My Favorite Wrestlers
Cena is just a cancer, so yeah he's not on my list.
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- Christopher Michael Benoit is a Canadian wrestler who was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Michael and Margaret Benoit. He grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, from where he was billed throughout the bulk of his career. He had a sister living near Edmonton.
During his 22-year career, Benoit worked for numerous promotions including the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Industry historian Dave Meltzer considered him "one of the top 10, maybe even the top 5, all-time greats".
Benoit held 22 championships between WWF/WWE, WCW, NJPW, and ECW. He was a two-time world champion, having been a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and a one-time World Heavyweight Champion in WWE; he was booked to win a third world championship at a WWE event on the night of his death. Benoit was the twelfth WWE Triple Crown Champion and sixth WCW Triple Crown Champion, and the second of five men in history to achieve both the WWE and WCW Triple Crown Championships. He was also the 2004 Royal Rumble winner, joining Shawn Michaels as the only two men to win a Royal Rumble as the number one entrant. Benoit headlined multiple pay-per-views for WWE, including a victory in the World Heavyweight Championship main event match of WrestleMania XX in 2004.
Benoit murdered his wife and son on June 22, 2007, and hanged himself two days later. Research suggests depression and brain damage from numerous concussions are likely contributing factors leading to the crime.Yes, he is a total *beep* for what he did but I miss what he brought to wrestling and beats the lameness that John Cena brings to wrestling. - One of the most colorful wrestlers in and out of the ring, Randy "Macho Man" Savage became a larger-than-life pop icon along with other wrestling superstars, such as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan, Jimmy Snuka (aka "Superfly Jimmy Snuka"), Jesse Ventura and Dwayne Johnson (aka "The Rock").
When signed to the WWE (then known as the WWF), Savage immediately became a top heel (bad guy). He was managed by WWE Hall of Fame managers such as Jimmy Hart, Bobby Heenan, Classy Freddie Blassie (Freddie Blassie) and, of course his best known manager--the gorgeous Miss Elizabeth (Elizabeth Hulette). During his time in the WWE Savage went up against other WWE legends in the 1980s, such as Junkyard Dog (Sylvester Ritter), Merced Solis (aka Tito Santana), Bruno Sammartino and George 'The Animal' Steele. He also had a well-known feud going with WWE superstar Hulk Hogan.
While in the WWE Savage won the Heavywieght Title two times, the Intercontinental title once and was the 1989 King of the Ring. He then moved to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and signed a $6-million contract with them. He won the WCW Heavyweight Title four times,.
To fans, Savage is most notable for having an off- and on-screen relationship with Miss Elizabeth. Their relationship became the most famous love story in WWE history. However, their relationship started to go downhill, and it began to show in his professional life. Soon they split up. After having left the WCW, Savage went to TNA (Total Non-Stop Action) Wrestling.
Randy Savage died of cardiovascular disease on May 20, 2011, in Seminole, FL. - Born as Steve Borden, Sting has held the WCW World Title 10 times and multiple other titles. He has been the only wrestler to stay in WCW since the late 1980s and he had a reconstructive knee surgery in 1991. Steve was also the only wrestler from WCW who never worked for WWE until 2014 when he made his WWE debut at the Survivor Series. Sting rivals WCW names like Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair in working for three major North American wrestling promotions including WCW, TNA and WWE. Sting spent 13 years wrestling for WCW from 1988 until its final year in 2001 when it was bought out by WWE. Sting then joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA/later renamed Impact Wrestling in 2017) in 2003. He returned to wrestle full-time in TNA in 2006 and left in 2014. After making his WWE debut in 2014, Sting embarked on a rivalry with Triple H and the heel stable known as The Authority. Sting's feud with The Authority ended at WrestleMania 31 in a match against Triple H. After a 30-year career, Sting wrestled his last match in 2015 against Seth Rollins. Over the course of his career, Sting held a total of 10 titles and is a Hall of Fame inductee in 2 promotions including Impact Wrestling (formerly TNA) and WWE.
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One of the great Hispanic wrestlers, Eddie Guerrero grew up part of the famous wrestling family: The Guerreros. His father Gory Guerrero became a star in the U.S., an icon in Texas and a legend in Mexico. Eddie's brothers, Hector, Amadno and Chavo, Sr. also became wrestlers. Both Hector and Amando gain success, but only in the Indie federations, and not much success as their father or other two brothers had gained in the majors. Eddie's nephew, Chavo Guerro, Jr., son of Chavo, Sr., also became a wrestler (Chavo, Jr. was only three years younger than his uncle). Eddie was also uncle of Enrique Llanes and cousin of Javier Llanes, who are popular wrestlers in Mexico.
Eddie had wrestling since the 1989. He really made his name in the now-defunct ECW (Extreme championship Wrestling) by winning the ECW Ecxtreme Championship Wrerstling) TV Title against Dean Simon (aka Dean Malenko). Eddie also made his name later that year in now-defunct WCW (World Championship Wrestling) to win the Cruiserweight Championship by defeating Chris Jericho. Also while in the company, he formed Latino World Order (A playoff to Hulk Hogan's (Hollywood Hogan at the time)stable, New World Order).
The stable included popular Latino wrestler Rey Mysterio, Jr. (Oscar Gutierrez), La Parka (Adolfo Tapia Ibarra), Psychosis (Dionicio Castellanos) and Juventud Guerrera (Eduardo Annibal Gonzalez Hernandez).
When Eddie came to the WWE, he was a heel, and immediately gained fame when he was part of the Radicalz, with Perry Saturn, Dean Malenko and long time friend of fifteen years, Chris Benoit. In recent years, he and and his nephew Chavo, Jr. began a tag team called Los Guerreros and won the WWE Tag Team titles on Smackdown! against Team Angle (Charlie Haas and Shelton Benjamin). After this stint, Eddie Guerrero went on to win the WWE Championhip (His first and only time) at No Way Out in 2004 against Brock Lesnar. He lost the title to John "Bradshaw" Layfield four months later at the Great American Bash in a Texas Bull Rope Match.
Recently, wrestling fans and the people of the WWE mourn of the lost of Eddie when he was found by his nephew, Chavo Jr. (who back then known as Kerwin White) on a Sunday morning in November, 2005. The result of his death was most likely been caused by his problems in the past: Drugs and alcohol.- Actor
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Glenn Thomas Jacobs better known by the ring name Kane, is an American politician, actor, and professional wrestler. He has been the Republican Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee since 2018. He is signed to WWE.
He began his professional wrestling career on the independent circuit in 1992, wrestling in promotions such as Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) and the United States Wrestling Association (USWA), before joining the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1995. Jacobs played various characters until 1997, when he was repackaged as Kane, a horror-themed personification of fire and juggernaut younger half-brother of The Undertaker and son of Paul Bearer. This "hellfire and brimstone" gimmick branches from acts of arson by The Undertaker as part of their characters' youth backstory. Jacobs would alternatively feud and team with The Undertaker as The Brothers of Destruction.- Actor
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Bryan Lloyd Danielson is an American professional wrestler and author currently signed to WWE under ring name Daniel Bryan.
In WWE, Bryan held the WWE Championship three times and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship once, in addition to being a one-time United States Champion, a one-time Intercontinental Champion and a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion as part of Team Hell No (with Kane). He was also the 2011 SmackDown Money in the Bank winner, the 2013 Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner and the SmackDown General Manager from July 2016 to April 2018. Bryan is the 26th Triple Crown Champion and the 6th Grand Slam Champion in WWE history and headlined several major pay-per-view events, including WrestleMania XXX.
Danielson was previously signed to the WWE, then known as the WWF, for an 18-month period from 2000-2001. Prior to joining WWE for his second stint in 2009, Danielson wrestled for various companies internationally using both his real name and the ring name (and later nickname) American Dragon.
