The annual yearbooks of the Wrestling Observer during the 1980s were where the results of the annual Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards were announced. Right alongside them in each issue was a list of wrestlers under the heading “Wrestling Observer Ratings.” Editor Dave Meltzer had polled a select group of people for a ranking of their top wrestlers at that point in time.
In 1986, the prelude to the ratings specified “these ratings are based strictly on in-ring ability and work-rate when it comes to wrestling skill and athletic ability.” It’s my assumption that this description applies to the ratings prior to 1986, but I have been unable to verify this to date. In previous years, there’s no specification of criteria for this poll.
I can’t find any meaningful discussion of these polls anywhere online, which is a shame, as these provide a nice look back into how wrestlers were viewed during their career. This can be a useful tool for evaluating a wrestler’s career and ensuring that their historical evaluation isn’t forgotten.
It should be noted that 1984 ranked 100 wrestlers, but I excluded 76-100 from that list for the purpose of awarding points later in the article.
Here is a table of all the placements in the lists. The 1981 list is incomplete, only pieced together from listings in later rankings.
You can find every yearbook from 1982 to 1990 on the Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/wrestling-observer-yearbook
Wrestler | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ric Flair | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Bob Backlund | 2 | 5 | 31 | |||||||
Harley Race | 3 | 4 | 15 | 27 | 31 | 61 | 56.5 | |||
Nick Bockwinkel | 4 | 8 | 26.5 | 74 | 55 | 67 | ||||
Andre the Giant | 5 | 14 | 35 | |||||||
Dusty Rhodes | 6 | 15 | 64.5 | |||||||
Dory Funk | 7 | 13 | 29 | 72 | ||||||
Bruiser Brody | 8 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 20 | 26 | |||
Hulk Hogan | 9 | 7 | 6 | 41 | ||||||
Antonio Inoki | 10 | 19 | 71 | 44 | ||||||
Ted DibIase | 11 | 3 | 8 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 25 | 21 |
Mil Mascaras | 13 | 40 | 60 | |||||||
Ken Patera | 14 | 24 | 30 | |||||||
Jack Brisco | 15 | 16 | 41 | |||||||
Tommy Rich | 16 | 38 | 60 | |||||||
Stan Hansen | 17 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 26 | 37 | 51 | 58.5 | 42 |
Don Muraco | 17 | 17 | 34 | |||||||
Greg Valentine | 18 | 37 | 22 | 46 | 53 | 48 | ||||
Terry Funk | 20 | 20 | 50 | 52 | 15 | 41 | 57 | 4 | 16 | |
Pat Patterson | 21 | 56 | ||||||||
The Superstar/Masked Superstar | 24 | 12 | 10 | 33 | ||||||
Dick Slater | 25 | 28 | 25 | 17 | 42 | |||||
Ivan Koloff | 28 | 39 | 43 | |||||||
Jumbo Tsuruta | 29 | 21 | 28 | 38 | 33 | 32 | 43 | 32 | 13 | 6 |
