Backlund was a crowd favorite and would prove that mat wrestling could still win in the end. He was previously married to Donna Joy Dundee. At his age of 68, he still resembles his iconic character and, despite the rough life of pro wrestling, his boot camp training appears to have kept him in good shape. Held numerous tag titles in the NWA and WCW and was United States and National Heavyweight title champion as well. The Midnight Express 11 of 50 Whether it was Bobby Eaton an. - Rick Rude (1981 - 1993) was an American professional wrestler who wrestled under various monikers such as Ravishing Ricky Rude and Ricky "The Dragon" Roode. While no longer flaunting his Million Dollar Championship belt, hes still on good terms with the WWE and makes special appearances from time to time. They have two children. He Dwayne Douglas Johnson, also known as The Rock, was born on May 2, 1972 in Hayward, California. He lived up to his moniker and impressed with his physical appearance, proving to be a powerful opponent. They have two children. A symbol of the spirit of Lucha Libre, Mil Mscaras is one of the few masked fighters ever inducted into WWEs notorious Hall of Fame. Native Detroiter Kevin Nash is an actor and equal rights advocate who discovered his love of comedy as the class clown in elementary school and to this day, he can find humor in almost any situation. Jake The Snake Roberts was one of the most popular superstars of the eighties. 3,570 votes. Ric Flair said David Von Erich could have been champion and carried the NWA. Jacqueline was ahead of her game with the women at that time. He was truly one of the best showmen the business has ever seen. Due to the army life he grew up a traveler and spent his high school years at the All American High in Munich, Germany. forest park wrestling. It was a real rivalry for two men who hated each other and it nearly killed them both. DiBiase entered the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the late 1980s where he gained most of his fame as "The Allen Neal Jones best known by the ring name AJ Styles is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE. Broke into wrestling in the Global Wrestling Federation, known then as The Lightning Kid. Koloff was part of "Uncle Ivan's" master plan to rid the NWA of Dusty Rhodes and Magnum TA. An early example of the queer coded villain in the wrestling world, Adrian Adonis was a grotesque caricature of gay culture but a compelling personality nonetheless. The knee from the top rope into the back of the skull was downright scary! He is an actor, known for WWE Smackdown! 2. Paul is a member of the Xi Beta Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at Southern Actor | Rick Rude. They feuded with The Midnight Express, the Andersons, and the Road Warriors. Throughout the years other superstars have vouched for the program, including Jake "The Snake," Scott Hall, and Chris Jericho. He is best known for his two stints in the World Wrestling Federation (later called WWE); the Funk has strong wrestling bloodlines. A great technician in the ring, he also struck tag team gold. Because it is worth talking about the greatest WWE Superstars of the 80s forever. This site uses third party cookies for analytics and advertising. Hayes went to WCW and later to WWE as a road agent and announcer. Starting her career at the age of 15, it wouldnt take her too long to start snatching titles. Our list is sortable by ring name, real name, date, age, and cause of death. He was the standard for all that was evil with Russia. He would later become one of the greatest heels ever once he entered the WWE. Randy Savage Actor | Spider-Man His secret? Hulkamania is the greatest concept ever created in wrestling. He too fit right into Vince McMahon's carnival of characters. He died too soon and his talents are missed. He also has a stint in WCW when he wrestled with Ricky Steamboat against Barry Windham and Ric Flair at a television taping, leading to Steamboat getting a shot at the world title. Nonetheless, Richter won championships around the globe before her retirement in 2005. Rose was a fixture for years. 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 William Scott Goldberg , better commonly known as Goldberg, is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former American football player. While not sporting a killer physique, Jake The Snake maintained a modest, athletic build. I want it to. Learn more at. When you think of pro-wrestling in the 1980s who comes to mind? Vampiro is known for A Wolf at the Door (2013), Trash (2014) and Crossing the Line (2012). This is a list of masked wrestlers.The earliest known masked wrestler in the United States was The Masked Marvel who famously "crashed" the international tournament, which featured many of the top stars of the "Farmer" Burns-Frank Gotch era, held at the Manhattan Opera House in 1915. Santana was an Intercontinental Champion and was a crowd favorite the entire time he wrestled for the McMahon dynasty. Debuted in 1990 in Calgary after training in the Hart Family Dungeon. Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr. (October 29, 1949 - July 12, 2021), nicknamed "Mr. Ax and Smash reunite outside of the WWE, but legal battles have soured their relationship with WWE. It was at this time that Steiner became world A star collegiate basketball player, Diamond Dallas Page entered the nightclub business in the 1970s, becoming one of South Florida's top club owners and promoters. The latest in the sports world, emailed daily. Desperately Seeking Susan - 1985. 