On top of that, the win would mark one of the longest reigns as Bruno would retain the title for 8 consecutive years. 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. Mascaras has been inducted in the WWE, NWA, and Professional Wrestling Halls of Fame. [1][2], The twins were born in Hendersonville, North Carolina. Little Beaver was born Lionel Giroux in Saint-Jrme, Quebec in 1935. he began his wrestling career at the age of fifteen and teamed up with fellow Canadian Sky Low Low, the pair going on to become two of the most famous wrestlers in history. Make no mistake, though, that didnt mean the action wasnt good. However, he was an enormous star in the 70s as well, working almost exclusively in the NWA and its territories. While Terry Funk had many classic singles matches, it is his tag team matches that stood out. While Mascaras received several shots at the title, he always came shot and thus never won any title with the WWE. He eventually big-splashed his way to co-holding the WWWF Tag Team titles. Along with Ronnie himself and his, "It is time for art to flow into the organisation of life." They include: The Executioners (Kowalski, Stuff, & Volkoff), The Blackjacks (Blackjacks Mulligan & Lanza), The Wild Samoans (Wild Samoans Afa & Sika), The Valiant Brothers (Johnny, Jimmy, & Jerry), The Strongbows (Chief Jay & Jules Strongbow). Played by Satoru Sayama, who Bret Hart once called the Bruce Lee of professional wrestling, Tiger Mask I was both a real-life wrestling character and the star of a popular Japanese cartoon. The Owens, composed of Leah and Casey, are two Irish girls that recently auditioned for WWE Tough Enough casting. 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: Its in the genes, which is something that cant be taught. 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. 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.. Brie, along with her identical twin sister, Nikki, rose to fame with their "Twin Magic" in which they would switch places in the ring during matches a move created by movie star Freddie Prinze Jr., who was writing for the WWE at the time.The rest, as they say, is history, and now the Bella twins have . In 2014, the New Age Outlaws would win the WWE World Tag Team titles from the Brotherhood. Little Bruiser in Chicago, September 1, 1972 Cowboy Bob Bradley and Joey Russell, February 23 1968. Brie Bella and Daniel Bryan are big stars both in the WWE world and reality TV world. Meanwhile, his brother continued refereeing in several companies, including IMPACT Wrestling and AEW. His IRL truculent personality and tendency towards bridge-burning made him an unlikely favorite in the industry and although he was likely portrayed as a villain (along with his partner Nikolai Volkoff) due to xenophobia within the USA, he certainly lived up to his dastardly, devil-may-care reputation out of the ring. 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. The world of sports has seen its fair share of successful twin tandems, including NHL's Sedin brothers, MMA's Nogueira brothers, football's Pouncey brothers, and the Lopez brothers competing in the NBA, to name a few. 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. The Samoans were a staple of Vince McMahon, Sr. and his WWF company in the 1970s and early 1980s. Here are four WWE Superstars you may not know have twin siblings. Born Wayne Coleman, the bodybuilder with the 22-inch biceps spoke as well as the Christian preacher whose name he used as his own. He started wrestling at the age of fifteen and went on to become one the worlds top midget wrestler over a 30 year period, during which time he won the NWA World Midget Championship twice. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'sportlister_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_25',106,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-sportlister_com-medrectangle-4-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'sportlister_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_26',106,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-sportlister_com-medrectangle-4-0_1');.medrectangle-4-multi-106{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}. Many old-school wrestling fans remember the House of Funk for their Wrestlemania 2 appearance. The cartilage in his knee wore out and he was eventually bedridden. Backlund was a collegiate All-American and a former NCAA Champion. News on all your favorite celebs, reality TV, and movies. Active since 2011, the Owens are still trying to catch their big break in the business, wrestling for smaller promotions across the United Kingdom and Japan. Richter attempted to bring legitimacy to womens wrestling and was actually rather successful, but the world (or, actually, maybe just Vince) simply wasnt ready for what she had to offer. Hes a member of the WWE and Professional Wrestling Halls of Fame, has been honored multiple times by the Cauliflower Alley Club and was the 1973 PWI Wrestler of the Year. You can also support us by signing up to our Mailing List. Although perhaps better known these days for his bombastic and foul-mouthed twitter rampages, Iron Sheik was a key heel throughout the 80s. Having made appearances in Japan, Mexico and North America, The Headhunters (consisting of twins Manuel and Victor Santiago) are best known for their