<http://schema.org/articleBody>
"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Ranking the top 101 wrestlers of all time is a tall task. After all, how does one compare a star of the '50s&amp;nbsp;(Lou Thesz) to a star of the '80s (Ric Flair) to a star of today (John Cena)? We poured through old YouTube videos, wrestling mags and the WWE Network (just $9.99!) to come up with our final list. We hope you agree with our choices. If not, let us know at&amp;nbsp;feedback@simail.com. Onto the list.&amp;nbsp;&lt;/em&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2&gt;101. The Miz&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You might snort at this, but I actually The Miz has become a truly idiosyncratic part of the WWE. Yeah he\u2019s never going to be great in the ring, but Miz is a fantastic heel who\u2019s reinvented himself a number of times over the course of his 12 years in the WWE. Is he an all-timer? No, that\u2019s why he\u2019s up here at 100, but I feel like someday we\u2019ll look back on Miz the same way we look back on Ted DiBiase.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;100. Frank Gotch&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We have to include one guy from the carnival era, and that guy is Frank Gotch. To give you some perspective, Gotch died in 1917, so his version of wrestling is sort of like Naismith\u2019s version of basketball, but it was still important! Someone had to invent the idea of fixed fights, okay?\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;99. Wild Bill Longson&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;We have to give it up to Wild Bill. He came up in the vaudeville days, back when wrestling was trying to be as realistic as possible, and invented the Piledriver\u2013which might be the least realistic looking wrestling move ever. It\u2019s also super iconic, which is why he\u2019s on the list.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;98. Christopher Daniels&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Daniel Bryan, Samoa Joe, and A.J. Styles all eventually made it to WWE, but Christopher Daniels is one of the few remaining standouts of his generation yet to make it to the main event. It\u2019s a shame, because he\u2019s great in the ring and capable of a solid promo. At 46, we hope he has one last renaissance left in him.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;97. JBL&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;JBL was a great character. I know we forget that when he\u2019s being a blight on commentary, but the exaggerated stock-market billionaire gimmick made him immensely hateable, and a great foil for a kid in jean shorts named John Cena. Hopefully as time goes on we give JBL the Lawler treatment, where we forgive his sins in the announcer\u2019s booth for his talent in the ring.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;96. Big Show&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Big Show is underrated. Underrated on the mic, underrated in the ring, underrated athletically, technically, and emotionally. He\u2019s got a bona fide hall of fame career, and even when he\u2019s given nothing\u2013like that Roman Reigns match from last year\u2013he still manages to put a unique spin on things.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;95. Ron Simmons&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Damn.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;94. Christian&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This might be one of the few times that a wrestler gets on this list for their work in TNA, but after a solid single\u2019s career and a great tag-team run in WWE, Christian proved he could be a legit title holder in a place careers usually go to die. We\u2019re still a little sore about the Randy Orton feud but hey, no big deal I guess.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;93. Lita&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;While she was never an elite wrestler, Lita showed young girls around the world that you didn\u2019t need to be a blonde fitness model to succeed in the business. Instead, you really could grow up loving wrestling and make it your life. This video of a young A.J. Lee meeting her idol says it all.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;92. Batista&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;His latest return has soured us (and that\u2019s both his and WWE\u2019s fault) but Batista was a really good wrestler who\u2019s had a lot of great matches. His streak match with Undertaker is enough to be on this list alone. Sure he was never as popular as Vince McMahon probably wanted him to be, but Big Dave absolutely made an impact, and I hope he makes it back to the company to end things in a proper way.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;91. Kevin Nash&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I know, it\u2019s Kevin Nash. But I love the weird little niche he\u2019s carved out in wrestling. He\u2019s always been kinda self-deprecating, and acutely aware of his limitations. He once tossed an arm-drag in TNA to this hilariously shocked pop. I know it\u2019s weird to put someone on a list of the 100 greatest wrestlers because he\u2019s a good shoot interview, but whatever, I just like Kevin Nash okay? I genuinely think he\u2019s underrated.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;90. Shinsuke Nakamura&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Maybe this is another one we\u2019re jumping the gun on, but whatever. Shinsuke Nakamura has created so much wrestling joy over the last few years, and even if tomorrow he explodes or goes back to MMA or something, his peak will be remembered forever. He was the single best thing about New Japan Pro Wrestling, and now he\u2019s the single best thing about NXT.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;89. Johnny Valentine&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Johnny Valentine loved to work stiff. His motto was \u201Cmake every punch and kick count.\u201D You can do a lot of tricks to make your brawling look real, or you could just\u2026punch someone for real. Valentine was a top-star through the \u201870s, mostly because he was willing to put his body on the line.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;88. Michael Hayes&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;One of the industry\u2019s best talkers, and the motor that stoked the Freebirds feuds. It\u2019s hard to say if Michael Hayes would\u2019ve been as successful as a single\u2019s competitor, but either way he\u2019s left an indelible mark on the business.