Ricky Steamboat | 30 | 23 | 21 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 3 | 32 | |
Killer Khan | 31 | 36 | 37.5 | 55 | 72 | |||||
Jimmy Snuka | 32 | 2 | 26.5 | |||||||
Roddy Piper | 33 | 9 | 18 | 34 | 36 | |||||
Dick Murdoch | 34 | 33 | 73.5 | 51 | 30 | 36 | 31 | 28 | ||
Tatsumi Fujinami | 35 | 35 | 16 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 74 | |
Sgt. Slaughter | 35 | 18 | 4 | 31 | ||||||
Super Destroyer | 37 | 42 | 40 | |||||||
Paul Orndorff | 39 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 24 | |||||
Terry Gordy | 40 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 30 | 23 | 26 | 28 | |
Kerry Von Erich | 41 | 44 | 37.5 | 19 | 21 | |||||
Adrian Adonis | 42 | 31 | 3 | 14 | ||||||
Iron Sheik | 43 | 54 | 64.5 | 54 | ||||||
Junkyard Dog | 44 | 25 | 48 | |||||||
David von Erich | 45 | 34 | 20 | |||||||
Barry Windham | 47 | 36 | 25 | 67 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 29 | 48 | |
Jerry Lawler | 48 | 30 | 33 | 57 | 61 | 63 | 63 | 48 | ||
Rick Martel | 49 | 43 | 66.5 | 35 | 18 | 38 | 15 | 43 | ||
Buzz Sawyer | 55 | 26 | 23 | 47 | 50 | 17 | 33 | 53 | 41 | |
El Canek | 56 | 45 | 44 | 41 | ||||||
Kevin von Erich | 57 | 55 | 32 | 28 | 63 | |||||
Randy Savage | 59 | 74 | 55 | 18 | 10 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 17 | 25 |
Tito Santana | 60 | 56 | 44 | 60 | 58 | 65 | 73 | |||
Masa Saito | 61 | 24 | 15 | 9 | 20 | 54 | 55 | |||
Dos Caras | 71 | 64.5 | 37 | 64 | 59 | |||||
Bob Orton | 73 | 29 | 12 | 16 | 52 | |||||
Dynamite Kid | 47 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 29 | 71.5 | 63 | |||
Butch Reed | 27 | 14 | 7 | 16 | 74 | |||||
Satoru Sayama/Tiger Mask I | 22 | 19 | 4 | 32 | ||||||
Chavo Guerrero | 67.5 | 17 | 22 | 35 | 24 | 59 | ||||
Riki Choshu | 13 | 6 | 9 | 13.5 | 35 | 44 | 31 | |||
Animal Hamiguchi | 46.5 | 26 | 23 | 42.5 | ||||||
Davey Boy Smith | 5 | 17 | 23 | 71 | 73 | |||||
Yoshiaki Yatsu | 57 | 30 | 19 | 4 | 40.5 | 62 | 65 | |||
Akira Maeda | 24 | 13 | 10 | 5 | 13 | 14 | 36 | |||
The Cobra/George Takano | 12 | 26 | 54.5 | 67 | 52 | 44 | ||||
Chris Adams | 53 | 58 | 11 | 68.5 | ||||||
Nobuhiko Takada | 21 | 27 | 7 | 2 | 7.5 | 10 | 22 | |||
Mark Rocco/Black Tiger | 51 | 42 | 33 | 35 | 66 | 68.5 | ||||
Kuniaki Kobayashi | 32 | 20 | 16 | 47.5 | 47 | |||||
Rocky Johnson | 58 | 69 | 6 | |||||||
Mitsuhara Misawa/Tiger Mask II | 47 | 14 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 4 | ||||
Bobby Eaton | 73.5 | 56 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 7.5 | 22 | 3 | ||
Jerry Blackwell | 49 | 40 | 50 | |||||||
Jim Duggan | 49 | 70.5 | 28 | 30 | ||||||
Tully Blanchard | 70 | 61 | 25 | 13 | 13.5 | 17 | 18 | |||
Bret Hart | 48 | 37 | 15 | 17 | 21 | 21 | 20 | |||
