Who I think are the best?
1: Hogan - The Immortal, The Hulkster, the biggest name in wrestling ever.
2: Austin - Along with The Rock, he spearheaded a resurgence that brought wrestling to heights never before achieved.
3: The Rock - The most charismatic man in wrestling, ever. Not even a good technician, but no one gives a crap because he compensates so well that the match is still 5 stars.
4: Savage - The most well rounded superstar of all time. He's in the running as the best world champ ever, the best IC champ ever, the best behind the mic, the best in the ring, the best high flier, you name it, his name is in the mix. Savage is set the high standard that only the very best ever could beat in one category or another, and to this day no one is better than him in more than 1 category.
5: Andre The Giant - 25 years ago Hulk Hogan was a man on the way up with a massive following, but Andre was the man on top, and if you never got to see him live to see what an amazingly likable superstar he was, go rent The Princess Bride and that will give you a clue as to how lovable he was. You simply couldn't help but love Andre, and when he was in his prime he could wrestle with the best of them.
Now if you're talking about my favorites?
1: Macho Man Randy Savage - This is the guy that made me a fan. There was no better story teller ever, watching his matches were incredible. No one will ever convince me that there has been a better high flier than the Macho Man. Watching him drop the double axe-handle off the top rope was a work of art. For so many wrestlers, that move is "high risk" move done on special occasions when the opponent is knocked off his feet. Savage was so fast and fluid he made that move a part of his regular attacks. He could punch you in the face to stun you and then in 3 seconds be in mid-air about to drop the axe handle on you. Savage was lightning fast, HBK was never as fast as Savage. Watch WM3 and you'll see more proof of how fast Savage was. Another one of Savage's trademark high flier moves was the move where he'd grab you by the hair, and drag you with him as he'd leap over the top rope and clothesline you on the top rope. In WM3 you can see him do this move to Steamboat, and before Steamboat has even come to a standstill after falling backwards Savage was back in the ring, and had the leg hooked to try a pin attempt. THAT is fast. And for me, nothing is more iconic than Savage dropping the elbow. He made that look good, he made it look like he was floating, and then as the downward arch began he picked up so much speed you swear he'd knock the teeth out of his opponent. Best high flier ever, absolutely hilarious behind the mic, and he was the originator of the 3 i's. Intense, insane, incredible.
2: The Rock - I'm a pretty old school fan, and I was pretty surprised to see someone from what I considered the new generation of wrestlers (the attitude era guys) could really draw my attention. The Rock got be back to watching the WWF after I had firmly decided WCW had it all over the WWF. Austin never really was a draw for me, but The Rock, that promo against Billy Gunn, "But my name's Billy - IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOUR NAME IS!" Holy crap that made me cry I laughed so hard the first time I saw it. Then came WM19, that final match with Austin is to me, as iconic as Hogan vs Warrior or Warrior vs Savage. One of the best matches I've ever seen, it was funny, it was awesome, thoroughly entertaining, and it wasn't hardly a wrestling match, it was just flipping each other off and punching each other in the face. And as classic as Hogan promos used to be, The Rock's promos are the best ever.
3: Mr. Perfect - Mr. Cool IMO. I loved his vignettes where he was showing off all his athletic abilities, it didn't matter that obviously he couldn't catch his own pass 50 yards down the football field. It was the statement he was making; that he was the perfect athlete and wrestling was just a part of it, and if you fought him, you couldn't hope to best the perfection that was Hennig. His face turn was the best thing I've ever seen on WWF/WWE television. Prime Time Wrestling had it all over Raw when they had the roundtable discussion forum going between matches, and I'll never forget Perfect drenching Heenan with a pitcher of water and calling him a wet weasel.
4: The Undertaker - Not the "deadman" we have today, definitely not the American Badass, or the emo ****** with the tear under his eye, the zombie. Taker with Paul Bearer and the urn. The Undertaker that felt no pain, but could still get stunned or sent reeling. He was always on the offense, with his hand drawn back a few seconds from delivering a blow to the throat, but sometimes too slow to keep his offense going. You could pick up the tempo of the fight and outpace him and absolutely crush the guy or flatten him and pin him, but all you'd do is stun him for a time before he sat back up again like a zombie from the grave and came back at you again. When he won his first world championship, watching him walk to the ring with the title was eerie, he just held it limply at his side like he couldn't have cared less about the stupid belt, but maybe it could be used to club Hogan over the head. And then at Summerslam 92, arriving on the back of the hearse. F**king awesome. The original deadman was better than anything I've ever seen, I just wished they have kept that specific style of his gimmick going.
5: The Immortal Hulk Hogan (Hollywood Hogan can rot) - Back in the day, I was actually not the biggest Hogan fan, I liked Savage, Slaughter, & Taker fan. I hated Hogan's heel turn, despite loving the nWo (that was because of Hall & Nash, not Hogan). He was always the big guy on campus and I never really appreciated that when I was little. Then, Hogan made his return when Vince decided to bring back the nWo, and all I could think was it's great to see Hogan again, and when he finally turned face, and showed up in the yellow with Real American playing. Biggest mark out moment ever for me, and I think for countless other fans like me. "The Hogan ovations" of 2002 have never been rivaled by anyone, nor I dare say, will they ever. Deafening, and unrelenting. I remember Raw introducing The Hulkster, out he came and they went to commercial with him in the ring looking at the crowd stunned, and when we came back from commercials it was still going just as loud and strong, and then for the majority of that segment it was just more of the same, Hogan trying to get them to calm down long enough for him to talk, and them just chanting him down, and eventually he broke into tears and the crowd chanted even louder, and finally just before commercials again Hogan was allowed to cut his promo. And I loved every second of it. Austin will never get that, The Rock will never get that, Cena will never get that. Hogan is the best ever, and the hogan ovations are the best indicator that I'm right. Ever since his 2002 return, I can't help but smile and mark out seeing him, despite what little professional respect I have for the guy. He is still one lovable goof.