stints in WWE and ECW. The Niedhart legacy these days is carried on through current WWE superstar Natalya, but her father frequently known as The Anvil had cemented his heroic status long before she began fighting. Billy and Benny werent exactly the most talented superstars in wrestling history, yet the business was different in their days, which ultimately led them to matches in NJPW and Canadas very own Stampede Wrestling. Unique lists featuring pop culture, entertainment and crazy facts. Their in-ring attires truly made them memorable, even if you only saw them a few times. Owner/booker Verne Gagne may have been the face of the AWA, but Nick Bockwinkel wasnt far behind, holding the promotions heavyweight strap four times over his career. Competing since the mid-1980s, The Batten Twins have tussled against some of the best in the world, but they never quite got the recognition they wanted. 1960. Both Manuel and Victor were eliminated by fellow behemoths, Yokozuna and Vader. Terry Eugene Bollea, better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler and television personality. During his heyday in the '60s and '70s, Calhoun feuded with men like Dick the Bruiser and battled Bruno Sammartino. They lived the twin gimmick to. 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. With that in mind, weve created an alternate pantheon of both iconic wrestling legends and lesser-known heroes who many would consider underappreciated compared to the more ubiquitous and deeply obvious wrestling celebrities of that decade. 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. Born and raised in a small Italian town, Bruno Sammartinos childhood was quite tough. Do check the Promotions tab if you cannot find it in the Primary Inbox. And although his identity is now known worldwide, hes one of the few masked wrestlers to have never revealed his face to the public. The World's Most Entertaining Car Website. BELLA TWINS #wweshorts #shortsvideo #shorts Wrestling Summerthis topics covered videobella Twins ne mauj krdeebella twins togetherbella twins d. Ed Farhat, uncle and trainer of Sabu and trainer of Rob Van Dam, held a number of regional titles across the Midwest in the 70s. The 49-year-old spent nearly five years in the promotion, during which he failed to win any titles on the main roster. By that time, Johnny Valiant had moved on to managing and Jimmy had become the Boogie Woogie Man. The company released Dean from his contract in 2007. The 72-year-old joined Vince McMahon's company in the early 1980s and has refereed some historic matches, including Randy Savage vs. Hulk . He later moved to Walkertown, North Carolina and worked for the Christian Golfers Ministry. However, in 1985 she was forced to vacate her championship due to an injury, which prompted an early retirement in 1986 at the age of 24. During her wrestling career in the WWE, Fabulous Moolah won various Womens World Championship titles. A 3-time tag team champion, Mr. Fuji made a name for himself as one of the biggest rule breakers in sports entertainment. He was a clever and wily opponent who brought considerable showmanship to the arena. By what name was AWA All-Star Wrestling (1972) officially released in Canada in English? Of course, this shaved, corpulent, and effeminate fighter in a nude diaper was a villain, but his bizarre characterizations made him quite unique in a sea of hyper-machismo. His reputation for playing mind games with his opponents never superseded his actual in-ring acumen. In a book that became to be known as 'The People of the Abyss' London described the time when he lived in the Whitechapel district sleeping in workhouses, so-called doss-houses and even on the streets. Wrestling became an international phenomenon with the expansion of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Beefcake held nine titles throughout his career and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019. 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 twin brothers founded Phoenix Championship Wrestling together in 2001. 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. In the 70s, kayfabe was alive and well! [4][3], The twins often used a finishing move called the "Tupelo Splash", which involved one of the twins diving belly-first onto a prone opponent; they would follow this with "The Steamroller", where the twin would roll back and forward over the opponent. Remember, this is before professional wrestling was called sports entertainment. 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. 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. Years later, the brothers appeared on WWE programming, this time accompanied by fitness freak Simon Dean as Gymini, an offshoot from the mythical Gemini twins. Little Bruiser in Chicago, September 1, 1972. As you will notice, this list features some of the biggest wrestlers in the history of wrestling, a trend that the WWF adopted back in its early years. During that span, he notched victories over Lou Thesz, Dory Funk Jr., Gene Kiniski, Terry Funk, Dusty Rhodes, Harley Race, all of whom held the same title at least once during their careers. In addition, some spectators capable of beating the carnies roamed the country to compete in open challenges, setting side bets to make money. Dynamite Kid. 