The Greatest Professional Wrestlers of All-Time

The Overflow

*Does not include active wrestlers

AfaJushin Liger
Adrian AdonisMagnum TA
Ole AndersonDean Malenko
Tony AtlasThe Great Malenko
The Big Boss ManMil Mascaras
Brutus “The Barber” BeefcakeRicky Morton
Jerry BlackwellDon Muraco
Tully BlanchardDick Murdoch
Freddie BlassieThe Great Muta
Dino BravoOne Man Gang
Bobo BrazilPaul Orndorff
Brian PillmanBob Orton
King Kong BundyKen Patera
Edouard CarpentierPat Patterson
Carlos ColonBrian Pillman
Barry DarsowPsicosis
Shane DouglasIvan Putski
Bubba Ray DudleyBaron von Raschke
“Hacksaw” Jim DugganRaven
EarthquakeWilliam Regal
Bobby EatonTommy Rich
Bill EadieRikishi
David Von ErichAlberto Del Rio
Kevin Von ErichRoad Dogg
Mr. FujiRoad Warrior Animal
Ronnie GarvinBilly Robinson
Robert GibsonAntonino Rocca
Eddie GilbertMike Rotunda
The GodfatherTito Santana
Eddie GrahamKen Shamrock
Juventud GuerreraSika
Chavo Guerrero Jr.George “The Animal” Steele
Michael HayesChief Jay Strongbow
Junkyard DogBraun Strowman
Gorilla MonsoonBig John Studd
HakuKevin Sullivan
Larry HennigTaz
Mark HenryUltimo Dragon
Gino HernandezMad Dog Vachon
The Honky Tonk ManGreg “the Hammer” Valentine
The Iron SheikJohnny Valentine
Jeff JarrettJesse “The Body” Ventura
Rocky JohnsonSid Vicious
KamalaNikolai Volkoff
Steve KeirnWhipper Billy Watson
KonnanDr. Death Steve Williams
Ivan KoloffBarry Windham
Ernie LaddX Pac
Gene KiniskiYokozuna
Stan LaneLarry Zybysko
Blackjack Lanza

6 thoughts on “The Greatest Professional Wrestlers of All-Time”

  1. Noticed a couple errors. You have Kerry Gordy at #76 and Terry Gordy at #97, and both are also on the overflow list. I assume Kerry is supposed to be Kevin Von Erich on the overflow list as he was there previously. Also, Gene Kiniski should be on the overflow list, as he was #95 in 2022 and #100 in 2024.

    Interesting choice to omit active wrestlers, I don’t think it’s a good idea because you’re likely to forget to add them when they retire or become inactive.

    1. Hey Kurt!

      I’m not seeing the errors on the top 100 list. I’m seeing Kerry Von Erich at #76 and Terry Gordy at #97. I’m also seeing Gene Kiniski on the overflow list. I did change Kerry to Kevin and removed Terry Gordy from the overflow list. Thanks for the heads up!

      RE: Forgetting to add retired wrestlers to the overflow list. I really want my focus to be on those top 100 spots. If I start putting active guys on the overflow, then that creates dozens of extra moves across 10 different lists which becomes more than I want to juggle. The right guys will eventually end up on the overflow, even if it takes a minute for it to happen.

    1. You got beef with the One Man Gang, Parker? 😂

      One Man Gang would’ve made the honorable mention list even if that was his only character. Gang was a staple across the territories as a quintessential heel. His iconic look featuring a mohawk, sunglasses, and a cutoff jean jacket was immediately recognizable across promotions. However, his transformation to–and time as–Akeem showed an evolution and character development that few 80s heels underwent. Akeem was an immensely popular bad guy character and his time as one half of the Twin Towers in one of WWE’s most popular eras is the cherry on top of a pretty strong resume.

      1. Back when I actually saw his vignette on TV debuting his Akeem the Dream character, I actually found it rather offensive since he’s not actually of African descent. Maybe I’m being stupid but that’s just my impression. At the same time, I didn’t get upset when Oreal Perras portrayed his Ivan Koloff character. The Akeem angle just rubbed me the wrong way for some reason. .

        1. Yeah, that character wouldn’t fly today. However, as you noted, the wrestling industry was built on wrestlers playing characters with ethnic backgrounds that didn’t match their own. Pretty much every Russian character ever, Yokozuna, and even Kamala the Ugandan Giant was just a dude from Mississippi. I think the fact that it was Slick’s “idea” made it seem more credible. It was a terrible gimmick, for sure, but George Gray deserves a lot of credit for taking it and running with it, even if the whole thing was just a practical joke on Dusty Rhodes.

Leave a Reply

Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. A theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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