Your Favorite Wrestler and Why

[Web Conn]

I have a slew of favorite wrestlers but I believe my all time favorite is Booker T. I started watching wrestling towards the end of WCW, when Book was pretty much the cross bearer of the company. He captivated me from the get go. I think it was his ring presence, his facial expressions. He always did this look of excitement/exhaustion before he hit the Book End/Spinarooni. He busted ass every match and it was easy to get behind him because of such. You knew heel face whatever you were gonna see a good match when Book was out there. I rooted for him against The Rock (no small feat for a 12 year old back then). I think it's his versatility that makes him my favorite, singles tag he can do it all. He carried Test to some exciting tag matches back when Test wasn't really good. He can do comedy well which not many can. He can play dumb, he can do zany over the top with the best of them. King Booker worked because he was 100% committed to it. He can also cut one hell of a promo.

I watched his entire WWE run from 01-07 as it happened I haven't gone back and rewatched a lot of it save for matches here and there. I watched the final Days of WCW and have gone back and watched most of his WCW run and I can say that he is indeed my favorite wrestler of all time.

Admittedly I haven't seen much of his Prince Akeem/ Coming to America TNA run. I'm afraid it would tarnish my thoughts on him. I've seen his debut tag match, his match with Christian at BFG, the match with Joe in Houston and the match with AJ at Destination X. I do enjoy those matches however, I feel there isn't the same fire as his WCW or WWE matches.

[Brian Fowler]

Eduardo Gory Guerrero.  Hands motherfucking down.

 

He could fly.  He could brawl.  He could work underdog babyface against the biggest of monster heels and be just credible enough (see the Brock title match, or that old squash by Terry Funk for more fun.) and he could work on top as the most dickish heel ever (see pretty much all of the Rey Mysterio matches, or when he squashed Jimmy Jacobs.)  He had charisma to spare, and he kept getting better as he aged.

 

In 1995, when Diesel had the WWF belt, and Hogan and friends had gutted my beloved WCW, it was a match between Eddy and HWSNBN on Nitro that re-invigorated my love of pro wrestling.  And it was matches all over WCW that kept me watching even as that company peaked and began trending downward at a scary rate.  Great matches with everybody from Ric Flair to Chris Jericho.

 

When he blew out his elbow in his first WWF match, I was devastated.  When he was fired...  I was scared, honestly.  When he went on the Indy Redemption Tour, I was enthralled at how good the matches he was.  When he came back to WWF, my friend Gavin and I went to see him work live because I had to see it once.  Being that I am, as always, an idiot, we got tickets for the ppv in Detroit on Sunday (where he teamed with Voldemort against the Dudleyz in a tag team tables match) and not RAW in Grand Rapids on Monday (where he went one on one with The Rock for nearly 20 minutes.)

 

When he died, I literally kind of broke.  I ended up calling my sister (who has somewhat less than no interest in wrestling) and just rambling to her for a couple of hours.  About life not being fair, I guess. 

 

He's the best I ever saw, and he's my favorite, insomuch as those two can be different. 

[MADCAP]

Barry Windham.

 

I actually was a fan of his from the Apter Mags, before I actually got to see him on tv.  The first time I saw him wrestle was on Florida Championship Wrestling when I was staying up with a cousin in New York.  A couple of months later, him and Rotundo showed up in the WWF and the rest was history. Everything he did was always fluid and he was a consummate good guy, which made it so shock how well he worked heel.  Besides his promos, I can't think of a single flaw he had.  He was just the man. 

[JRGoldman]

I remember when we had this thread on the old board, Johnny Sorrow answered The Boogie Woogie Man, and that was hands down the perfect poster/wrestler combination. 

 

My answer is the Sheepherders. 

[offspring515]

Bret Hart. His match with Mr. Perfect at SummerSlam 91 was the first time I appreciated wrestling as something more than good guys vs bad guys. He kept me believing long after I knew it wasn't all on the up and up. I mean sure it's not really real but...Bret is limping like his ankle is broken. Nobody is that good an actor! Right? Right Dad? Right?

