Superstar Categories

When Ben proposed this post to me, I was very excited. If you have ever played NBA Live 2007, all of the players are in categories (dunker, long range shooter, inside scorer, etc…). This post categorizes the top 5 stars in each brand and then 5 legends into the categories of crafty, powerhouse, legend, experienced, future star, athletic, great heart, exciting, and creative. Of course superstars can and will be in multiple categories.

Rey Mysterio, Triple H, and The Undertaker have been omitted due to their injuries.

Smackdown’s Top 5

1. Edge: The current top Smackdown superstar is not yet a legend, but he is definitely experienced. He has won the WWE championship 2 times, the World Heavyweight Championship 1 time, the Intercontinental Championship 5 times, he is a 12 time tag-team champion, and claimed the title of “Mr. Money In the Bank” twice. He has been in some famous feuds (Matt Hardy, John Cena) and has been in a few memorable stables (The Ministry of Darkness, Rated RKO). He has a great heart as well; he makes all of his matches fun to watch, because he never gives up (see the hardcore match against Mick Foley). Edge is also very exciting (watch him in the MITB Ladder Matches) and he provides a side to wrestling that we sadly rarely see anymore. You could also consider Edge a future star (he’s actually two days younger than MVP). He has many more bright years with the company.

2. Batista: The first thing that you think of when you see Batista, is that he is a powerhouse. I would definitely NOT call him experienced, seeing how he has only been wrestling with WWE since 2002. I would also not call him the future, seeing how he is 38. And although he may not be the best wrestler in the company, he sure is exciting. His spinebuster is extremely fun to watch, and it gets me pretty amped.

3. MVP: Let me start out by saying he is one of the big three stars that I consider “future stars”. I will also definitely call him exciting, because for a while, his feud with Chris Benoit was the only thing that kept me watching Smackdown. MVP is definitely athletic too. His gimmick is even a cocky athletic guy.

4. Ric Flair: Flair falls into many categories. He is definitely a legend. He won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship for the first time in 1981 by beating Dusty Rhodes. He is an 11 time world champion, and has won countless awards. He is also definitely experienced...being in the wrestling business since the 1970s, and being in countless classic feuds (Lex Luger, Terry Funk) and stables (Evolution, The Four Horsemen). He was also extremely exciting in his prime (and he still has his moments now...like vs. the Big Show on ECW). Flair also has a reputation of being extremely crafty to win at any cost. You know someone is crafty when the low blow is part of their regular moveset.

5. Kane: The Big Red Machine is definitely experienced (being in wrestling since the mid-to late 90s). He is a 10-time Tag-Team champion, a two-time Intercontinental champion, a one-time Hardcore champion, and a one-time WWF champion. He is also a powerhouse (7 feet tall, 326 pounds). Kane is extremely exciting too…when his entrance music hits I get extremely pumped up.


RAW’s Top 5:

1. John Cena: Cena debuted in 2000 (I wouldn’t normally call someone experienced who has only been in the business for 7 years…) however he is experienced. He has won the United States Championship three times, and has won the WWE Championship three times. He has been in numerous matches with great superstars…yes he has been in some great matches (vs. Edge at Unforgiven, vs. Michaels on Monday Night RAW). Also, he is a definite powerhouse. Before wrestling he was pursuing a career as a bodybuilder. Also, at Wrestlemania XX he managed to lift the 507 pound 7-foot monster over his head twice. Cena (or Cena’s gimmick) never gives up in matches. He come out on top in singles matches with Umaga, The Great Khali, Shawn Michaels, The Big Show, Kurt Angle, JBL, Chris Jericho, Edge, RVD, Booker T, etc…This shows his great heart.

2. Bobby Lashley: Nobody is more of a powerhouse than Bobby Lashley. All you have to do is look at this man to find out what I’m talking about. He is extremely exciting too. His spear is not near the excitement level of Bill Goldberg’s, but his regular power moves are fantastic. Also, in his match vs. the late Chris Benoit at the first 3-hour RAW, he showed us a side of him that we rarely see, the amateur wrestling side of him. Benoit and Lashley put on a very enjoyable match. And yes ladies and gentlemen, he is a future star. He is only 30 years old, and he has already been built up to the main event slot.

3. Randy Orton: I’ll start out by saying he is extremely exciting. He is doing this thing that I love now. He waits on the ground with his opponent while stalking them like a wounded animal. This sinuously smooth precursor to the RKO is very snake-like and very intimidating. It reminds me of The Rock getting ready to deliver the Rock Bottom. He (in my opinion) is probably tied with Mr. Kennedy for the biggest future star. He is only 27 years old (younger than MVP, CM Punk, Mr. Kennedy, and Lashley) and he is already a Triple Crown Champion (won the World Heavyweight Championship, Intercontinental Championship, and Tag-Team Championship). His moveset is very creative. I love his DDT that he does off of the ropes and his huge dropkick.

