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This year, Uproxx and With Spandex have decided to celebrate March Madness by getting the wrestling community at each other’s throats in an attempt to name the most iconic pro wrestler of all-time. We need your votes, your heated conversation, and your vehement defense of why, say, Macho Man is cooler than Ric Flair. He’s not, but we need your defense anyway.
A few notes:
- You’ll notice that we split these up into “regions” labeled “WWF,” “WWE,” “International” and “Non-WWE North American.” That’s mostly for classification purposes. WWF is for pre-1996 WWE stuff, WWE is post-1996, International is Mexico and Japan, and Non-WWE North American covers WCW and ECW.
- We need you to not get too hung up on who gets placed in which region, because if we’re being honest, we just had to get certain people on the list. For example, sure, you might know Eddie Guerrero best from his time in WWE, but would you rather him not get a spot? If you know Rey Mysterio from WCW or WWE and are wondering why he counts as international, that’s awesome, try not to be too upset that we counted him as lucha libre.
- “Iconic” is a hard word to define. If this was a list of my favorite wrestlers, it’d be Jumbo Tsuruta and all the 1990s All Japan guys. Think of iconic as relevant to both casual and regular fans. Someone who crosses over between the two and resonates with people who watch obsessive, and people who’ve only tuned in a few times. Or, you know, let’s all agree that Dean Malenko is the most iconic and skip voting entirely.
- We want your conversation, seriously, so let us know why you voted for who you voted for in our comments section below. If we left off someone you think deserves consideration, write them in. You know how wrestling tournaments work. Someone always gets hurt, and plans change at the last minute.
- Round two voting will begin on Wednesday, March 16. Vote early and often until then.
For now, let’s start round one and see who’ll be crowned the most iconic pro wrestler of all-time. Besides Dean Malenko.
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.
8. Shawn Michaels
Shawn Michaels has been dividing opinions and making people pick sides since his debut, but one thing is undeniable: the 4-time Champion (over two eras!) is one of the most compelling athletes and big-match performers in the history of WWF/WWE. Probably in the history of pro wrestling. He’s Mr. WrestleMania for a reason, and it’s hard to find someone who’s done more than Shawn, or done it better.
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.
5. Ultimate Warrior
Was Hulk Hogan too gritty and real for you? Enter THE ULTIMATE WARRIOR, a muscular, screaming man who looks like a little kid’s bike and wants to throw you through the Earth. Warrior hit that sweet spot between superhero and bizarre druid, and managed to top wrestling’s most unstoppable character — WWF Rock n’ Wrestling Hulk Hogan — at WrestleMania 6.
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.”
6. The Undertaker
What started as a wrestling zombie mortician (?) transformed into one of the most popular and legendary figures in pro wrestling history. His influence and accomplishments are hard to put in a paragraph. The WrestleMania streak, the Funeral Parlor, 7 World Championships, Hell in a Cell, throwing people OFF the Hell in a Cell, the list goes on and on. It’s still going on, as he’s the only active wrestler in the conference.
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.
7. Bret Hart
The Excellence of Execution proved that you didn’t have to be giant and larger than life to be a legendary WWF Champion, you just needed to be really good at wrestling. The 5-time WWF Champion has too many classic matches to name, and he once bought Mr. Burns’ house on The Simpsons. He’s the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be.
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.”
8. Daniel Bryan
YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!
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.
5. Triple H
Started off local, but thanks to all these haters, he knows the Four Horsemen on a first name basis. Triple H started as a rich, snobby blue blood, transformed into a close approximation of what Conan the Barbarian would be if he didn’t have any self confidence, and is now pretty much running the company. He’s the current WWE World Heavyweight Champion, but also the COO, and also the guy running and promoting NXT. He wears a lot of hats. Barbarian crowns. Whatever.
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!
6. Brock Lesnar
The Beast Incarnate is one of the most legit athletes to ever set foot in a pro wrestling ring. He’s a former WWE Champion, IWGP Champion AND UFC Heavyweight Champion. He’s a force of nature in sub restaurant shorts. His hobbies include conquering things, shooting prairie dogs with machine guns, Jimmy John’s brand subs and just throwing people around whether they want to be thrown or not.
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.
7. CM Punk
The Voice of the Voiceless. Punk proved that true passion could get you to the top of the mountain, even if it wasn’t enough to keep you happy when you got there. The longest reigning WWE Champion of the modern era. Was so good at speaking on a microphone he convinced the mainstream sports world that wrestling was real for an entire summer.
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.
8. Tiger Mask
Just to be clear, we’re talking Tiger Mask Sayama. The work of Mysterio and Liger wouldn’t have been the same without the contributions of Tiger Mask, who was doing next level stuff that would pop crowds in 2016 back in 1981. He might still be ahead of his time. His matches against Dynamite Kid influenced any modern wrestler worth their salt.
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.
5. Mil Mascaras
It’s hard to find a luchador as iconic as El Santo, but Mil Mascaras comes close. The “man of a thousand masks” influenced a generation in the 1960s, and has remained relevant enough to earn a WWE Hall of Fame induction in 2012. He wears masks under his masks, and can remove and put on a new mask without you ever seeing an inch of his head.
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.
6. The Great Muta
My favorite wrestler when I was 9, in the interest of transparency. Keiji Mutoh and The Great Muta have become legendary not only for being cool during a specific time period, but for evolving with pro wrestling and constantly reinventing themselves to not only fit the time, but define them. Has a poison gland in his throat that can produce deadly, multi-colored Asian mist. His knee can kill you.
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.
7. Bull Nakano
Probably the coolest (and meanest) woman in wrestling history. The former AJW Champion and WWF Women’s Champion is so scary and violent you want to run from her and BE her at the same time. Her hair defies gravity. If you’ve never seen her, imagine Kevin Owens and a volcano had a baby in the early ’90s.
NORTH AMERICAN NON-WWE 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.
8. Jerry Lawler
The King of Memphis Tennessee. Famous to modern fans as one of the voices of WWE programming since the 1990s, Lawler is a true icon of the territories era and a pop culture icon thanks to his mainstream feud with comedian Andy Kaufman. He could also get it done in the ring, where he is a former 28-time — yes, 28-time — USWA Champion.
4. Goldberg
His career wasn’t long, but it was unforgettable. Goldberg was the hottest act in WCW during the hottest period of interest in U.S. history, and was a special, once-in-a-lifetime attraction. Anyone who watched Nitro when it aired remembers gathering with their friends to happily clap their hands as Goldberg obliterated anyone in front of him. A former WCW (and WWE!) Champion. Probably never coming back, but we’re not going to stop asking.
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.
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.
6. Booker T
The 5-time, 5-time, 5-time, 5-time, 5-time WCW Champion (and former World Heavyweight Champion in WWE, if that counts as six for WCW) is the face of late-era WCW. He’s also one of the most identifiable and popular characters from the decade of WWE that followed. So good that he’s not only one of the most legendary tag team champions ever, but without a doubt the greatest “king” character not named Jerry Lawler.
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.
7. Sabu
Homicidal, suicidal and genocidal — thank God we never saw the last two — Sabu is the wrestler you think of when you think “ECW.” One of the craziest and most unpredictable performers ever, the 2-time ECW Champion competed around the world in places as diverse as WCW, WWE, New Japan Pro Wrestling and the Insane Clown Posse’s promotion. You’ve seen him break his bones and literally glue himself back together more times than you probably remember.
