RKMBs Forums .::Robegories::. Sports and Wrestling Pulse Wrestling's Top 100 of the Modern Era

Polite behavior has no place here...

BTW, I hope Chris Benoit, Eddie Gurrero and Owen Hart don't get and sort of symthathy rank on this list.

Even without the sympathy, those 3 are regarded as some of the best workers the business has ever seen. They definitely deserve a place on this list somewhere.

75. NIKITA KOLOFF
Aliases - Russian Nightmare
Debuted - 1984
Titles Held - NWA National Heavyweight; NWA United States
Other Accomplishments - won Jim Crockett Sr Memorial Cup in
1987 with Dusty Rhodes; wrote Christian living and positive
thinking books, "Breaking the Chains" in 2000 and "Wrestling with
Success" in 2004


There must be something in the Minneapolis water. The amount of talented and hugely successful pro wrestlers that came out of Minneapolis area high schools in the late '70s - early '80s is staggering.

Nikita Koloff was one of those men.

Fellow Minneapolis native Road Warrior Animal recruited him for the wrestling game. In 1984 he arrived in Jim Crockett Promotions with a shaved head and very little training. They billed him as "The Russian Nightmare" from Moscow, Russia; a "nephew" to veteran "Russian Bear" Ivan Koloff. To cover for his lack of skills he was placed in short matches and cut no promos. He did most of his training while out on the road, teaming with Ivan or Don Kernodle.

He essentially was Goldberg before there was Goldberg.

Nikita became an instant success in the NWA, winning the six man tag titles with Ivan and Krusher Kruschev and a pair of NWA World Tag Titles with them as well.

It was during this time period that it was rumored that Vine McMahon offered Nikita a big money contract to jump to the WWF for a huge program with Hulk Hogan. Ultimately Koloff stayed with the NWA, thinking the success he was having now would parlay into a deal with the WWF later on.

By the spring of 1986 Koloff embarked on his greatest rivalry, a United States Championship program with Magnum TA. The run culminated with a best-of-seven series during the Great American Bash tour that saw Nikita come out victorious. The logical plan was that Koloff and Magnum would use this rivalry to build each other up in preparation for an eventual NWA World Heavyweight Championship feud between the two. Unfortunately fate intervened and a serious car accident to Magnum called for some changes. Nikita was turned babyface and became the number two guy between Dusty Rhodes.

He spent the next couple of years as a top face in the NWA, always as a top threat for the United States and World Heavyweight Championships along with a reign as the unified NWA/UWF World Television Champion, as well as rebuking a couple more lucrative potential WWF offers.

As the '80s came to a close Koloff stepped away from wrestling to care for his dying wife.

He returned to World Championship Wrestling in 1991 as heel foil for Lex Luger and Sting. After a brief disappearance again he joined up with Sting in his battles against The Dangerous Alliance. His last big program was a United States Title run against Rick Rude during the summer of 1992. Unfortunately by the end of the year he had suffered a herniated disc in a match against Vader, effectively ending his in-ring career.

Today Koloff is a born-again Christian who runs his own small promotion as an outlet for his ministry and teachings. His last public appearance was a brief stint in NWA-TNA during 2003 where he portrayed "Mr. Wrestling IV."

Nikita is chosen for this list because of his tremendous success and popularity during the '80s in the NWA. He was wildly successful as both a face and a heel and never really fell below upper mid-card status. He made the typical "Commie heel" gimmick into more than just a caricature; he was a true heel bad ass, ten years before it became en vogue. It's a shame that Magnum went out with an injury when he did as he and Nikita were on track to elevate each other to the top of the card, much like Hart & Michaels and Helmsley & Maivia did years later.

74. Goldberg

Real Name - Bill Goldberg
Aliases - Bill Gold
Hometown - Tulsa, Oklahoma
Born - December 27, 1966
Titles Held - WCW United States (2 times); WCW World Heavyweight; WCW World Tag Team (with Bret Hart); WWE World Heavyweight
Other Accomplishments - Winner of Pro Wrestling Illustrated Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year Award in 1998; Winner of Pro Wrestling Illustrated Rookie of the Year Award in 1998; Winner of 1998 WCW Match of the Year Award (Goldberg vs. Hollywood Hogan); Winner of 2000 WCW Match of the Year Award (Goldberg vs. Scott Steiner); Ranked #75 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI years by Pro Wrestling Illustrated; Ranked #2 in the PWI 500 in 1998; co-owns Extreme Power Muay Thai training camp in California; hosts Bullrun on Spike TV

It's hard to know what to say about Goldberg, really. He ran into people. A lot. It defeated most of them. Then he went away for a bit but still got richer. Then he came back for a bit and ran into more people. The running was not quite as well received. Then he went away again. One time he wore a blonde wig and we laughed at him, not with him. His first name is Bill. He was never as enjoyable as when being mocked by Jericho. Not Gillberg. Never Gillberg. Nor Shelton, which has nothing to do with anything but it well worth remembering at times like these.

Hell, let's just start at the beginning. In his younger days Goldberg played football, which was a convenient way of satisfying his addiction to running into people. He played for the University of Georgia, then for the Atlanta Falcons, then had to retire early due to an abdominal injury. This left him to strut the streets of Georgia and try to ascertain a way to run into people again so he could keep out of trouble. A chance and entirely asexual encounter with Sting and Lex Luger in a local gymnasium brought him to the WCW Power Plant, where he was, for lack of a better word, trained. Bill Gold debuted on the 24th June 1997 and defeated Buddy Landell. Bill Goldberg debuted on television on the 22nd September 1997 episode of Nitro, defeating Hugh Morrus. Thus began the fabled winning streak, which can be anywhere up to 175 consecutive victories depending on your source. Try to get an exact figure for it is pretty pointless anyway, since it was artifically inflated by WCW and can include any given number of house shows even when other developments on those same cards are ignored on TV. I went through the TV and PPV results for 1997-8 and got up to 82-0 for Goldberg but, really, who cares? The important point is that it got very, very over with the WCW fans, who turned him into the sole new superstar the promotion ever had. He was never at the same level of popularity as Steve Austin in 1998 but he was head and shoulders above everybody else. It's also worth pointing out here again that, despite similarities in ring attire, facial hair and chrome-domeness, Goldberg was not modelled after Austin in any way, shape or form. Hell, he had already debuted before the Stone Cold craze really kicked in. As Eric Bischoff has stated on numerous occasions, the inspiration for the Goldberg character was actually none other than Ken Shamrock. There was certainly a point in 1997 when Vince McMahon intended to make Shamrock into the lynchpin of the WWF rather than Austin, yet, as we all know by now, Vince is clueless when it comes to MMA and UFC was nowhere near popular enough a decade ago for the fans to give a shit either way. Bischoff, to his credit, helped mould the only MMA gimmick in North American pro-wrestling to really take off.

And take off he did. Soon came the elaborate ring entrance, replete with a police escort, backstage walking akin to any good 'big fight' hype, some truly intense entrance music, a simple-yet-effective chant for the fans and, of course, a big pyro display. Nobody did it better. Except one guy...




So he won the WCW United States Title from Raven on the 20th April 1998 episode of Nitro. It mattered little. He won the WCW World Heavyweight Title from Hollywood Hogan on the 6th July episode of Nitro. It was certainly one of the most memorable moments in the history of Nitro, or even of all WCW, yet it was also the peak of Goldberg's career. Up until this point he had been steadily and competently doing his routine, yet now he was outside of that safety zone and would have to contend with the self-serving ineptitude of the rest of WCW's booking policies. For one thing, they rushed into the Goldberg/Hogan match without any build-up whatsoever. The "money is in the chase" saying may be a cliche by now but it still holds a semblance of truth. After all, Austin didn't just randomly get a match with Shawn Michaels on Raw one week in a last-minute booking decision and go over for the belt. He had a solid two months of feuding with DX, which made the eventual title change all the more pleasing for the audience and would have had that effect even if Mike Tyson had not been involved. Also, they never put Goldberg/Hogan onto PPV. They were starting to lose their overwhelming edge on Raw and did what they could to win the ratings on that week. That much worked, yet the very next week Nitro got a 4.2 and Raw a 4.7. Bravo. It also meant that they made no money off of the match. Hell, they didn't even book a rematch on the next PPV. Instead Hogan went to faff about with Dennis Rodman at Bash at the Beach '98, leaving Goldberg in a nothing squash against Curt Hennig. And look at the rest of Goldberg's PPV encounters during his reign - he won a 9-man battle royal at Road Wild, he didn't have a match at Fall Brawl, he retained against Diamond Dallas Page at Halloween Havoc in a match that had to be screened for free the next night on Nitro as the over-long PPV had its feed cut by most cable companies, he didn't have a match at World War III and then he was pinned at Starrcade. By Kevin Nash. After being electrocuted. By Scott Hall. Yes, 1998 ended with the nWo still standing tall, since WCW had failed to have hugely popular babyface Goldberg bring them down just as they had failed to have hugely popular babyface Sting bring them down. Bravo, gentlemen.

After that, Goldberg had lost any momentum he had left. The WCW fans still cheered for him but the act had grown stale now that they had ended both the streak and the first title reign and the nWo feud. None of their half-hearted attempts at repeating his original impact proved successful. Goldberg wasn't versatile enough to be able to play a heel role, which negated the 'big surprise' of Bash at the Beach 2000... well, that and the involvement of Vince Russo and Jeff Jarrett. He lacked the necessarily charisma to be able to draw people into character-based storylines, such as when the nWo had Miss Elizabeth press a harrassment charge against him. He didn't have in-ring savvy to make mountains out of molehills like Sid or Luger - although, miraculously, he had a cracking bout with Scott Steiner at Fall Brawl 2000. By the time WCW bothered getting around to doing something useful with Bret Hart, such as building a tasty feud with Goldberg, it was too little too late... and not at all helped by Goldberg kicking Bret in the head, giving him a concussion and ending his career. Not to be outdone, Goldberg promptly beat the shit out of a car window and injured his arm. (Random bit of trivia - Goldberg had six defeats in WCW and three of them were to Bret Hart) Evidently WCW creative had by now emptied their shallow well of ideas and had nothing better to suggest than hoping lightning would strike twice. That meant giving him a second winning streak... and if he lost he'd get fired. Ironically, they did go through with that stipulation after he lost to Luger and Buff Bagwell on the 14th January 2001, only for WCW to fold before they could book his return.

This left wee Billy with a distinct lack of people to run into. You can imagine his angst. Fortunately, he had many large pay cheques from AOL Time-Warner and a practically guaranteed WWE offer to fall back on. I hope he used that money to hire some midgets to run into around the house. He did wrestle some dates in Japan in 2002, so that's more or less the same thing. By 2003 he did find himself in WWE, where he got to do all the things that made him famous - such as failing to match wits with The Rock in verbal confrontations, or selling for prolonged periods of time during matches so uber-heel Triple H could remain, um, uber. The sheer novelty aspect of seeing him competing against a brand new set of main event talents saved him from tanking completely, especially once WWE just let him get on with things in a way that was suited to his capabilities after the crowd emphatically rallied behind him at SummerSlam 2003. Still, it was only ever a one-year deal and things were never going to be the same. Unlike his early WCW run, where he did have something to prove and was treated like a phenom from almost the word go, his WWE stint was inspired by nothing more than money. They didn't care about him and he, now just a rather big fish in an ocean, was none too fond about them. In his own words - "I will never set foot in their ring again. My time in WWE showed me there's good and bad in wrestling. What was good for me was my time in WCW and what was bad was my time in WWE."

In truth, Goldberg's legacy should perhaps not be winning a shitload of squash matches to great heat in 1998. Perhaps he should be thought of as an unintentional pioneer. Sure, he didn't have that deep-rooted desire to do nothing but devote himself to wrestling. Sure, his early success gave him a skewed perspective of how valuable he supposedly was to the business. Yet he was the first major superstar to be able to enter wrestling of his own volition, never immerse himself so far he lost sight of real life, make himself a hefty sum of money without squandering it on bad choices, choose when and where he wanted to be booked rather than having to let himself be booked by all and sundry, and then walk away whilst healthy and happy and with numerous other options available to him. It's wrestling as a career option rather than a lifestyle choice. Isn't such a thing conducive to wellness?

