Top 50 WWF Singles Wrestlers of the 90s

[AA484]

Surprised Perfect is so high tbh. He was inactive for a good deal of his 90s tenure (including most of the period between the Boss Man and Bret matches with his back iirc). It kinda makes sense though because he still would be #1 contender in the Apter mags due to the fact that he had the I-C title. But the last 6 entries I think I would have all them all higher; same for another guy from that era who I’m surprised hasn’t showed up yet.

Yeah, PWI always ranked the IC guys as number one contenders so Perfect's ranking may be inflated for that reason. Plus they loved him in the 500; he finished 9th in 1993 for... reasons? He was also 28th in the 1992 version even though he didn't wrestle in the eligible time period (it runs from August to August)!

Even with that said, he held the IC title for the better part of nearly a year and a half and was a good in-ring performer in that time period, even with his back problems. He had a big program with Hogan and some world title challenges to start the decade that people forget about, too.

 

[SFH]

Mr. Perfect's theme is everything. When I was doing an annual charity competition we were allowed "entrance music" and I could never work out a character that made sense for that theme. But God DAMN did I fantasize about walking out to it (I did do an Elvis comes out to Also Sprach Zarathrustra one year).

Perfect is probably in my top 3 all time of favorites to watch. He wouldn't be on my Mt. Rushmore, but subjectively he was just so fun to watch.

 

[AA484]

9. Randy Savage

PWI 500 Ratings:

1991: 4
1992: 2
1993: 28
1994: 44

Appeared 34 times in the monthly WWF PWI Top 10 (average ranking of 3.94)

Macho King and retirement (1990–1991)[edit]
The start the decade, "Macho King" and Hulk Hogan met for one last time in the WWF (intended to end their ongoing year-long feud), when Savage got a shot at Hogan's WWF World Heavyweight Championship on The Main Event III.[52] The pinfall was counted by new heavyweight boxing champion Buster Douglas despite Savage kicking out at two, Douglas then punched Savage in the face after Savage confronted and then slapped Douglas.

Savage then began feuding with the "Common Man" Dusty Rhodes, losing a mixed tag match (along with Sherri) to Rhodes and Sapphire at WrestleMania VI[53] but beating him in a singles match at SummerSlam.[54] In late 1990, Savage started a feud with then-WWF World Heavyweight Champion The Ultimate Warrior. The feud escalated at Royal Rumble, when Warrior refused to promise Savage the right to challenge him for the title, should Warrior defend it successfully against Sgt. Slaughter (Slaughter had already granted Savage this opportunity, should he beat Warrior). Savage had sent Sensational Queen Sherri out before the match to try to persuade the Warrior to promise this in a face-to-face interview laced with sexual innuendos but was unsuccessful. Outraged, Savage promised revenge, which he got during the Slaughter-Warrior title match. During the match, Sherri distracted The Warrior who chased her back to the locker room. However, halfway down the aisle "The Macho King" Randy Savage attacked the champion, resulting in the Ultimate Warrior having to crawl to the ring. Later, Savage ran out to the ring and smashed the sceptre over Warrior's head, (knocking him unconscious for Slaughter to pin), and then immediately sprinted back to the locker room. Later in the program, Savage failed to appear in the Royal Rumble which led to speculation that he and Sherri had fled the building in order to avoid The Warrior.[55] The events at the Royal Rumble led to a career-ending match at WrestleMania VII, which Savage lost.[56] After the match, Savage was attacked by Sherri as he lay dejected in the ring.[3] This was too much for Miss Elizabeth who happened to be in the audience.[7] Elizabeth rushed to Savage's aid, fighting off Sherri and reuniting with her one-time love to huge crowd appreciation, with Savage becoming a fan favorite once again for the first time since 1989.[3] Despite his retirement from active wrestling, Savage stayed in the WWF in a non-wrestling capacity while The Ultimate Warrior was ultimately fired by Vince McMahon after SummerSlam 1991 later that year.[3] Savage actually wrestled a number of times following WrestleMania VII and the WWF's official story was that out of respect, Warrior had generously allowed him to see out the final months of his contract before he was forced to retire. His last match was on April 1 in the Kobe, Japan at a joint card between the WWF and Super World Sports, where he was defeated by Genichiro Tenryu.[57]

Color commentator, reinstatement and departure (1991–1994)[edit]
Savage returned to television in a non-wrestling role as the "Macho Man" after WrestleMania VII as a broadcaster. Although in storyline he was retired, Savage continued to wrestle on joint WWF/SWS cards in Japan. He also made an initial, untelevised return to the ring on July 30 in Portland, ME at a WWF Wrestling Challenge taping when he substituted for Ultimate Warrior and pinned The Undertaker. Following this Savage subbed for Warrior on house shows in early August against Undertaker.[57] Savage also participated as a special referee in several house show matches between Hulk Hogan and Sgt. Slaughter.

