Where Does The Rock Stand In the Hall of Greats?

[Smokes]

I think he is as good as anyone ever been. Hero or Heal he was great. He was decent wrestler but is legendary on the Mic. Once he broke out on his own he skyrocketed. He never felt as big as Hogan or Flair when wrestling and maybe cause his career felt short but he was on the lvl of Nash and Mr. Perfect. But where do y'all rank him.



Very few people grab the crowd like that

 

[HereticBD]

Top 3, easily. Personally, I think he's tops. With Austin/Hogan, there's some wiggle room with Austin burning out so fast and not really branching out all that much, but The Rock did everything Hogan did, and more. In fairness though, without Hogan being the star he was, it might not ever happen for him.

 

[SocraticMethod]

Top 3, easily. Personally, I think he's tops. With Austin/Hogan, there's some wiggle room with Austin burning out so fast and not really branching out all that much, but The Rock did everything Hogan did, and more. In fairness though, without Hogan being the star he was, it might not ever happen for him.

Did he slam a 900-pound giant, brother?

 

[Pliny Pete]

Hes second to El Santo

 

[A Pennysworth]

Somewhere near the bottom. The Rock Bottom.

 

[Wrath of Foamy]

Right at the top.

Problem is, when naming a top 3 or "Mount Rushmore" of wrestling greats, there are so many, from different eras, and from different parts of the world, that it borders on impossible to pick a definite.

 

[SalvadorCollie]

His accolades beyond wrestling demand bias.

I’d put him in a top 10

 

[DoctorDeelon]

I do feel like we have to put his stardom into perspective. Obviously he was a HUGE, HUGE star in professional wrestling, and he is undoubtedly the biggest star to ever come from pro wrestling, but that's because of his Hollywood success. When he was still a pro wrestler, he played second fiddle to Austin for most of his run.

When you take everything into perspective - star power, promo skills, ring skills, look, charisma, psychology, athleticism, etc - I don't see how he could possibly be outside the top 5 of all time. He was so versatile - he showed he could do serious and comedy, he could be the chicken shit heel and also the super macho ass kicking babyface, and do it all on the highest level.

 

[DoctorDeelon]

Problem is, when naming a top 3 or "Mount Rushmore" of wrestling greats

There's four faces on Mount Rushmore.

 

[Wariowokecancel]

I think he is as good as anyone ever been. Hero or Heal he was great. He was decent wrestler but is legendary on the Mic. Once he broke out on his own he skyrocketed. He never felt as big as Hogan or Flair when wrestling and maybe cause his career felt short but he was on the lvl of Nash and Mr. Perfect. But where do y'all rank him.



Very few people grab the crowd like that

Nope.

Hall of Fame is a balance of game changing, longevity, legacy and butts in seats.

He didn’t change wrestling, he was short in the business, his legacy isn’t continued and he put loads of butts in seats.

Austin wins on changing, longer in the bussiness, legacy continues in every ripoff (Moxley currently) and more butts in seats.

Same with Hogan, Flair, Foley, Piper, Taker, Dusty, Andre.

Shit I’d say Cena is greater but we can’t see that currently.

Rock ranks with Warrior, Luger, Sting, Savage, Shawn, Bret and a dozen others (awesome) in the stratosphere.







Luger is a rib.

 

[Wrath of Foamy]

There's four faces on Mount Rushmore.

Hence the "or".

 

[Wrath of Foamy]

Nope.

Hall of Fame is a balance of game changing, longevity, legacy and butts in seats.

He didn’t change wrestling, he was short in the business, his legacy isn’t continued and he put loads of butts in seats.

Austin wins on changing, longer in the bussiness, legacy continues in every ripoff (Moxley currently) and more butts in seats.

Same with Hogan, Flair, Foley, Piper, Taker, Dusty, Andre.

Shit I’d say Cena is greater but we can’t see that currently.

Rock ranks with Warrior, Luger, Sting, Savage, Shawn, Bret and a dozen others (awesome) in the stratosphere.







Luger is a rib.

The problem with rankings is that some of the criteria doesn't really involve the performers directly.

Cena was on top for a long time and was the ideal company man, but he was on top soon after wrestling stopped being cool. Some wrestlers are hampered by bad booking or just by being on top when the magic in wrestling was gone. You're not going to get another Swartzenegger (can't spell it), or Van Damme in cinema again, because the time of megastars (or B-list icons) in cinema are just over. Nobody would give a shit if Hogan slammed Andre now. Hogan slamming Andre was magical, but it was a product of its time, and the time of today just isn't able to capture magic in a bottle like past eras. Cynicism, criticism and discontent is this era.