Ah, hell with it, let's just see him run into some guy:

73. SGT SLAUGHTER

Real Name - Robert Remus
Aliases - Super Destroyer Mark III
Debuted - 1972
Titles Held - WWE Championship; NWA United
States; NWA Tag Team; NWA Canadian Heavyweight; AWA America's
Other Accomplishments - WWE Hall of Fame inductee in
2004; Wrestling Observer's Match of the Year in 1981 against
Pat Patterson; former WWE Commissioner; GI Joe team member

In 1974, Sgt. Slaughter made his debut wrestling as an "enhancement talent" (jobber) in the AWA under his real name of Bob Remus. That didn't last long as, by 1978, he had started wearing a mask and was competing as Super Destroyer Mark II, who was managed by Lord Alfred Hayes. (In actuality, the change was necessary. The original Super Destroyer (known in most regions as the Spoiler) left the AWA in the midst of a heated feud with the Crusher. Slaughter was obviously repackaged to keep the storyline going.)

The feud continued into 1979 as Lord Littlebrook and the Crusher teamed night after night to face Super Destroyer and Hayes until Crusher stepped away from the ring in July. In September of 1979, Super Destroyer Mark III joined the group. This lasted until December, when an uneasy alliance between Alfred Hayes and the Heenan Family fell apart. Hayes was the first to depart, allying himself with old foe the Crusher. The Crusher unmasked Super Destroyer Mark III (a wrestler named Neil Guay) and Mark II himself was unmasked in December of 1979 by Mad Dog Vachon. It didn't take long for Super Destroyer II to join forces with Heenan and Nick Bockwinkel by attacking Mark III. Mark III wound up allying with Hayes, Crusher, and Vachon. In the end, Mark III left the AWA and by October of 1980, Heenan and Bockwinkel has turned on Mark II and driven him out of the promotion as well.

In October of 1980 the Destroyer signed with the WWF, where he became known as Sgt. Slaughter. With the Grand Wizard as his manager, Slaughter would remain in the WWF for about nine months. While there, perhaps his most memorable match was an Alley Fight he had against Pat Patterson.

Slaughter wound up jumping to the rival NWA, where he soon found himself wearing gold. In October of 1981, the NWA had consolidated the United States title (as all other promotions with their own versions of the belt had closed) and held a sixteen-man tournament to crown a new champion. Slaughter defeated Johnny Weaver and Jay Youngblood (earning a bye in the semifinals in the process) and defeated Ricky Steamboat in the finals.

Slaughter would lose the title to Wahoo McDaniel the following May, only to be awarded the belt the next month after McDaniel suffered an injury that put him out of action. Wahoo regained the title in September of 1982.

Slaughter did not remain without gold for long. Ole Anderson and Stan Hansen had joined forces to win the eastern branch of a World Tag Team title tournament and had actually won the entire tournament when the western winners (Wahoo McDaniel and Don Muraco) had split up. The title was vacated in September of 1982 and quietly awarded to Slaughter and Don Kernodle by announcing that they had defeated Giant Baba and Antonio Inoki in a tournament. Slaughter and Kernodle held the belts until they were defeated by Ricky Steamboat and Jay Youngblood in March of 1983.

Again Slaughter would not go for long without gold. He would defeat Angelo Mosca for the Toronto version of the NWA Canadian Heavyweight title in July. (Mosca regained the belt in January of 1984.) However, Slaughter was no longer competing for the NWA in the United States. (Interestingly enough, the belt would be forgotten in July of that year when the WWF absorbed its home territory.)

In the US Slaughter had returned to the WWF, where he soon became a contender to champion Bob Backlund. Although he received multiple title shots against Backlund, he was never successful in dethroning the champion.

Slaughter's goals changed in 1984 as he became a face for the first time. He also had a ready-made foe for his proud American character - the Iranian Iron Sheik. This feud caused Slaughter's popularity to explode as he defended the national honor of the United States in boot camp and steel cage matches. Slaughter's pro-American personality was exactly what the American public (who were experiencing an upsurge in nationalism) wanted to see - especially as faced the evil Iron Sheik and his cohort, the evil Russian Nikolai Volkoff.

However, Slaughter would not stay put for long. Hulk Hogan was the one who took the WWF title away from the Sheik, and Slaughter was released later that year after problems developed with Vince McMahon. On McMahon's DVD, Slaughter claimed that he was let go after he no-showed an event to protest McMahon's refusal to give him six weeks of paid vacation.

Slaughter soon reemerged in the AWA, where he maintained his All-American persona. However, Slaughter was also gaining a great deal more fame through another, totally unrelated area.

In 1985, Slaughter received his own figure in the wildly-popular GI Joe series. Slaughter was initially only available as a mail-in exclusive, where he was named as the GI Joe team's drill instructor. The response was so strong that in 1986 Slaughter was re-released with a tank and led his own sub-team - Sgt. Slaughter and Slaughter's Renegades. Slaughter's figures would remain on toy store shelves until 1991. In addition to this, Slaughter also would go on to voice his own character in the cartoon and made live appearances in commercials and hosting the show.

Slaughter would remain in the AWA for several years. In addition to winning the AWA America's title (which was retired in 1986), Slaughter would continue his feud with the Iron Sheik, as well as battling Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissie and Colonel DeBeers. Slaughter would also be a constant threat to Larry Zbyszko's World title, although he would never win that belt.

In 1990, Slaughter found himself as one of the three team captains in the Team Challenge Series. Ironically enough, Slaughter would leave the AWA before the Team Challenge was completed and would be replaced as captain by former foe Colonel DeBeers.

Slaughter returned to the WWF and was swiftly repackaged. Patriotic American Sgt. Slaughter was gone. Slaughter had now allied himself with Iraq.

To understand the shockingness of this event, we need to take a look at the political climate of the time. Saddam Hussein's Iraq had just invaded and conquered Kuwait. The international community was outraged. A US-led force had assembled in the Saudi desert under the name Operation Desert Shield and had given Iraq a deadline to withdraw. When Iraq failed to do so, the operation changed to Operation Desert Storm, which drove Iraq out of Kuwait and forced the Iraqi forces back within their own borders.

Considering that, the fans were furious when the All-American Marine from Parris Island jumped sides. Slaughter had just become the WWF's top heel.

At the 1991 Royal Rumble, Slaughter finally captured the WWF World title by defeating the Ultimate Warrior (with a bit of help from Macho King Randy Savage). Slaughter would lose the belt to Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania VII.

After the feud with Hogan wrapped up, new vignettes were shot. In these, Slaughter was appearing next to American landmarks and reaffirming his patriotism. Slaughter would go on to save Hacksaw Jim Duggan from an assault by the Nasty Boys, and the two would tag team until Slaughter finally disappeared from WWF television.

Slaughter returned in 1997 as the commissioner of the WWF. Commissioner Slaughter soon discovered that he had a major problem in the newly-formed D-Generation X. Slaughter battled DX at every turn (including fighting Triple H at the D-Generation X In Your House and handcuffing himself to Chyna during HHH's European title defense against Owen Hart at Wrestlemania XIV), but DX would outwit him at every turn. Slaughter would wind up vanishing again in 1998, and would be replaced as Commissioner by Shawn Michaels.

Since Slaughter left the Commissionership, Slaughter has made sporadic on-screen appearances, although he continues to work backstage for the WWE. Some of Slaughter's opponents have been Chris Masters (Master Lock Challenge), Edge, and Nicky from the Spirit Squad. Slaughter was also involved in the 2006 Diva Search as he led a Diva Boot Camp segment.

Slaughter was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2004.

So why is Slaughter on this list? Slaughter is one of the wrestlers (and to an extent Hulk Hogan was as well) who successfully rode the wave of American patriotism during the 1980's. It's equally impressive that he went from being a successful heel to one of the WWF and AWA's top babyfaces with the gimmick.

Although it could be argued that Slaughter would have been better known if he had remained in the WWF, he still gained popularity that he still enjoys today by his appearances on the GI Joe cartoon and his action figures. (On a side note, a Sgt. Slaughter figure was reissued last year as a GI Joe convention exclusive.)

Slaughter gained notoriety through the entire Iraqi storyline, but he successfully overcame that to become a beloved legend - not only of pro wrestling, but also in popular culture.

72. KANE

Real Name - Glen Jacobs
Aliases - The Big Red Machine; The Big Red Monster; The Demon Red; The Christmas Creature; Unabomb; Isaac Yankem DDS; Diesel II
Hometown - parts unknown (kayfabe); currently resides in Knoxville, TN
Debuted - 18th June 1992
Titles Held - SMW Tag Team Championship (as Unibomb); USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (1); WCW World Tag Team Championship (1); WWF Championship (1); WWF Hardcore Championship (1); WWF/E Intercontinental Championship (2); WWF/E World Tag Team Championship (9)
Other Accomplishments - 8th Triple Crown Champion; starred in WWE Films' major motion picture "See No Evil"; character biography, "Journey Into Darkness", published in 2005

It's a testament to the man who can make a variation of the same gimmick work for 10 years in today's wrestling landscape. Glen Jacobs is that man.

After paying his dues on the indys playing a Christmas Creature and whatever a Unabomb is, Jacobs finally made the big time-the World Wrestling Federation. Unfortunately he became a dentist with bad teeth and then morphed into a guy impersonating Kevin Nash who was impersonating a truck driver.

Not surprisingly neither of those gimmicks earned Jacobs the type of job security I'm sure he was hoping for. Once it was decided that Undertaker had a long lost brother Jacobs took the role and hasn't looked back since. Whether the character of Kane was meant to be a long-term or not it sure has evolved into something so much more than "Undertaker's little brother."

From maybe or maybe not being set on fire as a child, maybe or maybe not burning his parents, being in an asylum, driving stick shift and killing a hot nurse, not being able and then being able to talk and then essentially raping and impregnating a fellow co-worker only to lose the baby in a freak work-related accident, Kane has done it all. And despite only holding the WWF Championship for one day back in 1998, Kane has always been considered an upper-mid card to main event guy, able to job to virtually anyone and still maintain his credibility and over-ness enough to be called upon as a top challenger at the drop of a hat.

He's been back and forth between heel and face so many times that even a guy like Vince Russo would think that it's overkill. And he's got his own chapter in the book on "wacky, mismatched tag team partners." From degenerates to superheroes to laid-back stoners to hardcore legends to giants to his own half-dead brother, Kane has seen them and teamed with them all, winning a total of nine tag championships along the way. Each partner brought a different part of Kane's character and personality to the forefront, showing the diversity and range of the character.

He's also seen his look evolve. From full mask and body suit (to cover all his scars they say), to half mask and sleeveless, to shirtless, hairless, and mask-less, he has still maintained his aura of a big, scary-looking ass kicker.

Overall Kane was been what one can consider a utility player for the past decade in World Wrestling Entertainment. If they need a monster, he's there. If they need hired muscle, he's there. If they need a mystery partner or mystery opponent, he's there. If they need a main eventer in a pinch, he's there. If they need a jobber for the next big thing, he's there. He is a guy that has been able to successfully fill whatever role he is needed in at a given instance. That versatility and willingness to play whatever role he is handed is why he has enjoyed a ten-year run as a premier star in the biggest wrestling company in the game.

For all of these reasons and more is why Kane was selected as number 72 on IP's list of top wrestlers in the modern era. I mean he managed to get through Katie Vick with some shred of credibility left for crying out loud.

As of this writing is working on the Smackdown brand as a face, just doing what he's been doing and making it look easy.

71. WILLIAM REGAL

Real Name - Darren Matthews
Aliases - Steve Regal; Real Man's Man
Debuted - 1983
Titles Held - WWE Intercontinental; WWE World Tag Team; WCW Television
Other Accomplishments - autobiography, "Walking a Golden Mile", earned widespread plaudits; began wrestling in Blackpool, England, at 15 years of age; former WWE Commissioner; current Raw General Manager


Dastardly foreign bad guys come to menace these fair United States have been a dime a dozen in professional wrestling for decades, but over the past 15 years William (formerly Steven) Regal has established himself as among the most enduring and arguably the most talented to rise above the pack. For his tremendous in-ring skills, unquestionable charisma on the microphone and impressive ability to bounce back from great personal struggle and tragedy, his Lordship makes our list of the Top 100 Greatest Wrestlers of the Modern Era with his trademark dignity and grace.

When Jim Ross touts on Raw that William Regal has been "fighting professionally since he was 15," he's not exaggerating, as English-born Darren Matthews indeed began wrestling on the local carnival circuit of his native Blackpool when he was only a teenager. After nine years wrestling in the United Kingdom, Matthews came to the United States in 1992, joining World Championship Wrestling as Lord Steven Regal the next year.

