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Post by MKSavage on Jul 20, 2022 17:15:29 GMT -5
What is your personal Mount Rushmore? Not the 4 wrestler you think are/were the best, but which are the 4 that made you tune in. It didn't matter what was happening or when, but if they were on TV, you were watching. It can be wrestlers or managers (looking at you The Brain ). Here are mine: Macho Man/King Randy Savage - he was my first hero in wrestling, and still my all-time favorite today. My first memory of wrestling was the SNME in 1989 when he turned on Hogan. I thought he was the coolest character after slapping Hogan in the face. I really enjoyed the Macho King era; he and Sherri were so entertaining. His feuds with Hogan, Dusty, and Warrior were great. I didn't really start watching wrestling non-stop until 1991, after witnessing the Snake Bite Incident. After that moment, I was hooked. I watched religiously from that moment until 2002 - doing my best not to miss a show. The next two on my list came along at the same time, in the mid 90s when Savage was doing more commentating than wrestling. Sting - The first time I remember ever watching WCW was in 1991. At this time, he was the biggest star of the company. I was instantly hooked. His feuds with Rick Rude, Vader, the Dangerous Alliance, Luger, Flair, the Horsemen, Cactus Jack, etc. were amazing. He remains my favorite WCW wrestler of all-time.
Bret Hitman Hart - at the same time I first noticed Sting in WCW, Bret Hart was rising in the WWF. In 1991, as Macho was announcer, Bret was having the best matches in the WWF - and pretty much would continue to do so through the end of his WWF career. I know a lot of people aren't fans of his, they blame him for the low ratings in the "New Generation" era of the WWF. But I look at it differently, I wonder where the WWF would have been without him. They tried everyone else other than Bret during this period and it didn't do anything for ratings either. Shawn wasn't really ready for the spotlight and didn't do anything for ratings when he became champion. Neither did Diesel or Luger. The only one that I say would have been as big, or bigger than Bret at the top, would have been Undertaker. But his matches were not that great at the time, very slow and prodding. I think this would have gotten old faster if he was featured more, especially as the champion, keeping him as an attraction was the right choice. Bret also helped usher in the era of my last wrestler on my personal Mount Rushmore... Stone Cold Steve Austin - I was a fan of Austin's in WCW when he was Stunning Steve, I thought he was very talented, though he didn't make my list until he became Stone Cold. His feud with Bret in 1996/97 was really the only thing the WWF had going at the time; WCW was kicking their butts in the rating every week. But any time Austin and Bret were on TV during that era, I always switched over - especially if they were working with each other. I've said this numerous times before, to me, their match at WM13 is the best in WrestleMania history. Not only was it damn near flawless as a wrestling match, but it also told a great story. These two together just clicked, and Bret putting Austin over as the badass just helped push Austin into the stratus fear. I was listening to an interview that Cornette had with Honky Tonk and they were discussing the believability of wrestlers and that's what makes wrestling work. He, Cornette, brough up Austin, that he was the last wrestler that fans actually believed in (because at this time kayfabe was eroding, and fans were losing interest). He points to the moment when the WWF turned Austin and he joined with Vince at WM17. He said at that moment, wrestling died. Because they took the last character/wrestler that fans truly believed in and turned him against them (the fans). After that, the ratings started slowly going down and have yet to return to those previous heights. I thought this was well said, I completely agree with this. As a fan, I started losing interest around this time, turning Austin was such as mistake. Much like when WCW turned Sting heel in 1999, the fans just didn't want to boo Austin - at least not yet. Also like with Sting in 1999, it didn't work, and they had to turn Austin back face soon after. Though, with that being said, I did actually enjoy the Austin/Angle/McMahon segments. So those are my picks for my personal Mount Rushmore. What are yours? |
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Post by The Brain on Jul 20, 2022 18:24:51 GMT -5
