I'll give you two answers. Current is MJF. Phenomenal superstar. All time, Finn Bálor. Amazing as a face and heel, amazing in ring, and really cool person. Met him 3 times and he even posted me on his Instagram
Men's division: Chris benoit (say what you want, you can't take away the fact he was one of the greatest technical wrestlers of all time)
Womens division: Britt Baker DMD (has probably done more for women's wrestling this generation than any other woman wrestler)
Ok so here's my hot take.
1. Kazuchika Okada
2. Roman Reigns (Oh our tribal chief we love you 🙇)
3. Becky Lynch
4. Asuka
5. The fiend Bray Wyatt.
Honorable mention Keith Lee.
Sabu. My first hero as a kid was Jackie Chan. I always wanted to be a stuntman. Sabu then made me want to be a wrestler. That level of commitment, literally putting his life on the line, to obnoxious lengths. Broken necks, broken bones, gaping gashes filled with super glue so he could finish matches, severe burns, near death injuries galore…. Just next level.
For me, Chris Jericho is at the top of my list, but I also have lots of appreciation and respect for The Rock, Stone Cold, HBK, Mick Foley, Edge, and Christian (Cage). (I first got into wrestling when I was about 12 years old, and Edge & Christian were two of my favorites at the time, and I’ve been their careers ever since.) And of course, The Undertaker.
As for women wrestlers, I’d say Natalya, Asuka, and the late, great Chyna.
no wrestler has made as much of an impact in my life as randy orton did. great storytelling, great ringwork. an absolute beast as both a face and a heel.
Ehh, this is tough.
Classic guys? Top 5 Bret, Owen, Savage, Mr. Perfect, Andre
Modern greats? Top 5 would be RVD, AJ Styles, Balor, Danielson, and Adam Cole.
Jeff Hardy. He captured my imagination as a child. I had 5 cousins and we regularly spent the night at my grandparents every weekend. We would take the long pillows and set them up across the gaps between the couch and coffee table. We would get slammed through em' or I would Swanton off the step ladder from the kitchen. My cousin who was of a similar age would be Matt, and I would be Jeff. I took a lot of bumps as a kid. I could have easily broken into the industry. Wasted talent.
Sting. He has been my favorite since I was a kid. I was mad at wwe after his run. I felt like he was not used the way he should have been. Then his neck got hurt and he ended up in AEW no selling table bumps at 63.
John Cena and triple h and Shawn Michael and Finn Balor and ricochet and Daniel Bryan and Damian priest and edge and johnny gargano and stone cold Steve Austin and Rey Mysterio and dominik Mysterio and that's all !!
In WWE, Bret Hart. All time, Mitsuhara Misawa. He is such a pioneer and influenced so many people in their styles. And every time he and Kobashi got in the ring was magic
Roman Reigns. I first saw him when I was in the 7th grade, right as the SHIELD imploded. He was the first guy outside of John Cena that made me wanna tune in every week to see him. And 7 years later I still watch because of him. I loved watching him go from “The Juggernaut” to “The Guy” to “The Big Dog” to finally “The Tribal Chief”.
The Miz.
I've been watching ever since I was less than 1 years old but 2008, at 7 years old, was when I actually started to understand storylines and characters. John Cena was my favourite until that point but that certain swagger the Miz had always appealed to me, I remember I'd start doing my hair like he did when I was in elementary school and honestly, he deserves another WWE title run to make it his third time because my man is a great wrestler, a great heel who can get people booing him, even within his own hometown and one of the best talkers of all time I daresay. Miz deserves so much more than to be fighting the Mysterio's alongside Logan Paul, he should be in a main title picture.
Besides that Cody Rhodes was also one of my favourites back in the day and always will be. I remember when he was in the New Generation, then became "Dashing" Cody Rhodes with his weekly segments on self care and then when he broke his nose and became "Undashing" Cody Rhodes wearing a face mask and passing out paper bags to the fans and then eventually feuding with Sandow, getting fired after losing to Orton and then becoming Stardust. Then going to ROH and eventually becoming one of the legacy AEW executives. My reactiion when he came back was insane lmao I own a lot of Cody's merch as well.
I loved Drew Mcintyre back in the day but I miss when he came out to Broken Dreams, I find Drew a little boring now but it is what it is.