I've had an oddball group of favorites over the years (Warrior, Bret, Dlo Brown, Edge, my boy D Bry) but nobody has topped Bret.

[BobbyWhioux]

It's gotta be either Randy Savage or Bret Hart.

 

Bret Hart, especially when he first became WWF champion, came along at just the right time in WWF and in my personal development to be the sort of hero I would key in on.  I never really got into Hogan as much as I was supposed to because he was like Superman, you know?  Invincible, thus never really in danger, at the end of the comic book/30 minute episode/PPV cycle  he was going to dominate and win and be bigger than life.  Plus you can't "emulate" that, really.

 

Bret Hart, on the other hand?  Not larger than life.  Not invincible, just really really good because he worked hard and fought smart.  Much more like a normal (albeit talented) human being doing his best to win a sporting contest (he even argued with the referee -- AS A FACE! -- when his elbow of doom only got a two count.  I loved little details like that, which not only humanized him but legitimized the spectacle presenting itself in the guise of "sport") instead of a superhero.  Or if he was a superhero, he was Batman, relentlessly working to get every ounce of effectiveness out of himself, and winning with tactics and technique rather than just hitting the godmode cheat button and Hulking Up.  And sometimes he LOST.  He was fallible and human.  And when he first won the belt he didn't just win with his finishing hold all the time.  It created the aura of him taking what his opponent gave him, and using Plan B or C when A wouldn't work.  And of course Bret took it and himself completely seriously which added to the "realism" of it all. 

 

As for Randy Savage.... come on dude it's the motherfucking MACHO MAN.   I know "why" is the premise of the thread but I still almost can't explain why with Savage other than "just fucking watch/look at him."  Larger than life done right.  Savage seems almost self-evident or axiomatic.  That's what you'd think a top-flight Pro Wrestler would be like if you knew nothing about pro wrestling and then just had the premise of it explained to you and were then asked to imagine a wrestler.  In retrospect it's something like what Fowler said about Eddie being able to be any role in a match/feud and be completely believable and compelling in it.  Face, Heel, Bully, Underdog, Avenger, so on and so forth.  He just always made it fun to watch.  And he, unlike seemingly everyone else, retired and stayed retired because he knew when it was up.  He didn't hang on too long and "tarnish his legacy" with pitiable I Need The Money old man performances.  His death still saddens me except for the silver lining that it was not a "wrestler death" in the manner we've gotten all too familiar with in the last couple decades.

[nate]

Hennig. Dunno why. I was a kid when I first started watching him. And it was my first foray into "cheering the heel." You could tell he was good at what he did, and he knew it. It wa the confidence the man exuded. And he was crisp in the ring. My dad and I used to speculate on wrestling "dream matches" and his go-to were the Horsemen, so once we got Hogan-Flair talked up, we'd usually discuss Tully-Hennig next. Sometimes Tully/Arn vs. Hennig/Hall.

Hell, I used to run this annual dead wrestler/ dead comedian lethal lottery tourney on a message board of pals back in the day, and the day before I launched it Hennig died and I named it the Curt Hennig Memorial because why the fuck not.

[Lamp, broken circa 1988]

Jushin Liger.

 

I never really got into wrestling that deeply until someone showed me Japanese wrestling. Liger was not in the first Japanese match I ever saw, but as soon as I was introduced to him I was floored. I think even though I know there is a decent amount of Keiichi Yamada on tape, to me Jushin Liger is a symbol of everything about pro wrestling. Face or heel, high flying or grounded, outlandish entertainer or deadly serious wrestler, the powerful veteran or the heated underdog... barring the "Squash The World" year in 2000, I can watch any Liger and have a good time, and know that it'll probably be a different time each time out.

For something more empirical, his ability to be perfectly expressive despite wearing a full body suit and mask is probably the greatest testament to his talent.

[Curt McGirt]

As a kid, Bret. As an adult, Hansen. 

 

Bret was the perfect combination of underdog, champion, wily technician, master of moves, face and, towards the end of his WWF run, heel. I loved him in both iterations and bought into him totally. Before your Eddys and your Voldemorts, there was Bret. 

