I would like to preface this list with a note that I have been intending to put together a FanPost on what TNA can learn from Michael Lewis' Moneyball. I would really love to write it (as I enjoy writing), but I have been busy and I am still quote-hunting. I note this because I wanted to write a quality post to earn some goodwill, but instead my first post will end up with me dumping 256 names on you, some of which many of you reading may find dubious. I apologize in advance for this, especially because only one person really asked for it.
Second, I want to note that I am only judging these wrestlers based on mic work and ring ability. I think things like drawing power are sort of outdated ways to judge a wrestler (at this point, the WWE brand name is really what draws, though there is a possibility that certain events get bumps from John Cena main-eventing or from big-time names like The Rock returning).
I also think that titles won is not the best judge for a gimmicked sport. The Great Khali has more World Championships than Ted DiBiase, but that should not ever be a measure for which guy is better at the pro grapz as far as I'm concerned - not even a little bit.
So, of the wrestlers that I list here, I am claiming that:
a. They might be even with or below Punk as a worker, but their mic skills more than make up for that,
b. They might be even with or below Punk as a talker, but their mic skills more than make up for that,
c. They blow Punk out of the water at both of these things.
I also want to note that when I speak of "working," I don't just mean a very narrow version of "doing technical wrestling moves" that some (not all) people seem to speak of when they speak of working. I'm also talking about everything from facial expressions to timing.
I won't leave an explanation with every wrestler, but if there is one guy you think is egregious, we can discuss it in the comments. I'm expecting that if people read this, there will be quite a bit of dissension, so feel free to tell me how wrong I am. This is at the very least a discussion generator. Note also that I cut out Japan, Europe, and Mexico guys unless they worked in the U.S. for a reasonable amount of time (just for simplification's sake).
So, after the jump, this list that almost no one asked for! Note that I genuinely believe all 256 of these guys are better than Punk. I'm not stretching it. I like what I see from these guys, overall at least more than what I've ever seen from Punk.