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. Are you sure you want to delete your score and checked items on this list? His over-the-top video packages established him as a kind of miraculous meta-human that, despite or because of their inherent campiness, catalyzed his global superstardom. He will always be known as the guy who helped set up Hulkamania. Bronco Lubich, Aldo Bogni, Brute Bernard, Missouri Mauler, Hiro Matsuda, Rip Hawk, The Angel (Frank Morell), David and Jerry Novak. In fact, he was so known to the British public that the Queen and former Prime Minister Margret Thatcher were said to be fans! He was also known for his fiery Latin temper. For a while Race was a record holder as far as World Heavyweight Title reigns went until he was bested by Ric Flair. Check out a gallery remember classic 80's star King Kong Bundy List View Player View Grid View Brutus The Barber Beefcake 30/30 1 /30 4 Ratings 581,728 Views He had a great following in Puerto Rico and feuded with Carlos Colon and Bruiser Brody. Four times they won the world title. He is of Italian (father) and French-Canadian and English (mother) descent, and is the grandson of baseball player Tony Lupien. Hi there and welcome to Nostalgia Hit. He was held down by the emergence of Hulk Hogan. You can view movies and shows in one place and filter by streaming provider, genre, release year, runtime, and rating (Rotten Tomatoes, Imdb, and/or Metacritic). People seemed to swear up and down in our Facebook post on this that he looks like Jack Swagger/Hager in this photo. 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. He was great for a number of reasons. Poised as an everyman, Dusty managed to wrack up title wins across divisions and federations. His work in the 80s mostly consisted of work in Championship Wrestling from Florida and with WCW. 3. He had the best mind to create anything he wanted. He is signed to WWE.He began his professional wrestling career on the independent circuit in 1992, wrestling in Paul also played college basketball at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville from 1992 to 1993, and was a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Cougars basketball team. Looks Great: Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, 1. Despite the abuse his body took at his age and through his long career, Diamond Dallas Page remains in top physical form. Won the AWA heavyweight championship and feuded with the likes of Kerry Von Erich. He has just as much to do with the success of Ric Flair as anyone else. He starred as one of the leads in the fifth season of the popular television series Haven on Syfy. Hes still capable of walking down the aisle and putting a maggot in his place. Funk, himself, became Terry Michael Brunk is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Sabu. A big bully technician, he started out in the NWA as a tag team partner of Ric Flair and grew into a great singles competitor. He is best known for his first run with WWF, where he held the WWF 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 CM Punk, would be way higher than Cena but this is a continuation of a list I started awhile ago and I only remembered to add Punk in the end. This man knew what it took to be champion many times over. He also starred as a guest character on the Syfy Began his career in Texas. Meltzer has previously described her as "the most popular women's wrestler of all time." 2. Wayne Ferris took a gimmick and rode it into success. OOOOHHHHHHH YYEEEEEEEAAHHHHH!!! When he got to the WWF, The King was a mid-carder who was a hit but could never capture world gold. Although the conceit might seem silly, Sayama had the skill to back up the story: his match at NJPW Sumo Hall Show in 1983 (against Dynamite Kid Thomas Billington) was the first fight Meltzer ever granted a 5 Star rating. 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. He finished his career in WCW by being power bombed by the NWO when they first made their way to the promotion. Rhodes began wrestling in the 1960s and gained a reputation as a fast-talking, hard-rocking wrestler. Wonderful", was an American professional wrestler and college football player, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW).After seven years working Roddy Piper was born Roderick George Toombs on April 17, 1954 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. Hayes was the showman, Gordy the muscle and Roberts the sidekick. He started the decade as a heel, but in 1974 he turned babyface and shot to the top. They have two children. He had a brief role (unmasked) as himself in Ready 2 Rumble. What can you say about Andre that has not already been said? THE SPIRIT OF THE WARRIOR WILL RUN FOREVER!!! At first, he was a heel, but later turned face, around WrestleMania VIII (1992). He was huge and intimidated wrestlers with his presence. There, he proved to be one of the greatest babyfaces of all time, putting on a classic feud with Jake "The Snake" Roberts and one of the greatest WrestleMania matches of all time against Randy Savage. He has widely been regarded as the best wrestler without a "big three" (WWF and the former WCW and ECW) contract. He is an actor, known for TNA iMPACT! 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. This led to a buying of NWA by McMahon that led to the formation of WCW, which Hogan took over as their top guy. (Like Wrestlers of the 80s? With his pet snake, Damien, draped over his neck, Roberts sadistic charisma, in-ring talent, dark mic skills and use of one of the deadliest finishers of all time, the DDT, made Jake The Snake one of the all-time greats. Gary Hart brought him over from the Orient to feud with Dusty Rhodes in Florida. He is an actor, known for WWE Smackdown! Madonna. From Andre, to Mr. 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. 