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;87. Pedro Morales&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Pedro Morales had plenty of time with the WWE championship, but he was also responsible for elevating the Intercontinental Title after his legendary 600 day reign. That strap has been through a lot over the decades, but Morales proved that there\u2019s no ceiling to the significance of a secondary title.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;86. The Iron Sheik&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The greatest foreign heel ever, mostly because he was actually foreign. The Iron Sheik was born in Tehran, and eventually fell in the business under Verne Gagne. Somebody had to beat Bob Backlund in order to get the belt on Hulk Hogan, right? I love the Iron Sheik because, in a weird twisted way, he does kinda represent the American dream.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;85. Davey Boy Smith&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Davey Boy Smith, or The British Bulldog, was one of the great technical wizards of the \u201880s and \u201890s, wrestling great matches all across the world. He\u2019s best remembered for the SummerSlam main event in London, where he beat Bret Hart in front of about 80,000 countrymen. It was another life claimed too early by steroids, and you get the feeling that Smith had a lot more to give this business.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;84. Blue Demon&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A hero in Mexico, a patriarch of a wrestling lineage, and the master of the chop\u2013Blue Demon is immediately iconic. He\u2019s also one of the guys who put the hair vs. mask trope on the map\u2013which continues to be the greatest stipulation in wrestling history.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;83. Jimmy Snuka&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ignore for a minute the whole \u201Che allegedly murdered his girlfriend thing,\u201D because unfortunately, Jimmy \u201CSuperfly\u201D Snuka does have to be on this list. He was one of the first guys to ever go top rope, which was obviously a pretty huge innovation. Real shame we can\u2019t talk about him without shaking our heads and feeling weird though.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;82. Ed Lewis&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Some of these older guys deserve to be on this list simply for a few core innovations. Like Ed Lewis! Ed Lewis invented the sleeper hold. Like, that alone is enough. If you create one of the four basic moves in wrestling, welcome to immortality.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;81. Kane&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Kane won\u2019t ever achieve the singular fame as The Undertaker, but there\u2019s no question that Glenn Jacobs has proven to be a super useful asset to the WWE. Whether he\u2019s an emasculated corporate shill or tagging with Daniel Bryan-he\u2019s always serving a role.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;80. Seth Rollins&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Consider this an upside pick. Yes Seth Rollins has only been in the WWE for a few years, but he has a bunch of great work in PWG and Ring of Honor, and his matches with Dean Ambrose, John Cena, and Brock Lesnar already speak for themselves. Also, he\u2019s only 29. In 10 years I expect to see Seth in the top 20, maybe the top 10.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;79. Chyna&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The WWE has always had some questionable politics when it come to how their female talent could look, but in the late-\u201990s they had Chyna - a woman who was proudly muscular and androgynous. She could also wrestle like hell, (ask Chris Jericho.) Unfortunately Chyna died too young to be welcomed back in the WWE fold, and that remains one of the greatest tragedies in the company\u2019s history.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;78. Mike Quackenbush&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The quintessential vanilla midget, Mike Quackenbush had maybe the most unmarketable look ever. Short, pallid, ordinary, but still capable of some of the most thrilling offense you\u2019ll ever see. I don\u2019t think anyone will ever capture the egalitarian spirit of the indies quite like Quack. Currently he\u2019s running Chikara, which takes pro wrestling to its comic-book extremes, which makes me love him even more.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;77. Akira Maeda&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Japanese pro wrestling in the \u201880s was really something. Like Inoki, Akira Maeda had a background in MMA, and worked hard to protect puroresu as a legitimate sport. That meant a lot of hard strikes, which made him really fun to watch. He\u2019s also responsible for one of the more noteworthy shoot fights in the industry, after he refused to job to an aging Andre The Giant.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;76. Rick Steiner&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If I\u2019m ranking Scott, I have to rank Rick too, because they\u2019re both responsible for their great tag matches (you know, before Scott lost his mind.) Rick\u2019s legacy got lost in the shuffle once the mid-\u201990s came around, but the Frankensteiner lives forever.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;75. Scott Steiner&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I get that ranking Scott Steiner ahead of people like Christopher Daniels might seem like heresy to a certain type of wrestling fan, but you\u2019re wrong. For one, Scott Steiner was a legitimately great wrestler before his body ate his brain, and two, latter-day Steiner is hilarious. I don\u2019t care if it\u2019s intentional or not, Steiner Math is one of the most memorable moments this industry has ever seen, and he deserves his spot on this list.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;74. El Hijo del Santo&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;While his father was more famous, El Hijo del Santo is kinda like the Sting of Mexican wrestling. He\u2019s been a top draw as a babyface, a heel, and as a tag-team, and ruled the roost through the \u201880s and \u201890s south of the border. Next to Randy Orton, nobody has filled their father\u2019s shoes better.