Who is the most significant wrestler in history?

Lou Thesz - Among his many accomplishments, he is credited with inventing a number of professional wrestling moves such as the German suplex, the Lou Thesz press, STF and the original powerbomb. Thesz started wrestling in the 1930s, and from the 1930s to the 1960s, he was one of the most dominant figures in the business. Last wrestled in 1990 thus competing in 7 succesive decades

Gorgeous George - During the First Golden Age of Professional Wrestling in the 1940s-1950s, Gorgeous George gained mainstream popularity and became one of the biggest stars of this period, gaining media attention for his outrageous character. Such showmanship was unheard of for the time and consequently, arena crowds grew in size as fans turned out to ridicule George Muhammad Ali and James Brown acknowledged that their own approach to flamboyant self-promotion was influenced by George

Bruno Sammertino - Best known for being the longest-running champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), holding the title across two reigns for over 11 years in total, as well as the longest single WWE Championship reign in professional wrestling history.
His wrestling style was more mat-oriented which was typical of wrestlers from his era. His brawling, power moves, and personal charisma helped him become the most popular American wrestler in the 1960s and 1970s.

Hulk Hogan - One of the greatest, most popular, most hated and charismatic wrestlers of all time, Hulk Hogan is one of the men who helped parlay the circus-like world of professional wrestling from cult following into the forefront of American entertainment

Steve Austin - Described by WWE chairman Vince McMahon as the most popular and profitable wrestler in the company's history, he gained significant mainstream popularity in the WWF during the mid-to-late 1990s as "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, a disrespectful, beer-drinking antihero who routinely defied McMahon, his boss

I think it's probably Hulk Hogan, he pushed wrestling into a real mainstream, although with the help of Vince McMahon's vision. He led the Rock'n'Wrestling era and then was a significant part of the Monday Night Wars another major part of wrestling history. I think it shows how significant he is that we're still discussing today whether he can still be useful to a company that has him.

I'm going to go for an other and say Roddy Piper. When you look back at the history of wrestling, you can see the monumental shift that occured as Piper grew in fame in the 80's, and obviously the incident with Lauper elevated wrestling even further. His exuberance and passion that then went into his promoing was incredible and elevated the then WWF into a new stratosphere in my opinion, and he provided the perfect heel in that era for guys like Hogan to bounce off of.

Hogan without question, he transcended wrestling simply put.
Show his image to anyone and they'll probably know who he is, even Austin couldn't manage that.

Went for Hogan, love him or hate him you can't ignore what he has done for wrestling. In second for me with have been an "other" The Undertaker. Behind Hogan he is probably the next best known wrestler by the general public.

I wouldn't put Undertaker that high.

The Rock is probably next best well-known by the general public, then I'd put Austin next, and perhaps even Triple H. It's weird but the iconic character of Undertaker probably isn't as iconic outside of wrestling.

Hogan gets my vote, ask 100 people to name a wrestler the most named would be Hogan.
But I would be intrested in hearing who an American in they 50s or 60's would choose.

Leak I disagree completely, the Undertaker is probably the most iconic gimmick Wrestling has ever created and if you mention Undertaker or HHH to a non Wrestling fan I'd be amazed if more people knew of Triple H than The Undertaker

As for the question, I'm on the fence, I'm not sure anyone person can take that accolade

I suppose it depends, for people my age and a bit older Undertaker probably isn't as iconic as he is for somebody of your generation.

I still think if I was to go around my sixth form that more would know of the guys I listed than the Undertaker.

the-gaffer wrote:Leak I disagree completely, the Undertaker is probably the most iconic gimmick Wrestling has ever created and if you mention Undertaker or HHH to a non Wrestling fan I'd be amazed if more people knew of Triple H than The Undertaker

As for the question, I'm on the fence, I'm not sure anyone person can take that accolade

This must be a first!!! Someone has to be the MOST significant obviously others have been influential.... We'll probably be hard pressed to find anyone looking further back than Hogan due to the generation issue. But I'm fascinating by theGorgeous George character as to my knowledge pretty much invented the cocky arrogant flamboyant heel. Light years ahead of his time

Does someone have to be though? What about the domino effect, Gorgeous George did set a new standars but all he did was evolve, you'd then need to look at who his Wrestling inspiration was and what made him tick, what gave him the ideas to then do what he did, I just don't think it's as black and white as saying some must be #1

I can't shake that feeling that Hogan is only who he was made (and written) to be while Thesz and George invented both moves and personas that have been copied down the ages.

invincibleILeak (CL-6WF) wrote:I suppose it depends, for people my age and a bit older Undertaker probably isn't as iconic as he is for somebody of your generation.

