1FF's Top 50 Wrestlers

[Oaf]

Only getting two points more than the relatively unknown Ospreay, with 34 points from 4 lists, is the most well known name in professional wrestling today:

8th:

AND HIS NAME IS JOHN CENA!

Undoubtedly the face to define the modern era (for better or worse), John Cena is one title reign away from tying Ric Flairs all time record. An achievement he very well may accomplish this coming Sunday, as a matter of fact.
To me, there is no doubt that right now, as good as the WWE roster is, Cena is on a whole different level to pretty much all of them in terms of simply creating a reaction out of an audience. Every single time he's in an arena, every single person in the crowd is going absolutely nuts, whether they're cheering him or booing him.
The thing is, does anybody actually dislike Cena any more, like, for real? Like, when I'm at a WWE event I'm there chanting "John Cena sucks" to his music along with everybody else, but he still got a very high place on my own list. I think there was a day when people genuinely disliked Cena and would boo him as a performer, not just as a reaction to WWE overpushing him at the expense of literally everybody else for over a decade, but in recent years I think that even his biggest critics have a lot of respect for him now.

 

[Oaf]

Funnily enough, the biggest name in Wrestling is sandwiched between two indy stars...

The next guy got a point more than Cena with 35 and becomes the first wrestler to have made it onto 5 lists... he is also the very highest ranked wrestler who is not a part of WWE.

7th: Ricochet

I'd not even really heard of this guys name before doing this list, but making all of the lists barring two and finishing 7th has certainly sparked my interest in him. Somebody needs to let us know why he's worthy of such a finish!

 

[Leewilson]

Up on 32 points is the first wrestler to have been put onto 4 lists... that's more than half of the total lists All wrestlers from this point made at least 4...

9th: Will Ospreay

Another where I know the name, but not the guy. But christ, he must be pretty fucking good to have made it to 9th despite not being a part of WWE. The four who voted for him need to let us know why he's this damned good.

I didn't vote in this but I've grown up knowing Bill as he's been my brother's best mate all through school and outside in the wrestling world. Plus, he lives just down the road from me so I've seen enough of him over the years. Together, with 2 others, they formed RCWA which did very well for a local promotion. As they've both branched out, Bill's natural athleticism has taken him to heights whilst my brother has a stockier figure and was never going to make it big but wrestles for the love of it.

Bill has things to work on though. He's not the best on the mic (one area where I'd say my brother beats him) and his matches can be a bit too spot fest for my liking. But there's no doubt he has immense talent and he'll only get better from wrestling in New Japan. He's right to refuse going to WWE at present as I'm not sure he'd get the opportunities (a bit like Neville, although I rate Bill's work as better).

Still, he's 23. He's got so much time to improve further. I think he'll be a big star in the wrestling world.

 

[Oaf]

Well, next time you see him be sure to tell him that he's finished 9th on 1FF's top wrestlers list. I'm sure that'll make his day/week/month/life and go down as his greatest achievement ever. He can only really go down from here (unless he finishers higher if another one of these lists ever happens ) so tell him to enjoy the success while he can and keep a level head.

 

[Oaf]

We get some massive jumps between scores from here on out. While Ricochet managed 35 points from 5 lists, this next guy got a whopping 10 points more on 45... and did so on one less list, only making it onto four

6th:

Brock Lesnar

Sure, he's only a part timer special attraction... but when he shows up, every single time, it's absolute gold. I'd say Lesnar is a case of somebody who WWE have actually utilized absolutely perfectly. He's been built as an unstoppable ass kicking machine and nobody has managed to best him in a long, long time now. I think the last legit win over Lesnar was probably Wrestlemania 29 when Triple H beat him, if I'm not mistaken. But since then he's gone on to beat The Undertakers streak, absolutely destroy John Cena, destroy Taker again in a series of matches and generally just beat people up.

And the best thing is, Lesnar totally pulls it off as being believable that he'd do all that as well. The way he looks, the way he acts, he's just the perfect person for such a monster, unbeatable, character. I actually think that, even though he's part time now, his modern run has been better than his original run for me.