Meanwhile, the storyline with Miss Elizabeth continued, culminating with Savage proposing to her in the ring leading to an on-air wedding at SummerSlam dubbed The Match Made in Heaven. It was at this time that Savage was targeted by Jake "The Snake" Roberts, who was, by now, a villain. On an episode of Prime Time Wrestling prior to SummerSlam, the announcers and several wrestlers threw a "bachelor party" for Savage, with Roberts' arrival deemed unwelcome by the rest of the contingent.[58]

In the post-SummerSlam wedding reception, Roberts and his new ally, The Undertaker, made their presence known by hiding a live snake in one of the newly married couple's wedding presents; Elizabeth was frightened when she opened the gift box, and the Undertaker blindsided Savage by knocking him out with the urn while Roberts pulled the snake from the box and menaced Elizabeth with it. Sid Justice ran off both Roberts and The Undertaker. Savage, still unable to compete due to his WrestleMania VII loss to the Ultimate Warrior, immediately began a public campaign to have himself reinstated as an active wrestler to gain revenge on Roberts; however, WWF President Jack Tunney refused. Meanwhile, Roberts cut a series of promos berating Savage. The feud began to boil over during a television taping for WWF Superstars of Wrestling October 21 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, when Roberts cut an in-ring promo to goad Savage – who was providing TV commentary – into the ring. After he was lured into the ring, Roberts attacked Savage, eventually tying Savage into the ropes before getting a live king cobra to bite his arm, according to Hulk Hogan and Jake Roberts on the Pick Your Poison DVD that the snake was holding on with the fangs and that Jake had a hard time getting the snake off Randy. Sid Justice was originally supposed to be the victim of the snake bite, but due to a biceps injury, Savage accepted to be snake bitten.

Savage then urged fans to lobby Tunney to reinstate him, under the rallying cry "Reinstatement! That's the plan! Reinstate the Macho Man!" In response, Tunney reinstated Savage and announced a match between him and Roberts for the This Tuesday in Texas pay-per-view event. Savage won the match,[59] and the two continued to brawl afterward. The feud continued throughout the winter, ending after a match on the February 8, 1992 Saturday Night's Main Event XXX, which Savage won;[60] Roberts had planned a backstage ambush of Savage and Elizabeth after losing the match, but was stopped by The Undertaker.

Savage then began an on-screen feud with WWF World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair. According to the storyline, Flair claimed that he had been in a prior relationship with Savage's wife Miss Elizabeth, going as far as presenting pictures of Elizabeth and Flair together. This culminated in a title match at WrestleMania VIII; Savage won the match and his second WWF World Heavyweight Championship.[61][62][63]

During this time, Savage and Elizabeth separated in real life, and Elizabeth made her final WWF appearance on April 19, 1992 at the UK Rampage pay-per-view, where Savage defended the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against Shawn Michaels.[64] However, the Savage-Flair feud continued, keeping the Flair-Elizabeth television storyline intact until Elizabeth's final WWF appearance (the UK Rampage match between Savage and Michaels) aired on WWF Prime Time Wrestling in June. About this same time, WWF Magazine published photos of Savage and Elizabeth, which were identical to those featuring Elizabeth and Flair; it was revealed that Flair had doctored the Savage-Elizabeth pictures. The former couple were divorced on September 18, 1992. A statement announcing the divorce appeared in WWF Magazine at about the same time, a rare break of kayfabe for the WWF at the time; the divorce was never referenced again nor did it figure into any of Savage's future feuds for the duration of his WWF run.

