The Top 5 Most Popular WWF Wrestlers of the 1980's

In the 1980s, pro wrestling was all about the character. It was all about creativity; expressed both in the ring and on the interview platforms. It seemed that every other week there was a new character that fans could relate to. We had wrestlers with masks, wrestlers on both sides of the height spectrum, wrestlers that were unique in their 'badness', not just loud, obnoxious, angry guys (like EVERYBODY is today).

There was also a very clear line between good guy and bad guy in the 80's. If you rooted for the good guys, you were not rooting for the same wrestlers as the fans who rooted for the bad guys. Good guys were moral, honest, and fun to cheer for. Bad guys weren't. The difference between Hulk Hogan and King Kong Bundy was as big as the difference between up and down. You knew where they stood. Today is completely the different. Everybody wants to appear rough, tough, and edgy. Note to the WWE, this makes your talent appear unoriginal and lacking in personality.

With this in mind, I will talk about 5 of the, who I believe to be, most popular and greatest wrestlers of the 1980's. For ease, I will restrict this list to those who wrestled in the WWF so you won't be seeing Dusty Rhodes, Tommy Rich, Rock and Roll Express or Magnum TA. I will offer another list regarding the NWA/AWA/WCW. (I know Dusty Rhodes wrestled in the WWF, but I'm talking about the heyday of the WWF; i.e. the Hogan Era). In the 1980's I was a kid. I grew up watching WWF every Saturday or Sunday morning, not to mention the trememdous Saturday Night's Main Events that were on every so often. You always knew a belt change was going to happen then.

In the 1980's championships meant something to wrestling. You had the World Heavyweight Championship, the Intercontinental Champion, and the Tag Team Champions. That's all. You didn't need to have 99 different belts just to satisfy egos as large as Andre The Giant's shoes. Another note to WWE, having hundreds of championship belts (and having them change hands so often) does nothing to build characters that anybody will care about in 5 years. It just makes you and your talent seem shallow.