In the wrestling world, a debate was sparked within the last couple of weeks regarding the best wrestlers in history. In most sports, this has been an ongoing debate and has brought up many questions about what it takes for an athlete to be considered as one of the greats of their respective sports. All of these Mount Rushmore debates are deeply opinionated, but wrestling is probably the most opinionated, because other than title reigns, lengths of title reigns, and how long a wrestler’s career lasted, there really isn’t any statistical evidence that supports why one wrestler is better than another. Also, it is up for debate if by Wrestling’s Mount Rushmore it be interpreted as those involved in wrestling, rather than those who are actual wrestlers. In this article, I’m going to give examples of some of the best candidates to be considered in this discussion and I will reveal who I think are the four best to ever do it under the circumstances surrounding the criteria below. Fair warning, even though wrestling was, and still is, very popular in Japan, Mexico, and other places around the world, I’m only going to be focusing on American Pro Wrestling. Also, this Mount Rushmore list is not my personal favorites, these are the wrestlers that I think should be chosen based on the criteria below and how they fit into each category.

Criteria:

I mainly interpret the Mount Rushmore debates as the athletes who have either impacted a sport the most or the athletes who were the greatest players of their respective sports in the opinions of fans. There is no right or wrong when it comes to this, but I wanted to dig into the history of the actual Mount Rushmore for a little bit. The man-made sculpture is located on a small mountain range in South Dakota. Here’s a little fun fact about the structure. Even though it is seen as one of America’s iconic monuments, it actually wasn’t completed. The sculpture shows the faces of four presidents who are seen as four figures that have had a large impact on American culture, but the sculpture was actually supposed to present the presidents torsos as well. Much like the incomplete structure, Wrestling’s Mount Rushmore is still a work in progress and some of the greatest wrestlers may not be decided yet. Anyway, Mount Rushmore is important to American culture and the criteria when these four men were chosen were based on events throughout history regarding the birth of the nation (George Washington), the growth of the nation (Thomas Jefferson), the development of the nation (Theodore Roosevelt), and the preservation of the nation (Abraham Lincoln). Under similar criteria, I am going to give a few examples of who could be on Wrestling’s Mount Rushmore and maybe some potential wrestlers that could find themselves in the discussion in the future.

Birth:

There could be a number of different directions that this category could go in. The birth may not necessarily mean the origins of pro wrestling, but instead the start of the boom of pro wrestling. These performers set the stage and started a movement within the sports entertainment world.

- Vincent K. McMahon

I know what you are thinking, but having Mr. McMahon on Wrestling’s Mount Rushmore makes perfect sense. Without McMahon, sports entertainment wouldn’t have been nearly as popular and he is the driving force as to why WWF/WWE became the multibillion-dollar entity that it is today. Without Vince McMahon, there would be no Hulk Hogan, or Macho Man, or any superstar that has followed in their footsteps. It still would feel weird to put him in the “birth” of wrestling category, but think of it as a “re-birth” and boom of wrestling. There obviously was wrestling before him, but it was nowhere close to the popularity as when he took over the WWF. He changed wrestling forever and his mold has set a precedent for the future of the business. I feel like I don’t have to go into heavy detail surrounding his career, because it literally speaks for itself.

- André The Giant

The Eighth Wonder of the World was a huge factor in the earlier days of wrestling. Although he didn’t start with the WWWF until around 1972, he started travelling the world as a wrestler around 1966. Again, wrestling wasn’t nearly as popular during this time, but André was starting to cause a buzz. He was a star everywhere he went based on his sheer size. He was a huge star in the US, but in Japan, he was an icon. He worked in NJPW and AJPW and he was beloved everywhere he went. He was considered as more of an attraction, than a wrestler that had to have gold. This sort of goes back to the ideology that a bigger wrestler should be limited in championship reigns, because it’s difficult to believably take the title off of them. Although he had numerous tag titles in different promotions, he only had 1 World Title reign and that was in the WWF. The title reign was all a part of his heel gimmick with Ted DiBiase and he handed the title over to DiBiase after he beat Hulk Hogan in 1988. André could also be in consideration in the “growth” category, but I thought he was better off here, because he was in his wrestling prime during the 1970’s.

- Bruno Sammartino

Putting wrestling aside, Sammartino’s life story is a very interesting one. He was born in Italy and his hometown was occupied by the Nazis in WWII. His father immigrated to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but his mother and siblings fled the area for a couple years. They all shortly moved to Pittsburgh and joined their father and husband. He started wrestling in 1959, but shortly became the wrestling star of Madison Square Garden. He would headline the venue nearly 200 times and most, if not all, were sellouts. Sammartino is still the longest reigning WWE Champion in history and that is a record that will never be touched again. His first title reign came in May of 1963 and held the title until January of 1971. I realize it was a different fan base and culture back then, but just the thought of someone holding the title for over 7 and a half years is insanity. Lesnar held the Universal Championship for a year and a half and it was insanity. I can’t imagine what his title reign would’ve felt like. Sammartino’s first title reign was 7 and a half years, but his next one came in 1973, but it only lasted 1,237 days. His two combined reigns spanned a little over 11 years, again, absolute insanity. Sammartino’s prime was a little before the television age of wrestling, but he still did compete until 1987. Sammartino was one of the pioneers of modern pro wrestling and is without a doubt, one of the greatest to ever do it.