For the better part of 1992, Savage and his old nemesis The Ultimate Warrior (who returned to the WWF at WrestleMania VIII), peacefully co-existed. However, when it was announced that Warrior was the new number-one contender for Savage's WWF World Heavyweight Championship, old tensions resurfaced and they had several heated exchanges prior to the match. Savage defended the title against The Ultimate Warrior at SummerSlam. Savage lost the match by countout, after having his knee injured by Flair and Mr. Perfect, but retained the championship. After the match, Warrior helped a badly injured Savage to the back.[65][66] On the September 14 episode of Prime Time Wrestling (taped September 1), Savage lost the WWF World Heavyweight Title to Flair after an interference from Razor Ramon.[58]

He formed a tag team with The Ultimate Warrior known as the "Ultimate Maniacs" after both men were attacked by Flair and Mr. Perfect during their match at SummerSlam. After his title loss shortly after, an injured Savage backed Warrior to be the man to dethrone Flair. On the November 8, 1992 Saturday Night's Main Event XXXI, they took on Money Inc. (Ted DiBiase and Irwin R. Schyster) for the WWF Tag Team Championship. Money. Inc. lost by count-out but retained their title.[67] Savage and Warrior were scheduled to face Flair and Ramon in a tag team match at Survivor Series. Warrior was fired from the WWF weeks before the event, so Savage chose Mr. Perfect, executive consultant to Flair, as his partner to replace Warrior. Perfect initially laughed off the suggestion, but was angered by Bobby Heenan and his insinuations that he could never again wrestle at his previous level, and accepted the match. Despite initial distrust (an interview prior to the match had Savage admit to Perfect that he neither liked nor trusted him), the duo defeated Flair and Ramon via a disqualification.[68]

When Monday Night Raw began in January 1993, Savage served primarily as a color commentator, wrestling only occasionally against characters such as Doink, The Repo Man, Rick Martel, and Crush. However, he was the runner up in the Royal Rumble match at Royal Rumble, where he was eliminated by Yokozuna.[69][70] Savage returned to pay-per-view at Survivor Series as a substitute for Mr. Perfect and competed in the 1994 Royal Rumble match. His last WWF pay-per-view appearance as a competitor was a victory over Crush in a Falls Count Anywhere match at WrestleMania X.[71] Savage also made periodic appearances in Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling promotion in May 1994. Meanwhile, Savage was also a color commentator for the 1994 King of the Ring and made his final WWF pay-per-view appearance at SummerSlam at the new United Center in Chicago, where he served as the master of ceremonies. Before the SummerSlam PPV, Savage and several WWF superstars, including Shawn Michaels, Diesel, Razor Ramon, Bart Gunn and the 1-2-3 Kid took part in a charity softball match against the "Chicago Media All-Stars". The WWF superstars won the game 9–7 with Savage showcasing his old baseball skills by hitting a home run.[72] His last match in WWF was teaming with Bret Hart defeating Owen Hart and Jim Neidhart in Rostock, Germany on September 13.[73]

At the end of October 1994, Savage's WWF contract expired and he left to sign with the competing World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He made his final televised WWF appearance on the October 31 Raw, making a save for Lex Luger against Bob Backlund. The following week, on the November 7 episode of Raw, Vince McMahon announced that Savage had left the company, thanking him for his contributions and wishing him the best of luck in the future.

 

[snuffbox]

If Triple H never befriends the Clique, where does his career top out? Even in ‘95-‘96, he did have some promise and I think was a clear step ahead of the Aldo Montoya’s and Alex Porteau’s of the world. It is made fun of now but being cast in the role of cannon fodder for Warrior’s return was a pretty big sign of confidence.

I think it was clear that he was going to be successful in in the industry at whatever cost. That being said, I don’t think his career tops being a less abrasive Shane Douglas if he never gains backstage political influence.

Without the Clique influence, he would have never got beyond the mid-card. His look as a regular was never all that distinguishable from several other guys. In his entire career, his only distinctive looks were the goofy blueblood character and his recent/current shaved-head grizzled appearance. Juiced guy with long hair was/is p generic in wrestling. He was an above-average in-ring worker. Not a Bret or Brisco, but still very good and, with the right opponents, able to have some classic matches. And he's a legitimate tough guy; finishing a match on a torn quad and with a hole in his leg vs Foley at Rumble 2000 is some impressive stuff. I wouldn't bet against him in a hypothetical shoot fight with anyone. But he was never going to reach main events, and certainly not for 2 decades, without the politics.

And, with the connections, he still wouldn't have broken through to legit main event draw if he hadn't stolen Shane Douglas's character. I'm not sure what you mean by "less abrasive," maybe less profane, but his promos tended to ramble on into boredom as he gained more backstage power.