 

[Oaf]

Next up is a guy who did a lot better than I thought he would. He managed to get 10 more points than lesnar with 55 and actually made every single list apart from Steve's. What you playing at, Steve?

5th:

Sami Zayn

Corr, I knew people loved Sami, but even still I didn't expect such a great finish! Amazing for a guy who only really debuted this year on the proper WWE roster. As soon as Zayns music hits you just know you're in for a good time, and not just because he's got about the catchiest damn music in WWE right now which is an absolute blast to sing along to at live events. He amazes in the ring as well and it's always great to see WWE giving a guy like Zayn, who's not a typical WWE style/WWE looking guy, getting used well by WWE. He's amazed us so much so far that he's made it to 5th, yet you still get the feeling that this is just the beginning of what's to come. He's easily got one of the most exciting futures out of anybody in pro wrestling right now, so long as WWE continue to do right by him.

 

[Oaf]

Jumping up 11 points to 66 and appearing on every list barring one (Steven again being the odd one out ) is the first superstar who actually topped any lists... in fact, he was top of both iesty and ThisCharmingMikes lists. And he is...

4th:

Shinsuke Nakamura

Jesus, you talk about fucking Charisma. The man absolutely reeks of it. I've had the pleasure of watching Nakamura fight 3 times (once at Axxess last year the night after his debut, in Plymouth earlier this summer and then again at Takeover: Brooklyn II and every single time he absolutely lights the place on fire. His entrance at Takeover last month is probably one of my favourite things I've ever seen at a live wrestling event full stop. A 4th place finish is great for a guy who hasn't actually been on the main WWE roster yet... but damn, how exciting is it to think that his main roster debut is still to come? To think of the amazing matches he's got in his future. Fuck yeah.

So we're down to the top 3. It's probably the three that most people would have guessed. Certainly the 3 who I'd consider to be the best right now, at least. But what order have they finished in?

 

[Oaf]

As a matter of fact, the top three actually appeared on every single list that was submitted for this thing. And they each topped at least one list. However, on the topic of topping lists... nobody actually topped more lists than the man who finished third. He finished in the top spot on an incredible 3 out of 7 lists, getting 10 more points than Nakamura with 76...

3rd:

AJ Styles

With my admittedly limited knowledge of non-WWE wrestlers, I always used to call AJ Styles the best wrestler not in WWE. Then he came in and... pretty much proved that to be just the case. Not only is he phenomenal (sorry, couldn't resist) in the ring, he also caught on with fans quick as lightning and instantly became huge. Even at the Raw I went to in April I'd say about half of the crowd signs I could see were for AJ. And, due to all of this, the best thing is that WWE are actually going full on with him, having him beat Cena (CLEAN!) at Summerslam and then win the WWE title at the following PPV. It's just all kind of a crushing disappointment that WWE waited so long before taking him in. But he seems to be at his all time best right now and is absolutely fucking SLAYING IT in WWE, more than living up to his hype.

 

[Oaf]

Jumping up to 83 points is a guy who only topped one list, and that was mine. I've said he's been the best thing in Wrestling pretty much since he debuted, and I still stand by that.

2nd:

Kevin Owens

He can just fucking do it all. Amazing to watch in the ring in terms of his skills (you're always tempted to say "for a guy of his size" here, but he's amazing by ANY standards) and entertainment value... he seems like the quickest witted, funniest guy I've seen on a mic in a long time. His character is just brilliant. And, as with the above, WWE are going all in on him too, it seems, with him winning the Universal title recently. Again, it just stuns me that the likes of Owens has been out there for so long yet WWE have waited until recent years to bring him in.

With him second... I guess we all know who's first...

1st:

Seth Rollins

Gaining a massive 91 points, topping one list, coming second in four more and third in another, and appearing on them all is Seth Rollins. Just how highly does 1FF rate Seth? Well, 91 points... across 7 lists... that means, for everybody who sent a list in, he averaged 13 points per person, which equates to a 3rd place finish... which is incredible. Iesty had him way down in 9th which really dragged him down, but it's still impressive as fuck. So I don't even need to tell you why Seth Rollins is the man. Because if you're reading this, you probably sent in a list, which means that you already know how good he is.

