Well as stated, I am the biggest HULK HOGAN mark out there. And deep down each and every one of you are as well. A lot of people rag on HULK because he does the same thing in every match and they say he has no ring skill. They are talking about the Hulk Hogan of today. The one that is 50 years old, the one that has taken decades of bumps and bruises AFTER he had his back broken. Ever notice that lump on his back in the middle of his lat? Ever notice how in a suplex or bodyslam or backdrop, he twists slightly to the side to keep from hitting that one area? Well friends, it is because Hulk Hogan has wrestled through situations that ordinary people would not have returned from. HHH "ONLY" had a torn quad muscle. Nothing to sniff at, but HULK had his SPINE BROKEN IN HALF. Not a verterbrate, but the spinal column. Not only does he walk, but he wrestles and by god, he is the best wrestler out there. Look back at his matches with Race, Rhodes and Steamboat and you will see the brilliance in each one. The wit in the interviews, the crass, everything. He was the world heavyweight champ and by golly he was better than everyone else. It was evident in his clothes, cars and women. HOGAN set the standard for being the hardest worker in the business long ago when he took on every top name in NWA/WCW one summer at the Great American Bash(es). Only after twelve nights of defending against a different fresh, rested opponent did he drop the belt. HOGAN "was over" long before anyone knew what getting over was about.
As far as other people, I like Randy Savage because of the unstable mental/physical intensity he shows. Nobody makes a better heel than Savage when he wants to be. Look how he maimed DDP at every turn a while back.
HHH is the only one other than HOGAN that seems to understand that the entire wrestling scene is a business as well. Flair, Rhodes, Warrior, etc.. all seem to fall in the self promotion thing and stop thinking about the big picture. HHH has no problem jobbing to anyone and he always tries to have the best match of the night. Nobody works harder at the moment than HHH.
As far as actual wrestling ability goes (after all this is what they are suppose to do) I have to go with Bret Hart, Beniot, and Shawn Michaels. You never saw Hart poorly execute a move or mistime a blow. Even when the other wrestler blew a move or spot, Hart would immediately take action to rectify the situation. Crisp and textbook moves are his favorite. He was very talented in front of a microphone as well. Beniot has the Savage like intensity and the Hart like repetoir of moves and countermoves, but he is able to think quickly on his feet as well. He can adapt to lucha libre type matches and brawling types when the need arises. If he could only get a personality and work the mic the way he does the ring.
Flair has too much of an ego, like they say about HOGAN, his matches are one and the same. The same 4 moves, the same hulking up, leg drop, posing though now he shouldn't be trying to flex flab.