395 replies to this topic

[Johnny Sorrow]

I didn't even think of The Rock and Andre, that's a good point. But I'm thinking more people are aware of Savage than Austin, and, as much as it pains ME..Bruno.

[JerryvonKramer]

Using JVK's first post I will say this Undertaker is a bigger star than the Silverhawks. Anyone wanna argue that point?

So THAT's who that is. I was like hmmm Aquaman? I never saw SilverHawks.

1. Hogan
2. Austin
3. Bruno (I could possibly be convinced to flip Bruno and Austin)
4. Andre (I could see arguments for Andre higher than Bruno and Austin on an overall list not exclusive to WWE)
5. The Rock
6. Savage
7. Cena
8. Taker
9. Backlund (To me maybe the hardest guy to rate and I have the least confidence in his placement)
10. Piper
11. Foley
12. HHH
13. Michaels
14. Bret
15. Misterio
16. Morales
17. Graham
18. Orndorff
19. Slaughter
20. Dibiase

Jake I reckon. Possibly above some of these guys.

Duggan.

Beefcake.

Possibly Rude and Perfect too.

These are guys I'd say would be widely known in the 25-35 male demographic at the very least.

Lou Albano must have been pretty well known for a certain generation of people.



Flair.

[JerryvonKramer]

Oh and ...

[Dylan Waco]

Jake, Rude and Jesse don't really fit all that well with what I'm trying to go for but am not articulating well. Heenan on the other hand should be in the top twenty

[Slasher]

I think Andre has to be #2. Rock should be above Austin. I don't think Bruno is really that famous outside the NE. Savage is there somewhere alongside Austin too.

[TheGreatPuma]

Kramer brings up a good point about Jake Roberts. He is a well known name. This thread reminded me of that best WWF/WWE champion poll that the WWE had on their app recently. That was all telling and if that poll was indeed legit than that was jaw dropping. And that was from this day and age. Hogan is to wrestling as Gretzky is to hockey as Jordan is to basketball as Mario is to video games as Bruce Lee is to martial arts.

[Dylan Waco]

I think Andre has to be #2. Rock should be above Austin. I don't think Bruno is really that famous outside the NE. Savage is there somewhere alongside Austin too.

To me the list isn't just about fame. It's about value to the promotion.

[Johnny Sorrow]

Yeah, I was going with the op's thing about fame in general when I say Savage is one of the most well known. The Rock is a definite number two though, he completely slipped my mind.
I'm wondering how much of Andre's fame currently is more a result of The Princess Bride continuing to grow from generation to generation as a beloved movie? Which reminds me of this bit of awesomeness.



I need this framed and on my wall, post haste.

[tim]

Might it be argued that Austin was more relatively important than Hogan? Hogan was the head of the 80s boom but I feel like that was thanks to cable, national expansion, Vince's vision etc and could've happened with a number of big, charismatic Champions on top (not that there are a whole lot of guys who fit that bill as well as Hogan). The Attitude Era boom though feels like a real outgrowth of Austin himself.

[Slasher]

Might it be argued that Austin was more relatively important than Hogan? Hogan was the head of the 80s boom but I feel like that was thanks to cable, national expansion, Vince's vision etc and could've happened with a number of big, charismatic Champions on top (not that there are a whole lot of guys who fit that bill as well as Hogan). The Attitude Era boom though feels like a real outgrowth of Austin himself.

Meltzer made a point that when Austin got in trouble for the Debra stuff, it barely made a blip in news media, but when it was Hogan-all over the place. I do have to think fame and importance has to go hand in hand, unless you were a journeyman that left promotions after six months or something. Being famous means people know who you work for means people are watching for you.

[gingears]

Might it be argued that Austin was more relatively important than Hogan? Hogan was the head of the 80s boom but I feel like that was thanks to cable, national expansion, Vince's vision etc and could've happened with a number of big, charismatic Champions on top (not that there are a whole lot of guys who fit that bill as well as Hogan). The Attitude Era boom though feels like a real outgrowth of Austin himself.

I think the boom was also an outgrowth of the grand anti-hero movement and Hogan, via the NWO, was also a big part of that.

When comparing Hogan and Austin career-versus-career, I can never shake the fact that, even though Austin absolutely eclipsed Hulk at one point, Hogan was still an important and prominent figure during that time.

[SteveJRogers]

I like the Andre-Taker comparasion. I could see Callaway being farmed out to promotions during the height of the territory days the way Andre was. Thing is though, I'd bet when the non-fans ask about "Undertaker" its probably the 1991-1994 version of the character more so than any other version of the gimmick. And while that is true of the "yellow and red" Human Hot Dog Hogan, I think its more accepted that Hogan's gimmicks are more than the color of his garb. The non-fan isn't going to question why Hogan is wearing a black doo rag, blue Ed Hardy shirt and jeans.

[Dylan Waco]

Actually Taker WAS farmed out to the territories, or at least SMW

[Bix]

Actually Taker WAS farmed out to the territories, or at least SMW

And the USWA and Michinoku Pro.

[cm funk]

Taker is no doubt one of the most recognizable names to non-fans/casual fans. If you were even tangently interested in wrestling in the 90's Taker was one of the most recognizable characters. I think if you polled random people on the street the majority of them would know "The Undertaker"

Also, when WWE was at it's peak of popularity, the biggest show they did was Austin vs. Undertaker. Anyone with a pulse in 98 knew about that show.

Taker isn't close to Hogan though. Everyone knows Hulk Hogan. He's the biggest wrestling star of the last 30 years, and it's not really close. I love Austin, but Hogan was a bigger star.

[RWOOD]

From google. Hulk hogan is the third thing listed after typing "hul". You have to type "stone c" to get Austin to come up but he is the only thing. When you type in "undert" undertaker comes up but that is also a thing. I don't know what that means. It is probably influenced by my regular googling anyway. Hulk hogan is the biggest wrestling star ever. The Rock is number two without a doubt?

[Strummer]

just an anecdotal note. I went to the WWE House Show on the 5th of this month in Albany and a woman was passing out flyers for an upcoming Bret Hart appearance in the area. I stood around for awhile and I'd have to say that at least half (and that's generous) of the fans that she approached had no idea who Bret was. But the last few times I've attended WWE Shows it still amazes me that the crowd is mostly filled with 10-12 year olds and their begrudging parents (in fact I sat next to a father/son tandem at the show who made me laugh quite often with their interactions)

[pantherwagner]

Actually Taker WAS farmed out to the territories, or at least SMW

And the USWA and Michinoku Pro.

And WAR (vs King Haku)