Wrestling, it is a funny thing to be a fan of. Nothing else I can think of will split opinion with its fan base. Take football, for instance, doesn’t matter who you support, everyone can agree that Cristiano Ronaldo is a great player at the top of his sport. You won’t find that with wrestling fans, take John Cena, Roman Reigns or Hulk Hogan for examples. Anyway, these are my top 10, and you should be able to work out what I like in wrestling and what I want from it.
10. Thomas “The Dynamite Kid” Billington
Even if you ignore Dynamite's incredible body of work, against Tiger Mask or The Hitman for example, even if you ignore the fact he was The British Bulldogs, Davey was always like the hanger on for me, and please ignore the fact he was, and probably still is, a massive bell end, and just look at his style. The way in which he wrestled was so far ahead of its time everyone else seemed to be in slow motion, I believe that because of this he is one of the most influential performers of all time. But as part of the Bulldogs, he had some fantastic matches with people like The Hart Foundation, Demolition, and The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers, in fact, the Rougeaus vs The Bulldogs at Summerslam 1988 is still one of my favourite tag team matches today, it helps that it has sentimental value to me being the first wrestling match I ever saw.Check out these matches:
Tiger Mask I Vs The Dynamite Kid - NJPW Sumo Hall Show April 1983
The British Bulldogs vs The Fabulous Rougeau Brothers - Summerslam 1988
The British Bulldogs vs Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine - WrestleMania II 1986
9. Samoa Joe
Let’s face it, Joe is great, he is this giant beast of a man who looks like he will kill you, he can move in the ring and keep pace with the slightest of opponent, great on the mic, and when he does lose, he doesn’t lose that mystic of a killer. It is rare to find that in wrestling, take Bray Wyatt as a prime example of someone who just lost everything he had. Joe has always been great, he seemed to lose his passion for wrestling a little while being in TNA, however, since he hit the WWE he has been straight fire. He is also one of those rare performers who doesn’t need the Heavyweight title to be over, I am sure he will get it (this is pre-Summerslam so who knows now) but does he need it? Not for me.Three great Samoa Joe matches:
Samoa Joe vs CM Punk - ROH Joe vs Punk II 2004
Samoa Joe vs Kenta Kobashi - ROH Joe vs Kobashi 2005
Samoa Joe vs AJ Styles vs Christopher Daniels - TNA Turning Point 2009
8. "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig
Everything he did in the ring was marvelous to watch. When anybody talks of people who would have been great WWE(F) world champions if Mr.Perfect isn’t the first or at least second name on your mind I question what you actually want from wrestling. Not only was Perfect a great performer, but also great on the mic, his cocky self-righteous delivery just fit and I genuinely believed that he thought he was absolutely Perfect.Recommended matches:
Mr. Perfect vs Bret Hart - Summerslam 1991
Curt Hennig vs Nick Bockwinkle - AWA Superclash II 1987
Mr. Perfect vs Tito Santana - WWF Saturday Nights Main Event 1990
7. Mankind/Cactus Jack/Dude Love/Mick Foley
Mick Foley is somebody who understands Pro wrestling. From his dangerous and exciting ring style to his haunting and captivating promos, to his funny goofy side and finally he understood the single most important aspect of Pro wrestling, you have to put people over, something Mick did more and more of as he reached the twilight of his full-time career. Would Randy Orton be the 12 time champion without Foley giving him his launching pad right back with the legend killer gimmick? Would Edge go on to become one of the best of all time without Mick letting him spear him through a flaming table? And the most important question, would the Monday wars have been turned quite so early without Mick Foley finally winning the World Heavyweight Championship on one the most emotional nights ever on a pre-recorded Raw in 1999. The other thing I admired about Mick was the message he sent out to people, he didn’t have a god-like body, think the definition now would be “dad-bod”, he didn’t have good looks (in what I assume is the traditional sense) but he did have an incredible passion and work rate, and I think every single person could see that he not only poured everything he had into his craft but genuinely loved it. That is without mentioning that Hell In A Cell match.Check out:
Cactus Jack vs Randy Orton (Hardcore) - WWE Backlash 2004
Mankind vs Shawn Michaels - WWF Mind Games 1996
Cactus Jack vs Vader (Texas Death Match) - WCW Halloween Havoc 1993
6. Kurt Angle
I genuinely believe that it is near impossible for Kurt to have a bad match. All through is first run with WWE, through to TNA and others Kurt was the most reliable performer. If Angle was the card, something good was going to happen. Even now, where he isn’t as active in the ring, age may have caught up with him and his promos get muddled at times, he still is a draw. It is a testament to not only his skill as an athlete but his character as a person. His redemption story is the stuff that shows like the X-Factor are built on, and if we are all honest with ourselves for one minute, who doesn’t love a good redemption story.The list of stunning Kurt Angle matches are endless, I will pick three:
Kurt Angle vs Desmond Wolfe - TNA Turning Point 2009
Kurt Angle vs Shawn Michaels - WrestleMania 21 2005
Kurt Angle vs Brock Lesnar (Ironman) - Smackdown September 2003
I should really do some honourable mentions and on any day of the week these could swap in for some of the others, they are Edge, Chris Jericho, The Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase, The Rock, William Regal, Jake “The Snake” Roberts, Daniel Bryan and a controversial name, Chris Benoit. Feel I should justify Benoit, in no way do I think he should be remembered fondly as a person, what he did is horrible. However, I can’t forget how exciting his matches were, and the entertainment drawn from them. That’s all the time I am willing to give him. Anyway, on with the list…
