top 100 biggest wrestling draws of all time

Still, it wasnt until the third WrestleMania that WrestleMania reached its potential. The son of Larry "The Ax" Hennig and father of Mike McGillicutty, Hennig was in a class all to himself. He was good looked, skilled and could wrestle anyone. He was defeated by Hulk Hogan after the Iranian champion beat Bob Backlund. Hogan remained a huge draw late into his career, as evident by his 2000s run with the company when he faced the likes of The Rock, Shawn Michaels, and Randy Orton. With that being said, the blame cannot be solely placed on his shoulder as the company was undergoing a rough patch, but Diesel fell short of management's expectations. Two legendary showdowns on one card and the matches come back to back. showed up. As a champion in the WWE, he is more than anything a great mic man and a Roddy Piper-like performer. Ed "Strangler" Lewis; 7. The son of the famed Boris Malenko, Dean Malenko was one of the greatest mat wrestlers to put on a pair of tights. The Rock does everything he can to put over Lesnar. How did we rate WCW's greatest year in 1989? They were big deals. Then you get AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe in an epic three-way. Cruiser Classic 0/32 0 1. Jim Londos (dominant year); 2. The People's Champ was about to take his place on top of WWE. Nagayo was inducted to the AJW hall of fame in 1998, the WON hall of fame in 1997, and the Cauliflower Alley Club hall of fame in 1996, she was the top star of two of the biggest women's wrestling companies of all time, and through various stylistic shifts has delivered countless classic matches throughout the years. It's a card that hits on all cylinders. The man often credited with saving the WWE during the Monday Night Wars was a major reason behind the rise of the Attitude Era. News on all your favorite celebs, reality TV, and movies. His biggest claim to fame is being a life-long friend of Mick Foley and upon winning the NWA Title, he declared he did not want to be a champion in that organization and helped to catapult ECW into mainstream wrestling. First as a member of the APA, he was a brutal tag team combination with Ron Simmons. Having been the face of the company for a decade, John Cena was among the many reasons behind the change in the WWE product. We should first say that the opening tag match at Royal Rumble 1992 between The New Foundation and The Orient Express is quite good (Owen Hart was amazing). He may have been the most underrated wrestler of all time. Hall's demons have been the only thing that have held him back in wrestling. The main card opens with a ladder match that, in my mind, is one of the more overlooked in history. Ray Steele; 3. In 2005, WWE released "The Rise and Fall of ECW," a documentary so insanely popular, the promotion got the idea for a reunion event and called it One Night Stand. And Vince McMahon owes much of his success to the success of the Immortal one. RANDY SAVAGE 16. Yes, that should have been the main event. David Von Erich was supposed to win the NWA World Title, but passed away. Understand too this is my list. Not in the way that the matches at Wrestle Kingdom 9 or 11 do. He was a great protege of Bruno Sammartino who eventually turned on his mentor. While WWE aims to always create new stars when they crown a Champion, such isn't the case for every Superstar who holds the title. The matches leading up to Lesnar-Cena were pretty fantastic too. He can do so many things off the ropes and on the mat. Austin aligns himself with Mr. McMahon in order to take out The Rock. 3/10 3. The Nature Boy lasted more than an hour to win the Rumble. The format was certainly compelling a tournament featuring the greatest junior heavyweight wrestlers in the world. However, nothing can rival that year's WarGames. He was a partner and adversary of Nick Bockwinkle in the AWA and was a tag team partner of Pat Patterson in the WWWF. But what pushes WK 11 just slightly past Dominion 2017 is The Young Bucks and Roppongi Vice in one the great tag matches you will ever see. "There were 100,000 people in the Athens Olympic Stadium that night in 1934 when Jim Londos defended his world's heavyweight wrestling title against the Russian champion, and another 30,000 were turned away. He was an eight-time champion in the Portland area under Don Owen's promotion. Scott Hall wasn't a consistent headliner year in and year out. Kenny Omega and Kazuchika Okada take their feud to new heights, going at it in a 2-out-of-3 Falls match that lasts for over an hour and doesnt feature a single boring moment. Not many wrestlers have captured the attention of an audience quite like Andre The Giant did during his WWE stint. She beat opponent after opponent and when she lost to Wendi Richter at Wrestlemania, an era ended in women's wrestling that can never be captured again. There was a time when The Rock couldn't even get a reaction out of the crowd before that turned into loud boos and harsh chants towards him. Finn Balor and Kevin Owens ladder match closes the show and provides a taste of what WWE fans would see moving forward. The final match between Lesnar and Cena turned bloody when Lesnar opened a nasty cut on Cenas head early in the match. Harley Race; 7. Yes the streak was impressive and he was a powerful guy who ran through opponents. But its still pretty awesome. They are poetry in motion with a chemistry beyond anything else wrestling had produced. The main event sees Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock both at their peak babyface powers going at it. He was great as a flamboyant wrestler who won the WWF Triple Crown. One of the most emotional pay-per-views you'll see. Things got extreme! And of course, Missy Hyatt wasn't a bad distraction to have, either. Take heed to the title 'cause he's not here to waste time. Superstar Billy Graham; 4. 