I'd like to see some of these MMA pansies (just kidding, by the way) take on this man during his hay day.

Rest in peace, JYD!!!

Kurt Angle.







Cactus Jack
Sting ( WCW)
Big Van Vader
Kevin Von Erich

Dan Gable

Are we talking about pro wrestling or regular wrestling?

I have an answer for both.

Greco Roman: Alexander Karelin

Pro Wrestling: Some unknown guy named Hulk Hogan.

The Junkyard Dog didn't want any of "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan.

Though JYD's finishing move, the DogButt, was funny. He would crawl around on all fours and issue headbutts then lift his leg as if he was near a fire hydrant. Hacksaw's three-point stance clothesline was better. In fact, I still occasionally use it at Wal-Mart.

Now that I think about it, Rampage Jackson acts kinda like JYD.

I thought about him too.______________________________________________



Angle won the Olympic HW Gold medal in freestyle wrestling in Atlanta '96.
He's been WWF and TNA champ. He's got a legit background.

Okay, this takes me back to when I was a kid, and wrasslin was real. My Top 10 Greatest Wrestler's of All Time :

10. Jake "The Snake" Roberts - This was his theme song when I liked him, DDT : "Lay It Down" RATT : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rqA55ynPoU
9. Jim "Hacksaw" Duggan
8. Ted "pre Million Dollar Man" Dibiase
7. Col. Phil "Buck" Robley - yes, he's 74 and he can still uses his arm brace. Check his myspace page.
6. "Killer" Karl Kox
5. Andre The Giant
4. "Dirty" Dick Murdock
3. Dr. X - load that boot Dr.
2. "Bruiser" Bob Sweetan
1. Andy Kaufman

Fritz Von Erich. Hands down. The "Iron Claw" was feared by all who would enter the ring.

Wrasslin wasnt real when Kaufman was performing. Dave, just say nay!

That's right... When attached to the head the "Iron Claw" would render on opponent unconscious, usually immediately following profuse bleeding from the temples. When applied to the solar plexus, it often caused acute appendicitis.

...and sometimes pleas to stop and cries of pain reminiscent of the cries of the damned.

Where's the love for these two!?

Kerry would destroy opponents with either "The Claw" or the "Discus Punch." Scary stuff...

Oooo...Discus punch.

Jerry "The King" Lawler was in on it. Andy and Jerry yucking it up : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11T_-k7ckrg

Okay Dave, since you fancy yourself a wrestling afficianado, here's a word that will bring back memories in a flood.

Sport-a-torium.

I think they lost it with this "Goonies R Good Enough" - Cindy Lauper : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kMi9tvuuZY

Hirsch Memorial Coliseum, Shreveport Municipal Auditorium (Home of the Louisiana Hayride), the Sportatorium where Elvis performed.

The original cathedral of wrestling.

Athens, Greece where a bunch of naked guys wrassled for a wreath of laurels ? Or Madison Square Garden ?

Dave, I figured you were a fan of "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes.

Give me Ken Patera or Harley Race over Dusty "Roundhouse" Rhodes. I liked "Dirty" Dick Murdoch, but not Dusty. If what we're talking about doesn't make you laugh, maybe this will : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eBmeH0MAmk . The Midnight Express in pink tights.....

Nah. The REAL one; The Sportatorium.

This cracked me up...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzroqY8lcGM...feature=related

Why not the Omni in Atlanta ? Mr. Wrestling II and Rick Flair started out in Atlanta. The Sportatorium is gone, and I used to drive by it and remember my youth. It was just an old tin building off of I-30. I hated when The Great Kabuki, and The Missing Link came onto the scene. I never cared for J.Y.D., but I was a fan of "Pork Chop" Cash back when he would wrassle "Silento" Rodriguez.

'cause I used to watch the wrasslin' on the TV in B&W broadcast from the Sportatorium when I was but a wee tyke.

Who are these guys are they the "Sheepherders" or "The Bushwackers". This is why I used to like watching wrasslin, and it's a joke.

In the words of Ice Man King Parsons:

"it be's dat way sometimes"

[quote name='bl here's a word that will bring back memories in a flood.

