Paid Members Carbomb Posted July 29, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted July 29, 2011 Flair is a massive name in wrestling, but I doubt there'd ever have been a time when many non-fans of any age would say "Ric Flair" if asked to name five wrestlers. If you went to a school in September and asked kids to name a wrestler, two things would happen: One, most of them would say John Cena. Two, you'd get arrested for hanging round playgrounds asking dodgy questions. Flair was never the top wrestler in a global company -- the closest to that was his WWF title reign in 1992, and that amounted to one pay-per-view where he lost the title in the midcard. I don't think he was ever on the pencil cases and bedspreads. As he wouldn't be, usually being the heel, but that's how it goes. Triple H wasn't as big a star as Rock or Austin in 2000, either.  Even in WCW's boom, Flair was nowhere near the poster boy. All the WCW merchandise was Goldberg, Sting and the NWO. Flair's like Michaels and Hart. He means a lot to a loads of longterm wrestling fans, but doesn't ring much of a bell with anyone else. In terms of fame, he's nowhere near on par with Hogan, Rock, Austin and Cena. Nor even the likes of Macho Man and Warrior, I'd wager.  You make some good points. I think I was probably overestimating the presence of NWA/JCP/WCW in the 80s - they were pretty much a national company, rather than a global one.  Actually, now I think of it, I think Warrior and Macho might be good candidates - loads of casuals know both of them, and both were, albeit briefly, positioned as THE guy in the WWF at different points in time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 This topic comes up so often. The Rock and Hogan are undoubtedly mainstream stars but that really is pretty much it. Â Next in line I think is Andre the Giant. My mother-in-law knows who he is because of that film he was in. Â Say "Steve Austin" to people and they think "Million Dollar Man" Â Undertaker and Macho Man are real close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magnum Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 Flair is a massive name in wrestling, but I doubt there'd ever have been a time when many non-fans of any age would say "Ric Flair" if asked to name five wrestlers. If you went to a school in September and asked kids to name a wrestler, two things would happen: One, most of them would say John Cena. Two, you'd get arrested for hanging round playgrounds asking dodgy questions. Â Maybe not so much to kids of today given his relative lack of exposure in the last 5 years or so, but in my experience Flair is surprisingly recognisable to people of a certain age. About 5-6 years ago, I did a picture quiz for my students in one of those pointless 'ice breaking' classes that they do during the settling in period for freshers. For shits and giggles, I put Flair on there, and there wasn't one team (even the ones comprised entirely of 18-year old lasses) that didn't get him. Â Mind you, I did hear a few people who thought it was Jimmy Saville while they were conferring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Freebird Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 If you went to a school in September and asked kids to name a wrestler, two things would happen: One, most of them would say John Cena. Two, you'd get arrested for hanging round playgrounds asking dodgy questions. Â Some of your musings are second to none. Another Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Total Package Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 I'm not really a fan of Cena's but you'd have to put him in 4th place like Pitcos said. Â He is the one the stopped the rot in wrestling, people like to say Cena destoryed wrestling which is bs to me, when the industry was going down the loo after 2002, long before Cena won his first major title. Â It was indeed time to move past Hogan/Austin/Rock, they tried with Lesnar but that didnt work out, then next with Cena and he was a hit with the next gen of kids. Â Certainly Cena's problem and ever increasing problem is that he is surrounded by shit, Hogan and Austin looked even bigger because there were other big stars around them. Â Its kind of like Matt le tissier playing for Southampton and then him moving to Man Utd, which he never did, but maybe you get what I mean, because he was a class player. Â Cena and Ortons star power starts to dimmish because of the massive gap between them and everyone else, you can see what a world of difference it makes when you elevate someone like CM Punk (atleast for now) to face him. Â I dont know what wrestling/WWE will be like ten years from now, but I'd imagine that Cena will be looked back on as the guy that carried WWE through its dark ages (creative/talent wise). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Duke Posted July 29, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted July 29, 2011 This topic comes up so often. The Rock and Hogan are undoubtedly mainstream stars but that really is pretty much it. Next in line I think is Andre the Giant. My mother-in-law knows who he is because of that film he was in.  Say "Steve Austin" to people and they think "Million Dollar Man"  Undertaker and Macho Man are real close. How old are you? Genuine question, as if you go up to someone my age or a few years older and say "stone cold" and they know exactly who you mean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RepoMan Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 How old are you? Genuine question, as if you go up to someone my age or a few years older and say "stone cold" and they know exactly who you mean. It's that difference between 'Steve Austin' and 'Stone Cold' though. Â 'Stone Cold Steve Austin' and you don't have any confusion at all, but I can see why 'Steve Austin' still has a few meanings to people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Your Fight Site Posted July 29, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted July 29, 2011 This is easily answered: ask who they want to win at WrestleMania next year: John Cena or The Rock. Or watch and see who gets the biggest ovation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Duke Posted July 29, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted July 29, 2011 It's that difference between 'Steve Austin' and 'Stone Cold' though. 'Stone Cold Steve Austin' and you don't have any confusion at all, but I can see why 'Steve Austin' still has a few meanings to people.  See, most people around my age never watched million dollar man austin and have no idea who he is.  Besides, when I think of Steve Austin I hear JR yell "stone cold! Stone cold! stone cold!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members JNLister Posted July 29, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted July 29, 2011 Undertaker and Macho Man are real close. Â Too soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aaron Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 How old are you? Genuine question, as if you go up to someone my age or a few years older and say "stone cold" and they know exactly who you mean. Â I'm 33, still younger than over 50% of the population? Â To the same people "stone cold" won't mean anything yet "Hulk Hogan" and "The Rock" do. Â (To me, when I hear "Steve Austin" I also think "Stone Cold" but, unlike the vast majority, I am a wrestling fan) Â By extension "Million Dollar man" to me means Ted DiBiase... but to most people, it's still Steve Austin. Â Â Â John... not sure what you mean mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Duke Posted July 29, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted July 29, 2011 I'm 33, still younger than over 50% of the population? To the same people "stone cold" won't mean anything yet "Hulk Hogan" and "The Rock" do.  (To me, when I hear "Steve Austin" I also think "Stone Cold" but, unlike the vast majority, I am a wrestling fan) Then I call shenanigans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Your Fight Site Posted July 29, 2011 Paid Members Share Posted July 29, 2011 Too soon. It was better than your Diana joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whiskey_Jim Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 I dont think Cena is bigger than those three names for the simple reason that no UFC name will ever be as big as Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz in my opinion. Both WWE and UFC have become the attraction to their audience, the franchise itself sells more tickets than the individuals working for it. In the days of (certainly) Hogan and (admittedly slightly less so) Rock and Austin, it was the wrestlers who drew the crowds in. WWE and UFC have gotten so big that they could probably slot anyone of us onto the show and it would still sell and earn a shitload of money for everyone involved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Freebird Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 By extension "Million Dollar man" to me means Ted DiBiase... but to most people, it's still Steve Austin. Â I thought Steve Austin was the Six Million Dollar Man? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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