The Greatest Professional Wrestler of All-Time: The Conclusion

This is the final installment in a three-part series to properly qualify how we could anoint a wrestler as the greatest of all-time and what grapplers carry the distinction as one of the greatest. It must be restated that this argument, opposed to who may be the greatest hockey player or basketball player, is much more complex and layered. I proposed six all-time greats in the last post, and they are listed as such (not a ranking order):

• Shawn Michaels
• Kurt Angle
• Ric Flair
• The Undertaker
• Chris Benoit 
• Hulk Hogan

Onto the final three...

Two of the greatest ever: The Rock & Stone Cold Steve Austin

Stone Cold Steve Austin

It's undeniable that Stone Cold Steve Austin was WWE's leading man during its most profitable and revered era in the near 60-year history of the promotion. Like Hulkamania, Austin 3:16 was a movement that propelled WWE's Attitude marketing strategy into the forefront of North American pop culture. Austin's popularity sky-rocketed after his epic and bloody contest with then fan-favourite, Bret The Hitman Hart; I'll go on record to say that's one of the greatest matches of all-time. Millions embraced Austin's rebellious attitude and his tendency to infuriate the boss, Vince McMahon. This rivalry provided us the most compelling  programming in the history of the company. Whether Austin was driving a Zamboni within Joe Louis Arena to get his hands on the Chairman or he was bathing McMahon and co. in Miller-Lite soda pops, even the most skeptical believers of pro wrestling needed to know what rebellious act Austin would perform next?

In the ring, Austin was a skilled technician, but could also brawl with the best of them; The Texas Rattlesnake brawled his way throughout many great matches in 1998. His matches with The Hitman are well-documented but the Bionic Redneck would end up a participant in some of wrestling's most dramatic matches. No one will forget the wars he waged with the likes of The Rock, The Undertaker, Chris Benoit and Triple H. 

Hulkamania may have originally pushed pro wrestling into pop culture prominence, but there's no denying that Austin 3:16 elevated pro wrestling to heights it has never seen. 

Dwayne The Rock Johnson

This is a highly-debatable suggestion. One could argue Dwayne The Rock Johnson would have never been the top guy in the WWE at any point if it wasn't for a year-long absence of Steve Austin who missed a year due to rehabbing a surgically repaired neck. However, what can't be argued is that The Great One would ultimately become the greatest pop culture export pro wrestling has ever produced. Now a multi-million dollar action movie star, Dwayne Johnson might be the most recognizable pro wrestler of all-time. 

While Rocky left a career in the squared circle for a career on the big screen, his tenure at WWE was highlighted by multiple runs as WWE Champion and Wrestlemania main events. While entertainment's most electrifying man wasn't Chris Benoit in comparisons to technical prowess, The Rock could hold his own in the ring and brought a unique style of grappling to some classic encounters with Steve Austin, Mankind and Triple H. Indelibly, The Rock will always be remembered for the plethora of catchphrases he's left in WWE lore. Only a few select wrestlers were able to captivate an audience with words only, like the Brahma Bull could. 

The Rock's full-time run as a pro wrestler was cut-off during the prime years but he trail-blazed a path towards stardom no other superstar could achieve; If you smell what's he's cookin'. 

Bret The Hitman Hart

WWE's flagship bearer of the mid-1990's, Bret Hart etched a path of excellence nearly unrivaled in pro wrestling history. The Hitman was as a technically sound as anyone and was a participant in many of wrestling's greatest matches. Whether he was paired with long-standing partner, Jim The Anvil Neidhart, collectively known as The Hart Foundation, or he was wrestling in singles competition, Hart was one of the sport's best storytellers. During the early 1990's, WWE was the land of giants where the top superstars were coincidentally the largest; however, you can only hold down greatness for so long. In comparison to many of wrestling behemoths, a diminutive Hart wrestled his way to five WWE Championships and owns the distinction of being the company's first-ever triple crown winner, collecting WWE Heavyweight, Intercontinental and Tag Team titles. 

No one will ever forget classic encounters Hart had with Steve Austin, Shawn Michaels, Diesel, The Undertaker, the British Bulldogs, Mr Perfect and his brother Owen Hart. If I was to list the 10 greatest matches of all-time, you may see Hart's name more than any other listed wrestler. 

Bret Hart truly has ever right to claim he is, "the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be". 

I presented 9 suggestions as to who may be the greatest of all-time; who is at the top of your list? There are some omissions that may come into question. History pundits will point to Madison Square Garden legend Bruno Sammartino as the greatest; or new generation fans believe that John Cena's ten-year run as WWE's main-eventer makes him the best. WCW advocates will point to the career of Sting and say he deserves mention or that Triple H was really "that damn good" and he stands atop this mountain. 

Well, that's what makes this argument so much fun!