No order with these... Ric Flair- The GOAT in my book. Watching him in the ring was always a pleasure. The man just screamed STAR. My fav wrestler. Love Naitch Bobby Heenan-You humanoids know what this man means to me. I knew signing up to WFigs back in 2016 what my name was going to be on here. I also gave em tribute on PSN for my old school wrestling group called ''The Humanoid Nation''.Had a great run until they scrapped the community feature  but yeah the GOAT of managers and like the other 3 here main reasons for my fandom.Proud humanoid then,now and forever. Roddy Piper- Another one just a joy to watch. I always favored the heels so Hot Rod was right up my alley. Just awesome all around Randy Savage-Man what a run this guy had.The matches with Steamboat,Flair,Warrior, DDP etc stuff of legends. My 2nd fav of all time right under Naitch I usually dont do honorable mentions but with these 3 I gotta Rick Rude Mr. Perfect Gorilla Monsoon Again all very important to my fandom. Rude/Perfect round out my top 5 wrestlers of all time and Gorilla man just joy to listen to em in the booth with Bobby and Jesse. All sorely missed  I may of stopped watching years back but with these guys and the legacies they left, I will always be a fan of pro wrestling. |
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Post by LA Times on Jul 20, 2022 19:32:00 GMT -5
Hulk Hogan
Sting
John Cena
Ultimate Warrior
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Post by hbkjason on Jul 21, 2022 0:14:07 GMT -5
Shawn Michaels: The Rockers were my favorite tag team as a kid and even when he was a heel, I loved Shawn Michaels. I think that he is a performer that got better and better as he got older, mostly becasue of his improved attitude. While his work in the early to mid 90s was amazing from an in-ring point of view, his bad attitude did mean that the storylines often suffered. Still, he was always entertaining, no matter if it was a PPV, RAW or Superstars, he always gave you everything he had.
Bret Hart: While Shawn Michaels will always be my number one, I have to say that I think Bret's in ring work has aged a little better. A truly timeless performer and probably the greatest in ring wrestler of all time in my opinion. It did not matter who Bret Hart worked with, he managed to make it work and 99/10 he would get at the very least a decent match out of anyone. Such a shame his career ended the way it did.
The Rock: As much as I loved Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock was my guy during the Attitude Era. He was one of if not the most entertaining guy on the mic of all time. However, I always feel that his in ring skills get greatly overlooked. His matches were always fun and exciting and he was one of those guys that made it work no matter who he was paired with.
The Ultimate Warrior: I had to put the Warrior on this list as he was my first hero as a kid and a huge reason I got into wrestling the way that I did! I know people make fun of him, but his crazy and intense promos, his awesome entrance, a few clotheslines, tackle, gorilla press slam shtick was amazing to me and far more entertaining that anything else I was seeing at the time. I also have to say that he is a far better "wrestler" than people give him credit for and when he had to actually wrestle and have a proper match, I feel that more often than not he delivered.
I could write a whole list of honorable mentions, but Macho Man Randy Savage, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Undertaker, Chris Jericho and British Bulldog would probably be who would round out a top ten for me.
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Post by MKSavage on Jul 21, 2022 0:50:31 GMT -5
Shawn Michaels: The Rockers were my favorite tag team as a kid and even when he was a heel, I loved Shawn Michaels. I think that he is a performer that got better and better as he got older, mostly becasue of his improved attitude. While his work in the early to mid 90s was amazing from an in-ring point of view, his bad attitude did mean that the storylines often suffered. Still, he was always entertaining, no matter if it was a PPV, RAW or Superstars, he always gave you everything he had. Bret Hart: While Shawn Michaels will always be my number one, I have to say that I think Bret's in ring work has aged a little better. A truly timeless performer and probably the greatest in ring wrestler of all time in my opinion. It did not matter who Bret Hart worked with, he managed to make it work and 99/10 he would get at the very least a decent match out of anyone. Such a shame his career ended the way it did. The Rock: As much as I loved Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock was my guy during the Attitude Era. He was one of if not the most entertaining guy on the mic of all time. However, I always feel that his in ring skills get greatly overlooked. His matches were always fun and exciting and he was one of those guys that made it work no matter who he was paired with. The Ultimate Warrior: I had to put the Warrior on this list as he was my first hero as a kid and