4. Mr. Kennedy: Ken Kennedy will be the Stone Cold or The Rock of the future. This man is above and beyond what we refer to as a future star. You can’t call this man boring. He is extremely exciting and creative. His creative side kicks in with his ring entrance. I can’t think of another ring entrance that I like better than his (please comment if you think of one). And excitement basically radiates from this man’s body. I decided not to keep this one very long, because you can just read any of our other posts to get the point.

5. Jeff Hardy: Jeff Hardy is hands down the most exciting superstar (now that RVD has left) in the WWE. The Swanton Bomb is probably one of the tightest moves in wrestling, and the whisper in the wind gets the crowd going just as much. Also, how can you talk about Jeff Hardy and not say he’s an athlete? The man did a front flip (Swanton Bomb) off of a ladder through a table with Bubba Ray Dudley on it. He can also be a future star (he is only 29)…but I am not sure since all of his stunts may take a pretty hard toll on his body after awhile.


ECW’s Top 5:

1. CM Punk: CM Punk (along with Mr. Kennedy) IS the future. He has the title of “future star” written all over him. He made his WWE wrestling debut on June 24, 2006…and he has already fought for the ECW title twice (elimination chamber and Vengeance). He also has his upcoming title shot against Johnny Nitro…I pray to God that he wins. He and his finishing moves are extremely creative (G.T.S., Anaconda Vise, and my personal favorite…the Pepsi Plunge). I would say his matches are exciting, but the ECW crowd doesn’t usually get into it…which is a topic for a later date.

2. Johnny Nitro: I would first like to ask…why is this man the ECW champion? His second match as an ECW superstar (first being a squash against Nunzio) is a title match that he wins. BAD IDEA (but again, another topic for another time). He is without a doubt a future star being only 27 years old and being in the main event slot for ECW in his 3rd year with the company. You could also consider him athletic…if you were searching for another thing to say about him.

3. Elijah Burke: Yet another future star in ECW. Only 29 years old, and he has had a huge part in ECW. Although his team with Sylvester Terkay was the most boring thing on Friday night, he excels greatly as a singles wrestler. The Elijah Express and the Elijah Experience are cool, but they don’t get him into the category of exciting. However, they will help him get into the creative category.

4. Marcus Cor Von: Here is the powerhouse of ECW. Monty Brown…I mean…Marcus Cor Von is HUGE. His bicep is probably larger then my head. He definitely falls into the category of exciting. The Pounce is my favorite finisher by a big dude. Although the Alpha Male is 37, he has a few great years ahead of him (but not enough years to call him the future).

5. The Boogeyman: Here’s a fun fact that I found interesting: he is 42 years old! I never would have thought that he would be that old. Well, now that I got that out of the way…he is definitely exciting, and definitely creative. Name another superstar that eats worms. Also, it is occasionally fun to see him pop up out of nowhere and scare the pants off of people.

Legends Top 5: (in no order)

1. Bret Hart: Well…he is under the “legends top 5”…so I guess it’s pretty obvious that he’s a legend. In WCW he won the US Title 4 times, the World Heavyweight Championship 2 times, and the World Tag-Team Championship 1 time. And in the WWF/WWE he won the WWF Championship 5 times, the Intercontinental Championship 2 times, the World Tag-Team Championship 2 times, and he was recently inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He was definitely exciting in the ring as well. When he locked in the sharpshooter the crowd went wild. He also had a great heart. He lasted over an hour in his famous match against Shawn Michaels, and he had many other great matches (see our Top WWE Matches section).

2. The Rock: There is nothing about this man that is boring. He has the most unnecessarily elaborate finishing move of all time (the people’s elbow) and has created almost all of the famous wrestling catchphrases in our time (know your role, and shut your mouth). This man is the epitome of exciting in and out of the ring. Again, he is in the legends category…therefore he is a definite legend. He won the WWF/E Championship 7 times, the Intercontinental Championship 2 times, and the Tag-Team Championship 5 times. He also has a great heart. His match at Wrestlemania against Steve Austin was a classic display of his heart. His heart is also shown in ANY of his matches against Mick Foley. Also, he is EXTREMELY creative. Who would think to themselves “today…I’m going to create a 30 second prelude to an elbow…”

3. Steve Austin: Again, there is nothing about this man that is boring. You never know what to expect from him on any given night. He could bring a beer truck through the entrance ramp, or he could plan his own beer bash even. This man, along with The Rock, IS exciting. Also he is a legend. He is a 6-time WWF Champion, a 2-time Intercontinental Champion, a 4-time Tag-Team Champion, and the winner of 3 Royal Rumbles.