Regal's European style of wrestling, incorporating unorthodox strikes and more chain wrestling than most American fans were used to, slowly caught on with the WCW audience, but his mastery on the microphone and ability to get fans to hate his arrogant persona while also marveling at his charisma got him over as one of the company's top heels almost immediately. In the fall of 1993, Regal defeated the legendary Ricky Steamboat in the first of several technical wrestling classics between the two to earn his first WCW Television title.

Over the first half of 1994, Regal successfully defended his Television title against the likes of Arn Anderson and Brian Pillman while also making the occasional pilgrimage up the card to clash with World champion Ric Flair, a rare honor for somebody who had been with the company barely a year. At Slamboree, Regal goaded Larry Zbyszko out of retirement and lost to the self-proclaimed "Living Legend" in a non-title match then dropped the belt to him a few weeks later, only to regain it shortly after that. Again to Regal's credit, career heel Zbyszko drew ovations from the crowd based almost solely on his opposing his even more hated opponent.

Losing the Television title to Johnny B. Badd at Fall Brawl, as 1995 approached Regal turned his attention to WCW's tag team division, converting former Midnight Express member and veteran tag team specialist Bobby Eaton into the pompous Earl Robert Eaton, forming the initial incarnation of the Blue Bloods. Regal and Eaton came up short in their bid to unseat WCW World Tag Team champions The Nasty Boys and failed to experience much success in smaller feuds with Harlem Heat and the team of Dick Slater & Bunkhouse Buck even after adding Regal's countryman Dave Taylor to the stable.

In 1996, Regal began competing only sporadically in WCW while spending more time in Europe and elsewhere around the world. On one of his returns to the States, he capitalized on outside interference by the New World Order to win his third Television title from Lex Luger. He spent the rest of the year defending the TV belt around the world, stopping back in WCW occasionally to appear on Monday Nitro and briefly feud with Eaton, who had left the Blue Bloods during Regal's extended absence.

1997 marked a disastrous turn and the heralding of the beginning of a dark period for Regal's career. Thanks to a distraction from the diminutive Rey Misterio Jr., Regal dropped the TV title to virtual unknown Prince Iaukea on a February edition of Monday Nitro and was unable to regain the belt in a series of rematches. When Regal finally defeated Ultimo Dragon—who had succeeded where "His Lordship" had failed and upended Iaukea—to reclaim the belt, his victory would be short-lived as he'd drop the title back to the Japanese star in a return match.

With the war between the New World Order and big names like Sting, Lex Luger and The Giant dominating WCW and the infusion of flashy foreign talent from Japan and Mexico into the undercard, a veteran technician such as Regal was becoming needed less and less. As his success waned, Regal began turning more and more to alcohol and drugs, painkillers in particular, and his physical conditioning began to suffer for it. At the tail end of 1997, Regal and Taylor teamed unsuccessfully against The Steiner Brothers. In early 1998, following a lopsided massacre at the hands of rookie star Bill Goldberg, Regal was released from WCW following five years of service. While popular rumor at the time suggested Regal was fired for taking liberties with the inexperienced Goldberg, Regal has repeatedly refuted this theory.

It only took a few months for the World Wrestling Federation to snatch up Regal, who they saw as still having value as a known WCW star at the height of the Monday Night Wars in spite of his lackluster finals days at the rival promotion. Regal debuted as Steven Regal (no longer a Lord) without fanfare or any real gimmick other than being a generic tough guy and defeated Droz on a June edition of Raw. Unfortunately, Regal suffered an injury almost immediately and disappeared from WWF TV for several months.

A series of promos heralded Regal's return to the WWF in the fall of 1998 in a gimmick that could not have been more different that the way fans were accustomed to seeing the former nobleman. Donning a hard hat and flannel as he was shown performing outdoorsman acts like chopping wood, Regal was billed a "Real Man's Man" and played up as a sort of modern day lumberjack. Regal ran with the bizarre gimmick—and even weirder entrance music—getting over to some small degree as a heel once more and looking to be set for a feud with European champion X-Pac. However, once again only weeks after making his first television appearance, Regal vanished mysteriously once more. In January of 1999, it was announced that he had checked into a rehab facility and been released from the WWF.

A humbled Regal made a completely unheralded return to WCW at the Bash at the Beach event in July of 1999, teaming once more with Taylor in the poorly conceived "Hardcore Junkyard Invitational," a multi-competitor brawl that took place in a gimmicked area outside the venue so poorly lit that few even realized he was back. Over the next several months, Regal would rarely make Nitro or Thunder broadcasts, more often teaming with Taylor and fellow Brit Chris Adams in matches on WCW's syndicated programs, a far cry from his run only a few years prior as one of the company's top heels. Regal last less than a year back in WCW and seemed destined to fade into obscurity, a victim of personal demons—Regal had other ideas.

Having hit rock bottom both professionally and in terms of his health, Regal did what he had done since his carnival days as a boy: he fought. He fought to get clean and fought to get back in wrestling shape. At the Brian Pillman Memorial Show in the spring of 2000, a renewed Regal took on Chris Benoit in a classic quickly hailed as his best match ever, catching the eye of WWF talent and scouts in attendance, who quickly signed Regal to become an instructor in their Memphis developmental territory. Within months, Regal was booked to return to WWF television.

With the new first name of William, Regal re-debuted in the fall with a slightly re-tooled version of his traditional gimmick: in place of his aggressively arrogant "Lord" character, he was now an obnoxious "Goodwill Ambassador," oozing false politeness. With the smile of a used car salesman but the demeanor of a "Masterpiece Theater" extra, Regal excelled in his new role and quickly drew crowds into a frenzy with the fans wanting to see the pompous Brit get his comeuppance.

Despite being among perhaps the most talented roster in the history of the WWF (or wrestling) with the likes of Steve Austin, The Rock, Triple H, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit, Chris Jericho and dozens more at the top of their game, Regal managed to emerge as one of the company's most valuable upper mid-card heels in 2000 and 2001. Within a month of his WWF return, Regal captured the European title, defeating Al Snow. After less than memorable feuds with Bob Holly and Test to wrap up 2000, Regal scored an even more important victory over Snow in early 2001 to claim the position of on-screen WWF Commissioner, the role that would cement him in the minds of most who became fans during wrestling's boom period at the turn of the century. Able to utilize his considerable skills on the microphone in a niche perfect for his upper crust character, Regal participated in many a memorable backstage skit as his tea set and Union Jack-adorned office became a staple of WWF programming in early 2001.

While he excelled outside the ring, Regal proved no slouch inside it as well as he continued on the workout regimen that had earned him his way back to the big time and had memorable feuds and matches with Jericho, Benoit and others including coming up just short against Jericho in a match for the Intercontinental title at Wrestlemania XV.

The WCW/ECW Invasion angle proved an interesting wrinkle for Regal as it put him in the unfamiliar position of being cheered since all WWF wrestlers became de facto babyfaces against the invaders. Regal segued nicely into a new role as the general rallying the WWF troops as one of their authority figures and also formed an entertaining on-screen partnership with newcomer Tajiri who became his man servant and sometime tag partner, leading to much hilarity ensuing. However, as the angle unraveled in the fall of 2001 and the WWF powers that be seemed desperate to pull off surprise after surprise each week, Regal made a nonsensical heel turn, joining the WCW/ECW Alliance and losing his Commissioner position in the process. After the angle concluded with the WWF banishing their foes by winning Survivor Series in November, Regal was forced to become the first ever member of the "Mr. McMahon Kiss My Ass Club" the next night on Raw in order to remain on the roster.

Without the Commissioner role to provide extensive camera time, Regal faded a bit into the background as 2001 became 2002 despite a fairly high profile feud with Edge over the Intercontinental title. At the 2002 Royal Rumble, Regal actually claimed arguably the biggest win of his career, besting Edge for the IC strap. However, Regal's reign as champion was less than memorable as his clashes with Edge and later Rob Van Dam—who defeated him for the belt at Wrestlemania XVIII—were mismatches of style. For the remainder of 2002, Regal fell even further off the radar, winning the European title a couple of times—though by that point the title had become an afterthought—and engaging in forgettable feuds with Spike Dudley and Jeff Hardy. By the end of the year, Regal was teaming with Lance Storm and pursuing the World Tag Team titles.

Regal and Storm captured those titles early in 2003, but as had happened so often before, with the good news came bad: Regal was diagnosed with a heart condition and immediately ordered off the road by his doctors. It would be over a year and a half before William Regal would again grace WWF television.

In the summer of 2004, Regal returned not in a wrestling role, but as the reluctant mentor to Eugene, the "special" nephew of Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff, who ordered Regal to keep an eye on his relative or face losing his job. Initially Regal played the heel, annoyed to be saddled with Eugene, but gradually grew attached to his young charge and in the process endeared himself to the fans, turning babyface for only the second time in his career. Even after the crowd began to turn against Eugene legitimately, they still cheered Regal.

Unfortunately for Regal, aside from a few memorable matches against Triple H, his popularity failed to elevate him out of the mid-card. He would briefly hold the World Tag Team titles with Eugene and then again with old ally Tajiri in 2005, but made few pay-per-view appearances. In the summer of 2005, Regal was traded to the Smackdown roster, upon which he promptly turned heel and formed a team with countryman Paul Burchill, but the duo ended out the year jobbing to newcomer Bobby Lashley in Handicap matches.

2006 seemed like it was going to be for of the same for Regal, who feuded with Burchill after their team dissolved and was forced to dress as a woman after losing a stipulation match, but of all thing Booker T winning the King of the Ring turned out to be just what the European needed to kickstart his career. The newly anointed King Booker formed his own Court consisting of Regal and his former rival, Finlay. In addition to increased screen time as one of main-eventer and eventual World champion Booker's henchmen, Regal also got to settle comfortably back into the pompous character traits that made him a star to begin with.

Even after the dissolution of King Booker's Court in early fall of 2006, Regal kept his momentum going by bringing in old WCW tag partner Dave Taylor and going after Paul London and Brian Kendrick's WWE Tag Team titles. While the British duo never won the gold, they certainly captured the hearts of Internet fans anew and put on some good matches in the process.

Only a couple months ago, Regal found himself back on Raw and in a familiar position: Commissioner. Only a few weeks into his tenure, Regal was winning rave reviews as one of the most consistently entertaining parts of the show.

Unfortunately, also only weeks into his tenure as Raw Commissioner, Regal's name was one of the many tied to the Signature Pharmacy steroid scandal and ended up suspended for 30 days. However, given the incredible odds Regal has overcome more than once in his career and life, no question he'll rise above this latest setback and return better than ever.

70. BAD NEWS ALLEN

Real Name - Allen Coage
Aliases - Bad News Brown
Hometown - Calgary, Canada
Debut - 23rd October 1977
Titles Held - NWA Florida Heavyweight; Stampede Wrestling Heavyweight
Other Accomplishments - 1976 Olympic Judo Bronze Medallist; Pan American Games Bronze Medal; PWI ranked him #187 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the PWI Years in 2003

This one will be a tough one for me to write as I honestly know little to nothing about Allen Coage than what I saw of him in the WWF as Bad News Brown. However, he is a tremendously respected man in the world of pro wrestling thanks to his legitimate tough guy reputation and charisma that he carried with him through his career.

Coage lived in poverty in his early life but had a deep love for the sport of Judo. Indeed, his skills in the sport were such that he won an Olympic Bronze Medal in the 1976 Olympics. When he was unable to start his own Judo school he tried his hand at pro wrestling, trained by none other than the legend himself Antonio Inoki. After breaking in to the business he traveled to Calgary to work for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling. He wrestled there from 1982-88 and during that period had wars with Bret Hart and Dynamite Kid. In fact, it was during this time that he competed in some of wrestling's first ladder matches.

Coage then came to the WWF to wrestle as Bad News Brown and it was here he celebrated his biggest mainstream notoriety. During this time he feuded with a who's who of the federation's biggest stars. He competed not only with Jake Roberts but also took part in title matches with both Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan. In addition to that, he also won the opening battle royal at Wrestlemania IV and fought Roddy Piper in an infamous battle at Wrestlemania VI. Coage went on to leave the WWF in 1990 and faded away from the mainstream wrestling scene. However, during his short period in the big time he had created a legacy that would be remembered for a long time. One of the biggest character traits that differed Coage from all the other heels under the WWF's employ was that he was a complete loner who had no link or friendship with the other heels. He was a man to himself who stood by himself. Some people even consider him the precursor to the Stone Cold character that allowed Steve Austin to break through the glass ceiling and become a mega star. Coage wasn't just a talented performer, he was also an innovator of sorts.