He wrestled for Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2002 to 2009, being recognized as a "Founding Father" of the promotion, where he was a one-time ROH World Champion as well as the final Pure Wrestling Champion (unifying the Pure title with the World title). He was the first winner of ROH's annual Survival of the Fittest tournament in 2004.
Danielson also wrestled extensively in Japan, winning the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship in Pro Wrestling Noah and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (with Curry Man) in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Between WWE, ROH and Japanese promotions, he held eleven total championships. Danielson also won numerous titles on the independent circuit, including two PWG World Championships, the FIP Heavyweight Championship and the wXw World Heavyweight Championship.- Actor
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Kurt Angle was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He won a Olympic Gold Medal in 1996 having notoriously won it with a broken neck. In 1998 he transitioned into professional wrestling where he sky rocked to success after joining the World Wrestling Federation. He later became the first ever wrestler to hold the WCW and WWF Championships during the same calendar year. He also became the second ever TNA Triple Crown Champion in the promotions history and is a overall 13 time World Champion in professional wrestling.- Brock Lesnar was born on July 12, 1977 in Webster, South Dakota, USA as Brock Edward Lesnar. He is an actor, known for WrestleMania XIX (2003), Summerslam (2002) and WWE Unforgiven (2002). He has been married to Rena Mero since May 6, 2006. They have two children named, Turk & Duke. Lesnar also has a son and daughter from a previous relationship named, Brock Jr. and Mya Lynn.
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Dwayne Douglas Johnson, also known as The Rock, was born on May 2, 1972 in Hayward, California. He is the son of Ata Johnson (born Feagaimaleata Fitisemanu) and professional wrestler Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles). His father, from Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada, is black (of Black Nova Scotian descent), and his mother is of Samoan background (her own father was Peter Fanene Maivia, also a professional wrestler). While growing up, Dwayne traveled around a lot with his parents and watched his father perform in the ring. During his high school years, Dwayne began playing football and he soon received a full scholarship from the University of Miami, where he had tremendous success as a football player. In 1995, Dwayne suffered a back injury which cost him a place in the NFL. He then signed a three-year deal with the Canadian League but left after a year to pursue a career in wrestling.
He made his wrestling debut in the USWA under the name Flex Kavanah where he won the tag team championship with Brett Sawyer. In 1996, Dwayne joined the WWE and became Rocky Maivia where he joined a group known as "The Nation of Domination" and turned heel. Rocky eventually took over leadership of the "Nation" and began taking the persona of The Rock. After the "Nation" split, The Rock joined another elite group of wrestlers known as the "Corporation" and began a memorable feud with Steve Austin. Soon the Rock was kicked out of the "Corporation". He turned face and became known as "The Peoples Champion". In 2000, the Rock took time off from WWE to film his appearance in The Mummy Returns (2001). He returned in 2001 during the WCW/ECW invasion where he joined a team of WWE wrestlers at The Scorpion King (2002), a prequel to The Mummy Returns (2001).
Dwayne has a daughter, Simone Alexandra Johnson, born in 2001, with his ex-wife Dany Garcia, and daughters, Jasmine, born in 2015, and Tiana Gia, born in 2018, with his wife, singer and songwriter Lauren Hashian.- Actor
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Born on March 24, 1965. Best known as "The Undertaker" from World Wrestling Entertainment. He first came to the WWF in 1990 as Ted DiBiase's mystery partner at The Survivor Series (1990). At first, he was a heel, but later turned face, around WrestleMania VIII (1992). He has held the WWF World Title on four separate occasions, first at the Survivor Series (1991) (dubbed "Hulk Hogan's Gravest Challenge"), from then champion, Hulk Hogan. Hogan won the title back shortly thereafter, only to be stripped of the title due to the circumstances by which he won the match. Undertaker next won the title at WrestleMania 13 (1997) from Sycho Sid. Taker defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin to win his third WWF Title at WWF Over the Edge (1999). His fourth and final WWE title reign was won at WWE Judgment Day (2002), coming full circle, by defeating Hulk Hogan once again.- Actor
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William Scott Goldberg , better commonly known as Goldberg, is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former American football player. He is best-known for his time in WCW and WWE.
Goldberg is one of the most popular figures of the late 1990s/early 2000s professional wrestling boom. He is regarded as the inventor of the spear finishing move in wrestling and is credited with popularizing, and being the best at executing, that move. He rose to fame in WCW with a lengthy undefeated streak in 1997-1998 singles competition. During his time with the promotion, he became a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, two-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion and one-time WCW World Tag Team Champion with Bret Hart. Along with Hart, he is the fifth WCW Triple Crown winner.
Following WCW's closure in 2001, Goldberg wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) between 2002 and 2003 and for WWE between 2003 and 2004, becoming a one-time World Heavyweight Champion in the latter. After 12 years away from the company, he returned to WWE in 2016, winning the WWE Universal Championship for the first time in March 2017 and a second time in February 2020. Goldberg has headlined multiple WCW and WWE pay-per-view events, including WCW's premier annual event, Starrcade (in 1998 and 1999). He headlined the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018 and is a four-time world champion in his professional wrestling career between WWE and WCW. He is also the only man in history to have been WCW World Heavyweight, World Heavyweight and WWE Universal Champion.- Actor
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American-born, Canadian-raised professional wrestler, rock singer, actor and author. Debuted in 1990 in Calgary after training in the Hart Family Dungeon. He competed for Stampede Wrestling, for the Canadian National Wrestling Alliance (no connection to the National Wrestling Alliance) and West Fours Wrestling Alliance before jumping to Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in Japan. He also wrestled for Canadian Rocky Mountain Wrestling, CMLL, UWA and AAA in Mexico, and WAR in Japan before arriving in the U.S. as part of the team the Thrillseekers (renamed from Sudden Impact) with Lance Storm in James E. Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling promotion. He arrived in ECW in February 1996 and feuded with Pit Bull #2 (Anthony Durante) over the ECW World Television Title. Arrived in WCW in August 1996 and eventually made his home in the Cruiserweight Division, winning the title five times. Turned heel at the end of 1997, essentially solidifying his persona for years to come. Went to WWE in 1999, and would become one of the most decorated wrestlers in the company's history. Outside of wrestling, he has been leading his heavy metal band Fozzy since 1999, published three autobiographies (2007's "A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex" [covering his career right up to his WWE debut]; 2011's "Undisputed: How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps"; and 2014's "Best In The World...At What I Have No Idea."), and has done stage acting and hosted a radio show as well as other pursuits. Among his in-ring achievements, he is a former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, an 8x WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, a former 5x WWE World Tag Team Champion, a former 2x WWE Tag Team Champion, a former WWE European Heavyweight Champion, a former WWE Hardcore Champion, a former ECW World Television Champion, a former WCW World Television Champion, and was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 2010.- Actor
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Allen Neal Jones best known by the ring name AJ Styles is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE. Long regarded as one of the best wrestlers in the world, Styles has headlined numerous pay-per-view events internationally.
Styles debuted in 1998 and competed for various independent promotions, before gaining his first mainstream exposure in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 2001. He became widely known for his tenure in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) from 2002-2013, where he was dubbed "Mr. TNA". While in TNA, Styles held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship three times and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship twice. He was also the inaugural titleholder of the X Division Championship, which he won six times. Styles is the first professional wrestler ever to complete the TNA Triple Crown (five times) and the TNA Grand Slam (two times).
In 2010, Styles became the first ever TNA-contracted wrestler to be ranked number one on the annual Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) PWI 500 list. He simultaneously appeared in Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2002-2006, where he became the first ROH Pure Champion. In 2014, Styles signed with New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and won his first of two IWGP Heavyweight Championships in his debut match, later becoming the third leader of the Bullet Club. Styles has also won various titles on international independent circuits, including the PWG World Championship.
