I'll say Eddie because he could be aggressive/physical/technical like the other two, but I think he would've been able to have simple, sports entertainment matches into his late 40s/early 50s and still been really over just based off of how good he was at working the crowd with facial expressions, comedy spots, etc. Once Benoit's athleticism left, I couldn't imagine he'd still be able to have great matches.
Eddy was the most well rounded and could actually play a character beyond just having workrate, making his matches have more of a invested emotional interest. He was mostly killing it off character work in the final year of his career and it was one of the best runs he ever had even if he couldn’t perform as well. As an in-ring performer, he was too big and immobile to go on the level he used to (kinda like Rock in the 2010’s) but he was getting over a really silly storyline with Rey and Dominick almost single handed. There’s a real value to that. Kinda like @CM_Burns said, Benoit and Malenko only really had workrate, and when that went, They were phenomenal in-ring talents, but they never really drew any emotion out of me that would be engaging beyond having really good matches. To me wrestling, like any other entertainment medium, is supposed to draw emotion and reaction out of the viewer. There’s plenty of technically proficient movies I like, like a Dunkirk, but it didn’t make me really feel anything after seeing it. I was really into Benoit’s run from winning the Rumble to winning the World title, but there wasn’t much to his character beyond that climb to the top so I wasn’t as invested in his moment as I was Eddy’s. There was more of a human element and depth there because he was a more fully fleshed out character.
If you mean the most well rounded performer? Eddie, and it isn’t close. If you mean pure work rate, straight up wrestling? Benoit, and it isn’t close.
still difficult to settle and post on the entire dialogue about this. I have actually moved on and have not revisited the matches or the nostalgia. past remembering the original best inring match of all time and finish with Pegasus vs tiger mask. To compare in rant to okada omega. to see how or why Meltzer moved to six star matches. past that dialogue,.... I have not revisited benoit or eddy much. Especially since my homie who i played in no mercy who used benoit actually went blind. So I have no challenge in video games and the possibility of me reopening any discussion about benoit and eddy is connected and complicated as fukk now. as time goes,.. maybe in the future. art barr
Malenko is out of it..very good worker but Be out is elite all time in the ring but nit even Benoit was wrestling perfect matches in 97 like Eddie.
Malenko is a true in-ring GOAT. But I don't know if anybody is seeing Prime Benoit on a straight-up workrate level. Maybe Angle. MAYBE. Eddie is easily the best all-around performer, though I did enjoy "silent killer " Benoit that dominated the IC title scene in 2000.
The best professional wrestler of all of them (charisma, storytelling, heel/face, in ring etc.) is Eddie. There are countless storylines that he had people invested in and matches to go with it
Malenko =Cleanest and most crisp looking offense. He makes it look effortless. Benoit = Most intensity. He makes it look like the most painful experience of your life. Guerrero = Ring/Storyline general. One of the few luchadors in history with any ring psychology at all. Can make you analyze a match and how it pertains to the story they are telling overall. Its depending on what type of wrestling you like. If youre a mat WOS type, youll have Malenko. If youre a intensity/strong style submission type, youll have Benoit. If your a high spot storytelling (WWE classic) type, you have, Guerrero.
I actually meant strictly technical wrestling skills. Guess I didn’t make that clear in the OP. Eddie is definitely the best when it comes to charisma and personality during a match. Benoit is a rabid wolverine and Malenko is the iceman.
Eddie was the most well rounded of the 3 and could work in pretty much any style he was asked to work in.
