The Show Off's Top 100 Favorite Wrestlers of All Time

[The Show Off]

If the title of this thread sounds incredibly self serving--that's because it is. In an effort to re-introduce myself to you fine people of TPWW I've decided to do another one of my forum famous lists (famous to those of you who know who I am).

There are three reasons I'm making this list:

1. So that my fellow posters will have an understanding of my biases when it comes to commenting on wrestling here on TPWW.

2. To give you an opportunity to talk/debate my picks as well as to discuss the reasons for my picks.

3. I plan on coming up with a Top 100 Greatest Wrestlers of All-Time after I make this list and I feel this list will hold me accountable for any biases I might bring to that list.


In an effort to drag this out for as long as possible I'm going to reveal my Top 100 list one slot at a time starting today with #100 leading all the way to #1. After I've done a write up about each wrestler I will edit this post to include each wrestler. So here it is (or for the most part for now not is) enjoy...

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73.
74.
75. Lex Luger
76. Samoa Joe
77. John Bradshaw Layfield
78. Scott Steiner
79. Rick Steiner
80. Scott Hall
81. Kane
82. Rey Mysterio
83. Bruno Sammartino
84. Lance Storm
85. KENTA
86. Tyler Black
87. Trish Stratus
88. Sheamus
89. Shawn Michaels
90. Bill DeMott
91. Kevin Nash
92. Jay Briscoe
93. Mark Briscoe
94. Robert Roode
95. Stan Hansen
96. Terry Funk
97. Jerry Lynn
98. Jimmy Rave
99. Steve Williams
100. Homicide

[Corporate CockSnogger]

I once powerbombed a friend of mine. I hope I make the list.

[The Show Off]

100. Homicide

Kicking off the list is “The Notorious 187” himself. This former member of The Rottweiler’s and The Latin American Xchange has been a great character in wrestling for the last 8 or so years (at least as far as what I’ve seen.) When I first saw Homicide wrestle I thought of him as the 21st Century’s New Jack, but as I came to see more of his catalogue of matches I came to the realization that he is far more than that.

Sure, he can brawl with the best of them but he can also do wrestling moves and actually chain wrestle. His turn as a member of both The Rotweilers and The Latin American Xchange showed us a volatile character that despite his demunitive size was intimidating none-the-less. He brought about a gangster type character that as a wrestling fan you’re actually afraid he may very will snap.

His best of 5 series against Bryan Danielson and his Colt Cabana Feud were two for the best feuds in Ring of Honor history and his and Hernandez’s feud against AJ Styles and Christopher Daniels is one of the best in the history of Total Non-Stop Action Wrestling. He has provided countless hours of entertainment as a character and as a wrestler. If only he had better mic skills than just making machine gun noises (I’ve heard some actually promos, not too great) he would be much much higher.

Favorite Moment:
The Rotweilers attacking Samoa Joe after Homicide’s match at ROH Death Before Dishonor 2 Part 1. At the time of that beating Joe was an unstoppable monster and they took him down a peg. As The Rotweilers spat on the ROH Championship you could feel the crowd look at in shock. That’s what happens when you have a respected championship and a despised heel.

Favorite Match:
Colt Cabana v. Homicide (Chicago Street Fight, ROH Better Than Our Best)

[Schlomey]

I like your energy and this idea...but your top 100 is starting out horribly for you

[The Show Off]

Originally Posted by Schlomey I like your energy and this idea...but your top 100 is starting out horribly for you

I don't expect most of you to agree with my placements. I know at least one slot which will get a bunch of people annoyed. I just wanted to share with everyone. I know Homicide is a polarizing wrestler, but he's only #100.

[Schlomey]

I'm down for this as long as you promise your number 1 isn't john cena

[The Show Off]

Originally Posted by Schlomey I'm down for this as long as you promise your number 1 isn't john cena

Fuck Schlomey you ruined it...

[The Show Off]

99. Steve Williams

As a kid I was a gigantic fan of The Steiner Brothers. There were only two wrestlers I liked better than Rick and Scott, one of them is 1 on my list and the other is number 6. I loved the Steiner Brothers. Then, in the summer of 1992, a tag team I hadn’t heard of before (thought I guess I should have) known as Steve Williams and Terry Gordy won the tag team championship from my beloved Steiner Brothers.

