Many people in the wrestling business are dealt a bad hand. Some make the best of their situation and keep their head above water. Others fold and fade into obscurity. In 1995, Steve Austin could have easily become a member of the latter category. Having been one of the most promising young stars in the business in the early 90s, Austin was cast aside by WCW when he was more than ready to become a top guy. Seen as nothing special by the likes of Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff, Austin was fired without any form of remorse from his employers. Through a combination of desire, hard work and flat out stubbornness, Austin took this bad hand and rebounded to become the biggest star the business has ever seen.

Beginning his career in his local World Class Championship Wrestling promotion in 1989, Austin picked things up really quickly and was considered one of the can’t miss prospects in the country at the time. He was given the spotlight when paired with his trainer, the late Chris Adams, and their feud is one which holds up very well to this day. It was inevitable that Austin would be cherry-picked from the struggling group, and in 1991 he took his considerable talents to WCW. The first major title of “Stunning” Steve’s career was the TV title which he held for the guts of a year. At a time when alot of the new characters introduced by WCW were met with groans and confusion from the audience, the TV champ was a breath of fresh air, putting in stellar performances on a weekly basis. A spot in legendary heel unit The Dangerous Alliance followed for Austin and he shone alongside the likes of Rick Rude, Arn Anderson and of course the mouthpiece Paul E. Dangerously.

The most memorable period of Austin’s WCW run was also the most mishandled. Following the break-up of the Alliance, Steve was paired with newly heel Brian Pillman. The duo, known as the Hollywood Blondes were taking tag team wrestling to new levels with their amazing chemistry, charisma and workrate when the rug was pulled out from under them after less than a year. In a hair-brained plan, the two were split up and put in a terrible feud where Austin was seconded by Colonel Robert Parker. Ever the workhorse, Steve continued to give his all during this singles run and when paired up with the legendary Ricky Steamboat, the results were excellent. However, it was clear that the new regime in WCW were less and less in his corner as the months wore on and when Hulk Hogan arrived, Austin was cast aside for a brigade of washed up Hogan pals. Despite his lack of push, it was still a shock when Eric Bischoff fired Austin while he was at home nursing an injury.
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The most flawless in-ring competitor of his generation or any other, Bret Hart possessed the rare ability to connect with people through matches alone. He was an expert storyteller, bringing a Stampede realism and believability to mainstream pro wrestling at a time when it was needed most.

Hart made his own luck in WWE. We have grown accustomed to seeing “great workers” of the modern era fall flat or lose a crowd given the wrong program or card position. Bret never allowed an audience that option. He just dragged you into it – a meaningless match he could make mean something. And while the company was out looking everywhere else for their next big star, he took the choice from out of their hands.

Seen at the time as an also-ran by the powers that be, it was tag team success with The Hart Foundation which threw his career an early lifeline. He and Jim Neidhart mixed contrasting styles and characters, creating a compelling dynamic while giving Bret the platform to showcase his talent clearly. Once that door creaked open for him, Bret forced his way through – his combination of technical ability and match psychology separating him from the rest of the locker room.

It was at this time we first saw one of Hart’s greatest strengths as a wrestler; the duality he brought to The Hitman character. At the drop of a hat, he could slide from heel to face / face to heel, equally effective in each, without losing his edge. It gave him depth as a performer. He could show a darker side to the hero or redeemable qualities in the villain as a storyline or match required it. It was a concept he grasped better than anyone and was able to utilize effectively throughout his run.

Solo stardom was the next logical progression for the already very popular Hitman. His connection with the crowd and near-perfect match quality made him the guy to build the company around. Hart had a terrific wrestling brain and understanding of how to work around the limitations of opponents. His name on top of a card guaranteed the main event would always deliver. He could be paired up with anyone from the 1-2-3 Kid to Yokozuna and produce a match worthy of closing the show.
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Chris Jericho has succeeded through many an adversity to try and be the best at what he does. From opening match cruiserweight to Main Event Undisputed Champion, Jericho has risen up past the glass ceiling.

What he was best at, was reinventing himself. From the cheesy and cocky cruiserweight in WCW, he first became a stock babyface in the WWE/F, then a cowardly heel, to being the overly serious “Best At What He Does” star.

Jericho made a name for himself in WCW, with a character that was a smart aleck/whiny rock star. Not only a decent wrestler, his mic work was great, being able to change the mood of the crowd at the flip of a switch, or getting another wrestler over. See Dean “Man of 1000 Holds” Malenko.

With all of his talent in the WCW, Jericho could never break through the glass ceiling. He had crowds chanting his name, had a multitude of signs, and had a LONG winning streak against Goldberg (*cough*). But thanks to the Millionaire’s Club (Hogan, Nash, etc), he could never break into the main event scene.

