Sadly, a recurring theme of this list has been one of tarnished legacies. This is a sport where few know the right time to step aside. It’s pro wrestling after all, it almost goes with the territory. Hell, they even made a movie about it. The once great hang on past their prime and with each additional performance their standing diminishes that little bit further.

Now, rewind back to 2002 and It’s no wonder we were all skeptical about a Shawn Michaels comeback. He had walked away from the business as a surefire hall of famer, leaving behind a legacy of one of the truly great workers, perhaps even the greatest. With his place in history already long since secured, there seemed little potential upside to an in ring return.

You didn’t have to like Michaels to appreciate what he brought to the business. He broke down barriers for smaller performers. He was instrumental in popularizing the more athletic, high risk styled, main events. He was again a force of change during the DX era; introducing an edgier side of Pro Wrestling. With Bret Hart he shared the most talked about rivalry in wrestling history. And between the two of them, they inspired most of the current generation of superstars. Five star matches; believe me, he had those to. His was a career littered with iconic images from the barber shop window to the Tyson knock out.

But above all else, Michaels was a phenomenal in ring performer. And four years out of the business is a long time, especially factoring in the litany of injuries which put a halt to his career in the first place. Few believed he could still be the Shawn Michaels of old, and if not, then why comeback at all?
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WWE’s Extreme Rules started with a pre-game show on YouTube with a match between The Miz and Santino for the US title.

1. The Miz vs. Santino

And, the burial of the Miz continues. Miz jobs clean to the cobra.

Winner: Santino

They did the spin the wheel gimmick for The Big Show vs. Cody Rhodes and it’s going to be a Tables match.

The show opened with a big Cena vs. Lesnar video package, similar to what we’ve seen on TV the last couple weeks.

First up is Randy Orton and Kane. At least they get it out of the way early.

2. Kane vs. Randy Orton

It was kind of backwards. They barely got started in the ring and most of the match was outside of the ring and in the back. It was really awkward and boring early on, but picked up. The story of the match was that Orton kept trying to set up the RKO, but Kane was ready for it. Back in the ring, Kane had Orton set up for the Tombstone on the chair, but Orton got out of it and set up the RKO on the chair, but really, he took most of it on his back. Orton wins.

Winner: Randy Orton

3. Brodus Clay vs. Dolph Ziggler
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After Brock told us last week that he wasn’t a superstar and he was in fact just an ass-kicker, this week, he tells us that he’s a prima donna. I don’t like the disconnect and they gave Lesnar way too much mic time. This is where we needed Paul Heyman.

Here’s your go-home angle for this weekend’s Extreme Rules:

Edge showed up on Raw last night to cut a promo to basically tell John Cena to nut up. I didn’t even know Cena was scared based on his actions in the previous weeks. All Cena did was pretend to be sad. Edge’s promo was off the charts great, but I think it was one show too early.

The other biggest star of the 1980s, Hulk Hogan, didn’t fare all that well in our list. I wrote about why Hogan may have fallen down the list, and my theory was that the last 10 years of his career have left a bitter taste in the mouths of wrestling fans. It’s not like Ric Flair has had a glorious last ten years, but the man is teflon. Not even this eye-brow raising story on Grantland hurt his standing.

To most huge 80s wrestling fans who started watching in the 80s, Flair is the greatest wrestler of all-time. He’s the kiss-stealing, wheeling-dealing, limousine-riding, jet-flying son-of-a-gun. He’s the man who changed for me what I always knew wrestling to be. I became a pretty big wrestling fan in the mid-80s, stemming from the time just before the first WrestleMania. I was a Hogan guy through and through. I believe that one of the main reasons I became such a big WWF fan is that their TV was so easy for me to find. They had a nationally syndicated TV show on Saturday morning right at the tail-end of the Saturday morning cartoon run (when that was a major deal). Finding the NWA was a bit harder, but as a budding wrestling fan, I eventually did find them.

I would see bits and pieces of the NWA and one of my best friends at the time would tell me about the Road Warriors, who were his favorite tag team. When I saw the Road Warriors, it was like looking at two super heroes in the ring. But if I trace back the first time I ever saw Ric Flair, it would’ve been on a syndicated Joe Pedicino/Gordon Solie show called “Pro Wrestling This Week”. They were discussing “The Nature Boy” against the “American Dream”. I didn’t know of Flair and Dusty Rhodes quite yet, but when they started talking about who is who, I just figured that the dream would’ve been Flair, since he was wearing his trademarked sequined robe and flanked by blonds. And when Rhodes came out shirtless and fat with a splotch on his belly, I just figured he was of nature. I was very confused when it turned out to be the reverse.

But soon-thereafter, I was hooked on Flair. Now, I would never claim to be a big Flair fan in the mid-to-late 80s, because I was such a Hogan guy and I had to be loyal to Hogan. And plus, Flair was a heel. I was too young to root for the heels at the time. But you couldn’t not keep your eyes on him, especially since one of the main stories the Apter mags would present was about who was better between Hogan and Flair. I would say Hogan was better, but silently believe that Flair was the better guy.
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