I like The Shield. A lot.

[Swiss Ultimate]

Originally Posted by Gertner People compare wrestling to a soap opera. I compare them to Superheros. Now who is going to catch your eye with that comparison: 6"0 225 Dean Ambrose who you could see walking down the street and not blink an eye or Ryback who is a monster and catches your eye?

My favorite wrestlers and some of the most popular and iconic ones of all time are:

Ric Flair 6'1 who got his super-hero vibe from being insanely charismatic and also by "peacocking"

Scott Hall who was a big guy and great on the mic' and fits your criteria.

Diamond Dallas Page who was just barely meets the criteria and always came off to me like a smaller guy who was just amazing.

Mick Foley who wasn't so tall even when he wasn't hunched over and was more fat than anything even in his best shape (shapes?).

Taz was a midget but I loved him and how he was booked in ECW.

Giant was great and had fun matches that felt big and was okay on the mic, never got into him as the Big Show.

Steve Austin and The Rock, don't need to explain these.

Randy Savage who was 6'2 and under 240 but always looked awesome and bigger than life and was believable against Hogan. Genius on the mic too.

Shawn Michaels who made up for his size by being crazy talented and charismatic.

Roddy Piper was bigger than life and great in the ring.

I think you're right about "bigger than life" characters being important, but it doesn't necessarily mean someone who just looks big and athletic. Having a look period or at least making up for it by being a living cartoon like DDP or Flair. Guys who have been way way over had it all, Hogan had a look, charisma and great booking, Austin and Rock were the same.

Of the new generation we have had a few people to fit the bill and I know you'll disagree with me on a few of these. Cena has a great look and unbelievable strength, can go in the ring, is booked like a monster most days (wolverine healing ability), can be great on the mic and sells tickets and merchandise. Batista had the look, sold the merchandise, had the ability to be good on the mic as a heel (Hollywood Batista). CM Punk has a great look, is great in the ring and on the mic and sells a lot of merch, probably pulls in a lot of tickets too.

Nearly everyone else I can think of is missing some aspect, be it that they're generic looking, lack charisma or whatever. There aren't many total packages. Ryback has no charisma and so is forced to yell a lot and most of it is incomprehensible, but he looks great and he definitely should be used and given a shot to get better. Jeff Hardy had the look and the talent, but sucked balls on the mic, sold crazy amounts of merchandise though. Edge without his beard and his sex-life was really just a guy who was good in the ring and had a finisher that should not have worked as well as it did on big guys.

I could go on but I won't...