Once again, I would like to state that I really didn't follow Allen Coage's career very closely and I apologize if any of his long term fans have felt I've done an injustice to his legacy. That was the last thing I wanted to do. Allen Coage deserves respect for his achievements in wrestling and he thoroughly deserves his slot in Pulse Wrestling's top 100. He sadly passed away early in 2007 but I dearly hope his memory will live on, as I'm sure do all his fans who followed him from Stampede onwards.

69. JEFF HARDY

Aliases - The Rainbow-Haired Warrior; The Charismatic Enigma; Willow the Whisp; unnamed Jinx Brother; unspecified Conquistador
Hometown - Cameron, North Carolina
Debuted - 15th October 1993
Titles Held - WCW World Tag Team (1); WWF/E World Tag Team (6); WWE European (1); WWF Hardcore (3); WWF Light Heavyweight (1); WWF Intercontinental (4)
Other Accomplishments - plays Itchweed on TheHardyShow.com; has a band called Peroxwhy?gen; helped brother Matt form OMEGA promotion in their neighbourhood


"How do you learn to fall off a 20 foot ladder?"

That iconic question uttered by Jim Ross is in reference to Jeff Hardy performing another risky daredevil stunt. To Jeff Hardy it was just another day in the office.

Starting out as a professional wrestler at age 16, Jeff literally grew up in the business. His first televised WWF match was against the 1-2-3 Kid in June 1994. He and his brother worked as jobbers for the WWF through the mid-'90s while they worked at their own promotions, Trampoline Wrestling Federation and OMEGA.

In April 1998, Jeff and brother Matt got signed to official WWF contracts and the journey began. The pair worked as plucky undercard babyfaces until the summer of '99 when Michael Hayes took them under their wing. The pair got a slight makeover and a harder edge and by June of that year Jeff and Matt won their first of six Tag Championships.

In October 1999 Jeff and Matt really took off as legitimate superstars thanks to their "Terri Invitational Tournament" with Edge & Christian that culminated in the WWF's first ever tag team ladder match. Jeff & Matt would be linked to Edge & Christian for the next year and a half of their careers thanks to their long standing feud over the WWF Tag Championship and the series of ladder, table and TLC matches that also featured The Dudley Boyz.

Jeff had a brief feud against his brother in late 2001 but they were quickly reunited when their rivalry didn't gain the attention that was expected. By the summer of 2002 Jeff was a singles star on RAW, capturing European Championship gold and reaching upper card status.

Hardy was released from the WWE in April 2003 after refusing to go to rehab, no-showing events, putting on poor performance and just overall "burn out."

He laid low until April 2004 when he was signed by NWA-TNA. He was brought in with much fanfare and was given a main event push. He ran programs against Jeff Jarrett, Scott Hall, Abyss and Raven. But his erratic behavior developed again and he was suspended from TNA in May 2005. He returned in August and worked in the mid-card before no-showing a December 2005 pay per view pre-show match. He was suspended once more and never worked for TNA again.

Jeff made a much-heralded return to World Wrestling Entertainment in August 2006. He started a great run against Johnny Nitro that led to two Intercontinental Title reigns and transitioned into a really good Hady Boyz - MNM tag feud. Matt and Jeff also won their sixth WWE World Tag Championship the night after WrestleMania 23.

Currently Jeff is still considered one of the top babyfaces on the WWE RAW brand and is currently in his fourth reign as WWE Intercontinental Champion. Jeff earns his spot on this list not only for his singles achievements and tag achievements with his brother Matt, but also for his innovative daredevil, risk-taking style. He has taken the art of a ladder match to a whole new level thanks to his high-flying stunts. He has often been called the Shawn Michaels of his generation, and at the ripe age of only 30 Jeff still his ample time to make that prophecy come true.

68. JEFF JARRETT

Real Name - Jeff Jarrett
Hometown - Nashville, Tennessee
Born - April 14, 1967
Debuted - 15th October 1993
Titles Held - CWA International Tag Team 2x (1 with Pat Tanaka, 1 with Paul Diamond); AWA Southern Tag Team 4x (3 with Billy Travis, 1 with Pat Tanaka); NWA Mid-America 5x; WCWA World Light Heavyweight 2x; CWA Heavyweight; WCWA Tag Team 3x (1 with Kerry Von Erich, 1 with Mil Mascaras, 1 with Matt Borne); USWA World Tag Team 14x (2 with Matt Borne, 2 with Jeff Gaylord, 1 with Cody Michaels, 4 with Jerry Lawler, 3 with Robert Fuller, 2 with Brian Christopher); USWA Western States Tag (with Robert Fuller); USWA Southern Heavyweight 9x; WWF Intercontinental 6x; USWA Unified World 3x; USWA Heavyweight; PCW United States; WCW United States; NWA North American; WWF World Tag Team (with Owen Hart); WWF European; WCW World 4x; WWA World 2x; NWA World Heavyweight 6x; NWA Cyberspace; World Series Wrestling Heavyweight
Other Accomplishments - TNA Co-Founder and current Vice President; AWA's Rookie of the Year in 1986; Winner of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Feud of the Year Award in 1992 (Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Lawler vs. the Moondogs)

Jeff Jarrett was born into the wrestling business. Christine Jarrett worked for promoters Nick Gulas and Roy Welch by taking tickets for their NWA Mid-American promotion. Over the years, she was promoted to the promotion's office and eventually began promoting shows herself.

Her son began selling wrestling programs at seven. That son, Jerry, would begin promoting his own shows at the age of fourteen. When he returned from college, he entered the Gulas and Welch office while also working as a referee. To further add to his son's pedigree, Jerry would marry the daughter of Memphis mainstay Eddie Marlin.

In the late 1970's, Gulas and Welch split with each promoter taking one half of the territory. Jerry Jarrett, by now a wrestler, soon found himself as the booker for Welch's half. In 1977, problems arose. Nick Gulas was insisting that his son George be booked in the main event. By this point, Jerry Jarrett had purchased Roy Welch's share of the company. Backed by many of the company's main wrestlers (including Jerry Lawler), Jarrett partnered with his mother and the two formed the Continental Wrestling Association. (Gulas's company would close in 1980 when he retired, which paved the way for the CWA to become an NWA affiliate).

By 1986 Jeff Jarrett (Jerry's son) was already working with the CWA as a referee. In April, Tony Falk (who was in the midst of a losing streak) decided that he would wrestle Jeff to break the streak. Jeff wrestled him to a ten minute draw.

It didn't take long for Jarrett to win gold. By August of that year, he had joined forces with Pat Tanaka to capture the CWA International Tag Team championship from Tarzan Goto and Akio Sato. When Goto and Sato recaptured the belts in September, Jarrett allied with Paul Diamond to take the belts back before Goto and Sato took them back nearly two weeks later.

Jarrett recaptured gold two days after that - this time he tagged with Billy Joe Travis to defeat the Sheepherders (who had actually defeated Jarrett and Travis in a tournament final a week earlier) to win the AWA Southern Tag Team titles.

Jarrett and Travis would then enter into a feud with Tommy Lane and Mike Davis - the Rock N Roll RPMs. The RPMs captured the belts on January 5th of 1987. Jarrett and Travis took them back a week later. Another week later the belts returned to the RPMs. On February 2, Jarrett and former partner Pat Tanaka took the belts back and held them until they were defeated on the 23rd of February by Big Bubba and Goliath.

In early May of 1987 Moondog Spot had arrived in the CWA and was announced as the NWA Mid-America champion (the belt had been vacated when the Great Kabuki had departed the previous December). Jarrett immediately began feuding with Spot, taking the title on May 11th. On May 25th, Jarrett found himself disqualified in a match and the belt was returned to Spot. Jarrett took it back on June 1st and held it a week until Spot reclaimed it. Finally, on June 22nd, Jarrett ended the feud by once more recapturing the belt.

With Spot dealt with, Jarrett found himself back in the tag ranks as the AWA Southern Tag Team titles had been vacated after an injury to one of the Clones. Jarrett found himself in a familiar situation as he teamed again with Billy Joe Travis to win the titles in a tournament. However, the team they had defeated in the finals was Badd Company, which was composed of former Jarrett partners Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka. August 8th Badd Company claimed the belts.

On September 7th, Jarrett lost his other belt as Carl Fergie defeated him for the NWA Mid-America belt. Jarrett reclaimed the belt a week later and held it until he was defeated by Jimmy Jack Funk on November 2nd. Jarrett took it back on November 9th and held it until December 7th, when he was defeated by Jerry Lawler. Lawler had also won the International championship that night and unified those two belts with his AWA Southern Heavyweight title to create the CWA Heavyweight title.

By October of 1988 Jarrett had found himself splitting his time between the CWA and the WCWA's Dallas territory. October 15th saw Jarrett end Eric Embry's nearly ten-month reign as the WCWA Light Heavyweight champion. Embry and Jarrett would go on to trade the belts again and again - Embry won it on November 11, and Jarrett won it on November 24th in Jacksonville, TN. Embry recaptured it on December 13th at Superclash III in Chicago, and Jarrett's time with this belt was through.

During this time period, a great deal of turmoil was going on behind the scenes. The AWA, CWA, CWF, and WCWA had joined forces to present the Superclash III pay-per-view. In the main event the CWA's Jerry Lawler had unified the AWA and WCWA world titles by defeating Kerry Von Erich.

The experiment soon collapsed as the other promoters suspected Verne Gagne of lying to them about how well the show had done, and felt short-changed on their payouts. As a result, the WCWA soon collapsed. Lawler quit competing on Gagne's shows and was soon stripped of the AWA world title.

1989 saw Jarrett continuing to work for both CWA and WCWA. On March 11th Jarrett captured the CWA Heavyweight title from Dutch Mantell. The next night Jarrett teamed with Kerry Von Erich to win the WCW Tag Team titles. They held them for a week before losing them to the team of Cactus Jack and Super Zodiac II. On June 9th, Jarrett and lucha legend Mil Mascaras teamed to win the belts. On June 23rd, Robert Fuller and Brian Lee took the belts away. Jarrett and new partner Matt Borne recaptured the belts on June 30th before losing the belts to Cactus Jack and Scott Braddock.

That loss meant that Jarrett was completely without championship gold as he had lost the CWA Heavyweight title to Black Bart on June 26th.

Later in the year, Jerry Jarrett purchased 60 percent of the WCWA, uniting the two companies as the United States Wrestling Association. Lawler's AWA world title, which was never returned to Gagne, soon became used as the USWA world title. The USWA itself began focusing its shows around the Tennessee and Texas areas.

In August, Jarrett and Borne defeated Cactus Jack and Braddock to win the USWA World Tag Team titles. Braddock partnered with Mark Starr to regain the belts in September. On September 22, the teams faced off again but the belts were held up. Jarrett and Borne won the rematch the following week. The belts wound up vacant in November when Borne lost a loser-leaves-USWA match.

By September of 1990, the Von Erichs and Jarrett had found themselves fighting over the company's income. After KTVT dropped the USWA television show (reportedly due to Eric Embry's ignoring the studio's requests to cut down on his profanity), Jarrett pulled the USWA out of Texas, leaving Kevin Von Erich to start running the WCWA again. World Class would completely collapse by the end of the year.

It was about this time that Jarrett and new partner Jeff Gaylord had tried to get back into the USWA Tag Team title hunt. A match against Brian Lee and Don Harris on August 27th saw the belts held up and Jarrett and Gaylord won the rematch a week later. The following two weeks saw the belts traded back and forth. October 6th Doug Gilbert and Tony Anthony took the belts away.

Jarrett didn't mourn the loss for long as that same day he defeated Dick Slater to win the USWA Southern Heavyweight title. He held the belt until October 29th, when Eddie Gilbert took it from him.

Again, it wouldn't take long for Jarrett to regain the gold. He returned to the tag team ranks on November 24th with new partner Cody Michaels and took the USWA Tag Team titles back. They held the titles until December 8th, when Tony Anthony and Doug Gilbert reclaimed them.

In December of 1990, Eddie Gilbert had left the USWA, vacating the USWA Southern Heavyweight title in the process. On January 14, 1991, Jarrett defeated Brian Lee in the tournament final to begin his second title reign.

