Still under construction...here's Broadway Turk's pick of the Top Ten of all time, and why...
These ratings are based on the following factors: crowd appeal, script continuity, and individual merit...
(Andre the Giant has been excluded from this survey for obvious reasons.)
Bruno Sammartino
The Greatest of Them All, hands down. He was the Living Legend in his time; he had won so many Garden bouts that his matches had become foregone conclusions. When Gorilla Monsoon actually won on a countout against Bruno, the NYC press derided it as a 'script change' back in the days before Vince Mc Mahon sold the game out to the world and there was still a measure of diplomacy involved. Bruno flew out to the Coast to do a tank job for Ray Stevens, and that was a selfless effort as a crusader for the sport. In rolling over for Ivan Koloff, he paved the way for Pedro Morales' spectacular reign. He then returned for a curtain call in another historic prelude, losing to Billy Graham to set the stage for the Backlund era.
Thesz, a great wrestler, would not have been able to outfox a veteran of as many savage ring wars as Bruno. Sammartino's phenomenal stamina (a 90-minute curfew draw against 400-pound Monsoon the most noteworthy) and strength would have got him past Lewis; he earned his reputation and built his legend off men like Hulk Hogan. Sammartino stands alone in the history of the sport. Alongside him there is no other.
Lou Thesz
The protege of the legendary Ed "Strangler" Lewis, Thesz inherited the legacy of his mentor and brought wrestling from its carnival circuitry into the Golden Age of Wrestling. Standing six foot and weighing 235 pounds, Thesz's tiger-muscled physique and swarthy good-looks made him a crowd favorite. It was his ring technique and ability as a 'hooker' that set him apart from his peers. Thesz was a six-time NWA champion, and his age (fiftysomething) was the sole factor in ending his reign of over two decades (at the behest of NWA promoters) at the hands of Canadian legend Gene Kiniski.
Lewis, the greatest of his era, eventually ceded his lordship over pro wrestling to his chosen successor. Hogan would have been another Thesz victim in the Great One's heyday. If it were not for Sammartino, Thesz would have remained peerless in wrestling history.
Strangler Lewis
He was the King of Wrestling in his time, standing tall amongst legends such as Joe Stecher, Frank Gotch, George Hackenschmidt and other immortals. Lewis kept the sport alive after its fall from grace during the Depression, pioneering it through the carny days on through to the Golden Age of Television. Lewis' ability as a hooker was legendary, and he would've held onto the world title for years beyond his prime had he not given place to his protege, Thesz.
Lewis would have run roughshod over anyone in his day, even the larger Hogan, with his depthless skill and experience as a hooker. Only the strength of Sammartino could have surpassed his ring ferocity.
Hulk Hogan
Hogan eventually eclipsed Sammartino as the most popular wrestler of all time. Only "Stone Cold" Steve Austin has come close throughout ring history. Hogan, at 6'10" and 300 pounds, was the only wrestler to have bodyslammed and pinned Andre the Giant. Hogan's disastrous flirtations with Hollywood was the only reason for his star to have fallen, and despite the fact, he did more for wrestling than any other athlete. He virtually created Wrestlemania, brought the WWF into new worlds by breaking ground in music (MTV), the movies and TV. His split with Vince Mc Mahon and the WWF led to his bolstering of Ted Turner's WCW and the Monday Night wrestling wars that eclipsed the NFL in the rating wars at its height. Although technically mediocre, his physical prowessa and mat appeal are virtually unsurpassed.
Hogan would have been no match for Sammartino or the legendary hookers in a shootout, but he was able to outdo Flair time and again in their WCW confrontations. He was not the greatest wrestler, but as a performer he may have been matchless.
Ric Flair
The consummate mat performer, he singlehandedly kept the NWA and WCW afloat throughout the reign of the WWF while the AWA, WCCW and the WWA faded into history. The "Nature Boy" eclipsed his namesake, Buddy Rogers, in swiping his trademark Figure Four leglock and besting the top names in the sport in a manner befitting his predecessor, Thesz. The thirteen-time NWA/WCW world champ will never be eclipsed in that he also held the WWF crown during his career. His ring generalship can only be matched by Bret Hart, his record in having participated in dozens of hourlong bouts comparable only to those of immortals of the pre-Golden Age. Although lacking the technical proficiency of Angle and the universal appeal of Hogan, his place in the upper echelons of wrestling supremacy is etched in granite.
Kurt Angle
The Olympic gold medalist can only be compared to Gorilla Monsoon in the 60's WWWF in measuring his indispensability as the promotion's MVP over the last decade. Veteran referee Earl Hebner considered Angle to be incomparable; WWE vets were astonished by Angle's seamless rise to main event status in an unparalleled time. Angle remains the only Olympic gold medalist to ever win a professional world wrestling championship. Although he will be unable to equal the accomplishments of a Ric Flair as a pro wrestler, he will be remembered as the man who picked up where Bret Hart left off as the greatest technical wrestler in history.
Bret "Hitman" Hart
The chosen successor to Hulk Hogan in the 90's, his ring generalship can only be compared to Ric Flair as the consummate performer of his time. He perfected the 'stomp technique' (stomping the mat for effect when performing a move) above and beyond any other mat star, and was dubbed by the legendary Gorilla Monsoon as "The Excellence of Execution". His pound-for-pound toughness was unsurpassed, having most notably prevailed over the Undertaker in a grueling series of grudge matches. Only a Kurt Angle could have eclipsed the 235-pound Hart as the greatest of the technical wrestlers of the modern era.
The Undertaker
The man known as the Phenom has surpassed Hulk Hogan as the WWE standard-bearer, and holds the record for victories in the Super Bowl of wrestling, Wrestlemania. The greatest 'gimmick wrestler' of all time, his Deadman persona has prevailed through three of the four greatest WWE Eras (Hogan Era, Hart Era, Austin Era). Although he gave place to Bret Hart in their series of title matches, he would have unquestionably prevailed against swifter but smaller champions such as Verne Gagne in a 'dream match'.
Verne Gagne
The unchallenged ruler of Midwest wrestling throughout the 60's, he was overshadowed by only Sammartino and Thesz as the greatest wrestler of his era.
The Sheik
The greatest mat villain of all time, he was a legend throughout the 60's and one of the greatest draws in his era. Like Gagne, he cornered the market in the Great Lakes area, his Detroit promotion without parallel during his heyday and beyond.