Kengo Kimura | 39 | 49 | 44 | 38 | 38 | |||||
Magnum TA | 45 | 43 | 34 | |||||||
Genichiro Tenryu | 67 | 22 | 22 | 27 | 11 | 5 | 12 | |||
Terry Taylor | 65 | 29 | 18 | 18 | 44 | 60 | ||||
Scott McGhee | 52 | 43 | ||||||||
Don Kernodle | 23 | |||||||||
Brad Armstrong | 63 | 39 | 25 | 20 | 22 | 46 | 62 | |||
Otto Wanz | 32 | |||||||||
Bad News Allen | 40 | 69 | 53 | 50 | ||||||
Hercules Hernandez | 36 | |||||||||
B. Brian Blair | 37 | |||||||||
Yoshiaki Fujiwara | 68 | 45 | 45 | 24 | 34 | 37 | 63 | |||
Steve Williams | 38 | 14 | 34 | 52 | 50.5 | 45 | ||||
Buddy Landel | 40 | 42.5 | 74.5 | |||||||
Mike Rotundo | 63 | 53 | 36 | 60.5 | ||||||
Wahoo McDaniel | 41 | |||||||||
Jimmy Garvin | 66 | 54 | ||||||||
Giant Baba | 45 | |||||||||
Hiro Saito | 46 | 28 | 58 | 74.5 | ||||||
Pedro Morales | 46 | |||||||||
Jerry Stubbs | 46.5 | |||||||||
Hector Guerrero | 47 | 57 | 53 | 73 | ||||||
La Fiera | 48 | 49 | ||||||||
Tony Atlas | 48 | |||||||||
Stong Machine #2 | 49 | |||||||||
Buddy Rose | 57 | 69 | ||||||||
Abdullah the Butcher | 50.5 | |||||||||
Gran Hamada | 66.5 | 60 | 46.5 | |||||||
Great Kabuki | 50.5 | |||||||||
Pirata Morgan | 51 | 52 | 39 | 39 | 39.5 | 37 | ||||
Steve Kiern | 52 | |||||||||
Jim Brunzell | 53 | |||||||||
Ricky Morton | 54 | 21 | 23 | 71.5 | 54 | |||||
Michael Hayes | 56 | 68 | 61 | |||||||
Keith Hayward | 59 | 74 | ||||||||
Ron Starr | 62 | 71 | ||||||||
The Grappler | 57 | |||||||||
Brett Sawyer | 58 | |||||||||
Keiji Mutoh/Great Muta/Super Black Ninja | 58 | 39 | 29 | 25 | 15 | 7 | ||||
Curt Hennig | 59 | 59 | 12 | 24 | 12 | 5 | ||||
Ole Anderson | 59 | |||||||||
Jay Youngblood | 63 | 73 | ||||||||
Robert Gibson | 60 | 70 | ||||||||
Ron Bass | 60 | |||||||||
Billy Robinson | 61 | |||||||||
Arn Anderson | 70 | 46 | 35 | 12 | 11 | 19 | ||||
Dino Bravo | 62 | |||||||||
Paul Jones | 62 | |||||||||
Koko B. Ware | 64 | 75.67 | ||||||||
Manny Fernandez | 64.5 | 74.5 | ||||||||
Super Strong Machine | 65 | 60 | 59 | |||||||
Dennis Condrey | 66 | 66 | 74 | |||||||
Lanny Poffo | 66 | |||||||||
Isamu Teranishi | 68 | 75 | ||||||||
Gino Hernandez | 67.5 | |||||||||
Jesse Barr | 68 | |||||||||
Blackjack Mulligan | 69 | |||||||||
Joe LeDuc | 70 | |||||||||
Kazuo Yamazaki | 70.5 | 16 | 19 | 16 | 40 | |||||
Superstar Graham | 71 | |||||||||
Carlos Colon | 72 | |||||||||
David Schultz | 72 | |||||||||
Eddie Gilbert | 73 | 62 | 21 | 14 | 60.5 | 57 | ||||
Larry Zbyszko | 73 | |||||||||
Bruno Sammartino Jr. | 75 | |||||||||
King Kong Bundy | 75 | |||||||||
Krusher Khruschev | 75 | |||||||||
Akira Nogami | 47 | |||||||||
Ashura Hara | 70 | 49 | ||||||||
Atlantis | 45 | 55 | 69 | |||||||
Bam Bam Bigelow | 33 | 44 | 75 | |||||||
Barry Orton | 47.5 | |||||||||
