Favorite pro rassler of all time

[NoVaJack]

Saw that TV got into a little of this on his chat last week so thought I'd transport over here.
Who's your favorite pro wrestler, and why?
Despite all the Upper Midwest favorites from the '60s and '70s (Haystack Calhoun, Nick Bockwinkle, etc., which, BTW, is where it all really started), a highlight was meeting Mankind... Mick Foley was one of the nicest, most engaging people.... and up close he had even a bigger slobbery everyman body that you could identify with in the ring. He was at a car show and he was wearing a plaid shirt, patterned tie and sweat pants with battered tennis shoes, and he was walking around with little kids following him.
Truly a wrestler of the people.

[CatchEmAll]

Re: Favorite pro rassler of all time

Greatest thread ever!

I tend toward the late '80's genre of wrestling, especially the old NWA. Magnum TA, Ronnie "Hands of Stone" Garvin, the Freebirds were amongst my favorites. Some were also AWA wrestlers who migrated after it's collapse. All time favorites though had to be Hawk and Animal...The Road Warriors!

[NoVaJack]

Re: Favorite pro rassler of all time

Greatest thread ever!

I tend toward the late '80's genre of wrestling, especially the old NWA. Magnum TA, Ronnie "Hands of Stone" Garvin, the Freebirds were amongst my favorites. Some were also AWA wrestlers who migrated after it's collapse. All time favorites though had to be Hawk and Animal...The Road Warriors!

Fabulous Freebirds were extremely athletic. Loved the Lynard Skynard background music when they entered the ring.... Didn't they have some momentous tag team matches with Jesse the Body and Adrian Adonis?

BTW, if no one has seen it, "The Wrestler" is one of the top 5 movies of the last five years IMHO and you don't have to be anything close to a rassling fan to appreciate Mickey Rourke. Just a great movie.

[RowdyRabbit]

Re: Favorite pro rassler of all time

Well...its got be Hulk Hogan.

Back in the day (early 90's) I also was a fan of the Dingo Warrior and the Ultimate Warrior.

Also really like Mary Ginetti and Shawn Michaels (The Heartbreakers?)

Later on I really liked the Undertaker.

[NoVaJack]

Re: Favorite pro rassler of all time

Well...its got be Hulk Hogan.

Back in the day (early 90's) I also was a fan of the Dingo Warrior and the Ultimate Warrior.

Also really like Mary Ginetti and Shawn Michaels (The Heartbreakers?)

Later on I really liked the Undertaker.

Undertaker's eye thing was one of the great human body shticks ever.

[EQguy]

Re: Favorite pro rassler of all time

George "The Animal" Steele and Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka

[NoVaJack]

Re: Favorite pro rassler of all time

George "The Animal" Steele and Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka

The former being an Everyman of brute strength but the latter being one of the most sniveling, conniving, underhadedly dastardly cheating villains of all time, IMHO.

[Nidaros]

Re: Favorite pro rassler of all time

Has no one heard of Wild Red Berry and Gorgeous George? GG had hair that went to the bottom of his neck, and bleach blonde. Awfully radical for when Kelo land came on the air in 1953 from American Legion Auditorium in Los Angeles. And of course the good and clean guy Vern Gonja from Minnesota. The wrestling was long after DD had done the weather show and all small kids were in bed. The funny part to me was that my dad a Norwegian immigrant had no interest in other sports but loved Pro Wrestling and Boxing. I got to stay up and keep him company watch wrestling that was so phoney, but some how real to my dad.

[EQguy]

Re: Favorite pro rassler of all time

The former being an Everyman of brute strength but the latter being one of the most sniveling, conniving, underhadedly dastardly cheating villains of all time, IMHO.

I just remember him eating turnbuckles

[Kemo]

Re: Favorite pro rassler of all time

Not sure about favorite, but the scariest rassler was Doink the Clown!... because there is no greater fear of mine than being put in grappling hold by a muscular guy wearing a wig, face paint, and a permanent smile

[JamesJacks]

Re: Favorite pro rassler of all time

I'm going to give you all a list of guys I enjoyed watching. Some I enjoyed and some I enjoyed to hate.

Jerry Blackwell (from Stone Mountain,Georgia)
Andre the Giant
Hulk Hogan
Randy "The Macho Man" Savage (and Miss Elizabeth may she R.I.P.)
Jimmy the Superfly Snuka
The King Harley Race
Hacksaw Jim Dugan
Adrian Adonis

[Rabbitden]

Re: Favorite pro rassler of all time

"Verne Gagne", "Sheik Adnan El-Kassie", "The Crusher" (loved when he came to the ring with a keg over his shoulder), Sgt. Slaughter, and of course, "Road Warriors, Hawk & Animal". Best announcer...Former AWA great, Eugene "Mean Gene" Okerlund.

[Walrus]

Re: Favorite pro rassler of all time

Good Guy - Billy Robinson "The Man of a Thousand Holds"

Bad Guy - Pompero Firpo "The Wild Bull of the Pampas" He was banned from ALL-STAR WRESTLING. I assume that meant he took a better offer somewhere else.

Hapless Guy - George "Scrap Iron" Gadaski. He was also a referee.

Obviously it has been a long time since I paid attention to rasseling.

[NoVaJack]

Re: Favorite pro rassler of all time

Hacksaw Dugan and his 2 by 4 were quite the potent weapon.

[JackJD]

Re: Favorite pro rassler of all time

Baron von Raschke and Wahoo McDaniels.