I still think if I was to go around my sixth form that more would know of the guys I listed than the Undertaker.

You should put it to the test, I think Hogan and Rock due to their main stream exposure are the two instantly recognisable Wrestlers ever but for a gimmick alone I'd be positive than non Wrestling fans will more likely know who Undertaker is than HHH, and to a none Wrestling fan they'd be more likely tell you that Steve Austin is the $6m man

Statto00 wrote:I can't shake that feeling that Hogan is only who he was made (and written) to be while Thesz and George invented both moves and personas that have been copied down the ages.

To be fair though Hulk Hogan was hugely popular before he got to the WWF, he was the hottest thing in the AWA, he was always a major draw in Japan and he was in Rocky III, it was that popularity that made Vince desperate to build his company around him

I went for Gorgeous George, he was sports entertainment before the term even existed. Plus he was pretty well respected but guys like Lou Thesz, so he wasn't just all show and no go, he must have been a mean mutha.

Leone wrote:I'm going to go for an other and say Roddy Piper. When you look back at the history of wrestling, you can see the monumental shift that occured as Piper grew in fame in the 80's, and obviously the incident with Lauper elevated wrestling even further. His exuberance and passion that then went into his promoing was incredible and elevated the then WWF into a new stratosphere in my opinion, and he provided the perfect heel in that era for guys like Hogan to bounce off of.

Piper is an interesting one. He's significant in his time in the fact he played the protagonist heel vs Hogans super clean babyface. But MOST!!! He wouldn't make my top 10

I said him mainly for pushing wrestling into the main stream and, in my eyes at least, making the heel cool. There were certainly guys like Gorgeous George who gave wrestling interest and flamboyance, but Piper brought in this new and improved promoing style, which just made wrestling more interesting around that period, along with guys like Jake Roberts. Although I prefer the Attitude Era and this new Reality Era, I would say that without Piper, half of it wouldn't have even happened.

I voted for Gorgeous George. I'd put Hogan second for his influence on mainstream 80s culture. Austin and Bruno would be bottom of the list for me, with Thesz somewhere in the middle.

Hulk Hogan without a shadow of a doubt. The most charasmatic pro-wrestler in history, the man who put the WWF on the map and propelled its mainstream exposure. If Hulk Hogan turned up at Raw next week the roof would still be blown off after all these years. If you asked 100 people over 25 to name someone who used to be in the WWF I'd guess 80 of them would say Hogan.

He is by far and away the biggest star pro-wrestling has ever produced.

Leone wrote:I said him mainly for pushing wrestling into the main stream and, in my eyes at least, making the heel cool. There were certainly guys like Gorgeous George who gave wrestling interest and flamboyance, but Piper brought in this new and improved promoing style, which just made wrestling more interesting around that period, along with guys like Jake Roberts. Although I prefer the Attitude Era and this new Reality Era, I would say that without Piper, half of it wouldn't have even happened.

Hulk Hogan was the lead in taking wrestling mainstream Piper was merely a supporting actor in my opinion.

Leone sorry but as good as Piper was he was ultimately cannon fodder for Hogan. If it wasn't Piper it would have been someone else. Roddy Piper didn't sell out arenas, Hulk Hogan did. Hogan made the money for the WWF, he was the merchandise king, he sold out PPVs. Not Piper.

its leone Opinion he can stick to it if he wishes

I'm not arguing that Piper sold out arenas, actually I will argue that point, but just not yet.

Yes, Hogan definitely helped to elevate the wrestling business to new heights, however IMO, Piper did more for the elevation of it all. Would anyone have really cared if there was Hulk Hogan week in and week out destroying the generic heel, I mean look at the reaction he got from 1991 to see the answer to that. What Piper did was create controversy long before anyone like Eric Bischoff was around. This is just my opinion remember, but I don't think wrestling could have survived in the mainstream, or even gotten to the mainstream without Piper or his influence over the next generation of guys.