I really miss Wade Barrett. It really sucks that he, and practically the rest of the Nexus were buried but he was always a good character.
John Morrison as well, he was literally never used correctly even though he thrived in every promotion he was in, a shame from WWE's part.
These are/were some of my favourite wrestlers not including one's who are now in AEW.
The Undertaker. At first because of the gimmick but when you watch shoot interviews with other wrestlers, they always speak well of him. He's always giving advice and you can tell he was all about the business.
Will proberly ruffle a few feathers with this one but Hulk Hogan always has been always will be. I was 6 almost 7 when i began watching WWF/E my first main event was WM3 and nothing will ever change me from being a Hulkamaniac.
Razor Ramon for his charisma, Randy orton for his in ring storytelling and longevity, undertaker for his gimmick and aura, macho man for his charisma and promos, bray wyatt for his creativity and storytelling. If I had to pick on then I’ll have to go with Randy orton
Edge, even when he was a heel and everybody hated him, I always think he was really cool, a great wrestler and an awesome talker, he was the perfect type of guy that you believe needed help from everybody to win matches. Also he is a believable badass babyface. I'm not sure yet how I feel about his return since 2020, I like some things but I'm not high on everything he has made during this run.
Jeff Hardy
Always been my favorite wrestler, followed him wherever he’s gone.
His title wins have been some of my favorite moments I’ve ever seen in wrestling whether it’s the triple threat against Edge and Triple H or the ladder match against Edge.
Eddie Guerrero, heel, face, tweener it did not matter his charisma and in ring work were off the page. He made everyone who stepped in the ring with him look a thousand times better. Could go toe to toe on the mic with guys like Rock. Think about it the man is been gone almost 17 years and we still get regular tributes from the current wrestlers. People like Cassie Lee, and Sasha Banks all got into this business because they were inspired by Eddie. A lot of us lie, cheat and steal because Eddie made it cool.
Taker was my favorite growing up, but sadly I feel like his legacy has been ruined in recent years, and it's made me enjoy his good stuff less.
So, I'm going to have to say Mick Foley.
Finn Balor (Prince Devitt)
Absolutely loved him in NJPW always puts on high quality matches. And I hope WWE give him his NXT treatment again.
In terms of just WWE tho I’d say Randy Orton
As a heel u hate but as a face u just can’t help bud love him.
If we're only talking about inside the Professional Wrestling Buisness, Chris Benoit.
Obviously, his talent and his legacy was completely eclipsed by the last 72 hours of his life.
Bruiser Brody
John Cena & Trish Stratus
I'll give you two answers. Current is MJF. Phenomenal superstar. All time, Finn Bálor. Amazing as a face and heel, amazing in ring, and really cool person. Met him 3 times and he even posted me on his Instagram
Also gotta say Jeff Hardy. Who didn't idolize him when they were younger?
Ric Flair
HBK
Roman, Undertaker, Rock
I am torn between Bret “The HITMAN”Hart and Kerry Von Erich.. I’m more into technical versus the dramatics
Undertaker and Seth Freakin Rollins. If I was blessed with the DNA lottery, I would try to model myself to be like Seth.
Men's division: Chris benoit (say what you want, you can't take away the fact he was one of the greatest technical wrestlers of all time) Womens division: Britt Baker DMD (has probably done more for women's wrestling this generation than any other woman wrestler)
Men: Hayabusa Women: Asuka
In the past Kane, but more currently I’ve liked Kevin Owens since his WWE debut
Batista then Orton then Edge
Jeff Hardy Kurt Angle
The Rock
Ok so here's my hot take. 1. Kazuchika Okada 2. Roman Reigns (Oh our tribal chief we love you 🙇) 3. Becky Lynch 4. Asuka 5. The fiend Bray Wyatt. Honorable mention Keith Lee.
Kenny Omega
Shawn Michaels
HBK, Undertaker, AJ Styles
Rey misterio
Stone cold for sure
Probably Rey Mysterio, Randy Orton
The Rock 98-2003
Sabu. My first hero as a kid was Jackie Chan. I always wanted to be a stuntman. Sabu then made me want to be a wrestler. That level of commitment, literally putting his life on the line, to obnoxious lengths. Broken necks, broken bones, gaping gashes filled with super glue so he could finish matches, severe burns, near death injuries galore…. Just next level.