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 Sheik was PWIs Most Hated Wrestler of 1972, the first year of the award, and has been inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. A key member of The Hart Foundation faction, Niedhart ran roughshod through the WWF with his pink-clad partners throughout the 1980s. WWE's Greatest Superstars of the 21st Century 2 Roddy Piper 3,754 votes #5 of 48 Professional Wrestlers with the Best Stage Names #4 of 32 The Best Brawlers In Wrestling History #14 of 49 The Best Wrestling Announcers Of All Time 3 Randy Savage 4,962 votes #138 of 183 The All-Time Greatest Action Stars #206 of 248 The Best Marvel Movie Actors Ever Inspired by the legendary Muhamad Ali, Billy Graham would step in front of a microphone and deliver a promo that is full of rhyming words. As a pioneer . In the 1960s and 1970s, Kowalski became a great tag team wrestler, while also becoming a top rival for world champion Bruno Sammartino. Rhodes ended up as a multi-time NWA World Champion and is a WWE Hall of Fame superstar. The legendary Lord Littlebrook (aka Eric Tovey), in Milwaukee July 7, 1968. Matches frequently went up to an hour on a regular basis. His first run lasted more than 1,700 days from 1975-1980. Upon joining WWE, Bruno Sammartino would become an instant hit and the companys biggest star at the time. Although wrestling back then was strictly segregated by gender, Yokotas unquestioned skill level was often thought of as far surpassing that of her male counterparts. 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. Though their reign was short, it affirmed them as true legends of Tag Team Wrestling. They dont quite look alike, but to the Olsens credit, they often wore matching outfits, which facilitated the gimmick, also helping tag teams like The Fabulous Ones, The Dicks, and The Basham Brothers to look like similar siblings in the past. 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. 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. Wrestling began featuring enhanced, hyped character traits and storylines. Knowing what was to follow, the venue was apposite. The Usos also went to war with another brother duo in Goldust and Stardust, where they lost their belts to the Rhodes brothers at Night of Champions 2014. In fact, it was the Crush Gals that catalyzed All Japan Pro Wrestlings international following. 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. Moreover, there were instances when the Wild Samoans would eat raw fish during interviews or simply begin picking their noses. 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. Killer Kowalskis reputation went beyond the world of wrestling thanks to his fearsome and terrifying nature. The company then released her from her contract in November 2007. Jack and his brother Gerry were the original Brisco brothers, not to be confused with the ROH pair. Despite his goofy yellow polka dots, theres something sort of poetic about Dusty The American Dream Rhodes rise to fame. One of wrestlings breakout stars, Roddy Piper became a bonafide pop-cultural icon with numerous appearances on television sitcoms and cartoons. Inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009, Ricky Steamboats fights against Macho Man Randy Savage (1987) and Ric Flair (1989) were both awarded Match of the Year by Pro-Wrestling Illustrated and the Wrestling Observer. Handsome Jimmy, Luscious Johnny, and Gentleman Jerry dominated the tag team scene in the NWA and WWWF. 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. 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. He sadly died at the age of 56 in January 2007. He was born Roland Barriault in Sudbury, Ontario on July 22, 1946. As the match got underway, it could have been anybodys win; until the grand finale. The Russian Bear beat Bruno Sammartino for the WWE Championship in 1971, a win that almost caused a riot. 14. 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. Feuding with teams such as The Road Warriors and The Nasty Boys, Mike and Todd caught a big break winning the NWA World Tag Team Championship, which lead to a stint in TNA Wrestling, where they appeared on the very first pay-per-view (PPV) event. 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. Benny then opened a pawn shop and worked as an auctioneer in Hendersonville. In 1965, Mascaras made his professional debut in Guadalajara, Mexico. There have also been twins who haven't worked together on camera. His career finally came to an end in the '80s when he worked with his son. We don't want to rely on ads to bring you the best of visual culture. Your login session has expired. He died aged 75 on June 24, 2010 in Amarillo, Texas. In the '70s, he was part of the WWE and was still on top of the world until his retirement in 1977. They'd be 74 today", "Benny Loyd McCrary, World's Heaviest Twin", "McCrary Twins Awe Wrestling Fans Across Country", "Services for Billy McCrary to be Held Here Tomorrow", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_McGuire_Twins&oldid=1141937960, 666kg (1,468lb) (Billy and Benny McGuire), This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 17:23. In his final match, Rikishi teamed up with Danni Deeds and Todd Quality to defeat Adam Ryder, Marty Sugar, and Shreddz at a PPW event. california housing market predictions 2022, pre stretched braiding hair beauty supply,