Styles first appeared in WWE (then the World Wrestling Federation, or the WWF) in 2002, but turned down a developmental contract he was offered with the company. He signed a multi-year contract with WWE fourteen years later in January 2016, making his re-debut that month and going on to win the WWE Championship in September. Both PWI and the Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) voted him Wrestler of the Year for 2016. With his second WWE Championship victory in Manchester, England in November 2017, Styles was recognized by WWE as the first wrestler to win the title outside of North America. Also that year, he was inducted into the WON Hall of Fame.- The wrestler who would eventually become known as Ravishing Rick Rude was born Richard Erwin Rood on December 7th, 1958. He spent his childhood in Robinsdale, Minnesota, and had an early childhood friendship with future pro wrestler Curt Hennig. Rood broke into the business after a stint as a bouncer working with Barry Darsow, 'Joe Laurinatis' and Mike Hegstrand. He had a stint as an arm wrestler before Eddie Sharkey trained him as a professional wrestler. He got his first big breaks working in Memphis for Jerry Jarrett, who gave him his "Ravishing" nickname. He then worked for Dory Funk Jr. in Florida and World Class Championship Wrestling in Texas. After working in the upper mid-card of the NWA in the mid-80's, he made his way to the World Wrestling Federation under Vince McMahon in late 1987. He was a slow starter, but eventually won the WWF Intercontinental title from The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania V (1989) and headlined against the Warrior at _Summerslam (1990) (V)_. Shortly after that, he left the WWF to work in All Japan and then WCW. This led to arguably his greatest feuds, against Ricky Steamboat (Richard Blood) and Sting (Steve Borden). He won the NWA world title in 1993, but a dispute between the WCW & NWA left this achievement unrecognised. A back injury ended his wrestling career in 1993. He continued on as a manager & commentator, & in 1997 caused controversy when he appeared on _"Raw Is War" (1997)_ and _"WCW Monday Nitro (1995)_ on the same night. This was his last major stint with a company, and on April 20th, 1999, he died of cardiac arrest in a hospital in Alpharetta, Georgia. He was 40 years old.
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Richard Morgan Fliehr isn't what you'd expect from a professional wrestler. A medical student at Minnesota University (his father was a doctor, his mother an actress), Flair dropped out college to train for the mat wars under legendary former AWA World champ Verne Gagne. He made his professional wrestling debut on December 10, 1972, wrestling "Scrap Iron" George Gadaski (real name: John Kosti) to a ten minute draw in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. After spending the first few months of his career with Gagne's Minneapolis Boxing & Wrestling Club (which used the brand name "American Wrestling Association"), Flair moved on to Charlotte, North Carolina where he became a regular for Jim Crockett Promotions (a member of the worldwide sanctioning body known as the National Wrestling Alliance) under the direction of matchmaker (wrestling terminology for writer) George Scott. In 1981, he captured his first NWA World title (he would hold that belt officially nine other times). Later on, he would work for both World Championship Wrestling (a company formed by Ted Turner after buying the wrestling assets of JCP) and Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Entertainment. He has been officially recognized as a World champion (an honor which generally signifies that a wrestler is the top attraction in any given company) 21 times, garnering recognition from the NWA, WWE, and WCW (as well as the WCW spin-off group WCWI, or World Championship Wrestling International). He is the only man in wrestling history to hold all four versions of the title.- Curt Hennig was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as the son of one of wrestlings all time legends - Larry Hennig - Aka Larry The Ax Hennig. Curtbegan training to follow in his fathers footsteps when he was just 12 years old. Starting off in the AWA - Curt began his career as a tag team wrestler. He won the AWA Tag Team Championship with Scott Hall before concentrating on a singles career in the AWA. He became the AWA Heavyweight Champion in only his second year with the company before capturing the attention of the WWF. The WWF was looking to acquire the services of second generation stars and Curt Hennig fitted the bill perfectly. He made his debut in the WWF in 1988 as "MR.PERFECT". Curt's character was an instant hit with WWF fans and he quickly established himself as a quality technical wrestler. Fellow second generation WWF star and one of Curt's closest friends - Bret Hart aka Bret The Hitman Hart was also making waves in the WWF along the same time. Bret Hart and Curt Hennig began a legendary feud that would end in an Intercontinental Championship match at SummerSlam in 1992. Curt Hennig defended his WWF Intercontinental Title against Bret Hart at SummerSlam to end what had become a captivating feud between two of the best technical wrestlers in WWF history. However, Curt had suffered a serious back injury during a house show just prior to the big event. Against doctors orders, Curt Hennig made his way to the ring as Mr.Perfect and defended his Intercontinental Title at SummerSlam against the Hitman Bret Hart. Bret went on to win the match but was full of praise for his friend and opponent afterwards. Hart called Hennig "the best wrestler and one of the best workers he had ever worked with". Despite being praised for working a high profile match through a serious injury - Curt ended up paying a price. Curt's back injury had been aggravated and that caused him major problems in the future. After taking a few months of to rest his injury, Curt returned to the WWF, however his return was short lived as his back once again flared up in late 1993. As a result, Curt was out of the ring until 1996. During that period, Curt worked as a commentator for the WWF until his contract expired at the end of 1995. By this time, Curt's back had healed enough for him to consider a return to a WWF or WCW ring. Understanding the importance of having an Impact Player like Curt Hennig on their roster, WCW got involved in a bidding war for Mr.Perfect's services. In the end, WCW won and Curt Hennig signed a 4 year contract with WCW. Hennig returned to the ring for the first time in 3 years and in only his second official singles match since his return - Curt won the WCW United States Championship. He held the title on three separate occasions along with the WCW Tag Team Championship. However, his talents were being wasted in WCW and at the end of his contract in 2000, Curt decided against signing an extention with the company and proceeded to take a break from the sport altogether. In 2001, he returned to the ring with XWF and made appearances in Australia with the WWA. While these appearances were good enough as a stop-gap measure, Curt was hoping to make a comeback in the World Wrestling Federation - and sure enough the WWF contacted Curt Hennig to make his return to the WWF as Mr.Perfect in the 2002 Royal Rumble. What was initially billed as a one time arrangement, resulted in Curt Hennig once again re-joining the WWF after signing a long term contract. While Curt may have claimed to be perfect inside the ring, his life outside the ring was anything but perfect. In May 2002,he was fired by Vince McMahon after getting into a fight with Brock Lesnar on a charter flight. On February 10, 2003, he was found dead in a Tampa hotel. He was slated to wrestle on an independent card headed by Jimmy Hart at the Florida State Fair. The cause of death was later found to be acute cocaine intoxication. He left behind his wife of 20 years, Leonice, and four children.
- Standing out than the rest, Ultimate Warrior became one of the most popular wrestlers in the WWE (back then in the WWF). During his run from the 1980s-90s, Warrior became known for high high energy when running down to the ring with his music hits, shaking the ropes during his entrance, his signature move, the Gorilla Press Drop and the Big Splash, which seems that Warrior would be one the only non-heavyset built wrestler to use it.
Before reaching high status to become a main eventer in the WWE, Warrior became popular when he became a two-time Intercontinental Champion by defeating the Honky Tonk Man (Wayne Farris) (within 32 seconds at the first ever Summerslam in 1988) and Ravishing Rick Rude.
Warrior is now deceased. - Scott Steiner has been a mainstay in professional wrestling for over 15 years. When he started out in the business, he was a singles wrestler, wrestling in some smaller federations before coming to the NWA (WCW) to team with his older brother, Rick. It was at this time that Steiner became world famous as one half of the greatest tag team of the 1990's. The two brothers wreaked havoc on anyone who dared get in the ring with them. Known for their amazing wrestling arsenal of suplexes, the two won the WCW tag team titles on many occasions throughout a ten year time period. Steiner, especially, bacame well-schooled in the art of the suplex, as he would use many varieties of this devastating wrestling move to render his foes senseless. He also invented the Frankensteiner, a wrestling move that involves jumping up onto your opponents shoulders from their front, letting your body fall upside-down so you head is between their legs, and then using your stomach and leg muscles to power them forward onto the mat. This move was perfected by Steiner, who could perform the maneuver from a standing position, while his opponent was running at him, or to an opponent sitting on the top rope.