- Lou Thesz

Lou Thesz was basically the face of modern professional wrestling. Prior to the Thesz era, pro wrestling was essentially a carnival attraction. During his career, he was a 15-time World Champion and was basically the chosen one of the wrestling world. He started wrestling in 1932 and wrestled full-time for the better part of 5 decades. He was credited as the inventor of countless modern wrestling moves and was an integral part in creation of a lot of things that we know and love about pro wrestling today. He was either a full-time or part-time performer for about 5 decades, but he is joined only by Abdullah the Butcher as the only wrestlers to have a match in 7 decades. Although he came out of retirement a couple times during his career, his final match was in 1990, when he was at the prime age of 74 years old. He was a commentator in the 80’s and made special appearances throughout various promotions during this time. Thesz had probably the most influence on the wrestling world than any other person involved in it and is well deserving of a spot on the Mount Rushmore of Wrestling.

- Harley Race

Although he was most popular in the 70’s and 80’s, Race was a mainstay in wrestling throughout the 1960’s. He was an 8-time NWA champ, and is in basically every wrestling Hall of Fame in the US. He mostly was featured in NWA and AWA, but he did come to the WWF in 1986. Shortly after joining the promotion, he was anointed King of the Ring and became, King Harley Race. It was one of his most popular gimmicks in his career with the help of his manager Bobby Heenan. He probably isn’t the first name that comes to your mind as a Mount Rushmore candidate, but I certainly think he has earned that right. He had feuds with many of wrestling’s greats and he helped get many of their careers started. Although he officially retired in 1990, he continued to wrestle until 1993. Race had a huge impact on the wrestling world, because of his presence and relevance for the many decades that he was involved in the industry.

Growth:

This is pretty self-explanatory, but these are the wrestlers that helped grow the business as a whole and get everyone talking about wrestling. In one way or another, these were the chosen few of the industry to put wrestling on a national platform.

- Hulk Hogan

I feel like Hogan is a must-have on all Mount Rushmore of Wrestling lists. I can’t think of one single wrestler that influenced the culture of today’s pro wrestling more than Hogan. Now there are some that wouldn’t include him for numerous reasons, but I feel like he means so much to the wrestling world that you have to include him, regardless of how you feel about him as a person. He was the biggest name in wrestling for about a 15-year span. That is insane when you think about it. Although he started professionally in 1977, he didn’t really get his big break until 1983, when he returned to the WWF full-time. Prior to his big WWF run, he wrestled in AWA and NJPW for a few years and even appeared in the movie, Rocky III.

In the WWF/WWE, he had 6 WWE Championship reigns, spanning just under 6 years combined. His first reign last over 4 years and his next one last one day short of a full year. Hogan’s biggest feud was with André The Giant and the feud was at its peak at WrestleMania III. Hogan went over in the match and it took him to a level of immortality that had never been reached in wrestling history. He shocked the wrestling world when he jumped ship to the rival promotion WCW at Bash at the Beach in 1994.

He had continued dominance when he moved to WCW and created the biggest faction in wrestling history and morphed into “Hollywood” Hulk Hogan. The NWO was the driving force behind the Monday Night Wars and WCW dominated the viewer ratings for over a year and a half. He won the Big Gold 6 times in WCW for a span of a little over 3 years combined. Hogan was and still is one the most controversial figures in wrestling in and out of the ring, but is still one of the biggest reasons pro wrestling is as big as it is today.

- Ric Flair

Here is another wrestler that goes without saying. The Nature Boy is one that you almost have to have in your Top 4. He is recognized as a 16-time World Champion, although this has been disputed by many. Flair himself says he was a 21-time champ, but for the sake of authenticity, we’ll go with 16. Flair honestly could be in each of the categories of this article, but I just decided to stick him here, because he was vital to the Promotion Wars and the Monday Night Wars. Both were integral times in the growth of the business and Ric Flair was at the forefront of it. He was the star of NWA back in the 80’s and people like Dusty Rhodes and Ricky Steamboat helped Flair reach his full potential and vice versa. The Four Horsemen was one of the most iconic groups in wrestling history and Flair was the proclaimed leader of the group.

After over a decade with the NWA/WCW, he signed with the WWF in 1991 and started to appear on WWF programming with the Big Gold Belt, which was a big no-no. He was in the WWF for only a year and a half, but during this time he won the Royal Rumble, which in that year, the prize was the vacated WWF Championship. After his stint with WWF he returned to WCW and continued his dominance. After the fall of WCW, he went back to WWF/WWE and formed the super group, Evolution. He wrestled with WWE until his “retirement match” with Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXIV. His in-ring work didn’t stop in other places though. He wrestled for Ring of Honor and TNA for a little while, and it appears that he officially called it quits in 2012. He truly was and is one-of-a-kind and deserves to be in the Mount Rushmore of Wrestling.

- Randy Savage

Macho Man wasn’t ever the top dog in the WWF or WCW, but he was always next in line. He is one of my personal favorites and deserves consideration for Mount Rushmore of Wrestling. His path to wrestling was a unique one to say the least. He was a minor league baseball player for a few years before getting into wrestling. His father, Angelo, was a wrestler and his brother, Lanny, was also, so he didn’t have to branch too far out to find out what he wanted to do. He started gaining a lot of popularity in ICW, which was Savage’s father’s promotion and later on Jerry Lawler’s promotion, Continental Wrestling Association.

His WWF career didn’t start until 1985, but once he was there, he became a star very quickly. His first angle was dealing with a group of high-profile managers competing to be his manager, but we all know his manager turned out to be Miss Elizabeth, who was his wife at the time. The wrestling fans really didn’t know this at the time though, so it was a big deal when he announced that his manager was going to be a woman. He enjoyed a lengthy Intercontinental title reign and a couple nice WWF title reigns and he even won King of the Ring in 1987, but like a lot of wrestlers, there were greener pastures in WCW and Savage moved on from WWF in 1994. He enjoyed success in WCW as well, capturing 4 Heavyweight title reigns in his time. Although he never officially retired, he wrestled his last match in TNA in 2004.