Biff Wellington | 37 | |||||||||
Big Boss Man | 49 | 65.5 | ||||||||
Billy Travis | 55 | |||||||||
Blackman | 75.67 | |||||||||
Bobby Fulton | 31 | 70 | ||||||||
Brian Pillman | 72 | 74.5 | 28 | 24 | ||||||
Buddy Roberts | 64 | |||||||||
Cactus Jack | 65.5 | |||||||||
Chris Benoit/Pegasus Kid | 30 | 32.5 | 10 | |||||||
Chris Champion | 61.5 | 71 | ||||||||
Dan Kroffatt | 46 | 7 | 35 | |||||||
Danny Davis | 63 | |||||||||
Doug Furnas | 65 | |||||||||
El Dandy | 50 | |||||||||
El Hijo del Santo | 56 | 46 | 53 | |||||||
Emilio Charles | 62 | 68 | ||||||||
Hiroshi Hase | 32 | 36 | 18 | |||||||
Jack Victory | 37 | |||||||||
Jake Roberts | 51 | |||||||||
Jason the Terrible | 64 | 54 | ||||||||
Jeff Jarrett | 49 | 55 | 49 | |||||||
Jerry Estrada | 67.5 | 45 | 27 | |||||||
Joe Malenko | 57 | |||||||||
Johnny Smith | 70 | 48 | 72 | |||||||
Jushin Liger/Keiichi Yamada | 65 | 28 | 5 | 2 | 1 | |||||
Ken Wayne | 50 | |||||||||
Kensuke Sasaki | 41 | |||||||||
Kenta Kobashi | 70 | 14 | ||||||||
Lex Luger | 19 | 38 | ||||||||
Lizmark | 60 | 68.5 | ||||||||
Mando Guerrero | 67.5 | |||||||||
Marty Jannetty | 31 | 34 | ||||||||
Masa Fuchi | 73 | |||||||||
Masaharu Funaki | 51 | 41 | 35 | 26 | ||||||
Masahiro Chono | 46.5 | |||||||||
Minoru Suzuki | 67 | |||||||||
Naoki Sano | 6 | 9 | ||||||||
Negro Casas | 31 | 36 | 39.5 | 11 | ||||||
Osamu Kido | 75.67 | |||||||||
Owen Hart | 27 | 3 | 6 | 20 | 23 | |||||
Pat Tanaka | 22 | 27 | 56 | |||||||
Paul Diamond | 65 | |||||||||
Rick Rude | 30 | 33 | ||||||||
Rick Steiner | 69 | 52 | 15 | 24 | 29 | |||||
Road Warrior Hawk | 75 | 64 | 72 | |||||||
Ron Simmons | 58 | |||||||||
Ronnie Garvin | 71 | |||||||||
Sam Houston | 40 | 40.5 | 40 | |||||||
Samson Fuyuki | 42 | 32.5 | ||||||||
Scott Steiner | 23 | 15 | ||||||||
Shawn Michaels | 54.5 | 61.5 | 56 | 9 | 17 | |||||
Shinichi Nakano | 69 | |||||||||
Shinya Hashimoto | 42 | 43 | ||||||||
Shiro Koshinaka | 50 | 25 | 10 | 27 | 39 | |||||
Shunji Takano | 58 | 65 | ||||||||
Stan Lane | 42 | 33 | 64 | |||||||
Steve Armstrong | 59 | |||||||||
Sting | 45 | 26 | 34 | 56 | ||||||
Super Astro | 66 | 38 | 52 | |||||||
Super Boy | 58.5 | |||||||||
Takayuki Iizuka | 67 | |||||||||
Tama | 68.5 | |||||||||
Tim Horner | 72 | 56.5 | ||||||||
Tom Prichard | 54 | 43 | ||||||||
Tommy Rogers | 47 | 73 | 29 | 53 | 30 | |||||
Tony Anthony | 71 | |||||||||
Toshiaki Kawada | 18 | 8 | 8 | |||||||
Tracy Smothers | 61 | |||||||||
Tsyuoshi Kikuchi | 51 | |||||||||
Yoshinari Asai | 50.5 | 13 |
I’ve put together rankings of the various wrestlers covering three consecutive years each, assigning points on the basis of 1st place being worth 75 points, 2nd 74 points, and so forth. The grouping is to minimize the effect of a single year on an individual’s ranking.