Jarrett and Lawler had also joined forces to try and recapture the USWA Tag Team titles. The belts were vacated after a match on January 28th against current champions the Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane and Steve Keirn). Jarrett and Lawler won the next week's rematch to win the titles.

Jarrett soon found himself embroiled in a feud with Steve Austin over the Southern Heavyweight title, and that belt was held up after a match between the two on February 25th. Jarrett won the rematch to secure his claim to the belt.

However, this reign would not last long. Tom Prichard won the title on March 15th. A rematch on the 29th saw the belt held up and Jarrett recaptured it on April 5th. Prichard wasn't through. The belt was vacated again on April 8th due to a controversy involving the match's finish, and another match was scheduled for the 12th, which Jarrett also won.

Jarrett entered another belt-less phase soon after, as he defended the USWA Tag Team titles with Eddie Gilbert in a match that saw the belts won by the Texas Hangmen on March 26th. Eric Embry claimed the USWA Southern Heavyweight title on May 3rd.

May 13th saw Jarrett teaming with Robert Fuller to regain the USWA Tag Team belts. July 8th, the two lost the titles to the Barroom Brawlers, only to win them back on July 15th. The feud would stretch on into the fall as the Brawlers (now renamed as the Texas Outlaws) won the belts back on September 28th. Fuller and Jarrett regained them October 7, dropping the belts to Doug Masters and Rob Sawyer in early November.

By the summer of 1992, Jerry Lawler had entered a brutal feud with the Moondogs, who held the USWA Tag Team gold. He turned back to old ally Jarrett and the two captured the belts on June 29. The teams would trade the belts back and forth until October, when the Moondogs defeated Lawler in a handicap match to end the feud.

Jarrett turned his attention back to the Southern Heavyweight title at this point. He began feuding with Brian Christopher that winter and won the belt on December 21st. Christopher regained the belt on January 11 of 1993, and Jarrett reclaimed it on March 1st. Jarrett held the belt for two months before Christopher regained it. June 28th saw Jarrett win the belt again to end the feud.

Jarrett's next challenger was the Vampire Warrior (best known as the WWF's Gangrel). The Warrior won the belt on July 19th and Jarrett regained it August 23rd - just in time for the belt to be renamed the USWA Heavyweight championship. Wildfire Tommy Rich took the belt on September 13th. A rematch on the 15th ended in controversy as Rich's hand was raised after Jarrett had won and the belt was held up. Jarrett won the October 4th rematch to end the feud.

Jarrett also soon returned his gaze to the tag team division. On October 16th, Tag Team champion Mike Anthony was injured by Moondogs Spike and the titles were vacated. On October 25th, Jarrett and former foe Brian Christopher defeated Jerry Lawler and the Red Knight (who would later be known as the Spellbinder) to win the belts. It would be a short reign as Koko B. Ware and Rex Hargrove captured the belts. Jarrett and Christopher regained the titles a week later.

Jarrett then saw his title reigns end. He lost the USWA Heavyweight title on November 22nd to Buddy Landel. On the 27th, PG-13 took the tag team titles.

However, there was a silver lining to that cloud. In 1992, the USWA and WWF had begun a working relationship that saw talent being traded. Jerry Lawler began appearing in the WWF and WWF stars began making appearances for USWA. That agreement ended in November of 1993. WWF representative (and former CWA standout) Randy Savage was stripped of the title and a new champion was crowned in a battle royal. Jarrett won the match and held the belt until December 20th when he was defeated by Jerry Lawler.

Change was in the air once again. November opened with vignettes airing on WWF television. Jarrett was now Double J, an arrogant wannabe country singer. Jarrett made his Raw debut on December 20th and defeated PJ Walker.

Jarrett's pay-per-view debut was the 1994 Royal Rumble. He first showed up by assisting eight other men who helped Yokozuna defeat the Undertaker in a casket match, then went on to compete in the Rumble itself.

Later in the year, Jarrett's entourage grew as he gained a … well… roadie in the form of the Roadie (currently competing in TNA as BG James).

At the 1995 Royal Rumble Jarrett gained his first WWF gold as he defeated Razor Ramon for the Intercontinental title. True to form for Jarrett, the belt would be held up on April 26th as a match between Jarrett and Bob Holly ended in a controversial fashion. Jarrett would win the match and begin his second reign on the next week's Raw.

The May 14th In Your House saw Razor Ramon gaining momentum in his feud with Jarrett as he defeated both Jarrett and the Roadie in a handicap match. Sure enough, the 19th saw Ramon recapture the gold. Jarrett won the belt back on the 21st's Raw and held it until July 23rd at the second In Your House PPV when he was defeated by Shawn Michaels after he and Sawyer Brown had performed his entrance music.

Jarrett vanished from the WWF shortly after that and returned to the USWA. By the end of the year, Jarrett had returned to the WWF but found himself pulling double-duty. Jarrett had begun a feud with Ahmed Johnson that saw Jarrett return to the USWA and defeat Ahmed for the USWA Unified World title on December 20th. The 17th had seen Jarrett make his WWF return and attack Ahmed after a match with Buddy Landell. Jarrett wound up disqualified in his Royal Rumble match against Ahmed thanks to the use of an acoustic equalizer. At the time he was also embroiled in a contract dispute with the WWF. Jarrett soon left and returned to the USWA. Not long after, the Roadie was repackaged as "the Real Double J" by claiming that he had sung Jarrett's entrance theme instead of Jarrett himself.

Jarrett surrendered the USWA title in March after suffering a back injury, and Jerry Lawler won a tournament to regain the belt. April 20th saw Jarrett get a rematch and with the help of referee Frank Morrell (who faked a heart attack) he won the belt. Lawler would regain the belt on July 24th.

Jarrett was on the way out of the USWA and headed to WCW, where he debuted on the October 7th Nitro as a highly-desired free agent, with the NWO on one side and the legendary Horsemen on the other. Jarrett soon made his intentions clear. After defeating Hugh Morrus in his debut match, Jarrett grabbed a microphone and said that the NWO could stick it.

Jarrett soon joined the Horsemen. Jarrett's personality, however grated on the other members (especially Mongo McMichael). Jarrett was finally allowed to go his own way (after events had seen him taking the United States title from fellow Horseman Dean Malenko) as he entered a feud with McMichael. In the end, although Debra (McMichael's wife) turned on her husband to ally with Jarrett, McMichael got the last laugh by taking away Jarrett's US title.

By October of 1997 Jarrett had left WCW and returned to the WWF. Although his character was originally portrayed as an egotist who wouldn't wrestle unless everything around was to his satisfaction, by the end of the year Jarrett had allied with Jim Cornette's NWA faction (winning the NWA North American title in the process).

By the following March, Jarrett had left the NWA faction and vacated the North American title as well. Afterward, Jarrett returned to his country singer roots and brought in Tennessee Lee (Robert Fuller, WCW's Col. Parker) to serve as his manager. At April's Unforgiven pay-per-view, Jarrett performed a concert with Sawyer Brown that saw a feud kindled with Steve Blackman.

After the feud with Blackman died down, Tennessee Lee brought in the tag team Southern Justice (Mark Canterbury and Dennis Knight - formerly the Godwinns) to work with Jarrett. This proved to be a mistake as Southern Justice and Jarrett soon fired Tennessee Lee.

Jarrett next began humiliating his opponents by cutting their hair. At Summerslam, Jarrett lost to X-Pac and had his long hair cut off. With his new look and new attitude, Jarrett underwent further changes. Even though Southern Justice vanished following the retirement of Mark Canterbury (who had been injured by a botched Doomsday Device earlier), Jarrett soon gained a new manager as Debra McMichael left WCW and joined him.

By early 1999, Jarrett had allied with real-life best friend Owen Hart. Hart and Jarrett would actually win the WWF tag team titles on January 29th and end the reigns of the Big Boss Man and Ken Shamrock.

Owen and Jarrett lost the belts in March to Kane and X-Pac, but continued tagging together. The two also soon got into an angle where it was tried to prove that Owen was the mysterious Blue Blazer. Owen and Jarrett would trade off wearing the mask, showing that Owen was obviously not the Blazer when the two were standing side-by side. In weeks to come, the Blazer was unmasked several times, revealing that both Jarrett and Owen had been under the mask. Sadly, the tag team was ended forever on May 23rd, when Owen Hart was killed in a tragic accident during the Over the Edge pay-per-view.

May 31st Jarrett defeated the Godfather to win the Intercontinental title. (This was actually Owen's opponent at the pay-per-view, where it was rumored that he was scheduled to win the belt.) Jarrett's title reign had a blip on July 24th, when he lost the title to Edge and regained it the next night after Edge accidentally speared Debra off the apron and Gangrel attacked Edge.

Jarrett's reign ended in August, when D'Lo Brown (the European champion) defeated him for the title. At Summerslam later that month, however, Jarrett turned things around by (with the help of D'Lo's supposed friend Mark Henry) defeating D'Lo to capture both belts. The next night Jarrett was feeling generous as he gave Henry the European title and hired an assistant for Debra named Miss Kitty (who would go on to become Women's Champion the Kat).

About this same time, Jarrett began displaying strong misogynistic tendencies. Jarrett began attacking various women in the WWF - be they strong wrestlers like Jacqueline, Luna, and Ivory, or senior citizens like Mae Young and the Fabulous Moolah. Not even actress Cindy Margolis was safe from his wrath.

Things turned on Jarrett on September 23rd. After attacking the stage manager and locking her in the figure four leglock, the women he'd attacked showed up and jumped him with their champion - Chyna.

However, again, things were turning backstage even as a showdown between Jarrett and Chyna was set for the No Mercy PPV. Jarrett's contract was up the day before the show, and he was still the Intercontinental champion. To make matters worse, it was apparent that Jarrett had no plans to re-sign. Then Jarrett demanded an unspecified amount of money to work the show (Jarrett claims that he wanted the remainder of the money that Vince McMahon would pay him for the year in one lump sum). McMahon paid (and added Jarrett to his blacklist), Jarrett appeared, and passed the Intercontinental title to Chyna.

The next night's Nitro was the first night that saw Vince Russo and Ed Ferrera as the heads of WCW. La Parka had just defeated Buff Bagwell. Bagwell had begun berating Russo and Ferrera on the microphone for booking him to lose the match when Jarrett showed up and brained him with a guitar. Jarrett then introduced his catch phrase about having the stroke and left.

It didn't take long for Jarrett to capture championship gold as he defeated Chris Benoit in December to claim the United States title. Also, Jarrett soon found himself in the midst of another stable as the NWO reformed. The new roster was Jarrett, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Bret Hart, and the Harris Brothers.

Jarrett's reign had another bump as he was stripped of the title at the Souled Out PPV due to a concussion he'd suffered during a match with Jimmy Snuka on Nitro. The next night, new WCW commissioner Kevin Nash awarded the title back to Jarrett.

Finally, at Spring Stampede, Jarrett reached his goal. He had surrendered the US title on April 10th to the returning Vince Russo and Eric Bischoff. However, at the PPV, he defeated Diamond Dallas Page to win a tournament for the vacant WCW World title.

Still, Jarrett would have problems holding on to the belt. A week later he lost the title to Diamond Dallas Page. It would be the following month's Slamboree before Jarrett regained the belt in a triple cage match against Page and David Arquette.

This time Jarrett kept it for two weeks before he was defeated by Ric Flair. A week later, Jarrett defeated Kevin Nash to win the title. Two days later, Nash defeated both Jarrett and Scott Steiner to win the title back. Then, on Nitro, Nash said that Flair (who had been stripped of the belt) had never really lost it so he returned it just in time for Jarrett to win the belt back.

Jarrett would retain the title until the infamous Bash at the Beach, where he laid down and let Hulk Hogan pin him. After Hogan left, Russo cut an interview bashing Hogan, then announced that Jarrett and Booker T would face off for the title later. The match took place, and Booker won.

Jarrett continued on the heel side of things in WCW, allying himself with Vince Russo and Scott Steiner. In January of 2001, Jarrett joined Ric Flair's Magnificent Seven stable.

While Jarrett had racked up an impressive four world title reigns in WCW, none of that mattered in March of 2001. That was when the company was purchased by the World Wrestling Federation. And Vince McMahon had not forgotten Jarrett's demands when he'd left. During the final Nitro (which saw its last half hour simulcast with Raw) McMahon specifically brought up Jarrett's name as someone who was gone.

