However, like many of his colleagues, his career and achievements have been sadly overlooked. Ted Dibiase. Only Keith would be given PPV time, competing in the Lethal Lottery alongside Ron Simmons at Battlebowl 1993. Farmer Pete wrestling in Milwaukee, December 3, 1972. Sammartino was a tough Italian guy who immigrated to the United States at the age of 15. The Dynamite Kid was one of the most innovative wrestlers of the 1980s. Apart from doing all he could to win matches, Mr. Fuji always took it a step further and hid bags of salt within his pants. Ephemeral, disposable, they served only one purposeto let someone know "I'm here. The twins are former CMLL World Tag Team Championship, but wrestling fans will most likely remember them for appearing in the 1996 Royal Rumble Match as The Squat Team. And you can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. It is his ruthlessness and fearless nature during matches and interviews that saw him pull crowds. Standing at 610 and weighing more than 360 pounds, Big John Studd is one of the greatest 70s wrestlers. We could always count on a suplex, a body slam or a chair over the head. Their second reign would last approximately 6 months. Matches frequently went up to an hour on a regular basis. He later briefly returned to WWE to compete in a few matches between 1992 and 1994. The Phelps twins, 36, will forever be known as Ron Weasley's lovable older twin brothers, Fred and George, roles they played from 2001 to 2011. A warrior and fighter inside the squared circle, Terry Funk managed to win a title with almost every promotion that he worked with. Born in England, Robinson is one of the godfathers of strong style and is considered one of the best ever by Japanese fans. 7. Because of his immense popularity back in the 60s and 70s, Haystacks Calhoun got the opportunity to go head to head with some of the biggest names in wrestling at the time. Perfect exemplified the widely reviled heel archetype throughout the decade. RCW Tag Team Title: The Wrecking Crew ( Dean Richtor & Shaun Martens) defeat The Voros Twins ( Chris Voros & Patrick Voros) (c) - TITLE CHANGE !!! Morales also became the first Triple Crown Champion in company history after winning the World Tag Team and Intercontinental Championships. Jaguar Yokota for a time was considered the best wrestler in the world period. Frenchy Lamonte heading for the ring in Tampa 1970. They both left TNA in 2014 and havent competed since. Mascaras has been inducted in the WWE, NWA, and Professional Wrestling Halls of Fame. The 56-year-old also entered the WWE Hall of Fame in 2015. DONATE, Before the money moved in, Kings Cross was a place for born-and-bred locals, clubs and crime, See what really went on during that time in NYC's topless go-go bars, Chris Stein 's photographs of Debbie Harry and friends take us back to a great era of music. They first competed in Florida Championship Wrestling where they held the FCW Florida Tag Team Championship. Andres professional wrestling career began in his home country France where he wrestled under the moniker, Jean Ferre. Do check the Promotions tab if you cannot find it in the Primary Inbox. Moving forward into the 1930s, however, professional wrestling became identified with modern day theatrics and "admitted fakeness. The sport of wrestling had started becoming so scripted that critics began viewing it as somewhat of a joke; particularly in comparison to boxing, mixed martial arts, amateur wrestling, and the real sport itself, wrestling. In his debut night, Tito Santana and Ivan Putski would win the World Tag Team Titles from Johnny and Jimmy Valliant. A 3-time tag team champion, Mr. Fuji made a name for himself as one of the biggest rule breakers in sports entertainment. Times have changed and its increasingly difficult to view grapplers like The Ultimate Warrior without thinking of his appalling and bigoted worldviews. In addition, some spectators capable of beating the carnies roamed the country to compete in open challenges, setting side bets to make money. The main rival of the Crush Gals, Matsumotos ghastly look complimented her domineering in-ring presence. Her appearance as a heart-hardened sensei in the 2000 documentary Gaea Girls showed how she viewed wrestling not as an art form or a sport but as a kind of sacred pursuit. Competing in Ohio Valley Wrestling for five years with a combined four title reigns, Hannah and Holly made a name for themselves wrestling under TNA, first appearing on TNA Wrestling: British Bootcamp, where Rockstar Spud and Mary Scurll were also discovered. Many old-school wrestling fans remember the House of Funk for their Wrestlemania 2 appearance. Legendary British wrestlers and promoters tell you what. 28. 14. Widely known as the inventor of the DDT, Jake Roberts often arrived to fights toting his signature reptilian friend. He died aged 76 in January 2013. The twin brothers founded Phoenix Championship Wrestling together in 2001. Cheerfulness kept creeping in." While Olsen is best known for his time in Chikara, Delaney is a familiar face to WWE fans, competing in the revamped ECW against the likes of Matt Hardy, Tommy Dreamer, and Mark Henry, to name a few. Carnies, who traveled and wrestled at these events, used tricks to protect their money and reputations during competitions, devising little-known and often dangerous wrestling moves, called "hooks." Just try not to cry while watching it! He was one of Vince McMahon's most trusted confidants and is the man who created the Royal Rumble match. Born in a wrestling family, Mil Mascaras began his training at an early age. Billy started his career in the 1950s, where he established himself as a wrestling bad guy. Wrestling began featuring enhanced, hyped character traits and storylines. Kayfabe is often seen as the suspension of disbelief that is used to create the non-wrestling aspects of promotions, such as feuds, angles, and gimmicks, in a manner similar to other forms of fictional entertainment. Even when he fell in love - and that was frequently - he was never submerged by disappointment. This win at Madison Square would mark the beginning of a 170 days reign before dropping the titles to another promising duo, the Wild Samoans. According to Wikipedia, kayfabe, /kefeb/ is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not of a staged or predetermined nature of any