Tito Santana began his wrestling career as a jobber for other well-established wrestlers and heels. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features NFL Sunday Ticket Press Copyright . The sport reached an outrageous and never before seen numbers of viewers. He worked everywhere from the AWA and WWWE to Japan and the territories. In 2014, the New Age Outlaws would win the WWE World Tag Team titles from the Brotherhood. Rikishi and his twin brother shared the ring a few times in WWE and other promotions throughout their careers. After teaming up with his brother, Dorry Funk Sr., The House of Funk (Hoss of funk) was created. Luke & Butch continued brawling across America throughout the '70s and '80s, capturing championships in various National Wrestling Alliance territories and Bill Watts' Universal Wrestling Federation. The Shane Twins will forever be subject to ridicule in the wrestling world and some of that criticism is unfair. A 3-time tag team champion, Mr. Fuji made a name for himself as one of the biggest rule breakers in sports entertainment. One of the few men to have been inducted into five separate wrestling Hall of Fames, Harley Race is studied to this day as a technical master so much so that he was often announced as the "The Greatest Wrestler on God's Green Earth." The Samoans were a staple of Vince McMahon, Sr. and his WWF company in the 1970s and early 1980s. They often provided an excellent foil to the overpowered Crush Gals throughout their influential run. Despite that, Andre was someone that territories brought in to beat their biggest heels, and he sold out every appearance. [3], Benny died at age 54 on March 26, 2001 of heart failure. Bret Hart Self | WWF Survivor Series 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. Although the world of 80s pro-wrestling was filled with neon tiger stripes and cocaine dreams that decade was also a time of immense athleticism, over-the-top characters, and intrepid innovation in the art of combat sports. A few years later, he retired as a referee due to injury and became a road agent. Quick! Some twins rose to prominence by being glamour models inside and out of the squared circle, while other duos shared a common goal of calling matches down the middle. 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. For a time, Hart was considered the most famous person in Canada and is quite often regarded as the greatest wrestler of all time. He even found time to release the single True Love in 1975 and still has. The Top 100 Wrestlers - IMDb He sadly died at the age of 56 in January 2007. Fans and pundits even began referring to him as the 8th Wonder of the World, thanks to his colossal size and ability to attract the masses. They held the WWWF tag titles twice, and held NWA titles in both Georgia and Florida. During WWEs first ever Main Event broadcast in 1988, fans in attendance at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis witnessed devastation as Hulk Hogan, the WWE Champion at the time, was forced to surrender his title to Andre The Giant after beating him at WrestleMania 3 a year prior. He was a clever and wily opponent who brought considerable showmanship to the arena. was a promoter and wrestling manager. Wrestlers such as Andre the Giant, Bruno Sammartino, Ivan Koloff, and Antonio Inoki helped lay the foundations that the WWE currently stands on. Moreover, there were instances when the Wild Samoans would eat raw fish during interviews or simply begin picking their noses. As a member of the notorious Crush Gals tag team, Lioness Asuka helped to propel womens wrestling to global popularity. Ephemeral, disposable, they served only one purposeto let someone know "I'm here. These portrait photographs of Russia's ruling Romanovs were taken in 1903 at the Winter Palace in majestic. WWF and AWA, and Japan was as important as it ever was. Many old-school wrestling fans remember the House of Funk for their Wrestlemania 2 appearance. Although she was often teaming with her mentor, Dump Matsumoto, she also held the All Japan Pro Wrestling womens title for three years starting in 1985 she was only 16 years old at the time. When he retired, Kowalski started a wrestling school and ended up training Triple H years later. St Petersburg is the city Christopher Hitchens called "an apparent temple of civilization: the polished window between Russia and Europe the, "I never saw Eric Ravilious depressed. 