10 Wrestling GOATs With ONE Fatal Flaw

7. The Rock

Bryan Danielson
WWE.com

GOAT credentials:

One of the biggest wrestling megastars ever. An actual household name who "the Casuals" are in fact aware of. He was so transcendently charismatic that it's easy to forget how much of a stud he was in the ring. After 1999, he could have been forgiven for hardly trying. The Rock - whose best lines you've almost certainly stolen in a tragic bid to be as cool as he was once upon a time - had mastered the art of popping crowds with a single raised eyebrow. He could have been Hulk Hogan in the '80s, but he was still an animal in there, blowing heels away with his power game or, when he was a heel, throwing himself around and selling finishers like he was caught in the backdraft of an explosion.

Fatal flaw:

His banter was sometimes shoddy. The Rock was one of the few wrestlers who made wrestling cool, but at the same time, you wouldn't want anybody walking into the room when he dropped a "Kung Pow bitch". Hollywood Rock was one of the funniest acts ever. Still, his problematic material has dated badly, and some of his more innocuous work was weirdly try-hard for a man who was so effortless entertaining.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!