Jarrett wound up signing with Australia's World Wrestling All-Stars. On their first pay-per-view on October 26, 2001, Jarrett went through a tournament for the vacant title. He defeated Nathan Jones, Buff Bagwell, and the Road Dogg to win the belt. (The Road Dogg had defeated Jarrett a week earlier on a house show to win the title.)

Jarrett lost the belt to Nathan Jones on April 7th in a fatal fourway match. The two other competitors were Brian Christopher and Scott Steiner.

Shortly thereafter, Jarrett and his father Jerry launched their own company - NWA Total Nonstop Action. In a surprising departure from tradition, NWATNA elected to run weekly pay-per-views instead of seeking a regular television outlet. Their main selling point was the fact that the four $9.95 PPVs a month provided 8 hours of wrestling while the WWE's PPV for $29.95 only provided three. In addition, NWATNA signed a deal with the NWA board of directors which gave them control over the NWA World and Tag Team titles.

It didn't take long for Jarrett to claim gold in NWATNA. Jarrett defeated Ron Killings in August of 2002 to win the NWA title (making him the third champion of the NWATNA era). Jarrett's first reign was noteworthy because the following May he also defeated Sting on the final WWA show to unify the NWA and WWA world titles. Jarrett lost the title to AJ Styles on June 11th.

Jarrett recaptured the belt in October and traded it back to Styles on April 21st in a steel cage match. Jarrett would regain the belt (and gain a new nickname) in June, as he won the first-ever King of the Mountain match.

The newly-crowned King of the Mountain would hold the title for nearly a year before finally losing it to AJ Styles on May 15th. Jarrett would enter into a feud with Raven, Sabu, and Rhino that would end when America's Most Wanted allied with him and helped him reclaim the world title from Raven shortly before the debut of Impact on Spike TV.

Jarrett wouldn't keep the title for long as Rhino captured it at the Bound for Glory PPV. Jarrett reclaimed the belt less than two weeks later on Impact, again with help from AMW.

As 2005 closed, Jarrett was on top of the world. His feud with Raven was firmly in the past, and he had gotten the best of Rhino at every turn. However, there was another problem ahead.

After Jarrett retained the title at Turning Point, the lights went out and a spotlight came on. The spotlight shone down onto a black trenchcoat and a black baseball bat. Sting was coming.

It didn't take long for Jarrett to circle the wagons. On the next Impact he allied not only with Gail Kim and AMW, but also joined forces with Abyss, Team Canada, and Monty Brown.

Jarrett still had other problems distracting him as well. Jackie Gayda started claiming that Jarrett had promised to hire her, only to get Gail Kim instead. She demanded money or she would reveal the truth about him. It wouldn't take long for Jarrett to use Alex Shelley to get a videotape of Jackie that would force her to join him. Gayda would remain in that position until she became pregnant and left TNA.

During all of this, Jarrett had again lost the title - this time to TNA newcomer Christian Cage (who had joined forces with Sting). Jarrett turned to Shelley again and demanded that he get some footage of Sting that he could use to blackmail him. Instead, Sting caught Shelley and promised to be at the Destination X PPV.

At Destination X, Jarrett, Abyss, and AMW faced off against Team 3D, Rhino, and Ron Killings. As promised, Sting appeared and attacked Team Jarrett. Unfortunately for Sting, Jarrett had another surprise up his sleeve as Scott Steiner debuted and went after Sting.

As March wound down, Sting demanded a War Games match. The match took place at Lockdown and was dubbed the Lethal Lockdown. Sting, Killings, Rhino, and AJ Styles took on Jarrett, Steiner, and AMW. Although Sting won, Jarrett still wanted a rematch.

On the following week's Impact, Jarrett and Steiner demanded that Sting reveal his partner. Sting offered to let them choose. Jarrett refused and Sting revealed Buff Bagwell and Lex Luger, then said that they were no longer eligible to be his partner. A week later, Rick Steiner was added to the list. Sting finally revealed his partner as the undefeated Samoa Joe. Sting and Joe won the match to put the feud on hold.

Afterward, Slammiversary promised another King of the Mountain match. Jarrett won the match and the belt, defeating Christian, Sting, Abyss, and Ron Killings. Jim Cornette was disgusted by the way the match had ended (referee Earl Hebner had pushed Cage off a ladder) and immediately vacated the belt.

After the King of the Mountain, Jarrett went after Sting again. Finally, in August, Jarrett challenged Sting to a title versus career match after Sting had lost a title match to Jarrett (with the help of Christian, who had turned on Sting). If Sting lost, he would retire. Sting accepted.

However, Bound for Glory was still a month away and Cornette would not make it an easy one. At No Surrender, Joe defeated Jarrett in a Fans' Revenge Lumberjack match and stole the NWA World title as he left.

In October, Jarrett got the physical belt returned to him after Kurt Angle entered TNA and immediately squared off with Joe just in time for Bound for Glory. At Bound for Glory, Sting won the NWA World title for the first time since 1990. Jarrett then disappeared until April.

In April of 2007, Jarrett returned to TNA to ally with Team Angle (Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe, Jarrett, and Sting) as they took on Team Cage (Christian, AJ Styles, Tomko, and Abyss) at Lockdown. In the end, Sting defeated Abyss for the win.

Jarrett then moved on to ally with Eric Young. Young had signed a contract with Robert Roode and been bullied by Roode ever since. Young had finally revealed that he had a friend who would help him. The friend was revealed as Jarrett appeared and attacked Roode. Roode would, however, defeat Jarrett at Sacrifice.

The feud was put on hold as Jarrett's wife Jill passed away following a long battle with cancer and Jarrett returned home to be with his family. Jarrett appeared in a video at Slammiversary, where he addressed his wife's death publicly for the first time and announced that he would be taking time away from the ring. As of this writing, Jarrett has yet to return.

As stated above, Jeff Jarrett is an extremely talented wrestler who catapulted to stardom in the USWA, only to see his career stall in the midcard in the WWF and WCW. After another failed run in the WWF, he returned to WCW where, with Vince Russo's help, he established himself as a strong contender to the title. After the buyout, he and his father started a promotion which has rapidly become the number two company in the nation. In a career spanning over twenty years, Jeff Jarrett has definitely earned his spot on the top 100 list.

67. SCOTT STEINER

Real Name - Scott Rechsteiner
Hometown - Bay City, Michigan
Debuted - 1986
Titles Held - WCW World Heavyweight; WCW United
States; WCW World Tag Team; WWE World Tag Team
Other Accomplishments - three-time NCAA Big Ten Conference
runner-up; has six screws, a tendon transplant and a bone graft
in his foot


I don't know if there has been a wrestler who has so completely changed his look, wrestling style and demeanor from where he started than Scott Steiner.

Scotty Steiner hit the big time in 1989, cheering on his older brother Rick Steiner in the NWA. The pair of real life brothers were stand-out amateur wrestlers at the University of Michigan and they parlayed their natural athleticism into a success in the professional ranks.

Scott and his brother were instant successes in the NWA/WCW tag ranks, picking up two World Tag Titles, a United States Tag Championship reign and the prestigious IWGP Tag Titles from Japan. They were quickly touted as the tag team of the '90s and became the top babyface team in WCW, supplanting the Rock 'n' Roll Express from their throne. Steiner also had a brief reign as WCW Television Champion in 1992 before the pair left for the World Wrestling Federation.

The pair spent a year and a half in the WWF, and won a couple of Tag Championships along the way. They also did a short tour of duty in ECW in 1995 before going back home, to WCW.

In early 1996 the pair returned to their old stomping grounds of WCW to help bolster an already established tag team scene. They became standard bearers for WCW during initial nWo war, picking up a couple more tag championships along the way.

But it was in 1998 when Scott Steiner became his own man; a man completely changed, in look, style and demeanor, from the Scott Steiner everyone had known previously. Gone were the mullet, the neon singlets and innovative Frankensteiners. Enter beach blonde hair, a goatee, muscles upon muscles and a bad attitude. During this time he turned on his brother and the duo waged a war that lasted all through 1998. Scott built himself through WCW's singles ranks and became one of the nWo's top leaders. Along the way he picked up United States and Television Championships., and was an integral part of both nWo's reformations in 1999 and again in 2000.

He truly broke out as a singles star in early 2000 after the WCW reboot. He became on of the New Blood's leaders, winning the US Championship again and having feuds with Goldberg and Kevin Nash. During WCW's last six months, Steiner was given the ball and became the company's World Champion; a monster heel in the style of Big Van Vader. He defeated Booker T, Sting, Goldberg, Sid Vicious, Kevin Nash & Diamond Dallas Page en route to WCW's demise. As a true professional be put Booker over clean as a whistle on the company's final broadcast.

After the company folded, Steiner did some work for independents and the short-lived World Wrestling All-Stars promotion.

He arrived in World Wrestling Entertainment with much fanfare during the later months of 2002. He was pushed as a top face and got immediate World Heavyweight Championship shots against Triple H in early 2003. Unfortunately Steiner stuck up the joint in both matches and was promptly pushed down the card into a long-term feud wit Test. By early 2004 Steiner had left WWE with little or no fanfare.

In early 2006, Steiner made his return to the national stage by debuting with TNA Wrestling. He made up for his lackluster WWE stint by putting on better-than-expected matches and promos, while staying away from backstage tantrums. He put on solid matches with Kurt Angle, Samoa Joe and Sting. He has currently reunited with his brother Rick as a bad-ass version of their face team that dominated the '90s, and also recently overcame a potentially fatal trachea injury he suffered in the spring of 2007. He is riding a career renaissance that many thought would never materialize.

Scott Steiner was one of the top draws in the early days of World Championship Wrestling. He introduced American wrestling fans to a move we all know as the Frankensteiner and would throw suplexes before Angle and Benoit made it the cool thing to do. He would later completely reinvent himself and became one of the top draws of the late days of World Championship Wrestling. He has worked for every major North American wrestling company of the modern era, as well as the top Japanese organizations. He has won numerous championships and has maintained a certain level of over-ness for many years. Scott Steiner is definitely considered a legitimate superstar in American pro wrestling.

The entire Top 100 Wrestlers feature can be found here.

66. TAZ

Real Name - Peter Senerchia
Aliases - Taz
Hometown - Red Hook, Brooklyn
Debuted - 1987
Retired - 2002
Titles Held - ECW Championship; WWE World Tag Team
Other Accomplishments - black belt in judo; does colour
commentary and hosting duties for WWE; was a trainer for Tough
Enough


When it comes to transitions from a decorated active in-ring wrestling career to a successful gig behind the desk as a commentator, Tazz is right up there with Jerry Lawler as far as guys who pulled it off. Unlike Lawler, however, Tazz had to completely reinvent himself in order to get where he is today. If you only started watching wrestling around 2000 or never had access to ECW during its prime, you probably know Tazz the color commentator, but you might not know Taz, easily one of the Top 100 Greatest Wrestlers of the Modern Era.

Peter Senerchia, the man who would be Taz(z), first broke into the wrestling business in 1987, wrestling in Puerto Rico under the name Kid Krush after training under future WWE Hall of Famer Johnny Rodz. Senerchia would spend the next five years as a journeyman abroad and on the U.S. independent circuit, settling into the gimmick of Tasmaniac, a wild brawler with a caveman look.

In 1993, the slightly-rechristened Tazmaniac landed in the Philadelphia-based Eastern Championship Wrestling, forming a team with veteran Kevin Sullivan. Once ECW made the shift to Extreme Championship Wrestling a few months later, Tazmaniac made the promotion is home base and he and Sullivan would win the World Tag Team title twice over the next year and he would also hold the Television championship for one night.

Sullivan left ECW in 1994 and his partner was left floundering in the mid-card, bouncing from one makeshift tag team to another. It wasn't until 1995 that ECW booker Paul Heyman decided he saw enough in Tazmaniac to team him with one of the promotions biggest stars: Sabu. With a similar "wildman" gimmick and suicidal aerial assault to contrast Tazmaniac's grounded brawling, Sabu made a perfect partner and the duo captured the Tag Team gold in February of 1995, though they'd hold it only a month before dropping the straps to Chris Benoit & Dean Malenko.

As the duo of Tazmaniac and Sabu geared up for a highly-anticipated three-way showdown for the titles with Benoit & Malenko and Public Enemy, Sabu made a decision that would alter both their careers forever: faced with a higher payday in Japan the same day as the three-way, Sabu walked out on ECW and was publicly fired in the ring by Heyman. Rick Steiner took Sabu's place in the match, which was won by Public Enemy, but the real story was the on-screen and off-screen fury of Tazmaniac, who was genuinely furious at Sabu for screwing over him and ECW.