5. Eddie Guerrero
The story of Eddie Guerrero is tragic. At only 38 and the height of his career his past life tragically caught up with him and he died. Who knows the heights he could have reached. The same as Kurt Angle as far as redemption stories go, ridding himself of his addictions, winning back his family and getting to the very top of his profession, it is the stuff of movies. What I loved the most was this, he would come out to the ring, every night, tell us he was going to lie, cheat and steal, and we loved him for it. The fact he could stand there and basically say “hey, I am a massive prick, I will rob off you, I will lie to your face and I will cheat you out of everything” and to be cheered and admired for this is a testament to the charisma he oozed out of every pour. He could also go in the ring, watching Eddie Guerrero made me happy, and is the only celebrity deaths that has made me pause for a second and honestly miss them.Classic Eddie moments:
Eddie Guerrero vs Rey Misterio Jr (Mask vs Title) - WCW Halloween Havoc 1997
Eddie Guerrero vs Kurt Angle - WWE WrestleMania XX 2004
Eddie Guerrero vs Brock Lesnar - WWE No Way Out 2004
4. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
From his days in WCW with or without Brian Pillman, it was obvious Steve Austin had it. However, although ECW sowed the seeds, it wasn’t until he became Stone Cold that he shot off into space. I am willing to bet a small fortune that nobody will come along who will effect the wrestling business like Stone Cold did. Punk may have come close, Daniel Bryan closer, but they were still a million miles from the Texan. Since Hulk Hogan, nobody had come close to epitomising the feeling of a generation, when that glass broke you left your seat, you stopped what you were doing and you wanted to see what Austin was going to do next. And even though his matches were essentially the same, punch, mudhole stomp, Luther’s press, kick to the gut, stunner, you were on the edge of your seat. It was the right man, at the right time, going against the perfect foil in Vince McMahon, doing the things we all wanted to. Because let’s face it, Austin was a bastard, but the more of a bastard he was, the more we cheered.Recommended viewing:
Steve Austin & Triple H vs Chris Jericho & Chris Benoit - WWF Raw May 2001
Steve Austin Vs Triple H (Three Stages of Hell) - WWF No Way Ok 2001
Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, Rick Rude & Larry Zbyszko Vs Barry Windham, Dustin Rhodes, Nikita Koloff, Sting & Ricky Steamboat (WarGames) - WCW Wrestlewar 1992
3. Macho Man Randy Savage
Savage, like Dynamite Kid, was ahead of his time. The pace in which he moved, the precision of what he did, how easy he was to like when he was a face, to how easy he was to hate as a heel. He also has to be the most imitated wrestlers of all time, in an era of snorting, shouting, brothers and pythons, it was the “Oh Yeah” of the Macho Man we were all doing around the school playground. He also deserves to be on anyone’s list for one simple fact, he got a genuine classic out of The Ultimate Warrior. Twice.Three examples of 'The Madness':
Randy Savage vs Ricky Steamboat - WWF WrestleMania III 1987
Randy Savage vs The Ultimate Warrior (Retirement Match) - WWF WrestleMania VII 1991
Randy Savage vs The Dynamite Kid - WWF The Wrestling Classic 1985
2. Bret “The Hitman” Hart & "The Heartbreak Kid" Shawn Michaels
Seeing as this is my list, and I can do what I want, I can’t separate these two. One, a technical wizard who drew you to the emotion of a match, who I even saw have an engaging contests with such alliums as Skinner and Kamala, and the first man to get Steve Austin over as a superface in one of, if the, best double turns in history, in he Hitman; and quite possibly the best in-ring performer ever, a man who could go out and have a great match with a broomstick, while being the most polarising figures in wrestling history Shawn Michaels. Can you have one without the other? Hitman being the serious pro wrestler, HBK being the very definition of sports entertainer, I also feel that with the history of these two (I don’t need to go into that) that they will forever be intertwined with each other.A selection of great matches from these two rivals:
Bret Hart vs Chris Benoit - WCW Nitro October 1999
Bret Hart vs Steve Austin (Submission Match) - WWF WrestleMania 13 1997
Bret Hart vs Owen Hart (Steel Cage Match) - WWF Summerslam 1994
Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker (Hell in a Cell) - WWF Badd Blood 1997
Shawn Michaels vs The Undertaker - WWE WrestleMania XXV 2009
Shawn Michaels vs Chris Jericho (Ladder Match) - WWE No Mercy 2008
1. The Undertaker
From when he first made his debut in 1990 all the way through till now, I have been a fan of The Undertaker. Never have I heard a bad word being spoken about him, never. It just was perfect, the perfect gimmick, the perfect man portraying that gimmick, the WrestleMania streak, the music, the move set, everything. I have yet to find a wrestling fan even who at one time or another hasn’t been a fan of The Undertaker, hell, my boy is three years old and has soon as he is old enough, he will be a fan of The Undertaker. He is the reason I kept coming back, the reason I am addicted.The best of 'The Deadman':
The Undertaker vs Mankind (Hell In A Cell) - WWF King of The Ring 1998
The Undertaker vs Batista - WWE WrestleMania 23 2007
The Undertaker vs Brock Lesnar (Hell in a Cell) - WWE Hell in a Cell 2015
Well, that’s it. If you want to have a pop at this list, please do so, or if there are any other lists, articles or reviews you want from me or either of the other two, leave a comment. Cheers.
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