WWE Superstar Zach Ryder: How Social Media Changed His Career and Why PR & Social Media Pros Should Care

It was the biggest week in World Wrestling Entertainment in the last seven years. On February 14, 2011, The Rock, "The Great One", "The Most Electrifying Man in Entertainment", stepped into a WWE ring again, after a seven year absence, and was announced the Host for Wrestlemania 27 (The WWE's equivalent to the Superbowl). The Rock's return made entertainment headlines.

Underlying the hoopla surrounding the return of the Rock, there was another WWE Superstar, who would single-handedly change the company forever.

On February 17th, 2011, WWE jobber (enhancement talent), Zack Ryder used his flip-cam to shoot a very modest YouTube video he called, Z! True Long Island Story (of course a spoof on E! True Hollywood Story).

Capitalizing on the meteoric rise of the cast of Jersey Shore, Zack Ryder adopted the fist-pumping, boy-band loving, arrogant gimmick months before he first shot his soon-to-be YouTube sensation series. Ryder was rarely given opportunities to appear on TV to ever profile his catchphrase, "Woo Woo Woo, You Know It". Because he wasn't receiving these opportunities to appear on WWE programming, he brought the programming to him. In the subsequent weeks, not only would he become a more prominent player in WWE and an Internet phenomenon but he'd become a case study for Social Media enthusiasts around the world.

The first webisode of Z! True Long Island Story was short and simple. He promoted his t-shirt, You Tube channel, Twitter account and new action figure. He introduced many of his now famous catchphrases like:

• "Are you serious bro?" 
• "Long Island Iced Z" and 
• "Zack Pack". 

He finished the first webisode with a fan engagement initiative and social media giveaway (t-shirt to those that tweeted him a picture of them in a Zack Ryder t-shirt). While this video had little production, it provided him the vehicle to cultivate his boyband-loving, spiked-hair and headband-wearing persona that would later endear himself to millions across the continent.

He would broadcast a new webisode on his Long Island Iced Z YouTube channel every week and every week the production became slicker, new characters were introduced and he gained a larger following.

As his popularity soared online, he started to attract the attention of high-profile WWE Superstars as they would request to have an appearance on his show. Superstars like Dolph Ziggler, John Morrison and Triple H all appeared or even had recurring story lines on his webisodes. His biggest and most vocal supporter is WWE's largest attraction John Cena. Cena continually goes off WWE script to ask fans to follow @ZackRyder or check out Z! True Long Island Story. 

Ryder was recently publicly recognized by main-event talent at a WWE TV taping of Monday Night Raw. After the show went off the air, Cena and other WWE main-eventers gave Ryder the ring to himself to receive a "curtain-call" from the live crowd. Ryder had some revealing marks about his risk

"I was doing it to get noticed or to get fired"

 Ryder's risk can and should be studied by PR/Social Media professionals and students. His risk had all the elements of a thorough and clever PR campaign:

• Know your audience: Zack Ryder understood the cult-like, underground 'Internet Wresting Community' (IWC) and the opportunity to develop an underground following. The IWC loves to, "peak behind the curtain" of the industry because revealing any truths of the business used to be taboo. Z! True Long Island Story took down the "4th wall" to reveal politics of the business. Knowing the influence the IWC has over WWE programming Ryder smartly formulated his content around matters the IWC craves. 
• Integrated branding: Ryder's influence spans over Twitter, Facebook and YouTube and you won't have to stray far from his channels to find his branded catchphrases, "WOO WOO WOO, You Know It!", "Are you serious bro?" and "Take care, spike your hair". The more platforms you have to spread your key messages the better reach it will obtain.
• Leverage more prominent brands: John Cena's influence on Ryder has helped Ryder transition from a cult-like following (IWC) to a following from all WWE fans. Cena is the WWE's most popular character with the highest-selling merchandise, especially with children. In recent weeks, Ryder has developed more merchandise, branded with his catchphrases, which has been adorned by more and more children, in large thanks to John Cena. 
• Personalize your social media channels: In the world of professional wrestling, fans rarely get a glimpse of the man or woman behind the wrestling "Superstar" persona. Zack Ryder's weekly web series gave fans a peek into his life as he had friends and family appear on his show. He also engaged the fans and made them apart of the show by having a weekly segments that included showing Ryder signs that were at WWE TV tapings and "Broski of the Week" videos. It's important to engage your stakeholders on your social media channels as an individual and not hide behind a corporate logo and corporate-speak. 

Broski of the Week

Zack Ryder had to create his opportunity to establish his character and get noticed by WWE fans and organization. On that pivotal week for WWE in February, when the Rock returned to WWE television for the first time in seven years, Zack Ryder's online risk would end up being more influential to WWE. WWE has shifted a lot of focus to social media and even dedicates time on WWE programming to highlight WWE trending topics on Twitter. Ryder recently achieved the honour of most signatures on an online campaign ever! He has also been recognized by Sports Illustrated as one of the top 100 influential athletes on social media.

This career-altering, company-changing year for Ryder will truly come full-circle as he will have his most significant cameo on this week's show; a man he would never have imagined appear when he started Z! True Long Island Story back in February.

That man? Who else? The Rock