He was one of the greatest characters in wrestling history and one that I think could thrive in today’s wrestling. He was one of the best performers when it came to promos and honestly, I feel like he is a little underrated. He is totally deserving of consideration among the greatest of all time. In a world where wrestlers got over in large part due to their size, Macho Man was stood tall among the giants of the sports entertainment industry.

- Steve Austin

Stone Cold is another guy that goes without saying. He transcended not only the world of wrestling, but pop culture as a whole. He was “The Guy” of the Attitude Era and was the biggest reason that the WWF prevailed over WCW. The Attitude Era changed the course wrestling and many fans pine for those times to return. Austin began wrestling in 1989 and bounced around in the independent scene and in 1991, he debuted in WCW. Although he was competing for the Television title for nearly a year and a half, his first big break came alongside Brian Pillman in form of The Hollywood Blonds. Here is where the “Stunning” Steve Austin gimmick came alive and the two had a successful run as a tag team. They spilt after nearly a year together and Austin started competing for the WCW US title, but a little over a year passed and Austin was fired from WCW.

He then joined ECW for a couple months. Here he recovered from injury and really developed his voice. It is debatable that this is where his Stone Cold persona was born. After a short and successful run in ECW, he joined the WWF and history was slowly being made. He was initially managed by Ted DiBiase, given the Million Dollar Championship, and went under the moniker of “The Ringmaster”. After a few months, the gimmick really wasn’t getting over and Austin’s Stone Cold gimmick became a reality and at the 1996 King of the Ring, a legend was born.

On that night, we found out what Austin 3:16 means and a change in the wrestling culture was initiated. Stone Cold is a perfect example of not needing lengthy title reigns and making a name for yourself. Although he had 6 WWF title reigns and 2 Intercontinental Championship reigns, only one of those reigns lasted longer than 91 days. He didn’t need gold to get him over, all it took was great storylines and a ton charisma. Austin retired from in-ring action in 2003 and many fans still want to see him wrestle one more match, but it looks like that will never happen. Stone Cold is in the majority of Mount Rushmore lists I see and honestly, it is nearly impossible for me to argue against it. The only argument that I can really come up with is the fact that he didn’t have a very long career, but that isn’t enough to keep a superstar of his caliber off this list.

Development:

These are the guys that were given the tools to build the wrestling world and craft it how they wanted. Many of these wrestlers could go in numerous categories, but I thought that most of them fit best here. While the landscape was mostly settled in the wrestling world, these performers made wrestling culture a little more interesting.

- The Undertaker

He could’ve easily been in three categories, but The Deadman has been vital to almost every aspect of wrestling. He was right in the middle of the Hogan/Savage/Ultimate Warrior dominated era and he was seen as a leader during the Attitude Era, and for the rest of his career, he was seen as a legend and mentor. Taker may be the epitome of professional wrestling, because he literally maxed his potential and then some. He didn’t need 15 title reigns or numerous Royal Rumble victories to decide his legacy. He built his own unique legacy and one of the biggest reasons he stayed at the top was because he never stopped tweaking his gimmick.

He made his wrestling debut in 1987, and he even joined WCW in 1989 with manager Paul E. Dangerously, who happens to be Paul Heyman. A wild duo to say the least, but he made his WWF debut in 1990 and the rest is history. He went on to have 7 major title reigns, a Royal Rumble victory and not to mention his famous WrestleMania streak that went on for 21 straight appearances. I personally think it should still be a thing, but I don’t have the pencil. Taker is still working in limited capacity, but I can’t see him doing it much longer. Despite this though, he has had one of the most, if not the most, iconic wrestling careers of all-time.

- Sting

Sting was the WCW faithful. He stuck with the company until they were sold to the WWF and that is a big reason why he is admired in the wrestling world. He is often compared as the WCW’s version of The Undertaker, but I think Sting doesn’t need a comparison. Although some think he may be overrated, I honestly think he may be underrated. He was the glue that held a slowly failing wrestling promotion and honestly, a big reason why they stayed on TV as long as they did. He began wrestling professionally in 1985 and was featured in Continental Wrestling, UWF, and Jim Crockett Promotions, which led him to WCW. It did not take Sting long to become recognizable and quickly became one of the biggest names in WCW. He was known for his feud with Ric Flair, because that is the one that essentially made him a star.

He won his first major title in 1990 against Flair, but at the time, the NWA belt was also the WCW belt. He officially won his first WCW belt in 1992, but he would end up with 6 by the time WCW was sold. The span between his 2nd and 3rd title reign was a little over 4 years and this one was probably his most controversial. He beat Hulk Hogan at Starrcade in 1997, but not initially. Bret Hart, only a few weeks removed from his WWE departure, came out to dispute the referee’s fast count and the match restarted with Sting winning the gold. They shortly vacated the title from him because of this, and it upset a lot of fans at the time. He changed up his character a few times throughout his career and this is another thing that makes him comparable to Undertaker. He stayed with WCW until they were no more and Sting had a decision to make. Apparently, he was close to signing with WWE, but he opted to go to TNA. He was a cornerstone get for the new promotion and was their biggest star at the time. Weirdly enough the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship was with TNA at the time and he happened to regain the “Ten Pounds of Gold” one more time along with 4 TNA Heavyweight title reigns. He spent a little over a decade with TNA and he helped to build up some of the rising stars within the company, but in 2014, he left the company for good. Although just a few monts later, his name started bouncing around the WWE Universe.

He made a surprise appearance at Survivor Series in 2014 and his first and final feud was with Seth Rollins and The Authority. He made sporadic appearances until WrestleMania 31, where he faced Triple H. He had a solid little run for a few months, but unfortunately, he suffered a career-ending neck injury and could no longer compete after his match with Rollins at Night of Champions in November of 2015. It would’ve been great to see him have a better run in the WWE, but nevertheless, he had an iconic career and one that nobody could ever replicate.

