2010 Pro Wrestling Thread

OK, this is random, but I was watching old RAW episodes on justin.tv and decided to look up the Manhattan Center. The Hammerstein Ballroom (where that clip was broadcast from) is in the same building as "The Grand Ballroom," which is where the early Monday Night Raw shows broadcast from. Pretty interesting. I wonder why they went with the much smaller room for Raw.

 

At the time, a live/plausably live prime time wrestling show was uncharted waters (Prime Time Wrestling, the show it replaced, was rehash of Superstars/Challenge/Spotlight and Northeast house show matches). Monday nights back then weren't exactly prime sporting event slots (outside the NFL, of course). And they needed a permanent home to have fixed locations for some of the tricks they introduced with the show.

Once it became obvious that Raw was becoming more popular (and supplanting Superstars as the flagship show), it hit the road.

 

VKM also originally wanted that smaller, more intimate fan setting for RAW, IIRC. Tiny venue, NYC fans...couldn't really go wrong.

 

Rajah:

What a joke of a list for the most part. Thoughts?

 

Horrific.

Hogan's 23 and Bruno's 24?

Mysterio's 9th? Guerrero 11th?

Junkyard Dog above Superstar Graham?

What a fraud.

Here's my list, taking into account in-ring ability, promo ability, impact on the business, ability to get fan reaction, historical signficance:

1. Flair
2. Bruno
3. Hogan
4. Undertaker
5. Race
6. Austin
7. Andre
8. Rock
9. Thesz
10. Michaels
11. Gorgeous George
12. Dusty
13. Angle
14. Savage
15. Steamboat
16. Piper
17. Hart
18. Cena
19. BRUISER BRODY (How was he not on the list?)
20. Terry Funk
21. VERNE GAGNE
22. Rogers
23. Triple H
23. Lawler
24. Jericho
25. Blassie
26. ROAD WARRIORS (Yeah, I know, there aren't any tag teams. There should be on this list)
27. ANTONIO INOKI
28. MILDRED BURKE
29. Edge
30. Randy Orton
31. Patterson
32. Moolah
33. Foley
34. Monsoon
35. Graham
36. Dory Funk Jr.
37. Bockwinkel
38. Snuka
39. Kowalski
40. Roberts
41. ORIGINAL SHEIK
42. STING
43. Backlund
44. DYNAMITE KID
45. JUSHIN LIGER
46. Mysterio
47. LARRY ZBYZSKO
48. BENOIT :
49. Big Show
50. Slaughter

I'm sure there's someone I left off. Still, that WWE list absolutely sucks.


Edit: I didn't intend to have Trips and King tied at 23. I just mistyped. Also, now that I think about it, I'd move Kowalski ahead of Superfly, and Sting, Sheik and Backlund ahead of Superfly and Roberts.

 

You knew going in that this kind of list, by the WWE, would be incredibly biased. This is why Koko B. Ware is in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Bruno never will get the respect he deserves because of his longstanding feud with McMahon.

Based on a combination of work-rate, drawing ability and mic skills, any list of the greatest American pro wrestlers of all-time should have, somewhere in the top 50, the following names (in no particular order):

Harley Race
Terry Funk
Dory Funk Jr.
Ric Flair
Bruno Sammartino
Scum Hogan
Steve Austin
Jack Brisco
Buddy Rogers
Ricky Steamboat
Randy Savage
Lou Thesz
Ray Stevens
The Sheik
Dynamite Kid
Shawn Michaels
Bret Hart
Kurt Angle
Verne Gagne
Andre the Giant

 

Has this list been confirmed anywhere official? It seems so bad I can't believe it. JYD being on this list at all makes me question it.

 

Old School night on Monday? Hell, I can see all the old school I can handle on TNA every Thursday.

 

Like any list of this type, there are going to be five or 10 guys you can pretty much interchange at the top and not get an argument. And you can make a case for their top five being somewhere in there. But Nos. 5-10 are a total joke. I appreciate what Steamboat and Harley Race did in their careers, but to put them that high -- let alone above Hogan and Flair -- is ridiculous.

FWIW, here's my top 10:
1) Hogan (took wrestling to heights it hadn't seen before or, arguably, since)
2) Flair (better in-ring worker than Hogan, but appreciated more by "real" fans than mainstream types)
3) Rock (probably the closest thing to a Flair-Hogan hybrid that we've seen)
4) Austin (could interchange him with Rock at No. 3 and I wouldn't argue)
5) Michaels (in a weird way, he's underappreciated)
6) Bruno Sammartino (the token old school champ in the top 10)
7) Undertaker (the matches and longevity he's had for a big man are astounding)
8) Bret Hart (great in-ring worker, but always seemed so-so on the mic and was largely a "blah" champ)
9) Triple H (say what you want about him, but he's one of the best of this generation)
10) Randy Savage (one of the first to really combine heavyweight contender size with mobility and aerial moves)

 

This list has to be fake.

 

I agree. Any list without Crush and Doink the Clown on it has to be a fake.

 

The list is legit.

And anyone who puts Hogan above Austin is nuts.

Yes, Hogan set the bar, but he was a steroid freak in the right place at the right time.

Austin came along and eclipsed him everywhere: He sold more merchandise than Hogan, he was better on the mic, had better feuds, and of course, was a FAR better worker than Hogan could ever dream of being.