Sport-a-torium.[/quote] here's a match that might Bruiser Brody vs Abdullah the Butcher

Legion of Doom....L O D

Some others who are missing from the list:

Cowboy Scott Casey
Chief Wahoo McDaniel
The Iron Sheik
Nicolai Volkoff
The fabulous Moola
Kamala the Ugandan Warrior
THe Ultimate Warrior

Michael Hayes and the Freebirds

^ Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy and Buddy Roberts. Great heels.

you mean michael "PS" hayes right? my viewpoint on the wrestling thing was more regional i guess. heck even texarkana used to have wrestling. of course the biggest villain back then to us was skandor akbar and his devastation incorporated crew. grizzly smith(jake the snake's father) and cowboy bill watts were big around here too. we only had the "locals" until wwf started up and then it went hollywood. hard to beat the freebirds though.

I can still remember the wrestling scheudule on T.V. . Reasor Bowden the sportscaster at KTBS 3 Shreveport would host the matches at 3 p.m. on Saturday then at Midnight on Saturday. We'd watch SNL, then turn the channel to KTBS at midnight. Sunday the matches were at 5 p.m. . KTAL 6 would show the Dallas wrestling at 11 a.m. in the early 80's. It's funny how you remember stuff like that.

This thread is one of my favorites. Hilarious stuff.

I wish I could find the footage of John Stossel getting his ears boxed by Hulk Hogan. That memory is burned in my mind, when it comes to wrasslin'.

This is the Midnight Express Managers take on politics. It was funny that I found it on a British Thread :


In the 2008 election, the American public has the choice of voting for a brilliant, articulate, inspirational Harvard graduate that wants to save the country from the Bush administration's 8 years of incompetance, malfeasance and deception, OR, a 72 year old mushmouth with a condescinding smirk and confused demeanor who suffers from anger management issues and promises more of the same Bush policies, for President of the United States.

For Vice President, we have the choice of the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations committee with 35 years experience at the highest levels of government, or a hockey mom who was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, the crystal-meth lab capitol of the state.

Incredible as it may seem to those of us with the powers of reason and comprehension, this is still a contest. Attempting to identify the groups most likely to vote for John McCain and Sarah Palin over Barack Obama and Joe Biden in the face of all logic and evidence to the contrary, and trying to instill some type of cogent thought process in them, should be of paramount importance to anyone who wants this country out of it's economic recession, a return on the investment in their homes, the restoration of America's lost respect in the eyes of every country in the world, and a leader who will be a public servant instead of a punch line. And while we're at it, let's book a Texas Death Match between Michelle Obama, who is a better speaker and apparently more intelligent than John McCain, and that creepy Stepford wife Cindy McCain.

By the way, even if McCain DOES have the skills or credentials to be President, please remember that not only is he a 72 year old cancer survivor, but that NINE times in the 232 year history of this nation a Vice President has ascended to become the leader of the free world through death or assassination. According to insurance company actuarial tables, if John McCain is elected, there is a ONE in THREE chance of Sarah Palin being President by 2012. Does anyone really relish the thought of the serially pregnant Palin staring down Putin at the conference table, using the wacky tricks she learned from her hockey kids in negotiations, or the raging baby-making Palin with her finger on the button in a crisis with a nuclear Iran that would make the Bay of Pigs look like the latest Girls Gone Wild video?

The continued parading of Palin's family--adorable offspring, athletic, snowmobile riding husband who apparently sits in on his wife's Alaskan cabinet meetings, even the closeups of her developmentally-challenged baby--is a Wag the Dog scenario rewritten for Lifetime Television and being presented to the American public in a for-real campaign for the Republican party to keep the Presidency regardless of merit, political theater at it's most absurd--and dangerous. It is the equivalent of showing cute puppies on television to children.

Every major "fact" told about her by McCain in his introduction of her, and uttered by her in her carefully scripted and tightly controlled public appearances has been proven false, including the Bridge to Nowhere (she kept the money) and the plane sale on Ebay (listed there but sold by a broker at a $600,000 loss). She believes the Iraq war is a "task from God"--she is against abortion, gay rights, evolution, sex education and birth control for teens--she denies global warming--she goes to a church that tries to convert Jews and "cure" homosexuals--and one can only imagine the dire effects a President Palin would have on the Supreme Court, plunging the country into a scientific and social dark age for years to come. We might as well all be Amish.

The McCain campaign wants to win this election at any cost, and she's so eager to hit the White House she doesn't care that her son is about to risk his life in Iraq, it "gets her over" with the pro war crowd. She's willing to ruin her daughter's life, making her marry at 17 to the high school jock that knocked her up with the child she'll be the single mother of when the shotgun wedding falls apart, because a common sense solution is "against God's will" and would kill her with the church goers. Even all Hillary had to "swallow" was Bill getting a Lewinsky from Monica, this woman is willing to ruin her family's lives to get votes.