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;73. Kevin Von Erich&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Part of me thinks we should put the whole Von Erich family here, but unfortunately it doesn\u2019t work that way. Kevin Von Erich was the oldest brother (and one of the best wrestlers) out of the talented and tragic Von Erich family-and their legendary feud with the Fabulous Freebirds has a rightful place in the lore.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;72. Abdullah The Butcher&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;My vote for the scariest guy in the industry. Abdullah was this huge bloodthirsty monster who\u2019d go from territory to territory and cut massive gashes in the heads of your favorite wrestlers. It\u2019s not the tidiest way to make money in the business, but it certainly drew, and the death matches of today owe him back tax.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;71. Gene Kiniski&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What a workhorse Gene Kiniski was. He was a big, burly heel who spent over 1,000 days as NWA Champion. He spent a ton of time in AWA, NWA, and the fledgling WWE. It\u2019s hard to think of a guy who witnessed more history in more places than Kiniski.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;70. William Regal&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When you get to NXT, you\u2019re instructed to watch this match between Regal and Benoit. It\u2019s only thirteen minutes, but it\u2019s a technical masterclass. Two men trying to win a match, with no grand storyline motivations or blood feuds. Regal could make anything magic, and he did so for decades.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;69. Fabulous Moolah&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Like you, I\u2019ve heard the horror stories about how the Fabulous Moolah treated other, younger female wrestlers, but she did hold a belt for 30 years. If I\u2019m going to include Sammartino, I have to give her credit too. I don\u2019t feel great about it, but I can\u2019t not, right?\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;68. Ultimate Warrior&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;No, he couldn\u2019t really wrestle. Yes he has like, exactly one match worth watching. Yes he turned out to be a raging homophobe and alienated everyone in the industry. But, still, the Ultimate Warrior is iconic, and pro wrestling is about icons. Sometimes all you need is a cool entrance and a couple insane promos, okay?\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;67. Dean Malenko&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A technical auteur who had neither the underdog fighting spirit of Chris Benoit nor the undeniable charisma of Eddie Guerrero, which means that Malenko was always left on the outside looking in when it came to big pushes. Not that it matters though, because Malenko could wrestle circles around 95 percent of the people on this list, and for a certain type of fan, that\u2019s all that mattered.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;66. Trish Stratus&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Sometimes I wonder if things didn\u2019t work out for Trish Stratus, and she was just another fitness model brought in for easy, horny dollars who worked basic, three-minute matches for a few years before moving on. Instead, she took to the business naturally, and a decade since her retirement it\u2019s hard to think of any female superstars in WWE who\u2019ve eclipsed her. If it wasn\u2019t for Trish, people wouldn\u2019t take talent like Alexa Bliss or Carmella seriously. That can\u2019t be understated.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;65. Scott Hall&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Scott Hall, or Razor Ramon, was ahead of his time. While the rest of WWE was still playing in the kiddy pool with silly gimmicks and over-the-top matches, Hall embraced a slight edginess that\u2019d predict the Attitude Era and go on to make him an even bigger star in nWo. Personal issues sunk his in-ring career before it should have, but there\u2019s no question that the Razor Ramon character was groundbreaking.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;64. Ultimo Dragon&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Everyone loves Ultimo Dragon. From his high-flying offense to ridiculous ring gear, the guy truly defined what it meant to be a cruiserweight. Nobody in a major company would ever put the title on him, but when you\u2019re this talented, it\u2019s difficult to care.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;63. Larry Zbyszko&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Larry Zbyszko put together a pretty groundbreaking storyline with Bruno Sammartino. For years Zbyszko was Sammartino\u2019s protege\u2013a spunky kid tagging along and taking notes. When they finally had a match in 1980 Zbyszko blindsided his mentor with a wooden chair, turning him into a humongous heel. It flirted with some more complicated tones than just \u201Che\u2019s the Russian guy,\u201D which was hard to find in the WWE during that era. These days you probably remember Zbyszko for his commentary in WCW, but it\u2019s important to consider his golden era too.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;62. Chris Benoit&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Look, he was a great wrestler, and was adored by his friends. I don\u2019t totally like how people have turned Benoit\u2019s murder-suicide into a sympathetic tragedy just because of how messed up his brain was after all those concussions. It just comes off like an easy way to deflect blame. But there were never any questions about his ability, and a list like this wouldn\u2019t be complete without him. Sigh.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;61. Ivan Koloff&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The first megaheel. When Ivan Koloff beat Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF title 1971, the referee waited until he was back in the locker room before awarding him the title. The risk of a riot was too great. Every monster foreign heel that\u2019s come since, from The Iron Sheik to Rusev, were are following in this Quebecois\u2019 footsteps.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;60. Goldberg&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;He counts.