If you think “Stone Cold” Steve Austin is the greatest wrestler ever, gimme a “Hell Yeah!” Or maybe you’d rather smell what The Rock is cookin’ or love seeing Hulkamania run wild. But let’s face it: was there really anyone who worked the ring and the mic better the stylin’, profilin’, limousine-ridin’, jet-flying, kiss-stealin’, wheelin’-n-dealin’ son of a gun that is Ric Flair? According to Sports Illustrated, yes, there are a lot that were better.
Sports Illustrated recently released their list of the 20 Greatest WWE Wrestlers Of All Time, and while there are some strong choices overall, they made a huge mistake in omitting “The Nature Boy” Ric Flair. For reference, Stone Cold Steve Austin took the top spot, while Hulk Hogan, The Rock, John Cena, Roman Reigns cracked the top five. The Undertaker, Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, and Bruno Sammartino – who held the WWF championship for a combined 4,000+-day run – round out the top 10.
Of that bunch, I would personally put Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart and The Undertaker in the top five, while Ric Flair absolutely deserves a spot. Rounding out my own top five is another name that was unjustly left off of SI’s list: Mr. Perfect, who, along with Bret Hart, is one of the best technical wrestlers ever.
As Ric Flair once said, “To be the man, you’ve got to beat the man.” If that holds true, are we to believe that someone like Roman Reigns, CM Punk, Chris Jericho (admittedly also one of the best mic men in the game), and even “The Man” herself Becky Lynch are worthy of the title more than Flair? We could spend all day making our own lists of the greatest wrestlers ever, and SI may be a bit out of their realm with this particular list, but it’s almost impossible not to call them out for such a glaring blind spot. Maybe the case could be made that he had more of an impact on WCW, but Flair is one of the most important stars of his time, changing the game for generations to come and showing – decade after decade, promotion after promotion – what makes someone a true superstar. As someone who epitomize the business of sports entertainment, no doubt he was robbed here – maybe even of #1.
Do you think Ric Flair deserved a spot on the list of greatest wrestlers ever? Who would you own top 5 be?