When given the chance to jump ship to the WWF, Jericho made one of the greatest debuts of all time in August 1999 against The Rock. With “Break the Walls Down” playing and the crowd on their feet, Jericho had finally made it to the big time, and eventually made it through the glass ceiling in the WWF. He would go on to become the first Undisputed Champion in WWF history, winning the WWF and WCW titles (then known as the World Championship) by defeating both The Rock and Steve Austin in the same night.

Jericho went on to have great feuds with many of the top stars in WWF/E, eventually becoming a 6-time World Champion. A man who criticizes his own matches closely, and even keeps a tally of every match he’s ever had (see his book – Undisputed: How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps), Jericho continues to try and improve himself with each match.

Defining Match of the WrestleMania Era: Chris Jericho vs. Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XIX
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One of the greatest compliments you can say of any performer is that their work is timeless. This is especially the case in a trade as evolving, and at times fickle, as pro wrestling. Curt Hennig, at his best, was timeless – a great worker in an era of great workers.

Hennig understood the makings of a heel. He knew his job was to make whoever he was paired with look great, and he knew sometimes that meant making himself look silly. He knew when to sell, when to back off, when to cower – Hennig just got it. Seeing Mr. Perfect’s name on the card was a guarantee of quality.

While Perfect could bump like a boss and carry inferior opponents to matches few felt they were capable of, it was only when he wrestled guys like Shawn Michaels and Bret Hart that you truly saw the best of him. That was the type of level he was at and it was a level only a select few could match. While injury issues cost him ring time, he transitioned seamlessly between roles of wrestler, manager and commentator – his performance in each case; always perfect. During his entire stint with WWE, he could do no wrong.
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When the WrestleMania era started, Terry Funk was, by all measures, in the twilight of his career. Aged 41 and having done more in his career than 99% of wrestlers (including a short lived retirement in 1983), most men would have faded into the sunset, content with their undeniable status as a legend of the business. Terry Funk is not most men. He pressed on with his legendary career in All Japan Pro Wrestling and he surfaced back on American television in 1989 for the NWA/WCW. His role was simply to sit in on a panel of judges for the final Flair/Steamboat match of that year. Little did anyone know that on that night Funk would take part in an angle for the ages, as he attacked Flair post match and piledrove him through a table. It set off an epic feud between the two which brought Funk right back to the top of the national scene. Their I Quit match at Clash Of The Champions IX in Troy, New York was one of the best brawls ever to take place on a major US television show and saw Funk put over Flair in the selfless fashion that he did with so many others.

The 90s saw Funk’s career go in a whole new direction. Having always been one of the more believable brawlers in the world, the popularisation of “hardcore” wrestling in Japan and in the US gave Funk a whole new avenue to grow his popularity and feed his insanity. Bordering on 50 years of age, Funk was lighting himself on fire, jumping into C4 explosives and doing moonsaults off balconies. In doing so he helped two fledgling companies in FMW and ECW solidify themselves in the wrestling world with their own niche audience. In a gripping scene from the movie Beyond The Mat, Paul Heyman was shown rallying the ECW crew before their first PPV Barely Legal. With conviction in his voice, he told them all to thank Terry Funk because without him they wouldn’t be where they are. Funk’s role in ECW’s success is often underrated – he really was a key force in establishing what they became at their peak.
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There have been few wrestlers in the WrestleMania era who have been more influential than Rey Mysterio. Rey spawned a generation of wrestlers who tried not only to defy gravity but more importantly tried to defy those that told them they were “too small”. High flying as we know it was taken to new levels by Mysterio in the mid 90s. After wowing crowds in Mexico as a teen, it was Paul Heyman who first gave Rey a chance on American soil in ECW. Arriving with his dance partner Psicosis (and then later Juventud Guerrera), Rey gave the ECW faithful a glimpse of wrestling they had never dreamt of seeing. When WCW sought to build up their Cruiserweight division, Rey was a natural choice and he was poached from ECW. Rey immediately got over on the national stage, and by going up against the likes of Dean Malenko and Eddy Guerrero, he was able to become a much more well-rounded wrestler. Of course, WCW didn’t take full advantage of what they had in Rey and moronically had him drop his mask in a horrid feud with Kevin Nash. Rey’s career stalled in WCW’s final years and he wasn’t picked up in the WWE purchase.

In 2002, after much prodding from their wrestlers, WWE finally brought Rey in. They made an immediate smart move by re-masking him and built up his debut as something special. For the last ten years, Mysterio has been arguably the best wrestler on their roster. Injuries have slowed him down, but his mind for wrestling and his ability to be an incredible babyface have more than made up for it. He has been one of WWE’s best draws both in terms of merchandise and TV ratings during his tenure and is up there right beside John Cena as far as loyalty from the younger audience. Unlike Cena, Rey is almost unanimously loved across the demographics with the calibre of his in-ring performances being undeniable. The high points during his WWE career have been feuds with Guerrero, Chris Jericho and CM Punk where both the matches and storylines were extremely captivating.
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