Who's the Best Ever? Some possible "Other" choices are Andre the Giant, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Chris Jericho, Chyna, Dusty Rhodes, Triple H, Kurt Angle, Randy Orton, and The Ultimate Warrior.
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Not that I remember, but some possible metrics are Entrance Music, Finishing Move, On the Mic, and In the Ring.Didn't you post a thread on this like 6 months ago? There are soooooooo many metrics involved. Way more than real sports.
You can still view the results. I added a video in the first post.Tough call. Think I'll abstain from voting ...
Andre. There is only one Andre The Giant.
Not that I remember, but some possible metrics are Entrance Music, Finishing Move, On the Mic, and In the Ring.
I hate the "drawing power" metric when it comes to who is or was best. It's one of the more carny things wrestlers say, and when I see fans go to it then I typically assume that they are just parroting wrestling personalities (wrestlers, Meltzer and so on). Of course if the person's best actor is whoever's movies make the most money (and their best movie ever is Avatar) and their top singer ever is whoever has the most downloads then at least they're consistent.
Dude, have you ever heard the story about Vince McMahon screaming at the writers and agents about John Cena "THIS MAN PUTS FOOD ON YOUR TABLES!!!!!"
I'd say it's a pretty big deal, seeing the business is about making money and filling buildings and selling merch and all. And I'm a total workrate geek. But I get what the business is.
Vince McMahon's business decisions have no bearing on who I consider to be the best wrestlers ever, and really shouldn't impact what anyone else thinks either. He's just one guy, one who I assume has pretty bad taste regarding wrestling actually, and his business decisions don't even necessarily reflect who he thinks is actually best.
Who is the best draw is a completely different thing, and yet a large segment of wrestling fans trot it out as though it's a legitimate metric. The entertainment industry, from wrestling to music to movies to sports, is about making money. I don't often see people rating actors, musicians or athletes by who drew the most fans. No one would claim that McDavid is the best player in hockey due to gate receipts when Edmonton rolls into various arenas or that Jim Parsons is the best actor working today because his TV show has great ratings. No one claims that the best car in the world is whatever one sold the most. I find it very weird that it happens in wrestling. I won't deny that there is some correlation between ability and drawing but there is a lot of context involved that has nothing to do with the quality of the wrestler.
All that said... I recognize that wrestling is highly subjective. I just find it odd that money is used as a measure of quality in wrestling but in few other areas.
Love @Dr Pepper 's version of doing it so i'm stealing and adding:
Best attraction - Austin
Most entertaining - Rock
Best wrestler - HBK
Best "character" - Undertaker
Best "storyteller" - Cena (omg... someone is going to kill me but i swear the guy had money matches and tells a story with pretty much anyone)
Best all around - Jericho
On their way to being immortalized - Daniel Bryan, Flair or Becky (goat woman), Omega.
Realistically there are just too many options. Wrestling has entertainment, in-ring, promos, attraction, etc. There is no definitive answer. I think at the end of the day there are about 10 people who can have an equal share of GOAT.
It's a worked sport, promoted to make money and draw crowds. Much like boxing, where gate numbers and PPV buyrates are also heavily cited historically. It's just not the same as a team sport like hockey because those games are going to played regardless of if people show up or not. In wrestling if no one is making money or losing massive amounts of it, it ceases to exist at a certain point.
All I'm saying is it's a bizarre stance to take that you question why it has a bearing when you yourself admitted in the first post just about every respected voice in the business who knows the history of it from Jim Cornette to JR to Flair to Meltzer to Keller brings it up all the time.