Wrestler | Sum 82-84 | Sum 83-85 | Sum 84-86 | Sum 85-87 | Sum 86-88 | Sum 87-89 | Sum 88-90 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ric Flair | 225 | 225 | 225 | 225 | 224 | 224 | 223 |
Bobby Eaton | 22.5 | 89.5 | 158 | 208 | 209.5 | 192.5 | 195.5 |
Nobuhiko Takada | 55 | 104 | 173 | 192 | 211.5 | 208.5 | 188.5 |
Ted DibIase | 197 | 197 | 203 | 216 | 215 | 192 | 178 |
Genichiro Tenryu | 9 | 63 | 117 | 157 | 168 | 185 | 200 |
Akira Maeda | 52 | 115 | 181 | 200 | 200 | 196 | 165 |
Owen Hart | 0 | 0 | 49 | 122 | 192 | 199 | 179 |
Bret Hart | 28 | 67 | 128 | 159 | 175 | 169 | 166 |
Barry Windham | 91 | 100 | 125 | 146 | 210 | 192 | 148 |
Randy Savage | 81 | 145 | 181 | 180 | 174 | 176 | 170 |
Jushin Liger/Keiichi Yamada | 0 | 0 | 11 | 59 | 130 | 193 | 220 |
Curt Hennig | 17 | 17 | 17 | 81 | 133 | 180 | 187 |
Mitsuhara Misawa/Tiger Mask II | 29 | 91 | 155 | 191 | 196 | 132 | 139 |
Terry Gordy | 132 | 200 | 203 | 184 | 169 | 149 | 151 |
Keiji Mutoh/Great Muta/Super Black Ninja | 0 | 18 | 55 | 102 | 135 | 159 | 181 |
Arn Anderson | 0 | 6 | 36 | 77 | 135 | 170 | 186 |
Jumbo Tsuruta | 141 | 129 | 125 | 120 | 121 | 140 | 177 |
Ricky Steamboat | 174 | 185 | 198 | 198 | 134 | 139 | 117 |
Riki Choshu | 133 | 133 | 137 | 129.5 | 170.5 | 135.5 | 118 |
Tully Blanchard | 21 | 72 | 129 | 176.5 | 184.5 | 179.5 | 117 |
Shiro Koshinaka | 0 | 0 | 26 | 77 | 143 | 166 | 152 |
Tatsumi Fujinami | 169 | 197 | 210 | 210 | 216 | 145 | 77 |
Kazuo Yamazaki | 5.5 | 5.5 | 5.5 | 60 | 117 | 177 | 153 |
Brad Armstrong | 13 | 50 | 101 | 144 | 161 | 140 | 98 |
Toshiaki Kawada | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 126 | 194 |
Rick Steiner | 0 | 0 | 7 | 31 | 92 | 137 | 160 |
Negro Casas | 0 | 0 | 45 | 85 | 85 | 76.5 | 101.5 |
Terry Funk | 106 | 111 | 120 | 96 | 54 | 91 | 151 |
Steve Williams | 0 | 38 | 100 | 142 | 128 | 91.5 | 80.5 |
Shawn Michaels | 0 | 0 | 21.5 | 36 | 56 | 101.5 | 146 |
Yoshiaki Fujiwara | 8 | 39 | 70 | 114 | 125 | 133 | 94 |
Pirata Morgan | 0 | 25 | 49 | 86 | 98 | 110.5 | 112.5 |
Masa Saito | 113 | 113 | 61 | 67 | 123 | 145 | 99 |
Eddie Gilbert | 0 | 3 | 17 | 72 | 131 | 132.5 | 96.5 |
Stan Hansen | 202 | 208 | 189 | 161 | 114 | 81.5 | 76.5 |
Terry Taylor | 11 | 58 | 116 | 163 | 148 | 90 | 48 |
Buzz Sawyer | 132 | 108 | 114 | 128 | 125 | 101 | 58 |
Chris Benoit/Pegasus Kid | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 89.5 | 155.5 |
Masaharu Funaki | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 60 | 101 | 126 |
Tommy Rogers | 0 | 0 | 29 | 32 | 79 | 73 | 116 |
Sting | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 81 | 123 | 112 |
Hiroshi Hase | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 44 | 84 | 98 |
Dan Kroffatt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 99 | 140 |
Naoki Sano | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 70 | 137 |
Ricky Morton | 0 | 22 | 77 | 130 | 112.5 | 57.5 | 26.5 |
Dick Murdoch | 70.5 | 73.5 | 111 | 131 | 133 | 93 | 48 |
Yoshiaki Yatsu | 65 | 122 | 175 | 164.5 | 121.5 | 60.5 | 25 |
Rick Martel | 83.5 | 108.5 | 137 | 157 | 99 | 94 | 33 |
Pat Tanaka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 103 | 123 | 69 |
Kuniaki Kobayashi | 44 | 100 | 160 | 144.5 | 117.5 | 57.5 | 29 |
Scott Steiner | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 53 | 114 |
Kengo Kimura | 37 | 64 | 96 | 97 | 108 | 76 | 38 |
Sam Houston | 0 | 0 | 36 | 71.5 | 107.5 | 71.5 | 36 |
Bruiser Brody | 217 | 218 | 200 | 177 | 106 | 50 | 0 |
Brian Pillman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 5.5 | 53.5 | 101.5 |
Lex Luger | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 57 | 95 |
Rick Rude | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 89 |
Stan Lane | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 77 | 77 | 55 |
Jerry Estrada | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.5 | 39.5 | 88.5 |
Yoshinari Asai | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25.5 | 88.5 |
Marty Jannetty | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 87 |
The Cobra/George Takano | 64 | 114 | 135.5 | 80.5 | 30.5 | 33 | 56 |
Samson Fuyuki | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 77.5 | 77.5 |
Bam Bam Bigelow | 0 | 0 | 43 | 75 | 75 | 33 | 1 |
Jeff Jarrett | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 48 | 48 | 48 |
El Hijo del Santo | 0 | 0 | 20 | 50 | 50 | 30 | 23 |
Super Astro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 48 | 62 |
Chavo Guerrero | 121.5 | 154 | 147 | 93 | 69 | 17 | 17 |
Kenta Kobashi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 68 |
Hiro Saito | 0 | 30 | 78 | 96 | 66 | 18 | 1.5 |
Shinya Hashimoto | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 67 |
Dynamite Kid | 174 | 219 | 195 | 121 | 51.5 | 17.5 | 17.5 |
Davey Boy Smith | 71 | 130 | 183 | 117 | 58 | 8 | 3 |
Atlantis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 52 | 59 |
Mark Rocco/Black Tiger | 59 | 102 | 118 | 84 | 51 | 17.5 | 17.5 |
Mike Rotundo | 36 | 36 | 23 | 0 | 40 | 55.5 | 55.5 |
