10 Wrestling GOATs With ONE Fatal Flaw

By Michael Sidgwick / October 9, 2023

Is there such a thing as a flawless professional wrestler?

Hiroshi Tanahashi is all but perfect. Unbelievable at the in-ring craft, he famously worked a match - one that put NJPW on the map and changed everything you know about the modern industry - with zero near-falls. An understated genius who is the master of the "when" to do moves, his babyface run transformed NJPW's fortunes in the early 2010s - but he was also outstanding at playing situational heel to drive support of his underdog opponents in accordance with puro psychology.

Kenta Kobashi was a more pure babyface, one so incredible that few if any have forged quite such an undying bond with their fanbase. Boasting a fire that is unrivalled, the sympathy he evoked should have been impossible. He was a formidable unit of a man.

GUNTHER is almost his heel equivalent, with his similarly impossible balance between invincibility and vulnerability. You can buy into his winning and losing every match. He is on that basis the perfect wrestling champion - and he's become really rather good at selling his guaranteed great matches in promos.

A lack of range is probably a small criticism one could levy at those three names. That's about it.

The following wrestlers are also all-time greats - but...

10. Bryan Danielson

GOAT credentials:

Bryan Danielson is probably the best wrestler of all time. Many have portrayed the role of 'Best in the World'. Nobody has embodied that in the guts of a professional wrestling match like the Dragon. He is able to appear unbeatable, exerting total dominion over his opponent. His job is to be the master, and he does it perfectly.

Re-watch the last 10 minutes of his Iron Man match against MJF at AEW Revolution 2023. A lot of AEW fans, the majority probably, knew the result ahead of time. Logic dictated that MJF, after such a rise and push, wasn't going to lose his first title match on PPV - but Danielson hits logic in the face with a Busaiku. In those incredible moments, lost helplessly in the fiction, it was impossible to see how he would lose. The best technical wrestler ever - those exchanges with Zack Sabre, Jr. at WrestleDream were as intricate as it gets - he's also, just for fun, the best brawler. The best underdog babyface. The best, most nasty domineering heel. Just the best.

Fatal flaw:

In this social media age, in which the real-life person informs the perception of their onscreen character, Danielson has spoken too freely about his lack of ambition. As refreshing as it is to watch a top star do business, Danielson is so selfless that - great as he is at promos nonetheless - it's difficult to buy the idea that he really and truly wants it. This has impacted the true potential of his top-level AEW programmes. His "last run" arc might actually correct that, but did you believe in your heart that he wanted nothing more in his life than to defeat Hangman Page or MJF?

This is pedantic. This "flaw" turns a ******* wrestler into a mere ******3/4.

Danielson is too good to play the first challenger for a newly-minted champion, but he has stigmatised himself in that role.