After several years in WCW, which saw him win his first singles title (WCW TV title) in a brief singles push for a couple of months, The Steiner brothers went off to the WWF in early 1993. For the next year, the two continued their assault on every tag team in their path, winning the WWF Tag Team titles on two occasions before leaving in early 1994.
The next stop for the tag team tandem was Japan, where the two continued to prove why they were the best in the business. When WCW came calling in 1996, the Steiner Brothers headed back home. Once again they became the best tag team in WCW's ranks, taking on famous tag teams like Harlem Heat, the Road Warriors, and the Outsiders. They became a huge force in WCW against the nWo uprising in 1996-97. Their feud with The Outsiders (Scott Hall & Kevin Nash) in 1997 saw the tag team belts change hands between the two several times.
By early 1998, Scott did not even resemble the Steiner of old. He had cut his hair short (it had always been shoulder length), had beefed up his always-impressive physique even more to look like a bodybuilder, and had grown quite a mean streak. Even with his changing appearance, fans were still completely shocked when he turned on his brother at WCW's Superbrawl VIII pay-per view in February of 1998. Steiner joined the ranks of the nWo and became one of its lead men, taking on the moniker "Big Poppa Pump". He spent most of the year feuding with his brother and helping the nWo in their war against the newly formed Wolfpack.
By early 1999, the nWo had joined with the Wolfpack and WCW was in disarray. Steiner did not let this chaos get to him, as he won the TV and the US titles in the first couple months of the year. He also reunited with his brother in the summer of that year, as the he and Rick held the US and TV titles, respectively. By 2000, Steiner was a main event star who was on his way to win the World Title. He did just that in the fall of that year, defeated Booker T to become the World Heavyweight Champion. He took on all comers in his four-month title reign and became one of the most dominant WCW Champions in history before WCW folded and was bought out by the WWF in March of 2003. He lost the WCW Title to Booker T on the very last edition of WCW Nitro. Steiner decided to take things easy for a while to recover from some back problems that he had been having, along with a severe nerve problem in his left leg. He did wrestle several times for the internation-touring WWA, winning their version of the Championship. He finally showed up in WWE in fall of 2002, immediately getting into a feud with then-champion HHH. After headlining two straight pay-per-views in early 2003, Steiner began a partnership and then a feud with fellow WWE superstar Test. This lasted for most of the year. He again was forced to take some time off from action due to a groin injury. He has yet to return to action as of April 2004, but knowing Steiner, he will return with a vengeance, so watch out.When he was athletic in the early 90's. - Actor
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Bret Hart is one of Canada's most successful wrestlers. He is also recognized as one of the worlds best wrestlers ever. Hart comes from the legendary Hart Family of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He owns a junior hockey team named after him and has his own column in the Calgary Sun. Bret has held the WWF World Title (5), Intercontinental Title (2), co-held the Tag Team Title (2), the US Heavyweight Title (2) and was the 1993 King of the Ring. He and his brothers and sister hold dual citizenships in both Canada (where he was born) and the US (where his mother was born).Would be higher if I didn't just think of him.- Owen Hart was one of twelve children from a legendary Canadian wrestling family. His brother Bret is also one of the most well known wrestlers of all time. Owen was one of the best wrestlers in the business and his major accomplishments include being the 1994 King of the Ring, former Intercontinental Champion(2), former European Champion, and co-holder of the Tag Team Championship (4). Sadly, Hart plunged to his death on May 23, 1999 during a PPV when he was performing a spectacular entrance. Hart was only 34 and is survived by his wife Martha, his son Oje and his daughter Athena.
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Booker T. Huffman Jr. better known by his ring name Booker T, is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling promoter and color commentator. He is signed to WWE, and is also the owner and founder of the independent promotion Reality of Wrestling (ROW) in Texas City, Texas. Booker has been named by peers and industry commentators as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time; he was voted WWE's greatest World Heavyweight Champion in a 2013 viewer poll.- Actor
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Jeffrey Nero Hardy is an American professional wrestler and musician. Born and raised in Cameron, North Carolina, Hardy started his career as a youth performing in the Trampoline Wrestling Federation, which he started alongside his brother Matt Hardy. Hardy is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time and is regarded as one of the most daring high fliers and risk-takers throughout his career. Together with his brother Matt Hardy, the tag team The Hardy Boyz are now widely regarded as one of the greatest tag teams in professional wrestling history.
Hardy has had great success in his singles career, capturing his first of six world championships, the WWE Championship in 2008 and going on to hold WWE's World Heavyweight Championship twice and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship three times. Within WWF/WWE, he has also won the Intercontinental Championship five times, the Hardcore Championship three times and the European, Light Heavyweight, and United States Championships once each. Having won the required championships, he is the 18th Triple Crown Champion and 9th Grand Slam Champion in WWE history (one of five men to complete both WWE Grand Slam formats, and one of two to win all original Grand Slam titles). He has headlined numerous pay-per-view events for WWE and TNA, including TNA's flagship event, Bound for Glory, on two occasions. Readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated named him "Most Popular Wrestler of the Year" on two occasions.
Hardy is involved in motocross, music, painting and other artistic endeavors. He is a member of the band PeroxWhy?Gen, with whom he tours and has released three studio albums and four extended plays. In 2003, Hardy, along with his brother Matt, co-wrote an autobiographical book of memoirs titled The Hardy Boyz. Their book was a New York Times Best Seller.- Actor
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Retired American professional wrestler best known for his work for ECW and WCW during the 1990s. He is the son of the late wrestling legend Boris Malenko. He debuted in Florida in 1979 and proceeded to work all over the world, particularly in Japan. He teamed with his brother Joe for years. He also worked as a referee, including on the January 4, 1986 (taped December 19, 1985) "WWF Saturday Night's Main Event." While wrestling in the Junior Heavyweight division for New Japan Pro Wrestling, became part of the "Holy Trinity" or "New Japan 3" with Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero and they would go on to have numerous matches for several promotions either as teammates or as opponents. Malenko arrived in ECW in 1994 as a heel. He defeated 2 Cold Scorpio (Charles Scaggs) for the ECW World Television Title in November and held it until Scorpio regained it in March 1995. Malenko defeated Eddie Guerrero for the belt and held it for a week in July 1995. Malenko, Benoit and Shane Douglas formed the Triple Threat at the start of 1995. Malenko and Benoit defeated Sabu (Terry Brunk) and the Tazmaniac (Peter Senerchia) for the ECW World Tag Team Titles in February 1995 at "ECW Return of the Funker" and held them until the Public Enemy (Johnny Grunge (Mike Durham) and Flyboy Rocco Rock (Ted Petty) defeated them and the Tazmaniac and Rick Steiner (substituting for Sabu, who had left the company) at "ECW The Three Way Dance" on April 8th. Malenko, Guerrero and Benoit left for WCW in September 1995, with ECW announcer Joey Styles explaining that it was due to something in their contracts with New Japan, which had a working relationship with WCW. He made his home in the Cruiserweight Division, and became known as "The Man of a 1000 Holds" and "The Iceman" for his stoic nature. At "WCW Uncensored" in March 1997, he defeated Guerrero for the WCW United States Heavyweight Title and held it