My Wrestlers

When I was growing up in the 80's, wrestling was reaching an all-time high in its popularity.  No, I'm not talking about that great Olympic sport of wrestling...what's that?  Wrestling isn't an Olympic sport anymore?  When the hell did that happen?!?!?!?!?  Well that's stupid.  Anyway, no, I'm talking about the "sport" where they already know who's going to win the matches.  I loved wrestling back in the 80's and it carried over into the 90's when WWE and WCW were part of the Monday Night wars and ECW was killing it independently.  I stopped watching for the longest time but recently started watching again.  Yes, it's incredibly childish, immature, and white trashy, but I like it anyway.  Besides, being a person in the fitness industry, I have a great appreciation for what these guys are able to do athletically.  These guys are tremendous athletes and I dare you to argue that point with me.  So below is my list of my top 6 all time favorite wrestlers. 

6. The Road Warriors - These guys were just plain scary. Hawk (RIP) and Animal were absolutely insane in the ring. They were huge, athletic, agile, smart, and gave amazing promos. They came out to the ring with Iron Man playing as their song and it was just scary. When I was kid watching these guys, I was afraid. And I was in my living room. My favorite match all time was when they were in a scaffold match with The Midnight Express. That was just a fun match to watch.

5. The Rock & Roll Express -- So just as scary as the Road Warriors were, The Rock & Roll Express were equally NOT scary.  But they were a fun team to watch.  Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson were awesome with their bandannas all over their lower body, They were high flyers and generally just fun to watch.  They were easily my favorite tag team as a kid.  Not so much these days, but they were then, that's why they get the nod above the nasty Road Warriors.  Their feud with The Midnight Express seemed to last for years.  And Ricky Morton's feud with Ric Flair was awesome.  I can still see the face mask he had to wear because he "broke" his nose.  Classic. 

4. The Rock -- No, not the current movie star Rock.  The one that came out in the 90's/early '00's and was incredible.  We were all witness to perhaps the 2nd greatest promo guy of all time at that time.  He came out and put on a show.  He was extremely athletic, could talk like no other, was funny, and sold the holy hell out of his opponents beatings.  Watching him get hit you would think he got shot by a 25mm gun.  He would just be writhing in pain and he was able to tell an incredible story with his matches.  Great stuff.  Now he's just a crowd pandering puppet the WWE completely caters too and it's stupid. 

3. Ric Flair -- Incredible.  That's all that can be said.  Sure, this guy's personal life if is a complete mess.  But in the 80's and 90's he was the best.  His promos's were through the roof.  He wasn't exactly the best wrestler but he told great stories in the ring.  He was an ok athlete and not that big, but his storytelling and promos made him the biggest star on the planet.  His feuds with Magnum T.A, Dusty Rhodes, Ricky Steamboat, and generally anyone else he could talk smack to were incredible.  And the guy was definitely not afraid to bleed either.  It seemed like every match he had back in the day involved a copious amount of blood. 

2. Stone Cold Steve Austin - This guy was IT in the late 90's, early '00's.  There was no other.  He was the every-man's guy that drank beer, cussed at his boss, beat up his boss, and didn't take any shit from anyone.  He sure as hell didn't smile a whole lot and was the epitome of anti-hero.  He didn't do things as a "face" but the fans loved him so he was a face.  Once the crowd heard that glass break from his intro, all hell broke loose and the frenzy began.  If it wasn't for a broken neck from a pile driver and multiple knee surgeries, he might still be wrestling today.  My favorite Stone Cold moment was when he drove the beer truck into the arena and sprayed the ring with beer.  Flippin classic!

1.  Macho Man Randy Savage - I still get goosebumps listening to this guy give a promo.  I'm pretty sure he was on steroids and cocaine at the same time.  Never heard of that cocktail before but I'm sure he did it.  And I'm sure you will know what I mean if you saw his interviews.  Incoherent is an understatement.  But they were simply classic.  And the guy was an amazing athlete.  He played minor league baseball for the Cardinals organization before getting into wrestling with his brother.  He told incredible stories in the ring to back up his mouth.  And his match with Ricky Steamboat is widely considered the greatest match in wrestling history.  Talk about a story being told.  And his relationship with Elizabeth was a great sideshow to everything.  He was a total pig to her and just a jerk, which fit his character perfectly.  RIP Macho Man, you are definitely missed.