For an in-depth look at Palin, the fraud, liar, and star of political puppet theatre, see the feature article in the October 2 issue of Rolling Stone. But back to our subject---

Operating on the well-proven theory that you can never underestimate the intelligence of the American public, and that you can fool most of the people all of the time (i.e. the P.T.Barnum corroborator), I have identified the following groups of people that may vote for the McCain/Palin ticket. If you know of anyone who fits into these general categories, please shine a flashlight against the wall to get their attention, and present the facts of this case to help us save this country before it is too late.

REPUBLICANS---Not much we can do here, because anyone close-minded enough to vote for someone based on what club they belong to rather than the individual's credentials and qualifications for the job may be beyond help. I have never voted in any election in my life--never registered as a member of any party--but this election is too important to sit back and watch and hope. As Obama has said, it's not about the red states, or the blue states, it's about the UNITED states.

WOMEN---Granted, Hillary Clinton is a manipulative, power hungry ***** who would do anything to get elected, but once there, she wouldn't have been the WORST President ever, (especially with the bar set so low the past 8 years), just the most obnoxious. But the idea that women are so hell-bent on having a female in the White House that they will vote for a publicity stunt just because she has a vagina should be insulting to every woman in the country with the power of independent thinking. Does Sarah Palin's uncanny ability to be successfully inseminated qualify her to be the most powerful person in the world?

CHURCH GOERS---Despite the founding fathers and framers of the Constitution providing for separation of church and state, and despite the progress we have made in having a black man and a woman on the major parties' tickets, we are unfortunately still a long way from having a Presidential candidate who can publicly proclaim he does not believe in the supernatural without committing political suicide. Nevertheless, there's no problem here, because Obama believes in God too, he's just willing to let everyone else believe in their theories too without shoving one set of beliefs down everyone's throats or letting those beliefs get in the way of governing with common sense and rationality.

NRA MEMBERS/HUNTERS---These people shouldn't worry, they can continue to butcher and slaughter innocent animals in the woods and compensate for their small with their large rifles, as Obama has said "There's got to be a way to keep guns in the hands of sportsmen while keeping AK-47's out of the hands of gang members." Imagine that, a thoughtful compromise from a Presidential candidate. Personally, I think the ownership of guns should be limited to law enforcement and for the personal protection of private citizens with no violent criminal records, and the hunting of wild animals should be looked upon by society somewhere in between rapists and child pornographers, but let's fight the big battles first.

PRO-LIFERS---One might excuse McCain for not believing in modern science, he was born before television was invented. But Caribou Barbie also thinks dinosaurs walked the Earth at the same time as human beings. Among the other medical and scientific advances the conservatives either don't understand or don't believe in, Palin is against abortion, even in the case of rape or incest. They believe every unwanted child has the "right to life". They also have the right to be victims of physical, mental and sexual abuse, unwanted, unloved, born into poverty, brought up by single parents or those ill-prepared or incapable of raising them, or to be tossed into a dumpster or off a bridge by desperate mothers with mental issues who feel they have no recourse.

They have the right to grow up as a strain on an already overtaxed welfare and social service system and foster a grudge against society that will place them squarely and firmly in the next generation's prison population and criminal statistics, and then have their own unwanted children that will perpetuate this cycle ad nauseum into the next century and beyond. Why do they have this right? Because "abortion is against God's will." Is God a taxpayer?? Does God have any opinion on the millions of children that are already born and waiting, often fruitlessly, to be adopted into loving families, or is he just interested in the overpopulation of an already-overburdened planet running low on natural resources?

In the 21st century, we have the knowledge, science and wherewithal to overcome many of the social, medical and genetic problems that have plagued the human race for thousands of years, yet the religious conservatives would seemingly consign us to the same fate as those in the dark ages who argued the world was not flat and were burned at the stake as witches. They would cling to manmade beliefs as old as the wheel, but not nearly as useful, all the while exhibiting a smug, condescending grin and attitude very much similar to McCain's (or Jerry Falwell's), that exudes an attitude of "My Bible trumps your scientific proof and logic".

OIL COMPANY EXECUTIVES---Nothing can save these votes, because if I was an oil executive, NO WAY would I vote for Obama, who would cut income taxes for everyone in America making less than $250,000 per year, and eliminate the proposed McCain tax cut of $4 BILLION for Exxon/Mobil alone, while eliminating our dependence on foreign oil in 10 years (much as Kennedy put a man on the moon in less than 10). You can tell McCain is scared about this one, as he takes every opportunity to misrepresent and outright LIE about Obama's plan, inventing fictitious accusations about how it would adversely affect small businesses that people who don't actually understand the plan believe. McCain seems to want the people in the U.S. who make the MOST money to keep as much of it as possible so they can hire the rest of us to cut their grass.