But, at the end of the day, he was a master of backstage politics. He wasn't the first. That lineage goes back through Hogan, Flair, the Funks, Thesz, Strangler Lewis, Gotch, even the original Strangler Lewis in the 1800s. And he did steal Douglas's character. Between the politics and finding the right character for himself, he combined that with above-average skills and remarkable toughness to have a hell of a career. And I agree that his 90s work, whether through a kayfabe and smart perspective, make him a borderline top 10 guy.

 

[Brooklyn Zoo]

His level without the Clique McMahon push would prob be Corporate Ministry Triple H, imo

 

[AA484]

Wow, never really equated HHH/Steph with Douglas/Francine but man, the influence is definitely there.

 

[Lazgistics Supervisor]

Wow, never really equated HHH/Steph with Douglas/Francine but man, the influence is definitely there.

I could've sworn I've made that argument many times over the various iterations of the board, including the SKeith era. He took the "shoot" promos, he took the edgy reboot of the classic chickenshit heel, he even took the stupid leather cabbie cap worn backwards. There were even times in the formative DX days where he referred to himself, HBK, and Chyna as "the triple threat" while holding up.the same three fingers.

 

[snuffbox]

I can vouch for you making that comparison previously.

I'd say it should have been obvious in real time but ECW wasn't nationally televised, and only a few ppvs, when HHH was watching Douglas in 1996-98. For anyone that only saw WWF and WCW stuff during that era, the comparison would seem silly. But now, with readily available ECW footage, on the Network or otherwise, it is transparent.

 

[alfdogg]

Savage is kind of in the same boat as Perfect for me. Everything he touched was great when he was in the ring, but he was out of action for a huge chunk of 91 and semi-active at best in 93/94. For a 90's list I just didn't see those two over guys like Owen and Davey who had way more longevity and were pretty much always involved in relevant storylines. When Flair came up on the list, I figured Savage would be about 3 or 4 spots after that so it's kinda crazy to see him this much higher on the list.

 

[AA484]

Savage is kind of in the same boat as Perfect for me. Everything he touched was great when he was in the ring, but he was out of action for a huge chunk of 91 and semi-active at best in 93/94. For a 90's list I just didn't see those two over guys like Owen and Davey who had way more longevity and were pretty much always involved in relevant storylines. When Flair came up on the list, I figured Savage would be about 3 or 4 spots after that so it's kinda crazy to see him this much higher on the list.

Just for comparison's sake (and I should have included these stats with each entry):

PWI Rankings, August to August annually (only counting years where they spent the majority of their time in WWF; no rankings in 1990)
Savage: 1991/4th, 1992/2nd, 1993/28th, 1994/44th
Flair: 1992/3rd, 1993/6th
Perfect: 1991/13th, 1992/28th, 1993/9th
Owen: 1992/44th, 1993/37th, 1994/10th, 1995/12th, 1996/33rd, 1997/16th, 1998/15th
Bulldog: 1991/46th, 1992/30th, 1995/39th, 1996/24th, 1997/22nd

PWI Top 10
Savage: 34 appearances/averaged 3.94
Flair: 14 appearances/averaged 1.79
Perfect: 28 appearances, averaged 2.54
Owen: 37 appearances/averaged 5.59
Bulldog: 42 appearances/averaged 5.93

 

[Mr. S£im Citrus]

Kayfabe died for me, the day I learned that Macho and Liz had been married the whole time.

 

[AA484]

8. The Rock

PWI 500 Ratings:

1997: 103
1998: 11
1999: 5

Appeared 32 times in the monthly WWF PWI Top 10 (average ranking of 2.28)

