Before we go any further, we need to make a special mention of Derek Cornett of The Place To Be for both taking care of their end of proceedings and creating the format for our listings. Thankyou very much Derek!
Now, it's time to get on with the rankings!
How It Worked
To get here we first of all asked anybody and everybody that wanted to participate to provide us with their list of their twenty-five Greatest Wrestlers Of All Time. We tallied up which wrestlers appeared the most times through all of the lists provided and that gave us our Master List - this was our top twenty-five wrestlers but in an un-ordered format.
In order to create our actual listing we then asked all of those that were participating to put the members of our Master List in order across five different categories: Greatest Character, Greatest Promo Man, Greatest Champion, Greatest Legacy and Greatest In-Ring Performer.
You seen the Master List, you've seen our category listings (positions for each wrestler in brackets below) and now it's time to reveal, in reverse order
The Greatest Wrestlers Of All Time
(25-6)
25. Chris Benoit (Character: 25, Promo Man: 25, Champion: 24, Legacy: 22, In-Ring Performer: 23)
24. Daniel Bryan (Character: 24, Promo Man: 21, Champion: 25, Legacy: 25, In-Ring Performer: 24)
23. Rey Mysterio (Character: 23, Promo Man: 24, Champion: 22, Legacy: 24, In-Ring Performer: 19)
22. Edge (Character: 22, Promo Man: 12, Champion: 16, Legacy: 20, In-Ring Performer: 25)
21. Eddie Guerrero (Character: 17, Promo Man: 17, Champion: 21, Legacy: 21, In-Ring Performer: 18)
20. Ricky Steamboat (Character: 15, Promo Man: 22, Champion: 18, Legacy: 19, In-Ring Performer: 9)
19. Andre The Giant (Character: 9, Promo Man: 23, Champion: 23, Legacy: 4, In-Ring Performer: 21)
18. CM Punk (Character:16 , Promo Man: 8, Champion: 17, Legacy: 23, In-Ring Performer: 16)
17. Kurt Angle (Character: 21, Promo Man: 18, Champion: 14, Legacy: 15, In-Ring Performer: 8)
16. Mick Foley (Character: 8, Promo Man: 7, Champion: 19, Legacy: 18, In-Ring Performer: 22)
15. Harley Race (Character: 12, Promo Man: 16, Champion: 13, Legacy: 14, In-Ring Performer: 17)
14. Bruno Sammartino (Character: 20, Promo Man: 20, Champion: 3, Legacy: 5, In-Ring Performer: 20)
13. Curt Hennig (Character: 10, Promo Man: 11, Champion: 20, Legacy: 16, In-Ring Performer: 11)
12. Chris Jericho (Character: 13, Promo Man: 6, Champion: 12, Legacy: 17, In-Ring Performer: 15)
11. Triple H (Character: 18, Promo Man: 9, Champion: 10, Legacy: 12, In-Ring Performer: 12)
10. Shawn Michaels (Character: 14, Promo Man: 15, Champion: 11, Legacy: 7, In-Ring Performer: 13)
9. Terry Funk (Character: 11, Promo Man: 5, Champion: 15, Legacy: 13, In-Ring Performer: 10)
8. Bret Hart (Character: 19, Promo Man: 14, Champion: 5, Legacy: 8, In-Ring Performer: 6)
7. The Undertaker (Character: 3, Promo Man: 19, Champion: 8, Legacy: 6, In-Ring Performer: 7)
6. Sting (Character: 6, Promo Man: 13, Champion: 9, Legacy: 9, In-Ring Performer: 4)
And now....
The Top Five Wrestlers Of All Time
(Character: 5, Promo Man: 2, Champion: 7, Legacy: 10, In-Ring Performer: 14)
In fact, to make you understand just why the Rock deserves to be here I don't need to talk about Flex Kavana, Rocky Johnson, The Nation of Domination or his legendary feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin. No no no. All I need to do is utter the following phrase, a phrase that will have everybody reading pay attention, a phrase that will make you ALL understand just how great the Great One is!
You see, the Rock is: The jabroni beatin, pie eatin, trailblazin, eyebrow raisin, elbow droppin, never stoppin, step off the brake, put your foot on the gas, always ready to whoop some ass - PEOPLES CHAMP-I-ON - THE ROCK!!!!
IF YA SMELLALALALALALALAAAAAOWW! What Pro Wrestling Planet, is cookin!
(Character: 7, Promo Man: 10, Champion: 6, Legacy: 11, In-Ring Performer: 2)
His match at Wrestlemania III is still held up as one of the greatest of all time and his match at Wrestlemania VII is perhaps the most emotional in wrestling history.
His flowing robes were unforgettable, his promos legendary and his flying elbow drop a thing of beauty.
Savage is the only man WWE dared put the title on other than Hogan when they were at the top of their game in the 80's and is easily worthy of his top five finish here.
3. Steve Austin
(Character: 4, Promo Man: 3, Champion: 4, Legacy: 3, In-Ring Performer: 5)
"Stone Cold" Steve Austin may well be the biggest draw in wrestling history... Because he WAS the Attitude Era. For all of you that remember all the hardcore matches and the Monday night wars the one thing you remember most is Steve Austin. Its just a fact!
I remember watching Austin from his early WCW career, back when he was only "Stunning". Back then he was an incredibly talented heel performer, his reigns as the TV champion featured some classic heel tactics and he was a genuinely gifted wrestler. Later on he teamed up with Bryan Pillman. The Hollywood Blondes (as they were known) are probably the most criminally underated tag-teams in history.