PEOPLE WHO LIKE WAR---I'm all in favor of bombing radical Muslims, because these people are a danger to our entire planet, cave people with automatic weapons that are such religious fanatics they make the creationist crowd look like Albert Einstein. But we are now spending $10 BILLION a month in a war where American soldiers are getting killed and maimed every day to stabilize a country that has an $80 BILLION SURPLUS, a war we were lied and misrepresented into, while letting the guy who really perpetrated 9/11 crank back in the La-Z-Boy in his cave without fear of reprisal. The McCainiacs say "we must WIN the war first!" WIN WHAT?? Obama wants to end the war in Iraq, make them run their own country, go to Afghanistan/Pakistan and capture or kill Bin Laden, and establish leadership there that will prevent these crackpot religious martyrs from flourishing to attack the U.S. in the future. Is it just that this makes so much sense people can't follow it?

LOUISIANA RESIDENTS---Is it possible that one person in the state of Louisiana would still vote for a Republican after Katrina? In what age or era would it have been acceptable to let a major American city drown without immediate aid from the federal government? While President Bush was helping John McCain cut his freakin' birthday cake, New Orleans was destroyed. No one could have stopped it, but they certainly knew it was coming, unless another of the sciences these people don't believe in is meteorology. This example of bad judgment was a comically tasteless "let them eat cake" scenario worthy of Marie Antoinette. If you think Bush's judgment was bad, McCain topped that just by making the decision to install Palin as his running mate, as Mr. "Country First" put winning the election first and the country in grave danger at the same time through the all-time classic political stunt.

PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIKE BLACK PEOPLE---Obviously, a big group for McCain. For Pete's sake, we're not voting for Flavor Flav here. If you don't like black people, you have EVERY REASON to vote for Obama. Maybe if young black men in America had a role model like him to look up to, instead of trashy rappers with gold teeth, ghetto football palayers who hold dogfights and toss cash at strippers, and punks who buy their pants six sizes too big to show us their clown underwear, we'd ALL be better off. Maybe Obama advocating parental responsibility and the need for more black fathers to stand up and parent their children would reduce the welfare rolls and the disproportionate percentage of black men in U.S. prisons. Maybe his economic policies would lift a few more above the poverty level, and his policy for giving every child a college education in exchange for service to their community or their country would give even more an alternative to dribbling a basketball, selling crack or following the example of Michael Vick or Suge Knight.

Obama's speech on race proved that he is perhaps the only politician in America who both CAN and WILL say that many white people don't like black people, and vice versa, that BOTH have some valid reasons to dislike or distrust the other, and only by confronting these issues and doing something to mend the root causes on both sides will the problems ever be solved. And hey, if you're determined not to like black people no matter what, elect a black guy President that is more intelligent, articulate, thoughtful, principled, and successful than you or I will EVER be, and if the rest of black America doesn't step up to try to emulate him, at least you'll know you were right all along.

POW'S---We are CONSTANTLY reminded McCain was a POW, and yes, he does deserve credit and respect for that. To suggest that this qualifies him to be President, or even gives any veracity to his statement that "I know how to win a war", (we LOST in Vietnam), is as specious an argument as the one that maintains Palin is the next-best qualified to run the country because she was Governor for 20 months of a state that has a population less than that of Jefferson County, Kentucky. That Barack Obama "never served his country" is simply that he was fortunate enough to be born in the generation AFTER WW2, Korea, and Viet Nam, where for the first time in over 40 years an 18 year old boy in the United States didn't have to be drafted, shot at or killed in a foreign country to "prove" his patriotism. For all you war fans out there, ask yourselves this question--would Ulysses S. Grant have been able to successfully plan the Invasion of Normandy, just because he had "experience in war?"

PEOPLE WHO WILL NEVER BE SICK A DAY IN THEIR LIVES---All these people will vote for McCain because they will never need health insurance. If you're one of the nearly 50 million people who don't have insurance, vote for Obama. Or if you're among the tens of millions who have it but pay through the nose for it because your job doesn't provide it. Or the millions more who have it but have uncovered pre-existing conditions. Or the millions more who have it through their employers, but will either be dropped or taxed on it through McCain's plan. Or if you are one who will get McCain's "$5,000 tax credit" to buy your own (good luck covering your whole family, mine costs that much just for ME). Or the millions more who have it but will be dropped if they lose their jobs or retire. Obama wants every American to have a health plan as good as the one members of Congress gets, and be able to afford it. McCain wants to give you a tax credit to buy your own, if you can, or tax you on the one you've already got. HMMMM.....decisions, decisions.