Surely the answer is Hogan needed Piper and Piper needed Hogan.

Marky wrote:Surely the answer is Hogan needed Piper and Piper needed Hogan.

Hogan needed a heel.... It didn't have to be Piper

I'd say Marky is probably right for the era, even though I still say Piper was more important for wrestling overall

Hogan needed a top quality heel to play off of, and someone different to the generic foreign/generic heel of the day such as Iron Sheik.

Piper on the other hand needed to face the companies baby-face, to emphasise his qualities even more so.

Brady, so you are saying that there was someone better than Piper to do his role? Piper is one of or the best heel promo guys of all time. He should have been former World Champion and put it in any other era would have wiped the floor with any of the current heels. Piper might not have defined wrestling but he sure as hell defined how a heel should promo.

Now, put your dummy back in

Seriously guys, listen to yourselves, Brady's question was 'Who is the most significant wrestler in history?' You really think Roddy Piper has a legitimate case?! I'm seriously scratching my head here. Hogan needed a heel, he didn't need Piper, just a heel. Yes, Piper was very very good but to say he's the most significant wrestler is just ridiculous!

At least Brady tries to put his point across Mr H, rather than just have a hissy fit when someone disagrees with him

AberdeenSteve wrote:Brady, so you are saying that there was someone better than Piper to do his role? Piper is one of or the best heel promo guys of all time. He should have been former World Champion and put it in any other era would have wiped the floor with any of the current heels. Piper might not have defined wrestling but he sure as hell defined how a heel should promo.

Now, put your dummy back in

Chill your boots & lay off the Whisky Steven. Try reading the thread properly. Let's have a constructive discussion rather than just immaturely throwing in digs

Do I rate Piper of course I rate him highly & i dont dispute the influence he had but we are talking about the MOST significant wrestler ever. Let's face it he doesn't belong in the same orbit as Hogan. If you want an alternative to Piper, Flair would have draw just as much in the Piper role....

You see that's the problem with Hogan, he had no longevity without a top heel to work with. Much as Flair needed Funk desperately in their feud in 89. Hogan needed someone desperately to go against him, and that guy had to be Piper. Argue all you want about it being any heel, but honestly, if they decided to put Bob Backlund in that role, would wrestling have grown to anywhere near the heights it is now, no it would not. Piper made the template for the new breed of heel, rather than just saying "I hate America", or "I disagree with anything (Insert faces name here) says because I'm against him", he created a new more sinister and interesting heel, that was the template for even todays standard of heel, the Hogan style died out about 20 years ago and made way for a new breed of face.

Leone wrote:At least Brady tries to put his point across Mr H, rather than just have a hissy fit when someone disagrees with him

How have I not put my point across then? Read my posts and you'll find its fairly obvious what my point is. Its not difficult Leone. Hulk Hogan would have been the biggest thing to come out of pro wrestling even if Roddy Piper didn't exist. All he done was put Hogan over. Its like saying John Cena wouldn't be the biggest star in the WWE if JBL didn't put him over at Wrestlemania!

Woah cool your jets dude, I'm just saying that Brady put his points across, whereas you just seemed to disagree with everything me/Marky/Steve said

I think you'll find Piper did a lot more than just put Hogan over, in fact I've said quite a lot about Piper that doesn't even involved Hogan, but you still seem determined to involve Hogan, maybe you need to read my posts more H

Leone wrote:You see that's the problem with Hogan, he had no longevity without a top heel to work with. Much as Flair needed Funk desperately in their feud in 89. Hogan needed someone desperately to go against him, and that guy had to be Piper. Argue all you want about it being any heel, but honestly, if they decided to put Bob Backlund in that role, would wrestling have grown to anywhere near the heights it is now, no it would not. Piper made the template for the new breed of heel, rather than just saying "I hate America", or "I disagree with anything (Insert faces name here) says because I'm against him", he created a new more sinister and interesting heel, that was the template for even todays standard of heel, the Hogan style died out about 20 years ago and made way for a new breed of face.

Where do we start here?

