Let's Decide Who Is The Greatest Wrestler Of All Time
So with the NCAA tournament having been ripped away from us due to the CoronaVirus, we were left with a lack of bracketology. A dearth of upsets. A competition void, if you will. While we have been in quarantine, I've spent a lot of time watching the WWE Network. It's a treasure trove of old matches, PPV's and original content. It's helped to get me through some long days. As I was sitting here watching Wrestlemania X the other night (Bret v. Owen to be precise), I started thinking, who is the greatest of all time? Who is the best wrestler ever? It's an incredibly tough question to answer, because unlike in "real sports", you can't really judge a wrestler by accomplishments.
Instead you have to look at a more complex formula with wrestlers. How entertaining were they? How talented in the ring? On the mic? How "over" were they? It's not an easy question to answer. So, to that end, I decided to create a bracket and put it to a vote. YOU will decide the greatest of all time over the next few days. YOU will decide if it's Hogan or Flair, Rock or Austin, Hart or Michaels. I know there will be arguments about omissions and seeding, all I can say is this felt close enough to right that the results should be determined by your voting. Let's look at each bracket starting with the Hogan Bracket:
Hogan Region:
This one has some interesting first round matchups. I'm most interested in that 6/11 matchup with Eddie Guerrero and Kane. Kane is a fan favorite for so many children of the Attitude Era, but Eddie was one of the best to ever lace them up. That's going to be a tough one, as will the 8/9 pairing of Edge and Goldberg. Goldberg at his height was one of the most popular and over wrestlers in the world. On the other hand his in ring work...shaky at best. Finally I wonder if people will look at the versatility and incredible work of X-Pac over the years or if they will dig into their time machines and realize how much of an impact Pat Patterson had on the business, including being the first ever Intercontinental Champion.
Flair Region:
The Flair Region features some incredible matchups, but the two I am most interested in are AJ Styles v. Charlotte and Triple H v. Trish Stratus. AJ is certainly one of the best around and has been for a while, but Charlotte Flair, even at this point in her career, might be the best female wrestler of all time. That's going to be interesting. Similarly, Triple H is one of the most decorated performers of all time, but some times people dock him for being the Boss' son in law. Trish Stratus was a trailblazer for women in wrestling and will make a strong showing as a 10 seed.
Austin Region:
Again, there are two matchups here that jump off the page to me. First is the 8/9 matchup between Owen Hart and Mick Foley. Owen Hart, the younger brother of Bret Hart, was one of the best technical wrestlers around in the 90's and early 2000's. He was also pretty much universally beloved in the industry. Mick Foley is a huge fan favorite for his willingness to sacrifice his body and well being to entertain the fans. A great matchup for sure. The second one here that has my interest is the 5/12 matchup of Mr. Perfect and Kevin Nash. Perfect certainly has the edge in terms of in ring work, but Nash is more decorated and a founding member of the nWo. That could get interesting.
Sammartino Region:
I really can't wait to see the results of Roddy Piper and Ted DiBiase here. Two guys from the same era going head to head one more time. Snuka and Roberts will be a tight matchup, I think. I also think Scott Hall and Jerry "The King" Lawler will be a close matchup.
Alright so those are the regions and the matchups. Voting will start tomorrow morning and we will continue on each day until we have crowned The Greatest Wrestler of All Time.