Top 5 Globally Recognised Wrestlers

Been ages since I posted but I have read most of your posts with great interest, so thanks for the entertainment folks!

I was watching one The Rocks promo's re Wrestlemania and it got me to thinking about who would be the most generically recognised wrestlers ever.. I'm very interested to see what you guys the definitive top 5 should be. My first draft 5 is as follows though it's open to change pending views:


5. Roddy Piper
4. Stone Cold Steve Austin
3. Andre The Giant
2. The Rock
1. Hulk Hogan

I was torn between Piper and The Undertaker based Piper's impact on mainstaim media through the late 80's, his involvement with Wrestlemania 1 & 2 and subsequent movie They Live in direct comparison with Undertakers longevity and iconic gimmick.

I think for those of us who grew up through the Attitude Era and now it would be different. (Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the history of the E and the true legends as much as most people on here!)

I'd say for those growing up with wrestling from Attitude Era through until now it'd be:

5. Jeff Hardy
4. Undertaker
3. Stone Cold Steve Austin
2. The Rock
1. John Cena

Obviously, that's just my thoughts and not my top 5 of all time...Just a thought on what people from Attitude onward might say (But, I'm probably a whole mile off the mark!)

Jammy31 wrote:I think for those of us who grew up through the Attitude Era and now it would be different. (Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the history of the E and the true legends as much as most people on here!)

I'd say for those growing up with wrestling from Attitude Era through until now it'd be:

5. Jeff Hardy
4. Undertaker
3. Stone Cold Steve Austin
2. The Rock
1. John Cena

Obviously, that's just my thoughts and not my top 5 of all time...Just a thought on what people from Attitude onward might say (But, I'm probably a whole mile off the mark!)

Is the OP talking about in terms of transcending the business (i.e non-wrestling fans being aware of these guys?

If that's the case not sure how many non-wrestling fans will know who Jeff Hardy is

I

Exactly Bret.. Apologies for lack of clarity on that point.

They guys who the ordinary man on the street would know..

The General wrote:Exactly Bret.. Apologies for lack of clarity on that point.

They guys who the ordinary man on the street would know..

Yeah I agree, i'd say the likes of Big Show(films, media etc) and Bret Hart would make the top 5 in my opinion...

The General wrote:Exactly Bret.. Apologies for lack of clarity on that point.

They guys who the ordinary man on the street would know..

In that case :-

5. Bret Hart
4. The Undertaker
3.Vince McMahon
2.The Rock
1.Hulk Hogan

Ritsos wrote:

The General wrote:Exactly Bret.. Apologies for lack of clarity on that point.

They guys who the ordinary man on the street would know..

Yeah I agree, i'd say the likes of Big Show(films, media etc) and Bret Hart would make the top 5 in my opinion...

I had put Bret Hart in my list before I saw your post by the way.

Great minds and all that.

For the ordinary guy on the street I'd say (in no particular order)
Rock
Hogan
Austin
Taker
Angle / Cena cant decide which would be - the other 4 are definately recognisable by most people imo

I don't think (imo of course) the average joe would know stone cold.

I'm not sure Bret Hart would be that well known outside of wrestling circles. Wrestling is all he's really done. In saying that, people were queued round the block when he was in Belfast for his book signing. Most certainly Hogan, Rock and Austin would be known to most. Possibly The Undertaker due to character and possibly Piper and Cena.

That's 6 I know, but I can't decide between the last 3.

The Rock, Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan would be definates.

Two remaining spots are tough if you are a non wrestling fan in the UK. If I didn't know wrestling i would know of those three above and probably no one else.

Right, just asked my missus who is clueless on Wrestling and she said

The Rock
Hulk Hogan
Big Show....

Then she couldn't think of anymore. Tut, Women!

not so sure on Andre the Giant to be honest.

Whenever I have conversations with people who have never watched wrestling then they find out I watch it for whatever reason, they always seem to want to talk about Bret hart.

bretmeharty wrote:I don't think (imo of course) the average joe would know stone cold.

I though that at first but then I thought about all the films hes been in recently (ok most are rubbish but he had a big part in the Expendables and its sequel)

Have decided Angle over Cena too - he is on TV loads in this country on things like This Morning, Footy Focus recently, Kids tv etc

1) Hulk Hogan
2) The Rock
3) The Undertaker
4) Vince McMahon
5) The Ultimate Warrior

I'd go with the following:

1. Hulk Hogan
2. The Rock
3. The Undertaker
4. Stone Cold Steve Austin
5. Ultimate Warrior

Weirdly enough I hadn't seen Gregers post as I was doing mine!

1 - Hulk Hogan
2 - The Rock
3 - John Cena
4 - Steve Austin
5 - The Undertaker

Hogan Rock and Taker are recognisable, I can't think of anymore though, maybe Macho Man

the-gaffer wrote:Hogan Rock and Taker are recognisable, I can't think of anymore though, maybe Macho Man

My wife only knew these 3 before watching

I think you guys are missing an important wrestler...well at least over here:

British Bulldog

Like ED posted above, the average person on the street will probably have heard of Taker, Hogan, Austin and The Rock. I think Bulldog would be high over here as well.

That said, ask the question in Mexico, then Eddie and Rey would probably be huge (as well as domestic Mexican wrestlers I may not have heard of). Ask a Japanese person, and Kobashi, Baba, Linger and Muta would be high. Hell, ask a person in India, and I bet they will say Great Khali!

Globally, I would say the top 4 would not change. However, some of you are not so sure on number 5. Therefore, I would suggest that that wrestler would change depending on where you ask the question.

Then you have age-range as well (Mr No-Sell will be top of the list for under 12’s).