9. Wrestling is a totally subjective form of entertainment. For several years, Andre was capable of selling out an arena on any given night. At times, that can produce sloppy moments. He still wrestles from time to time on the indy circuit. There weren't many men tougher than Harley Race. Michaels could have a great match with just about anyone or anything. He was an Intercontinental Champion in the WWF as well. The Rock could have potentially become the biggest draw in the history of wrestling if he had stuck around for a longer run with the WWE. It doesnt quite reach the levels of other main events Wrestle Kingdom has showcased over the years. Answer: Top 10 Biggest Box Office Draws in the history of professional wrestling: 1). He stuck with the tag team scene and won the NWA World Tag Team Titles four times. Answer (1 of 6): It depends, really. He was a heel who encouraged youngsters to cheat to get their way in life. Cena's drawn more than Austin over his career, but there's no way he's a bigger draw than Austin was. Save for the opener between Michael Hayes and Assassin I, every other match on this card is good, if not great, most notably the "Loser Leaves NWA" match between both Midnight Express teams and the near-perfect Lex Luger-Barry Windham clash for the U.S. title. As a member of DX or in Evolution, he was the leader, the standard, and one of the reasons the "Attitude Era" worked so well in the WWE. BRUNO SAMMARTINO 2. And his feud over the years with Ric Flair is one of the 10 best ever. I have used numbers to back up these statements. He cannot speak on the mic and he is very limited now. Two showdowns Triple H vs. Booker T and Hulk Hogan vs. Mr. McMahon are way better than anyone thought they would be. But because he's been on top for so many years and fueded with big names/moneymakers like Rock, Austin and Cena his name is very high on this list. Chris Benoit and 2 Cold Scorpio is a preview of the cruiserweight matches that would take WCW by storm. Cena headlined plenty of pay per views along the way, while constantly pushing the most merchandise out of the entire roster. He was a good performer, but he was stiff. Its 30 minutes of brilliance from six of NXTs best performers. His tag team partner, Adrian Adonis, was talented and could bring it at any moment. In the wrestling industry, it's always been important to draw the fans into the arena. Truth be told, NJPW could have stopped after Wrestle Kingdom 11 and still owned 2017. Then you get The Undertaker and Triple H in an iconic brawl. But Luger's physique and talent seemed like it could conquer all. Possibly the greatest Asian superstar to ever come to the states. Brock Lesnar and The Rock put on a classic (maybe the best match in both wrestlers respective careers). I did not want to leave him off this list. The wisened veteran of the Four Horsemen and a good tag team wreslter. The legacy that this tournament should hold after 28 years is the template of how you can get heavyweight singles wrestlers and insert them into a tag scene and make it thrive. WWE Superstar Giant Silva: (Height - 7 ft, 5 inc), (Weight: 175kg) When it comes to rating the biggest superstars we've witnessed in wrestling, Giant Silva is among the top names that come to mind. Bruno Sammartino; 3. Consider the fact the show kicks off with a singles match between legend Jushin Thunder Liger and Tyler Breeze. 91. The Austin vs McMahon feud revitalized their business and the WW. Sting and The Great Mutas feud reached its peak here with, arguably, their greatest match. SUPERSTAR BILLY GRAHAM 12. He played a major reason in turning the WWE into a top mainstream attraction throughout the '80s, and headlined WrestleMania in some of the most iconic battles of all-time. The second SuperBrawl begins with one of the best matches in WCW history. The Biggest Draw in Wrestling History? He had success as a singles wrestler but was best known for his tag team work in the AWA with Jesse Ventura in the "East/West" Connection. Just his look alone was enough to scare anyone. Benoit is a top-100 wrestler of all-time by any standard that doesn't include personal transgressions. Money in the Bank 2011 also comes with two (Yes, two!) Dave Meltzer has compiled a lost of the top 54 biggest draws in WWE history based on gates/ratings the wrestlers drew as main eventers. No one on Memphis was as popular as Lawler except for maybe Elvis. For over a decade, Hogan was the biggest draw in the industry and constantly shattered one record after another. He is also the man to make Ric Flair "retire". 1932 - 1. And still, you could make the case that the Junior Heavyweight Championship between Kushida and Hiromu Takahashi does everything it can to steal the show. That main event is an all-time great match. I just made a list! 1. As a singles competitor, he won the WCW World Title on several occasions. Have you seen the past few Wrestle Kingdom shows? Colon helped build the World Wrestling Council and was champion in his homeland. Honourable Mention #2 - John Cena John. Canadian Stampede is the stuff of WWE legend at this point an outlier of a pay-per-view that takes place in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, but might as well be happening a different universe. The main event at Extreme Rules was going to be a battle for the face of WWE and it was going to happen in extreme fashion. He had the hardest chops in the business. The NWO had infiltrated WCW. The rivalry between Okada and Omega is as advertised its one of the best you will ever see in wrestling history. Barely Legal was ECW's first pay-per-view back in 1997. Jim Londos? - Chad Gelfand 34. Wrestling Observer's Wrestler of the Year. But who would the champ be facing? His character, whether face or heel, was loved by fans of all ages and his love for Miss Elizabeth and subsequent marriage made everyone shed a tear. But then you get the greatest Royal Rumble match in WWE history. Steamboat was a great showman and consummate wrestler in the 1980s and 1990s. The Taskmaster was one of the best at playing mind games with his opponents before matches. Could there be anyone else at the top of this list. A habitual steroid user, he was plagued after his ring days and spoke openly about how the drugs affected his body. Anderson feuded with Dusty Rhodes and other faces during the height of WCW. The main event might actually be the weakest of the bunch from a pure wrestling standpoint. The Hart Foundation were the companys top heels at this point. CM Punk 37. I hadnt even heard of him before a saw the trailer for the first movie. As a face or a heel, he has won multiple titles in WWE and then in TNA. For me, the 19 card a bit top-heavy. 100-91. If you're into reading about Japanese wrestling, youll see a lot of different things about NOAH Destiny 2005 on the Internet calling it one of the all time greatest pay-per-views. The figure four leg lock and the Russian Leg Sweep. 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