The word "icon" is frivolously tagged to many wrestlers these days without proper reasoning, solid logic, or bona fide evidence to suggest they are truly iconic figures in this business. While nobody can deny men like George Hackenschmidt, Lou Thesz, "Nature Boy" Buddy Rodgers, and say "Classy" Freddie Blassie, for example, had numerous contributions to the sport of professional wrestling, the days of sports entertainment are plagued by a pestilence of ignorance and egotism that discredit all the contributions of several "superstars." Hulk Hogan claims to be the immortal icon, while Shawn Michaels to this day says he's the icon that can still go, meanwhile his recent pal Ric Flair is seemingly bitter toward the younger generation and still feels that he can be and moreover needs to be in the spotlight somehow. JBL even lays claim to being a wrestling "God."

Not to neglect the contributions of these four aforementioned men, as all five of them have had a definite impact on the business of sports entertainment, and even to some degree on the sport of professional wrestling. However, all four of these men are extremely arrogant, totally brash, and unabashedly narcissistic in their attitude toward the state of the business, in concerns to the past, the present, and the future. In order to understand why these four men who are no doubt well known can not yet be considered icons, one must examine their deportment, professionalism, and attitude both inside and outside a wrestling ring.

With Hulk Hogan, you have an over-the-hill, addled performer that was way past his prime in 1994, yet since then, in the majority of his matches, he has seemingly been able to come out on top, much to the delight, or in some instances disdain, for some wrestling fans. Hogan was never booked as a solid ring technician, as his status was based purely on charisma and hype, not on skill and ability. In that way, Hogan was able to make an impact on the sport by showing that the most popular wrestler may not necessarily be the most skilled. Hulk garnered an impressive six WWF World Championship title reigns, and that was in his heyday; however, upon his arrival in WCW, backstage politicking dictated Hogan six WCW World's Heavyweight Championship title reigns, thereby tarnishing his legacy to a degree. This man has been known to play the game of politics with the best of them to ensure he maintains his status as "the top guy," or at least one of them, and to continually put himself over younger and younger talent. In his last outing, he would not even put over the next man to be examined, Shawn Michaels, for once more the game was played by the bronze politician from Venice Beach. For these reasons, Hogan can not lay claim to being a legitimate icon in the sport, and while his name may be a household name, so is garbage, and it stinks when it gets too old too. By his actions backstage to secure his spot as a perennial top player, to keep the notion that he is a credible World Champion ten years or so after he hit his prime, is simply playing politics very well, not cementing one's status as an "icon."

As aforesaid, the next man to be examined is "The Heartbreak Kid," Shawn Michaels, who like Hogan has a tarnished legacy which makes one hesitant when considering him to be a true icon. No one can doubt that HBK is a phenomenal in-ring performer that carried the WWF along with a few other top tier players such as Kevin Nash and The Undertaker, to name a few, through the "dark ages" before the "Attitude Era," and that he has great skills both in and out of the ring. The first ever WWF Grand Slam Champion, being the first man to have held the four WWF singles competition championships at the time, a 2-time WWF Royal Rumble winner back to back in 1995 and 1996, and an innovator of the WWF, participating in many first matches, including Ladder matches, the Iron Man Match, and the Hell in a Cell Match. No doubt HBK has made a huge impact on the sport and his legacy can never be denied, yet unfortunately for him, that dynasty he established will forever remain sullied because he lacked professionalism and class outside of the ring. Whenever things weren't going Shawn's way, he decided it was time for him to take his ball and go home as it were, showing that when things don't go Shawn's way, HBK goes away. Instead of losing the title at WrestleMania, and helping to build another man's legacy, Shawn decided that he "lost his smile," and it was time to go home. For incidents as such, added with his total lack of regard for the next generation being created, Shawn Michaels can be called a hero, a legend, but he is not a true icon.