 

When I finally saw Stan in All Japan, and witnessed the greatest match ever of him vs. Andre, I knew he was my guy from here on out. Big, mean, stiff, and completely not giving a fuck. Spit chew in your face and run over your world title belt in his pickup. Fought all the cream of the crop talent-wise and had an incredible career... and is still alive and healthy after all these years. 

[mattdangerously]

Bret, for all the reasons already mentioned. Plus he wore hot pink every day for 15 years and looked cool as fuck doing it.

[Skeeball Wizard]

Macho Man. As a kid I absolutely despised him, being a diehard Hulkamaniac, but in my teens and as an adult, I've gone back and watched his earlier work, and damned if he wasn't just the greatest. Unmatched intensity, great promo, and he always had a mystique to him. Excellent in ring worker. When he switched over to.commentary in WWF, he almost seemed above anyone else in the company as far as a performer, so when he did work it felt so special. Hennig kind of had a similar feel in his latter WWF days (first run). Not quite on Savages level though.

[Beech27]

Kobashi. And it's not really close. Wouldn't be a wrestling fan otherwise. A brilliant worker in every way, complimented of course by other legends, in the early and mid 90s. But beyond that, an overwhelming physical charisma that elevated those affairs to pro wrestling nirvana, and carried him forward as his body broke down. 

[KidKash202]

Great Muta. Why? Because in his prime, I have not seen a more explosive athlete PERIOD. Any sport. Dude was so damn quick and quickness is a trait that I admire. He was cool as hell with his face paint and his mist. Man what is there NOT to like about the dude? Sanada is going to pay dearly...........

[Goodear]

Not surprisingly based on my avatar, I love me some Dean Malenko.  Really the anchor of WCW's cruiserweight division, it was Dean that helped guys like Rey Mysterio get over on a larger stage.  Such a great base and an interesting counterpoint to all the high flying and outrageous outfits, Dean was the stoic.  The guy who was steak with just enough sizzle for my tastes.  I loved the Iceman gimmick which fit him perfectly so when he did show emotion, it was important.  It was earned.  The pop he got when he kicked Jericho's ass dressed as a pumpkin was unreal.  

[BurningBeard]

Bret Hart. His match with Mr. Perfect at SummerSlam 91 was the first time I appreciated wrestling as something more than good guys vs bad guys. He kept me believing long after I knew it wasn't all on the up and up. I mean sure it's not really real but...Bret is limping like his ankle is broken. Nobody is that good an actor! Right? Right Dad? Right?

I've had an oddball group of favorites over the years (Warrior, Bret, Dlo Brown, Edge, my boy D Bry) but nobody has topped Bret.

 

Bret Hart for pretty much the same reasons. I got into wrestling with Wrestlemania VII and of course Hulk Hogan was my initial fave but it was that match where Bret became my favourite because it was so different to everything else going on. He is the perfect all-rounder IMO. FWIW my top 5 is

 

1) Bret Hart

2) Ric Flair

3) Barry Windham

4) Sting

5) Jake Roberts

[Matt D]

This is hard for me. The first two choices that came to mind were Buddy Rose and Nick Bockwinkel. Both of them are sort of the height of smart work, even if Buddy's was instinctual, combined with a whole lot of hard work, the ability to switch up what they do on a nightly basis, to work in a ton of different settings and roles, to portray both vulnerability and dominance, to tell amazing stories in their matches, to reach both the front row and the back row with amazing character work. There's something to learn and something to enjoy in every single thing they do. The problem is that I don't have a huge emotional connection to them that would make this work. Bockwinkel I barely ever saw a match of before three years ago and Buddy Rose I had only known from the blow-away diet era for most of my life. It makes things a little tricky for this experiment. Also, I can't really decide between them. It's goofus and gallant and both are great. Even Andre is sort of in this same boat since I didn't appreciate him at all when I was younger. I think guys like Finlay, and the unholy trio of Rip Rogers, Tracy Smothers, and Chris Colt would also sort of fall into this category. Certainly Lawler. Bill Eadie.