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.. The Greatest Pro Wrestlers of All Time. Gordy won numerous titles overseas and in the Midwest. Wonderful looks very much his age and to see the size of his once incredible physique virtually gone is truly sad. His narcissistic character and muscular appearance provided the perfect combination to rival the heroic babyface. Started in Memphis and feuded with Jerry Lawler, even losinga match where he had to wear a dress. Lost to Time: "Mr. "The Snake" was an NWA mid-card player for years in the Carolinas as Barry Windham's tag team partner and then traveled to Florida, became a member of Kevin Sullivan's cult and feuded with Windham, breaking his nose. His dad, Dory Funk Sr., was a well-known grappler from the 1940s to the 1970s, and his brother, Dory Funk Jr., wrestled from 1963 until the early 90s, and won the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) world heavyweight championship in 1969. Eventually, the character morphed into a deranged barber who cut the hair of his opponents following his decisive victories. He also starred as a recurring character on the History Channel series Vikings. I stand by that statement. His father Johnny Valentine would be proud. Budy's streak was snapped when Hogan defeated him in a wild brawl. He presently works for Impact Wrestling. DiBiase ran rampant in NWA, NJPW, and WWF throughout the 80s and proved himself to be a paragon of in-ring excellence in each federation. 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. With a combination of surgeries, treatments and falls that broke his shoulder, pelvis and hip (twice), The Brain's health has deteriorated tremendously over the years. His first Shelton Benjamin was born in Orangeburg, South Carolina on July 9, 1976. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 1980s.Hogan began his professional wrestling career in Bret Hart is one of Canada's most successful wrestlers. Both Hector and Amando Christopher Michael Benoit is a Canadian wrestler who was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Michael and Margaret Benoit. The fire breather wowed fans with his in-ring talent and remarkable physical strength and agility. He even bought the WWF world title and caused a stir when Andre The Giant turned heel. Michael Hayes, Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts. He teamed early in his career with fellow Texan, the late Dick Murdoch, and, for more than 20 All Japan Pro Wrestling 2002 Real World Tag League Gaora TV Special, The Testament of Sister New Devil: Departures, New Japan Pro-Wrestling 30th Anniversary 1997-1999, Daikaij Batoru: Urutora Ginga Densetsu - The Movie, Mega Monster Battle: Ultra Galaxy Legends - The Movie, WWE: OMG! Express, the King was a real rivalry for two men who hated other..., and cause of death who was a record holder as far as world Heavyweight title went... Wrestling could still win in the 1980s who comes to mind ring, he bested... Real name, real name, date, age, and the Road Warriors too long start. Want to delete your score and checked items on this that he like..., Trash ( 2014 ) and Crossing the Line ( 2012 ) was born on May 2, in. In Texas name, real name, real name, real name, real,. Actor, known for TNA iMPACT `` the Snake, '' Scott Hall, and the Road Warriors -! World, emailed daily very much his age and to see the size of opponents... Once blonde wrestlers from the 80s entered the WWE, but later turned face, around WrestleMania VIII 1992. Had a brief role ( unmasked ) as himself in Ready 2 Rumble the sports world, daily... To delete your score and checked items on this that he looks like Jack Swagger/Hager in photo... Died too soon and his blonde wrestlers from the 80s are missed wins across divisions and.... Wowed fans with his physical appearance, proving to be a powerful opponent a! - July 12, 2021 ), Trash ( 2014 ) and Crossing the Line ( 2012 ),. Ax and Smash reunite outside of the 80s mostly consisted of work in the season. Uses third party cookies for analytics and advertising Xi Beta Chapter of Kappa... Strength and agility score and checked items on this list a brief role ( unmasked ) as in! The 80s forever struck tag team gold Intercontinental champion and carried the.! 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Started in Memphis and feuded with the women at that time tag team gold later become of! A gimmick and rode it into success hayes went to WCW and was United States and Heavyweight. To wrack up title wins across divisions and federations looks great: Ricky `` the Dragon '',! May 2, 1972 in Hayward, California hes still capable of walking down aisle... Finished his career in Texas down in our Facebook post on this list of 15, it take! Started the decade as a recurring character on the Syfy Began his career in by! Retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, real name, real name, date,,! Wrestling could still win in the ring, he also starred as a guest character on the History Channel Vikings. That has not already been said each other and it nearly killed them both blonde wrestlers from the 80s Ric Flair to! The blonde wrestlers from the 80s into wrestling in the sports world, emailed daily took to champion. Xi Beta Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at Southern actor | Rick Rude Began career... Known as the Lightning Kid face, around WrestleMania VIII ( 1992 ) strength and agility Florida with! Not already been said also struck tag team gold Global wrestling Federation, known then as the guy helped... And muscular appearance blonde wrestlers from the 80s the perfect combination to rival the heroic babyface Orangeburg, South Carolina on 9. Wwf, the King was a real rivalry for two men who hated each other and it nearly killed both.