WWE/TNA: The Top 10 Canadian Male Wrestlers of the Last 20 Years

Hello, fellow Bleachers!

Due to the great comments I got from many of you in my article as to why Canadians are so crazy for wrestling, I decided to do a top 10 on the greatest Canadians of the last 20 years.

These are listed in the order that I feel they should be ranked, and I fully welcome any agreements or disagreements that you have to offer.

With that being said, I have some honourable mentions to list first.

Honourable Mentions

Andrew "Test" Martin: Taken away from us too soon, and never got to fully develop his skills, which were already quite vast for a big man. RIP

Eric Young: If you have only seen recent matches of his, you may not think he even deserves an honourable mention, but go back a couple of years and watch him in action. You will not be disappointed.

10. Val Venis

Val Venis had a pretty good career in both WWE and TNA. A two time Intercontinental Champion, he was one of the more underrated wrestlers in his time in the WWE. He was quite technically sound in the ring and had a pretty good move set as well.

9. The Rougeau Brothers

I know this is two people, but if you include Jaques, you have to include Raymond. Two more wrestlers that I feel were very underrated, they were a fantastic tag team. Although it has been slighty over 20 years since they wrestled together, Jaques continued on after they split due to Raymond's retirement. Re-debuting as "The Mountie" a couple of years later, Jaques won an Intercontinental Title, and three Tag Team championships as one half of "The Quebecers".

8. Petey Williams

Many people may have not seen Petey wrestle as he has never set foot in a WWE ring. He has been awarded numerous accomplishments throughout his career and won two X Division titles in TNA. He has what many people consider the best finisher ever in the form of the front-flip pile driver known as the Canadian Destroyer. If you have not seen Petey Williams wrestle, you are missing out.

7. Lance Storm

While not extremely charismatic, Lance Storm more than made up for this in terms of wrestling skill. Trained in the famous "Dungeon", Storm is an extremely gifted athlete and very technically sound wrestler. Perhaps his most famous angle in WWE was when they did a play on his lack of charisma and had him develop a "fun side".

Storm has achieved numerous accolades throughout his career in ECW, WCW, and WWE. He won both the Intercontinental Title and Tag Titles while in WWE.

Again, another very underrated wrestler.

6. Owen Hart

A member of the legendary Hart family, Owen Hart is one of the most beloved Canadians of all time in the wrestling world. I feel that he never quite got the praise that he was due until after his untimely death in 1999. Owen wrestled in many places, but was obviously most well known for his time in WWE. Equally adept at wrestling as a singles competitor or within a tag team, Owen never got to realize his full potential. He won the Tag Titles on four separate occasions and was also King of the Ring, Intercontinental Champion and European Champion. RIP Owen. You are truly missed.

5. Christian

Christian is a definite future hall of famer. He is a triple crown champion, a seven time Tag team Champion, a four time Heavyweight Champion, three time Intercontinental Champion, and has won numerous other titles in WWE and TNA. Christian has the ability to put on a great match with pretty much anybody that he steps in the ring with, and although many were very angry with how his recent title reigns played out, I feel it only made him a bigger star than he already was. I fully believe we have not seen Captain Charisma hold the World Title for the last time.

4. Chris Benoit

Chris Benoit was one of the best technical wrestlers ever. His intensity and work ethic in the ring made it near impossible to not respect his ability, whether you liked him or not. Benoit won a very impressive number of titles throughout his career in WCW and WWE. Tag Team titles, secondary titles and Heavyweight championships riddle his accolades. Chris Benoit was another wrestler who could put on a great match with anyone he stepped into the ring with and his toughness is legendary. I fully believe that he should be in the Hall of Fame.

3. Chris Jericho

One of the most well rounded wrestlers of all time, Chris Jericho is another lock for the Hall of Fame. Yet again, anybody that steps in the ring with Jericho is guaranteed to look good no matter what. One of the best mic workers ever, Jericho could lose match after match, and get his heat back with one single promo. He has vastly improved his in ring ability over the course of his career and has won numerous World Titles, Tag Team Titles and holds the record for most Intercontinental Title Championships. Jericho was also the first ever Undisputed Heavyweight Champion when they unified the World Titles for a short time. Hopefully we see Jericho back in the ring sooner than later, but just to see him one more time would be satisfying to me.

2. Bret Hart

Bret Hart is an absolute legend in Canada and the world of professional wrestling. Possibly the most famous of the legendary Hart family, he is arguably the most technically sound wrestler to ever step foot in a professional wrestling ring. When your two nicknames are "The Excellence of Execution" and "The Best There Is, The Best There Was, And The Best There Ever Will Be", you need to be able to back it up. And Bret certainly did just that. Another individual who excelled at both singles and tag competition, Bret won five WWE Heavyweight Titles and two Tag Team Titles with his brother-in-law Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart. Bret was finally inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame after years of embitterment with Vince McMahon. Thankfully, he was able to forgive Shawn Michaels and Vince and rightfully take his place3 where he definitely belongs.

1. Edge

I don't know if having Edge ranked number one over Bret is going to cause more outrage or love. I fully believe that Edge is the greatest Canadian wrestler of all time. He has the most championship reigns of anyone in WWE history with an astonishing 31 championships. His list of accolades is ridiculously impressive. 11 time Heavyweight Champion ( 7 World and 4 WWE), 12 time Tag team Champion, 5 time Intercontinental Champion and list goes on. He was one of the innovators of the TLC match along with Christian as his partner, The Hardy Boys and The Dudley Boys. Edge's passion for the wrestling business was unmatched by hardly anyone in the history of the business. He could make the transition from despised heel to loved babyface seem effortless. Sadly, Edge had to retire due to health issues involving his neck earlier this year after Wrestlemania. You can bet that we will see Edge at this coming Wrestlemania though as he will no doubt be inducted into the Hall of Fame. We miss you Edge, but we are all glad you left before it was too late.

Conclusion

So there you have it everybody. My picks for the top ten Canadian wrestlers of all time. I think I did pretty good in my selections, but as always, I would love to have your feedback.

Thank you for reading.