MT. RUSHMORE
Mount Rushmore is one of the greatest monuments in American history. It features four of our most iconic Presidents including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. In this article I'd like to present my own "Mt. Rushmore" of iconic professional wrestling superstars. My criteria for four superstars that belong on this list are: 1. They entertained audiences for years, 2. They remain in the public consciousness years after they left the sport, and 3. They have made wrestling promoters money all over the world.
1. ANDRE THE GIANT
Andre The Giant was one of the greatest attractions in pro wrestling. He began his career in 1964 and traveled the world wrestling in places like France and Canada. In 1966 he began a world tour wrestling in the UK, Australia, Germany, Japan, and Africa. In 1973, he entered the WWE (then known as the World Wide Wrestling Federation) and began a career that would make him a pop culture icon. In the 1970's it was the heyday of the territory system and the WWE kept Andre on the road visiting different places once a year so that people would come in droves to see him. This made Andre a national superstar while other wrestlers were confined to their respective regional promotions. While in WWE, Andre never lost a match so he was billed as being undefeated from 1973 to 1986. The first person to beat him on the main roster was Hulk Hogan in 1987 at Wrestlemania 3. In the 1970's another wrestler was making his way to the top who was the American Dream Dusty Rhodes.
2. DUSTY RHODES
Like Andre, Dusty Rhodes traveled the world to become one of the biggest names in pro wrestling. Dusty was a 3-time NWA World Champion. Along with his skills in the ring, Dusty used powerful promos to draw fans to the arenas. His heyday happened in the 1970's during the territory system where he had feuds in the NWA with stars like Terry Funk, Harley Race, Superstar Billy Graham, and Ole Anderson. By 1985, Dusty joined Jim Crockett Promotions and had a long feud with Ric Flair and The Four Horsemen. The American Dream was a superhero to all his fans and WWE created their own superhero with the next star on our list: Hulk Hogan.
3. HULK HOGAN
When Hulk Hogan entered the WWE in 1983, he was marketed as a superhero. He defeated the Iron Sheik, an Iranian sympathizer in 1984 to become the World Champion. This was a time when fans still remembered the Iranian hostage crisis and Hulk Hogan was an American hero. At 6'7 and 300 pounds, Hulk Hogan had a superhero appeal to fans. WWE marketed him to the hilt having him face all the major villains of that era like Rowdy Roddy Piper and monsters like King Kong Bundy. Hogan would have his biggest win, literally and figuratively against Andre The Giant at Wrestlemania 3. With that win Hogan cemented his legacy as a superstar. In 1994, Hogan left WWE for World Championship Wrestling. His presence in WCW made the company into a national powerhouse. Hulk Hogan is the only wrestler that was apart of two companies that he helped become mainstream entities. When Hogan left WWE, the company needed another superstar and that man was Steve Austin.
4. STONE COLD STEVE AUSTIN
In 1995, Steve Austin entered the WWE and changed the wrestling business. He won the King Of The Ring tournament in 1996, Stone Cold coined the phrase, "Austin 3:16 means I just whooped your @$$"and brought a new atttitude to wrestling. Austin was a bad guy that fans loved and soon he became the World Champion beating Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 14. His feuds with The Rock and Vince McMahon made him an international superstar and a pop culture icon.
These are four of the most iconic wrestling stars to ever compete in the ring. To this day, when people talk about wrestling these are the names that people remember.
Class Dismissed,
THE PROFESSOR
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