- The Rock

The Most Electrifying Man in Sport Entertainment had a strange, but supremely effective path to wrestling and quickly become a star. Unlike many pro wrestlers, he didn’t wrestle for any other company than WWF/WWE. He was a Defensive Lineman at the University of Miami and was even won a National Championship in 1991, which happened to be the final year that the FBS decided their National Champion solely based on national poll rankings. His wrestling career began in 1996, but his path to the main roster shows was a little different. His father and grandfather were pro wrestlers, so he already knew the basics going in and it became a thing of nature to him fairly quickly. He wrestled at a few house shows and dark matches before making his official debut at Survivor Series in 1996, under the name Rocky Maivia. The Maivia gimmick didn’t do very well, even though he had a solid IC title run. He was off of TV for a little while in 1997 and came back as The Rock, but this time as a bad guy.

He joined the Nation of Domination and this is where his career really started to kick off. The Rock had a great run with the stable, but he was getting too big for the group. Towards the end of 1998, he found himself in the middle of the WWF title discussion and he won his first title at Survivor Series, where he made is official wrestling debut two year prior. He and Mankind had a great feud, which was about the time the tides shifted in favor of the WWF in the Monday Night Wars. The two also had a tag team later in 1999 and it was one of the most oddly entertaining teams ever in wrestling history. His biggest feud came against Stone Cold Steve Austin a couple years later and the feud culminated in 2003 at WrestleMania XIX, which turned out to be Stone Cold’s last career match. The Rock’s run as a full-time wrestler was also ending soon. He only wrestled in 2 matches between this match and WrestleMania XX, which turned out to be his last match for another 7 and a half years.

He came back for a few matches and I would even consider it a small run. He faced John Cena in two matches at WrestleMania XXVIII and WrestleMania 29, and he even won the WWE Championship between those two matches. Technically his last match was against Erick Rowan at WrestleMania 32 and it appears that he officially retired in a random interview a few months ago. He ended his career with 10 combined World Title reigns, 2 IC Title Reigns, 5 Tag Title reigns, and a Royal Rumble victory. The Rock certainly has a strong case for Mount Rushmore, but I think his dominance in the movie industry has overshadowed his work in the WWE and that is honestly saying a lot.

- Brock Lesnar

I know that some of you may not agree with this guy being considered, but his accomplishments and accolades tell another story. His professional career in and out of wrestling has been a very unique one to say the least. He was an all-time great amateur wrestler in college and he transitioned right into pro wrestling. He signed with WWE almost immediately out of college and went straight into OVW. He wrestled there for a couple of years before getting called up to the main roster in March of 2002. Within just 3 months of his first WWE run, he won King of the Ring and within 5 months, he won his first WWE Championship, where he defeated The Rock at SummerSlam. It was insane how fast he was pushed to the top, but there was never a wrestler with the athletic skill set and combination of power that Brock Lesnar possessed and still possesses. He would go on to win the title two more times in his first run with the WWE. In March of 2004, his last match of the run was with Goldberg at WrestleMania XX. He lost the match, but the two would match up again 12 years later.

Lesnar left the WWE to pursue a career in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings. He was cut by the Vikings after the preseason and he made his return to pro wrestling a year later, but not for the WWE. He debuted with NJPW in October of 2005 and won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship in his debut match. There was a lot of controversy surrounding his reign, because he refused to defend the title after he defended a few matches over the course of a year and he decided to keep the title. The original belt was vacated, but the belt he kept was renamed and he finally dropped the unofficial title to Kurt Angle in a match with IGF in 2007. Lesnar would not wrestle again for 5 years, to pursue a career in the UFC. He found success in MMA, but he returned to the WWE in 2012. He would wrestle a part-time schedule, but he didn’t compete for titles for a couple years.

Undoubtedly, the biggest moment of his career came at WrestleMania XXX, when he beat the streak and defeated The Undertaker. The wrestling world was in shock for a long time and it is probably the most shocking moment in the history of wrestling. He would go on to win the WWE championship later that year and he held It for a little over 7 months, before getting beat at WrestleMania 31. After this, he had a handful of singles matches with various opponents and even made a return to UFC. In his return, he had feuds with Randy Orton and Goldberg. He beat Goldberg at WrestleMania 33 to capture his first Universal Championship and this would become a theme from then until now. He and the Universal Championship have become synonymous and he may go down in history as the greatest Universal Champion in history to be honest. He has held the title 3 times for a combined 688 days and there are likely more title reigns to come in his career. He is currently the WWE Champion and it looks like he will be with the WWE for at least a few more years. He is only 42 years old, but has already had a full career and then some. I think he is already there, but before it is all said and done, we could be talking about him in the Greatest of All Time discussion. I put him in the Development category because he has brought in MMA influence and I feel like we are seeing a lot more realistic action in the ring than we ever have before. Whether you like him or hate him, Lesnar has been at the top of everything that he has ever done and Mount Rushmore of Wrestling is definitely not out of the question.

Preservation:

These wrestlers have preserved the good name of professional wrestling by maintain their status as consistent and well-versed in-ring performers. Not only do that have a list full of accomplishments, but they pride themselves as being the backbone of the industry or the proverbial glue that holds everything together.

- Bret Hart

I feel like The Hitman is underrated in the pro wrestling world. As far as in-ring ability is concerned, Hart may be the greatest to step through the ropes. He was brought up in a wrestling family and by the way he tells it, he really didn’t have any other choice. He was a great amateur wrestler, but decided to wrestle professionally with his father’s promotion, Stampede Wrestling in 1978, although he started as a referee in 1976. He wrestled in Canada until 1984, when Stampede was bought by none other than Vince McMahon. McMahon and the WWF acquired the rights to Bret Hart’s contract when they purchased the company and he started in WWF almost immediately. He had a short run as a singles competitor, but in 1985, he joined Jim Neidhart and Jimmy Hart and The Hart Foundation was born. Needless to say, the tag team was very successful and continued their success as a team until 1991.

