Wrestling Forum banner

Who do you think are the top 5 in-ring workers in WWE today?

6K views 97 replies 71 participants last post by  Embracer 
#1 ·
1. Alberto Del Rio
2. Daniel Bryan
3. Randy Orton
4. Dolph Ziggler
5. Sheamus
 
#4 ·
Orton and Sheamus? Really?

Every one of Orton's matches is the same; clothesline. Second rope DDT. Clothesline outside of the ring. Powerslam. RKO OUT OF NOWHERE!

Sheamus is just so damn average.

And these guys over CM fucking Punk? Really?

In no particular order, I'd say Punk, Ziggler, Cesaro, Lesnar, Bryan. But honestly, for some reason, I feel bored by watching Bryan a lot of the time.


Edit: Well now that I think about it, since I'm using Lesnar as a part-timer, I'd switch out Cesaro for Jericho, both are top 5 workers in WWE for sure.
 
#10 ·
Randy Orton
Sheamus
Daniel Bryan
Dolph Ziggler
Alberto Del Rio
 
  • Like
Reactions: MrJamesJepsan
#11 ·
Also, anyone hating on Sheamus or Orton, go and watch any of the Sheamus/Big Show matches, or Sheamus/Bryan from Extreme Rules. Go and watch any of the Orton/Christian matches, or pretty much any Orton match from 2011.. Orton is going through the motions right now, I'll agree, but that's because WWE aren't giving him anything. If he had a main event angle to work with, he could be up there above Bryan if you ask me. He's improved that much.
 
#75 · (Edited)
If we're talking about not getting enough opportunities to have great matches, then that means I can include some of Punk's best matches where he wasn't restricted by the WWE. Sheamus/Big Show is a joke compared to the matches I'm about to list by the way.

CM Punk vs. Austin Aries (Death Before Dishonor III)
CM Punk vs. Samoa Joe II
CM Punk vs. Roderick Strong The Future is Now 2005
CM Punk vs. John Cena MITB 2011
CM Punk vs. Rey Mysterio Over the Limit 2010
CM Punk vs. Daniel Bryan Over the Limit 2012
CM Punk vs. John Morrison ECW TV Match 2007
CM Punk vs. Jamie Noble at Fate of an Angel 2005

Sheamus is alright, but if you watch these matches you can easily tell who is superior (in my opinion, of course). Even watching Sheamus before he got brought up to the main roster, he has never even come close to the quality of Punk's greatest performances. I also could've kept going with my list but there's no need to. As for Orton, he's a really good worker but I don't think those matches I listed would've been as entertaining if you substituted Orton for Punk. Orton vs. Joe most likely would've been a very enjoyable match, but not the 5 star classic that Punk vs. Joe was.
 
#13 · (Edited)
To be perfectly honest, I don't think I could get to five. What do you mean by "In WWE?" Just an employee of WWE? So can I name-drop road agents or NXT commentators??
I don't think Regal is quite top-5 anymore.

I'm not saying Punk is bad.. I just don't think he is as crisp as Bryan or Del Rio. Nowhere near.
I don't think he's as crisp, necessarily, as Bryan or Del Rio, but he's more entertaining than either of them IMO.
 
#14 ·
I have a bad habit of forgetting that I just posted :lol
 
#20 ·
Sandow is pretty damn average in the ring, at best, and I like the guy.
 
#87 ·
I've watched the Regal/Ambrose matches recently and yes Regal is amazing. Ambrose was pretty boss too.
I don't think there's anyone on the current roster that is not flawed is my biggest grievance. I mean, maybe I'm just too jaded & cynical or just overly critical but a lot of the "favorites" I can quite easily pick apart.

In example, Dolph Ziggler is terrible at timing/pacing, comebacks/cutoffs & facial expressions. His offense is dreadful & he needs to be carried through a match, which doesn't work when you're the heel. He is a good bumper but he oversells all the time & his strikes look awful. I think he's just too young & green to have to call the majority of a match so he needs someone with more experience to do it for him.

...and he would be one of the ones I liked.

Daniel Bryan can pretty much work the mat & that's it. Any running spots or high spots look ridiculous when he does them, but he refuses to remove them from his arsenal. A good example is his running corner spot where he does a backflip. It looks bad 100% of the time but he just keeps doing it. He is really bad with facial expressions. He can't stay in character & always laughs, that's not good when you're trying to draw money. Truth be told, that's probably why WWE turned him into a comedy midcard babyface. Tying people up like a pretzel? He's tops. Stringing things together so they make sense? He's good there too. WWE style has hurt him a lot though because he's so limited by TV time restrictions.

Antonio Cesaro is really good at the 5-7 minute TV time limits but I think he kind of falls apart after that if his Sheamus match is any indication. Sheamus is really good at the 12-15 minute WWE style main event match but fails at the 5-7 one. Big Show is a pretty good big man but he feeds too much to the babyface, especially when working heel & it weakens the finishes.

C.M. Punk & John Cena both aren't bad workers but their execution is super sloppy looking. Like un-athletic guys mimicking wrestling instead of executing wrestling. Punk's kicks, his flying elbow, Cena's legdrop & most of his comeback... It's not about the moves though, they're really good at telling a story. Both of them.

I think Heath Slater is fantastic at what he does. Which is look like a 1980's style enhancement talent. He makes the moves he takes looks like he just got killed, which puts over the move and the guy doing it. He's a good bumper, a good seller & has great facial expressions. Can't really comment on his offense as he's so good at what he does, why fuck with it? :lol

Cody Rhodes & Damien Sandow are both extremely overrated. I wouldn't call either even good, let alone top five. Cody could be a good hand down the line. The best thing I could say about him is maybe one day he can be a Christian like wrestler? I don't even know what to say about Sandow. There's a reason he took so long to get called up from developmental. He's good at trying to get his character over but bell-to-bell, he's putting you to sleep. Just completely forgettable all around. Mad props for him asking Poffo permission to use the Genius gimmick before adopting it though.

So, yeah...

Being a good worker in WWE is different than being a good worker elsewhere, especially the Indies. It's all about camera positions, facial expressions, engaging the crowd & looking believable. You need to tell a story still, even if it's just a five minute undercard match, it needs substance, not just both of you doing your signature spots then going to the finish. That's part of the reason why I dislike Kofi so much.
There's no perfect wrestler in WWE that's for sure. I mostly agree about Ziggler though I think he'll be a really good face.

Bryan has always excelled in longer matches his 2/3 fall match with Sheamus was great. Anyone who can get a great match out of the Miz is pretty damn good in my book. I've never had a problem with D Bry's high spots or running moves I guess I'm not very picky. If WWE buried guys for laughing Cena would be a dark match worker.

Cesaro had a great match with Ohno in FCW that went about 15 minutes, and I thought Cesaro was pretty great in that laying a nice beating on his old tag partner.

Punk was never the greatest at the ROH/indy workrate style I actually think the WWE structure has helped his matches a bunch. Cena is a decent wrestler and a pretty great brawler if he could work more matches as violent as the Umaga match now I think we would all praise his work.

Just curious as to who you like on the indy's I haven't watched ROH in a while mainly because Davey Richards is the wrestling antichrist worst no seller exposing the buisness spot monkey of all time.


Dolph wrestles like a face, has a face arsenal, sells like a face... He is a face who ignores himself. God of dropkick (and missile dropkick), he will be very popular when he'll turn.

Ziggler should've been turned face months ago he'll be a natural imo.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top