Tom Prichard | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 55 | 55 | 33 |
Jerry Lawler | 108 | 77 | 47 | 41 | 54 | 41 | 28 |
Bobby Fulton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 45 | 45 | 51 |
Bad News Allen | 36 | 43 | 66 | 56 | 49 | 26 | 0 |
Tito Santana | 52 | 32 | 0 | 16 | 34 | 45 | 32 |
Jim Duggan | 32.5 | 80.5 | 99.5 | 94 | 46 | 0 | 0 |
Hector Guerrero | 0 | 29 | 48 | 71 | 45 | 26 | 3 |
Magnum TA | 31 | 64 | 106 | 75 | 42 | 0 | 0 |
Biff Wellington | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 39 | 39 |
Jack Victory | 0 | 0 | 39 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 0 |
Johnny Smith | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 34 | 38 |
Big Boss Man | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 37.5 |
Kensuke Sasaki | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 |
Buddy Landel | 0 | 36 | 69.5 | 69.5 | 33.5 | 0 | 1.5 |
Harley Race | 182 | 155 | 109 | 79.5 | 34.5 | 19.5 | 0 |
Jason the Terrible | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 34 | 34 | 22 |
Animal Hamiguchi | 79.5 | 132.5 | 136.5 | 86.5 | 33.5 | 0 | 0 |
Ashura Hara | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 33 | 33 | 27 |
Super Strong Machine | 0 | 11 | 27 | 44 | 33 | 17 | 0 |
Gran Hamada | 25.5 | 25.5 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29.5 |
Masahiro Chono | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29.5 |
Akira Nogami | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 29 |
Shunji Takano | 0 | 0 | 18 | 29 | 29 | 11 | 0 |
Barry Orton | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28.5 | 28.5 | 28.5 | 0 |
Greg Valentine | 123 | 107 | 81 | 51 | 28 | 0 | 0 |
La Fiera | 0 | 28 | 55 | 55 | 27 | 0 | 0 |
Ken Wayne | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 26 | 26 |
El Dandy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
Tsyuoshi Kikuchi | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 |
Jake Roberts | 0 | 0 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 0 | 0 |
Lizmark | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 23.5 | 23.5 |
Tim Horner | 0 | 0 | 4 | 23.5 | 23.5 | 19.5 | 0 |
Michael Hayes | 0 | 20 | 28 | 28 | 23 | 15 | 15 |
Emilio Charles | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 22 |
Billy Travis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 21 | 21 | 0 |
Chris Champion | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14.5 | 14.5 | 19.5 | 5 |
Joe Malenko | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 19 |
Ron Simmons | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 |
Super Boy | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17.5 | 17.5 |
Steve Armstrong | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
Road Warrior Hawk | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 17 | 16 |
Tracy Smothers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 |
Danny Davis | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 13 |
Dennis Condrey | 0 | 10 | 20 | 22 | 12 | 2 | 0 |
Buddy Roberts | 0 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
Paul Diamond | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 11 | 11 |
Doug Furnas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 11 |
Cactus Jack | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10.5 |
Takayuki Iizuka | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 9 |
Minoru Suzuki | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
Nick Bockwinkel | 119.5 | 72.5 | 32 | 30 | 9 | 0 | 0 |
Mando Guerrero | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8.5 | 8.5 | 8.5 |
Chris Adams | 41 | 106 | 83 | 72.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 0 |
Tama | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 0 |
Shinichi Nakano | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Robert Gibson | 0 | 16 | 22 | 22 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Tony Anthony | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
Ronnie Garvin | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
Masa Fuchi | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Butch Reed | 180 | 191 | 131 | 62 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
Manny Fernandez | 11.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 1.5 |
Koko B. Ware | 0 | 12 | 12.33 | 12.33 | 0.33 | 0 | 0 |
Blackman | 0 | 0 | 0.33 | 0.33 | 0.33 | 0 | 0 |
Osamu Kido | 0 | 0 | 0.33 | 0.33 | 0.33 | 0 | 0 |
Rocky Johnson | 25 | 77 | 70 | 70 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kerry Von Erich | 127.5 | 150.5 | 112 | 55 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Paul Orndorff | 193 | 180 | 115 | 52 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Satoru Sayama/Tiger Mask I | 183 | 173 | 116 | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Roddy Piper | 167 | 140 | 82 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