It is a very good question, and one in which will change as new stars get created and new eras are made. I would say that Hogan would be number one however. Rock is getting very close to him though (even though he is now known as Mr Johnson).

I did think about it from a UK perspective with Bulldog but went with Warrior instead.

How about Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks?

Massively well known in Britain

I think people are over-rating Austin, I really do.

Gregers wrote:How about Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks?

Massively well known in Britain

You ask the Sunday ITV wrestling generation (the over 50's), and you can bet they would say them two.

Swiftly followed by "Now THAT was real wrestling".

TwisT wrote:

Gregers wrote:How about Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks?

Massively well known in Britain

You ask the Sunday ITV wrestling generation (the over 50's), and you can bet they would say them two.

Swiftly followed by "Now THAT was real wrestling".

Exactly my point TwisT mate, and I agree that I don't think many people outside of wrestling fans would be aware of Austin. Foley is a possibility due to his Comedy stuff as well

I don't. he was the poster boy of wrestling during one of it's boom periods, his face appeared on t-shirts everywhere.
My wife would know who he is. She despises all things to do with wrestling and has never watched a show in her life.

Heres a list of some I here often and some quotes i have heard about them

5- Warrior- 'That Crazy guy with the Face Paint'
4- HBK- you would be suprised how many people I have heard humming his theme song
3- Undertaker-' he Scared me'
2- The Rock-' I loved his little sayings'
1- Hulk Hogan-' Slammed that big bloke and has been in lots of movies'

Austin's an odd one.

My wife was aware of the 3:16 thing, but had no idea it related to wrestling or Stone Cold Steve Austin. I think most people would be in the same boat because it crossed over into everything. Austin himself never had any star power outside of the wrestling fanbase.

Is the question "name 5 wrestlers?" or "which 5 wrestlers are most recognisable from the following...?"

Because the only names I'd be confident that random joes all round the world answering for both questions are Hulk Hogan, The Rock and Undertaker.

After that Austin, Hart, Savage, Warrior, Flair, Andre would be the wrestlers that I imagine people would recognise or associate with wrestlng.

the two I want to add are controversial.

Brock lesnar - he is the most famous mma guy ever so is known by two sets of audiences.

Benoit - for obvious mainstream reasons

and also y2j in america due to dancing with the stars.

Most Recognisable UK wrestlers

5- Finlay
4- Kendo Nagasaki
3- Rollerball Rocco
2- Mick Mcmanus
1- Haystacks/Big Daddy- Impossible to Seperate

Y2J from Fozzy as well Adam

I don't even know 3 of those Tooze

Rocco also wrestled as the original Black Tiger
Mcmanus Has Wrestled Worldwide as has Nagasaki

If you ask this in 10 years time you'll have a top 5;

Hogan
Rock
Undertaker
Slater
Gabriel

I did think that asking for five wrestlers that non fans would recognize was pushing it and agreed with Caboose that it would only really be Hogan, Undertaker and (possibly) The Rock.

But then I just asked my wife and she reeled off loads more, including Bischoff, so what the hell do I know.

Gabriel .............Pfft no chance.

My take on Austin is that it depends on age. If you were in your teens around the late 90's era, then he was huge. Miss that period by a few years either side, and he was non existant (or at least not as important).

As a side-note, my dad and I used to watch WCW on a sunday in the early 90's. Then, he never watched it again. I would bet money that if I said Stone Cold Steve Austin, he would be none the wiser. Say it was the bloke that used to be called "Stunning" and was in the Hollywood Blondes with Pilman, and he would know who I mean.

Age/Country of Origin play big factors in this.

Hogan is the only one who would cross all ages/nationalities.

Even if you could come up with a Top 5 - Hogan is out on his own.

Great responses guys! Cheers.

It's an interesting concept. I based my pics on how they rated at the height of their fame as opposed to how they are viewed now. With the saturation of TV channels we have nowadays it's much harder to become a household name. In this respect the 80's guys have a massive advantage in terms of acheiving that mass crossover exposure.

I have read the responses and I think perhaps the sentiment regarding SCSA may be well founded. I will push Piper further up my chart and slide Taker in at no.5.

5. The Undertaker
4. Roddy Piper
3. Andre The Giant
2. The Rock
1. Hulk Hogan

If you asked my Mrs who Roddy Piper was she'd probably ask if its a plumbing company. I dont think he's recognisable at all.

I think the only two I'd be confident people would know are Hulk Hogan and The Rock, both famous for actions outside of wrestling. Then guys like Kane, Undertaker, Cena, Austin, Triple H I wouldn't be able to confidently say people would be aware of, but would have thought a fair few do know.

Once again it depends where ur from, I'm from Glasgow and my uncle use to say roddy piper was from ye street next to me. He was well known in Scotland

I used to tell everybody in school about 92/93 ish that Roddy Piper was my uncles mate, maybe your uncle knew mine...

I wouldn't say Piper is big in Scotland, nowhere near it to be honest, if you don't like wrestling I'd be amazed if you'd know who he was let alone able to pick him out a line up

I always thought Randy Savage would be a high recognisable wrestler to non-fans

5. The Undertaker
4. John Cena
3. Stone Cold Steve Austin
2. The Rock
1. Hulk Hogan

Just asked my wife this question who has never watched wrestling.

Her reply in order

Hulk Hogan
Big Daddy
The Rock
Stone cold Steve Austin (she did know his full title)
The Undertaker

She also knew Bret Hart, British Bulldog (thought he had silly pants and hair) & HHH, aware of Randy Orton, Kurt Angle, Kane and John Cena, never heard of CM Punk

You must talk in your sleep Maccs