Technical wrestling has been a strong part of the wrestling industry for decades going all the way back to the 1980s. WWE expanding into such a massive company leading the wrestling boom led to Vince McMahon hiring more talents. Many top stars like Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior and Andre the Giant were known for their characters more than the in-ring work.
10 Best WWE Technical Wrestlers Of The 1990s, Ranked
WWE was the land of the giants until technical wrestlers started getting pushed in the 1990s. Here are WWE's best technical wrestlers of the 1990s.
WWE did have more great wrestlers in the 1980s than any previous decade since Vince was putting together a deep roster. Quite a few names got over in the ring with technically sound bell to bell action. The following wrestlers deserve to be ranked highest as the best WWE technical wrestlers of the 1980s decade.
10 Bob Backlund Was The Master Of The Chickenwing
One Of WWE’s First Premiere Technical Wrestlers
- Became One Of WWE's First Great Technical Wrestlers
- Multiple World Title Wins Helped Define His Legacy
- Had Controversial Moment Allegedly Not Putting Over Hulk Hogan
The great technical wrestling skills of Bob Backlund was how he chose to tell stories in the ring. Backlund had criticism against him for not having a larger than life personality or inherent charisma like many of the names Vince McMahon invested in.
10 Wrestlers With The Best Claim To Be On The Mount Rushmore Of Technical Wrestling
Being a technician in wrestling is an art, and these wrestlers have the best claim to be on the Mount Rushmore of technical wrestling.
There were even rumors of Backlund refusing to lose to Hulk Hogan when WWE wanted to pass the torch, and that warranted Iron Sheik having a transitional reign in between them. Backlund got by with strong wrestling skills and simple character advancement.
9 Rick Rude Was More Than Just Looks
Became A Tremendous Heel In Golden Era
- Shocked Fans With Great Matches After Getting Character Over
- One Of The Best Heel Technical Wrestlers Ever
- Led Weaker Wrestlers To Some Of Their Best Matches
WWE pushed Rick Rude as a top heel moving up the ladder throughout the years. Rude is remembered more for his heel ladies’ man gimmick that got into the heads of his opponents more than his worker skills.
However, the in-ring ability of Rude helped showcase that fans were getting more used to great matches. Rude used his technical wrestling strengths to carry flawed names like Ultimate Warrior to good outings together.
8 Terry Funk Was Technical Before He Was Hardcore
Exceeded In Every Area Of Wrestling
- Perfected Technical Wrestling In 1980s
- Had Many Great Matches Teaming With Brother
- Short Run In WWE In Mid 1980s
The late Terry Funk recently passing away led to countless wrestlers of multiple generations speaking on his influence. Funk inspired wrestlers of every era that wanted to perfect styles he wrestled at different times.
Terry and his brother Dory Funk Jr. each worked well together in technical wrestling matches for WWE and other territories promotions. The shift to hardcore wrestling in the 1990s led to many fans forgetting about Terry’s technical wrestling time.
7 Tito Santana Could Have A Good Match With Practically Anyone
Underrated Champion Of 1980s
- Had Intercontinental Championship Reigns Deserving More Appreciation
- Won Tag Titles With Multiple Partners In WWE
- Used Technical Wrestling To Always Deliver Strong Performances
WWE was trying to find new talents to create a deeper roster of talents that could contribute at different areas of the card. Tito Santana perfectly represented that as a strong wrestler able to play a role with many different talents.
Technical wrestling and a connection with the audience gave Santana enough reasons to keep getting chances. Tito had an underrated two stints with the Intercontinental Championship and won two tag titles with various partners to show his success for the time.
6 Arn Anderson Was A Tag Team Technician In WWE
Brain Busters Did Great Work In Short Time
- Arn & Tully Formed Tag Team In Four Horsemen
- WWE Signed The Team As Brain Busters
- Anderson Was Among Most Underrated Technical Wrestlers
The tag team tandem of Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard made a shocking move from WCW to WWE in the 1980s. Both wrestlers were considered a premiere tag team representing the Four Horsemen when making the change.