Debut and Intercontinental Champion (1996–1997)
Johnson made his WWF debut as Rocky Maivia, a combination of his father and grandfather's ring names, although his real name was acknowledged by the announcers.[62] He was initially reluctant to take this ring name but was persuaded by Vince McMahon and Jim Ross.[47][63] He was given the nickname "The Blue Chipper" and his lineage was played to on TV, where he was hyped as the WWF's first third-generation wrestler.[3] Maivia, a clean-cut face character, was pushed heavily from the start despite his wrestling inexperience. He debuted on Monday Night Raw as a member of Marc Mero's entourage on November 4, 1996.[64] His first match came at Survivor Series, on November 17, in an eight-man elimination tag match; he was the sole survivor and eliminated the final two members of the opposing team, Crush and Goldust.[65] On February 13, 1997, he won the Intercontinental Championship from Hunter Hearst Helmsley on Monday Night Raw.[66][67][68] Maivia then successfully defended the title against Helmsley at In Your House 13: Final Four. He had his first WrestleMania match at WrestleMania 13 where he was victorious in his Intercontinental Championship defense against The Sultan. WWF fans started to reject his character and push from the company.[69] He defeated Bret Hart by disqualification in a title defense on the March 31 episode of Raw is War.[70] Behind the scenes, Hart mentored Johnson for his first year in WWF[71] and refused to be booked to take the title from him.[72] On April 20, at In Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker, he lost to Savio Vega by countout but retained the title. Audiences became increasingly hostile toward Maivia, with chants of "die, Rocky, die" and "Rocky sucks" being heard during his matches.[2][47]

The Nation of Domination (1997–1998)
After losing the Intercontinental Championship to Owen Hart on the April 28, 1997 episode of Raw Is War[73] and suffering a legitimate knee injury in a match against Mankind,[2] Maivia returned in August 1997 and turned heel for the first time in his career by lashing out at fans who had been booing him and joining Faarooq, D'Lo Brown and Kama in the stable called the Nation of Domination.[74] He then refused to acknowledge the Rocky Maivia name, instead referring to himself in the third person as The Rock, though he would still be billed as "The Rock" Rocky Maivia until 1998. The Rock would then regularly insult the audience, WWF performers, and interviewers in his promos.[74]

At D-Generation X: In Your House, Stone Cold Steve Austin defeated The Rock in under six minutes to retain the Intercontinental Championship.[75] The next night on Raw Is War, Austin was ordered by Mr. McMahon to defend the title in a rematch, but forfeited it to The Rock instead, handing him the title belt before hitting him with the Stone Cold Stunner.[76][77] The Rock feuded with Austin and Ken Shamrock through the end of 1997 and beginning of 1998.[78][79] On January 19, 1998, at Royal Rumble, The Rock defeated Shamrock by disqualification to retain the Intercontinental title. Later that night, he entered the Royal Rumble match and lasted until the final two before he was eliminated by Stone Cold Steve Austin. On March 29, at WrestleMania XIV, he defeated Shamrock by disqualification once again to retain the title. The next night, on Raw is War, The Rock debuted a new Intercontinental Championship design and would later overthrow Faarooq as leader of the Nation of Domination to spark a feud between the two. He then successfully defended the Intercontinental title against Faarooq at Over the Edge: In Your House on May 31. The stable would then refer to themselves as simply "The Nation".[80]

The Rock and The Nation then feuded with Triple H and D-Generation X, with the two stable leaders first meeting in the quarter-final of the 1998 King of the Ring tournament, which The Rock won. At King of the Ring, The Rock defeated Dan Severn in the semi-final match and lost to rival Ken Shamrock in the final. The Rock then resumed his feud with Triple H, as the two had a two out of three falls match at Fully Loaded: In Your House for the Intercontinental title, which The Rock retained in controversial fashion.[81] This led to a ladder match at SummerSlam, where The Rock lost the title.[82]

The Rock saw a big uptick in fan support during this time, causing him to be booked in a feud with fellow Nation members Mark Henry and D'Lo Brown, turning babyface in the process. Henry defeated him at Judgment Day: In Your House, after interference from Brown, effectively breaking up the stable.[83][84]

WWF Champion and rise to superstardom (1998–1999)
Main article: The Corporation
The Rock was then entered into the "Deadly Game" tournament for the vacant WWF Championship. The finals occurred at Survivor Series, where The Rock defeated Vince McMahon's associate, Mankind, to win his first WWF Championship.[85][85][86] A "double turn" then occurred as The Rock turned heel again after allying with Vince and Shane McMahon as the crown jewel of their stable, The Corporation, after the McMahons betrayed Mankind.[85][87] On December 13, 1998, at the pay-per-view named after him, Rock Bottom: In Your House, The Rock had a rematch with Mankind for the WWF Championship. Mankind appeared to win the match when The Rock passed out to the Mandible Claw submission move, but Vince McMahon ruled that since The Rock did not tap out, he retained his title.[87][88]