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. Please consider making a donation to our site. Unlike a twosome formed by strangers-turned-best friends, twins possess an extra edge because they are mirror images of each other -- not only do most look identical, they know what their sibling is thinking more often than not. Varnado made her acting debut in season 2 of the acclaimed show The Mandalorian (2019) in the role of Koska Reeves. Welcome to professional wrestling in the 1970s, where anything goes and grapplers werent participating in sports entertainment. The Russian Bear beat Bruno Sammartino for the WWE Championship in 1971, a win that almost caused a riot. A warrior and fighter inside the squared circle, Terry Funk managed to win a title with almost every promotion that he worked with. While both men were great wrestlers in their own right, there was not a tag team in the 1970s that was more dominating that the Wild Samoans. Wrestling journalist In the book WCW: The Ultimate Guide, Dave Scherer described Hennig as "one of the best all-round competitors this business has ever produced.. WWWF Wrestling TV 70's # 3 4WrestlingFans 83.6K subscribers Subscribe 645 Share 89K views 4 years ago WWWF Wrestling TV 70's # 3 Show more Show more Classic AWA Wrestling 1985 #1. The Owens, composed of Leah and Casey, are two Irish girls that recently auditioned for WWE Tough Enough casting. In the 70s, he also worked matches against boxer, Chuck Wepner. Many wrestling fans will remember him for his feud with WWEs golden boy, Tito Sammartino. Top 25 Greatest Canadian Wrestlers of All Time - TheSportster Born Wayne Coleman, the bodybuilder with the 22-inch biceps spoke as well as the Christian preacher whose name he used as his own. In 1974, Pro Wrestling Illustrated named Robinson their Most Popular Wrestler of the Year. 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. The world of sports has seen its fair share of successful twin tandems, including NHLs Sedin brothers, MMAs Nogueira brothers, footballs Pouncey brothers, and the Lopez brothers competing in the NBA, to name a few. It was loosely called a sport, and anything went! In general, anything in a professional wrestling show is to some extent scripted, or "kayfabe", even though at times it is portrayed as legitimate. Both brothers were released from WWE in midst of a merchandise scandal, as they were accused of selling WWE products without permission. In the U.S., he made his name thanks to a massive violent feud with Bruno Sammartino in WWE. Sammartino would then go ahead and beat Inoki bloody. 12K views 6 years ago Led by the NWA in Detroit this territory was highlighted as the first renegade promotion in the USA, their battles were bloody their feuds were intense with such stars as The. PS. Thanks to photographerDavid Maciejewskiwe can see pictures of thelittle wrestlers before the hype and hoopla of WWF took hold. Bockwinkel was also an AWA World Tag Team champ three times with Ray Stevens from 1972-75 with the pair being named the PWI Tag Team of the Year in 1973. AWA All-Star Wrestling - Wikipedia In 1974, Killer Kowalski would have his last match against Bruno Sammartino for the WWF World heavyweight championship. Known for his signature evil laugh, The Million Dollar Man bragged about you guessed it his extraordinary wealth while trouncing opponents around the world. 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. RELATED: 10 Best WWE Wrestlers Of All-Time, According To Cagematch.netMost wrestlers didnt have the physiques or follow the diet and workout regimen that many athletes follow today, but make no mistake, that didnt mean the action wasnt good. Andre the Giant won his only world title in 1988, but he was a man who never needed a title to be the biggest star in any company he wrestled in. Bubby Rodgers and Bruno Sammartino were just among the few renowned wrestlers that faced Calhoun. The 16 Most Famous Sets of Celebrity Twins - Insider The Golden Era and the Attitude Era gave wrestling fans some of the most electrifying matches in WWEs history. After his stint as a wrestler, Mr Fuji would embark on a new journey as a manager with Yokozuna, Demolitions and Powers of Pain being his clients. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 1980s. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'sportlister_com-small-rectangle-1','ezslot_28',122,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-sportlister_com-small-rectangle-1-0'); Apart from losing his brother and sister, Bruno also watched helplessly as Hitlers troops wreaked havoc in his small home town. The result, a ripped cauliflower ear and tons of bandages. A wrestler called Jack Cassidy ready to rumble in 1968. Since then,both Bellas have worked hard and improved drastically in the ring. WWWF Wrestling TV 70's # 3 - YouTube To show dominance over the American, Inoki applied a real submission move that Sammartino somehow managed to overpower. 