Other people who will probably vote for McCain are people who have no money in the stock market, don't have investments, don't own a home, have plenty of cash buried in the back yard to pay for rising living costs, don't need gasoline, and plan to die before America's ruined reputation globally causes either a complete collapse in our economy or gives a rogue nation with a suitcase nuke the idea to go ahead and take us out for good. No need for any of them to vote for Obama, because the changes he will make will not benefit them.

I could go on and on, and already have.

All sarcasm and comedy aside, the United States of America, in this time of crisis, in this election, has a choice to make. Are we to have the wool pulled over our eyes by a man who barely HAS a future, much less a coherent plan for OURS, and a sidekick with "folksy" charm meant to appeal to the lowest common denominator because of their flagwaving and babykissing, or a man who speaks to the American public with logic and reason as if they are on his intellectual level (which sadly most are not) with a clear vision of how to change the country and the world for the better, and his VP choice who has the experience and record to both advise him and, if the need should arise, to govern in his stead? If you just LISTEN, actually LISTEN, to both what they say and how they say it, and do even the most perfunctory fact checking from credible sources and not your uncle Joe who thinks Obama is a Muslim and prays to Allah, the choice is clear. We need a President who can bring all of us together, not one who can't even bring his own political party together. We need a Vice President who can bring wisdom and experience to the table and lead in case of tragedy, not give beauty-contest answers learned by rote to the press and crumble under the weight of suddenly becoming leader of the free world in case of crisis. There is no choice. There is no alternative. If Barack Obama is not the next President, then sadly, and unfortunately, we will have lost the opportunity at the change we so badly need. We will have no one to blame but ourselves. And we will get exactly what we deserve.


~Jim Cornette

I didn't share his views earlier, because I still think most of his ideas are a joke. There's also a video of him on YouTube at a Dairy Queen, where he goes "Falling Down" ballistic. What was really great, I saw this posted in "What Makes You Laugh Today" section. I just wanted ya'll to see the comments of a wrasslin' promoter. I still laugh about it.

Scratch that...

Well, wrassler's and promoters have thoughts. I wasn't trying to make it political, but Jim went on rants when he was a promoter. These are his thoughts today. I thought it was weird, that his thoughts made it to a another blog site that I visit. Jim Cornette is only 47 years old, many thought that he was crazy when he started off with Mid South Wrestling.

If I could post the video of Jim and Chris Jericho at a Dairy Queen, I would. However, he went completely "wheels off", as I felt he did with his written comments. I figured you'd laugh about it. If he hadn't brought up Louisiana, I would have thought this was someone posing as him.

C'mon Blue, the wrasslin' industry is what it is. It's promoted and believed to be "real". I have a program that I keep with the blood of "Killer" Karl Kox stained on it. Call me nostalgic. You can't tell me that "Gorgeous" George Wagner was a true wrassler. I followed wrasslin', but I know it's a sham, just as I think Boxing and the MMA is today. Once the promoters and the managers become involved, it's a different story.

10.Fritz Von Eric
9. Billy Graham
8. Ric Flair
7. The Undertaker
6. Steve Austin
5. Lou Thesz
4. Hulk Hogan
3. Dusty Rhodes
2. Bruno Sammartino
1. Andre The Giant

I put Andre first because in his prime he could have broken the neck of anyone who ever stepped in the ring with him
Bruno was just great. A real man and credit to wrestling
Dust may have been the toughest wrestler ever
Hogan was a great athlete for such a large man
Most of you don't remember Lou Thesz but he was great.

You crazy kids and your "the good ole days of wrestling" lol. its all about the late 90's =P

I never liked what the Rock was cooking.

I bought a pirate box when I joined the Army in 97. We watched every PPV-boxing, wrestling, MMA....

late 90's & the attitude era was a good time to be a fan. now-not so much.



best finishing move of all time: Stone Cold Stunner,
Tombstone Pile driver,
any DDT variant,
Sharpshooter/ Walls of Jericho


Weakest finishing moves: 5 knuckle shuffle (John Cena)
the W-O-R-M ( scotty 2 hottie )
Hogan's Leg Drop
619 ( ray mysterio)

King Kong Bundy
Also known as: Daddy Bundy and Boom Boom Bundy

Born Christopher Pallies on November 7, 1957 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, King Kong Bundy began wrestling professionally in 1981. Standing an impressive 6'5" and weighing in at 450 lbs, Bundy was famous for his bald head and black spandex outfit held up by two thin suspenders. Because of his size, he often insisted the referee count to five instead of three to win, which he explained later: "When you were pinned by King Kong Bundy, a three-count wasn't good enough".