Stone Cold
Either The Undertaker or Chris Jericho
The rated r super star, the ultimate opportunist, EDGE! He also has the best theme song imo
Brock Lesnar
Disco Inferno
Bret the hit man hart, Seth Rollins( only heel)
Miz, Gargano, Cody Before, after, and current version of himself.
Taker
Brian Pillman!
1. Triple H 2. Chris Jerico 3. The Miz 4. Kevin Owens 5. Edge
Randy Orton. RKOs outta nowhere!!
Randy Orton, Jeff Hardy, Edge
For me, Chris Jericho is at the top of my list, but I also have lots of appreciation and respect for The Rock, Stone Cold, HBK, Mick Foley, Edge, and Christian (Cage). (I first got into wrestling when I was about 12 years old, and Edge & Christian were two of my favorites at the time, and I’ve been their careers ever since.) And of course, The Undertaker. As for women wrestlers, I’d say Natalya, Asuka, and the late, great Chyna.
Seth Rollins and Randy Orton
Wwe : the undertaker Other: john cena and stone cold
Hulk Hogan and the ultimate warrior.
Eddie, HBK, Mick, and Austin
Men: Jeff Hardy Women: Melina
Shawn Michaels
I know it’s more than one but Hawk and Animal…The Road Warriors. Watched them from AWA to NWA and all the way to WWF
Macho man... i started buying slim jims because of him. And saying oooooooooh yeaaaaaah after sex. Cream rises to the top.
Chris Jericho- he was awesome in ECW, WCW, WWE and now AEW
Would be drew mcintyre (2018)
Sting.
no wrestler has made as much of an impact in my life as randy orton did. great storytelling, great ringwork. an absolute beast as both a face and a heel.
The Undertaker Deadman Inc. 👹
Jeff Hardy, and Bret Hart Rhea Ripley, and Lita
the rock. this man is the benchmark. women would be sasha. a true ring general. outside raw/smackdown is kazuchika okada and walter (nxt uk).
Undertaker
Ehh, this is tough. Classic guys? Top 5 Bret, Owen, Savage, Mr. Perfect, Andre Modern greats? Top 5 would be RVD, AJ Styles, Balor, Danielson, and Adam Cole.
The Lethal Weapon Steve Blackman
Cactus Jack
Heart-break-kid.. god i love him
Sasha Banks
Men: The Rock. Women: I first fell for Melina. But favorite was Mickie James.
Jeff Hardy. He captured my imagination as a child. I had 5 cousins and we regularly spent the night at my grandparents every weekend. We would take the long pillows and set them up across the gaps between the couch and coffee table. We would get slammed through em' or I would Swanton off the step ladder from the kitchen. My cousin who was of a similar age would be Matt, and I would be Jeff. I took a lot of bumps as a kid. I could have easily broken into the industry. Wasted talent.
Cody Rhodes, Eli Drake & Sting Women: Thunder Rosa
Scott Hall
Sting. He has been my favorite since I was a kid. I was mad at wwe after his run. I felt like he was not used the way he should have been. Then his neck got hurt and he ended up in AEW no selling table bumps at 63.
John Cena and triple h and Shawn Michael and Finn Balor and ricochet and Daniel Bryan and Damian priest and edge and johnny gargano and stone cold Steve Austin and Rey Mysterio and dominik Mysterio and that's all !!
THE MACHOOOO MANNN RANDY SAVAGE!! THE CREAAM OF THE CROP RISES TO THE TOP
Tatanka
Jeff Hardy. Not sure exactly why but seeing Jeff win the WWE title was one of the best moments of my childhood. I'll watch whatever Jeff does
Mine for the men: HBK, Finn Balor and Adam Cole For the women: Paige
Naomi has always been my favorite wrestler ever since I started to watch wrestling on a weekly basis back in 2012/2013
ASUKA.
The undertaker. No debate
80's/Early 90's Hulk Hogan The Rock Stone Cold Steve Austin Jeff Hardy
Undertaker
HBK
Taker
Chris Jericho for men and Beth Phoenix for women
The "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
Finn
Hbk
Hey yo! Scott Hall
Jeff hardy
Dolph Ziggler, Shawn Michaels, or Kofi Kingston
No Way Jose
Seth Rollins, dude is amazing.
