Daily DDT Staff Picks for Top 5 WWE Wrestlers of All Time
By Bassam Kaado
Kyle Brown’s Top 5
- Bret Hart
- Stone Cold Steve Austin
- Hulk Hogan
- John Cena
- Chris Jericho
With apologies to those wrestlers from the pre-WrestleMania era, these are my top five WWE Superstars.
Chris Jericho begins the list because it would be very weird of me to have penned a piece about how I think he is one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time and not have him on this list. His run as Undisputed Champion, his feud with Shawn Michaels (a glaring omission here, I’ll agree), and his longevity as a top performer put him in the upper-echelon of WWE.
John Cena is here simply because he was given the ball for a very long time and, whether we booed or cheered, we watched. While the latter years of his run weren’t filled with the greatest moments (see: Bella Proposal), Cena was/is the Doctor of Thuganomics. That character, along with his success as the top-guy in the company for a decade, lands him on this list.
Hulk Hogan was my childhood favorite because Vince McMahon told me he should be. He was the face of the company as it blasted to superstardom in the late 80’s. For a very long period of time, if you thought of pro wrestling, you thought of Hulk Hogan. He should probably be at the top, but we also know that he is a terrible racist that tore down his reputation and set it on fire.
The racism is enough to not put him at number one, but I’ll also throw-in his constant use of backstage politics (WrestleMania IX main event, for those who want an example) to keep himself at the top of the totem pole as another reason I’m not putting him in the top spot. He belongs on the list for practically being the company for a ten-year window that pushed the WWE into the mainstream conversation, but he can’t be considered the best.
Stone Cold Steve Austin was the man on the frontline waving the WWE flag during the Monday Night Wars. He was McMahon’s top Superstar that would ultimately carry the company to victory over WCW. Austin appealed to the everyman who wanted to tell their boss how they really felt and then beat the living crap out of him. It was the right character, played by the right wrestler, at the right time.
Austin worked with many of the top Superstars of the time and never took a backseat to any of them. I’ll admit, even though I was Team Rock (another glaring omission, but I was only given five spots!), I respected Austin for being such a compelling star that made me pay attention every time he was on the screen.
Bret Hart is my favorite WWE Superstar of all-time. There is my disclaimer. I will argue with anyone that believes he doesn’t belong at the top of this list. Hart carried the company on his back through most of the 90’s. He was always ready to compete in the biggest matches and ALWAYS delivered. His feud with Shawn Michaels (again…why isn’t he on here?) is the best feud the WWE has ever cultivated.
It was not a short story; it was a multi-part novel series that was executed beautifully over YEARS! Bret’s slow heel turn in 1997, capped off with his not-safe-for-work promo following a steel cage match loss to Sycho Sid on Raw, ushered in the much-revered Attitude Era. His work with Stone Cold helped establish Austin as a mega-star and firmly planted him as the leader of the WWE during the late 90’s.
Hart’s tag team work in the Hart Foundation is second-to-none. His time as the leader of the Hart Foundation stable, and his anti-American crusade, produced some of the most nuclear heat any wrestler has ever received. This man about caused an international incident between the wrestling fans of Canada and the United States.
Bret Hart was the most upright of babyfaces that was universally loved and cheered, then turned on a dime into the best heel to ever lace up a pair of boots, that could have audiences paying to see shows just so they could boo him while waving their American flag. The best face and the best heel in the business. Find me someone that can even come close to doing both…you can’t.