk Hogan and John Cena.

And his last three WrestleManias (against Ric Flair and The Undertaker) were classic matches.

Good point, Rollermacka. Plus, unlike some people (i.e. Hogan, Flair, and Nash), Sting has always been the one veteran always willing to put over newer, younger talent in TNA. He did a pretty damn good job putting over Bobby Roode at Slammiversary.

Do you even know what influential means?

[DAMN iNATOR]

Cena, for better or worse.

[Jordan]

Um, Kurt Angle and Daniel Bryan.

Angle made wrestling awesome in WWE and set a standard, and Daniel Bryan changed everything for this generation of work horses. He is the new standard.

[Rock Bottom]

John Cena. I don't follow directions.

[Kane Knight]

Do you even know what influential means?

If he did, he'd be in the minority.

Um, Kurt Angle and Daniel Bryan.

Angle made wrestling awesome in WWE and set a standard, and Daniel Bryan changed everything for this generation of work horses. He is the new standard.
LOL!

Oh wow.

[Volare]

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m745ksgOET1qdxh6uo1_400.jpg