LARIAT Magazine.

Fill your lungs with what makes you happy’, a line from one of my favourite songs and a constant reminder of why we were put on this planet to begin with. Alongside writing and watching TV sitcoms, one of my few pleasures in this life is the beautiful art form of professional wrestling.

It was my big dream to be like many of the WWE Superstars which I grew up watching, larger than life characters taking me away from the struggles of life, from homework, heartbreak to hospital visits and hostilities, trauma, triumph and tribulations, professional wrestling was always there when I needed it.

John Cena

Whether you love him or hate him, you must respect the work of John Cena. Cena is easily one of the greats of the industry, perhaps the greatest. Being a chain gang solider since day one I am showing my bias, but John Cena work ethic, gimmick and contributes to the world of wrestling are astronomical.

16-time World’s Champion, highest Make a Wish wish granter in the charity’s history, and Hollywood blockbuster movie star. He is the WWE. The fans connect with him in such a beautiful way whether you’re an OG chain gang solider, an angsty hardcore with an extremely foul mouth, or a wide-eyed young boy looking for a role model, John Cena influences the audience.

The debate that he can’t wrestle is awash when he as a discography of in ring performances where the evidence proves otherwise. Was John Cena a tad selfish during his career? Possibly, but can’t wrestle? I am sure AJ Styles, Kurt Angle, Edge and Randy Orton would say different. The iconic matches with the forementioned group of wrestlers proves John Cena is just that damn good. He maybe, at least in terms of WWE, the greatest of all time.

Rey Mysterio

The embodiment of real life superhero and a career spanning a near four decades, Rey Mysterio continues to impress and bring out the inner child in me as when I watched him in the Ruthless Aggression era in the mid 00’s. Everything from his cat like ability and heroic presentation while Mysterio was soaring around the squared circle as a part of the SmackDown Six was what made me wish I could be a Cruiserweight Champion.

Rey had a huge amount of respect and love backstage, which assisted in making his incredible emotional storytelling that much more effective when telling gripping stories with the likes of Batista, JBL, Randy Orton, CM Punk, and of course his real-life best friend Eddie Guerrero. The feud became so heated that had a ladder match for the custody of Rey’s son, Dominic. Rey’s rivalry with Eddie was special, every match at any promotion in any stipulation and those two were the definition and personification of ‘fight forever’ creating truly iconic moments us fans cherish to this very day.  

A career spanning nearly 4 decades, Mysterio proves he is still as agile and fluid in the ring as he was in WCW 1996, proof that Rey Mysterio is one of few that can still perform to an outstanding standout against the likes of GUNTHER, Logan Paul and his son Dominic Mysterio speaks volumes for his legacy and longevity.

Bryan Danielson

I remember the exact moment I fell in love with the man, Summerslam, 2010. When he locked in that Lebell Lock on Heath Slater of Nexus Fame, I knew then. This man was my new favourite WWE Superstar. Daniel Bryan, I only knew him as back then.

During his time as WWE Superstar, I watched one with admiration and excitement as he conquered WWE authority, bested Evolution and got his Wrestlemania moment. The YES Movement was what reignited my love for professional wrestling between 2013 and 2014. The picture of Bryan holding both the WWE Championship and the World’s Heavyweight Championship was an emotional journey in the eyes of many a member of the WWE Universe and one of my favourite pieces of modern wrestling history.

I loved his ever long feud with The Miz, Danielson playing ‘the indie darling’ and The Miz playing the part of soft and cowardly ‘sport’s entertainer.’ It made for very entertaining TV and the two athletes had cracking chemistry. It was also where I discovered Bryan Danielson is professional wrestling personified, growing up on the internet I came to learn just how much this WWENXT rookie had influenced the business.

In one click of a button you can go and see 20+ years of footage of Bryan Danielson kicking in the heads of the likes of Nigel McGuiness, Samoa Joe, Claudio Castagnoli and KENTA, he was also ROH World’s Champion and ROH PURE champion at the same time, besting Nigel McGuiness at ROH: Unified in Liverpool.

Although I would class myself as more of a fan of characters and the whole shebang of sport’s entertainment; it’s hard not to fall in love with Bryan Danielson and his mastery of the art of professional wrestling.  

4. Kurt Angle

Kurt Angle is really the cool father figure of professional wrestling, Kurt had everything from the pure and complete wrestling technique to effortless comedic time as well as just insane intensity when it comes to the professional wrestling game.

A literal Olympic hero, winning the gold medal with a broken freakin neck, Kurt Angle transitioned incredibly to professional wrestling, having an absolute banger of a rookie year winning the Intercontinental and European championships, the King of the Ring and the prestigious the WWF championship within the year 2000.  

Kurt Angle was defined by the three I’s of intelligence, integrity and intensity. Angle was one of the faces of mid 2000’s, raising his own stock as a part of ‘The Smackdown Six’ having some of the best tag team matches alongside Edge, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, Chavo and Chris Benoit. He also used his impressive grappling skills to boost the profiles of future WWE Superstars as John Cena stepped up and showed ‘Ruthless Aggression’. He also had quite an impact on TNA Wrestling bringing that same intensity and passion to the IMPACT Zone.

Angle has a masterclass CV of professional wrestling matches using his sharp submission game and pure love for the game against the likes of Shawn Michaels, The Undertaker, Desmond Wolfe, Samoa Joe and Booker T. Kurt Angle is one of the greatest, if not the greatest and most complete professional wrestlers of all time.