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I know there were a lot of things wrong with Goldberg\u2019s streak, but there\u2019s no denying that the guy was white-hot for a while, and in pro wrestling, ephemeral success is plenty legitimate. If we\u2019re going to include Ultimate Warrior, we have to give Goldberg a nod, okay? All it takes is a couple power moves to conquer the world.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;59. Jeff Hardy&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Jeff Hardy recently told the world what his dream retirement match would be, and it involved Swanton Bombing Undertaker from the top of a Hell in a Cell, climbing back on top of the cage, Swanton Bombing Taker again and missing, and then getting pinned after a Tombstone.&amp;nbsp;Jeff Hardy is crazy. He has absolutely no regard for his body, and that\u2019s what made us love watching him. This industry is dangerous, but if you embrace that, it can make you pretty undeniable.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;58. Owen Hart&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Still one of the biggest tragedies in wrestling, Owen Hart died far too young and left an incomprehensible amount of potential left on the table. It\u2019s hard not to imagine that if things went differently, Owen could\u2019ve been one of the biggest stars of the Attitude Era and beyond.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;57. \"Ravishing\" Rick Rude\u200B&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Rick Rude was a dependable worker, but he deserves most of his credit for being an absolutely amazing character. It\u2019s weird to think that nobody in the industry has ever captured the \u201Chandsome prick\u201D mystique since\u2013and sorry, no, Batista doesn\u2019t count. Sure he was never stalwart main&amp;nbsp;eventer, but Rick Rude brought color, and that\u2019s all we\u2019re looking for.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;56. Tatsumi Fujinami&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When people wax poetic about the older, realer days, they\u2019re talking about stuff like Tatsumi Fujinami beating Ric Flair, and holding the IWGP title and NWA title at the same time. Fujinami was one of the Japanese greats, and one of the first torchbearers to unite both sides of the Pacific.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;55. Rob Van Dam&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I love Rob Van Dam because he\u2019s an outsider. A semi-chubby stoner bro who brings tight strikes, superfluous high spots and great selling into his legend. He also seems amazingly chilled out about everything in a near-Daniel Bryan way. Yeah he hasn\u2019t innovated much since 2002, but his ECW work stands tall.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;54. Nick Bockwinkel&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Bockwinkel had a great gimmick. He cut these quick, articulate promos that dug down into the minutia of kayfabe, and people hated him for it. In pro wrestling you can create a heel persona out of being a smart, informed, confident jerk, and I wish more people took inspiration from his posture.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;53. Mil Mascaras&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;People like Rey Mysterio might be more famous in the long run, but when Mil Mascaras went to work for Vince McMahon Sr. in the \u201870s, he introduced the world at large to a fertile lucha style. If nothing else, it proved to American audiences that this business really did stretch all over the world.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;52. Verne Gagne&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Verne was one of wrestling\u2019s first stars in the burgeoning TV boom back in the \u201840s and \u201850s, and he perfected a style of wholesome mat-wrestling that\u2019d be super influential for a number of internet darlings today. Of course Gagne is best remembered for running the legendary AWA\u2013but his in-ring career was just as important.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;51. Terry Funk&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Terry Funk is still wrestling. He\u2019s 72 years old, and has had dozens of retirement matches\u2013the latest coming last year against Jerry Lawler. In the \u201870s he wrestled title matches around the NWA, in the \u201880s he made it to WWE, and by the \u201890s he was laying the groundwork in ECW. That\u2019s a super-varied career, and I don\u2019t think we\u2019ll ever see anything like it again.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;50. Samoa Joe&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;People at Samoa Joe\u2019s matches chant \u201CJoe is gonna kill you\u201D because next to Brock Lesnar, there\u2019s frankly never been a more devastating striker in the fake stuff. Joe has put on a number of great matches in TNA, but like a lot of former stars of that company, he\u2019s currently enjoying a renaissance carrying the NXT title. We\u2019re hoping he gets a couple shots against the John Cenas and Randy Ortons of the world before he hangs up his boots for good.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;49. Goldust&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In which Dusty Rhodes\u2019 eldest son trades in his one-in-a-million pedigree for a ballgag and facepaint and accidentally invents the Attitude era. Dustin Runnels could\u2019ve had it a lot easier, but instead he got over as an androgynous, non-binary sex robot thing. This came at a time when The Goon was still in the company. What a crazy risk, and somehow it worked.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;48. Gorgeous George&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Gorgeous George came to the ring in a flamboyant, renaissance era robe, and then he\u2019d relentlessly cheat \u2019til he was chased out of the arena. George got his start in the \u201850s, when pro wrestling was trying to look as close to the real thing as possible, and he was one of the first guys to push the industry towards the \u201Csports entertainment\u201D end of the spectrum.