The debate continues....

My pal DJ....

Wow Mike, this is a tough one, because there are so many different factors that go into the decision. Are you talking a good technical wrestler, good on the stick, or some median between the two? For my purposes, I'm gonna go with the third route for my actual choice then give my favorite in respect to the factors I mentioned above.
My favorite overall has to be Ricky Steamboat. There were some guys better than him on the mic, yeah. There were some guys (though significantly fewer than the first category) that were better in the ring, yeah. But getting Steamboat in a feud with someone, there truly was nothing like it. His series with Flair still make my list of greatest matches of all time, and somewhere on that list there is also his match with Randy Savage from WM3. His ability to put emotion into a match and have an audience eating out of the palm of his hand was unbelievable. I also find it unbelievable that he's one of the few superstars to stay face through the entirety of his career.
Technically, I have a 2-way tie between Chris Benoit (gasp! I said the name!) and Bret Hart. As we all know, the crippler was not the best ever on the mic, but I've never seen someone go so consistently in the ring, with such a wide array of opponents. Had the unspeakable not occurred there's no telling where he'd be right now. And I don't even have to mention Bret Hart's accomplishments. While some may argue that his brother deserves this spot, I always thought Bret was crisper and had much better timing. Also, Hart vs. Austin, submission match. Enough said, onto my next point.
On the mic there is no competition in my mind. The Rock truly was the most electrifying man in sports entertainment when he was in the industry. He could get on a mic and have you laughing one moment and waiting on his every word the next. A whole generation of fans would listen to him order a pizza if it meant hearing him talk, and he truly did change the English language with words like "jabroni" and "layin the smackdown". There have been plenty who have been gold on the mic, but Rocky's the only one I see who is platinum. Just my thoughts though.

Cheers,

D.J.



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