5 most unselfish top guys in WWE history
Tensai pinning John Cena in 2012Pro-wrestling is a weird world in the sense that while it's a sport for individuals to a large extent, there's always a good amount of teamwork involved that takes the said individuals towards the desired outcome. It is a known fact that it takes two to tango (four when in tag team and so on) in a WWE ring, and despite it being a predetermined performance, not everyone can win. One of the competitors always has to take a fall.While the business has travelled from being perceived as a complete 'shoot' to the present day WWE which is looked at with an unprecedented amount of cynicism, for the ones competing in the ring wins and losses do matter for the most part. Along with wins and losses, how you look and how much offense you get in while in the squared circle also play a major role in the overall character graph of a wrestler. It is for this same reason that the business is ridden with stories of wrestlers not wanting to look weak or do 'jobs' at times.The situation gets even worse when a wrestler gets to the top and becomes 'the guy'. Stories abound of megastars including Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Steve Austin, etc not wanting to do what is 'best for business', just as an act of self-preservation. But at the other end of the spectrum there have also been few top names who were professional and smart enough to realise that the business is a 'work' and sometimes one can look stronger in defeat than in victory. We list out the top most unselfish superstars in the history of the WWE, from the time it became the mainstream global phenomenon it is today:
#5 Bret Hart
It is almost unthinkable to include 'The Hitman' in this list, considering how much stock he puts in himself and his character during all of his shoot interviews. However, as much of an egotist as Hart comes across, it is hard to debate that that was a very common attitude in the era that he came to fame in.
The early 90s in the WWE was a shark-tank, what with the company in financial doldrums following the steroid trials and the departure of big names such as Hogan, Warrior and Randy 'Macho Man' Savage. However, all wasn't lost as Bret Hart had become the biggest star in the company. What made him stand out was his comparatively smaller size and a highly efficient work rate between the ropes.
Those weren't the only things that made him stand out from his fellow top names in the WWE at the time; for the first time ever, the top guy in the WWE wasn't booked to be a superhero all the time. While it was natural and common for the babyfaces to lose ground during the match and get in heat on the heel opponent, it was always a given that the face would get to make a strong comeback before he got the victory.
However, it was Bret who, for the first time, didn't mind looking like he won his matches as a fluke, with many of his victories coming via roll-ups, small packages and pinning combinations on much larger men. It wasn't the ideal way to win when trying to gain credibility as a winning people's champion, but because Bret was so believable in what he did, he laid out the blueprint for future smaller stars such as Shawn Michaels, Rey Mysterio and the others.
Another special characteristic about Bret was his willingness to lose the 'big ones'; he seemed to lose all the big matches during his years as the WWE's top guy, like the WM matches against Yokozuna, HBK and Bob Backlund.