After the tag team run, Hart restarted his singles run and became a star. He won the Intercontinental title twice between 1991 and 1992 and even won his first WWF title in October of 1992. This signified his mainstay as a main event performer from here on out. He won the WWF Championship 5 times in his career and quickly became one of the most idolized wrestlers in the world. During his time with the WWF, he is probably most known for the Montreal Screwjob, but his feud with Stone Cold Steve Austin was the best of his career. He was a key piece to get Austin over and he did a tremendous job to help build for the future of wrestling. His last match in WWF was obviously against Shawn Michaels and a few weeks later, he debuted on the rival promotion. While Hart and McMahon exchanged blows over the few weeks he was in limbo, they allowed Hart to walk away knowing full and well that he was going to WCW.

He quickly became one of the highest paid wrestlers in the world, despite having the reputation in the WWF as a company guy. Hart had a lot of success in WCW in the 3 years that he was there, but his run was largely plagued by injury. He ended up with 4 World Heavyweight title reigns and 2 US Championship reigns during his time in WCW. His career came to an end in 2000 when he announced his retirement. Although he had deep tension with WWE, he came back to the company and was welcomed with open arms from not only the fans, but everyone involved. He didn’t go back for nearly 10 years and it was the perfect time to reconcile their differences. He has made sporadic appearances throughout the years and even competed in some matches in 2010 in the WWE. He faced Mr. McMahon at WrestleMania XXVI and he even won the US title in his comeback run. Since then though, he has only made special appearances here and there and even made a shocking appearance at AEW’s Double or Nothing to present their main championship. He simply is known as “The Best There Is, The Best There Was, and The Best There Ever Will Be” and that is enough for consideration in Wrestling’s Mount Rushmore.

- Shawn Michaels

I didn’t know exactly where to fit HBK in, but I knew he definitely had to be mentioned. Michaels is one of the greatest in-ring performer to ever lace up the boots. He had a long and very successful career and one that is unlike any performer. He started professionally in 1984 and wrestled for AWA and NWA for a little while, but in 1988, he and his tag team partner, Marty Jannetty got their big break in WWF. The Rockers, as they were known as, were not a high-profile team that won a lot of tag team titles, but Michaels made a name for himself when he turned on Jannetty in December of 1991, and what was left was a broken barber shop window and the start of a legend. It was one of the biggest heel turns in wrestling history and the start of the “Heartbreak Kid” persona.

Michaels had 3 solid title reigns as Intercontinental Champion and in between his second and third reign, he teamed up with Diesel. The two went on to have success in the main title picture, but Michaels first WWF Championship reign didn’t come until WrestleMania XII. Michaels had a few remarkable feuds, but he had the biggest feud of his career against The Hitman. He and Bret Hart battled back and forth for the better part of two years, but we all know that ended with the Montreal Screwjob. Michaels won his third and final WWF Championship. He also was a founding member of the popular stable, D-Generation X and stayed with the group until his first retirement from wrestling. Although he made sporadic non-wrestling appearances, he didn’t compete in WWF/WWE for a little more than 4 years and he didn’t lose a step when he made his return.

His first feud was with Triple H and it was probably considered the prime of his career. During this time, he had his first and only World Heavyweight reign, where he won it in the first Elimination Chamber match ever. Shortly after their feud culminated, he and Triple H reformed DX and it was personally, my favorite DX run. After this, he had a big feud with John Cena, ended Ric Flair’s WWE career, and had two outstanding matches at WrestleMania with The Undertaker. His last match against Undertaker at WrestleMania XXVI was the last of his career, or so we thought. He appeared on WWE programming sporadically after this, but a little more than 8 years after his “retirement match”, he returned to in-ring action at Crown Jewel, where he teamed with Triple H to face The Brothers of Destruction. DX won the grudge match and Michaels says he is done for good, or so he says. His career has been controversial and full of ups and downs, but I think it is one that his worthy of a Top 4 consideration.

- Chris Jericho

All of these wrestlers have great and interesting careers, but Jericho’s actually may be the most interesting of them all. With everything that goes into being a pro wrestler, Jericho is towards the top. He started professionally in 1990 and trained at the Hart School of Wrestling. He then bounced around in the Indie scene in Canada for a couple years. He then moved to Mexico and became somewhat of a star as Corazón de León, or Lion Heart. He also competed in Japan for a few years before joining ECW. He wrestled a few months in ECW and this is where he really started to get recognized by the two biggest promotions in the world.

Within a month of leaving ECW, he signed with WCW and started to make a name for himself. He competed in the Cruiserweight division for the most part and had iconic feuds with Dean Malenko and Rey Mysterio. He competed in WCW until 1999, but was never in any big-time storylines and never competed for the major title, so he left after his contract expired. He then joined WWF just a few weeks after he left WCW and became Y2J. He interrupted The Rock while he was cutting a promo and became a star overnight. He shortly became Intercontinental Champion and he would go on to become arguably the great Intercontinental Champion of all time. Within a couple years, WWF and WCW became one and Jericho was the first wrestler to become Undisputed Champion in the WWF. In the years to follow, he remained in the main title picture, while maintaining his Intercontinental supremacy. In 2005, he took a break from wrestling and didn’t return for a little more than 2 years.

