Top 25 Heroes & Icons

[Vegas]

Today in the mail I got the new book The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: Heroes & Icons.

It is very similar to the format used in the other books (the Heels, the Tag Teams, etc) in The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame series.

There are a total of 8 LOW wrestlers in this book's Top 25 Heroes & Icons:

Jim Londos (#1), Andre the Giant (#7), Lou Thesz (#8), Antonino Rocca (#9), Bobo Brazil (#13), Danny Hodge (#17) Mil Mascaras (#22) and Yukon Eric (#25).

There are also 9 other LOW wrestlers with brief sections (usually 3-5 pages) devoted to them in this book too: Don Leo Jonathan, Pepper Gomez, Bob Armstrong, Ilio DiPaolo, Magnum T.A., Jimmy Snuka, Jimmy Valiant, Bruiser Brody, and The Crusher.

Here is this book's complete rankings for the Top 25 Heroes and Icons:

1. Jim Londos
2. Hulk Hogan
3. Bruno Sammartino
4. Dusty Rhodes
5. Verne Gagne
6. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin
7. Andre the Giant
8. Lou Thesz
9. Antonino Rocca
10. Ricky Steamboat
11. Edouard Carpentier
12. Jack Brisco
13. Bobo Brazil
14. "Whipper" Billy Watson
15. Bret "Hitman" Hart
16. Wahoo McDaniel
17. Danny Hodge
18. Steve Casey
19. Dory Funk Jr.
20. "Cowboy" Bob Ellis
21. Junkyard Dog
22. Mil Mascaras
23. Joe Savoldi
24. Mr. Wrestling II (Johnny Walker)
25. Yukon Eric

[Vegas]

I am starting to read some of the book now.

They said some of the criteria they used to determine their rankings included "drawing power, longevity as a hero, originality, and historical significance."

[pikemojo]

I didn't even know this was coming out. I love this series of books. I will have to pick this one up. Thanks for the heads up.

[Vegas]

Oct 4, 2012 23:40:27 GMT -5 pikemojo said:

I didn't even know this was coming out. I love this series of books. I will have to pick this one up. Thanks for the heads up.

Yeah, it's been about 5 1/2 years since the last book (The Heels) in this series was released. Based on what I saw after it arrived in the mail yesterday, this looks like another great book- although I was sort of surprised by some of its rankings.

[TTX]

Looking forward to getting this one. The others have all been great.

[stu]

I've been waiting for this one for years. Can't wait to dive in to its pages.

One quick thing. Jim Londos is, if anything, crazy, crazy, crazy underrated in the annals of wrestling history. There's a match of his on youtube, can't remember who its against, that will demonstrate Londos's drawing power and appeal to any doubters.

[The Creek Rises]

I honestly did not know/realize the overall importance/influence of Londos. Of course, that's yet another reason to play LOW -- to learn about wrestling's past. Then again, sometimes their "real" past gets mixed up with their "career" in your fed, and that can get a little confusing. :-)

I was a little surprised that Sting did not make the top 25, but then again, I'm not surprised. When the criteria includes "drawing power, longevity as a hero, originality, and historical significance," I know that things like drawing power and historical significance probably work against him, at least in the eyes of many wrestling analysts.

Thanks for sharing the list, Mr. Vegas.