4. Hulk Hogan: Just like Stone Cold and The Rock created the word exciting, Hulk Hogan created the word legend. He is the ultimate WWF/E/WCW that absolutely everyone knows. He is a 6-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, a 6-time WWF/E World Heavyweight Champion, a 1-time Tag-Team Champion, a 2-time Royal Rumble Winner, and a WWE Hall of Famer. He also has a great heart (see vs. Andre the Giant or any other match where he “Hulks Up”). He is not as exciting as The Rock…but he is nonetheless very exciting. I’ve never really been into his finisher (the Hogan leg drop), because it’s basically like doing a “clothesline from hell” or “the big boot”, but it was cool in the 80s.

5. Shawn Michaels: Already, he is a legend. He is a 3-time WWF Champion, a 1-time European Champion, a 3-time Intercontinental Champion, a 4-time Tag-Team Champion, a 1-time World Heavyweight Champion, and a 2-time Royal Rumble Winner. He shows his great heart in his classic iron-man match against Bret Hart. His Superkick comes out of nowhere, and that is what makes him one of the most exciting superstars in wrestling today.


If you didn’t notice, the powerhouses (Cena, Lashley, Batista) are moving up in the world of wrestling, when it should be the exciting and athletic superstars (Jeff Hardy, Edge, Kennedy) in the limelight. WWE needs to keep a nice balance of these superstars to maximize their success. WWE also needs to keep good relations with their legends, so their legends will come back and have instant-classic feuds.

That’s all for me folks. As always…post comments.

-Jared Gerrard

The Pride Top Twenty

Earlier this week, I went through every single UFC event (88 of them) while I tracked every win and loss for every UFC fighter (529 of them). After a little bit of pressure from Masson, but mostly due to my own obsessive-compulsive nature, I've now been through every single PRIDE FC event card, tracking wins, losses, and draws once again. After 69 total events and 307 fighters, I now present to you the Top Twenty Of Pride. Am I more out of my mind than before? You bet.

Anyway, here is the spreadsheet on which I worked for so long to create. When you find a mistake, email me so I can change it. Remember, it's ONLY PRIDE bouts.

As before, there was a minimum of nine fights needed to be considered for the rankings.

1. Fedor Emelianenko (14-0) 1.000
2. Mauricio Rua (12-1) .923
3. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (16-2) .889
4. Takanori Gomi (13-2) .867
5. Wanderlei Silva (22-4) .846
6. Mirko Filipovic (18-4) .818
7. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (8-2) .800
8. Sergei Kharitonov (8-3) .727
8. Hayato Sakurai (8-3) .727
10. Dan Henderson (13-5) .722
11. Quinton Jackson (12-5) .706
11. Heath Herring (12-5) .706
13. Kazushi Sakuraba (19-8) .703
14. Igor Vovchanchyn (17-8) .680
15. Ricardo Arona (8-4) .667
16. Mark Coleman (9-5) .643
16. Kazuhiro Nakamura (9-5) .643
18. Kazuyuki Fujita (7-4) .636
19. Mark Kerr (6-4) .600
20. Josh Barnett (5-4) .556

The Ultimate Top Twenty

As you may or may not know, I'm really into statistics (which usually turn into rankings). It's one of the only objective methods we have when determining whether one fighter deserves more praise than another. And so, over the past two nights, I've gone through every single UFC event card, tracking wins, losses, and draws. I scoured each PPV (72 of them), Fight Night (10), The Ultimate Fighter finale (5), and Ortiz-Shamrock beatdown specials (1) as I dutifully recorded wins and losses, one by one, for 529 fighters. Am I out of my mind? You bet.

Anyway, here is the spreadsheet on which I worked for so long to create. When you find a mistake, email me so I can change it. Remember, it's ONLY UFC bouts.

Now, to make some sense of the numbers. I originally decided on a ten fight minimum to be included on the list of the top twenty highest winning percentages, but soon realized that this would leave out both Georges St. Pierre and Karo Parisyan (each 7-2). And so, the minimum of nine fights was born. Of course, there's no way to really take into account strength of opponent or things like that, but this is the best we can do. I think you'll be surprised by some of the results.