A heel from the outset, King Kong Bundy holds the WWE record for the fastest pin, at nine seconds, though he'll probably always be remembered for losing his main event bout to Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania II.

Constantly feuding with Andre the Giant, he also took part in a six-man tag match against fan favorite Hillbilly Jim and his partners Little Beaver and Haiti Kid. The catch? Little Beaver and Haiti Kid were midgets. And if you want to talk about unforgettable, try forgetting a man as big as Bundy elbow-smashing a midget.

Famous finishing move: The Big Splash or Bundy Splash, which is a nice way of saying slamming all of his 450 pounds into someone.

Rowdy Roddy Piper
Also known as: Masked Canadian, Piper Machine, The Rowdy Scot, Hot Rod, and The Hot Scot

Born Roderick Toombs on April 17, 1954, one of the WWE's biggest stars of the '80s never really had much of a Scottish accent, mostly because he was a Canadian. Standing 6'2" and weighing 235 lbs, this future WWE Intercontinental Champion started wrestling in his hometown of Winnipeg in 1973 and jumped into the WWE in 1984.

Managing to look tough in a kilt, Piper had one of the most distinctive and recognizable theme songs ever: bagpipes, of course, which in this case were annoyingly great.

Starting off as a heel, Piper feuded bitterly with Hulk Hogan. He lost the WWE Championship match against Hogan in 1984, but that didn't end their feud. On March 31, 1985, he and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndoff lost to Hogan and Mr. T in the main event of the first ever Wrestlemania.

Piper and Mr. T also had a memorable meeting in Wrestlemania II, facing each other in a boxing match that ended chaotically with a win by Piper. Piper is also remembered for "Piper's Pit," a weekly TV spot that also had its share of memorable moments, like when Piper attacked Jimmy Snuka with a coconut.

Famous finishing move: The Sleeper Hold. It involved wrapping his arms around opponents' necks until, arms flailing helplessly, they fell asleep. Hilarious and dramatic, it is now a legendary move.


Jesse "The Body" Ventura
Also known as: Jesse "The Mind" Ventura, Jesse "The Mouth" Ventura, Jesse "The Governor" Ventura, and Jesse "The Actor" Ventura

Born James George Janos on July 15, 1951 in Minneapolis, MN, "The Body" stood 6'4" and weighed 245 lbs. A former Navy S.E.A.L., Janos took up bodybuilding and wrestling in the mid-'70s and made his professional wrestling debut in 1975.

Wrestling as a heel, Ventura once faced Ivan Putski in an arm wrestling contest, and also had bitter feuds with Jimmy Snuka, Hulk Hogan and Tito Santana, who he often called "Chico." Equally outspoken about other wrestlers, The Body never shied away from saying things like they were.

This honesty led to bitter rivalries with Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino, among others, though eventually it earned him a color commentating position. This was a job that Ventura did so well that younger fans might have easily assumed that he had always been a commentator.

Known even then for wearing loud clothes, he was easily one of the most quotable men associated with the sport, living and sharing this motto: "Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat!" This was his motto as a wrestler, but not as a politician, as he was Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003.

Famous finishing move: Body Breaker (a hanging back breaker), which involved slamming his opponents' backs down against things like his knee.

The Hitman and the Warrior were forces to be reckoned with...

Bret "The Hitman" Hart
Also known as: The Excellence of Execution

Born in Calgary, Alberta on July 2,1957, and listed at 6'1" and 234 lbs, Bret Hart began his career in his father Stu Hart's Calgary Stampede promotion, entering the WWE in 1984. Unlike other wrestlers, who often looked like they were gasping for breath when interviewed, Hitman spoke calmly and intensely, looking more like a thoughtful rock star than a wrestler with his sunglasses, wet hair, and a strange blend of pink and black on his wrestling tights.

Aside from a brief anti-U.S. angle he played on in the late '90s, Hitman was a consistent good guy who often played up his technical superiority. This particularly humble quote serves a prime example: "I am the best there is, the best there was and the best there ever will be!"