When he came back, he was immediately back in the main title picture and even had a solid feud with Shawn Michaels. In 2008, he became World Heavyweight Champ and reclaimed the title 2 more times in his career. After his title runs, he had a long feud with Edge and even formed a tag team with Big Show, but in September of 2009, he took another hiatus, but this time only for 15 months. He returned to WWE and took leave like this a couple more times due to his touring schedule with Fozzy, but in 2018, he officially called it quits in the WWE.

He returned to NJPW for the first time in nearly 20 years. He had a huge feud with Kenny Omega and Tetsuya Naito, but in 2019 he made a shocking appearance with another promotion. After saying that he would never wrestle for another promotion in the US other than WWE, he officially signed with AEW in January of 2019. He currently is the first and only AEW World Champion and is the biggest star of the company at the moment. I don’t know where his career will end up, but I can tell you that he is one of the greatest to ever do it and deserving of “GOAT” consideration in the wrestling.

- John Cena

Like him or not, Cena has made a tremendous impact on the sports entertainment industry. He was my personal favorite growing up, but I’m going to keep it as unbiased as possible. Cena is interestingly one of the few wrestlers that use their actual names. This is a rarity in the pro wrestling world, but Cena was born for greatness. He began pro wrestling in 1999 as The Prototype in UPW and wrestled there for almost a couple years. He then joined OVW, which was a development territory for WWF/WWE. There he made a name for himself facing a great deal of future WWE talent and he got called up in the middle of 2002, however, he didn’t get his big break in the WWE until 2003, when he became The Doctor of Thuganomics. He was a heel character that would rap his way to the ring often putting down the opponents that he faced in a humorous manner. One of, if not the most, impactful moments of his career came at WrestleMania 21, when he defeated JBL for the WWE Championship for his first of 16 combined world title reigns.

Despite having mixed support among the fans throughout his whole career, he had some really great feuds and honestly, I cannot pinpoint one single feud that I like over another, and I mean that in a good way. He had great feuds with Shawn Michaels, Kurt Angle, CM Punk, Randy Orton, Edge, and Batista, just to name a few. You could also count The Rock in there. I can’t really say one feud was better than the other and that is a complement, because he put on main even level performances each time he was in the ring. Every time he is in the ring, it is must watch TV. He currently sits at 16 combined World Title reigns, 4 combined Tag Title reigns, 5 US Championships, 2 Royal Rumble wins, and a Money in the Bank win. A career full of accomplishments to say the least. He has been away from wrestling for a little while, but he hasn’t retired yet. I don’t know what he has planned next little bit, but I’m anxious to see what he has in store for us.

Future Mount Rushmore Contenders:

These are the wrestlers that are not in the discussion at the moment, but could find themselves in Mount Rushmore talks within the next 10-20 years. These performers have showed enormous potential and may become some of the greatest to ever do it.

- Cody Rhodes

This solely depends on how successful AEW will be. Cody Rhodes has big aspirations and has set huge goals and for the most part, he has been successful at every turn. It will be interesting to see how the next few years for him will be, but if AEW is a huge success and possibly competing with the WWE within a few years, then I say he has earned Rushmore consideration based on wrestling contribuitions.

- Kenny Omega

In the same light, but a different path than Cody, Kenny Omega’s status will be up in the air and will depend on the success of AEW. Although Omega has proven himself as one of the greatest in-ring performers of all time, he hasn’t quite proven himself in America. He has had a wonderful career in Japan, but I’m interested to see what he can do in AEW in the next few years.

- Roman Reigns

Here’s another one that people are going to hate on, but he is undeniably “The Guy” in WWE and he will continue to be for many, many years. He is a proven competitor and despite what fans think, he is one of the best people to represent a company with the magnitude of the WWE.

- Becky Lynch

I debated putting female competitors on the list, but I think Becky Lynch warrants the discussion. She headlined WrestleMania 35 in the first ever women’s main event and became the first ever Unified Women’s Champion. She has been the biggest draw for the last year and I think it can continue until the end of her career. At the moment, she is a no-doubter for Mount Rushmore of Women’s Wrestling. While I’m at it without going into detail, Charlotte Flair can be added to the list of hopefuls as well.

- Seth Rollins

It is difficult to say how he will be viewed in 10-20 years, but I think he will still go down as one of the great in-ring performers. He may be viewed as another wonderful wrestler, but not Rushmore worthy, but on the other hand, he could be Rushmore worthy. He has the tools to be one of the greats, but there is something there that currently hinders him from passing the ‘all-time great’ threshold, but I can’t really say what it is. He certainly has the potential though.

- Daniel Bryan

Here is a guy that has a ton of great wrestling still left in him and could go down as one of the greats. He’s currently a 5-time World Champ and each of his title reigns were remarkable. He is the epitome of an underdog and as long as he can stay healthy, he could be in the Wrestling’s Mount Rushmore discussion easily within 10 years.

Just Missed the Cut:

These wrestlers are bubble candidates, but performers that I personally thought just missed out on the Mount Rushmore discussion. While they certainly may be considered in other people’s lists, they aren’t Sports Chief Mount Rushmore worthy.

- Triple H

I fought the urge to put Triple H on the list, but in all honesty, he could be considered one of the greatest of all time. He had 14 combined World Title reigns, he was an Intercontinental Champ 5 times, he won the Royal Rumble twice, and he was involved with two of the biggest groups in wrestling history. A lot of people think his legacy is watered-down because of his ties to the McMahon family during the prime of his career, but I wouldn’t exclude him from the list for that reason alone. Although he was certainly at the top for most of his career, I never really considered him as “The Guy”. He was always overshadowed by someone and the Attitude Era is partly to blame for that. He is still building his legacy, but now more as an executive, which could put him in the future consideration category.