1. Rich Franklin (9-1) .900
1. Don Frye (9-1) .900
3. Royce Gracie (11-2) .846
4. Matt Hughes (15-3) .833
4. Chuck Liddell (15-3) .833
6. Pat Miletich (8-2) .800
7. Georges St. Pierre (7-2) .778
7. Karo Parisyan (7-2) .778
9. Matt Lindland (9-3) .750
10. Tito Ortiz (14-5) .737
11. Vitor Belfort (8-3) .727
12. Randy Couture (12-5) .705
13. B.J. Penn (7-3) .700
13. Frank Mir (7-3) .700
13. Mark Coleman (7-3) .700
16. Dan Severn (9-4) .692
16. Andrei Arlovski (9-4) .692
18. Evan Tanner (10-5) .667
19. Pedro Rizzo (9-5) .643
20. Tim Sylvia (7-4) .636

The only notable omission and current Hall-Of-Famer not on the list is, of course, Ken Shamrock. With his recent rash of losses, Shamrock stands at a meager 7-6 (.538), unfortunately not good enough to make the cut.

Additionally, there were a handful of fighters at 6-4 (.600) who could easily break into the top twenty with a win or two. They are, alphabetically: Nick Diaz, Yves Edwards, Jeremy Horn, and Matt Serra.

There you have it, Irish Whip fans. Let us know who is too high, who is too low, and who is just right on the comment board below.

Top 5 Wrestlers Of The 1990s: Revisited

Originally posted on April 5th of this year, my widely-acclaimed article on the Top 5 Wrestlers of the 90s once again gained relevance when I stumbled upon this, which appears to be a link sent from God with a COMPLETE win-loss record for every WWE singles wrestler during the 1990s. Go to records, then scroll to the bottom and click on DDT Digest link to read this awesome piece of wrestling history, compiled by the one and only Nicolas Seafort.

I decided to scour the list and compare the statistical top ten to my top 5 and see just how close I was. To narrow down the list, I only included wrestlers that had at least 150 appearances. Here we go:

1. Ultimate Warrior (138-17) .890
2. Ahmed Johnson (167-32) .839
3. Bret Hart (490-113-8) .819
4. The Undertaker (609-196) .757
5. Stone Cold Steve Austin (252-82-1) .756
6. Shawn Michaels (300-113-6) .734
7. Lex Luger (148-55-1) .732
8. Razor Ramon (267-105-1) .719
9. Ken Shamrock (193-78) .712
10. Bradshaw (150-66) .694

Well, no big surprises here. 4 out of my top 5 appeared on the list (numbers 3-6...not bad if you ask me), with The Rock being the only exception (184-138-1, .573). Although perhaps Ahmed Johnson and Bradshaw don't deserve their listings, this top ten will be notorious (at first glance) for missing wrestlers, not including them. Triple H, for instance, seems like a lock for any top ten list. However, the numbers show that The Game really came into his own after 1999, holding a rather unimpressive record of 262-289 (.482) during the 90s. Similarly, Mankind batted a dismal .478 during the 90s with 180 wins and 199 losses. Yokozuna had a record of 150-161 (.489) during the stretch, constituting another underachieving champion.

Other wrestlers had records which would have put them in the top ten, but did not participate in enough contests to qualify. Kurt Angle, at 34-1 (.971), competed well enough to be number 1 on the list. Hulk Hogan's career in the WWE wound down in the early 90s and then picked up again after the turn of the millennium, leaving him with a 90s record of 76-17 (.817), not good enough to pick up the #4 spot he would've earned here.

There's not too much to be said about this list as it is purely numbers, but I do find it interesting that many of the early 90s wrestlers (Ultimate Warrior) easily make the list but are often overlooked while more popular late 90s wrestlers (The Rock) are usually put on lists like these but don't deserve the honor. Even I made the questionable pick of The Rock in my original top 5, but I did include the disclaimer that I based my picks on the overall quality of the wrestler and his ability to engage fans. Unfortunately, this general and consistent trend of snubbing older wrestlers does suggest that fans have a somewhat limited memory, favoring the more recent over the more distant. Few fans would choose Bruno Sammartino over Stone Cold Steve Austin, but Bruno would be the sagacious pick, by a mile.

Arguments like "Stone Cold did more for the sport" could be made, but since we weren't around in the time of Sammartino, it's hard for us to say. By learning more about the legends, we could be better equipped to make such decisions. Statistical rankings help us to effectively do just that.

Editor's Note: The picture of the Montreal Screwjob was selected because it features two of the statistical top ten as well as what is arguably the most iconic photograph of wrestling during the 1990s.

I plan to follow this article with another which will average my rankings, the statistical rankings, and PWI's Top 500, for which I'll devise an intricate formula to come up with a comprehensive set of rankings instead of studying Spanish or doing anything productive with my time.