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;47. The Great Muta&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If you\u2019re a wrestling fan you probably already know The Great Muta for his great matches in WCW and his continued success in New Japan Pro Wrestling, and if we were just going by matches Muta wouldn\u2019t have any trouble landing on this list. But what makes Keiji Mutoh special is how much of a pioneer he was for other Japanese workers. He was the first guy from his country to gain significant success in North America, and when Shinsuke Nakamura inevitably gets his NXT title shot, we\u2019ll all know where that tradition started.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;46. A.J. Styles&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The former face of TNA has made an excellent case for his place as an all-timer over the past few years. I mean, sure, he\u2019s had plenty of good moments in the company that made him famous, but after leaving that sinking ship he joined New Japan Pro Wrestling and had a crazy run of great matches with people like Okada, Nakamura and Tanahashi. Apparently that wasn\u2019t satisfying enough, because this year he joined WWE and is on another string of fantastic programs with Chris Jericho, Roman Reigns, and now, John Cena. Honestly in a couple years it wouldn\u2019t surprise me if A.J. belongs in the top 20.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;45. The Sheik&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;No, not The Iron Sheik, though they certainly were cut out of the same cloth. We can talk up Abdullah The Butcher and Bruiser Brody, but the original Sheik was where hardcore wrestling began. He bit, carved, and bled\u2013happily and viciously\u2013to a legion of shocked Americans. Hats off.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;44. Arn Anderson&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Anderson was the most physically gifted of the Four Horsemen, but unfortunately his in-ring career was cut short after a number of injuries back in 1997. He still has the greatest spinebuster in wrestling, and his imposing presence as Ric Flair\u2019s enforcer is relevant and influential to this day.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;43. Jake \"The Snake\" Roberts&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Jake wasn\u2019t a great physical wrestler, but he\u2019s been responsible for some of the fundamental beats in wrestling. The DDT. That was him. He came up with that move. When he was asked what it meant, Jake, in his usual terse snarl, replied \u201Cthe end.\u201D He was a master salesman with an expansive vocabulary, and we\u2019re all happy he seems to be dealing with his demons.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;42. Rikidozan&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Rikidozan was the first great hero in Japanese wrestling. He came to prominence in the \u201850s, fresh after World War 2 when national morale was at an all-time low. He was their superhero, the guy who could beat all those American wrestlers. Puroresu has thrived over the past few decades, but that all goes back to Rikidozan.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;41. Lou Thesz&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Lou Thesz was one of those guys who came up during pro wrestling\u2019s carnival/vaudeville era. He\u2019s sort of hard to gauge, because his greatest matches happened in the \u201830s, \u201840s and \u201850s. But he\u2019s certainly cast a long shadow. Whenever you see Stone Cold Steve Austin jump onto his opponent and push him into the mat, you\u2019re watching a Lou Thesz Press. That counts for something.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;40. Eddie Guerrero&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Eddie was one of the most likable people to ever enter the business, and he\u2019s perhaps the only guy &amp;nbsp;who could cheat to win and get a huge babyface pop. There are a lot of tragic deaths in wrestling, but this one still hurts every day.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;39. Mr. Perfect&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There\u2019s a running joke about how Mr. Perfect\u2019s Wikipedia picture has him working as a guest referee, because it really does feel like Curt Hennig spent more time injured than in the ring. But when he was healthy, he was outstanding. Athletic, fearless, strong, all wrapped up in astonishing body control. I often wish Hennig was still alive just so he could be around the NXT&amp;nbsp;Kids.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;38. Dory Funk Jr.&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Not only was Dory Funk Jr. an NWA legend and responsible for inventing the cloverleaf, he also runs the Funking Conservatory, which has produced talent like The Hardys, Rhyno, William Regal as well as Edge and Christian. Dory Funk Jr.\u2019s philosophy has trickled down into a generation of talent.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;37. El Santo&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;El Santo was more than a wrestler, he was a folk hero. He turned a legendary run in the \u201860s to a prodigious film career, and entwined his soul around Mexican pro wrestling. Everything about him was poetic. He removed his mask exactly once, about a week before he died. Pro wrestling is a place of imagination and fantasy, but sometimes it\u2019s at it\u2019s best when the art imitates life.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;36. Big Van Vader&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Vader\u2019s legacy was cut short after he went to WWE and Vince McMahon bungled his booking\u2013turning one of the most prominent monster heels ever into Shawn Michaels\u2019 perch. But he was really great in Japan and WCW, and that shouldn\u2019t be forgotten.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;35. Rey Mysterio&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u200B&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;It\u2019s amazing it took so long for Rey Mysterio to get real main event chances. Yes he was tiny, but you\u2019re talking about a guy who could propel himself 360 degrees in the space between the ropes. Whether Mysterio was working in AAA, or underground ECW shows, or jobbing around WCW, or during his late-career championship reigns in WWE-he\u2019s always been a joy to watch.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;34. Kenta Kobashi&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Kenta is currently Hideo Itami, and clocking time in WWE\u2019s NXT, but as KENTA he\u2019s had some of the best matches with your favorite wrestlers. Seriously, go check out his stiff kicks on Daniel Bryan\u2013you won\u2019t be disappointed.