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After being in existence for nearly 5-6 decades and being the wrestling juggernaut the WWE is, it has seen innumerous wrestlers grace its stage. While some went to become immortals there were some who fizzled out after basking in some initial glory. The ones who went on to become demi gods for their fans, have given everything that is to be given.They kept shifting between a babyface and a heel keeping us on our toes, took on The Authority much to our delight, suffered life-threatening injuries also making dramatic returns much to joy of the fans. These WWE superstars provided total entertainment and hence sheer joy to their fans, young and old alike. So here are my favourite WWE wrestlers, the top five:
#1 Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory “Eddie” Guererro Llanes was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero family. Guerrero’s most famous gimmick was that of “Latino Heat” , a cunning, crafty and resourceful player who would do anything to win a match. He used the catchphrase “I LIE! I CHEAT! I STEAL!”, which he also used as his entrance theme and also finds a mention in his autobiography “Cheating Death, Stealing Life”.
Despite being a villain for most of his career he was one of the most loved and most admired wrestlers of all time. He was also very highly gifted. The 23 titles he has won during his career shows his wrestling prowess. His duels with Chris Benoit, Kurt Angle and Rey Mysterio were the most memorable and are still remembered by fans.
#2 The Undertaker
Hear the term ring presence, the very first name that crops up is that of The Phenom, The Undertaker. He signed with the WWE in 1990 makin him WWE’s longest tenured performer. Born Mark William Callaway, as The Undertaker, his gimmick was that of a macabre entity having links to the supernatural and employing scare tactics, dressed in black attire, impervious to pain. He also portrayed himself as “The Lord of Darkness” wherein he was a ritual performing dark priest of a stable called “The Ministry of Darkness”. After that he also held the gimmick of an American Badass before returning to his darker roots. All these gimmicks were widely appreciated by the fans.
The Undertaker is synonymous with “The Streak” an unprecedented run of 21 straight victories in WWE’s annual pay-per-view Wreslemania,before succumbing his first loss at the hands of Brock Lesnar in Wrestlemania XXX. He is a four time WWF/E Champion, three time World Heavyweight Champion and also won the 2007 Royal Rumble
#3 The Rock
The other word for “Electric Presence” is “The Rock”. Everything he does is electric. Born Dwayne Johnson, The Rock is widely considered as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. Billed as Rocky Maivia, he was the first third-generation superstar in the company’s history. Headlining numerous pay-per-views during his career, he headlined five Wrestlemania’s (XV, 2000, X-Seven, XXVIII and XXIX) while wrestling in five additional Wrestlemania’s in non headlining matches.
As of May 2015, he has a total of seventeen championship reigns including ten as World Champion, winning the WWF/E Championship eight times, WWF Intercontinental Championship twice and WWF Tag Team Championship twice is the show of his wrestling prowess. He also won the Royal Rumble once. He had memorable run-in’s with Stone Cold Steve Austin, Vince McMahon and is hailed as “The People’s Champion”.
#4 Stone Cold Steve Austin
Steve James Anderson better known as Stone Cold Steve Austin is a retired professional wrestler who is signed to the WWE under the legends contract. He is also known as The Rattlesnake and gained mainstream popularity in the late 1990’s as a beer drinking disrespectful antihero who defied the establishment and his boss, chairman Vince McMahon. This persona of Austin is described as the poster boy image of the WWE during the Attitude Era and thereby even surpassed the popularity of Hulk Hogan. Austin also devised the long-standing “ What?” chant in pro-wrestling.
Austin held a total of 21 Championships during his career. He is a six-time WWF Champion, two-time WWF Intercontinental Champion and a four-time WWF Tag Team Champion. In addition to that, he was the King of the Ring and is the only wrestler to win Royal Rumble thrice. He was forced to retire in 2003 owing to injuries following which he continued making appearances for the WWE as a Manager.
#5 Randy Orton
Randall Keith Orton better known as Randy Orton is a third generation American wrestler currently signed to the WWE. After his debut in the main roster, Orton became a part of a Triple H led stable called Evolution which quickly led to his first championship reign in the WWE. He also acquired the moniker “The Legend Killer” during a storyline wherein he began disrespecting and feuding with WWE Hall of Famer’s and wrestling veterans. At the age of 24 he became the youngest wrestler ever to win the World Heavyweight Championship.
He is a 12 time World Champion having held the WWE(World Heavyweight) Championship eight times and the World Heavyweight Championship four times. Overall he has won a total of 14 Championships in the WWE and was also the winner of 2009 Royal Rumble. He also headlined several pay-per-views.