 

Then you get the wrestlers I'd gravitate towards in the last year, Mocha Cota and Satanico and Negro Casas and maybe increasingly Fuerza Guerrera (and Taue too, I guess). Frankly, it's the Nick and Buddy problem times ten. Yes, I want to devour their entire body of work but they're just who I've been enjoying lately, and I need to look at them over a span of years, not just their years but my own, to see how I'm going to feel in the future.

 

So who did I love as a kid? Bret Hart, who I met when I was 10 and resonated for years after. He's hurt because I was out of wrestling from 93-97 so I missed a ton of his prime when it comes to emotional resonance. Brian Pillman, but he's aged strangely to me. A lot of why I loved him as a kid doesn't really work for me anymore, even if there's still a lot to like. The Rockers. I've soured almost completely on Michaels and Jannetty is the kind of guy you like from a distance but only from a distance. He's nobody's favorite. Tito Santana, I still very much enjoy but I just don't think he's my favorite. For a while, I thought I was going to say Sting, because I'm so excited about seeing him now, not even as a wrestler but just as a presence. I didn't see any of his TNA run so that barely even existed to me. It's something I can get actual nostalgia about which is very rare in wrestling to me in 2014. I've had his song in my head for days. The Crow-One which isn't even how I best remember him.

 

And who did I like as a teenager? Eddy, Benoit, Kidman, Malenko. Owen. the Hardyz. Very much the guys I felt like I was supposed to like. I've watched very little US wrestling from 98-2008 in the last few years. It's all been soured to me somewhat. I have great memories of Eddy still but it's a bit like Pillman. I just don't want to touch it. 

 

There's not a huge cross-section. Windham's in that cross-section, but I just didn't care enough about them when I was younger. 

 

So that leaves just a couple of wrestlers.

 

Dustin Rhodes. I think I've never really been able to connect well with the Goldust character. I actually connect better with Stardust than any iteration of Goldust, and I also don't connect too well with the cowboy/Natural thing either. That said, I kind of grew up with Dustin and liked him a lot as a kid and I liked him a lot in 09 in ECW. And I like him more than anyone now, probably, but it just doesn't quite work. Regal's another guy like that. I think he's great. I probably sort of liked him as a teenager since I thought I was supposed to. He's got an amazing cross section of over the top character work and mat wrestling but he's also a guy I get excited to start a match with on youtube and I don't always make it.

 

So I think in the end, my answer is Arn Anderson. I liked Arn a lot as a kid. I don't know why. I sort of loved the spinebuster. He was really the only heel I liked in 90-91-92. I liked him again as a teenager, especially to go back and watch whatever old footage I had access to. And now that I've been able to see his older footage as an adult, I like him even more. I don't think he's the best wrestler of all time, but he often has very focused matches, is probably better at mixing stooging and deadly efficiency than anyone ever, is one of the best southern tag team wrestlers ever and his promos are just amazing. 

 

I'm going to go with Arn. 

[bobholly138]

Bob Holly,part of it is that I met him right when he first started wrestling. Another part of it is he reminds me of all the great mid carders I would see in the various deep south based feds that I grew up watching in the late 70s through the mid 80s.

[Uncle Coaster]

Tough call, but in the end I think I'll go with Steve Austin.

 

Not just because of his incredible run as Stone Cold, either.  He is one of the last wrestlers I can recall coming up through the territory system, he wrestled multiple styles and did them all well, and he always seemed to be in the promotion I was watching most closely at the time.  He was a favorite of mine when he was first coming up in Texas, a definite favorite of mine throughout his incredible WCW run, he gave me a "nod of acknowledgment" at a WWF event the night before he debuted as the Ringmaster, and of course there was Stone Cold when he made wrestling cool again.  An amazing career.

[Biz Smarkie]

I think I have to go with Arn as well. For the reasons Matt listed, as well as his ability to make you believe whatever he was preaching. While everybody in wrestling was over the top character wise, he was grounded. Made me believe that he was really Arn Anderson, not a dude playing a character.