'Hogan, he had no longevity without a top heel to work with?' - He's been relevant for 30 years. In his prime he faced heels such as King Kong Bundy, Andre, Big Boss Man, Akeem, Earthquake, Sgt Slaughter to name a few, draw up your top 10 heels & not one of them names will feature.

'Put Bob Backlund in that role' - yeah they did 10 years later & despite his limitations he did a reasonable job & held more world titles as a heel than Piper

'The Hogan style died out about 20 years ago and made way for a new breed of face' - I suggest you type the name John Cena into google.

Brady12 wrote:

Leone wrote:You see that's the problem with Hogan, he had no longevity without a top heel to work with. Much as Flair needed Funk desperately in their feud in 89. Hogan needed someone desperately to go against him, and that guy had to be Piper. Argue all you want about it being any heel, but honestly, if they decided to put Bob Backlund in that role, would wrestling have grown to anywhere near the heights it is now, no it would not. Piper made the template for the new breed of heel, rather than just saying "I hate America", or "I disagree with anything (Insert faces name here) says because I'm against him", he created a new more sinister and interesting heel, that was the template for even todays standard of heel, the Hogan style died out about 20 years ago and made way for a new breed of face.

Where do we start here?

'Hogan, he had no longevity without a top heel to work with?' - He's been relevant for 30 years. In his prime he faced heels such as King Kong Bundy, Andre, Big Boss Man, Akeem, Earthquake, Sgt Slaughter to name a few, draw up your top 10 heels & not one of them names will feature.

'Put Bob Backlund in that role' - yeah they did 10 years later & despite his limitations he did a reasonable job & held more world titles as a heel than Piper

'The Hogan style died out about 20 years ago and made way for a new breed of face' - I suggest you type the name John Cena into google.

So you want it like this huh

Hogan lasted in the mainstream of wrestling for around 8 years before the fans got tired of his character. Compare that to guys like HBK, Undertaker, Triple H, who have survived in the mainstream for a good 15 to 20 years, and his character is suddenly not so long lived.

When they put Backland into that role, it was so dull it was unbelievable. They put the World Title on him shortly before giving Diesel a near one year run with the belt, and even as much as I like Nash, it kind of shows how lacking they were in main eventers or direction at that point. Piper would have easily been given the strap at that time.

Is this the same Cena that everyone has been crying out for a heel turn and gimmick change for 5 years now?

Mr H wrote:

Leone wrote:At least Brady tries to put his point across Mr H, rather than just have a hissy fit when someone disagrees with him

How have I not put my point across then? Read my posts and you'll find its fairly obvious what my point is. Its not difficult Leone. Hulk Hogan would have been the biggest thing to come out of pro wrestling even if Roddy Piper didn't exist. All he done was put Hogan over. Its like saying John Cena wouldn't be the biggest star in the WWE if JBL didn't put him over at Wrestlemania!

Very good modern day analogy Mr H. In defence of H it's very frustrating when guys on these pages argue til there blue in the face. Hogan has half the votes, we aren't arguing that Piper was good but quite rightly so even if I did create this thread myself, he isn't even an option.... Be interesting to get Gaffers take on this as he's a big Piper fan

This is my take on it all:

For a wrestler to be successful, they need that someone special to make them look good. As Austin needed McMahon, as Austin needed Rock, as Rock needed Austin, Hogan needed Piper. But who gets the plaudits? More often than not, its the crowd favourite, the face, in this case, Hogan. But Piper played a massive part in Hogans success.

Hogan lasted in the mainstream of wrestling for around 8 years before the fans got tired of his character. Compare that to guys like HBK, Undertaker, Triple H, who have survived in the mainstream for a good 15 to 20 years, and his character is suddenly not so long lived.

Now you are really extracting the urine.... Please google nWo or WCW

HBK, with Bret Hart blazed a trail for the smaller guys but he isn't more significant than Hogan

Undertaker greatest gimmick ever but that's all

Triple H??? His significance will be measured if he takes over the company both that for me he's just a really good wrestler

well said YI, I agree with every word of that.

I meant as in that face role that he had dude, however between 91 and 96 his character was dead and buried. He was only brought back into popularity due to an idea from Japan developed by Bischoff and that recquired guys like Nash and Hall to push him up the card.

I'd agree to say that HHH isn't as important, however Bret, HBK and Taker are all as key for wrestling as Hogan was IMO.