The Rock continued to feud with Mankind over the WWF Championship, which was traded back and forth between them. First, in the main event of the January 4, 1999 episode of Raw Is War, Mankind defeated The Rock after interference from Stone Cold Steve Austin.[89] Then at the Royal Rumble on January 24, The Rock regained the title in a brutal “I Quit” match, a type of match that only ends if one of the combatants says “I quit” on a microphone. Intended to show a vicious mean streak in The Rock's character, this match went horribly wrong as at the end of the match The Rock hit Mankind in the head with a steel chair 11 times instead of the scripted five, five shots already being a risky amount (most wrestling matches in the Attitude Era involving steel chairs had at most 2 or 3 shots to the head). After the 5th shot, Mankind was still at ringside instead of being two-thirds up the entrance ramp where he was supposed to be, and after the eleventh shot which knocked a bloodied Mankind out, a recording of Mankind saying "I Quit" from an earlier interview was played over the PA system.[90][91] On January 31, during an episode of Sunday Night Heat, The Rock and Mankind participated in an Empty Arena match, a match that took place in an arena with 22,000 empty seats where any part of the facility could be used to contest the match. After 20 minutes of chaotic brawling in the ring, the stands, a kitchen, the catering area, an office, the arena corridors and finally a basement loading area, Mankind pinned The Rock using a forklift truck to win the WWF title.[92] This match was referred to as "Halftime Heat" as it was televised during halftime of that year's Super Bowl.[93] The two faced off again, at St. Valentine's Day Massacre: In Your House, in a Last Man Standing match which ended in a draw, meaning Mankind retained the title. Their feud ended on the February 15 Raw Is War, when The Rock won his third WWF Championship in a Ladder Match after a debuting Big Show interfered on his behalf.[94][95] The Rock then lost the WWF Championship to Stone Cold Steve Austin at WrestleMania XV.[96]

The Rock's popularity continued to grow and audiences still cheered for him even though he was a heel. He then lost the title rematch against Stone Cold Steve Austin at Backlash: In Your House[97] after he was betrayed by Shane McMahon, turning him face again and starting a feud with Triple H, The Undertaker and The Corporate Ministry. On April 29, 1999, WWF aired the pilot episode of SmackDown!, a term derived from one of The Rock's catchphrases. In the episode, The Rock continued his feud with The Corporate Ministry. This led to a match with Triple H, at Over the Edge, which The Rock won,[98] and a match for the WWF Championship against The Undertaker, at King of the Ring, which The Rock lost.[99] The Rock then lost a number one contender's match to Triple H, at Fully Loaded, after interference from "Mr. Ass" Billy Gunn.[100] The Rock then defeated Gunn in a Kiss My Ass match at SummerSlam. The Rock was also given the privilege of having his own signature match, like The Undertaker with the Buried Alive match, Kane with the Inferno Match and Mankind with the Boiler Room Brawl: the Brahma Bullrope match, a renamed Texas Bullrope match was a normal singles match where the components are tied together with a rope used for cattle farming, and the rope and its attached cowbell could both be used as weapons. The Rock contested this match twice, both times in Texas (vs Triple H in Dallas, and vs Al Snow in Houston).[101]

Shortly after SummerSlam, The Rock began teaming with former opponent Mankind and the two became known as The Rock 'n' Sock Connection.[102] They became WWF Tag Team Champions for the first time after defeating The Undertaker and Big Show for the titles on the August 30, 1999 episode of Raw is War.[103][104] The two performed a number of critically acclaimed comedic skits together, including one called "This Is Your Life", which saw Mankind bring parody versions of people from The Rock's past on television, such as his high school girlfriend and his high school football coach, only to have The Rock insult them. The segment earned an 8.4 Nielsen rating, one of the highest ratings ever for a Raw segment.[105] The two lost the titles back to Undertaker and Big Show on the September 7, 1999 episode of SmackDown! and won them back from them on the September 20, 1999 episode of Raw is War.[106][107] Rock and Mankind then lost the titles to The New Age Outlaws on the very next episode SmackDown!.[108] Rock and Mankind would win the tag titles for the third and final time after beating the New Age Outlaws on the October 12, 1999 episode of SmackDown! before losing the titles to The Holly Cousins on the October 18, 1999 episode of Raw is War.[109][110]

 

[Dandy]

Drop a pin to your current location so I can come and fight you.