- Randy Orton

Orton certainly lived up to his early career hype, but I think he just misses out on the Mount Rushmore discussion. His legacy is similar to Triple H based on the fact that someone was always “The Guy” other than him. He’s a combined 13-Time World Champ, and a 2-time Royal Rumble winner, but I think he can still add to his legacy. If he wins another major title, I don’t think it really adds to his Legacy, pun intended, but I could be wrong.

- Edge

On accolades alone, Edge may have the most illustrious career of all-time. He had a combined 11 World Title reigns, 5 Intercontinental Championship reigns, and a staggering total of 14 Tag Title reigns. How can someone like this be off of the list? It’s not easy to keep him off, but he is just another fallen victim to being a heel most of his career and being overshadowed by John Cena.

- Dusty Rhodes

I feel bad for not including Dusty, but it had to be done. He was possibly the best babyface in wrestling history and not to mention a very, very entertaining performer. He could literally face anyone and it would be an awesome match and he could even be credited for getting Ric Flair over. Rhodes was vital to the wrestling world, but It just seems like he was overshadowed too much by Flair. I totally wouldn’t argue against putting him in Wrestling’s Mount Rushmore though.

- CM Punk

I think he goes without saying almost, but he should be included somehow. Punk was a huge deal when he was wrestling and that is being reflected more so now than ever before. He had a ton of success in the independent scene before coming to WWE, but while in WWE, he was the biggest draw for a few years. If you combine his ECW Championship, he has a combined 6 World Title reigns, but his most memorable was obviously his 434-day WWE Championship reign. There is still a possibility of a return, which would add to his legacy, but I wouldn’t count on it.

Verdict:

I am going to choose one person from each category to represent Wrestling’s Mount Rushmore. This was extremely difficult because there can be a lot of different directions that I could have possibly gone in here. Much like how the presidents were chosen to represent Mount Rushmore, these wrestlers will represent how pro wrestling as a whole has evolved within the history of sports entertainment. There is no right or wrong here, but I tried to put out the best list that I possibly could.

- Birth: Vincent K. McMahon

When choosing this, I was literally down to 2 people. I ruled out Bruno because he was mainly popular in the Northeastern part of the US exclusively. I also ruled out Harley Race, because he seemed like too much of an outlier to the rest. Andre was a possibility, but looking back, he may have been more of a proponent of growth rather than the foundation. Lou Thesz was a very strong possibility and it was difficult not to choose him, but modern wrestling would be nowhere near the same without Vincent K. McMahon. I really don’t think it would be nearly as popular and the stigma surrounding it would be a lot different. It feels weird putting him in the birth category, but without Vince and his take charge attitude, we would be limited on wrestling in today’s culture. There would probably still be a bunch of promotions and we would only see a handful of talent in our specific areas. Performers like Andre, Hogan, Undertaker, HBK, Stone Cold, The Rock, etc. would’ve never seen the light of day without Vince McMahon. Sure, they could’ve been fine without him, but they wouldn’t have been nearly the stars that they became. Vince gets a lot of crap for picking and choosing talents, but a lot of talents would’ve never been stars in a promotion style setting and his impact on the wrestling world is worthy of the leading spot on Wrestling’s Mount Rushmore.

- Growth: Hulk Hogan

While this was probably the toughest to choose from, it was possibly the easiest choice. In a list of complete and utter powerhouses, Macho Man was the outlier. That is really saying something there. The growth category could’ve honestly been the Mount Rushmore and I don’t think there would be any complaints from anyone. Most of the Mount Rushmore lists that I’m seeing have Flair, Austin, and Hogan all in the Top 4, so you guys can see how this would be a difficult choice. However, if I’m only going on the growth of the wrestling business and growth alone, Hogan is the most obvious answer of the bunch. Flair was the star of the various promotions, but WWF was a monster company that was putting those said promotions out of business very rapidly. As for Austin though, it was tough to leave him out, because nobody had a bigger impact on the wrestling world than Stone Cold during the Monday Night Wars, but Hogan was too obvious. He was the chosen one to put WWF not only on the map, but to lead a wrestling revolution. While many think Hogan was overrated and honestly, I agree, you cannot doubt his impact on wrestling. Hogan wasn’t only a wrestler, he was an international icon and he made wrestling cool. His formation of the NWO was also another level of cool and made WCW temporarily the must-watch show on Monday nights. He was at the top of the wrestling world for nearly 15 years and there will never be another Hulk Hogan.

- Development: The Undertaker

Again, not an easy choice, but I thought he made the most sense. Brock Lesnar was my first choice that I marked out because of the fact that he left and came back multiple times and he hasn’t been an actual full-time performer in quite some time. Next off of the list was Sting. He had an awesome, lengthy, and extremely successful career, but I feel like most of his prime was overshadowed by others in WCW. And between The Rock and The Undertaker, it was honestly easy to mark out The Rock and that is because of one reason, career length. Undertaker has been in the spotlight for 30 years and has done it at an elite level for a very long time. Nothing against The Rock, but his career was very short. He started at the end of 1996 and he only wrestled in 6 matches after April of 2003. His impact has been strong, but Taker’s is much stronger. He is the master of development and he has shown that with the numerous gimmick changes throughout his career, he was truly a once-in-a-lifetime type of talent. The Deadman, The Phenom, The American Badass, The Minister of Darkness, Big Evil; the list of his changing personas goes on and they were all great. There will never be another Undertaker and he has earned his spot in wrestling immortality.