Heyman encouraged Senerchia, who shortened his ring name to simply "Taz," to utilize this anger and frustration as part of his character, who went from a semi-goofy beast to ultra-intense and pissed off wrestling machine. In the midst of this transformation, Taz suffered a significant setback when he broke his neck in a tag team match pitting himself and Eddie Guerrero against Malenko & 2 Cold Scorpio, but he ended up using the injury as further motivation to cut more dynamite promos about how miserable and ticked off at the world he was.

Upon returning from his neck injury—which, by the way, after suffering he walked to the hospital under his own volition, not realizing the severity of the injury—Taz altered his image, shaving his head down to a buzz cut and adopting various black and orange amateur-style wrestling singlets as his in-ring attire. He changed up his offense as well, abandoning brawling tactics for crisp suplexes and submission holds that showcased his legitimate background in judo. It seemed that literally overnight the boorish Tazmaniac went from one of the most impressive hard-hitting technical wrestlers in the business and ECW fans took notice, throwing their support behind Taz.

And no sooner did Taz become one of ECW's most popular wrestlers then he spit in the fans' collective face, allying himself with hated former referee Bill Alfonso and cursing out the crowd for not supporting him during his injury. Taz' change of attitude towards the fans coincided perfectly with the November return of Sabu, who was immediately pardoned his past transgressions and hailed as the returning hero. Taz and Sabu were set on a perfect collision course that would not come to fruition for nearly a year and a half.

While Sabu loomed in the distance, Taz spent the rest of 1995 and 1996 dispatching every manner of opponent with relative ease, utilizing his new Tazmission finisher, in actuality a judo choke called the kata-hajime. Taz surrounded himself with a group of nameless protégés called "Team Taz," stalking to the ring with a towel over his head like a shootfighter or boxer while Alfonso blew his ever-present whistle at ringside. The likes of Chris Jericho, Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, 2 Cold Scorpio and even shootfighter Paul Varelans fell before Taz' "Path of Rage."

At the beginning of 1997, ECW made the announcement that fans had been wait to hear for over two years: the promotion's highly-anticipated first pay-per-view offering, Barely Legal, would feature the grudge match to end all grudge matches between Sabu and Taz. While it would be nearly impossible for the match to live up to its tremendous advance billing, the two wrestlers certainly gave it their all, putting on an intense battle that ended with Taz victorious via the Tazmission. The post-match shenanigans proved to be just as interesting as what had just happened as Sabu denied Taz a handshake and joined tag partner Van Dam as well as Alfonso—who had turned on his charge—in a beat down on the "Human Suplex Machine." The crowd turned quickly, booing the newly formed alliance and once again showering Taz with support.

Taz changed virtually nothing about his appearance or attitude—though he did drop Team Taz—but as a result of his feud with Alfonso and his hated charges became ECW's most popular attraction. Mirroring Steve Austin's similar surge in popularity in the WWF, Taz, like Austin, portrayed the type of anti-hero who sided with neither good nor evil that fans were getting behind as professional wrestling hit its boom period of the late 90's.

At Wrestlepalooza 1997 in June, Taz lost a rematch to Sabu, but immediately following the match challenged Television champion Shane Douglas to meet him in the ring and defeated "The Franchise" to claim the gold in under three minutes. While Sabu, Douglas, Terry Funk and Bam Bam Bigelow spent the summer and fall of 1997 trading the ECW World title like a hot potato, Taz established the Television belt as being on the same level in great matches with Chris Candido and others. Towards the end of the year, fans were calling loudly for Taz to receive a shot at the World title now held by Douglas.

However, in the winter of 1998 Taz ran into a massive roadblock in the form of Bigelow, Douglas' ally in the Triple Threat. Taz and Bigelow had a classic matchup at March's Living Dangerously punctuated by Bigelow falling backwards while hooked in the Tazmission and both men crashing through the ring mat. Bigelow emerged a moment later carrying Taz over his shoulder and pinned him for the TV title. Though Bigelow would quickly drop the belt to Van Dam, he and Taz met in a vicious rematch at Heatwave in the summer of 1998, and this time Taz put the big man through the stage before winning with the Tazmission as Douglas did play-by-play.

A few months prior to the Bigelow rematch, Taz openly aired his frustration at feeling that Douglas—who was out of action with a string of injuries—was ducking him and refusing to grant him a shot at the World title. In retaliation, Taz unveiled his own belt, the FTW (standing for "f--k the world," of course) Heavyweight title, which he declared "the real World title." Taz would defend the FTW title against all comers as he continued to campaign for a match with Douglas.

At the 1998 November to Remember, Taz teamed with unlikely allies Sabu and Van Dam, who had become wildly popular with ECW fans over the past year, to put down Douglas' Triple Threat team of himself, Bigelow and Candido. However, Sabu scored the pinfall on Douglas, which had the secondary effect of igniting the Taz-Sabu rivalry anew as Sabu was declared the number one contender for the World title. In an impromptu match several weeks later, Taz maimed Sabu and then pulled him on top of him, "losing" the FTW title in order to focus on Douglas and a title shot that now belonged to him as Sabu would not make it to Guilty As Charged 1999 due to injury.

Despite interference from Sabu, Taz defeated Douglas for the World title at the pay-per-view in a moment ECW fans had waited over a year for. A week later at the ECW Arena, Taz beat Douglas in a hotly-contested re-match to cement himself as a dominant champion and a month later at Living Dangerously, once again scored the win over Sabu in a bloodbath to end their feud once and for all and unify the ECW and FTW titles.

Taz was now officially the face of ECW and without much question the most popular World champion the promotion had ever had, but he faced a challenge bigger than Sabu in leading an ECW that was trying to forge ahead into the national marketplace despite losing many of its top stars. Douglas, Bigelow, The Sandman and many more followed former key players like Raven to WCW, leaving ECW's main event ranks depleted. Taz did his best to keep things strong on top, defending his belt against a variety of challengers from tag team specialist Bubba Ray Dudley to cruiserweight Yoshihiro Tajiri. Taz' hard work paid off as ECW secured a national TV deal for the first time in its history on TNN in the fall of 1999. However, the good news of the TNN deal came with bad, nearly unthinkable news: Taz was leaving ECW for the WWF.

Vince McMahon came to Taz in mid-1999 with an impressive cash offer and, feeling he had accomplished all he could in ECW as well as having a burgeoning family to support, the ECW World champion could not overlook such a generous deal. Paul Heyman, who had a working relationship with McMahon and the WWF, gave his champion his blessing to move on.

Taz exited ECW a true professional, putting over the company and its rising stars on his way out. He dropped the World title at Anarchy Rulz in September to newcomer Mike Awesome in a Three Way Dance also involving Japanese star Masato Tanaka. At the onset of the match, he heard the chants of "You sold out!" from the crowd, but conducted himself like a champion, ignoring the jeers and doing his job, and following his exit from the match and endorsement of Awesome as ECW's new standard-bearer, received a standing ovation from both the fans and the locker room as he embraced Heyman. Two months later at November to Remember, Taz lost to Van Dam in his final ECW match.

Two months later at the 2000 Royal Rumble, Tazz—with an extra "z" for luck—made a splash in his WWF debut, ending the undefeated streak of Olympic gold medalist Kurt Angle in Madison Square Garden. Tazz got over quickly with the WWF fans and had several matches with Angle and even one shot at The Rock, but in a crowded main event scene that had just gained several new performers from WCW, he was soon relegated to the mid-card Hardcore title picture.

In April of 2000, Tazz found himself in the bizarre position of making a brief return to ECW to defeat the man he had lost the ECW World title to and reclaim the belt, as Awesome had jumped ship for WCW and Heyman selected his former champion as the man he wanted to beat the deserter. Tazz appeared on WWF television sporting ECW World title belt and lost a non-title match to WWF World champion Triple H before dropping the strap to Tommy Dreamer at the ECW Arena and ending his nostalgia trip.

Upon his return to full-time WWF competition in the spring, Tazz seemed poise for breakout success as he targeted the Intercontinental title, but got derailed when he suffered an arm injury in a match against Chris Benoit. When he returned in the summer, WWF made the odd decision to repackage the popular Tazz as a heel and change his traditional singlet look to a more thug-like attire. The "new" Tazz floundered in a feud with Rikishi and ended the summer losing matches to semi-retired announcer Jerry Lawler.

The feud with Lawler dragged into the fall as Tazz recruited fellow ECW alumni Raven into a tag team which experienced little success. However, the Lawler feud had an unexpected side effect that may have saved Tazz' career, as injuries and difficulty adjusting to the WWF style—which forbade many of his flashier and more dangerous moves—had stalled him: he started doing some announcing. In an effort to prove himself Lawler's equal, Tazz began commentating alongside Michael Cole on WWF's Smackdown and Sunday Night Heat program with surprising success as his sense of humor and expert knowledge made him a great color analyst.

Ironically, Tazz, known so much more for his actions than his words in ECW, became a success in the WWF by talking. His announcing job provided new popularity and he began to taper his active wrestling schedule, but when he would step in the ring on rare occasions, such as teaming with the A.P.A. to defeat the dastardly Right to Censor at Wrestlemania XVII in 2001, he was cheered resoundingly.

Just as Tazz was building decent momentum as a commentator and part-time wrestler, he was once again yanked back over to being an active wrestler an a heel as a result of the Invasion angle dominating the WWF for the summer and fall of 2001 and ECW sympathizers needed to join that faction. Many decried the loss of credibility suffered by the one time dominant World champion during this period as he suffered multiple browbeatings from Alliance leader Steve Austin and generally looked ineffectual. An eleventh hour rebellion against former boss and heel Heyman got Tazz back some of his credibility, but the door seemed to have shut for good on his chances to be taken seriously as an active competitor.

Luckily, there was still room for Tazz behind the microphone, as after one last shot at glory briefly holding the WWF World Tag Team titles with Spike Dudley in early 2002, he again backed off in-ring work and returned to the Smackdown announce booth. Over the next three years, the odd couple of Tazz and Cole established themselves as a rough around the edges but fun alternative to their Raw counterparts and built up a devoted fan following.

In the summer of 2005, WWE elected to utilize the ECW trademarks they had acquired after the company went bankrupt as well as the numerous former ECW performers they had on the roster and could employ on a one shot basis to put on a reunion show called One Night Stand. During the build to the event, many WWE wrestlers banded together in protest of ECW's revival, notably Kurt Angle, who attacked his old rival Tazz on Smackdown the week of the show. At the conclusion of One Night Stand, Steve Austin and the ECW contingent ran rampant over the WWE "crusaders" and Tazz emerged to his old music to the delight of the fiercely pro-ECW crowd to choke out Angle and for just a moment transport fans back to the late 90's.

A year later, WWE announced that in addition to a second One Night Stand, ECW would be returning as a third brand with its own show on the Sci Fi Network. Tazz jumped ship from Smackdown to serve as the fledgling program's color analyst alongside original ECW play-by-play commentator Joey Styles. At One Night Stand, Tazz soundly defeated the vocally anti-ECW Jerry Lawler, avenging his losses to "The King" several years earlier, and settled into his new chair where he remains to this day.

For the wrestler he was, the personality is, and for his awesome "Mets Rant" segment on New York's 1050 ESPN radio, we induct Taz(z), a talented pro with a knack for reinvention, as one of our Top 100.

65. CHRISTOPHER DANIELS

Real Name - Daniel Covell
Aliases - Curry Man; Fallen Angel
Hometown - Fayetteville, North Carolina
Debuted - April 1993
Titles Held - NWA World Tag Team; TNA X Division;
ROH World Tag Team
Other Accomplishments - only wrestler to win ECWA Super 8
Tournament twice, in 2000 and 2004; was offered WCW contract in
2001 but Vince McMahon's buy-out meant the deal fell through;
avid comic book fan


In the mid '90s a group of guys named Benoit, Malenko, Guerrero & Jericho were making their names world wide and on the US independent circuit. It was until early into the new millennium when a new group of talent stepped up and out to become the standard bearers for independent wrestling.

"The Fallen Angel" Christopher Daniels was one of the leaders of that new class of talent. He has been heralded as one of the founding fathers of Ring of Honor and a staple of Total Non-stop Action since its inception over five years ago.