7. Simon Dean made a few appearances for McMahon in the early 1990s. The McGuire Twins - Wikipedia Two years later, Vince McMahon, Sr would come knocking and, in the process, signing Andre the Giant to the WWE. His career finally came to an end in the '80s when he worked with his son. Little Bruiser and Billy the Kid, September 23, 1972. Later, he would join AJPW where he feuded with The Destroyer. During her wrestling career in the WWE, Fabulous Moolah won various Womens World Championship titles. A co-founder of NJPW, Antonio Inoki did not hold as many titles as other Japanese wrestlers at the time and those who came after him. Starting her career at the age of 15, it wouldnt take her too long to start snatching titles. In an homage to Dusty on the WWE Network, Vince McMahon claimed that no wrestler "personified the essence of charisma quite like Dusty Rhodes., As one half of the Crush Gals, Chigusa Nagayo was a key player in the rising popularity of Japanese womens wrestling in the 1980s and quickly became an international icon. The Funker won the NWA World Heavyweight title in 1975 from Jack Brisco and held it for more than a year defending it against the likes of Harley Race, Dusty Rhodes and Jumbo Tsuruta. Bruno Sammartino was the biggest name in WWE in the '60s and '70s, but in the late '70s, another man took his spot. Apart from being charismatic, Billy Graham was also smart, creative, and engaging. Superstar held the WWWF Heavyweight Championship one time after beating the legendary Bruno Sammartino in 1977, hailed as Pro Wrestling Illustrated Magazine's Match of the Year. Haven't seen this in it's full version so here it is. These guys could keep their fans crowds on the edge of their seats for 30, 45 or 60 minutes with no effort at all. Bobo Johnson also wrestled under the name the Brown Panther. Best known for his tag performances with Louie Louie and later Rocky Johnson, Bobo was one of the earliest Black midget wrestlers alongside Haiti Kid. The nature of professional wrestling dramatically changed in order to better suit television audiences. For most, there were no high spots; the German suplex and a bodyslam were finishers, and nobody knew what a hurricanrana, five-star frog splash, Swanton bomb, and outside dive were. Brian Adams (wrestler) Akebono Tar Mitsu Arakawa B Lord James Blears Daryl Bonilla F Mr. Fuji H Dean Ho (wrestler) Malia Hosaka I King Curtis Iaukea Prince Iaukea J Nia Jax K Tor Kamata Jason Kincaid M Neff Maiava Don Muraco R Kona Reeves S Harold Sakata Sammy Steamboat Vic Steamboat T Taiy Kea Pat Tanaka Professor Tanaka Y Tojo Yamamoto In relative terms, a wrestler breaking kayfabe during a show would be likened to an actor breaking character on-camera. Eventually, the character morphed into a deranged barber who cut the hair of his opponents following his decisive victories. Widely respected for his integrity and personal principles, Sammartino was one of the most popular wrestlers in the 60's and 70's. Born and raised in a small Italian town, Bruno Sammartino's childhood was quite tough. They were both born in October 1965. Ultimately, promoters in Canada would run out of acceptable opponents to face this giant. What Do These Iconic 1980s Wrestlers Look Like Today? - TheSportster The legendary Lord Littlebrook (aka Eric Tovey), in Milwaukee July 7, 1968. In the 70s, kayfabe was alive and well! Both Bart and Brad, who spent the majority of their time in WCWA, took on all comers such as Kevin Sullivan, Matt Borne, The Moondogs, and a tag team called The Thrillseekers, a duo made up of Chris Jericho and Lance Storm. The Usos joined the WWE in 2010 and have been managed by their cousin Tamina Snuka as well as Jimmy's wife Naomi. He also became famous in America on 'Monday Night Raw' when he fought WWE Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar in an MMA style match that ended brutally. Her matches with her aforementioned nemeses were attended by sold-out crowds in Japan and bolstered the reputation of Japanese womens wrestling worldwide. Theyve competed against two major tag teams on the indie circuit in War Machine and Best Friends, and they make appearances regularly as Dalton Castles boys as two elegant and dreamy studs that had an episode alongside Japanese legend Jushin Liger at this past years Global Wars in Canada. As the match got underway, it could have been anybodys win; until the grand finale. Just two months after arriving in WWE, he was fighting for the world title.