- Preservation: John Cena

Among all of the tough choices above, this one was probably the most difficult. The first one I marked out was Bret Hart, because compared to the rest, I feel like he didn’t pop out for some reason. Maybe that was because of his stoic attitude, but nevertheless I think these four would be a cool modern-day Mount Rushmore. Next, I marked out Chris Jericho. Jericho is still building on to his legacy with AEW and in a few years, he may be on Mount Rushmore of wrestling, but I think he just misses the cut. My last mark out was HBK and while I was making the list, he was always in the back of mind as a person that I was going to put on the list here, but I wanted to find a clear-cut reason. He was one of the most entertaining performers ever in wrestling, but I think the last person in this category had a better and more dominant run. Cena is the face of preservation in a time where people wanted the Attitude Era to come back. He led the WWE for nearly 15 years, much like Hogan, and he may have been the last clear-cut (I want to emphasis singular) guy to lead the company. He takes a lot of crap because of people saying he does the same moves in the ring every match, but so did the rest of the greats. Cena wasn’t alone in that category. He was a pop culture icon and they really couldn’t have had a better face to represent the massive changing environment that the WWE underwent in the late 2000’s.

Sports Chief Staff Mount Rushmore of Wrestling Picks:

Some of the members of The Sports Chief made their selections of the Top 4 in wrestling history and here are those Mount Rushmore picks.

Garett: Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair

Stone Cold: For me, when you talk about the greatest wrestlers in history, you have to begin with Stone Cold. He's the greatest of all time. He impacted the sport with his overall greatness and brought many new fans to wrestling who loved his persona. Who doesn't love it when they see the Texas Rattlesnake smashing beers together up on the turnbuckle? In a lot of ways, when Stone Cold was fighting, people across America felt like he was representing him in the ring. People like people they feel connected to, and so many people felt connected to the one and only Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Undertaker: The Undertaker is my personal favorite wrestler of all time. While Biker-Taker was cool, I loved the Dead Man. Seeing the lights go out and hearing the bells toll always sent chills my way while watching back during his heyday. His persona has to be the most intimidating of all time and I think wrestling desperately needs that intimidation factor to maximize its success. It's why so many people have taken to The Fiend so quickly. But the Undertaker was the original and the ultimate.

Limp Bizkit performe Rollin' en Live à Wrestlemania XIX pour l'entrée de l'Undertaker! Avec à la guitare Head de Korn et Mike Smith de Snot!

Hulk Hogan: Not only is he one of the most popular wrestlers of all time, but the man absolutely owned the 80s. He revolutionized a whole decade with his All-American persona. It didn't matter if you watched wrestling or not, you knew who Hulk Hogan was and what he stood for. And anybody that stands for America back in those days was a hero. He was an icon, plain and simple, and brought many new fans to the sport.

Ric Flair: It doesn't matter if you have never watched a single wrestling match in your life...you know who Ric Flair is. And not only do you know who he is, but you know his classic "Wooooo!" You can argue that nobody has ever impacted the sport as much as Ric Flair and I don't think you would get too many people to disagree with you. He's a 16-time world champ for a reason. He's so popular and impactful that his daughter has quickly become a fan favorite as she carries on the "Flair" legacy. When I went to SmackDown this past spring, the amount of "woooos!" I heard was incredible. One fan walking in the concourse would shout it, leading to 10-20 other fans following suit. Ric Flair is wrestling.

AustYn: Lou Thesz, Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, John Cena

Lou Thesz: Lou was a 15-time world champion…he held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 3 times for 10 plus years, with one single reign of nearly 2,000 days. He was an icon among later wrestlers like Kurt Angle who was trained in the Greco-Roman wrestling style. His signature moves such as the “Lou Thesz” Press was used by Stone Cold Steve Austin…the “Stepover Toehold Facelock” (STF) used by John Cena…and The Powerbomb which was used by…well lots of people still generate interest and reaction from the current wrestling crowds. In terms of technicality and technique…Thesz is my Founding Father of wrestling.

Hulk Hogan: Hulkamania is running wild with this one brother. The Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant rivalry was active when the wrestling world hit a massive growth spurt. Hulk Hogan generated so much attention with his Hulkamania slogan and intro song. His waving his hand to the crowd to get them louder was iconic as well. Hogan bounced back and forth between WCW and WWE/WWF…but no matter where he was at, he generated interest. Without his signature leg drop or his body-slamming of Andre the Giant…wrestling may not be what it is today. I think if you walk down the street and ask people to name a wrestler…Hogan would be one of the favorites brother.

Ric Flair: In terms of developing the wrestling platform…Ric Flair was the conductor. The 16-time world champion has wrestled during the times of Hogan, The Rock, and John Cena. The Nature-Boy was active in every major era of wrestling and was always involved with the spotlight. Like Hogan, Flair bounced around to different promotions, but was followed everywhere he went. The Figure-Four Leg-Lock is arguably one of the most famous submission moves out there and he opened the door for “smaller” wrestlers to make a name for themselves. His flamboyancy and character signified what wrestling was all about…WOO!

John Cena: The most modern wrestler on the Mount Rushmore would be John Cena. Thuganomics created new buzz in the WWE and since the punk from Massachusetts became a Champion…he hasn’t let up. John Cena has 16 titles just like Flair. His “You can’t see me” and “Word-Life” symbols generated massive interest as well. He has also body-slammed Big Show several times…which kept the thrill-seeking fans interested. Like his predecessors…Cena has preserved and paved the way for future wrestlers to step in and grab the wrestling world by the horns. Unlike Hogan and Flair…Cena was only a “bad guy” in the beginning and never fluctuated back and forth…ever since they have tried to change his persona but he never really could. Nevertheless...Cena is one of the greats.

Thanny: Steve Austin, The Undertaker, Ric Flair, John Cena

Randy: Ric Flair, Hulk Hogan, Steve Austin, The Undertaker

Well, that is our list. I hope you enjoyed this article and I hope you guys share who you think should be on the Mount Rushmore of Wrestling. It’s always interesting to see where fans stand on this particular topic and there is no right or wrong. It’s fun to discuss and it’s fun to ponder who the best of best of wrestling is.