Williams and Gordy weren’t your typical heel tag team, they took the Steiners to the limit and even beat them without heel tactics. They were just ass kickers that were great wrestlers, and they were just able to defeat the great team of the Steiners. But as a 9 year-old going on to 10 I couldn’t stand seeing this team win. For the longest time I hated “Dr. Death” and “Bam Bam.” Then I grew up…

In recent years I’ve seen some of Steve Williams’ and Terry Gordy’s matches in Japan as well as some of Steve Williams’ stuff alone in the NWA, and I became a fan. He was just a tough rugged individual that was that very cool old school style of ass kicker. He didn’t have the most amazing physique or the flashiest moves but he just kicked ass, and I came to really like his style match. He was one of the first wrestlers to introduce me to “Smash Mouth Wrestling.”

Favorite Moment:
Dr. Death Steve Williams coming out with Jim Ross to open up JR’s very own announce table, the predecessor to the Cole Mine. Sure, Steve Williams didn’t really say or do much but I loved the gimmick of having your own announce table and it was nice to see Dr. Death on TV. When I saw it I thought that was the start of a mini-push for Dr. Death, unfortunately I was wrong.

Favorite Match:
The Steiner Brothers [c] v. Steve Williams & Terry Gordy (for the WCW World Tag Team Championship, WCW Beach Blast 1992)

[Schlomey]

I <3'ed him in WWF as a kid. That's all I know/remember of him.


seemed like a real bad ass.

[Corporate CockSnogger]

Just 98 more spots for me. Wonder where I'll place.

[Schlomey]

number one in our hearts.....97 on paper

[The Show Off]

98. Jimmy Rave

Jimmy Rave! I’m going to be honest this choice of Jimmy Rave at number 98 is more or less a proxy slot for Prince Nana. As Prince Nana isn’t really a wrestler (thought I have seen him wrestle including Jimmy Rave’s favorite match) I had to pick someone that was a wrestler that was closely associated with Prince Nana. Their was no other person I could have possibly picked other than the Crown Jewel of the Embassy.

Now, let me talk about why I actually like Jimmy Rave. Jimmy Rave is an absolute heat magnet. If the only exposure to Jimmy Rave you’ve ever gotten was his god awful stint with The Rock ‘n’ Rave Infection then you really don’t know what I’m talking about. If you are so inclined you should look up some of his stuff when he was in The Embassy, and you’ll see a totally different guy.

Lets be honest, Ring of Honor has a bunch of smarks for fans. These are the type of people that will cheer for heels just because they theink they are cool. As fans they don’t care, they just cheer who they like and who cares if the guy they’re cheering is supposed to be a super heel. The exception to this rule is Jimmy Rave. Rave was a super heel in ROH for years and would always get “Die Jimmy Die” chants as well as getting toilet paper flung at him but the ravenous ROH masses. He was a truly excellent heel.

As a character he is mostly in the position he’s in because of Prince Nana’s power as a heel himself, but don’t let that fool you into thinking he isn’t a good wrestler. He’s a serviceable wrestler that has many shining moments of very good wrestling. His matches against AJ Styles and CM Punk were some of the best feuds in ROH history.

Favorite Moment:
At The Fifth Year Festival: New York Jimmy Rave pulled off the Rave Clash (Styles Clash) on Homicide from the second rope. Why was this such a great moment? Back in 2005 Rave and AJ Styles had a match to determine who would get usage of the Styles Clash. Rave lost that match and had the Rave Clash banned. Two years later he wrestles Homicide for the ROH Championship and in the ultimate heel move tries to win the title with a move he’s banned from doing.

Favorite Match:
The Embassy v. Generation Next (Steel Cage Warfare, ROH Steel Cage Warfare)

[#BROKEN Hasney]

I was the one Iginfest powerbombed, so I should be in AND higher than him. This fucker can't even bump!

[FourFifty]

I'm waiting to see where The Man That Gravity Forgot lands on your list.

[screech]

I think I know who your number one is going to be. If not number one, he will at least be top five.

[The Show Off]

Originally Posted by screech I think I know who your number one is going to be. If not number one, he will at least be top five.

