#1. ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin
Achievements/Accolades:
- 6-time WWE World Champion
- 4-time WWE World Tag Team Champion
- 2-time WWE Intercontinental Champion
- Royal Rumble Winner (1997, 1998, 2001)
- King of the Ring Winner (1996)
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2009)
Opinions:
“A success story that still resonates to the guttural emotion of his fans, the Texas Rattlesnake went from a bitter, psychopath looking to inflict pain to a beer drinking, anti-authority maverick that people gravitated towards. Austin serves as an example to prospective wrestlers in many regards: Ability, Character and adapting from injuries just to name a few. Not to limit himself to a wrestler, he became an overall personality from authority figure, referee and most recently podcast host, the charisma of Austin was second to none and still lingers on. Steve Austin is one of the greatest of all time and as such, he should be acknowledged as one of the biggest names, wrestlers, characters, money makers and individuals in the history of professional wrestling.” — Zak Fellows
“What?! I can’t say I’m surprised that Austin is our greatest wrestler of all time. Nobody rocked a WWE audience like Stone Cold Steve Austin did during the biggest boom that the business has ever seen. I’ve always thought about the possibilities for The Rattlesnake if he never broke his neck in 1997 by an unfortunate piledriver from Owen Hart. His run at the top of WWE may have lasted for an entire decade! Nobody sold more t-shirts. Nobody flipped more birds. Nobody pushed the entire wrestling industry to shift it’s direction the way that Stone Cold did. His feuds with Bret Hart & The Rock stand out as two of the greatest rivalries in the history of professional wrestling. And if there’s one thing that this entire Top 5 has in common, it’s their ability to cut a unique promo. Either in the ring or backstage, Stone Cold cut some of the firecest promos that we’ve ever heard. So with that being said, I’m going to sit back, pop a Steveweiser and give an ode to ol’ Stone Cold…the definitive greatest wrestler of all time.” — Jay Alletto
That’s it, folks! The Greatest Ever Series is complete. Next, we’ll be going over the top 50 active wrestlers in the world. Stay tuned.
For more news, rumors, videos, podcasts and exclusive articles, follow us on Twitter @PWPNation.