Eventually, he teamed with his brother-in-law, Jim "The Anvil" Neidhart, in the classic Hart Foundation team, which was managed by "The Mouth of the South," Jimmy Hart. Together, they held the WWE Tag Team Championship belts twice. Alone, Hitman was a five-time WWE World Champion and two-time Intercontinental Champ. He also once memorably battled his own brother, the late Owen Hart, at Wrestlemania X.

Famous finishing move: The Sharpshooter, which involved twisting his opponent's legs back and then applying pressure to their backs. He was also known to practice the Figure Four Leg Lock around the ring post.

The Ultimate Warrior
Also known as: Justice, Rock and Dingo Warrior

Born Jim Hellwig on June 16, 1959, and standing an impressive 6'3" and 275 lbs, the Ultimate Warrior got into wrestling in 1985. He quickly established feuds with Hercules, Ravishing Rick Rude, Earthquake, Hulk Hogan, The Undertaker, Sgt. Slaughter, and Macho Man Randy Savage.

With a painted face and strands of cloth hanging from his arms, Warrior looked like a mutant Steve Tyler with muscles, playing up his role as a sort of steroidal science experiment gone wrong. Bursting into the ring like a speed freak, for a time his entrance alone was the most exciting moment in wrestling.

In 1988, The Warrior became the WWE Intercontinental Champion by disposing of The Honky Tonk Man in just 31 seconds, the shortest Intercontinental Title match in history.

Eliminated by WWE World Champion Hulk Hogan in the 1990 Royal Rumble, the Warrior got his revenge at Wrestlemania VI, defeating the Hulkster to become WWE World Champion. This forced him to give up the Intercontinental title, as the rules of the WWE forbid wrestlers from holding two belts simultaneously.

Famous finishing move: Warrior Press and Splash, which involved raising his opponents in the air and dropping them in a variant on the body slam.

The one who woooed the crowds, the ultimate heel and more...


Ric Flair
Also known as: Nature Boy

Born February 25, 1949, his adoptive parents gave him the name Richard Morgan Fliehr. However, various sources cite his birth name as being Fred Phillips, Fred Demaree or Fred Stewart. Involved in wrestling since 1972, the "Nature Boy" stood 6'1" tall and weighed 245 lbs, and he eventually associated himself with the Four Horsemen.

Rivals Dusty Rhodes and Rick Steamboat, with whom he feuded for the NWA title, provided this veteran with classic matches; the 1989 WrestleWar bout against Steamboat is considered one of the greatest.

Known for years as the "dirtiest player in the game," Flair played himself up as a member of "high society" and was arrogant to the point of nausea, the sort of conniving, cheating bad guy that people just felt compelled to watch.

Of course, it helped that he entered the ring to the mind-bendingly conceited "Also Sprach Zarathustra," a piece by Strauss popularly known as the theme for 2001: A Space Odyssey . Equally impressive is the fact that Flair's still kicking around the wrestling world and pushing his "WHOOOO" call.

Famous finishing move: The Figure Four Leg Lock, an agonizing submission hold that involved lying down in front of his opponents and wrapping his legs around theirs to induce pain.


The Iron Sheik
Also known as: Colonel Mustapha

Born as Hossein Khosrow Vaziri on March 15 (year unknown) in Tehran, Iran, the Iron Sheik is possibly the greatest heel of all time. Standing 6'0", weighing in at 262 lbs and dressed as a sheik with pointed shoes and a handlebar mustache, the man who once served in his homeland's army arrived during the Iran Contra affair, and played an American-hating Iranian to derisive crowds.

While his usual partner, Nikolai Volkoff, would sing the Russian national anthem, the Iron Sheik would say, in a voice that sounded like Martin Luther King Jr. on steroids, "Iran, number one. Russia, number one. USA..." He would then spit on the ground.

The Sheik's greatest moment probably occurred when he beat Bob Backlund for the heavyweight title in 1983. This title win was controversial, though, as he had Bob Backlund in the Camel Clutch when Backlund's manager threw in the towel.

A year later, the Iron Sheik lost this championship to Hulk Hogan, whose aura of Americana contrasted perfectly with the Sheik's anti-U.S. stance; many believe this match was the birthplace of Hulkamania. Later, he and Volkoff also held the WWE Tag Team title, beating the U.S. Express.

Famous finishing move: The Camel Clutch, a hilariously-named move which consisted of sitting on a wrestler's back and pulling on his neck from behind.


Andre the Giant
Also known as: The Eighth Wonder of the World, The Giant Machine and The Gentle Giant

Born Andre Rene Roussimoff in Grenoble, France on May 19, 1946, Andre the Giant eventually stood 7'4" and weighed nearly 500 pounds. Barely intelligible half the time because of his accent, he was one of the first of a legion of huge, imposing wrestlers that came later.

