The Greatest Pro Wrestler of All Time
23rd of March 2017
If you're expecting me to talk about Ric Flair or Hulk Hogan being the greatest, I'm sorry to let you down. Neither of those two are the greatest of all time. That's not a knock on them, and yes, it's my opinion. Whenever this debate comes up, I never hear a certain name in the mix. I feel it's more of a generation gap than any other reason this name is left out of the mix. First, let's explore the reasons some may come up with as to why that name should be considered the greatest. Once we get through these names, I'll give you the name I believe to be the Greatest Wrestler of All Time. 1. Ric Flair
This is the first name that comes up, and I always disagree with it. However, let's focus on why people say Flair is the greatest. He's 16 time World Heavyweight Champion. At least according to Pro Wrestling Illustrated and the World Wrestling Entertainment. According to Flair, he's 21 time World Heavyweight Champion. He's held other titles in promotions as well. However, Flair has always needed help winning those titles from his stable, the Four Horsemen. Now, he is a genius in the sense in that he got 3 other guys around him to help keep the belt around his waist. He somehow brainwashed them to let him have all the glory while the others did the dirty work. So regardless of how many times he won it, he lost it that many times as well, which tells me he made lots of mistakes during his time. He could never hold onto the gold for as long as other champions. The man can bring in a crowd, and most of the crowd wants to see Flair get beat. Whatever it takes to sell tickets.
2. Hulk Hogan
This name comes up quite a bit as well. I used to think he was the greatest until I did further my wrestling library (by that, I mean Internet). However, let's call Hogan what he really is. A marketing project that worked. He was kid friendly in the sense he targeted the kids. He interacted with them. He visited them in hospitals and other places. I'm not trying to take anything away from him because he put pro wrestling on the map in the 1980's. He held his first title for close to 4 years before losing it. He had some long reigns in his time, but he really wasn't much of a wrestler as much as he was a marketing tool for the then WWF. When he went WCW and turned into a bad guy (heel in wrestling lingo), he had a bunch of suckers around him that kept the belt around his waist just like Flair did. I can't call him the greatest wrestler, but I do call him the greatest marketing tool in wrestling. Even that is starting to tarnish.
3. Randy Savage
This name is brought up as well. However, he was held back tremendously by quite a bit. I don't think he held himself back as much as Hogan, Flair or Vince McMahon. Savage's title losses have been to only Hogan and Flair both. I'm not sure why that is, but that's a fact. Savage was a great wrestler, and for his size, he dominated the ring and was larger than life. He was around 6'1" and wasn't that muscular when he first started. He would bulk up throughout his career. Most of the other wrestlers were around the 6'5" range, and some had more muscle physique. However, with his size, he grabbed the crowd's attention and became a fan favorite. He was one who brought in a high flying style that was unheard of back then. He brought lots to pro wrestling, and he could have brought more if he wasn't held back. That's why I can't call him the greatest.
4. Bret Hart I like Bret Hart a lot, but I can't consider him the greatest either. The Montreal Screwjob does have a lot to do with it. Bret is a great technical wrestler and has had great matches with other greats in the sport. I do consider him better than Flair. I won't lie there. However, I don't think he ever got over the Montreal Screwjob, and I wouldn't expect him to forget such an event. However, I think he festered over it so much that it stopped him from many opportunities in the wrestling world. He trusted less, and again, I understand the reasoning. He wasn't about the glory as much as he was about what he put on in the ring. He was more about putting on a great match than anything. Of course, he always watched his back in the corner of his eye.
5. Shawn Michaels.
Selfish. Not even close. Not even worthy to mention, but still comes up for some reason. Great moves in the ring, no denying, but politics up the ying-yang. Oh, and he can stop calling himself Mr. Wrestlemania since he has a losing record. Show stopped, and not by him.
6. The Undertaker
I loved the Undertaker when he first came out. However, he became more of a comic book character over the years than he already was. His biker gimmick caught me by surprise, but now that I look back, I can tolerate it more. However, his character wasn't really about the championship as much as it was about domination. He holds the winningest record at Wrestlemania, and while others are wowed by it, I'm not even if it won't ever be repeated. At one point, the Streak became more important than any championship on the card. That's some power for one man to have.
So while one could make a great argument over the Undertaker being the greatest, I have to ask. What are we basing it off of? His in-ring abilities? He has them, it's true. He even has arsenal using the top rope and uses a flying clothesline, which is unheard of for a man his size. So why don't I think he's the greatest? I'll admit that he does have great matches. He did a lot to stop backstage politics from Shawn Michaels and others. But I think if his character was more human-like as opposed to deadman like, I might buy into him being the greatest. There's no doubt that he still can bring in a crowd, but he only wrestles a match at Wrestlemania in which his entrance to the ring takes 10 minutes alone (maybe longer). That might be more WWE's fault than his, but he hasn't dominated like he should have been able to like Flair, Hogan or Savage. Although retiring Shawn Michaels does earn him lots of points.
So who is the greatest pro wrestler in my opinion? Based on what I've watched on the Internet, I can only pick one name. I'm not even sure he's the Greatest of All Time because there's other names that come to mind. However, that goes back further in time than when video existed. However, when I'm asked who I believe the Greatest of All Time is, only one name comes to mind, and it took me a long time to come up with it... BRUNO SAMMARTINO
Sammartino has been dubbed the Living Legend with good reason. He's held onto the title 2 times in his career totaling up to 11 years. That's a feat that is tough to match and will probably never be done again. Ric Flair's 16 time record? Matched, if not beaten by John Cena. He also holds the record for longest title reign of 8 years. That's a record I don't think will be broken. He is widely known around the sport for this, and at that time, promotions were still territorial. So he did stay in the Northeast quite a bit. However, in being there, he headlined many cards filling the third and current (as of 2017) Madison Square Gardens on a monthly basis. Nobody grew tired of him. Why? Because everyone wanted to see him beat whoever he was wrestling that night.
Bruno Sammartino did more than just his in ring abilities to keep a good name for pro wrestling. He has tried to keep the integrity by being outspoken about steroids and other drugs wrestlers were commonly using in the 1980's. He refused to travel with younger wrestlers because he was afraid of getting pulled over in a vehicle with drugs. He was offered to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on several occasions, but he denied it since he didn't like the direction of the company or the business. He would finally accept the invitation in 2013 after he was satisfied with the direction of the company and the business of pro wrestling. A man with that power has got to be the greatest. For those that have watched WWE over that last 30 - 40 years know how stubborn and determined Vince McMahon can be, changing the direction of the company should say a lot. It probably wasn't specifically for Bruno Sammartino, but he definitely had a part in it. I assure you that the names listed above would NOT have that influence on changing the direction like Sammartino was asking. In fact, a couple of those names only tried to change it the change meant more money for them. Another reason is Bruno stayed out of trouble. Yes, he had fights backstage. Every wrestler had them. Bruno was even suspended for missing a booking. However, Vince J. McMahon (Vince K. McMahon's father, current WWE CEO) double-booked him. There is suspicion as to whether McMahon did that on purpose since Bruno went to San Francisco to wrestle. He was one of the reasons Vince K. went to trial for steroids in the late 80's, early 90's. He has always try to maintain a good name for himself and the pro wrestling industry. While I don't think any of the other names in here have tried to tarnish pro wrestling, they have tarnished their own images in some ways. I won't go into that though. Those are the reasons I call Bruno Sammartino the Greatest of All Time. You might not agree, but I don't think I just picked a face in the crowd.