I think we have to respectfully agree to disagree here Brady, I personally believe Piper was more significant, you think Hogan was. The joys of an internet wrestling forum eh.

I've never argued that Piper was more significant than Hogan, because I think Hogan was more significant. But Piper was a HUGE reason Hogan became as big as he was/is, look at the WCW days, NWO, whatever. At the point Hogan made wrestling mainstream in the 1980's, it's no coincidence his main rival was Piper.

Y I Man wrote:This is my take on it all:

For a wrestler to be successful, they need that someone special to make them look good. As Austin needed McMahon, as Austin needed Rock, as Rock needed Austin, Hogan needed Piper. But who gets the plaudits? More often than not, its the crowd favourite, the face, in this case, Hogan. But Piper played a massive part in Hogans success.

I'm not disputing this notion.... But please explain who had the more significant career...

a)Hogan
b)Piper
c)Equal significance

If you think it's anything but a) you need sectioning

Brady12 wrote:

Y I Man wrote:This is my take on it all:

For a wrestler to be successful, they need that someone special to make them look good. As Austin needed McMahon, as Austin needed Rock, as Rock needed Austin, Hogan needed Piper. But who gets the plaudits? More often than not, its the crowd favourite, the face, in this case, Hogan. But Piper played a massive part in Hogans success.

I'm not disputing this notion.... But please explain who had the more significant career...

a)Hogan
b)Piper
c)Equal significance

If you think it's anything but a) you need sectioning

I would answer that one as (c)
Piper had a significant career because of what he made of Hogan.
Hogan had a significant career because of what Piper did.

Leone wrote:I meant as in that face role that he had dude, however between 91 and 96 his character was dead and buried. He was only brought back into popularity due to an idea from Japan developed by Bischoff and that recquired guys like Nash and Hall to push him up the card.

I'd agree to say that HHH isn't as important, however Bret, HBK and Taker are all as key for wrestling as Hogan was IMO.

I think we have to respectfully agree to disagree here Brady, I personally believe Piper was more significant, you think Hogan was. The joys of an internet wrestling forum eh.

No probs buddy I respect your view. I'd just like to add saying he did nothing of any note between 91-96 is incorrect, he still headlined Mania in 93. When he signed for WCW in 94 he was the ONLY guy that they could sign which could topple WWF, alright he character was stale & it took til 96 for them to find the formula to do it but the signing of Hogan made them a credible threat, no other talent carried his value

Would love to say Kane but ...

Hogan has the biggest influence, if you ask someone who know very little about wrestling they will likely know Hulk, so ill go for him

I understand what you mean there Brady, but just the crowd reactions at that point signalled a need for chance for the Hogan character, and as you correctly brought up, he did manage to get back his success with the nWo. It's good to have a good debate every once in a while on here.

Y I Man wrote:

Brady12 wrote:

Y I Man wrote:This is my take on it all:

For a wrestler to be successful, they need that someone special to make them look good. As Austin needed McMahon, as Austin needed Rock, as Rock needed Austin, Hogan needed Piper. But who gets the plaudits? More often than not, its the crowd favourite, the face, in this case, Hogan. But Piper played a massive part in Hogans success.

I'm not disputing this notion.... But please explain who had the more significant career...

a)Hogan
b)Piper
c)Equal significance

If you think it's anything but a) you need sectioning

I would answer that one as (c)
Piper had a significant career because of what he made of Hogan.
Hogan had a significant career because of what Piper did.

So to answer the thread... The most significate wrestler in history according to Y I Man = a tie between Hogan & Piper....

Seriously that's the daftest thing I've ever heard. Look up 'most' in the dictionary please

I voted Hogan.

Simply put.

"You took Hulk Hogan's blood and built Titan Towers" Paul Heyman Raw 2001.

Hogan made wrestling the mainstream success is today. Without Hogan there is no way wrestling would be in the position it is today.

Brady, that was never meant to be a dig mate

I respect your view but I honestly believe that Piper was massively significant in wrestling history. He defined the modern day heel, can you get much more significant?

That is not my opinion on who is the most significant ever Brady. That is just my opinion on the Hogan v Piper debate.

My answer to the most significant ever on the poll is 'other'......... McMahon.