kind. PS. They held the WWWF tag titles twice, and held NWA titles in both Georgia and Florida. Unfortunately, the promotion closed two years later. Due to the lack of complete records, it is believed that Farmer Pete was World Champion for seven days in 1957, after beating Sonny Boy Cassidy, who won the title back in a rematch in October the same year. This was Afa and Sika, the men who were the patriarchs of the Samoan Dynasty. Billy Leon McCrary (December 7, 1946 - July 14, 1979) and Benny Loyd McCrary (December 7, 1946 - March 26, 2001), known together as The McGuire Twins, were American professional wrestlers listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "World's Heaviest Twins" (328 kilograms (723 lb) and 338 kilograms (745 lb), respectively). The 37-year-old spent nearly a year in Vince McMahon's company, during which she only competed in four matches on the main roster. A major star of Midget Wrestling Littlebrook was born in England in 1929. At the same time, the 1970s had some of the most technically proficient wrestlers in history, men who could work rings around many of todays top stars. During his run in the land of the rising sun, Mascaras wrestled Giant Baba, Jumbo Tsuruta, and other legends, while performing acrobatic moves that would become a staple of the Japanese style. Killer Kowalski began his wrestling career in 1947 and went on to have a long and successful run in professional wrestling. 1971-10 - The Ring Wrestling (credit: Doug McLeer) Men: Pedro Morales Verne Gagne Bruno Sammartino Gene Kiniski Dick the Bruiser Ray Stevens Victor Rivera Bobo Brazil The Sheik The Claw Ernie Ladd Gorilla Monsoon Killer Kowalski Bill Watts Pat Patterson The Battman Nelson Royal George Steele Chief Jay Strongbow Ciclon Negro Women: Boris Spremo/Toronto Star via Getty Images. Also, since wrestling is performed in front of a live audience, whose interaction with the show is crucial to its success, kayfabe can be compared to the fourth wall in acting, since hardly any conventional fourth wall exists to begin with. Dean has a twin brother, Don Bucci, who has also worked in the wrestling business. Whod be a Midget Wrestler during the 1960s and 1970s? He toured across America with fellow wrestlers and held several championship titles. Being a Luchador, Mascaras has never stepped into the squared circle without a mask.if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'sportlister_com-sky-3','ezslot_23',116,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-sportlister_com-sky-3-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'sportlister_com-sky-3','ezslot_24',116,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-sportlister_com-sky-3-0_1');.sky-3-multi-116{border:none!important;display:block!important;float:none!important;line-height:0;margin-bottom:7px!important;margin-left:auto!important;margin-right:auto!important;margin-top:7px!important;max-width:100%!important;min-height:50px;padding:0;text-align:center!important}. Honored as the best tag team of 2014 by Pro Wrestling Illustrated, the brothers had a lengthy feud with Luke Harper & Erick Rowan and its safe to say both teams delivered in some incredible matches. They even challenged The Steiner Brothers for the NWA Tag Team Titles in 1990 but came up short. Unlike his brother, Dash, Tweek still competes to this day and both twins have wrestled indie vets like Austin Aries, The Briscoe Brothers, Chris Sabin, and The Young Bucks. Impresarios were the managers who chose how a wrestler could gain fame and interest among the fans, creating personas and improvising matches to make them more interesting. He died aged 75 on June 24, 2010 in Amarillo, Texas. Thanks to size and height, Andre the Giant popularity in the United States grew tremendously. He later moved to Walkertown, North Carolina and worked for the Christian Golfers Ministry. The 72-year-old joined Vince McMahon's company in the early 1980s and has refereed some historic matches, including Randy Savage vs. Hulk Hogan at WrestleMania V. Dave was also involved in a storyline with his twin brother in the late 1980s. RELATED: 10 Best Pat Patterson Moments In WWE HistoryPatterson also became one of the most important men behind the scenes when he retired in the '80s. Dave Hebner, the assigned referee, greeted his doppelganger mid-match and the two brothers began clawing at each other to prove who was the real referee. He made his debut into in the wild world of Professional Wrestling in 1959 and defeated Buddy Rogers with a reverse backbreaker to capture the WWWF World title in 1963. Their parents bought a farm to increase their physical activity and they ate only 1,000 calories per day but could not stop gaining weight. Cowboy Bob Bradley and Joey Russell, February 23 1968. Gorgeous George gained epic mainstream popularity, followed in the Second Golden Age in the 1980's and 1990's by the likes of Ric Flair, Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Sting, The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Kurt Angle, and Triple H. Ric Flair Saturday Night was all about the WWF Main Event! He worked as a villain when he was given the title, with Lou Albano as his manager, but when he broke away, he became one of the most popular WWE wrestlers of his era. They made their WWE debuts in 1995 as The Blu Brothers, participating in the Royal Rumble Match and eventually losing to Davey Boy Smith and Lex Luger in the opening bout of WrestleMania 11. Little Tokyo (aka Shigeri Akabane) who was inspired to quit homeland and join Lord Littlebrook and his troupe after they visited Japan in the 1960s. Graham would then go ahead and hold the championship for about 10 months making it one of the longest reigns by a villain. Trained by the legendary Killer Kowalski, Big John Studds debut in the WWE would be alongside his trainer and partner. RELATED: 10 Greatest WWE Golden Era Wrestlers, RankedLadd won a number of regional titles and was a master heel during the 70s wrestling WWWF champions Bruno Sammartino, Pedro Morales and Bob Backlund, NWA champion Harley Race and the AWAs top titleholder Nick Bockwinkel. Men of few words, the Wild Samoans would resort to weird antics and gimmicks including plucking feathers off a live chicken to grunting in primitive languages. Beefcake held nine titles throughout his career and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019.