While Shawn Michaels found God, one man named John "Bradshaw" Layfield, better known as JBL, decided that he was indeed a God himself, one of the squared circle at least. In a time when people were becoming seriously injured, and some like Brock and Bill decided it was their time to go, WWE needed a new heel to contend for the WWE Championship at the time held by Eddie Guerrero. JBL, with a smug smirk and total arrogance as he made his way to the ring, was a natural heel that truly annoyed the fans enough to where they were ready to see anybody defeat him once and for all. JBL was able to hold onto the WWE Title for an unprecedented 10 months, quite a lengthy title reign by WWE standards in quite some time. He defeated Guerrero in a Texas Bull-Rope match and a Steel Cage match; he defended his title against The Undertaker two PPVs in a row, once in a Last Ride match; he was able to overcome Booker T; then he was somehow able to defeat Guerrero, Undertaker, and Booker in a Fatal Four Way match; then in a Triple Threat match he usurped victory over Kurt Angle and The Big Show; in his final defense, he won over Big Show in a Barbed Wire Steel Cage match. The man overcame several obstacles, and with each successful title defense, the fans became even more bloodthirsty for his fall. JBL was finally a major player, but a "God" he is not. In an unexpected move during their feud, JBL decided to hail all his German fans in a tasteless salute that not only landed WWE in hot water, but ended John's appearances on most news shows and even led to his own show being cancelled. Recently, at ECW One Night Stand, JBL was said to have been very rough in the fight at the end of the show, legitimately bruising Blue Meanie's face and nearly breaking his nose in the process. Once more, a strong dynasty was mired by the pure ego of one man, and the sheer lack of professionalism both in and out of the wrestling ring, thereby making JBL more a top player, but not a legend, not an icon, and most certainly not a "God."

Finally, for this list to come to a close, we must evaluate the legacy of one man whose consideration in this article may be considered pure blasphemy by some wrestling fans, but regardless of personal bias, one must acknowledge the entire scope of the career of Ric Flair before considering him to be an icon. To be fair, no one person could ever deny the contributions Ric flair has made to this business, nor can one be blind to the sacrifices he made to strive and survive as one of the most well known and respected wrestlers ever. Amassing numerous championship title reigns in several promotions all across these United States, and even all around the world, Ric Flair certainly knows his way inside the wrestling ring. At a time when being muscle bound and overpowering was almost essential to being a success in any promotion, Flair was able to show in the 1980s a more technical wrestling style mixed with dirty fighting tactics that truly made him a standout performer. However, much like Hogan, Flair surpassed his prime in the early 1990s, yet to this day he remains in the squared circle, and furthermore, over time, his professionalism outside the ring has deteriorated. When the WCW President at the time Jim Herd decided that Ric Flair was not essential to the company's success, as laughable as that seemed, Flair handled the situation in a very selfish manner. Instead of handing over the World's Heavyweight Championship belt, he decided to keep it and show up on WWF Saturday Night's Main Event with what he called "the real World Title." While this was fresh and compelling programming, the fact remains that this was the antithesis of how to handle the situation in an ethical ilk. Although some may claim Flair was as big a politick backstage as Hogan and Randy Savage for example, the truth is that WCW rarely pushed Flair to the top during his tenure in the dying days of that company as he was perpetually portrayed as a fool. However, that is not to say that Flair did not discredit any of the work by the younger performers, especially those of the cruiserweight division, as Flair is a known opponent to that style of wrestling. In his autobiography, Flair even goes as far as saying that men like Bret Hart and Mick Foley were not credible champions that were anywhere near his level. Sad to say, Ric Flair has become rather bitter toward many wrestlers from his time as well as having a keen disdain for a wrestling style that strays away from the "traditional." With Ric having this attitude, his legacy becomes tarnished somewhat, as he is undeniably a legendary figure in this business, but to claim he is an icon is not to be.

With all these men claiming to be the icon of professional wrestling, some may have to wonder who truly then is an icon of this sport. Chances are the men that can be said to be true icons of the squared circle are those that never claim to be one to begin with. Look at a man like Bret Hart that contributed so much to the industry yet does not try to maintain a status as "the top guy" in the sport. Take Terry Funk as an example of a man that knew when his time was finally over, and was able to conduct himself with total professionalism in and out of the ring as well as helping create a solid foundation for several wrestlers of the next generation. Even Mick Foley can said to be an icon, a man that was so professional in the way he handled himself as a pro wrestler, yet he never put himself over as the one and only "top dog." Who is the icon" Well, in all honesty, only time will ever tell.

by Robert Zarp ..