I'd put Rock right below Austin, but just barely.

 

[Wariowokecancel]

The problem with rankings is that some of the criteria doesn't really involve the performers directly.

Cena was on top for a long time and was the ideal company man, but he was on top soon after wrestling stopped being cool. Some wrestlers are hampered by bad booking or just by being on top when the magic in wrestling was gone. You're not going to get another Swartzenegger (can't spell it), or Van Damme in cinema again, because the time of megastars (or B-list icons) in cinema are just over. Nobody would give a shit if Hogan slammed Andre now. Hogan slamming Andre was magical, but it was a product of its time, and the time of today just isn't able to capture magic in a bottle like past eras. Cynicism, criticism and discontent is this era.

I'd put Rock right below Austin, but just barely.

I put game changing in as a criteria because the guys I mentioned changed the direction of the business or amplified it. They weren’t riding the wave.

Hogan was responsible for the 80s and the Monday Night Wars.And Piper was essential in the 80s for Hogan.

Andre as above with the 80s plus Japan.

Flair and Dusty built the style of the anti-WWE, they were the regional Hogans.

Foley is the ultimate indy wrestler.

Taker carried Wrestlemania through eternity, not matter how the business was going.

Austin wasn’t riding a wave, he and Vince created it vs NWO and WCW. WWF was in a shitter. Rock used that wave to be awesome.

The distinction is - would the business be basically the same without the dude?

 

[Wrath of Foamy]

I put game changing in as a criteria because the guys I mentioned changed the direction of the business or amplified it. They weren’t riding the wave.

Hogan was responsible for the 80s and the Monday Night Wars.And Piper was essential in the 80s for Hogan.

Andre as above with the 80s plus Japan.

Flair and Dusty built the style of the anti-WWE, they were the regional Hogans.

Foley is the ultimate indy wrestler.

Taker carried Wrestlemania through eternity, not matter how the business was going.

Austin wasn’t riding a wave, he and Vince created it vs NWO and WCW. WWF was in a shitter. Rock used that wave to be awesome.

The distinction is - would the business be basically the same without the dude?

Respectfully, I wouldn't say that Rock was riding a wave at all.

I'd argue one of two things.

- He could have made the Attitude Era just as big if he was put in Austins spot. He may have became a little stale after his match with Hogan, but he was fire in his prime. So in that sense, I'd compare him to Savage. I think that Savage could have done just as well, perhaps even better, in Hogans spot.

- If Piper was essential for Hogan, then Rock was essential for Austin. Him going over Foley like he did as well, was just as beneficial for Foley than it was for Rock.

 

[DoctorDeelon]

Hence the "or".

The way you worded the sentence conflated the two, and I just had to call you out on it. I'm so sorry!

 

[Wariowokecancel]

Respectfully, I wouldn't say that Rock was riding a wave at all.

I'd argue one of two things.

- He could have made the Attitude Era just as big if he was put in Austins spot. He may have became a little stale after his match with Hogan, but he was fire in his prime. So in that sense, I'd compare him to Savage. I think that Savage could have done just as well, perhaps even better, in Hogans spot.

- If Piper was essential for Hogan, then Rock was essential for Austin. Him going over Foley like he did as well, was just as beneficial for Foley than it was for Rock.

Ok but two notes:

Could is not the same as did. Magnum TA could have been the greatest of all time for instance. Austin was the foundation of the last Golden time. I don’t like Austin personally (even have an email from him, oh and he killed Piper)and prefer to watch Rock but I will give Austin his due.

Secondly, Vince was the Piper for Hogan to Austin so maybe I should also put him above Rock. But I’m biased, I love Piper. Maybe he should be on the same level as Rock.

 

[HereticBD]

Did he slam a 900-pound giant, brother?

Yeah, but it was only in front of 1 billion Rock-a-Maniacs. Not quite the 3.5 quadrillion Hogan drew. In fairness, Hogan had crossover appeal, what with him being Metallica's bassist and all.

 

[gspieler]

According to Bill Eadie, he's in the top 12. He's no Tommy Rich, though.

 

[DoctorPablo]

I rank him as above average among the legends.

 

[DoctorPablo]

Somewhere near the bottom. The Rock Bottom.