WHO do YALL consider the most INNOVATIVE wrestlers in HISTORY? WHY?

[boriquaking]

N

I have many wrestlers I consider to be my favorites. I am a huge fan of 60s-90s era of wrestling because it seemed real back then compared to now which is complete manufactured garbage compared to back then.

Who do you believe influenced the game and why?

me?

Kevin Sullivan - dude brought fukkery to the next level

From what I am seeing, he was one of the first to bring that hardcore demonic shyt into wrestling. I have been trying to find more footage of his early CWF days because I have heard so much about it. Dude is a legend


Jake the Snake Roberts - dudes promo game was the first i saw to be downright chilling. he would talk low so you had to listen. His psychology is often talked about as being perfection and it took me years to understand what the other wrestlers were saying btu dude was easily one of the greatest all time in ALL areas.

the viper shyt with macho man makes him one of the illest alone

Raven - raven was one of the first in the 90s to update from the cheesy 80s era to the 'new' 90s shyt with this nirvana grunge gimmick. not only was the gimmick change so on point with the era he wrestled, but his execution was flawless. He tapped into that character full time using strengths of the two guys listed above. He MADE YOU LISTEN with his soft tone and was like the new jake in a modern era.

took psychology to another level and was the top ECW star in their prime next to..

SABU

not much needs to be said about the man. its pretty much self explanatory. HARDCORE. FLYING. DEATH MATCHES.

the only person more hardcore is prolly foley who is also on my list but sabu took not only hardcore wrestling to the top but his flying around the ring was GROUNDBREAKING. aint nobody was doing what he was doing in the early 90s.He spawned a huge list of imitators and duplicators but noone ever came close to being what he was to ECW. totally irreplacable.

Even with the botches, dude was the man. Supergluing and tearinga torn bicep... yea dude is hardcore...

and plenty more. roddy piper. bret hart. mick foley.scott hall. hulk hogan. etc

Who do yall think changed the game forever

sorry man i was drunk you have a pretty good list tbh except for sullivan imo

 

[BodeineBrazy]

I agree on Raven...


still gives me chills man...

If you disagree, you probably seen all this years after it happened. To watch this AS IT happened, there was nothing like ECW. It had boring spots too, but it really was revolutionary.

 

[Alexander The Great]

Gorgeous George - 1st wrestler to use entrance music. the prototype for the pretty boy heel with great mic skills


Nature Boy Buddy Roberts - birthed the style that others would run with and still use to this day


Superstar Billy Graham - promo style that was not scene before. as well as his style.




Macho Man Randy Savage - combination of incredible promo and in ring ability.




Dynamite Kid - this guy until Bret's dvd came out, I didn't know just how good he was. in ring he was ahead of his time


Jushin Thunder Liger - Legend. in ring moves that were "borrowed" by lots of american wrestlers.


The Rock - birthed a promo style no one will ever be able to duplicate. at his peak, the most entertaining superstar of all time. that ability to captivate an audience and keep them in the palm of his hand = brilliance. in ring, the setup for the rock bottom, and the people's elbow = legendary. Swagger in its Human form. his style as Corporate Rock, took the typical Heel champion look of business suits and turned it into $500 Versace shirts.






Ric Flair - style & presence. while he got his name, look, promo style, & finisher from other wrestlers, Flair took them all to new heights. Flair = Champion.




Steve Austin - 2 words. Attitude Era.

That racist piece of shyt aka the orange goblin HH

KENTA - didn't know much about this guy until a few years ago when I was made aware of just how much of his style made guys in the US stars.





I know there are probably tons of Japanese and Mexican wrestlers I don't know enough about i.e Tiger mask, Gory Guerrero, Mil Mascaras, Misawa, etc that should be on the list.

also some southern 70s-80s wrestlers from Memphis or the NWA as well

 

[ZEB WALTON]

Gorgeous George - 1st wrestler to use entrance music. the prototype for the pretty boy heel with great mic skills


Nature Boy Buddy Roberts - birthed the style that others would run with and still use to this day


Superstar Billy Graham - promo style that was not scene before. as well as his style.




Macho Man Randy Savage - combination of incredible promo and in ring ability.




Dynamite Kid - this guy until Bret's dvd came out, I didn't know just how good he was. in ring he was ahead of his time


Jushin Thunder Liger - Legend. in ring moves that were "borrowed" by lots of american wrestlers.


The Rock - birthed a promo style no one will ever be able to duplicate. at his peak, the most entertaining superstar of all time. that ability to captivate an audience and keep them in the palm of his hand = brilliance. in ring, the setup for the rock bottom, and the people's elbow = legendary. Swagger in its Human form. his style as Corporate Rock, took the typical Heel champion look of business suits and turned it into $500 Versace shirts.






Ric Flair - style & presence. while he got his name, look, promo style, & finisher from other wrestlers, Flair took them all to new heights. Flair = Champion.




Steve Austin - 2 words. Attitude Era.

That racist piece of shyt aka the orange goblin HH

KENTA - didn't know much about this guy until a few years ago when I was made aware of just how much of his style made guys in the US stars.





I know there are probably tons of Japanese and Mexican wrestlers I don't know enough about i.e Tiger mask, Gory Guerrero, Mil Mascaras, Misawa, etc that should be on the list.

also some southern 70s-80s wrestlers from Memphis or the NWA as well

great post, I agree on most of these. i ponly named the first 3 cause I watched a buncha raven/sullivan/jake shoots last night

 

[The Entity]

Guys, the premise of the thread is really good. Dont derail it by a few names

 

[Heelish]

Sabu is a legend. I'll always appreciate his classics with RVD. I get he's more Flabu these days but the disrespect he's getting here

 

[NerdNash]

Thought you were about to give dude props

He too lmao