Best Ever
In a moment of madness, I decided to compile a list of who I thought were the best 25 wrestlers of the last 20 or so years. In compiling this list, I have considered several factors which I believe can go together to make a wrestling legend. Not everyone on the list possesses all three ingredients... but everyone has at least two.
First is their ability as a worker. This is obviously very important, and arguably the biggest single factor I have used to determine the placings. Ability as a worker is pretty well reflected in each wrestler's ability to consistantly produce great matches night after night, and year after year against wrestlers of different styles and ability levels.
Secondly, I have also taken note of a wrestler's ability to draw. At the end of the day, wrestling is a worked sport, and often times the buck stops at whether a wrestler is able to prove himself as a consistant draw. That's certainly what makes a wrestler great in the eyes of promoters, and I've attempted to take that into account here. That's why I've been very careful to refer to the list as a ranking of the best "wrestlers", and not just best "workers". I'm trying to take into account the whole package, rather than focus on one thing.
The final factor I consider as relevant here is longevity. If I'm taking into account the last 20 or so years (I'm pretty much using 1980 as an arbitrary cut-off point), I believe that someone who has proven themselves as either a great worker, a great draw (or both) time and time again over the course of that timespan should be given extra credit because of that.
That being said... Here's my roll of honour...
1. "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair
The Nature Boy is the very definition of what I term a great wrestler. He's proven time and time again his ability to blah blah blah...
Check out Flair's matches with: Barry Windham (1985), Ricky Steamboat (1989 & 1994), Randy Savage (1992), Vader (1993), Sting (1987, 1990)
2. Mitsuharu Misawa
Misawa is blah blah blah....
Check out Misawa's matches with: Jumbo Tsuruta (1990), Toshiaki Kawada (1994, 1995, 1999), Kenta Kobashi (1997), Akira Taue (1995)