[quote author=Herr Onceared link=topic=42302.msg1200917#msg1200917 date=1287501987]
[quote author=LeTallecWiz link=topic=42302.msg1200887#msg1200887 date=1287499775]
For what he did with the crowd, I thought Stone Cold was phenomenal ...
But Oncey's list is rather accurate I think - though I never really liked Eddie Guerrero.
Rey Mesterio was great.
[/quote]Stone Cold, Mankind, Kane etc are a direct decendant of your Tugboat, Ultimate warrior, Hulk Hogan etc Franchise superstars who may not have all the in ring savvy but ship t-shirts. American wrestling has always been more about commercialism than craft and thats why there have always been John Cena's and there always will be, and thats fine but if you go out to mexico or Japan the pro wrestling circuit is a million miles ahead when it comes to actual capabilities. They are still showmen out there but the mastery of the gymnastic and athletic arts are there for all to see. It was in fact the introduction of 4 wrestlers who learned their craft in the far east and Mexico (Benoit, Saturn, Guerrero and Dean Malenko) who finally showed Vince that franchise superstars neednt be huge lumbering giants. The night Guerrero and Benoit won the wwe and world heavyweight titles was the wwe's best ever moment and paved the way for many stars to follow like Mysterio, Kennedy, Punk etc
There will always be a Stone cold but thankfully true wrestlers are now given a chance to showcase their talents and long may it continue.
[/quote]
Can't believe this turned out to be about wrestling. Hulk Hogan will probably always be considered the best due to the fact that wrestling became mainstream on the back of his success, but he came in at the right time. His whole cheesy good guy overcomes adversity with the same three moves every night wouldn't have worked in the mid to late 90 or in this century. For overall ability in the ring and ability to be loved as a babyface and hated as a heel, Eddie Geurrero is one of the best of all time. The same goes for The Rock. I only watch occasionally not but I absolutely love CM Punk. He has the crowd hating him before he even says a word and has some great moves.