 

[Stevencc]

I do really like Nakamura - he'd get in my list were I to put some actual thought into it!

Sami Zayn is boring though, nowhere near my list.

 

[iesty wfc]

Great list. Predictable top 5 though. I honestly think WWE have the strongest stars in the main event scene at the moment

 

[RavenBish]

I had Styles top and as of right now can't see any plausible reason why anyone would be above him.

Lesnar finishing so high is a pisstake, why the fuck were people putting him on their list?

Also, Oaf, for Christ sake watch some non-WWE graps, you owe it to yourself.

 

[Christian Slater]

I do really like Nakamura - he'd get in my list were I to put some actual thought into it!

Sami Zayn is boring though, nowhere near my list.

How is Sami boring?

Good job, Oaf.

 

[Stevencc]

Everything about him is boring including his persona, moveset, entrance music, look, wrestling gear and mic work.

Also he doesn't have long hair.

 

[Christian Slater]

Everything about him is boring including his persona, moveset, entrance music, look, wrestling gear and mic work.

Also he doesn't have long hair.

If we can overlook that very solid closing argument, I can't agree he's a boring performer. He's one half of the match of the year thus far and has an incredible body of work. He's not fairing well on Raw at the mo', but he's been a bit fucked over with Owens having to win the strap.

 

[Oaf]

Everything about him is boring including his persona, moveset, entrance music, look, wrestling gear and mic work.

Also he doesn't have long hair.

Ignoring everything else wrong with that sentence, that part stood out? U FUCKIN' WOT.

His entrance music is about the most fun entrance music in history.

 

[Christian Slater]

It's my ringtone.

 

[Stevencc]

You couple of saps!

 

[Oaf]

You couple of saps!

 

[SALTIRE]

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/new...ng-rings-make-dundee-couples-dream-come-true/

 

[Oaf]

https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/new...ng-rings-make-dundee-couples-dream-come-true/

I fucking love Ted Dibiase. I remember as a kid in the mornings before school they used to have some old school wrestling stuff on Sky Sports, and Dibiase always seemed to be on it and he was always great. And then last year at Wrestlemania Axxess I managed to meet him and Roddy Piper (a mere 4 months before he died )... when Dibiase was signing my shirt I asked him if he'd do "the laugh" for me, and he instantly did it right there and then for me. Genuinely one of the best moments of my life

 

[Stevencc]

Ted Dibiase was fantastic, yeah.

The shtick he did like asking kids to come out from the crowd to complete seemingly easy tasks for money before fucking it up for them was great. I loved it when Virgil finally turned on him, too.

 

[Christian Slater]

Ted Dibiase was fantastic, yeah.

The shtick he did like asking kids to come out from the crowd to complete seemingly easy tasks for money before fucking it up for them was great. I loved it when Virgil finally turned on him, too.

 

[Christian Slater]

In similar vain:

 

[Stevencc]

"Look at that pathetic display".

 

[iesty wfc]

Ted Dibiase was fantastic, yeah.

The shtick he did like asking kids to come out from the crowd to complete seemingly easy tasks for money before fucking it up for them was great. I loved it when Virgil finally turned on him, too.

he did it to a young RVD too

 

[Scott Barton]

I do really like Nakamura - he'd get in my list were I to put some actual thought into it!

Sami Zayn is boring though, nowhere near my list.

NXT Zayn was awesome though, the match he had with Nakamura at Takeover The End was amazing

 

[Stevencc]

NXT Zayn was awesome though, the match he had with Nakamura at Takeover The End was amazing

He can wrestle, I won't pretend otherwise, but I need more than just technical proficiency. I place character above actual wrestling ability (an ideal wrestler would have both - Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, Jericho etc) and I never found Zayn's character to be remotely interesting, unfortunately. I was the same with Daniel Bryan.

 

[Scott Barton]

Maybe you should stick to your Braun Strowman's of the world