Whenever people argue over who belongs on the Mount Rushmore of greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Ric Flair’s name usually gets brought up. So when “The Nature Boy” gave a glimpse into his version of the list on this week’s The Bump, people paid attention. Flair was discussing his final run with WWE back in 2008 that culminated in him losing an instant classic against Shawn Michaels at WrestleMania XXIV when he mentioned how Vince McMahon originally pitched him the idea over the phone. Later in the conversation the “American Dream” Dustry Rhodes was brought up, prompting Flair to say he and McMahon were the two greatest creative minds in wrestling history.
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“He was a genius, and a phenomenal talent,” Flair said. “They always talk about these Mount Rushmores, and all that. If you take a Mount Rushmore of creativity, not wrestling…you put Vince McMahon and Dusty Rhodes on it, and I don’t even know who number three and four is.”
Do you agree with Flair’s list? And who should be in the other two spots? Let us know down in the comments!
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson made headlines back in November when he gave his Mount Rushmore list.
“*I made an edit after thinking about the wrestling star’s impact and drawing power during their respective runs. Thanks for the carve out and always a cool debate. I’d go with/ Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Gorgeous George/Bruno Sammartino, Steve Austin 🐍 #WrestlingsMtRushmore,” Johnson wrote.
A few months later Kurt Angle gave another version.
“A guy like Shawn Michaels would be on the Mount Rushmore, Ric Flair would be on Mount Rushmore,” Angle said. “I don’t see Brock as an overall athlete that would be up there. But don’t get me wrong, what he does in the ring, no-one does better.”
“‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and The Rock,” he later added. “I would never put myself up there, it’s just not who I am. I imagine some people do, but when I think about Mount Rushmore, I don’t think of myself.”
He then explained why Lesnar didn’t make the list.
“With Brock, in most cases they would pass him up,” Angle said. “I think it’s because he’s not a guy–he’s a man of very few words. He goes in that ring and performs as good, if not better, than anyone in the world, but in sports entertainment, you have got to have something behind that. So, if you are talking about Mount Rushmore then you are talking about the overall entertainment — how people get wowed and what they say to people, to the fans, and how they pertain themselves in their character.”
