Originally Posted by The One
Well, for me I'll always be stuck between three different wrestlers as my favorite...
"The Nature Boy" Ric Flair
To put it simply, he is the reason I started watching wrestling. Watching him as a child was like watching the ultimate ideal of success. He was skilled enough to get it done in the ring, he had the World Title, he had the women, he had the money, he could cut the best promos, and he had the Horsemen by his side. I remember being one of the only kids on the block who watched NWA/WCW growing up. Everyone else was into Hogan and the WWF, but it just seemed SO fake to me. I knew it was scripted, but with Flair, I believed then (as I do now) that somewhere deep inside of him, it's still real to him dammit. Ric had enough passion for what he was doing that it pour out pure heart and soul. There is something to be said about being a fan of someone who LOVES what they do...and I doubt as though there has ever been anyone who personifies passion more than him.
"The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels
The best to ever lace a pair of boots. Period. Shawn Michaels as an in ring performer is not only the best ever, he's in a league that no one else has ever touched. Anyone who was lucky enough to be a fan from about 1995-1998, and especially during Shawn's run with the belt, there was something magical that happened then. Shawn somehow transcended being a wrestler, and his work in the ring became almost a brilliant musical score or a masterpiece of art. No he was never the top draw of the industry, or the absolute best on the mic (though he certainly was no slouch in either department) but the thing he was the best at was what happened in between the bells. I know I've used these quotes before, but I think they do a wonderful job of explaining how I feel about Shawn...
“Shawn Michaels, who, from a performing standpoint, I don’t know, I don’t know that he has a peer yet. I don’t know that he ever will.”
-Vince McMahon
“When you look at all the variables and look at it objectively, how do you not say that Michaels is the greatest who ever lived.”
-Jim Ross
“Only a few people in the history of the world, as an artist, have been up to the level of Shawn Michaels when he’s in a wrestling ring. That’s his form of artistry, and he’s the best at it.”
-Chris Jericho
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