until Jeff Jarrett defeated him in June. At "WCW Uncensored" in March 1998, WCW World Cruiserweight Champion Chris Jericho defeated Malenko. Mean Gene Okerlund asked Malenko what he was going to do, and he said he was going "home." Malenko promptly disappeared from TV with no word being given as to where he was and what he was doing. This led to a series of hilarious promos by Chris Jericho, including the "1004 Holds" one. At "WCW Slamboree" in May 1998, there was a Cruiserweight battle royal where the winner would get a shot at Jericho's title. The match came down to Juventud Guerrera (Eduardo Hernández) and Ciclope, which was surprising since Ciclope was one of WCW's less successful luchadores. Ciclope and Juvi shook hands, and Juvi promptly eliminated himself. "Ciclope" unmasked to reveal Malenko. Malenko proceeded to defeat Jericho for the title. Later that summer, Malenko started asking Arn Anderson about reforming the Four Horsemen, who had been disbanded since the NWO (Kevin Nash/Syxx (Sean Waltman)/Buff Bagwell (Marcus Bagwell)/Konnan (Charles Ashenoff)) had defeated them in the War Games match at "WCW Fall Brawl 1997: War Games" via Curt Hennig turning heel and slamming the cage door on Ric Flair's head while Benoit and Steve "Mongo" McMichael (Steve McMichael) were handcuffed to the cage. This was during the time that Flair was off of TV due to WCW boss Eric Bischoff suing him. On the September 14, 1998 "WCW Monday Nitro," the Four Horsemen returned. Arn Anderson and former Horsemen manager James J. Dillon brought out Benoit, Malenko, McMichael and the returning Flair to the ring. This led to another feud with the NWO. At "WCW Uncensored" in March 1999, Benoit and Malenko defeated Curt Hennig and Barry Windham for the WCW World Tag Team Titles. They held the belts for two weeks, losing them to Rey Misterio Jr. and Billy Kidman on the March 29, 1999 "WCW Monday Nitro." The Horsemen broke up once and for all in the Spring. Benoit, Malenko, Perry Saturn and Shane Douglas, making his surprise return to WCW after six years, formed the Revolution out of frustration with how they were treated by the company and how the older main eventers (Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair, Randy Savage, etc.) got everything they wanted. The group ended at "WCW Souled Out 2000," as Benoit, Malenko, Saturn and Guerrero left for WWE. Their group was named the Radicals. Malenko defeated Essa Rios (Jose Seldano) for the WWF World Light Heavyweight Title on the March 13, 2000 "WWF Monday Night Raw" and held it until Scotty 2 Hotty (Scott Taylor) defeated him on the April 17th "Raw." Malenko regained the title on the April 27th "WWF SmackDown!" and held it until losing it to Crash Holly (Michael Lockwood) on the March 13, 2001 "WWF Sunday Night Heat." On the May 22, 2000 "Raw," the Radicals (Dean Malenko and Perry Saturn) faced the Godfather (Charles Wright) and Essa Rios. During the Godfather's usual pre-match spiel, he mentioned Dean being "the Man of 1000 Holds" and that his hos knew "1000 positions" and that Dean could have any two hos he wanted. This led to Malenko adopting a new gimmick as a James Bond-styled ladies' man. This led to Malenko pursuing Lita (Amy Dumas), and a feud between the Radicals and Team Xtreme (The Hardy Boyz (Matt Hardy) and Jeff Hardy) and Lita), which would be Malenko's last feud before he retired in 2001. He has worked as a road agent for WWE ever since.- Actor
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Retired American professional wrestler of Japanese descent as Ricky Steamboat. He trained under Verne Gagne, and first made his name in the old Mid-Atlantic territory in the Carolinas. He had many legendary matches and feuds with Ric Flair, culminating in their epic "Holy Trilogy" of matches at WCW/NWA Chi-Town Rumble (1989), Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun (1989) and WCW/NWA WrestleWar (1989). He had a major feud with Randy Savage over the WWE Intercontinental Title, which Steamboat won at WrestleMania III (1987) in what many consider the greatest WrestleMania match of all time. Over the course of his career, he was a 1x NWA World Heavyweight Champion, a 1x WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, a multiple-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, an NWA United States Heavyweight Champion, a WCW United States Heavyweight Champion and a WCW Television Champion. At different points in his career, he had "retired" so he could spend time with his family and run his gym. He was forced into retirement due to a back injury suffered in a match with "Stunning" Steve Austin at Clash of the Champions XXVIII (1994). He was one of the few wrestlers to work as a babyface (good guy) for his entire career. He was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996, the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2002 (charter class), the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009 and the NWA Hall of Fame in 2012.
Was given the name "Ricky Steamboat" by wrestling promoter Eddie Graham due to his strong resemblance to wrestling legend Sammy Steamboat. Sammy even endorsed the name change and allowed them to bill the "Ricky Steamboat" character as his nephew. Ricky and Sammy remained friends until Sammy's death.
Played an on-air executive role in the early days of NWA TNA.
He was the "Inside Wrestling" Rookie of the Year for 1977.
Received the 1995 PWI Editor's Award.
After he won the Intercontinental Championship, he asked Vince McMahon for some time off to be with his wife who was expecting the birth of their son Richard Blood Jr. This did not sit well with WWF management and shortly after he was forced to drop the belt to the Honkytonk Man (Wayne Farris). Still bitter, the WWE did not push him or give him any meaningful matches upon his return. He left for WCW shortly after.- Actor
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Keiji Mutô was born on 23 December 1962 in Yamanashi, Japan. He is an actor and director, known for ROH: Final Battle 2003 (2003), WCW Thunder (1998) and All Japan Pro Wrestling 2002 Real World Tag League Gaora TV Special (2002).- Actor
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Larry Pfohl was born on 2 June 1958 in Buffalo, New York, USA. He is an actor, known for WCW Monday Nitro (1995), WCW Worldwide (1975) and Superboy (1988). He was previously married to Peggy Fulbright.- The man who would eventually become known as Yokozuna was born in San Francisco on October 22, 1966. He came from a wrestling family, as his uncles were Afa Anoai and Sika Anoai. He was trained by his uncles and Sam Fatu as a teenager and wrestled in Alabama and the USWA under the name Kokina Anoai. He already weighed 400 pounds.
In Japan, he would work in main events against Big Van Vader (Leon White), and there he met a contingent of sumo wrestlers, which led to the gimmick which would get him the most over, the character Yokozuna, or sumo grand champion. Vince McMahon brought him into the WWF and gave him a monster push in 1992. He wasn't even knocked off his feet for months, until finally Jim Duggan finally pulled it off, and he still won the match. He later won the Royal Rumble (1993), which allowed him to challenge for the WWF Title at WrestleMania IX (1993) against Bret Hart. Anoai won the match and the title, but immediately lost it at the same event to Hulk Hogan. Anoai won the title back at the King of the Ring (1993) and kept it for over 10 months, an incredible amount of time for a 'heel' wrestler. He lost it back to Hart at WrestleMania X (1994).
His weight was becoming a huge issue, and multiple attempts to get Anoai to lose it were failures. The WWF kept him off TV for awhile, then brought him back in as a tag team partner for Owen Hart, with whom he won the Tag Team Championship at WrestleMania XI (1995). His weight gain continued, and at his final appearance in the WWF, during the _Survivor Series (1996) (V)_, he weighed almost 800 pounds. This would make him the heaviest pro wrestler in history, but he was never officially weighed.
He wrestled in the main event of the Heroes of Wrestling pay per view in 1999 and went on a European tour in October 2000. It was during this tour that he died of a heart attack in his hotel room in Liverpool, England. He was only 34.Yokozuna - Sidney Raymond Eudy is an American former professional wrestler. He is best known for his various Sid gimmicks, each distinguished by the ring names Sid Justice, Sid Vicious, and Sycho Sid in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, later WWE). Between those promotions, Eudy enjoyed major championship success and performed to an international television audience in four decades from the 1980s to the 2010s.