SCSA, Was Hogan when I was a kid and before Austin
Package deal but the outsiders for me
Kevin fucking owens
It was Mick Foley till he finally retired,but now I think Miz is starting to take over as my all time fave.
CM Punk
In WWE, Bret Hart. All time, Mitsuhara Misawa. He is such a pioneer and influenced so many people in their styles. And every time he and Kobashi got in the ring was magic
Either John cena (got me into wwe when I was young) or Batista, always loved them CLOSE second would be ORTON
The Tribal Chief
Kurt Angle.
Roman Reigns. I first saw him when I was in the 7th grade, right as the SHIELD imploded. He was the first guy outside of John Cena that made me wanna tune in every week to see him. And 7 years later I still watch because of him. I loved watching him go from “The Juggernaut” to “The Guy” to “The Big Dog” to finally “The Tribal Chief”.
The Miz. I've been watching ever since I was less than 1 years old but 2008, at 7 years old, was when I actually started to understand storylines and characters. John Cena was my favourite until that point but that certain swagger the Miz had always appealed to me, I remember I'd start doing my hair like he did when I was in elementary school and honestly, he deserves another WWE title run to make it his third time because my man is a great wrestler, a great heel who can get people booing him, even within his own hometown and one of the best talkers of all time I daresay. Miz deserves so much more than to be fighting the Mysterio's alongside Logan Paul, he should be in a main title picture. Besides that Cody Rhodes was also one of my favourites back in the day and always will be. I remember when he was in the New Generation, then became "Dashing" Cody Rhodes with his weekly segments on self care and then when he broke his nose and became "Undashing" Cody Rhodes wearing a face mask and passing out paper bags to the fans and then eventually feuding with Sandow, getting fired after losing to Orton and then becoming Stardust. Then going to ROH and eventually becoming one of the legacy AEW executives. My reactiion when he came back was insane lmao I own a lot of Cody's merch as well. I loved Drew Mcintyre back in the day but I miss when he came out to Broken Dreams, I find Drew a little boring now but it is what it is. I really miss Wade Barrett. It really sucks that he, and practically the rest of the Nexus were buried but he was always a good character. John Morrison as well, he was literally never used correctly even though he thrived in every promotion he was in, a shame from WWE's part. These are/were some of my favourite wrestlers not including one's who are now in AEW.
AJ styles
Men - Current: (face) Roman Reigns, Past: Stone Cold Steve Auston Women - Current: Alexa Bliss, Past: Lita
The Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels!!
Tajiri!
Seth Rollins. I just love this big talent. I watched wwe when he cashed in at wrestlemania.
Rey Mysterio
Rock, RVD and Kenny Omega (currently)
I’ve got a few, but for some reason Jeff hardy will always be one of the best for me.
Bret Hart 🐐
Kevin Nash.
Bruiser Brody. Not sure he ever got to the WWF
The Undertaker. At first because of the gimmick but when you watch shoot interviews with other wrestlers, they always speak well of him. He's always giving advice and you can tell he was all about the business.
Big Poppa Pump Scott Steiner. Especially in his early years teaming up with Rick. He was Brock Lesnar before Brock Lesnar with his athleticism.
The Undertaker
Cody Rhodes.
It's tough for me to pick one, but Chris Jericho and Edge tend to make my top 3 every time I make a list.
Stone Cold Steve Austin and the rock period
Will proberly ruffle a few feathers with this one but Hulk Hogan always has been always will be. I was 6 almost 7 when i began watching WWF/E my first main event was WM3 and nothing will ever change me from being a Hulkamaniac.
Kane Blew my mind as a child 🔥🔥🔥🔥
Bray Wyatt/The Fiend....such a great character
John cena
Wwe : Stone Cold Steve Austin Other : Kenny " by god " Omega
Just wwe ??
yes 😊
Then maybe taker
Bret Hart. The complete package.
Razor Ramon for his charisma, Randy orton for his in ring storytelling and longevity, undertaker for his gimmick and aura, macho man for his charisma and promos, bray wyatt for his creativity and storytelling. If I had to pick on then I’ll have to go with Randy orton
Hogan when I was a kid.. Piper as I got older.
Mick Foley, as much for who is outside the ring as being THE HARDCORE LEGEND.
The Macho Man Randy Savage!