a huge reason I got into wrestling the way that I did! I know people make fun of him, but his crazy and intense promos, his awesome entrance, a few clotheslines, tackle, gorilla press slam shtick was amazing to me and far more entertaining that anything else I was seeing at the time. I also have to say that he is a far better "wrestler" than people give him credit for and when he had to actually wrestle and have a proper match, I feel that more often than not he delivered. I could write a whole list of honorable mentions, but Macho Man Randy Savage, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Triple H, Undertaker, Chris Jericho and British Bulldog would probably be who would round out a top ten for me. Great list! I'm with you, Shawn and Bret to me are the best in-ring wrestlers I have ever seen (though that could be because I grew up in the 90s in terms of wrestling, the height of their careers). Bret was more the old school way (holds, story-telling) up to the modern era (still use holds but sped up the tempo), while Shawn was more the modern era (still use holds but sped up the tempo) to the present (mostly high spots, no story telling and barely any selling). Both could have a good/great match with just about anyone. Not really a big fan of the Rock, but he was definitely a great character and tremendous on the mic. Warrior got bumped off my Mount Rushmore when Austin came along. I was always more of a Warrior fan than Hogan. Hard to say who would round out my top ten, but Warrior, Perfect, Piper, Rude, Steamboat, Jake, HBK, would all be in the running. |
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nibs92
Main Eventer
Joined on: May 29, 2008 5:47:21 GMT -5
Posts: 2,239
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Post by nibs92 on Jul 21, 2022 1:39:03 GMT -5
What a cracker of a question!!
Bobby Heenan - I started watching WWF at the beginning of 1992 and the Rumble that year was the first big event I saw. His performance that night was unreal on commentary and completely mesmerised me. Although I was constantly reminded of how “fake” wrestling is, it was hard not to believe he had everything on the line that night. One of the greatest performances in any form of entertainment that night. I started buying old vhs events a round this time and loved the events he was commentating on (the “Jim Lewis” arena line has pride of place in my Mount Rushmore of Heenan quips!). Loved watching him on the prime time panel as well. Special mention for his performances as a performer at wM5 and Survivor Series 89.
Haku - I doubt he will be on many peoples lists but loved this guy. I know the question says about what made me tune in but will stretch that to what influenced my early video purchases. I first became aware of him when Vince was announcing the RR92 participants (Haaakoooo) and amused me. He didn’t do much in the match but had a presence that mesmerised me. My finances were limited, so could only buy one video at a time and he was one of the performers I would look for when deciding what to buy. A big influence in one of my first purchases (WM5) and remember feeling excited to see him in the main match at Survivor Series 88. He was never going to be the champ but so solid in the ring.
Sid Justice - not a favourite of mine by any stretch but was a must see for me in the run up to WM8. I loved the angle the WWF ran when he was destroying jobbers and attacking them when they were being stretchered out. Always got a buzz when they announced that Sid would be in action that week. The Virgil nose break was excellent as well. I always looked forward to seeing what he would do next.
Chris Jericho - much like Sid, I wouldn’t put him as one of my favourites but I remember really looking forward to seeing him when he first started with the WWF. There was a certain buzz with the Y2J countdown clock and even though I had no clue who he was at the time, I was excited when he finally appeared. A personal story here and hopefully not too crude for you guys but I remember Raw used to be on on a Friday night and I would tape it as I was usually out on the town that night. One time I’d met this girl and was invited to stay the night at hers which I accepted out of politeness. After she fell asleep I sneaked away as I couldn’t wait to get home and watch Raw and on my journey home I remember all I had going through my head was “Raw is Jericho!!” For some reason, things didn’t work out with that girl!
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Post by CM Tusk on Jul 21, 2022 2:16:33 GMT -5
Austin
Punk
Bryan
Bayley
Top four all time for me
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Post by ASR (therockisback) on Jul 21, 2022 6:48:26 GMT -5
Austin
Rock
HBK
Undertaker
Honourable mentions goes to Hogan, HHH, Cena, Foley, Bret, Eddie Guerrero.