Who do you think that is?

[Corporate CockSnogger]

Originally Posted by screech I think I know who your number one is going to be. If not number one, he will at least be top five.

You're making me blush. I don't think I'll place quite that high, maybe Top Ten.

[screech]

Obviously Iginfest will catapult himself past Randy Savage.

[Nicky Fives]

With Homicide at 100, I've already lost interest..... I can't stand the guy..... good luck with your list.....

[The Show Off]

97. Jerry Lynn

Jerry Lynn versus Rob Van Dam is quite possibly the greatest series of matches in the history of wrestling. That is not hyperbole if you are a wrestling fan and you have never seen one of their matches stop reading this stupid message board and watch one of those matches. Go on. This message board will be there when you’re finished. I’m serious go and watch one of their matches. I’m going to go as far as to say you can’t be a true wrestling fan without seeing that match. So, go!

If you are reading this paragraph I assume you watched at least one Jerry Lynn versus Rob Van Dam match. You then understand that Jerry Lynn is the foil to Rob Van Dam. Rob Van Dam may have gotten more mainstream attention than Jerry Lynn but the two of them will be forever linked to one another. Hell, Jerry Lynn’s moniker “The New F’n Show” would mean nothing without Rob Van Dam’s “The Whole F’n Show.”

Jerry Lynn’s wrestling career is practically the prototype for most indy wrestlers looking for work today, for good and bad reasons. The Bad: he was average at best on the mic and is too small and wrestles too varied a style of wrestling to be a main stream success. The Good: he mixed submission and high flying wrestling and always put on one of the best matches of the night. It’s a shame that he never really made it big but he is the only person to hold both the ECW and ROH World Championships. Not too shabby.

Favorite Moment:
It’s more of a personal moment than one any of you will know. I was at ROH Manhattan Mayhem III when Jerry Lynn lost the ROH Championship in a triple threat elimination match against Austin Aries and Tyler Black. He was a face but the ROH faithful were giving him shit because they were still fawning over Tyler Black. One of the fans at ring side was talking shit after Jerry Lynn was the first man eliminated and you could tell Jerry was actually pissed. When Jerry walked past me up the asile I yelled “You’re still the best in the World Jerry!” He actually stopped walking up the ramp turned to me and shook my hand. It was pretty cool.

Favorite Match:
Rob Van Dam [c] v. Jerry Lynn (for the ECW World Television Championship, ECW Living Dangerously 1999)

[The Show Off]

Originally Posted by Nicky Fives With Homicide at 100, I've already lost interest..... I can't stand the guy..... good luck with your list.....

Wow, that's quick on the trigger.

[Testicle]

Steve Williams would roll over in his grave if he knew he was sandwiched between Homicide and Rave.

This is quite the endeavor, if you go through with it I believe you will surpass Noid for most written in this forum.

[The Show Off]

Originally Posted by Testicle Steve Williams would roll over in his grave if he knew he was sandwiched between Homicide and Rave. This is quite the endeavor, if you go through with it I believe you will surpass Noid for most written in this forum.

Nah, Noid's the king of long windedness I can only hope to be The Prince.

[Joesgonnakillyou]

Jimmy Rave is an interesting choice, I was never sure if it was 'x pac' heat or actual skill.

While Homicide probably wouldn't be in my top 100, i don't think he's as bad as people are saying.

[Schlomey]

trust me he is.

[Lock Jaw]

Homicide ain't bad. Just can't buy him as a main event player.

[Schlomey]

His matches against Matt Morgan a few months ago bored me to tears...even inside a steel cage I couldn't take it.

[CSL]

Originally Posted by FourFifty I'm waiting to see where The Man That Gravity Forgot lands on your list.

He could quite easily be The Man That The Gold Standard or Anybody Else For That Matter's List Forgot, he's hardly the most known wrestler on earth.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Originally Posted by CSL He could quite easily be The Man That The Gold Standard or Anybody Else For That Matter's List Forgot, he's hardly the most known wrestler on earth.

Oh, that's a wrestler? I thought it was a 450-grade joke about a man that gravity forgot "landing" somewhere.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

I can't remember which side of the Screwjob TheShowOff is on, but whichever wrestler he sided with is his #1. And the other one is in the top 7. You heard it here first.