Eudy is a six-time world champion, having won the WWF Championship twice, the WCW World Heavyweight Championship twice, and the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship twice. In addition to world title success, Eudy held the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship once, among other accolades. During his tenures with the WWF and WCW, Eudy headlined multiple pay-per-views for both organizations, main-even-ting WrestleManias VIII and 13 in 1992 and 1997 respectively, as well as WCW's counterpart to that event, Starrcade, in 2000. - Actor
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Phillip Jack Brooks, better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestler, comic book writer and former mixed martial artist.
Punk began his professional wrestling career on the American independent circuit, primarily with Ring of Honor (ROH) until 2005, when he signed with the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He went on to become world champion throughout multiple organizations. Punk won the WWE Championship twice, WWE's World Heavyweight Championship three times and the ECW and ROH World Championships once each. In WWE, he was also a one-time World Tag Team Champion (with Kofi Kingston) and one-time Intercontinental Champion, making him the 19th Triple Crown Champion and the fastest man in WWE history to achieve this feat, doing so in 203 days. In addition, he was the 2011 WWE Superstar of the Year and the first two-time Money in the Bank winner. During the peak of his career, Punk was considered by many as the best professional wrestler in the world. Pro Wrestling Illustrated named him Wrestler of the Year in both 2011 and 2012 during which he had one of the longest WWE Championship title reigns in history at 434 days.
Brooks used the CM Punk moniker his entire career in every organization he worked. Punk consistently portrayed the character of an outspoken, sharp-tongued, anti-establishment, straight edge iconoclast. Most of the straight edge principles he portrayed, such as not drinking alcohol or not taking recreational drugs, are his real life views. Depending on his alignment as a hero or villain, he emphasized different aspects of the straight edge culture to garner the desired audience reaction.
After becoming disgruntled in WWE, Punk retired from professional wrestling in 2014. He then pursued a career in mixed martial arts (MMA) and was signed by the UFC in December of that year. On August 20, Punk made his debut for AEW at The First Dance event on Rampage, marking his return to professional wrestling after a seven-year retirement. On May 29th, 2022 Punk won AEW World title which makes him the first man in history to hold the WWE, AEW and Ring of Honor World Championships.Would also be higher if I didn't just think of him lol.- Scott Hall was born into a military family on October 20, 1958. Due to the army life he grew up a traveler and spent his high school years at the All American High in Munich, Germany. When his family returned to the States he attended St Mary's College in Maryland, where he graduated with a degree in Pre Med, with hopes to become a children's doctor. By this time Scott was already training to be a wrestler. He made his ring debut in South Carolina in 1984, and was picked up by the now defunct AWA soon after.
Almost a decade later without hitting major success in the wrestling world, Scott signed with the WWF in 1992. Taking a character he had used previously in WCW, Scott expanded the Diamond Studd and turned him into a Cuban gangster, basing "The Bad Guy" Razor Ramon on the gangster movies he'd watched as a child.
After 3 successful years as Razor, and some great matches, including the Ladder Match against the Heartbreak Kid Shawn Michaels at Wrestlemania 10 (since voted the best Wrestlemania match of all time), Scott signed with WCW, where he had some of the most controversial years of his career. His May 1996 appearance on the Turner Broadcasting Monday Nitro program breathed life into a dying wrestling market when he instigated the New World Order. After winning several tag team golds with his best friend Kevin Nash, and a couple of singles US championships, Scott received an injury to his neck during a match with Jeff Jarrett in February 2000, which kept him off TV. Scott was fired from WCW in October of 2000, allegedly due to drunken behavior on a German tour prior to his injury.
In March 2001, Scott began to tour with New Japan. He did so well that New Japan invited him back several times throughout 2001. He also did a couple of independent shows around Florida and Alabama. In January 2002, Scott signed a two year deal with the WWF to bring back the New World Order with Kevin Nash and Hollywood Hulk Hogan. They made their first appearance in February. Scott faced Stone Cold Steve Austin at Wrestlemania X-8 in March, taking the loss. Granted custody of his two children and with a part time wrestling career, Hall finally found the balance he needed to go out a star. - Leon Allen White (May 14, 1955 - June 18, 2018), better known by his ring names Big Van Vader or simply Vader, was an American professional wrestler and professional football player. Throughout his career, he performed for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), and Pro Wrestling Noah (NOAH) during the 1990s and 2000s. Widely regarded as one of the greatest super-heavyweight professional wrestlers of all time, he was a 13-time world champion.
Among other accolades in WCW and Japan, he won the IWGP Heavyweight Championship and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship three times each, the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship twice, the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship once, and won the battle royal main event of the 1993 Battlebowl pay-per-view (PPV). He headlined multiple PPV events for the WWF and WCW. Vader was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996.
In 2022, Vader was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. - Actor
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Began his career in Texas. Trained by the legendary Jose Lothario, Shawn Michaels wrestled in Kansas, where he met fellow wrestler, Marty Jannetty. A year later, after sending tapes of his matches to the major wrestling companies at the time, he was contacted by the AWA, who proposed that he team up with Marty Jannetty again. Together, Michaels and Jannetty became known as the Midnight Rockers. The AWA had just received a TV deal with ESPN, which did wonders for his career. The Midnight Rockers had a major feud with "Playboy" Buddy Rose and "Pretty Boy" Doug Somers. Their matches were considered bloodbaths at the time. Eventually the Midnight Rockers came out the victors and were the AWA World Tag Team Champions. The WWF (now WWE) noticed their efforts and signed them to a deal. Both Michaels and Jannetty were soon fired for a incident in a bar, which Michaels claims was a misunderstanding. The duo went back to the AWA for a brief time. After a while, they contacted the WWF, who gave them a second chance and they returned in late 1988. They were known simply as The Rockers. The duo had a great influence on many of the present teams in wrestling. Their trademark was being tag team specialists and using great double team moves on their opponents.
They had major feuds with The Brain Busters, The Fabulous Rougeaus, The Hart Foundation, The Orient Express, and Power & Glory. At one point the Rockers won the WWF Tag Team Titles. The match was taped before being shown Jim Neidhart of the Hart Foundation was negotiating his release at the time, then eventually came to an agreement to stay. They were stripped of the Tag Team titles which was returned to the Hart Foundation with the explanation that a turnbuckle collapsed which caused the match to go bad for both teams. Sometime after the Rockers were split apart and Shawn Michaels became a singles wrestler, after turning on his partner Marty Jannetty. In a related story, Michaels actually met with Vince McMahon to discuss his character. He told him he worked hard and would like to be pushed as a singles wrestler. He wanted to know what he had to do to convince Vince McMahon to do so. McMahon told him he just did it by coming to him. Michaels defeated Tito Santana in his first WrestleMania as a singles wrestler. He was managed by Sherri Martel, who supposedly had a crush on him. In a major upset, Michaels defeated The British Bulldog on Saturday Night's Main Event. Michaels thus won the Intercontinental Title from the Bulldog. One night on Raw in May 1993, Michaels wrestled former partner Marty Jannetty with the Intercontinental Title on the line. The match became Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Match of the Year. Jannetty won the bout.