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Post by Nivro™ on Jul 21, 2022 12:40:07 GMT -5
WWF
Hogan
Savage
Warrior
Andre
WCW
Sting
Flair
Luger
Steiner Brothers
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Post by Grenouille on Jul 21, 2022 18:11:43 GMT -5
Just North America
Randy Savage
Ric Flair
Hulk Hogan
Shawn Michaels
World
Mitsuharu Misawa
Toshiaki Kawada
Randy Savage
Ric Flair
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Post by JokerFC on Jul 22, 2022 12:08:33 GMT -5
Easy....
Hulk Hogan
Steve Austin
The Rock
Bret Hart
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X-27
Main Eventer
Joined on: Jan 28, 2019 22:28:39 GMT -5
Posts: 1,610
Member is Online
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Post by X-27 on Jul 22, 2022 19:56:31 GMT -5
Bryan Danielson
Chris Jericho
Bret Hart
Kurt Angle
Steve Austin has to be an honorable mention along with 7 or 8 others, at least.
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Post by PJ on Jul 23, 2022 13:55:31 GMT -5
You did it! You finally did it! You went there! A Mount Rushmore about your personal Mount Rushmore! At least you didn’t mention neon cowboy hats!  But for the most part it was my favorites that had me tuning in. When I was a young wrestling fan. (Under 25) Sting “Rowdy” Roddy Piper The Road Warriors “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka Honorable mentions (or Mount Rushmore 2.0) - Bret “Hitman” Hart “Mr Wonderful” Paul Orndorff Steiner Brothers Dynamite Kid |
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ClassicFan2
Main Eventer
Joined on: Oct 22, 2010 15:25:00 GMT -5
Posts: 3,250
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Post by ClassicFan2 on Jul 23, 2022 20:02:13 GMT -5
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machomadness210
Superstar
Joined on: Jul 17, 2020 15:26:59 GMT -5
Posts: 703
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Post by machomadness210 on Aug 7, 2022 17:38:47 GMT -5
What is your personal Mount Rushmore? Not the 4 wrestler you think are/were the best, but which are the 4 that made you tune in. It didn't matter what was happening or when, but if they were on TV, you were watching. It can be wrestlers or managers (looking at you The Brain ). Here are mine: Macho Man/King Randy Savage - he was my first hero in wrestling, and still my all-time favorite today. My first memory of wrestling was the SNME in 1989 when he turned on Hogan. I thought he was the coolest character after slapping Hogan in the face. I really enjoyed the Macho King era; he and Sherri were so entertaining. His feuds with Hogan, Dusty, and Warrior were great. I didn't really start watching wrestling non-stop until 1991, after witnessing the Snake Bite Incident. After that moment, I was hooked. I watched religiously from that moment until 2002 - doing my best not to miss a show. The next two on my list came along at the same time, in the mid 90s when Savage was doing more commentating than wrestling. Sting - The first time I remember ever watching WCW was in 1991. At this time, he was the biggest star of the company. I was instantly hooked. His feuds with Rick Rude, Vader, the Dangerous Alliance, Luger, Flair, the Horsemen, Cactus Jack, etc. were amazing. He remains my favorite WCW wrestler of all-time.
