The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) was first started in the 1950s and underwent many changes to finally be what it is today. Throughout its time, it has led to some very big global and household names. The following list is of the top 10 WWE wrestlers of all time.
Top 10 WWE Wrestlers of All Time
1. “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
The song played at the exit of this wrestler became the WWE anthem for a decade. Born in 1964, he wanted to be a wrestler since first watching a watch when he was but 6 or 7 years old. He joined the “Gentleman” Chris Adam’s school of wrestling in Dallas.
His first debut was in 1991 when he first defeated Bobby Eaton. He did lose in the final round but made a swift comeback. It was swiftly followed by him claiming the arena and the nickname “Stone Cold”. He is also known for his finishing moves and his snarky speeches on camera. He has achieved over a total of 19 championships in his career- the Triple Crown Champion, a double-cross Intercontinental title, and the Tag Team Champion four times in a row are some of the honourable mentions.
2. The Undertaker
Mark William Calaway was born in Texas in 1965 and has a major in sport management from the Texas Wesleyan University in Fort Worth. He drooped out of university to focus on wrestling and began his training in 1986 under Buzz Sawyer.
In 1988 he joined the Continental Wrestling Association and in 1989 made his debut on the WWE with the nickname “Mean Mark” Callous. During the year of his 1989 debut, he bagged the title of “Master in Pain” in the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship. His nickname of the “Undertaker” was from the morbid character he portrayed on screen. He has achieved several WWF titles in the 1990s and early 2000s. His performance in the “Royal Rumble” battle in 2007 is viewed as his most powerful performance.
3. Dwayne Johnson, The Rock
The Rock was born in 1972 his original name is Dwayne Douglas Johnson. He has a successful football career before he entered the world of professional wrestling. He made his debut in the WWE in 1996, under the nickname of Rocky Maivia.
After losing to Owen Hart, he was coached by Owen Hart for the first year of his WWE debut. He has a total of 17 different WWE titles and has also starred in major blockbuster films. After defeating Bart Sawyer, he was honoured with Flex Kavana by WWF.
4. Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom was born in 1965 and wanted to be a wrestler since he was 12. He began his training under Mexican professional wrestler Jose Lothario and it was during his training that he adopted the nickname “Shawn Michaels”.
His debut in WWE was in the year 1987 but his contract was annulled soon after. He made his comeback in 1987 in a live event. He has been the four-time world champion- holding the WWF Championship three times and the WWE’s World Heavyweight Championship once- while being a European and Intercontinental champion.
5. John Cena
John Cena, born in 1977, and graduates from Springfield College in 1999. He has been graduated with a degree in exercise physiology and body movement, he also pursues a career in bodybuilding while working as a limousine driver.
He began his training to be a professional wrestler under Rick Bassman in 1999 and debuted in WWE in 2002. He has 16 world titles.
6. Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr, born in 1949, attended the University of Minnesota and was a successful amateur wrestler in his teens. He began his training to be a professional wrestler with Verne Gagne and debuted in the WWE in the year 1991.
Over the course of 40 years, he has broken and made new records in the world of wrestling. He was awarded multiple titles like the NWA World Heavyweight Champion eight times.
7. Hulk Hogan
Terry Eugene Bollea, better known as Hulk Hogan, was born in 1953 in Georgia and was endorsed by the Brisco brothers to start a career in professional wrestling. He trained under Matsuda and debuted in the WWF in 1979.
He has been awarded the title of World Champion twelve times, WWE champion six times, and has an additional six awards from the World Championship Wrestling. He also became a tv personality after the 1990s.
8. Tiple H
He was given the nickname Terra Ryzing at the World Championship Wrestling. He has been awarded a lot of titles during his career- the WLG championship thrice, WTT championship twice, single unified WWE championship to name a few.
Paul Michael Levesque, also known as Triple H, was born in 1969 had taken up bodybuilding as young as 14, inspired by the wrestlers he saw on television. In early 1990, he began his training as a professional wrestler at Killer Kowalski’s school in Maiden and debuted at WWE in 1995. He is also the creator and executive producer of the WWE brand NXT.
9. Kane
Glenn Thomas Jacobs was born in 1967 and came into the spotlight in 1992 during his match at the Missouri-based Central States Wrestling Association. He debuted at the WWE in February 1995 and defeated Reno Riggins in a dark match.
He is the third Grand Slam Champion and the eighth Triple Crown Champion in WWE history. He also won the famous ECW Championship by defeating Chavo Guerrero in less than 12 seconds and holds the yet unbroken record of wiping out 11 wrestlers at the 2001 Royal Rumble.
10. Randy Orton
Randal Keith Orton, born in 1980 in Tennessee, made his debut in 2000 at the MMWA-SICW and received his training from his father Bob Orton Jr. He debuted in the WWE in 2001 and became the youngest world champion at the very young age of 24.
He has achieved 13 world titles before resigning from the WWE.