5 WWE Superstars who masked their mediocre wrestling skills with charisma

Wrestling is an industry where you don’t have to be the best to rise to the top. Because the sport is predetermined, in-ring ability isn’t everything and the best workers don’t always rise to the top. Booking decisions are subjective to who the booker thinks will draw better and other factors such as charisma, looks and physique are as important as wrestling ability.

Over the years in WWE especially, many wrestlers with mediocre in-ring skills have risen to the top based on their charisma and ability to connect with the fans and draw a crowd. From the plethora of such wrestlers, here are the top 5 wrestlers whose charisma overshadowed their mediocre in-ring skills.

5: John Cena

John Cena is a pretty good in-ring worker but its his charisma that sets him apart from the pack.

John Cena is a capable in-ring worker, but no one can argue that his in-ring skills aren’t up to the level of someone who’s a 15-time world champion. Cena’s basically had the same moveset since he arrived in WWE in the early 2000’s albeit he’s made slight tweaks to it over the years. The spring-board stunner Cena had been using last year was also a disaster as Cena kept botching it.

On the other hand, Cena is one of the most charismatic wrestlers to have entered the WWE ring. Cena’s has shown that he’s wprth his weight in gold on the mic over the years, and even though Cena’s character is probably never going to change from the colourful bubblegum flavor that its always been, Cena’s charisma helps it to work, at least to the point where half the crowd loves him. Love him or hate him, John Cena deserves to be near the top of the WWE card even though he doesn’t deserve it if you consider wrestling ability alone.

4: Kevin Nash

Kevin Nash won’t be remembered for having 5 star matches.

‘Big Sexy’ might be one of the most successful big men in the history of the business but he didn’t get there thanks to his wrestling ability, he was elevated by his charisma and the way he carried himself. I can count the number of moves Nash had in his repertoire on one hand but it’s undeniable that Nash was one of the few stars who was a hit in both WWE and WCW, and as one of the founding members of the Kliq and the NWO, Nash has had a huge effect on the business.

Nash will never be remembered for memorable matches or helping younger stars over, but for being involved in one of the most groundbreaking angles in wrestling history, the NWO.

3: Scott Steiner

Scott Steiner was never as good an in-ring worker as his brother Rick.

There’s no doubt that Scott Steiner had the look, build and charisma of a wrestling superstar but inside the ring, he was overrated.

He was an unsafe worker who often messed up simple spots and never shied away from stiffing opponents. In the later part of his career, especially in his WWE run, Steiner’s cardiovascular conditioning was questioned with Big Pappa Pump kept on getting blown up five minutes into matches.

In the long run, Scott Steiner is remembered for his crazy, out of control promos rather than five star matches. Does anyone really have a favourite Scott Steiner match?

2: Ultimate Warrior

Ultimate Warrior’s moveset was very limited but his unique charisma helped him get a main event push.

Ultimate Warrior was one of the top draws in wrestling in the late 80’s. His matches with Hulk Hogan in that era are fondly remembered as classics, but not on account of being wrestling clinics but for all the pageantry surrounding the build ups.

What kind of person Warrior was outside the ring set aside, inside the ring he was one dimensional. His offence was so limited that there’s absolutely no chance that he would get over in today’s WWE. His finishing move, The Warrior Splash, was so simple that it wouldn’t even be considered a signature today.

However, the reason Warrior was pushed to the moon and even went over Hogan was his charisma. Warrior masked his lack of in-ring ability with boatloads of charisma, energy, unique promos and squashing jobbers on a regular basis. His ring entrance was also something completely unique to the Warrior and pumped up the crowd from the word go.

1: Hulk Hogan

Hulk Hogan is probably the most famous pro wrestler of all-time.

Hulk Hogan is arguably the most famous professional wrestler of all time. Known as much for politicking backstage and predictable matches as his iconic red and yellow, Hogan is one of the most successful wrestlers of all time. Hogan was at the top of WWE for much of the late 80’s and was successful in WCW also as one of the founding members of the NWO.

Hogan’s matches were always formulaic and bereft of drama since he was almost always booked to win, and with the same sequence of him HULKING up. Although Hogan is often compared to John Cena, Cena is a much better athlete and in-ring worker.

Hogan rose to the top of the wrestling world thanks to his charisma and American Hero character, telling children to eat their vitamins and say their prayers but he’ll never be remembered for having good matches on a regular basis but for being a backstage politician.