 

[HarleyQuinn]

I'm curious at some the names who'll be ahead of them although I can't argue several I'm certain are. Rock is kind of hurt by being really top level for just 2 years and coming into his own mid-way through 1997 after his meh babyface Rocky Maivia run. I think if this were a 2000-2010, Rock would be a lock for a much higher placement.

 

[Dandy]

He should be in front of who I expect to be either 6 or 7, and I must be missing someone I didn’t scratch off my list because I am dumbfounded as to who gets the other spot.

 

[AA484]

I think the remaining seven are pretty obvious but I still won't spoil them, even out of order. Outside of maybe one of them, I don't think that you could make an airtight argument that Rock should be ahead of them, and even that guy is more representative of the WWF in the 90s (IMO) while the Rock straddles that decade gap and is more associated with an era than the decade.

 

[Dandy]

I am just probably going by a much different criteria, but I cannot sign off on one of these guys being ahead of Rock based solely on what they did in 90s WWF.

I am going back through the list to see who I marked off my list by accident for what I assume is either 6 or 7. Not sure how I missed someone though.

Edit - I found the name. I wouldn’t disagree with that name being above Rock. The other is unforgivable IMO. I have a good mind to protest this thread, sir!

 

[AA484]

I can safely say that it will never be as bad as this list:

The 50 greatest WWE superstars of the 90s have been named

The 50 greatest WWE superstars of the 90s have been named

www.givemesport.com

At least I didn't include Goldberg or Sting on a WWF list.

 

[Dandy]

Yeah, I perused all of the lists Google had as comparison and they were horrible.

I’m still viewing under official protest though.

 

[alfdogg]

Dandy, who was the guy from your list that you mentioned that didn't make it, or can you say yet?

 

[AA484]

Looking at the list as I've been posting, it definitely appears that I weighed longevity more than I should have but I'm too far down that road to go back now, but it does give me something to look at as far as the potential WCW list is concerned.

 

[Brooklyn Zoo]

You should also do a WWE 00s list, too

 

[Dandy]

@AboveAverage484, I think it would be safe at this point to say who I had on my list in lieu of Jarrett (whom I had forgotten about), but I will leave that up to you to decide if I can reveal that at this time.

 

[AA484]

@AboveAverage484, I think it would be safe at this point to say who I had on my list in lieu of Jarrett (whom I had forgotten about), but I will leave that up to you to decide if I can reveal that at this time.

Sure, go ahead. I won't confirm or deny whoever it is, anyway.

 

[Dandy]

It was Chyna.

I didn’t make my list until Flair Was listed at 22 so it was who it thought the remaining 21 would be. I didn’t have them in any ordered but figured them all to be roughly where AA has revealed them, give or take a few spots. I had Chyna around 21-18.

I included her basically because I forgot about Jarrett. I wouldn’t have put her in the top 25 but she probably would have made my top 50. First female entrant in the Rumble match; first female IC champ; first female number one contender for the WWF Championship; and played a high-profile role for several years even though her run as an actual singles wrestler was much shorter.

Again, it was basically because I had forgotten Jarrett and no one else came. To mind.

 

[Mickey Massuco]

I'm kinda surprised Chyna didn't make it. She had more of an impact than many people on this list, and was a bigger draw too.

I'll spoiler tag predictions in case:

Spoiler

I'm also surprised Razor Ramon ended up ahead of the Rock. I love Scott Hall but he didn't have multiple world title reigns.

My guess as to the top seven: Razor, Ultimate Warrior, Undertaker, Hart, HBK, Hogan, and Austin, in that order. A lot of people will hate on the Warrior choice, many didn't even rank him in the IC Title tourney. But you're right, he is a very "90s" wrestler and helps define the new direction the wwe was heading towards in that decade. Obviously it didn't work out like they'd hoped, but he still has the accolades to justify his spot.

 

[AA484]

I think what hurt Chyna was that she didn't work full time as a single wrestler as long as most of the people here. Plus, her run carried over into 2000 where she arguably had her greatest impact.

