HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!
Tonight is also Wrestlemania weekend. Unfortunately I don't get Pay-Per-View and they don't air Pay-Per-View's at The Pub anymore so there really isn't anywhere that we can watch the showcase of the immortals. Oh well, that's why we have the good ole interweb so that we can sail the spiderweb (don't you just love my factured internet jargon?) In honour of today being the grand-daddy of them all, Wrestlemania X-8, I will make a list of my all time favourite wrestlers. This might be a reoccuring trend where I write top five or top ten lists of things. So here we go:

My Top 5 Favourite Wrestlers
5. Razor Ramon
Hey yo! Back in the day I was a huge "Bad Guy" fan. He had a great entrance (what with the gold pyrotechnics), he could talk on the mic and cut some great promos, he had the look, and was technically sound as both a brawler and a technical wrestler. Watching The Rock now I always think of Razor's punches and they are without a doubt two of the best punchers in the business. Also if you look at Bradshaw's fall away slam to Razor's there is absolutely no comparison. Razor just made it look so much better. As a finisher, his "Razor's Edge" always looked painful to take and it also has to be one of my favourite wrestling finishers ever. He may never won the WWF title but whenever I think of a great Intercontinental champion, I think of Razor. So when I found out he was coming back to the WWF, I was ecstatic and not only that but the fact that he is wrestling another one of my favourites, Steve Austin at Wrestlemania X-8, man I'm in heaven.
4. Mick Foley/Mankind/Cactus jack
Strangely enough all these characters came from the mind of one sick, twisted, individual. Mick Foley may not have been the most athletic individual in the world but he sure as hell had one hell of a thresh hold of pain. The thing that makes me think about him the most is his desire to please the fans and to tell a great story. When he first showed up in the WWF as Mankind, he mesmerized me. He was able to scare the viewer and also pull them in with his bizarre promos. I was truly terrified when I saw him hold his own against The Undertaker whom at one point in my life, thought was really dead. Later on when we were able to see him as Mick Foley, I grew to admire him because outside of the ring he was known as one of the most friendliest, down to earth, and intelligent wrestlers out there. One of the best workers in the ring, one of the best speakers, and the ultimate bump-er, now that he's retired, Foley will always be remembered. We miss you Mick!
3. Bret Hart
Ah Bret "The Hitman" Hart. He would have been higher in my list had he not become a disgruntled, and bitter man. One of, if not the best WWF Champion and all around wrestler ever, Bret Hart seemed destined for the WWF Hall of Fame if not for the infamous screw job in Montreal. As a technical wrestler, he was the top of his league amd when people thought of the WWF Champion they thought of him. He brought a believability to wrestling and was one of the best sellers in the game. When he got hurt, the audience got hurt with him. He made wrestling look legitimate. He may not have been the biggest guy but he could work with absolutely anybody and make the match look good. Bret and Shawn Michaels, Bret and Diesel, Bret and Steve Austin, all classic bouts. He was also involved in one of my favourite "family feuds" with him and his brother, the late great Owen Hart. For a while, I believed with all my heart that him and Owen hated each other. I used to get so immersed in the storyline that I would forget that wrestling was a work. His career in the WWF was ruined after Vince MacMahon screwed him before Bret left for WCW and tarnished his whole WWF career. In WCW, it got even worse since they had no clue what to do with one of the greatest wrestlers ever. Bret retired from wrestling after taking a career ending kick to the head by Goldberg. It's ironic that Bret's great career had to be ended by a man with almost no passion for the wrestling at all. It's a crying shame...
2. Stone Cold Steve Austin
Some people may disagree with me but even though The Rock might be the big man right now, if it wasn't for Austin, there wouldn't be a Rock. Austin revitalized the wrestling world in the late 90's and he made wrestling popular again. Austin's feud with Vince MacMahon captured the imagination of the world, and took wrestling to new heights. His promos are always intense and always entertaining. Stone Cold came up with some of the most recognizable catch phrases from "Austin 3:16 just kicked your ass" to "That's the bottom line, cause Stone Cold said so". He can be deathly serious but he is also one of the funniest on the mic as well. The popularity of his WHAT? gimmick is astounding and I still remember my all time favourite promo with him and The Rock singing "Wasted Away In Margeueritaville" which occured right before everyone started yelling WHAT? after everything he said. Not only is he a great talker but he is a great wrestle. He's able to mix it up technically, brawl, everything and even with just black tights, and black boots, he can sell merchandise in a flash. He is the flagship, and is most certainly the franchise of the WWF.
1. Shawn Michaels
My all time favourite wrestler. He had charisma, ability, style, everything. He was the total package. He was one of the best talkers in the business, his promos were alway entertaining and he knew it. He was cocky, arrogant, and got himself in trouble but he could always back it up. Shawn was not the biggest guy in the ring, nor was he the strongest but what he had that made up for that, was speed, and resilience. He made me believe that maybe I could be a wrestler. He was a high-flyer when there weren't that many around and his moves were spectacular. I can vividly remember getting goose bumps when I saw his ladder match against Razor Ramon at Wrestlemania 10 which happens to be one my favourite Wrestlemania moments. His match against Bret Hart at Wrestlemania 12 in the Iron Man Match was one of the best ever and it proved that he could hold his own against the then champion Bret Hart. Although I loved Bret, I knew it was time for Bret to pass the torch to the next generation. Shawn is no longer wrestling because of an accumulation of too many injuries and I really miss seeing him on tv. We miss "The Icon".

Well that's it. Hopefully that was informative for those of you who do watch wrestling and for those you who don't? If you're not interested in reading it. Don't read it!!! have a goodnight folks.