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;33. Bruiser Brody&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;He was a big hairy dude who punched and kicked his way across the country. It was messy, but it was awesome, and all the great brawlers in the world from Dean Ambrose to Stone Cold Steve Austin owe something to Brody\u2019s unruliness.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;32. \"Million Dollar Man\" Ted DiBiase&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Ted DiBiase might have my favorite gimmick ever. He was rich, conceited coward who was capable of some of the most damnable heel moves ever\u2013like buying his own championship belt or straight-up humiliating a 10-year old kid. It\u2019s the sort of stuff WWE would be squeamish about today, which is something we rarely say when looking back to the late \u201880s. DiBiase was also great in the ring and had a lot of respect for the business, but it\u2019s his top-notch character work that keeps him timeless.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;31. CM Punk&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;CM Punk made wrestling cool. This is a feeling that\u2019s few and far between in this industry, but between his groundbreaking promos, erudite wit, excellent ring psychology, and yeah, a great sense of style, Punk is responsible for one of the most unique runs in the history of WWE.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;30. Bruno Sammartino&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Welcome to the dumbest entry on this list. I mean seriously, where are you supposed to rank Bruno Sammartino? The guy held the gold for longer than anyone else on earth (4,040 days) and obviously laid the foundation for future generational faces like Hulk Hogan and John Cena. But still, nobody is exactly exploring his back catalog. Wrestling hipsters aren\u2019t tipping you to great Sammartino matches the way they\u2019ll tout Tully Blanchard or Barry Windham. So we\u2019re slotting him here. Close to the top! But below, like, Daniel Bryan. Maybe that\u2019s disrespectful, or maybe it\u2019s just honest.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;29. Mitsuharu Misawa&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;24 five star matches as ranked by Dave Meltzer, a three time Wrestler of the Year according to the Wrestling Observer, and more ugly bumps than anyone on this list not named Mick Foley. There\u2019s a small part of me that believes you need to succeed on the grandest stage of them all in order to be enshrined on Mount Rushmore, and unfortunately Misawa never really made it to American TV, but you shouldn\u2019t care. Rest in peace Misawa, we hope you\u2019re throwing stiff forearms in heaven.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;28. Stan \"The Lariat\" Hansen&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Stan Hansen might be the greatest cowboy character ever. That\u2019s saying something, considering \u201Ccowboy\u201D rivals \u201Cevil Russian\u201D as the most consistent character trope in sports entertainment. He was big, mean, and brandished a bullwhip and a mouthful of tobacco. Hansen might be more revered in Japan than he ever was in America, but that doesn\u2019t change the fact that he\u2019s one of the greatest of all time.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;27. Brock Lesnar&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u200B\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Brock Lesnar has probably worked fewer wrestling matches than anyone else on this list, but there\u2019s something to be said for stakes. Lesnar elevates everything. Kayfabe might be dead and buried, but because of his UFC credentials, vicious offense, and yeah, a lot of protection from the writer\u2019s room, it\u2019s hard to think of another wrestler with a more mythic aura. Lesnar turned a Roman Reigns match into one of the best WrestleMania main events ever. Just\u2026 think about that for a second.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;26. Jushin \u201CThunder\u201D Liger&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If most of your wrestling intake is WWE, and you haven\u2019t ever dabbled in the indie stuff or Japanese stuff, I recommend watching NXT Takeover: Brooklyn from last year. The opening match is Tyler Breeze vs. special guest, Jushin \u201CThunder\u201D Liger. Liger works his usual high-flying style, and at one point my then-girlfriend asked \u201Cso when is this guy getting called up?\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I told her that Jushin Liger is currently 50 years old.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;A 50-year old man is working convincing matches with the best young talent in the world. And honestly, after watching Liger for three decades, none of us are all that surprised.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;25. Bob Backlund&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;I love Bob Backlund. He\u2019s a crazy person, but he also happens to have the second longest WWF title reign ever. He\u2019s 6\u201D1 in suspenders and a bow-tie, who\u2019s both responsible for some technical masterpieces and jobbing out to Diesel in eight seconds. The guy threw himself into anything he was involved with, which is what\u2019s kept him around for so long.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;24. Edge&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Edge is the sort of guy we\u2019ve learned to appreciate more after he retired. Yeah he wasn\u2019t, like, The Rock, but after great programs with John Cena, a fantastic Undertaker streak match and some of the most pure evil heel moves ever, I can\u2019t think of many people who\u2019ve had a better career. Also he gave us The Brood, and The Brood was awesome, okay?\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;23. Buddy Rogers&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Outside of the really old stuff like George Hackenschmidt, Buddy Rogers was kind of the first guy. He broke in the industry in the \u201860s, bringing a then-unique set of offensive moves like body slams, and piledrivers. Combine that with a great physique, and you had a star. In the late \u201870s he\u2019d put over Ric Flair, making him the new \u201Cnature boy.