Completing my ranking of Wrestlemania's greatest wrestlers, here are the top 20 of Wrestlemania 1-27, taking only in-ring work into account.
1. Steve Austin- only competed at 7 events, but crucially had no bad matches. The matches with Bret Hart at 13, and The Rock at 17 and 19 stand out as all-time classics.
2. Shawn Michaels- has 17 Wrestlemania matches, only the Undertaker has more. Early tags were a mixed bag, but generally good, and usually had the best match of the night in his pre-first retirement singles outings. A couple of stinkers post-comeback, but also good matches against Kurt Angle and The Undertaker.
3. Bret Hart- 14 matches to his name. The tag years were generally forgettable, but stand-out singles matches against Steve Austin, Owen Hart, Shawn Michaels and Roddy Piper elevate him above most others.
4. Randy Savage- the MVP of the first 10 events, having 11 matches across those cards, including all-time greats against the Ultimate Warrior and Ricky Steamboat.
5. Chris Jerocho- 9 matches on the big stage, and you'd be hard pressed to callone of them bad, and he's generally the better performer in the match, such as his matches against Shawn michaels and Triple H. His stand-out match is against Christian.
6. The Undertaker- with more matches than anyone else (19), it's perhaps no surprise 'Taker has had a few stinkers on the big stage, but there have been two many great matches, and performances, to ignore. Outings against Ric Flair, Edge, Batista and Shawn Michaels stand-out as greats.
7. The Rock- 8 matches for the Rock and, though he started slow, he blossomed into a great performer on the big stage, as highlighted by his matches against Steve Austin at 17 and 19, and his partial carry-job of Hulk Hogan at 18.
8. Hulk Hogan- Hogan has 10 matches on the first 9 events, stealing several of those early shows, and then came back for 2 more big matches against The Rock and Vince McMahon, in which he didn't always look good, but contributed to a generally good quality.
9. Ric Flair- high peaks see the Nature Boy reach the top 10. Only 5 matches on his resume, but great ones against Randy Savage and The Undertaker, as well as a good match against Shawn Michaels, elevate him above others.
10. Chris Benoit- rounding out the top 10 is a guy who has 7 matches to his name, none what you'd call bad, and with good stuff against the likes of MVP, and the triple threat against Shawn Michaels and Triple H.
11. Tito Santana- a consistent performer on each of the first 8 Wrestlemanias. No great match to speak of, but plenty of good in both singles and tag settings.
12. Edge- 10 matches and lots of crazy stunts in ladder and hardcore matches. His matches against Mick Foley, The Undertaker and Alberto Del Rio are all very strong showings.
13. Rey Mysterio- 7 Wrestlemania matches have generally yielded good results. The perfect guy to warm up a crowd, and usually does good things with short matches and unfavourable situations.
14. Ted Dibiase- a consistent performer, having 8 matches on 6 cards. The wheels fell off towards the end, but his matches at 4, 6 and 7 are memorable.
15. Ricky Steamboat- never looked bad in his 5 performances, incredible considering he came out of retirement at Wrestlemania 25, 21 years after his last appearance on the big show. The match against Randy Savage is his highlight.
16. Kurt Angle- a couple of his 7 matches are forgettable, but he does good work against Shawn Michaels and Eddie Guerrero in particular, which is enough to see him on the list.
17. Eddie Guerrero- only 5 matches for Guerrero, but he always found a way to stand out, and had the ability to make bad matches/opponents seem good.
18. Goldust- another guy who had the ability to stand out from the crowd. Wrestlemania gave him lemons, and he made lemonade, the tastiest of which being his match with Triple H at 13.
19. Kane- makes the list due to the earlier part of his career, which has seen him compete 12 times at Wrestlemania. Had good performances against The Undertaker and Triple H, and still worked smart even when he'd slowed considerably.
20. Triple H- 15 matches on the big stage for the Game, as many bad as good, to be honest. He always tried to work psychology into his matches though, and when he was good he was very good.
Saturday 25 June 2011
Saturday 11 June 2011
The 10 best wrestlers of Wrestlemania 11-20
This is my ranking of the 10 best wrestlers from Wrestlemania 11-20. The ranking is based on in-ring work only.
1. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin- what Randy Savage was to the first 10 Wrestlemanias, Austin is to this 10. His debut comes in a strong brawling match with Savio Vega, which he follows up with one of the best matches in Wrestlemania history, against Bret Hart at 13. He has a good match with a clearly injured Shawn Michaels at 14, and then comes the first, and weakest, part of his trilogy with The Rock. After sitting out Wrestlemania 16, Austin came back with a bang in a great heated no holds barred match with The Rock. At 18 he manages to have a good match with a limited Scott Hall, and the trilogy with Rock ends at 19 in another fine encounter. 4 of his 7 appearances are match of the night, and all are one of the three best matches of the night. His matches brought intensity, great character work, strong storytelling, brawling and wrestling, and he showed an ability to carry a match against lesser workers.
2. Chris Jericho- a somewhat surprising number 2, Jericho eased into what became a great Wrestlemania resume by playing a part in an entertaining triple threat match at 16 against Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit, and then having a short match with William Regal that was technically sound and featured good psychology. At 18 he picks up his game, and is the better performer in the much-maligned, but generally good, main event against Triple H. 19 is when he really kicks into top gear, putting in an awesome individual display against Shawn Michaels. He carries that over to Wrestlemania 20 in a match of the night with Christian. Jericho brings excellent psychology to his Wrestlemania resume, which he adds to his excellent character work. He plays a number of roles in his matches, has great matches as a heel and a face, great mannerisms and works a variety of different opponents.
3. The Rock- it takes Rocky a while to get his groove on. His debut is in a match with the Sultan, not a bad match, and Rock shows some signs of his charisma, and some fire. His match at 14 against Ken Shamrock is short, and not very good. Against Austin at 15, and it's Stone Cold who gets most of the credit for a decent match. By the time 16 has rolled around, Rocky really knows his role (pun intended). His performance in the poorly-booked fatal fourway is excellent, and he tops that the following year in a match of the night against Steve Austin. At 18 he drags Hogan to a memorable match, and then ends the series against Austin in fine fashion, and this time is the better performer. His match at 20, teaming with Mick Foley against Evolution, is patchy, but it is the Rock's star that shines brightest. The Rock's charisma, body language and facial expressions is really what has carried him to number 3 on the list, but he did develop into a good brawler, had good timing, athleticism, and a flair for the dramatic.
4. Eddie Guerrero- Eddie knew how to stand out in a crowd, and he did so in his Wrestlemania debut, teaming with Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn against Too Cool and Chyna. His bumping, stooging and facial expressions are lergely what made this match fun. The following year he has a good match with Test, again hamming it up to great effect as the sneaky heel. The triple threat tag match at Wrestlemania 19 turned out to be a better showcase for Chavo Guerrero, but Eddie gives another good performance in a strong match against Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania 20, Kurt's best match from this sample group. Only four matches here, and they might not be classics, but Guerrero's charisma in the ring puts him above others, and he deserves a special mention for making a Chyna match good.
5. Shawn Michaels- Shawn matches his strong showing in the previous top 10 with another here. He had the match of the night at Wrestlemania against Diesel. True, there isn't much competition, but this is a strong display from Michaels. Wrestlemania 12 is another match of the night performance, and he is arguably the better performer in the iron man match against Bret Hart. After missing 13, he came back with a third match of the night, putting in a brave display in a good match against Steve Austin. After a 5-year hiatus, Michaels came back to face Jericho at 19. The match is good, but it is almost entirely down to Jericho's one man show. At 20 he is involved in another good match (the triple threat against Triple H and Chris Benoit), but is again, if not a passenger, the lesser performer in the match. From 11-14, Shawn gave all-action displays against 3 different types of opponent, with great bumping and lots of charisma. His comeback years were marred by no-selling, although he continued to work hard.
6. Goldust- this may be controversial, but nobody did more with less on the big stage than Goldust. His Hollywood Backlot Brawl at 12 was a poor match, but he bounces back with a really solid match against Triple H at 13, in what would be his only real opportunity to build a strong match. He manages to look good bumping for Sable in a mixed-tag match at 14, and then stands out in a hurried fatal fourway at 15. It gets worse, booking-wise, as Goldie is given only 3 minutes in a hardcore match with Maven at 18, but manages to look like a complete killer in that match, doing more in the time than many do in much longer matches. Making the best of a bad situation could sum up Dustin Rhodes career, and it definitely does his Wrestlemania career, as he made sure that everything he did looked effective and served a purpose, whether heel or face, serious or comedy.
7. Kane- Kane looked like a total monster in his debut match against The Undertaker at 14. He looked great again one year later against Triple H, comfortably the better performer in the match. His match at 16 against X-Pac and Road Dogg is short and sweet, with Kane again looking good, and he does well in a silly hardcore triple threat match at 17. Performances from there tail off. The match with Angle at 18 is okay, but nothing special, whereas his rematch with Undertaker at 20 is disappointing, though Kane's facials are exceptional. For what appears a one-dimensional gimmick, Kane was always excellent at playing a wide range of roles in his matches, and showing a wide range of emotions. He performed great as a monster heel, a cowardly heel, a sympathetic face, and a vengeful face.