Bret Hitman Hart - at the same time I first noticed Sting in WCW, Bret Hart was rising in the WWF. In 1991, as Macho was announcer, Bret was having the best matches in the WWF - and pretty much would continue to do so through the end of his WWF career. I know a lot of people aren't fans of his, they blame him for the low ratings in the "New Generation" era of the WWF. But I look at it differently, I wonder where the WWF would have been without him. They tried everyone else other than Bret during this period and it didn't do anything for ratings either. Shawn wasn't really ready for the spotlight and didn't do anything for ratings when he became champion. Neither did Diesel or Luger. The only one that I say would have been as big, or bigger than Bret at the top, would have been Undertaker. But his matches were not that great at the time, very slow and prodding. I think this would have gotten old faster if he was featured more, especially as the champion, keeping him as an attraction was the right choice. Bret also helped usher in the era of my last wrestler on my personal Mount Rushmore... Stone Cold Steve Austin - I was a fan of Austin's in WCW when he was Stunning Steve, I thought he was very talented, though he didn't make my list until he became Stone Cold. His feud with Bret in 1996/97 was really the only thing the WWF had going at the time; WCW was kicking their butts in the rating every week. But any time Austin and Bret were on TV during that era, I always switched over - especially if they were working with each other. I've said this numerous times before, to me, their match at WM13 is the best in WrestleMania history. Not only was it damn near flawless as a wrestling match, but it also told a great story. These two together just clicked, and Bret putting Austin over as the badass just helped push Austin into the stratus fear. I was listening to an interview that Cornette had with Honky Tonk and they were discussing the believability of wrestlers and that's what makes wrestling work. He, Cornette, brough up Austin, that he was the last wrestler that fans actually believed in (because at this time kayfabe was eroding, and fans were losing interest). He points to the moment when the WWF turned Austin and he joined with Vince at WM17. He said at that moment, wrestling died. Because they took the last character/wrestler that fans truly believed in and turned him against them (the fans). After that, the ratings started slowly going down and have yet to return to those previous heights. I thought this was well said, I completely agree with this. As a fan, I started losing interest around this time, turning Austin was such as mistake. Much like when WCW turned Sting heel in 1999, the fans just didn't want to boo Austin - at least not yet. Also like with Sting in 1999, it didn't work, and they had to turn Austin back face soon after. Though, with that being said, I did actually enjoy the Austin/Angle/McMahon segments. So those are my picks for my personal Mount Rushmore. What are yours? Dude, what you said about Savage brought a tear to my eye. I legit wanted to fight my 4th Grade friends who sided with Hogan |
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machomadness210
Superstar
Joined on: Jul 17, 2020 15:26:59 GMT -5
Posts: 703
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Post by machomadness210 on Aug 7, 2022 17:40:00 GMT -5
No order with these... Ric Flair- The GOAT in my book. Watching him in the ring was always a pleasure. The man just screamed STAR. My fav wrestler. Love Naitch Bobby Heenan-You humanoids know what this man means to me. I knew signing up to WFigs back in 2016 what my name was going to be on here. I also gave em tribute on PSN for my old school wrestling group called ''The Humanoid Nation''.Had a great run until they scrapped the community feature but yeah the GOAT of managers and like the other 3 here main reasons for my fandom.Proud humanoid then,now and forever. Roddy Piper- Another one just a joy to watch. I always favored the heels so Hot Rod was right up my alley. Just awesome all around Randy Savage-Man what a run this guy had.The matches with Steamboat,Flair,Warrior, DDP etc stuff of legends. My 2nd fav of all time right under Naitch I usually dont do honorable mentions but with these 3 I gotta Rick Rude Mr. Perfect Gorilla Monsoon Again all very important to my fandom. Rude/Perfect round out my top 5 wrestlers of all time and Gorilla man just joy to listen to em in the booth with Bobby and Jesse. All sorely missed I may of stopped watching years back but with these guys and the legacies they left, I will always be a fan of pro wrestling. Great list, Brain 🧠 |
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Post by Codyverse: Tag Team Champion on Aug 8, 2022 13:16:52 GMT -5
My top four all time:
Undertaker
Sting
Kane
Shawn Michaels
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Post by TKO Propagandist on Aug 8, 2022 14:02:24 GMT -5
Hogan, Flair, Terry Boulder, The Black Scorpion, Sterling Golden
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machomadness210
Superstar
Joined on: Jul 17, 2020 15:26:59 GMT -5
Posts: 703
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Post by machomadness210 on Aug 8, 2022 15:40:27 GMT -5
My Mount Rushmore is:
Randy Savage
Jesse Ventura
Gorilla Monsoon
Bobby Heenan
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Post by Mongo Bears on Aug 8, 2022 16:56:20 GMT -5
Nice
Hulk Hogan/Hollywood and it’s done.
ok add Mr Perfect and Macho man and Sting
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but yeah the GOAT of managers and like the other 3 here main reasons for my fandom.Proud humanoid then,now and forever.
Hogan VS Flair