\u201D Yeah, the most legendary wrestler of all time got his start from a Buddy Rogers rub. That\u2019s all you need to say.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;22. Triple H&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What a weird career Triple H has had. From a jobber with a terrible gimmick rising up the card towards a back-from-injury instant babyface, to a decade of incensed smarks tearing down his ring-work and ego while he goes over misused talent like CM Punk and Booker T, to now, where he\u2019s one of the hippest guys in the industry. I don\u2019t there\u2019s a single person in the history of WWE who\u2019s had a more contentious journey up the ranks, but whatever, he\u2019s still making it work. Triple H was never truly great, but through three decades of very good matches and very good promos, we have to give credit where credit is due.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;21. Daniel Bryan&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If we\u2019re only talking about his WWE work, Daniel Bryan burned twice as bright for half as long\u2013giving us one truly memorable WrestleMania campaign and a few years defined by the near-misses in the mid-card. Thankfully, Bryan\u2019s legendary indie career deservedly shoots him up this list. He may not have been on TV long enough to join the pantheon, but he\u2019s about as close as you can possibly get.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;20. Ricky \u201CThe Dragon\u201D Steamboat&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;If I had to pick one wrestler to go thirty minutes in a serious, no-chicanery main event, I\u2019m taking The Dragon every time. He was never great on the mic, and his character didn\u2019t deviate from fiery, sorta naive babyface, but my god, the wars he had with Ric Flair might be the best wrestling has ever looked. It\u2019s often hard to defend the artistry of pro wrestling while Ultimate Warrior is trying to make a splash look dangerous, but the precise, violent grace of Steamboat put all those chortles to bed.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;19. Antonio Inoki&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Inoki has worked with practically every legend of wrestling, and he\u2019s responsible for maybe the greatest Hulk Hogan match of all time. But beyond his prodigious in-ring career, this is also the man who founded New Japan Pro Wrestling\u2013providing a mecca for talent all over the world. Basically, imagine if Vince McMahon was a fantastic grappler, that\u2019s kind of who Antonio Inoki is.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;18. Kurt Angle&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Kurt Angle wasn\u2019t the first guy to enter the wrestling business green and take to it naturally. He\u2019s not even the one who did it best, (that designation probably belongs to Brock Lesnar.) But Angle was also hilarious, hateable, and implicitly watchable. He was the Wrestling Machine, but he could also inject a career\u2019s worth of emotion into a single ankle lock. Let\u2019s pour one out for the man who made turned a legitimate gold medal into a sniveling heel icon.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;17. Randy Orton&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Someone once said that Randy Orton reminds them of a guy who\u2019s been working at the same place long enough to not really care anymore. That might be true, but even when he\u2019s sleepwalking, Orton does his job better than anyone. I will never get tired of watching him stalk around the ring and hit clutch RKOs. Yeah he\u2019ll always be the Macho Man to Cena\u2019s Hogan, but honestly, I kinda prefer it that way.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;16. Bret \"Hitman\" Hart&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Out of all the retired legends in wrestling, I think Bret Hart is the guy I wonder about the most. What would a Bret Hart/Daniel Bryan match be like? Or Hart/Rollins, or Hart/Lesnar, or hell, even Hart/Cena? Hitman proved he could work with anyone, and in a perfect world he\u2019d be wrestling hour-long barnburners for the rest of time.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;15. Mick Foley&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Mick Foley was the ultimate everyman. Far, far from an elite athlete, Foley got over with heart and a ridiculously high tolerance for pain. Years of frightening back bumps and unprotected chair shots has left him semi-crippled, but his legacy is untouchable.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;14. Harley Race&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When people talk about the golden era of NWA, they\u2019re talking about the 35-minute cage matches between Harley Race and Ric Flair. WWE was goofy and cartoonish, and that worked very well for them, but the southern stuff carried a stronger, gorier edge. These days Harley Race matches are a transformative experience. The closest pro wrestling ever got to being real.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;13. Chris Jericho&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Chris Jericho was the original \u201Cvanilla midget the internet loves,\u201D going as far back to WCW when he was a weird, absurdist heel trying to thrive in a company where people like Goldberg were getting a push. But since entering the WWE he\u2019s been a perennial world champion and someone who\u2019s been able to put on good matches with anyone in front of him. CM Punk, Triple H, A.J. Styles, it never mattered\u2013at 45 he\u2019s still the kid we fell in love with.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;12. \"Rowdy\"&amp;nbsp;Roddy Piper&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;You know the basics. He was the best promo ever, and a core influence on guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Dean Ambrose, Chris Jericho, etc. He was a major part of one of the most important WrestleMania matches ever, and his charisma transitioned neatly into a couple cult action movies. But more than anything, I\u2019ve never seen someone have as much fun with their character as Rowdy Roddy Piper. He was a brilliant heel, a brilliant man, and this business is a sadder place without his mind.