WWE utilized Arn and Tully as the Brain Busters with Bobby Heenan managing them. Anderson was among the greatest technical wrestlers of the decade and showcased that perfectly during the short WWE tenure teaming with Blanchard.
5 Bret Hart Was Slowly Become The Excellence Of Execution
Future Legend Started To Break Out
- Stampede Wrestling Buyout Brought Over New Talents
- Bret Formed The Hart Foundation With Jim Neidhart
- Set Up Bret's Legendary Singles Run Afterwards
Vince McMahon signed a few wrestlers from Stampede Wrestling when brokering a controversial deal to gain ownership of the territory promotion from Stu Hart. Bret Hart and Jim Neidhart were two of the names hired and placed together in the Hart Foundation team.
8 Most Common Wrestling Finishers Used By Technical Wrestlers
Technical wrestlers rely on mat-based wrestling moves a lot. These are the most common finishers used by technical wrestlers.
WWE fans viewed the Hart Foundation as a top tag team upon getting over, but Bret had more support than Jim. Hart had much better wrestlers and introduced the technical style in new ways by implementing his submissions before becoming a bigger singles star in the 1990s.
4 Randy Savage Was A Marvel In The Ring
Helped Introduce Many New Things To Wrestling
- Savage Was Great At Every Aspect Of Wrestling
- Technical Wrestling Gave Him Strong PPV Matches
- Matched Technical Wrestling + Colorful Look
WWE witnessed Randy Savage becoming the second-most important talent on the roster behind Hulk Hogan upon breaking out. Savage had such a unique flair that he helped progress many aspects of wrestling in the ring and on the personality side.
The colorful look and “Macho Man” persona were cool changes from the typical wrestler. However, Savage also thrived as a technical wrestler that could have strong matches. Technical wrestling skills even saw Savage leading Ultimate Warrior to his best matches.
3 Dynamite Kid Brought Intensity & Influenced Many Other Wrestlers
Was One Of The First Elite Technical Wrestlers
- Was Innovative For Smaller Wrestlers Entering Industry
- British Bulldogs Tag Team Got Him & Davey Boy Jobs
- Wrestled More Intense Version Of Technical Moves
Dynamite Kid unfortunately gets left behind in wrestling history throughout the years to showcase new in-ring styles. Technical wrestling was the style used by Dynamite, but he did things in the ring that no one else did before him.
Future wrestlers known for technical wrestling like Davey Richards and Chris Jericho expressed that Dynamite Kid played a role in inspiring their careers. Dynamite delivered must-watch technical matches, whether in singles action alone or teaming with Davey Boy Smith.
2 Mr. Perfect Is One Of The Best Wrestlers To Not Win The WWE Title
Was Arguably The Most Complete Wrestler In WWE
- Hennig Was Great Technical Wrestler Before WWE
- WWE Tenure Helped Him Become Major Star
- Set New Standards For Better WWE Matches
WWE hired Curt Hennig in the 1980s to portray the Mr. Perfect character since he was so athletically gifted in many areas of wrestling. Hennig working for many years before WWE led to him developing a strong reputation for his in-ring work.
The push of Mr. Perfect saw the technical wrestling of WWE reaching new heights. Classic matches started to become common enough for Hennig to stand out for his in-ring work. It was a tremendous bonus that Perfect also had charisma and excelled at character work as well.
1 Ricky Steamboat Was Masterful In Everything He Did
Set Template For Babyface Technical Wrestlers
- Ultimate Babyface Technical Wrestler
- Match With Savage Helped Art Form
- Steamboat Always Shined In This Role
WWE made Ricky Steamboat one of the purest babyface characters during the 1980s rise. Steamboat loved to tell stories through technical wrestling. The infamous WrestleMania 3 match between Steamboat and Randy Savage was viewed as WWE’s first true classic technical bout.
Steamboat continued to thrive at that area of the job and made many fans develop higher expectations for good matches. WWE never made Steamboat a world champion, but he remains a respected part of their history for his great work in the 1980s.