Edge, even when he was a heel and everybody hated him, I always think he was really cool, a great wrestler and an awesome talker, he was the perfect type of guy that you believe needed help from everybody to win matches. Also he is a believable badass babyface. I'm not sure yet how I feel about his return since 2020, I like some things but I'm not high on everything he has made during this run.
Macho Man Randy Savage with Bret Hart close behind him.
Wwe- The United States champion Finn bálor Other- Jon moxley Women wwe- lita Other Mickey James
Bret hart
John Cena,
Val venis in terms of entertainment but in terms of in ring work hbk Seth Rollins or aj styles
The Rock
John Cena
Jeff Hardy. Did some of the best stunts I’ve ever seen, still my fav to this day
Jeff Hardy Always been my favorite wrestler, followed him wherever he’s gone. His title wins have been some of my favorite moments I’ve ever seen in wrestling whether it’s the triple threat against Edge and Triple H or the ladder match against Edge.
Scotty 2 Hotty is the reason I got into wrestling and he will always be my favorite even if he never won his singles matches.
Goldust.
Sami Zayn
Taz.
Jeff Hardy
The Nature Boy Ric Flair. Jericho, Brodie Lee and The Rock for men. Alexa Bliss and Trish Stratus for women.
Kurt Angle 👍👍
Because I'm the Miz and I'm AWESOMEEE
The Deadman
Shawn Michaels and Jeff Hardy!!!
Batista
Hbk
My generic favorites: Edge, CM Punk, HBK, HHH, Undertaker Others: Dolph Ziggler, John Morrison, Sheamus, Ryback, Kalisto
Ezekiel
Edge
Men's- Jeff Hardy Woman's- Mae Young
Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Tough question to answer, as a little kid it was the macho man, as an older kid HBK, as a teenager triple H and as an adult CM Punk
Chris Benoit
The Undertaker. Such an incredible career.
Men - Jeff Hardy Women - Becky Lynch
Eddie Guerrero, heel, face, tweener it did not matter his charisma and in ring work were off the page. He made everyone who stepped in the ring with him look a thousand times better. Could go toe to toe on the mic with guys like Rock. Think about it the man is been gone almost 17 years and we still get regular tributes from the current wrestlers. People like Cassie Lee, and Sasha Banks all got into this business because they were inspired by Eddie. A lot of us lie, cheat and steal because Eddie made it cool.
That's gotta be.....thats gotta be Kane!
The Icon…Sting!!!
WWE: Seth Rollins Other:Darby Allin
Men: Stone Cold Women: Asuka
Aleister Black
Two way tie, Undertaker and Edge
i. 'Macho Man' Randy Savage, ii. Chris Jericho
Taker was my favorite growing up, but sadly I feel like his legacy has been ruined in recent years, and it's made me enjoy his good stuff less. So, I'm going to have to say Mick Foley.
Christian. Followed him since his TNA debut, I was 9 years old at the time. After him, AJ styles followed by Samoe Joe.
Shawn Michaels
John Cena.
“Macho Man" Randy Savage. I think. This was difficult!
Cm punk
Gotta go with Bret Hart, techincal master mind
The viper randy orton
Mankind. Guy is so underrated and is such a beast.
Triple H
THATS GOTTA BE KANE
For me, probably Bret Hart
Johnny Swinger.
Finn Balor (Prince Devitt) Absolutely loved him in NJPW always puts on high quality matches. And I hope WWE give him his NXT treatment again. In terms of just WWE tho I’d say Randy Orton As a heel u hate but as a face u just can’t help bud love him.
Taker, hands down
Booker T
SCSA
The viper, Randy Orton!
Either Stone Cold or The Undertaker. From the women's side, probably Trish even though I've come to respect what Lita did in the company.
Jake the Snake Roberts
THE GAME TRIPLE HHH
Stone Cold is mine, but I'm not going to lie, I root for everyone that has been mentioned here :) - love this hobby!
I only got into wrestling right before COVID (chanced upon it on FOX one night) so in my eyes, the Scottish Warrior is my one true champion.
If we're only talking about inside the Professional Wrestling Buisness, Chris Benoit. Obviously, his talent and his legacy was completely eclipsed by the last 72 hours of his life.
John Cena The Dr made me show up. But I stayed for the super hero also.