1. Ric Flair
2. Sting
3. Lex Luger
4. Arn Anderson
5. Tully Blanchard
6. Barry Windham
7. Ron Simmons
8. Shane Douglas
9. Terry Funk
10. Dusty Rhodes
11. Bobby Eaton
12. Ricky Morton
13. Vader
14. Mick Foley
15. Brad Armstrong
16. Brian Pillman
17. Ricky Steamboat
18. Harley Race
19. Verne Gagne
20. Andre the Giant
21. Hulk Hogan
22. Rick Steiner
23. Scott Steiner
24. Rey Mysterio Jr.
25. Psicosis
26. Dory Funk Jr.
27. Kerry Von Erich
28. Jerry Lawler
29. Bill Dundee
30. Sid Vicious
31. Paul Orndorff
32. Ultimo Dragon
33. Dean Malenko
34. Raven
35. Diamond Dallas Page
36. Mick Foley
37. Booker T
38. Tommy Rich
39. Kevin Sullivan
40. Mike Rotunda/o
41. Dr. Death Steve Williams
42. Eddie Guerrero
43. Chavo Guerrero
44. Art Barr
45. Roddy Piper
46. Fatu
47. Bruno Sammartino
48. Pedro Morales
49. Tito Santana
50. Rick Martel
51. Bret Hart
52. Owen Hart
53. Davey Boy Smith
54. Dynamite Kid
55. Jake Roberts
56. Jimmy Snuka
57. Chris Benoit
58. Chris Jericho
59. AJ Styles
60. Austin Aries
61. Samoa Joe
62. Bully Ray
63. Awesome Kong
64. Hamada
65. Taylor Wilde
66. Gail Kim
67. Alex Shelley
68. Chris Sabin
69. Low-Ki
70. Christopher Daniels
71. Jeff Jarrett
72. James Storm
73. Bobby Roode
74. The Undertaker
75. Brock Lesnar
76. Curt Hennig
77. Sgt. Slaughter
78. Scott Hall
79. Shawn Michaels
80. Marty Jannetty
81. Adrian Adonis
82. Buddy Rose
83. Doug Somers
84. Steve Austin
85. The Rock
86. Dustin Rhodes
87. Bam Bam Bigelow
88. Barry Darsow
89. Magnum T.A.
90. Haku
91. Yokozuna
92. Randy Savage
93. Ted DiBiase
94. Junkyard Dog
95. John Tenta
96. John Cena
97. Daniel Bryan
98. Mark Henry
99. Tyson Kidd
100. Dolph Ziggler
101. Cody Rhodes
102. The Big Show
103. Randy Orton
104. Goldberg
105. Tony Anthony
106. Jeff Hardy
107. Matt Hardy
108. Steven Regal
109. Jerry Blackwell
110. Jesse Ventura
111. Matt Borne
112. Doug Williams
113. Brutus Maximus
114. Michael Modest
115. JBL
116. John Morrison
117. Brian Kendrick
118. El Generico
119. Paul London
120. Christian
121. Kurt Angle
122. Taz
123. The Sandman
124. C.W. Anderson
125. Ballz Mahoney
126. Sabu
127. Eddie Gilbert
128. Jyushin Liger
129. The Great Muta
130. Rob Van Dam
131. Jack Victory
132. Big Boss Man
133. One Man Gang
134. Chris Adams
135. Chris Candido
136. Terry Gordy
137. Luke Gallows
138. Chris Masters
139. Chief Jay Strongbow
140. Big Cat Ernie Ladd
141. Ole Anderson
142. Butch Reed
143. Bob Backlund
144. Terry Taylor
145. Koko B. Ware
146. Bobby Fulton
147. Tommy Rogers
148. Robert Gibson
149. Dennis Condrey
150. Bull Nakano
151. B. Brian Blair
152. Jim Brunzell
153. Colt Cabana
154. D'Lo Brown
155. Dan Severn
156. Ken Shamrock
157. Road Dogg Jesse James
158. Billy Gunn
159. Umaga
160. Lance Storm
161. Pierre Oullette
162. The Mountie
163. Rick Rude
164. Greg Valentine
165. Sean Waltman
166. Konnan
167. Blackjack Mulligan
168. Blackjack Lanza
169. Dick Slater
170. Stan Hansen
171. Robert Fuller
172. Jimmy Golden
173. Tajiri
174. Finlay
175. Ron Killings
176. MVP
177. Edge
178. Nick Bockwinkel
179. Larry Zbyszko
180. Greg Gagne
181. Animal
182. Hawk
183. Wayne Bloom
184. Mike Enos
185. Alberto Del Rio
186. Yoshi Tatsu
187. Primo
188. Hunico
189. Antonio Cesaro
190. Kevin Steen
191. Kassius Ohno
192. Human Tornado
193. Chuck Taylor
194. Jimmy Uso
195. Jey Uso
196. Manny Fernandez
197. John Nord
198. Marcus Bagwell
199. Yuji Nagata
200. Masahiro Chono
201. Norman Smiley
202. Jamie Noble
203. Kaz Hayashi
204. Shane Helms
205. Mike Awesome
206. Del Wilkes
207. Savio Vega
208. 2 Cold Scorpio
209. Taka Michinoku
210. Funaki
211. Brian Lawler
212. Scott Taylor
213. Dick Togo
214. Tom Zenk
215. Abdullah the Butcher
216. Mike Quackenbush
217. Fire Ant
218. Soldier Ant
219. Green Ant
220. Jigsaw
221. Ultramantis Black
222. Gran Akuma
223. Sugar Dunkerton
224. Tracy Smothers
225. Doug Furnas
226. Philip LaFon
227. Nick Dinsmore
228. Stevie Richards
229. Mikey Whipwreck
230. Louie Spicolli
231. Spike Dudley
232. Chris Hamrick
233. Blitzkrieg
234. Kanyon
235. Sean O'Haire
236. Mark Jindrak
237. Al Snow
238. Perry Saturn
239. Mike Sanders
240. Elix Skipper
241. Masato Tanaka
242. Steve Kiern
243. Harry Smith
244. Super Crazy
245. Juventud Guerrera
246. Sonjay Dutt
247. Jay Lethal
248. Charlie Haas
249. Shelton Benjamin
250. Homicide
251. Steve Corino
252. Necro Butcher
253. Kenny King
254. Nova
255. Simon Diamond
256. Stan Lane