8. Triple H- Squahed in his debut against The Ultimate Warrior, but then had a good match with Goldust at 13. His match with Owen Hart at 14 was ineffective, and he himself was an ineffective babyface against Kane at 15. His performance was generally good in the long fatal fourway match at 16, but the match with the Undertaker at 17 was weak. Hunter picked things up from here though. He was outperformed by Jericho at 18, largely due to his weaknesses as a face again, but did play a part in a strong match built on sound psychology. His match with Booker T the following year is even better, and Triple H controls it as the heel. Hunter also puts in a good performance in the triple threat match at 20, the best sections of the match easily being those between Benoit and the Game. Triple H wasn't always as compelling as he might have been, but his matches were generally well-structured, and made sense from a storytelling standpoint. He sold well, but was much more effective as a heel.
9. Bret Hart- only 3 matches for Bret, and the first of those, the match with Bob Backlund at Wrestlemania 11, is terrible. But he follows that up with a pair of classics. The iron man match at 12 is superb, and a testament to Hart's storytelling abilities, whereas the I Quit match at 13 is possibly the best match in Wrestlemania history, a wild brawl that goes all over the building. For those two matches alone, he deserves his place on the list.
10. Chris Benoit- he debuts in a triple threat match against Angle and Jericho, a passable bout. At 17 he has a good one-on-one match with Angle, and is the better performer of the two. He misses 18, and then has a bit-part in a triple threat tag match at 19. However, his section of the match with Chavo Guerrero is probably the best of the contest. At Wrestlemania 20 he puts in an excellent performance in a triple threat against Triple H and Shawn Michaels. He is positioned as the star of the show, and doesn't disappoint with his performance. Benoit was always intense in his matches, and always executed smoothly. He also was an excellent seller, managed to stand out in a short spotfest, and even showed the charisma to carry an epic WWE main event.
1. 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin- what Randy Savage was to the first 10 Wrestlemanias, Austin is to this 10. His debut comes in a strong brawling match with Savio Vega, which he follows up with one of the best matches in Wrestlemania history, against Bret Hart at 13. He has a good match with a clearly injured Shawn Michaels at 14, and then comes the first, and weakest, part of his trilogy with The Rock. After sitting out Wrestlemania 16, Austin came back with a bang in a great heated no holds barred match with The Rock. At 18 he manages to have a good match with a limited Scott Hall, and the trilogy with Rock ends at 19 in another fine encounter. 4 of his 7 appearances are match of the night, and all are one of the three best matches of the night. His matches brought intensity, great character work, strong storytelling, brawling and wrestling, and he showed an ability to carry a match against lesser workers.
2. Chris Jericho- a somewhat surprising number 2, Jericho eased into what became a great Wrestlemania resume by playing a part in an entertaining triple threat match at 16 against Kurt Angle and Chris Benoit, and then having a short match with William Regal that was technically sound and featured good psychology. At 18 he picks up his game, and is the better performer in the much-maligned, but generally good, main event against Triple H. 19 is when he really kicks into top gear, putting in an awesome individual display against Shawn Michaels. He carries that over to Wrestlemania 20 in a match of the night with Christian. Jericho brings excellent psychology to his Wrestlemania resume, which he adds to his excellent character work. He plays a number of roles in his matches, has great matches as a heel and a face, great mannerisms and works a variety of different opponents.
3. The Rock- it takes Rocky a while to get his groove on. His debut is in a match with the Sultan, not a bad match, and Rock shows some signs of his charisma, and some fire. His match at 14 against Ken Shamrock is short, and not very good. Against Austin at 15, and it's Stone Cold who gets most of the credit for a decent match. By the time 16 has rolled around, Rocky really knows his role (pun intended). His performance in the poorly-booked fatal fourway is excellent, and he tops that the following year in a match of the night against Steve Austin. At 18 he drags Hogan to a memorable match, and then ends the series against Austin in fine fashion, and this time is the better performer. His match at 20, teaming with Mick Foley against Evolution, is patchy, but it is the Rock's star that shines brightest. The Rock's charisma, body language and facial expressions is really what has carried him to number 3 on the list, but he did develop into a good brawler, had good timing, athleticism, and a flair for the dramatic.