 

[AA484]

7. Hulk Hogan

1991: 1
1992: 12
1993: 17

Appeared 29 times in the monthly WWF PWI Top 10 (average ranking of 1.79)

Final WWF Championship reigns (1990–1993)
During his second reign as the WWF Champion, Hogan won the 1990 Royal Rumble match,[82] before dropping the title to then Intercontinental Champion The Ultimate Warrior in a title versus title match at WrestleMania VI on April 1, 1990.[83]

Hogan soon became embroiled in a heated feud with the 468-pound Earthquake, who had crushed Hogan's ribs in a sneak attack on The Brother Love Show in May 1990. On television, announcers explained that Hogan's injuries and his WrestleMania VI loss to Warrior both took such a huge toll on his fighting spirit that he wanted to retire. Viewers were asked to write letters to Hogan and send postcards asking for his return (they got a postcard-sized picture in return, autographed by Hogan, as a "thank you"). Hogan returned by SummerSlam, and he for several months dominated Earthquake in a series of matches across the country.[84] His defeat of this overwhelmingly large foe caused Hogan to add a fourth demandment – believing in yourself, and he also became known as "The Immortal" Hulk Hogan. Hogan became the first wrestler to win two Royal Rumble matches in a row,[85] as he won the 1991 Royal Rumble match.[4][82][85] At WrestleMania VII, Hogan stood up for the United States against Sgt. Slaughter, defeating him for his third WWF Championship, and then defeating him again in the rematch at United Kingdom-only pay-per-view UK Rampage at London Arena.[86] In the fall of 1991, Hogan was challenged by Ric Flair, the former NWA World Heavyweight Champion who recently arrived in the WWF. The feud remained unresolved, as Hogan lost the WWF Championship to The Undertaker at Survivor Series,[87] and he won it back at This Tuesday in Texas six days later.[88] Flair had interfered in both matches and due to the resulting controversy, the title was again declared vacant.[89] The WWF Championship was decided at the 1992 Royal Rumble in the Royal Rumble match, but Hogan failed to regain the championship as he was eliminated by friend Sid Justice and in turn caused Sid to be eliminated, leaving Flair the winner and new champion.[90] Hogan and Sid patched things up and teamed together on Saturday Night's Main Event XXX against Flair and Undertaker, but during the match Sid abandoned Hogan,[91] starting their feud. At WrestleMania VIII, Hogan defeated Sid via disqualification due to interference by Sid's manager Harvey Wippleman.[92] Hogan was then attacked by Papa Shango and was saved by the returning Ultimate Warrior.[92]

At this time, news sources began to allege that Dr. George Zahorian, a doctor for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission, had been selling steroids illegally to wrestlers in general and Hogan in particular. Hogan appeared on an episode of The Arsenio Hall Show to deny the allegations. Due to intense public scrutiny, Hogan took a leave of absence from the company.[93] Hogan returned to the WWF in February 1993, helping out his friend Brutus Beefcake in his feud with Money Inc. (Irwin R. Schyster and "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase), and officially renaming themselves The Mega-Maniacs, taking on Money Inc.'s former manager "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart (a long-time friend of Hogan's outside of wrestling) as their manager in what was the first time WWF audiences had seen Hart as a fan favorite.[80] At WrestleMania IX, Hogan and Beefcake took on Money Inc. for the WWF Tag Team Championship. Hogan went into the match sporting a cut above a black eye. The WWF used Hogan's injury in a storyline that had DiBiase allegedly paying a group of thugs in a failed attempt to take Hogan out before WrestleMania.[80][94] Later that night, Hogan won his fifth WWF Championship by pinning Yokozuna only moments after Yokozuna had defeated Bret Hart.[94][95]

At the first annual King of the Ring pay-per-view on June 13, Hogan defended the championship against the former champion Yokozuna in his first title defense since defeating him at WrestleMania IX. Yokozuna kicked out of Hogan's signature leg drop and scored the pinfall win after Hogan was blinded by a fireball shot by a "Japanese photographer" (actually a disguised Harvey Wippleman). The victorious Yokozuna proceeded to give Hogan a Banzai Drop.[77][96] This was Hogan's last WWF pay-per-view appearance until 2002, as both he and Jimmy Hart were preparing to leave the promotion. Hogan continued his feud on the international house show circuit with Yokozuna until August 1993. After that, Hogan sat out the rest of his contract which expired later that year.

 

[Cackling Co Pilot Kamala]

Hogan making it only to #7 is baffling even by this countdown's standards. I'm guessing (in no order) that

Spoiler

Stone Cold, Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, and Undertaker

are ahead of it but not sure who other two are.

 

[Dandy]

This is absurd.