Then Eric Bischoff made the biggest mistake of his career and let Austin go. Not too many years later Jake Roberts learned that "Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass" and a legend was born.
As the epitomy of the boss beating anti-hero Austin lived out every working mans dream on TV and raised a whole lot of hell in the process. Who can forget him giving the Corperation a beer shower? Or Vaulting over the ropes to beat the hell out of Vince McMahon, or squaring up to Mike Tyson?
Does Austin deserve to be at number three in this list?
Awww Hell YEAH!!
2. Hulk Hogan
(Character: 2, Promo Man: 4, Champion: 1, Legacy: 1, In-Ring Performer: 3)
1. Ric Flair
(Character: 1, Promo Man: 1, Champion: 2, Legacy: 2, In-Ring Performer: 1)
How do you sum up the career of the Greatest Wrestler Of All Time, that spanned 39 years, in a couple of paragraphs?
"Whoooooo!"... That would be one way. The more honest answer is that you really don't. What you do instead is point out that in his prime, for well over a decade, Ric Flair was the greatest wrestler AND promo man in the world bar none. He was a multi time NWA World Heavyweight Champion back when the territories were around, back when you needed the backing of multiple different promotions to be the World Champion. He's a minimum 16 time World Champion (conservative estimates push that number up to actually being nearer 30) and is probably the most recognisable wrestler of all time.
He's wrestled 60 minute marathons on a nightly basis, carried losers to their best matches ever, given us the Flair Chop AND the Flair Flop (that spot where he gets punched in the turnbuckles and then walks out and falls flat on his face? Yeah, thats the Flair Flop), he caused the name of a Disney theme park ride to forever be associated with his manhood and quite frankly, he's done it all... and more!
And he did all of this after breaking his back in a plane crash and being told he'd never wrestle again.
Ric Flair is THE legend of wrestling, it's only fitting that he's been ranked THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME by the members of Pro Wrestling Planet.
His flowing robes were unforgettable, his promos legendary and his flying elbow drop a thing of beauty.
Savage is the only man WWE dared put the title on other than Hogan when they were at the top of their game in the 80's and is easily worthy of his top five finish here.
(Character: 4, Promo Man: 3, Champion: 4, Legacy: 3, In-Ring Performer: 5)
I remember watching Austin from his early WCW career, back when he was only "Stunning". Back then he was an incredibly talented heel performer, his reigns as the TV champion featured some classic heel tactics and he was a genuinely gifted wrestler. Later on he teamed up with Bryan Pillman. The Hollywood Blondes (as they were known) are probably the most criminally underated tag-teams in history.
Then Eric Bischoff made the biggest mistake of his career and let Austin go. Not too many years later Jake Roberts learned that "Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass" and a legend was born.
As the epitomy of the boss beating anti-hero Austin lived out every working mans dream on TV and raised a whole lot of hell in the process. Who can forget him giving the Corperation a beer shower? Or Vaulting over the ropes to beat the hell out of Vince McMahon, or squaring up to Mike Tyson?
Does Austin deserve to be at number three in this list?
Awww Hell YEAH!!
(Character: 2, Promo Man: 4, Champion: 1, Legacy: 1, In-Ring Performer: 3)
For almost two decades Hulk Hogan WAS wrestling. With his massive charisma and even more massive stature Hogan helped Vince McMahon transform wrestling from a niche product that was splintered into territories, into a mainstream brand of entertainment for the masses.
Hogans all American hero appeal helped turn WWE into the all conquering juggernaught it is today, he was the spearhead of the "Rock 'N' Wrestling" era of the eighties, was still a massive draw for the early ninties and when he did eventually turn his back on the fans he was instrumental in creating the biggest storyline in wrestling history - The New World Order.
People may knock his ability to run a promotion (hello TNA!), but you simply can't question the impact he's had on the business.
Hogans all American hero appeal helped turn WWE into the all conquering juggernaught it is today, he was the spearhead of the "Rock 'N' Wrestling" era of the eighties, was still a massive draw for the early ninties and when he did eventually turn his back on the fans he was instrumental in creating the biggest storyline in wrestling history - The New World Order.
People may knock his ability to run a promotion (hello TNA!), but you simply can't question the impact he's had on the business.
(Character: 1, Promo Man: 1, Champion: 2, Legacy: 2, In-Ring Performer: 1)
"Whoooooo!"... That would be one way. The more honest answer is that you really don't. What you do instead is point out that in his prime, for well over a decade, Ric Flair was the greatest wrestler AND promo man in the world bar none. He was a multi time NWA World Heavyweight Champion back when the territories were around, back when you needed the backing of multiple different promotions to be the World Champion. He's a minimum 16 time World Champion (conservative estimates push that number up to actually being nearer 30) and is probably the most recognisable wrestler of all time.
He's wrestled 60 minute marathons on a nightly basis, carried losers to their best matches ever, given us the Flair Chop AND the Flair Flop (that spot where he gets punched in the turnbuckles and then walks out and falls flat on his face? Yeah, thats the Flair Flop), he caused the name of a Disney theme park ride to forever be associated with his manhood and quite frankly, he's done it all... and more!
And he did all of this after breaking his back in a plane crash and being told he'd never wrestle again.
Ric Flair is THE legend of wrestling, it's only fitting that he's been ranked THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME by the members of Pro Wrestling Planet.
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