The whole point I would have thought of posting the question in the British Wrestling forum would be to list British wrestlers and not some obscure Mexican or Japs.
I always think when people start posting lists of guys no ones ever heard of is the old got to be trendy syndrome.
As I say I'd rather list guys I've seen night after night then someone I've only ever seen on a tape or read about.
Just a point Jack how many live Jap and Mexican events have you attended ?

I'm sure you dont need to have seen the people in the flesh to appreciate their abillity. I've seen many guys including Big Daddy and all his crew over the years at live shows, and I would take a tape of Sayama over the majority of them.
It's a little 'sweeping statement' to say that no-one has heard of these obscure Jap and Mex guys. If you only want to rate those whom you can see at the local leisure centre, thats fine. I, for one, would rather learn from the great grapplers of the past, present and future wherever they may be.

I'm sure you dont need to have seen the people in the flesh to appreciate their abillity. I've seen many guys including Big Daddy and all his crew over the years at live shows, and I would take a tape of Sayama over the majority of them.
It's a little 'sweeping statement' to say that no-one has heard of these obscure Jap and Mex guys. If you only want to rate those whom you can see at the local leisure centre, thats fine. I, for one, would rather learn from the great grapplers of the past, present and future wherever they may be.

The trouble is videos are only one dimensional and you rely on whatever the camera allows you see whilst watching live allows you to make your own opinion up.
I feel if you are going to say that so and so is the best wrestler ever you need to have seen him live to qualify such a point.

Whereas, Tony, I'm at the total other spectrum and say if you're watching something on video, you're more likely to make an accurate interpretation of it than live. Firstly, is the whole 'being-a-part-of-it' factor at a live show, the atmosphere. Secondly, you can't watch it again, and anything truly great takes a few viewings for its greatness to really come out. Thirdly, nobody can take in all the greatness of a great match on their first viewing, either from needing to watch previous encounters to see new things that they play off, or, there's merely too much going on in the stories being told and mixed together that you can't see them all unless you watch it 2/3 times.

And, of course, i've only been to 2 live shows (and only one of which I remember, and don't want to) and the only one that's clear in my memory was embarassing to watch. Live wrestling does nothing more to me than on video. If the atcual wrestling is of a bad, shallow standard, then being there live isn't going to make it appear better even with the greatest atmosphere in the history of professional wrestling. Maybe if a higher quality of wrestling was available live for me to go and watch, we could discuss the "live" factor, but coming out with a statement like "how many Japanese or Mexican shows have you seen live?" is just pathetic and trying to get a response. Just because I haven't seen Jumbo Tsuruta or Akira Hoktuo live doesn't mean I can't call them the best wrestlers (female and male) I've ever seen. Their greatness is obvious in their work, on video or not. Actually, it's only on repeated viewings, each time resulting in new findings in the depth of their matches, that their greatness really shines out above all others. So just watching them live, and seeing their match once, you wouldn't fully appreciate all ther greatness and what makes them the best wrestlers of all time.

1. Bret Hart
2. Kenta Kobashi
3. Ric Flair
4. Misuharu Misawa
5. Steve Austin
6. Chris Benoit
7. Jushin Lyger
8. Keiji Muto
9. Shawn Michaels
10. Mick Foley

Finally i have got round to replying to this post.

Top 10 wrestlers?

These are in no particular order..............

British

1.Dynamite Kidd
2. Johnny Saint
3. George Kidd
4. Adrian Street
5. Roller Ball Rocco
6. Alan Kilby
7. Ken Joyce
8. Billy Robinson
9. Danny Boy Collins
10. Giant Haystacks

Hey dont jump down my throat about Haystacks, he was my idol, so i just had to put him there ok, not the greatest of talents, but he was a spectacle to be seen, the hero, the legend, the unforgettable one.



International Wrestlers

1. Ric Flair
2. Dynamite Kid
3. Tiger Mask (Original)
4. Kenta Kobashi
5. Ted Dibiase
6. Brett Hart
7. Harley Race
8. Bruno Sammartino
9. Gourgeous George (Original)
10. Misuhara Misawa