Originally a babyface in the '70s and early '80s, he turned heel in 1987 to face Hulk Hogan for the WWE Championship in the main event of Wrestlemania III. This title match was a result of Andre challenging Hogan on an edition of Piper's Pit , during which he ripped the t-shirt and crucifix off of the Hulkster.

In a match where the original ref was knocked out and replaced, Andre won the title from Hogan in 1988, though he reportedly sold it to "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. Eventually, after a series of cage matches, the feud with Hogan died down. The Giant later won the WWE tag team title with his partner Haku, then lost it in the sixth Wrestlemania to Demolition.

Famous finishing move: Giant's finishing move didn't have a name and consisted solely of sitting on his opponent. He was also famous for the conventional but efficient body slam.


Randy "Macho Man" Savage
Also known as: The Spider

Born Randy Poffo on November 15, 1953, Macho Man began his wrestling career in 1973. Standing 6'2" and weighing 250 lbs, he always sounded as if he was going to collapse and suffer an aneurysm. Savage was known for wearing bandanas that said "Madness," as well as hats and strange-looking monkey faces. Despite his lust and adoration for his hotter than hell wife Miss Elizabeth, Savage initially wrestled as a heel and became one of the top contenders for Hulk Hogan's WWE title.

He won the Intercontinental Championship after beating Tito Santana, but then dropped it to Ricky Steamboat at Wrestlemania III, a match widely regarded as one of the best of all time.

Turning babyface later that year when Honky Tonk Man started harassing Miss Elizabeth, Savage lost his IC belt, but beat out 14 other men for the WWE World Championship at Wrestlemania IV. Soon after, he teamed up with Hulk Hogan as the Megapowers, a team eventually torn apart by jealousy over Elizabeth.

Back to being a heel, Savage lost his title to Hogan at the next Wrestlemania, and dropped Elizabeth for Sensational Sherry (though the original couple reconciled before Elizabeth's tragic drug-related death).

Famous finishing move: The Flying Elbow Drop (off the Turnbuckle), which is rather self-explanatory.


Hulk Hogan
Also known as: The Icon, Hollywood Hulk Hogan and the Immortal Hulk Hogan

Born Terry Bollea on August 11, 1953, in Augusta, Georgia, Hulk Hogan is arguably the most popular and influential wrestler of all time. He stood an imposing 6'5" and weighed 290 lbs. The ultimate good guy and the sport's true undisputed icon, Hogan literally spent minutes before each match bathing in public love before going "Hollywood" late in his career. He did this despite going bald and wearing horrendous yellow and red outfits with oversized boots, all of which seem very dated today.

Getting into the game in the late '70s, Hogan played up his patriotism, entering the ring to the sounds of "Real American" and mixing threats of physical harm to opponents with advice to kids. Flexing his "24-inch pythons," he memorably encouraged his "little Hulksters" and "Hulkamaniacs" to "Train, say your prayers, take vitamins, and believe in yourself."

He won his first championship against the Iron Sheik in 1984 and had bitter rivalries with Rowdy Roddy Piper, Macho Man Randy Savage, Andre the Giant, and the Million Dollar Man Ted DiBiase, among many others. Still, as a six-time WWE World Champion, a six-time WCW World Title holder and a two-time Royal Rumble winner, a list of memorable Hogan matches could fill up a page.

One of the most unforgettable Hulkster moments was when he body slammed Andre the Giant at Wrestlemania III in front of 93,000 people.

Famous finishing move: The Big Boot, which involved lifting his leg and literally hitting people with his big boot. He also had the Leg Drop, which was simply Hogan jumping up and landing on opponents with one leg.

Don't forget this guy... SDC's very own BIG DADDY !!!

I have to give this guy a proper British tune for his introduction, The Trooper - Iron Maiden : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgqxQmAbTBc

Hogan's leg drop has a higher "arse to canvas" ratio than "leg to opponent", therefore rendering it lame.

I was always a fan of the "One Man Gang", although he wasn't worth a dang, I loved the name.

As far as my all time favorite. Stone Cold Steve Austin.

Anybody managed by Gary Hart was always entertaining.

And where would the old timers be without their matches being refereed by Bronco Lubich or David Manning.

But growing up, nothing was better than the Freebird-Von Erich battles.

that makes you a "jabroni"


Rock has/had the best mics skills in the biz. What do you think......"IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT YOU THINK!!!!"