El Canek | 63 | 98 | 67 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dick Slater | 158 | 144 | 93 | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Antonio Inoki | 62 | 37 | 32 | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bob Orton | 171 | 148 | 84 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The Grappler | 0 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dos Caras | 62.5 | 68 | 29 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Kevin von Erich | 113 | 105 | 61 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jesse Barr | 0 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ron Starr | 14 | 19 | 19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Killer Khan | 99.5 | 63.5 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Keith Hayward | 17 | 19 | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Krusher Khruschev | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Adrian Adonis | 180 | 135 | 62 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Don Kernodle | 53 | 53 | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sgt. Slaughter | 175 | 117 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
The Superstar/Masked Superstar | 173 | 109 | 43 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Hercules Hernandez | 40 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
B. Brian Blair | 39 | 39 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Hulk Hogan | 174 | 105 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scott McGhee | 57 | 57 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Stong Machine #2 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jerry Blackwell | 89 | 62 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Iron Sheik | 55.5 | 33.5 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Lanny Poffo | 10 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Buddy Rose | 26 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dory Funk | 114 | 51 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jay Youngblood | 16 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Isamu Teranishi | 9 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
David von Erich | 98 | 56 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jimmy Snuka | 123.5 | 49.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ken Patera | 98 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bob Backlund | 116 | 45 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Don Muraco | 101 | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Andre the Giant | 103 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Super Destroyer | 70 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jack Brisco | 95 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ivan Koloff | 70 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jerry Stubbs | 29.5 | 29.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Junkyard Dog | 79 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jimmy Garvin | 32 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pat Patterson | 20 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Brett Sawyer | 18 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Tommy Rich | 54 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mil Mascaras | 52 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dino Bravo | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Dusty Rhodes | 72.5 | 11.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Carlos Colon | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
King Kong Bundy | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Otto Wanz | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Wahoo McDaniel | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Giant Baba | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Pedro Morales | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Tony Atlas | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Abdullah the Butcher | 25.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Great Kabuki | 25.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Steve Kiern | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Jim Brunzell | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ole Anderson | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Ron Bass | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Billy Robinson | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Paul Jones | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Gino Hernandez | 8.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Blackjack Mulligan | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Joe LeDuc | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Superstar Graham | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
David Schultz | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Larry Zbyszko | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Bruno Sammartino Jr. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Let’s use this data to look at some Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame candidates.
