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Welcome to round two of our blockbuster tournament to determine the most iconic pro wrestler of all time. If you missed round one voting (or want to catch up on the rules, and the explanation for why certain wrestlers are where) you can check that out here.
Round One Recap: Round one played out like most of us thought it would, with big names like Macho Man Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan, The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin all advancing. Hogan got one of the narrowest victories of the tournament so far in his victory over The Undertaker, which either says a lot for The Undertaker or for the damage done by the last year of Hulk Hogan news. Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair predictably took the rest of the non-WWE North American division to the woodshed.
Be sure to vote on every matchup, and let us know how you voted in our comments section below. We want the why or the why not. This is about to get heated, and we need all the voices we can get.
And now, round two. Who is the most iconic wrestler of all time?
WWF REGION
1. Macho Man Randy Savage
From being a 2-time WWF Champion to wrestling the amazing Spider-Man, Macho Man’s done it all. Everybody has a Macho Man impression. He was a Slim Jim salesman in a cowboy hat and tassels with a voice like a cement mixer who also happened to be one of the best wrestlers and coolest personas of all time.
4. Rowdy Roddy Piper
The rebel. Piper succeeded in an era of Hulk Hogans by being the opposite; he wasn’t tall, strong and muscular, but he was smart, quick-witted and fearlessly confrontational. From They Live to WrestleMania moments with talent as diverse as Goldust and Morton Downey Jr., Piper gave one of wrestling’s biggest boom periods context.
2. Andre the Giant
One of the biggest stars in wrestling history, literally and figuratively. Andre became a pop culture icon from his work in films like The Princess Bride, main-eventing in front of WWF’s biggest crowd to date at WrestleMania 3, and for the legendary stories of how much you can eat, drink and do weird stuff when you’re 7 feet tall and over 500 pounds.
3. Hulk Hogan
Before he was a reality star with a breastaurant, a sex tape trial and (not) a 10-inch penis, Hogan was arguably the most popular attraction in the history of U.S. pro wrestling. He’s the guy people think of when you ask them to think of a wrestler. Defeated his opponents with his trademark “seizure of strength.”
WWE REGION
1. The Rock
Perhaps you’ve heard of Dwayne Douglas “The Rock” Johnson, a third generation star who started off so badly he got chanted death threats and ended up not only a 10-time Champion, but the observed biggest international movie star in Hollywood. He’s what people who are too young to have loved Hulk Hogan think of when they think “wrestler.” He’s also what people think of when they think “movies,” “summer movies,” “handsome” and “Instagram.”
4. Mick Foley
The everyman. Mick Foley started off as a teenager jumping off houses onto mattresses and became three iconic characters in the biggest wrestling promotion in the world. Foley winning the WWF Championship is the moment the tables turned in the Monday Night Wars, and he continues to pop in from time to time to remind us that one of pro wrestling’s most beloved performers looks and kinda moves like your uncle. Foley is God.
2. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Star of Grown Ups 2 and Smosh: The Movie. Also, a 6-time WWE Champion who defied the odds to redefine what people thought of heels and faces and lead WWF into the Attitude Era. If you ever dreamed of punching your boss in the face, Stone Cold Steve Austin was your dude. If you ever dreamed of drinking so many beers that 80 percent of a case ended up on your shirt (or the floor), same dude.
3. John Cena
Love him or hate him — it’s certainly one of the two — the 15-time Champion and “Face That Runs The Place” has defined the WWE main-event scene for over a decade, and is kind of a living pro wrestling science project to see how crowds can be manipulated. You might know him from the incoherent ramblings of your sad wrestling friends, or from memes. AND HIS NAME IS JOHN CENA!
INTERNATIONAL REGION
1. El Santo
The legendary (silver) face of lucha libre. Closer to Superman than Hulk Hogan, Santo wrestled for 50 years and defined a cultural aesthetic for 100. He’s fought everything from grave robbers to mummies to vampire women. Routinely referred to as one of the greatest legends in Mexican sports, “sports entertainment” or not.
4. Jushin Thunder Liger
Contending for pro wrestling’s GOAT in terms of doing everything everywhere, he’s a literal superhero who defends Japan and also serves as a junior heavyweight trendsetter for four decades. Liger changed the game in WCW in the early ’90s, and has competed … well, everywhere. New Japan, CMLL, TNA, Ring of Honor, NXT, and on and on. One of the very best to ever do it.
2. Antonio Inoki
How many people on this list have fought Muhammad Ali? How many can say they founded one of the top promotions in the world (New Japan Pro Wrestling) and have been elected to public office (the Japanese House of Councillors)? Inoki’s done it all, and he’s so iconic that it’s an honor to be slapped by him. Babies ask to be slapped by him.
3. Rey Mysterio Jr.
A 25-year veteran, wrestling’s “biggest little man” became WWE Champion despite being a 5-foot tall luchador. Really stop and think about that for a second. Rey has done it all everywhere, redefining cruiserweight wrestling in North American during his heyday, then coming back and doing it all again. Currently doing it all again as the new face of Lucha Underground. From ECW to WCW to WWE, one of the true greats.
NORTH AMERICAN NON-WWF REGION
1. Ric Flair
WOO! Flair’s blurb should just be one long, sustained WOO. The most hip-hop character in wrestling history, The Nature Boy is a legendary 16-time Champion who has walked that aisle and styled and profiled for five decades. The ultimate wrestling bad guy. The leader of the Four Horsemen, a 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, and so good he could wrestle a broomstick to a four star match. His run from Ricky Steamboat in 1989 to Sting in 1990 might be the best ever.
5. Eddie Guerrero
Latino Heat is your coolest wrestling friend’s favorite wrestler. Few people in wrestling history have ever connected with audiences like Eddie, or backed it up with his in-ring work or charisma. Eddie’s talent was so deniable that he eventually became WWE Champion, and would’ve been champion again if he hadn’t been taken from us so soon. We miss him all the damn time.
2. Dusty Rhodes
The opposite of Ric Flair in all the best ways. The common man, the son of a plumber, the American Dream. Proved that you didn’t have to look or act a certain way to be the most popular performer in pro wrestling. Maybe the best talker in wrestling history, which is saying something, because he talked against all the other candidates. His importance to pro wrestling carried through to the end of his life, when he worked closely with NXT talent to make sure they were better than asked.
3. Sting
Don’t let that WWE win/loss record fool you — for kids who grew up without regular access to Hulk Hogan, Sting was Hulk Hogan. He was Hogan and the Ultimate Warrior combined, but in a more accessible, believable way. He could go. Changed up the game in 1996 and became a silent vigilante as part of maybe the biggest and most successful angle in wrestling history. One day he’ll wrestle The Undertaker, we swear.