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;11. \"Macho Man\" Randy Savage&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For my money, I don\u2019t think there was a more complete package than Macho Man. A brilliant promo, a great character and capable of working big hammy main events with Hulk Hogan and technical masterpieces with Ricky \u201CThe Dragon\u201D Steamboat. Things fell off quickly after Savage went to WCW, but his golden age stands tall over nearly everyone.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;10. Andre The Giant&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Andre The Giant defined an entire business model in the wrestling business. He was, and forever will be, the ultimate attraction. Big Show, The Undertaker and even Brock Lesnar all walk the path The Giant paved. And yeah, it certainly doesn\u2019t hurt that everybody in the business has an amazing drunk Andre story.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;9. Sting&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;People like to talk up Hulk Hogan\u2019s transition from megaface to dastardly PG-13 heel, but I\u2019ve always thought Sting showed more range. He was a white meat surfer bro, an insanely profitable Crow rip-off, and a series of bad TNA ideas, like, say \u201CJoker Sting.\u201D Through it all, Steve Borden showed us how loyal and humble he was to the cause. If you\u2019re going to build a company around one character trait, it\u2019s probably that.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;8. Hulk Hogan&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;For better or worse, this is the face of wrestling. Hulk Hogan will always be synonymous with the industry that made him famous. His ring-work was suspect, his politicking was contemptible, but that doesn\u2019t change the fact that Hulk Hogan captured imaginations more than any wrestler before or since.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;7. John Cena&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;At this point it should be clear that John Cena is amazing at his job. Over the past year he\u2019s dug out his worker boots and had excellent matches with people like Seth Rollins, Cesaro, A.J. Styles, and Kevin freaking Owens, and before that he was working bloated, mass-marketed epics with The Rock. Cena is still better on the mic than anyone in the company, and capable of turning into a parody of himself in &lt;em &gt;Trainwreck&lt;/em&gt; and a genuinely surreal character on &lt;em &gt;Total Divas&lt;/em&gt;. He\u2019s a monster heel and a white-meat babyface at the same time. If you don\u2019t think John Cena is in the Pantheon, you\u2019ve been wrong for a long, long time.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;6. Dusty Rhodes&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Dusty Rhodes was simply the best pure babyface in the history of pro wrestling. Yeah, his ring-work might look a little dated compared to the modern product, but nobody was able to get a room on their side quite like Dusty. His wars with Ric Flair were legendary, and the legacy he passed down through his advocacy and unjadedness in NXT will never be forgotten. Wrestling is full of underdog stories, but there will only ever be one Dusty Rhodes story.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;5. The Undertaker&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Once upon a time, The Undertaker was a stiff. One of those 7-foot tall projects brought in for refinement and a maybe a monster heel run. But over the course of 25 years Taker has morphed into the single most respected person in the wrestling industry. Dozens of classic matches, a legendary entrance, and the single most hallowed feat in fake fighting (21 straight wins at WrestleMania.) It\u2019s the ultimate story of someone taking a dead-end gimmick and turning it gold.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;4. The Rock&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Will there be a time when The Rock\u2019s wrestling career is a minor footnote? Maybe, but there\u2019s no question who the biggest success story in wrestling history is. The Rock was never a technical mastermind (and might be responsible for the worst Sharpshooter in television history,) but when you watch the build and culmination to, like, &lt;em&gt;WrestleMania X-7&lt;/em&gt;, that hardly matters. The Rock was effortlessly fun-to-watch. He understands audience dynamics better than any human being on earth, and obviously that quickly translated across all mediums. It was lightning in a bottle, and frankly WWE was lucky to have him as long as they did.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;3. \"Stone Cold\" Steve Austin&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Stone Cold Steve Austin is responsible for the greatest run in the history of pro wrestling. There is absolutely no doubt about it. A bald-headed everyman with a chip on his shoulder and a whole lot of contempt for limp-wristed authority\u2013in anyone else\u2019s hands it would\u2019ve felt false, hackneyed, and played out. But Austin was fundamentally believable. He himself was fired from WCW for not fitting the mold, and he remembered that rejection with every step he took in the ring. The Rock is more famous, John Cena is more palatable and Hulk Hogan might be more iconic\u2013but when we talk about zeitgeist, nobody comes close to Stone Cold.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;2. Shawn Michaels&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Shawn Michaels is the most relatable wrestler I\u2019ve ever seen. Beyond the goofy stuff with DX or the (great) diva heel run before his first retirement, I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever met a wrestler who showed me his pain, his sorrow, his joy and his anger quite like HBK. He is the most fearless and natural talent that\u2019s ever stepped in the squared circle, and he\u2019d be number one if it wasn\u2019t for the guy who taught him everything.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;\r\n\r\n&lt;h2 dir=\"ltr\"&gt;1. Ric Flair&lt;/h2&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\nThere have been bigger draws, bigger shows, and bigger moments, but nobody has embodied pro wrestling more than Ric Flair and the stories he\u2019d tell in the squared circle From his early wars with Dusty Rhodes to his retirement match against Shawn Michaels, Flair has always been the guy. Every upstart worker in the world is trying to be the next Nature Boy, and frankly, they should be.\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/more-sports/2013/12/13/danielle-bux-marcos-baghdatis-gets-mad-breaks-four-rackets>