Who is pro wrestling's G.O.A.T.?
Arguments between wrestling fans about who is the greatest of all time get pretty heated. But who has the best claim to the title?
The greatest of all time.
It's a phrase loaded with meaning and raw emotion. After all, it's truly hard to determine who really is the best wrestler of all time because it is the most unique form of entertainment in mankind's history.
With other sports, like Football, it's easy to count up the goals scored and games won and get a somewhat objective view. But with wrestling, which combines scripted drama with real-world athleticism, the question grows murky.
There are many aspects to being a great wrestler, and almost no one scores highly in all categories. For example, while technical wizard Dean Malenko may know many, many more moves than John Cena, Cena has sold many, many more T-shirts and pay per view buys.
Thus, we will take a look at ten candidates for pro wrestling's G.O.A.T. and rate them on their technical ability, speaking prowess, and popularity both inside and outside the wrestling world. A fourth category, competition, will analyze the caliber of talent they faced during their careers.
Without further ado, let's begin!
Hulk Hogan
Hulk Hogan is still the man most non-wrestling fans think of when you bring up professional wrestling.
Terry Bollea came up through the AWA promotion and had great success before being hired by the then-WWF. His title win over Iron Sheik and the Rock n Wrestling connection of the decade helped to catapult him to household name status.
Hogan's Scores:
Technical Ability: While Hulk Hogan could sometimes display some technical acumen, it certainly wasn't his usual style. He wasn't terrible, but he wasn't the best of his generation, either. Grade: C
Speaking and promos: Hulk Hogan is one of the sport's greatest talkers, able to sell a storyline and get the fans emotionally involved without even having to utter his 'Training, prayers, and vitamins' catch phrase. He definitely gets the fans fired up, whether as the heroic Hulk Hogan or the villainous Hollywood Hogan. Grade: A
Popularity: When Hogan was on his legendary WWE run, he got wall to wall cheers. When he was Hollywood, he recieved wall to wall boos. He's already at an A rating before you add in a boost from his mass media appeal. Grade: A+
Competition: Hogan faced many of the biggest names in the sport, such as Andre the Giant and Randy Savage. However, he seldom defended his title for much of his five year reign, and often against lower tier talent. Grade: B