[BigDaddyCool]

Kevin Nash is #1 or I throw a hissy fit, if I even pay attention.

[Supreme Olajuwon]

Originally Posted by Schlomey His matches against Matt Morgan a few months ago bored me to tears...even inside a steel cage I couldn't take it.

What. Are you thinking of Hernandez

[Schlomey]

I must be. Ok the other smaller one isn't THAT bad...the large Mexican fellow is who I speak of.

[CLAM iNATOR]

Jimmy Rave is easily #96 material.

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Originally Posted by Schlomey I must be. Ok the other smaller one isn't THAT bad...the large Mexican fellow is who I speak of.

Yeah, it's the smaller one of the 3 Mlexicons you know. He also doesn't moderate the wrestling forum, that juans Juan.

[The Naitch]

96 & 95: Stephanie McMahon's boobs

[#BROKEN Hasney]

Looking back at my previous post and I now feel that was a 450 grade joke.

[The Show Off]

96. Terry Funk

He’s been middle-aged and crazy for about 20 years now defying the laws of time itself. Its not great that he is the blue print for wrestlers that are washed up trying to stick around in order to make money, but Terry Funk has always been of great quality. I wasn’t born yet when he one his first and only NWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1975 but like most people my age he came to my attention when he joined Extreme Championship Wrestling.

For those people that are older than me they’ll think I didn’t put Terry Funk high enough, for those enough younger than me might think he doesn’t belong on the list. I have to admit I’m not very familiar with his career until the 1980’s so forgive my ignorance. I know the hardcore icon, and that is the man that made it on my list for better or for worse. Some of my favorites of all time consider him one of the greatest to based on that alone he makes my list.

Terry Funk was one of the best wrestlers I’ve ever seen that could make you love him, than laugh at him and then hate his guts. His mic work was truly impressive and is one of the main reasons why he’s on the list. He was also a tremendous brawler from what I’ve seen, and was in some truly epic hardcore wars. I assume that he’d be higher if I saw more of him. He’s not only one of my favorites but one of the best of all time holding the NWA Championship when it really meant something and helping ECW gain legitimacy.

Favorite Moment:
After another tremendous match between Ricky Steamboat and Ric Flair Terry Funk came out of the announce position. When he began to talk to Ric Flair he was very complementary. He congratulated Flair on his victory and asked the new world champion for a shot at the title. Ric Flair denied Funk his request and than Funk proceeded lay in a brutal beating on Ric Flair, classic Funk going from lovable to brutal in seconds.

Favorite Match:
Beulah, Terry Funk, & Tommy Dreamer v. Edge, Lita, & Mick Foley (Six Man Tag Team Match, ECW One Night Stand 2006)

[Shisen Kopf]

I'm going to do a list of the top 2000 rasslers. Be better than this pile of crap list.

[The Show Off]

95. Stan Hansen

The Master of the Lariat is somewhat of an anomaly on this list. How much do I know about him—not very much. I remember when I was young seeing him wrestle in WCW against Lex Luger. Since them I have only seen him in sporatic matches on the internet and on DVDs. From what I’ve seen I’m a fan. The guy looks gritty and tough as hell. His in-ring style is like JBL but more athletic and with better psychology inside the ring.

His being so low on the list is basically because I don’t know much about him, but the impact of what I have seen has gotten him onto the list when a lot (A LOT) of good wrestlers didn’t. So this is more or less a plea to the TPWW Universe to turn me on to some of his best matches or perhaps even a best of DVD that I could purchace.

I could hear many of you think “Why would you put a wrestler you barely know anything about on your list?” The answer is… I’m just going with what I feel in my gut and my gut tells me to put The Lariat at the number 95 slot. I get the sense that if I were to see more of him he would sky rocket up the list. If he got this high based on little knowledge I could only imagine how high he could get if I knew a little more. Perhaps one when I do a new Top 100 list I could give a better write up of this guy.

Favorite Moment:
I don’t know enough about him to give one.

Favorite Match:
Stan Hansen v. Yoshi Yatsu (AJPW 16th Anniversary – Shootout at The OK Corral)