Personal Top 5 Wrestlers

[Joe]

I have been seeing a lot of videos and articles where wrestlers give their "Mount Rushmore" or Top 5 in wrestling history, and I liked the way a guy like Shawn Michaels did it. Michaels didn't go the usual route of just naming who he thought was the most popular or influential, but gave his personal Top 5, which was Ric Flair, Wahoo McDaniel, Terry Funk, Harley Race and Nick Bockwinkel. I also saw a video where he listed Tully Blanchard. And to me, that's a very good list and way to go about doing this.

So, with that in mind, based on just personal preference, it got me thinking who my Top 5 would be. Just based on who's matches and segments I enjoy going back and watching the most for my pure enjoyment. And here we go:

Low Ki

This was the first name that came to mind for me. Something about his style and also the opponents he was placed against, especially early on, really leads to an enjoyable watching experience for me.

CM Punk

Not just the matches, but the promos. I rarely dislike anything the guy does. He came up when I was in high school and I just remember thinking he was pretty much the coolest wrestler I'd ever seen, just from attitude to style.

Cactus Jack

Punk is right up there, but I think Cactus Jack is probably the best promo guy I've ever seen. I love his style in the ring, as well, as he was just so unique and dangerous, and really made opponents like Undertaker and Vader look awesome while also being a believable threat to beat them.

Yuji Nagata

If I could build a wrestler with the perfect style, that wrestler would pretty much be Yuji Nagata. The grappling, the striking, the suplexes and slams, the facial expressions. He could go in a shoot style match or have a big, traditional epic match with guys like Kenta Kobashi just as easily. I somehow feel like he might be underrated, but his style is just perfect to me.

AJ Styles

I've seen the old question asked many times: if you could pick one wrestler to build an upstart promotion around, who would it be? Randy Orton's name comes up a lot, but I really think AJ Styles is the answer for me. He has proven he can be a face or a heel, and can work with absolutely anybody and have a good match. He's freaking timeless, on top of that. I love going back and watching any AJ Styles match, and think he's pretty much untouchable.


Now, I will say I do enjoy watching a lot of Japanese women's wrestling and considered maybe putting a name from that genre on here, but really, I couldn't pick one over the other, so I will just leave that as a whole big honorable mention. A name like Ilja Dragunov also came to mind, and also the Motor City Machine Guns, but I couldn't really put them over anybody I have listed here. I do enjoy watching guys like Sean Waltman, Jerry Lynn and Sabu quite a bit, but also couldn't bring myself to put them over anybody else here.

Anyway, who do you guys have in your personal Top 5?

[Road Warrior Shark]

Top 5. I don't know how to narrow this to just 5, but let's try

Ric Flair: IMO the clear number one of all time. You want a good 10 minute TV Match? Ric was great at that. You want an Hour long arena match? Ric was great at that. Need someone to face a Technical Master? Ric was great at that. GO toe to toe with a big brawler? Ric was great at that.

Need someone to talk the fans into the arena? Need someone who oozed charisma and made you believe him? Need someone who could tour the world and make you thin your local hero was THIS CLOSE to pinning the world champion? Ric Was great at that.

If you missed Flair in the 80's, only ever saw him in the Monday Night Wars, you missed the absolute best wrestler of all time. Name one aspect of being a pro wrestler, Look, Ring Work, Promos, Charisma, Ric was great at it.

Andre The Giant: Another whose best days most people missed - including me. Only in retrospect, watching all the video I can find on his early career, have I begun to appreciate the amazing abilities Andre had.

Like Flair, he had the ability to draw a house and fill the arena, even if you didn't know who he was opposing that night. A literal Larger Then Life personality, Andre was a spectacle you just had to see.

His program with Hulk in the late 80's still holds up as one of the best laid plans of all time, the execution was flawless all around in all aspects. The build was so well done, so dramatic, so perfect. Andre's presence made that possible. Hulk needed someone to play off of, and Andre's stoic foil drove the Hulkster crazy

Shawn Michaels: If the best of all time [Flair] thinks you're the best of all time, you make this list. I missed a lot of HBK's early singles run, but I saw a lot of his early work in the AWA, and then his career resurrection in the early aught's He put on classics up and down the card with nearly every big name you could imagine.

Beyond classics with Hart, HHH, Jericho, & Undertaker, He could have an amazing match with Chris Masters when called upon. He came up big in the big moments every time.

David Von Erich: Another where I didn't get to see much of it live, but through the miracle of video tape, I saw the best wrestler of the Von Erich Clan. David had the fire and intensity his brothers lacked. He had the size, and while not chiseled like Kerry, David had the same tough guy appearance like a Dick Murdoch or Terry Funk.

David also did things his brothers didn't. He went and worked as a heel in other places, and the footage I have seen says he was really getting good at it. Plenty of guys can get over in one place, but the ability to get over in other territories and countries proves you are truly over.

Rick Martel: I think he is the most underrated wrestler of my era. A World champion when that mean something, a top babyface everywhere he went, Martel's accolades are plenty. My favorite one is this: He was AWA Champion for longer than anyone not named Bockwinkel or Gagne. Verne loved guys who could actual wrestle, and Martel fit that spot.

He had WWWF Tag title runs before AND after that, as well as a short WCW run at the end of his career. He is most remembered for the Model Gimmick, which let him improve his promos and show some of the charisma that never got the chance to shine through in Strike Force.


Ask me tomorrow, and Barry Windham or Rick Steamboat might take that 5th spot, but that's my list. Very 80's centric, but that's when I became a fan.

[Joe]

Awesome list, Shark. I had actually never really thought about Flair in that light. I've see some Flair matches I enjoyed, and promos I loved, but he was just never really my guy. But you made a great case for him here.

Andre is like the epitome of wrestling attraction, but I never really feel compelled to watch his matches.

Michaels is outstanding, of course. I just personally came of age in the later 90s and 00s, and I was very influenced by the Cruiserweights and Ring of Honor. Actually, I remember really being enamored with Combat Zone Wrestling when I came across it in 2001, but I had no real way of consuming it as a product when I was 12. That is to say, as much as I like Michaels, I really appreciated what he inspired more directly. Guys like Styles, Daniels, Kazarian, etc.

And then your last two picks I loved, because I'll be honest, I don't know them very well. But now I want to dig in and watch some of their stuff based on the high praise here. You are 100% right that I associate Rick Martel with "The Model" in my mind, but I think I'd better dig a little deeper here soon.