4. Eddie Guerrero- Eddie knew how to stand out in a crowd, and he did so in his Wrestlemania debut, teaming with Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn against Too Cool and Chyna. His bumping, stooging and facial expressions are lergely what made this match fun. The following year he has a good match with Test, again hamming it up to great effect as the sneaky heel. The triple threat tag match at Wrestlemania 19 turned out to be a better showcase for Chavo Guerrero, but Eddie gives another good performance in a strong match against Kurt Angle at Wrestlemania 20, Kurt's best match from this sample group. Only four matches here, and they might not be classics, but Guerrero's charisma in the ring puts him above others, and he deserves a special mention for making a Chyna match good.
5. Shawn Michaels- Shawn matches his strong showing in the previous top 10 with another here. He had the match of the night at Wrestlemania against Diesel. True, there isn't much competition, but this is a strong display from Michaels. Wrestlemania 12 is another match of the night performance, and he is arguably the better performer in the iron man match against Bret Hart. After missing 13, he came back with a third match of the night, putting in a brave display in a good match against Steve Austin. After a 5-year hiatus, Michaels came back to face Jericho at 19. The match is good, but it is almost entirely down to Jericho's one man show. At 20 he is involved in another good match (the triple threat against Triple H and Chris Benoit), but is again, if not a passenger, the lesser performer in the match. From 11-14, Shawn gave all-action displays against 3 different types of opponent, with great bumping and lots of charisma. His comeback years were marred by no-selling, although he continued to work hard.
6. Goldust- this may be controversial, but nobody did more with less on the big stage than Goldust. His Hollywood Backlot Brawl at 12 was a poor match, but he bounces back with a really solid match against Triple H at 13, in what would be his only real opportunity to build a strong match. He manages to look good bumping for Sable in a mixed-tag match at 14, and then stands out in a hurried fatal fourway at 15. It gets worse, booking-wise, as Goldie is given only 3 minutes in a hardcore match with Maven at 18, but manages to look like a complete killer in that match, doing more in the time than many do in much longer matches. Making the best of a bad situation could sum up Dustin Rhodes career, and it definitely does his Wrestlemania career, as he made sure that everything he did looked effective and served a purpose, whether heel or face, serious or comedy.
7. Kane- Kane looked like a total monster in his debut match against The Undertaker at 14. He looked great again one year later against Triple H, comfortably the better performer in the match. His match at 16 against X-Pac and Road Dogg is short and sweet, with Kane again looking good, and he does well in a silly hardcore triple threat match at 17. Performances from there tail off. The match with Angle at 18 is okay, but nothing special, whereas his rematch with Undertaker at 20 is disappointing, though Kane's facials are exceptional. For what appears a one-dimensional gimmick, Kane was always excellent at playing a wide range of roles in his matches, and showing a wide range of emotions. He performed great as a monster heel, a cowardly heel, a sympathetic face, and a vengeful face.
8. Triple H- Squahed in his debut against The Ultimate Warrior, but then had a good match with Goldust at 13. His match with Owen Hart at 14 was ineffective, and he himself was an ineffective babyface against Kane at 15. His performance was generally good in the long fatal fourway match at 16, but the match with the Undertaker at 17 was weak. Hunter picked things up from here though. He was outperformed by Jericho at 18, largely due to his weaknesses as a face again, but did play a part in a strong match built on sound psychology. His match with Booker T the following year is even better, and Triple H controls it as the heel. Hunter also puts in a good performance in the triple threat match at 20, the best sections of the match easily being those between Benoit and the Game. Triple H wasn't always as compelling as he might have been, but his matches were generally well-structured, and made sense from a storytelling standpoint. He sold well, but was much more effective as a heel.
9. Bret Hart- only 3 matches for Bret, and the first of those, the match with Bob Backlund at Wrestlemania 11, is terrible. But he follows that up with a pair of classics. The iron man match at 12 is superb, and a testament to Hart's storytelling abilities, whereas the I Quit match at 13 is possibly the best match in Wrestlemania history, a wild brawl that goes all over the building. For those two matches alone, he deserves his place on the list.
10. Chris Benoit- he debuts in a triple threat match against Angle and Jericho, a passable bout. At 17 he has a good one-on-one match with Angle, and is the better performer of the two. He misses 18, and then has a bit-part in a triple threat tag match at 19. However, his section of the match with Chavo Guerrero is probably the best of the contest. At Wrestlemania 20 he puts in an excellent performance in a triple threat against Triple H and Shawn Michaels. He is positioned as the star of the show, and doesn't disappoint with his performance. Benoit was always intense in his matches, and always executed smoothly. He also was an excellent seller, managed to stand out in a short spotfest, and even showed the charisma to carry an epic WWE main event.
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