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WHY I CHOSE WHO I DID FOR MY TOP 10 WRESTLERS OF ALL TIME:
10. Stone Cold Steve Austin - I liked wrestling as a kid/young teen. The Ringmaster character bored the shit out of me but I watched the King of the Ring PPV where Austin 3:16 was born (after beating my all time favorite legend). Quickly he replaced his gimmick and became an all around bad ass. The feud against McMahon is the feud I judge all others...Possibly (besides the initial NWO invasion) the best feud of all time. Then after WCW sold to Vince I got burned out on SCSA and wrestling in general. His matches and feuds don't hold up against time like certain others...to me..it was a "live in the moment" type thing where it was at it's best happening on live TV.
9. CM Punk - I'm not an indy wrestling mark like a lot of you. I wish I had the time to discover the young great indy workers making a small name in the business. I never heard of Punk until he arrived on ECW and I instantly loved and connected with him. However, at the time I was afraid he would not go anywhere in the WWE as the "Vince is high on the big men" mindset was still in full force. When he won the ECW title I marked out. Even then I never expected him to become a world champion. Then he came to RAW and was allowed to talk. Scared for his job as RAW is known as the place where good wrestlers go to die sometimes. Then he won MITB...TWICE. By this time he was already one of my favorite guys in the company but the Hardy feud where he slow burned into a heel turn was the moment where he became an all time favorite. His mic skills and ring skills are quite impressive but I truly think he has the best facials in the business. He tells so many stories without lifting a finger. Basically a guy I liked from the minute I saw him which turned in to a full blown success story instead of another "hit and miss".
8. Vince McMahon - No need to explain here. He created the universe we love. He isn't perfect and sometimes does things that completely sucks but as an on screen character and as a business man he deserves a spot in the top 10....his mic skills during the Attitude Era/ Austin feud helped make it the best.
7. Bobby Heenan - Best manager of all time. He managed some of the best wrestlers of all time...sometimes working 3/4 matches back to back with different Heenan Family wrestlers. Nobody can say a bad word about him and his name is synonymous with wrestling...He was the Hulk Hogan of managers/announcers.
6. William Regal - I first saw Regal when I was about 11 or 12 years old. He scrunched his nose up at me in the front row....even though I was a cocky arrogant fan who cheered him on. His style is so unique for major TV promotions it's a success story that he created for himself. Above that he is one of the all time great talkers in the business. I find myself drawn in to everything he does and says. It pains me to see him being destroyed in his careers twilight.
5. Bret Hart - I didn't know or like Bret Hart as a young child. I think the first time I gave a shit about him was at or around WM10 where he the feud with his brother Owen first became relevant. I was behind Bret 100%. He has been a part of some of my favorite all time matches (including a few in the list above) and my favorite wrestling memory of all time (WM12). Now I can go back to his early WWF days and relive and enjoy the stuff i totally ignored. Never a great talker but his role was ring general and there is very few that are better.
4. Jake The Snake Roberts - The master deceiver. The Snake Man. The cold and calculating sneers. NOBODY was a better heel than Jake Roberts. He was poetic on the microphone and, as a child, not only thrilled me but also chilled me when delivering some of his chaotic promos. He had some awesome feuds in WWF including Ted DiBiase and Undertaker..which i still think was one of the best feuds in wrestling history. As a kid, NOBODY was cooler...NOBODY was more mysterious. NOBODY else carried snakes to the ring....He and his Snake could clear a ring and thrill the fans better than damn near anybody. He would be number 1 if he didn't make such a mess of himself.
3. Shawn Michaels - Mr. Wrestlemania indeed. As an unsophisticated child wrestling fan there was nobody cooler and cockier. I loved him. I hated him. However, he missed the Attitude Era which was the biggest part of my wrestling fandome until I became a smarky adult. He can thrill an audience like no other and i cried when he left.
2. Undertaker - As a kid i believed things to be real. Nobody scared me and confused me as the Undertaker. I recall the Undertaker vs Undertaker feud being the most awesome and confusing thing ever. Or Yokozuna vs Taker Casket Match where Taker rose to the rafters.....NOBODY else did shit like that. I HATED Biker Taker/ Big Evil --I understand why he did it but I didn't like that period of his career. When I see matches from that time period I get all excited to think that wow Undertaker fought against so and so...then I remember its not the Undertaker...it's just that dude on the bike. Glad that didn't last forever and very happy with the entire body of his career otherwise. As a child, he was a part of my favorite feuds of all time.
1. Chris Jericho - I liked young babyface Lionhart but I quickly got bored with him. Even during the height of the NWO I still watched WCW for the Cruiserweight matches especially to see Dean Malenko and Jericho. When Jericho turned heel and started acting like a dick I instantly loved it. His feud with Malenko is one of the all time greats...Especially the time Malenko dressed as Ciclope to win a battle royal...One of the best bait and switches of all time. He is my favorite voice. He is my favorite personality. If I was still a kid I would say Undertaker/Michaels ect... would be my favorite...but as an adult who can appreciate full bodies of work...nobody has entertained me as consistently as Y2J.
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