The Pure Id Top 100: The Official Countdown

100) JBL

99) Ted DiBiase

98) One Man Gang / Akeem - I’m not sure that One Man Gang will be on the list for a long period off time. There are quite a few incredible wrestlers right in back of him. However, if wrestling is really about the spectacle, then this man embodies wrestling. When I was a small kid, OMG was a site to behold. “What is a One Man Gang?” I would think. It was one of those situations in which I wasn’t sure if I wanted to  know. But, part of me wanted to view and consider this question. As Akeem, George Gray displayed his incredible talent to entertain. The OMG character was so much more interesting, and I believe the Akeem character was mainly created to be a spoof on Dusty Rhodes and his style of exuberance, but Akeem was so much fun to watch. He was a spectacle that you were drawn to watch even though the character seemed like a a throw away comic whatever type of gimmick.

97) Tetsuya Naito

96) Booker T

95) Ricochet / Prince Puma

94) Bobby Lashley

93) William Regal

92) Bill Goldberg - At first, I didn’t want to put Goldberg on this list. But, after doing a great deal of Goldberg, I realized that he wasn’t simply a gimmick that worked just for a few months to a year. Yes, he was a spectacle. He would receive huge pops. But, he was also extraordinary in the ring. It’s true that his matches didn’t last long. But, his matches drew your attention. I still wonder how he was able to jack hammer The Giant back in the 90s. And, Goldberg did know how to wrestle. William Regal did give him a rough go, but Goldberg held his own and made it an intriguing match. He was good. His title reigns meant something. It wasn’t a David Arquette experience. When you watched him, you felt his dominance.

91) Paul Orndorff

90) Perro Aguayo Jr.

89) El Hijo del El Santo

88) Kota Ibushi

87) Pentagon Jr.

86) Rey Fenix

85) Dynamite Kid

84) Jake “The Snake” Roberts

83) Low Ki

82) Joey Janela

81) Batista

80) Adam Cole

79) Hiroshi Tanahashi

78) John Morrison / Johnny Nitro

77) Nick Bockwinkle

76) CM Punk

75) Jon Moxley

74) MJF

73) Onita

72) Terry Gordy

71) Bruiser Brody

70) Hayabusa - Hayabusa didn’t make himself known outside of Japan to a great extent. The reason being that he stayed loyal to FMW. However, his performances in the ring were out of this world. It wasn’t just his move set. It was the flow of his matches. Watch one of his exploding barbed wire death matches, and you’ll see a wrestler in flow state when most other wrestlers would display noticeable anxiety. It was as if it wasn’t happening in real life.

69) The Great Muta / Keiji Muto

68) Cody Rhodes

67) Lita

66) Christian

65) "Rainmaker" Kazuchika Okada

64) Chyna

63) Michael PS Hayes

62) Jey Briscoe

61) Animal

60) Scott Steiner

59) Kevin Von Erich

58) Shinsuke Nakamura

57) Earthquake / John Tenta

56) Kane - Kane is so physically impressive that it’s difficult for him not to catch your eye. Also, He’s a spinoff character that lasted nearly two decades.

55) El Mesias / Mil Muertes - As Mil Muertos in Lucha Underground, Mesias was must view, a spectacle you didn’t want to take your eyes off of. As El Mesias, he put on great matches in his prime. Loved his cagematch with Chessman.

54) Sin Cara / Mistico

53) Bubba Ray Dudley

52) John Cena - Wasn’t in love with him. However, my biases shouldn’t impact the list. He kept the WWE together after the attitude era when many fans dropped out. WWE needed that champion for fans, especially younger ones, to hold on to.

51) The Masked Superstar / Ax Demolition