With each and every passing day, we are all aging. In an attempt to hold on to our youth many of us reflect back to our childhood memories. Much of my childhood memories in some shape, form or fashion involve wrestling. Whether it be staying up late Friday, Saturday and in some cases early Monday mornings and watching my favourite wrestlers do battle, or the countless hours I spent on my N64 playing wrestling games such as Warzone, WCW Mayhem and WWF No Mercy. (One of my personal favourites) However I think one of my fondest childhood memories has to be the arguments my friends and I had over why our favourite wrestler was the best. (Arguments we had include Austin/Rock, Hogan/Flair and Kane/Undertaker) So in an attempt to hang on to my youth, I have comprised a top ten list of my personal favourite wrestlers of all time.

10. HHH- Before I explain why Triple H is on my list, let me make it clear that I do not condone Triple H as far as his ego and backstage power goes, however I have to hand it to Triple H he is one hell of a wrestler, this is evident in his matches with The Rock, Steve Austin, Kurt Angle and Shawn Michaels. Every time he steps in the ring he displays great in ring psychology and displays a true love/passion for the business. This is evident in Survivor Series 2002.

09. The Rock- Most people who grew up watching wrestling as a child has a special wrestler they mark out for, a wrestler who sends Goosebumps up their spine every time their music hits or every time they step in to the ring. With me it was no different and you guessed it, the wrestler I used to mark out for was The Rock. He was a great wrestler and someone I could look up to. I still to this day enjoy watching his matches with HHH at Backlash 2000 or his matches with Kurt Angle. He would be a lot further on my list of favourite wrestlers if it was not for the fact that he left and decided to become a Hollywood actor, however I am not a hater and I am very happy that The Rock is doing very well. Although I still await the day he becomes an active wrestler again, if it ever happens.

08. Terry Funk- This man is a genius when it comes to professional wrestling. He can wrestler a technical masterpiece, become hardcore or even use aerial moves. He also has an ability to make people believe that what he is doing is for real whether it is in the ring or displaying a passionate hatred for his opponent. I'm still trying to work out whether he and Jerry the King Lawler have a strong hatred for each other or if it's just a work.

07. Randy Savage- The eighties is considered the golden era as far as wrestling is concerned, however in my opinion no ones star shone brighter in the 1980's then The Macho Man. He proved to be a formidable Intercontinental Champion, had one of the greatest matches in the history of wrestling with Ricky The Dragon Steamboat and went through a gruelling tournament to become WWE Champion. Nuf said.

06. Kurt Angle- Kurt Angle is perhaps pound for pound the best wrestler to step into a wrestling ring and even though the Kurt Angle invitational has not showed off his in ring skills, his past matches has. Examples include; Kurt Angle vs Brock at Summerslam 2003, Kurt Angle vs John Cena at No Mercy 2003 and Kurt Angle vs Eddie Guerrero at Wrsetlemania XX. Kurt Angle's arsenal is a mixture of suplexes and submissions, which are sure to wear down his opponents, plus a comical personality which makes him a favourite amongst fans.

05. Eddie Guerrero- The reason Eddie Guerrero is one of my favourite wrestlers is because of his accomplishments. Not professionally, but personally. He was able to win his fight with his demons and shake off the reputation of a mid-card wrestler, to become one of the top wrestlers on the Smackdown brand. His phenomenal in ring ability does not hurt matters either.

04. Ric Flair- There is no question about it, Ric Flair is the man. He can talk the talk, he looks and carries himself like a champion and above all else he can put on a great wrestling match with just about anybody. He is a multiple time NWA/WCW champion and former two time WWE champion, going through 29 other men (alright 28, seeing as Ted Dibiase was eliminated before he came to the ring) to win his first WWE Championship. Even at the age of 54, he can still put on the best wrestling matches; this is evident in his cage match with Randy Orton at Taboo Tuesday.

03. Shelton Benjamin- Many people believe that Randy Orton is the next big star in the WWE; however I feel Shelton Benjamin has proven he is the next big star. As J.R puts it Shelton is 'as good a pure athlete to ever grace a WWE ring' Thus far his career has resembled Bret Hart's. Proving himself as a great tag team wrestler, winning the Intercontinental Championship and I would not be surprised if there is a run with the World Heavyweight Championship is round the corner. Either way I believe we have a future World Champion in the making.

02. Bret Hart- This man is truly 'The best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be' he is the best in ring technician I have ever seen and his matches are second to none. I often find myself referring back to King of The Ring 1993 when he defeated Razor Ramon, had a classic match with Mr. Perfect and proved his toughness in the finals against Bam Bam to win the King of the Ring.

01. Chris Benoit- This is my all time favourite wrestler. I first remember watching Chris Benoit in WCW and he instantly stood out in my mind. I remember watching his matches with Dean Malenko, Jeff Jerret as well as his classic match with Bret Hart. My wish was at that time was that Benoit would make his way to WWE and surprisingly my wish came true, seeing as he, Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn and Dean Malenko made their way into the WWE. This gave Benoit a greater opportunity to prove himself and boy did he ever. Engaging in classic matches with The Rock, Kurt Angle and Chris Jericho. (Benoit vs Jericho this Monday on Raw) Benoit went on to win the Intercontinental Championship and Tag team Championship, however something had been missing from Benoit's list of accomplishments The World Heavyweight Championship, although all that changed March 14th 2004 when Chris Benoit finally won the big one. This was the proudest time I ever felt to be a wrestling fan.

So there you have. They are my favourite wrestlers and now I am interested in hearing who are your top ten favourite wrestlers are whether they are wrestlers from the old school era or wrestlers of the 21st centaury you can even send in a list of your favourite tag teams. Hope you enjoyed the column written by yours truly.

by Ashley Daniels ..