The following year, Michaels wrestled Razor Ramon (Scott Hall, who is one of his best friends) in a ladder match at WrestleMania X. This match was voted by Pro Wrestling Illustrated as the Match of the Year and became one of wrestling's most innovative matches. In 1995, Michaels was again voted in Match of the Year by wrestling another great friend, Diesel (Kevin Nash) at WrestleMania XI. Michaels won both the 1995 and 1996 Royal Rumbles, and again was in match of the year when in 1996 he wrestled Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII in a one hour Iron Man Match. Michaels was involved in the big Montreal Screwjob on Bret Hart, that Vince McMahon was behind. The match was stopped and awarded to Shawn Michaels because Vince McMahon was worried that Hart would refuse to lose and take the WWF Title belt to WCW Nitro. This severed a friendship between Michaels and Hart. Michaels originally denied knowing about it in advance. Later on he admitted he knew but wouldn't refuse to do what Vince McMahon wanted him to, since Vince McMahon made his career. Michaels innovated another match against the Undertaker, when he wrestled him in a Hell in the Cell match. After WrestleMania XIV, Michaels didn't wrestle for 4 years due to a back injury, but maintained an on air role on occasion. During his time off, Michaels became a father, and also became a Born again Christian. At SummerSlam 2002, Michaels returned to the ring to face his friend Triple H. The two had a great feud, and Michaels who didn't think he could wrestle as well as he used to, dazzled the audience. He wasn't sure if he would be able to continue his normal wrestling schedule due to the nagging injuries, but after that, he went strong for almost 8 full years. He won his last World Championship from Triple H later that year, which he held for a month.- Actor
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Paul "Triple H" Levesque is WWE's Executive Vice President, President of Talent, Global Talent Strategy & Development. In this role, he oversees the Company's Talent Development department, serves as a senior advisor to the CEO for talent strategy and is the Executive Producer of NXT, WWE's third global touring brand, which airs live every Wednesday night on USA Network and NXT UK, a weekly one-hour series airing Wednesdays on BT Sport in the UK and Ireland.
Levesque is revolutionizing the business with his global recruiting strategy and developmental training processes. In order to create a platform for future success, he established the Company's state-of-the-art training facility, the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida and last year opened the UK Performance Center, the first world-class WWE training facility outside of the United States. In addition to strength, conditioning, in-ring training and character development, recruits participate in development programs focusing on life skills, continuing education, health and wellness and career planning. Building off this success, Levesque remains focused on the development and implementation of WWE's Performance Center/Global Localization strategy.
Prior to his current role, Levesque oversaw WWE's Talent Relations and Live Events departments. He also played an integral part in the Company's creative process, helping to shape the creative direction and storylines of WWE's programming.
Levesque debuted as a WWE Superstar, "Triple H," in 1995 and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019. He has held the WWE Heavyweight Championship title 14 times, captured every major championship, headlined thousands of WWE events and entertained millions around the world. Levesque is married to Stephanie McMahon and together in 2014 they established Connor's Cure, a fund dedicated to furthering pediatric cancer research. He was inducted into the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Alumni Hall of Fame in 2017 and is a board member for the Concussion Legacy Foundation. He has served on both WWE's Executive Committee and Board of Directors since 2015.
He is a father of three daughters ages 14, 12 and 10.He had his greedy glory hog days but I rather have his greedy glory hog days over Cena's greedy glory hog days.- Actor
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He was trained by the Original Sheik, Ed Farhat, who was one of pro-wrestling's classic and greatest bad guys. Even though their styles are quite different (Sheik being a wild hardcore-style brawler, known for throwing fire, cutting his opponent's forehead's up with foreign objects like a pencil, fork, etc. whereas Van Dam is a technical high-flyer), Farhat taught him the importance of the right mindset.- Terry Michael Brunk is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Sabu. He is known for his trademark style of hardcore wrestling, which he pioneered in his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) from 1995 to 2000. He is a three-time World Heavyweight Champion having held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship twice and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship once.
Under the tutelage of his uncle Ed "The Sheik" Farhat, Brunk began his career wrestling in the North American independent scene in 1985 under the name of Sabu, before traveling to Japan, competing in Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), winning several championships, including the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Championship. He returned to the United States in 1995, briefly working for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), before beginning his most well-known stint in ECW, where he quickly became a fixture of the promotion. During his time in ECW, he became a two-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion and a one-time ECW World Television Champion. He would have both a feud and an alliance with The Tazmaniac, defeated him for the ECW Ftw Championship and winning the ECW World Tag Team Championship with him. In 1997, Sabu began a Rob Van Dam and Sabu tag team with Rob Van Dam, winning the ECW Tag Team Championship twice.Sabu - Bobby Roode was born on 11 May 1976 in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. He is an actor, known for TNA iMPACT! Wrestling (2004), TNA: Genesis (2009) and One Night Only: GFW Amped Anthology (2017). He has been married to Tracey Roode since 1995. They have three children.
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James Storm was born in Franklin, Tn. He is known for Netflix's Wrestlers, Doc Holliday, The 12th Letter, The Killing of Billy the Kid, Grace point, The reenactment, God's Country, Hotel Underground and more. Storm spent 26 years as a Professional Wrestler for the WWE and Impact Wrestling until transitioning to Acting in 2019. He studied at the 4th wall acting studio in Nashville, Tn.- Actor
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'Stone Cold' Steve Austin was born in Victoria, Texas, as Steven James Anderson, on December 18, 1964, the youngest of five children. His mother, Beverly Jane (Harrison), remarried to Kenneth Williams, and he took his stepfather's surname. He played football at the North Texas State University. He was worthy of achieving a free education because of his football skills in school. Williams then began training at Chris Adams's wrestling school as a rookie near the end of 1988, and made his professional wrestling debut at the end of 1989. He then moved over to minor wrestling companies to wrestle for money, and later entered WCW under the name of 'Stunning Steve Austin'. He didn't make a large name for himself in the company, as he only held an embarrassing two TV titles. Austin was fired by WCW and joined the WWF (now known as WWE) in December 1995. Austin left after a while to go to ECW but only stayed for a couple of weeks before he came back to the WWF as 'Stone Cold Steve Austin'. Austin then disposed of his old finishing move the 'Million Dollar Dream', which was the trademark of 'Million Dollar Man' Ted Dibiase, and began racking up the victories with his Stone Cold Stunner (kick to the gut followed by a jawbreaker).
Austin then had a good winning streak going by 1996 and wrestled to become the 1996 King Of The Ring. Austin cut his lip open during one match, and had to get it stitched up in between matches. In the grand final of the KOTR he defeated Jake 'The Snake' Roberts with a Stone Cold Stunner, and invented his famous motto as 'Austin 3:16'. As 1997 rolled around Austin's career soared to new heights. WCW realized Austin's popularity, and tried to make a 'clone' when they invited 'Bill Goldberg' to compete for them. During that year, Austin won the WWF Intercontinental Championship twice and the Tag Team Championships. When Austin successfully defended the IC title against Rocky Maivia (now known as The Rock, real name Dwayne Johnson) on a taping of RAW, he was ordered to defend it again because he drove his pickup truck to the ring and delivered a Stunner to D'Lo Brown ('A.C. Conner') on the roof, which Vince McMahon saw as weapon usage. Austin refused to defend the title again and dumped the old belt in a river, and therefore McMahon crowned Rocky Maivia as the new champion. However, Austin said he didn't care about that title, and set his sights on the Heavyweight Championship. Although Austin had won the 1997 Royal Rumble to qualify as the Number 1 Contender for the championship at WrestleMania XIII, he didn't get the place because he was eliminated but referees didn't notice, so instead, Austin fought Bret Hart in an Iron Man match which Hart won when Austin passed out from blood loss when he was trapped in a Sharpshooter. However, Austin successfully won the 1998 Royal Rumble when he eliminated Rocky Maivia. A stipulation was made for the main event at WrestleMania XIV (Austin vs. Shawn Michaels): the special guest referee would be Iron Mike Tyson! Austin had made a friendship with Tyson, but all though Tyson betrayed him when he joined DX! However, Tyson shocked the world when Austin hit Michaels with a Stone Cold Stunner and covered him while Tyson made the count, to win his first heavyweight title! Austin then went on to enjoy three months as champion when he lost the title to Kane (Glenn Jacobs)in a First Blood match on June 28, 1998, at King Of The Ring. However, Austin regained the title a day later, and was forced to compete for it in a tournament at the 1998 Survivor Series. He was defeated by Mankind ('Mick Foley'), and later that night, The Rock won the championship and joined the Corporation.
