You may be wondering what exactly is a “technical wrestler”.
To put it simply, a technical wrestler refers to a wrestler whose style involves lots of
holds, reversals and submissions as opposed to brawling.
There have been many great technical wrestlers that have stepped foot in a WWE ring, so damn
many to include in this list.
So let’s cue some jazzy music and we will take a look at some honourable mentions.
If I have still missed someone of particular importance, please don’t kill me.
Aside from this, here are some of the best technical wrestlers of all time in the WWE.
“The Man of 1000 Holds” and rightly so.
Although he was never a world champion, “The Iceman” Dean Malenko was a true technician
in the ring.
Malenko lacked the charisma, however, made up for it with scintillating technical prowess.
For that reason, it is no surprise that he has won the Bryan Danielson award for Best
Technical Wrestler not once but twice back in 1996 and 1997.
His 2 out of 3 falls ECW farewell match against Eddie Guerrero in 1995 was one of the best
displays of technical wrestling and the “please don’t go” chants from the crowd were a
testament to how good the match was.
Chris Benoit was one of the most gifted technical wrestlers to ever step foot in a WWE ring,
however, his legacy is unfortunately shadowed by his double-murder and suicide.
Aside from this, “The Best Damned Technical Wrestler In The World” as Benoit referred
to himself as, put on many great matches in his career against the likes of Kurt Angle,
Chris Jericho and Bret Hart in an Owen Hart tribute match back in WCW.
Benoit never really had a bad match and his matches against Kurt Angle in particular showcased
technical chain wrestling at its finest with plenty of holds, unique reversals and submissions.
To credit Benoit of how good a technical wrestler he was, he has won the Bryan Danielson award
for Best Technical Wrestler an impressive 5 times in 1994, 1995, 2000, 2003 and 2004.
With a background in amateur wrestling, it is no surprise that Kurt Angle is in this
list as one of the best technical wrestlers in WWE history.
After all, the man won a Gold in the 1996 Olympics 100kg Freestyle Wrestling event with
a broken neck!
Angle immediately made an impact when he transitioned from amateur to professional wrestling by
becoming a “Euro-continental” champion then later a world champion for nearly a year.
He was even named as the Best Technical Wrestler in 2002 and his matches with Chris Benoit,
Eddie Guerrero and Shawn Michaels were sheer brilliance.
If you don’t believe me then you can go f*ck yourself.
I’m just kidding, watch the matches and you will see exactly why they are just damn
brilliant.
Daniel Bryan is perhaps regarded as one of the best technical wrestlers in the modern
era.
Bryan’s technical proficiency meant that he could out-work any opponent he came up
against and unleash devastating submission holds.
His work in Ring of Honor was some of his best in his career and his match against CM
Punk at WWE Over the Limit in 2012 took technical wrestling to a whole new level.
To credit how technically gifted he was in the ring, Bryan had an award named after him
shortly after his retirement, the Bryan Danielson Award for Best Technical Wrestler.
He has won that award a staggering nine times from 2005 up until 2013, the most out of anyone
in that category.
Bret Hart’s name is synonymous with technical wrestling.
He is “The Excellence of Execution” and for good reason.
If you have not seen some of Bret Hart’s matches, then I would advise you go watch
them after this video.
His matches with Mr. Perfect, Owen Hart and Chris Benoit were technical masterpieces and
cemented him as one of the top wrestlers of all time in the WWE.
Hart was very methodical in the way he wrestled, gradually weakening his opponents with a series
of holds and submissions before locking in his finishing move, the Sharpshooter.
Hart has undoubtedly shaped the industry of professional wrestling and it is no wonder
that he is “The Best There Is, The Best There Was and The Best There Ever Will Be”.