Here’s a quick reminder of the instructions to voters:
“The criteria for the Hall of Fame is a combination of drawing power, being a great in-ring performer or excelling in one’s field in pro wrestling, as well as having historical significance in a positive manner. A candidate should either have something to offer in all three categories, or be someone so outstanding in one or two of those categories that they deserve inclusion.”
Only three people were ranked in all seven groupings – Ric Flair, Ted DiBiase, and Terry Gordy. Flair never finished below second and DiBiase never below eleventh. Terry Gordy peaked at third and never fell below 21st in these three-year intervals. All three of them are in the Hall of Fame. This is also the case for the wrestlers who appeared in six of the seven lists: Ricky Steamboat, Tatsumi Fujinami, Riki Choshu, and Randy Savage.
There are six wrestlers who appeared in the top 50 for five different three-year periods: Jumbo Tsuruta, Akira Maeda, Nobuhiko Takada, Bobby Eaton, Bret Hart, and Barry Windham. Of them, Windham is not in the Hall. Windham only appeared on the ballot once in 1998, when he immediately fell off the ballot due to receiving less than 10% of the vote.
When Windham initially appeared on the ballot, it looks like he was largely dismissed as a flash in the pan in terms of in-ring quality. However, for a period of seven years, he was a top 25 in-ring performer according to this poll.
It would be interesting to see what would happen if he were on the ballot again. I don’t feel like there’s a groundswell of support for his induction, but in terms of in-ring, he feels like a decent candidate based off these numbers. His name barely came up in the voting for the Flair/Thesz or Most Outstanding Wrestler awards. He finished fourth in the voting for Best Heel in 1988, and never showed up on those lists again. His historical importance seems tied entirely to his membership in the Four Horsemen.
I hardly feel like he’s an obvious inductee, but there is an argument for his induction and it’d be interesting to see how he performed in 2021.
There are five people who appeared in these lists four times – Bruiser Brody, Stan Hansen, Mitsuhara Misawa, Tully Blanchard, and Genichiro Tenryu. All but Blanchard are in the Hall.
Tully Blanchard is currently on the ballot, but in a backdoor sort of way as he’s grouped with JJ Dillon and Arn Anderson. Despite being a group that was together for about one year, they’ve hung around 40-50% of the vote since going on the ballot in 2017.
Let’s assess Blanchard as an individual. It’s obvious he was an in-ring great in his era, and his promo skills were top shelf. He wasn’t ever a big draw outside of the Horsemen, though, and his career was cut short due to various issues. He feels like a borderline case to me. I’m a big Hall guy, so I wouldn’t be bothered if he did get in, but I also think it’s hardly a miscarriage of justice if he isn’t inducted.
The last individual I’ll specifically point out from these lists is Owen Hart. He finished in the top ten in the ‘86-‘88, ‘87-‘89, and ’88-’90 blocks. If you add the points together for 1986-1990 as one single block, Owen is seventh in that time period – finishing only behind Flair, Eaton, Takada, DiBiase, Tenryu, and Maeda, all of whom are in the Hall. Owen Hart continued to be a fantastic in-ring worker beyond this time period, and went on to have classic matches with his brother Bret.
There is precedence for Halls of Fame ignoring career length requirements for candidates who died tragically early. Addie Joss was a dominant pitcher between 1902 and 1910. Joss died of meningitis in April 1911. The Baseball Hall of Fame decided to waive the ten-year career requirement for him, clearing the way for his induction in 1978.
Ross Youngs was another early baseball player who played from 1917-1926 before dying in 1927 due to Bright’s disease. He was inducted in spite of his early death in 1972.
Drazen Petrovic was a rising star in the NBA in the early 90s who died in a car wreck in 1993, when he was just 28 years old. Though he had only just reached All-NBA levels that year, he was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002.
In all three cases, high-level athletes who died mid-career were evaluated not only on what they had accomplished to date, but what they would accomplish moving forward. I think it’s more than reasonable that if you look at Owen Hart and examine how WWE would trend towards featuring higher levels of in-ring work in the years after Hart’s 1999 death, you conclude that he would have particularly benefitted from that time period and moved up the card of the company.
I think Owen Hart is the strongest of the three candidates mentioned in this article. He was an elite in-ring performer for his time period who was destined for greater things. He inspired workers in the next generation and his influence will continue to grow as time goes by thanks to the work of the Owen Hart Foundation.
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