[supremebve]

I also have to go with the Macho Man Randy Savage.  I was a huge Randy Savage fan as a kid, and I asked my mom for a Hulk Hogan wrestling buddy, not because I liked Hulk Hogan more, but because I wanted to drop the elbow on it.  As a kid if you wanted my fandom all you had to do was jump off the top rope, and Randy Savage's elbow was by far my favorite top rope finisher.  I probably dropped 10,000 elbows off the stairs, off the porch, on the bed, off the couch, in the yard, in the basement, on my friends, etc.  I'm surprised I haven't developed chronic hip problems from the amount of times I dropped elbows on surfaces ranging from grass, to carpet, to hard wood, to concrete covered by a thin rug.  Macho Man was everything I wanted as a wrestler as a kid, he was insane, he had an easy to mimic voice, he had a cool finisher, and always seemed to have the most exciting matches.  I'm happy he was in the WWF, because that is all I had access to as a kid, but could you imagine if he would have been in WCW in the late 80s early 90s having barn burners with Flair, Steamboat, Luger(the network has improved my opinion of him 10 fold), Windham, and occasionally Funk(who would out crazy who?)?   

[jstout]

No one so far has listed Ric Flair as their favorite? (One person had him second). Pardon me, Lex Luger, but peak-era Flair was the total package of wrestling/promos/character, you name it. He could make anybody look like a million bucks and may be the best talker ever in wrestling. Flair every time, few, few people come close.

[Fuzzy Dunlop]

Number one is Ric Flair.

 

When Ric Flair entered the ring, he'd tell the friggin' referees, the guys who were supposed to be impartial and figures of authority, to hold the ropes open for him. And then they did. I thought that was the coolest shit. Of course, it also helps he's probably the best all round talent that ever lived too.

 

Austin is another obvious one. I was 12/13 in 97/98 and, at that age, Stonecold was the baddest motherfucker that ever lived. 

 

Honourable mentions to Dusty, the Funker, Brock and, late 90s/early 00s tape buying me would say Kawada and, shit yes, Stan Hansen.

 

It warms my cockles that so many people are mentioning Macho Man too, these threads pop up a lot but I always dig them because it gets a lot of dudes talking about how fucking awesome Savage was. He might get mentioned more than anyone (maybe Bret too actually) in wrestling history in all time favourite lists and with good reason too because, after all, history beckons him.

[Lacelle]

Bret for me cause he was the one guy I always rooted for to win. With most wrestlers I just want to see a good match from them, but I always wanted Bret to get the duke cause I just always thought he was the best. Savage & Hansen are 2 & 3 for me and simply amazing wrestlers. There are certain guys who don't live up to your memories of them, then there are guys who somehow are even better. I have never been disappointed by these three wrestlers.

[Playa Shunna Ver 3.0]

Great question.  Great responses.  This is a hard one, but hands down it's Bret Hart.  Probably because when I first started watching he was a nobody in a tag team.  I thought he was super cool, and I watched his ascension in the WWF.  I watched him become champ, and he entertained me everytime he was out there.  He mixed so many styles, and although he had his moments of overformatting, he would frequently bust something you've never seen out.  In a time of gimmicks he wasn't overly gimmicky.  He had a real name.  A real family.  I came from a working class family.  He was working class.  He was true to his word, and he didn't let his fans down.  I love so many others, and they have all given me such great memories, but Bret will always stand out.  My second would probably be Mick Foley.  Honorable mentions:

 

Foley

Savage

Sting

Flair

Austin

 

Now my favorite tag team of all time- early 90's Steiner Brothers.

[Uncle Coaster]

No one so far has listed Ric Flair as their favorite?

 

Perhaps it is the mark in me, but when I think of Ric Flair, my first thoughts go to 80's NWA World Champion Flair when I was rooting for guys like Von Erich, Garvin and Steamboat against him.  When I first saw the question my thoughts were "who did I root for more than anyone else?".  I always loved watching Flair and thought he was the best forever, but I didn't start rooting for him as a fan until he came to the WWF in 1991.

 

 

Now my favorite tag team of all time- early 90's Steiner Brothers.

 

Yes.  Tag team would be an easy one for me and it would be the Steiner Brothers.