As 1999 came around, Austin became embroiled in a feud with The Rock when Vince McMahon eliminated him from the Royal Rumble while The Rock had him distracted. However, Austin still got the place in the main event at WrestleMania XV, and he won his third championship from The Rock with a Stone Cold Stunner. He retained the title against The Rock in a Boiler Room Brawl at Backlash 1999. Austin lost the title to The Undertaker ('Mark Callaway'), but regained it in July 1999. Later that year, at the 1999 Survivor Series Austin was ran over by a car and had to have spinal surgery, and was out of action for the next 11 months. However, Austin returned to the wrestling scene at Backlash 2000 when he helped The Rock win his fourth WWF Championship from Triple H ('Michael Paul LeVesque'). Austin was then welcomed back to wrestle in October 2000 at No Mercy, when he fought Rikishi ('Solofa Fatu') in a No Holds Barred match which had to be stopped when Austin was about to run Rikishi over but was arrested by the police. The mystery was revealed that it was Triple H who had Rikishi run Austin over, and Austin battled Triple H at Survivor Series 2000, and won the match. Steve had a chance to win the WWF title from Kurt Angle, who was reigning at the time, at Armaggedon 2000, in a Six-Man Hell In A Cell Match, which also had Kurt Angle, The Rock, Triple H, Rikishi, and The Undertaker. Austin had the title in his grasp when he hit The Rock with a Stone Cold Stunner, but Angle snuck up and covered The Rock to retain the title.
Austin's hopes raised yet again when he eliminated Kane from the 2001 Royal Rumble, therefore becoming the first and only ever three-time Royal Rumble winner, and the Number One Contender for the WWF Championship. At No Way Out 2001, Austin lost a 2-Out-Of-3 Falls match to Triple H, when they both knocked each other out, but Triple H fell on top of Austin. Later that night, The Rock defeated Kurt Angle to become the first-ever six-time WWF World Champion, therefore deciding that the main event at WrestleMania X7 would be The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin defeated The Rock on April 1, 2001, for his fifth WWF title, but turned heel when he joined forces with Vince McMahon. The Rock was suspended from the WWF for almost four months. Austin's reign as Champion lasted for 5 months and 22 days, which was the longest championship reign in several years. Austin won the Tag Team Championship with Triple H at Backlash 2001, but they lost them again on May 21, on a taping of RAW to Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. In that same match, Triple H tore his quadricep muscle and had to go to hospital for eight months of surgery. At King Of The Ring 2001 on June 24 Austin retained the title successfully from both Jericho and Benoit in a Triple Threat match.
Austin shocked the world by turning heel again on July 22, 2001 when he joined the WCW/ECW Alliance, helping them win the Inaugural Brawl against the WWF, and also invented the catchphrase of 2001, which was "What?". However, Vince McMahon reinstated The Rock on July 30. In August, Kurt Angle started feuding with Austin and was determined to take the championship back from him at Summerslam. Austin disqualified himself to remain the champion, however, Angle won the title back from him at Unforgiven on September 23, 2001. Austin then regained the title from Angle on RAW in October, when William Regal came to his aid. In November, Austin narrowly escaped losing the title to The Rock at Rebellion, with a little help from Kurt Angle. Later that month, The Rock put the WCW/ECW Alliance out of business in the Winner Take All match, which was also Austin's first loss to The Rock. However, Austin returned to the federation, still as the heavyweight champion the night after, but lost it to Chris Jericho on December 9, 2001, when Jericho became the first-ever Undisputed Champion when Austin was defeated in the grand finals. Austin then challenged Jericho for the Undisputed title at No Way Out 2002 in February, and would have won the match, but the nWo interfered and attacked Austin, helping Jericho retain the title. Austin then feuded with the nWo's Scott Hall and faced him in a match at WrestleMania X8, which Austin won, even putting away the difficulty that was made by the constant interfering of Kevin Nash. At Backlash 2002 Austin faced the Undertaker in a Number 1 Contender match for the Undisputed Championship, but Austin was screwed out of the decision when The Undertaker booted a steel chair into his face and covered him for the pinfall. Austin had his foot on the rope, but special referee Ric Flair didn't notice. Austin began feuding with Flair and faced him in a 2-On-1 Handicap match at Judgment Day 2002 - Flair's partner was Big Show Paul Wight. That would be Austin's last PPV match, as early in June, he did not show up for a taping of RAW. Austin has not been seen since. He is 6'2", and when he first entered the federation he weighed 241 pounds, but boosted up to 252 later on in his career. He says that his weight "depends on how much beer I drink".Was actually a much better wrestler in WCW, too bad Bischoff didn't appreciate him only cared that he had Hulk Hogan in WCW.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Brian Pillman makes the list of a long line of tragic deaths in wrestling. He had endured 36 throat operations as a child. Pillman played football in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals in 1984 and in the CFL for the Calgary Stampeders. It was in Calgary where he met Owen Hart (who also died at a relatively early age) and started his wrestling career for Stampede Wrestling. Pillman's major titles include the Tag Team Championship, the US Tag Team Championship, and the Light Heavyweight Championship. Pillman also suffered a terrible broken leg that deeply hurt his career. He died at the age of 35 while still being an active wrestler in the World Wrestling Federation.- Davey Boy Smith was born on 27 November 1962 in Manchester, England, UK. He was an actor, known for WCW Monday Nitro (1995), WWE Smackdown! (1999) and WCW Saturday Night (1985). He was married to Diana Hart. He died on 18 May 2002 in Invermere, British Columbia, Canada.
- Kensuke Sasaki was born on 4 August 1966 in Fukuoka, Japan. He is an actor, known for Briscoe Brothers - Sandy Fork Originals (2013), The Testament of Sister New Devil: Departures (2018) and New Japan Pro-Wrestling 30th Anniversary 1997-1999 (2002). He has been married to Akira Hokuto since 1 October 1995. They have two children.
- Masahiro Chôno was born on 17 September 1963 in Mitaka City, Tokyo, Japan. He is an actor, known for Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends - The Movie (2009), Kantoku · Banzai! (2007) and WCW Monday Nitro (1995). He has been married to Martina Carls since 28 December 1991. They have one child.Could teach Cena how to do the stf properly.
- Actor
- Producer
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Martin Anthony Lunde , better known by the ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a manager. Although he is widely regarded as one of the finest tag team wrestlers in history, he also had a successful singles career and became a four-time NWA/WCW World Television Champion, which he often called his "World Title".
Anderson's career has been highlighted by his alliances with Ric Flair and various members of the wrestling stable The Four Horsemen in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). After his retirement, he worked as a producer for WWE until 2019, when he joined AEW. On March 31, 2012, Anderson was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the Four Horsemen.- Adam Copeland is an actor and an professional wrestler, who wrestles as Edge in the WWE. He starred as one of the leads in the fifth season of the popular television series Haven on Syfy. He also starred as a recurring character on the History Channel series Vikings. Canadian-born, Copeland's life in wrestling spans three decades, and through his long and decorated career as "Edge", Copeland entertained millions of fans internationally while winning 31 championships overall in WWE - the most by any wrestler ever - including 11 world heavyweight championships. Copeland became the youngest wrestler ever inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in March 2012. As an actor, Copeland appeared in an installment of the popular film franchise Highlander: Endgame, and also starred in the WWE produced, Bending the Rules opposite Jamie Kennedy. Copeland's television appearances include a recurring guest arc on Sanctuary, and numerous appearances as Edge in shows such as Clash Time, the Weakest link, Mind of Mencia, Deal Or No Deal, and MADtv to name a few. Copeland's autobiography, Adam Copeland on Edge, was a New York Times bestseller, Copeland has a massive and dedicated international fan base, with a twitter following of over 750K, and growing daily. He lives in the mountains of Asheville, NC, where he spends his time hiking, biking, cuddling with his family.
- Mark Henry was born on 12 June 1971 in Silsbee, Texas, USA. He is an actor, known for MacGruber (2010), WWE Smackdown! (1999) and A Haunted House 2 (2014). He has been married to Jana Perry since 24 April 2005. They have two children.