But before there was a TNA or ROH, Daniels toiled through the independents. He originally made his mark in Windy City Pro Wrestling before expanding to independents throughout the country. He had success in virtually every indy fed he passed through.

His time in Japan has also brought great success, including Championship reigns in Zero-One MAX, New Japan and Michinoku Pro. His Japanese appearances are also accentuated by the appearance of Daniels' "friend" Curry Man. The masked alter ego of Daniels is said to be his own favorite persona and is a big hit in the Far East.

He has had brief stops in both the WWF (as the doppelganger for Christian's Conquistador Dos), and in WCW where he wrestled Michael Modest in a tryout match. The punch line was that he and Modest were offered WCW contracts, only for the company to be bought by the WWF weeks later and he was out of a job.

In early 2002 Ring of Honor opened its doors and Daniels was called upon to be one of the new company's top acts. He main evented the inaugural show and became one of ROH's biggest heels, as he refused to follow the group's "Code of Honor." This led to the formation of "The Prophecy," ROH's first stable.

A few months later Daniels joined the fledgling NWA-TNA group when it started up. He soon found himself in the group XXX with Elix Skipper and Low Ki. The trio won the NWA World Tag Team Championships and defended them using the patented "Freebird rule."

Daniels split his time between the two groups before leaving ROH for a year-and-a-half due to the "Rob Feinstein incident."

By 2005, Daniels was hitting on all cylinders. He had returned to ROH and was making waves in TNA, thanks to his legendary three-way feud with AJ Styles and Samoa Joe. After their feud had died down he formed a team with Styles that reinvented TNA's tag team scene.

Currently Daniels is working fairly exclusively for TNA and has recently reformed the XXX stable with Skipper and Low Ki. He has amassed two ROH World Tag Championship reigns, six NWA World Tag Titles and three NWA-TNA X-Division Championships.

He is easily TNA's most underrated and under-utilized talent. He helped bring Ring of Honor to the forefront, using his talents to make the promotion a legitimate entity and not just another fly-by-night independent promotion. Chris Jericho said in his book that those who know how to do job their well in wrestling often end up doing the job. That statement defines "The Fallen Angel" to a "T." Christopher Daniels has never won a World Championship and isn't a mainstream wrestling attraction. He is here because of his superb athletic ability and innovativeness in the wrestling ring. He isn't the "big man on campus" that draws all the attention, but sometimes it's worth it to just honor those who do their job, and do it well.

64. BARRY WINDHAM

Aliases - The Stalker; The Widow Maker; Blackjack Windham; Blackjack Mulligan Jr.
Hometown - Sweetwater, Texas
Debut - 1981
Titles Held - NWA Heavyweight; WCW Television; NWA Tag Team; NWA United States Tag Team; TCW Heavyweight; WWF Tag Team
Other Accomplishments - former Horseman; Wrestling
Observer's Rookie of the Year in 1980; PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year award in 1982; PWI ranked him #14 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the year in the PWI 500 in 1991; PWI ranked him # 35 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003; PWI ranked him #48 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Mike Rotunda; PWI ranked him # 87 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Dustin Rhodes; PWI ranked him # 90 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI Years" with Lex Luger; Wrestling Observer Rookie Of The Year 1980; Match Of The Year 1986 (With Ric Flair)

When I think of Barry Windham I think of his classic Five Star outing with Ric Flair from 1987 and his excellent matches as a partner of Dustin Rhodes in 1992. Whether as a singles performer or half of a tag team Barry Windham has always been one of the greatest wrestlers in history.

Windham ranks very highly in my list of favourite wrestlers because of his tremendous speed and technical prowess. An athlete's athlete in his prime, Windham could wrestler for 10 minutes or an hour depending on his opponent and always had the ability to pull a weaker opponent up to his level. Windham is one of the few wrestlers to have been a major star in both the WWF and NWA during the big wrestling boom of the 1980's, having reigns with both the WWF and NWA tag team championships within the space of a few years, and also one of the honoured few to have had his name in the lineage of the NWA Heavyweight Championship.

Windham's run in the WWF in the mid 80's was his first crack at national exposure. He formed a formidable team with Mike Routundo known as The US Express and together they held the WWF Tag Team Championships. The duo is perhaps best known for losing their titles to The Iron Shiek and Nikolai Volkoff at the inaugural Wrestlemania, only to win them back a few weeks later in impressive fashion. Despite success in the WWF, Windham was openly critical of the "Rock 'N' Wrestling" approach that the company was taking. Being more of a wrestling purist, Windham and Routundo lost the championships to the combination of Brutus Beefcake and Greg Valentine before jumping back to the NWA to take part in, what can only be described as, two of the greatest wrestling matches of the 80's.

Ric Flair and Barry Windham had unbelievable chemistry together. Far above the "broomstick" level of Flair's other opponents, Windham and Flair clicked together like few opponents before them and tore wrestling arena's apart with their energetic matches and angles. Windham and Flair's time limit draw from January 20th 1987 still remains as one of my all time favourite matches. Without a doubt this match is an unquestionable ***** encounter and any wrestling fan has to see this match at least once, It's THAT good. At the risk of causing a flame war, I would put it above the Randy Savage Vs Ricky Steamboat collision for MOTY 1987. As you can see, my praise of this match is endless. For many, this was Windham's defining moment as a singles star, and judging by the match quality, that might not be too far fetched. The match itself was a wonderful mixture of mat wrestling and counter wrestling. The 60 minutes literally fly by and you just want more as the final bell tolls.

Windham's push up the card continued throughout 1988 as he shockingly turned heel to align himself with Flair and The Horsemen. The turn shuck the NWA and again proved that Windham was a powerful commodity to the company. His hot feud with Dusty Rhodes dominated the summer of 88 and he continued to inch his way to major singles stardom. However, around 1990, Windham got stuck back wrestling in a tag team with various partners. The height of his tag teaming, at least in my eyes, would be his teaming with Dustin Rhodes in 1992. Windham and Rhodes teamed up against various combinations of The Dangerous Alliance, having awesome match after awesome match, including probably the best War Games ever at Wrestle War 92 but Windham soon turned heel again and ascended to the level that he'd been built up to for nearly 7 years. Barry Windham was finally going to become NWA World Champion!

Windham's NWA Championship reign couldn't have started in a worse way. At WCW Super Brawl III Windham faced defending champion The Great Muta for the right to be called champion. Unfortunately, Muta and Windham contested a drab match, spent mostly in a side headlock, that killed the hot North Carolina crowd and really didn't live up to either man's lofty standards at the time. What should have been the culmination of Windham's career and the greatest night of his life, ended up being a big let down. However, Windham showed his ability to rebound and contested a number of exciting title defences from that point, including an amazing match with Too Cold Scorpio at the Clash of the Champions XXIII.

Windham's reign as NWA Champion was ended at the hands of NWA Legend Ric Flair at Beach Blast 93. The match wasn't up to the standard of their classic battles of the past, and Windham entered to what can be considered as the darkest years of his wrestling career. Windham seemingly fell off the face of the earth and his days as a major contender for World Championships seemed over. Windham resurfaced in the WWF in 1996 with stupid gimmick after gimmick. Amazingly, characters like The Stalker and The New Blackjacks didn't rejuvenate his career and Windham was a shell of his former self. The glory days were all but over and seeing Windham deteriorate in front of everyone's eyes was heart breaking. However, Windham had one more ace up his sleeve and again showed that he could always rebound when things looked most bleak.

Windham came back to WCW in late 98 and formed a team with Curt Hennig. The two had instant chemistry and had a set of tremendous matches with Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko. Their match at Uncensored 99 in particular was an excellent **** encounter by my book and Windham showed signs of his old self, holding his own with the Horsemen like he'd never missed a beat. Windham and Hennig then joined up with Bobby Duncam Junior and Kendall Windham to form the exceedingly funny and entertaining West Texas Rednecks. The group spent most of their time announcing their hatred for rap music and singing very funny country songs, which won them many a brownie point with me as I happen to hate rap music and love funny country songs. The group, despite being massively over in the south, were soon misused and buried like everything else WCW ever came up with that had potential to get over and the group was killed off with a whimper.

After The Rednecks untimely demise, Windham eased himself into semi-retirement in Dusty Rhodes Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling and continued to have some great matches. Windham these days is pretty much fully retired as an in ring performer and works in production for the WWE. Windham remains one of the 80's greatest wrestlers and still showed flashes of his old brilliance long after that time. From his incredible highs to his shattering lows, Barry Windham has carved himself a legacy that will live on in the minds of wrestling purists for years to come. I'm glad that we've taken the time here on the Pulse to recognise his talents.

63. JUSHIN "THUNDER" LIGER

Real Name - Keiichi Yamada
Aliases - Flying Fuji Yamada; Jyushin Liger; Jushin Kishin Liger
Hometown - Hiroshima, Japan
Debuted - March 3, 1984
Titles Held - Britain World Heavy-Middleweight (2x) ; New Japan IWGP Junior Heavyweight (11x) ;
WCW World Light Heavyweight ; Michinoku Pro British Commonwealth Junior Heavyweight (2x) ; WAR International Junior Heavyweight Tag Team (with El Samurai); NWA World Welterweight; UWA World Light Heavyweight; UWA World Junior Light Heavyweight ; WWA World Junior Light Heavyweight; WAR International Junior Heavyweight: New Japan IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team (4x, partners were Great Sasuke, El Samurai, Minoru Tanaka, and Koji Kanemoto); Osaka Pro-Wrestling Tag Team; Pro Wrestling NOAH GHC Junior Heavyweight; Dragon Gate Open the Dream Gate; G1 Junior Tag League (with El Samurai)
Other Accomplishments - Winner of the 1995 Super J-Cup; Winner of the 2000 Super J-Cup; inventor of the Shooting Star Press; Named Top of the Super Juniors in New Japan in 1992; Named Best of the Super Juniors in New Japan in 1994 and 2001; Wrestling Observer Hall of Fame member 1994; Winner of Wrestling Observer Match of the Year award in 1990; Winner of Wrestling Observer Most Outstanding Wrestler award in 1990, 1991, and 1992; Winner of Wrestling Observer Best Technical Wrestler Award in 1989, 1990, 1991, and 1992; Winner of Wrestling Observer Best Flying Wrestler award 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, and 1993; Wrestling Observer Rookie of the Year 1984 (tied with Tom Zenk); captained Team Japan in TNA's World X Cup in 2006


Keiichi Yamada had wrestling dreams early in life. After amateur wrestling in high school, he applied to join the New Japan school of wrestling. He was rejected because at 5'7", he did not meet their minimum height requirements.

What a difference a few years makes.

Undeterred, Yamada headed to Mexico for training. While doing so, New Japan officials found him nearly starving. They took pity on him and brought him back to Japan for training. His first match was in December of 1984. During this time Yamada also began studying martial arts, which resulted in the creation of his famed Rolling Koppu Kick.

In 1986 Yamada headed to England, where he was billed as Flying Fuji Yamada. His tenure was not long as he soon returned to New Japan with a new finishing maneuver, the Shooting Star Press. Apparently Yamada had been reading the Fist of the North Star manga and had come up with the move.

In 1989 Yamada's travels took him to Calgary, where he competed as Keiichi Yamada for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling, as well as training sessions in the infamous Dungeon.

Later in the year Yamada returned to Japan. New Japan had contacted him due to wanting someone to appear as the title character from the Jushin Liger manga. New Japan had previously seen enormous success with placing Satoru Sayama under the mask of the lead from Tiger Mask.

To say the gimmick was successful would be a huge understatement. As can be seen above in Liger's list of awards, once Yamada donned the brightly-colored gear of Jushin Liger, the world began to take notice. Liger also soon rose to the top of the New Japan light heavyweight ranks.

In 1991, the high-flying Liger made his US debut for WCW, where he faced Brian Pillman. In an odd coincidence, Liger vs. Pillman would also be the first match ever aired on WCW Nitro's debut program four years later.

On Christmas of 1991, Liger defeated Pillman to become the second WCW Light Heavyweight champion. Pillman recaptured the gold the following February at the second Superbrawl.

In 1994, Liger began making plans for a 16-man junior's tournament that would become known as the Super J-Cup, which was eventually hosted by New Japan. Liger did not win the tournament that year. He defeated Hayabusa and Ricky Fuji before he was eliminated in the semifinals by the Great Sasuke.

Liger was undeterred and won a bye to the quarterfinals in the 1995 tournament, hosted by WAR. There he defeated Gran Naniwa, Ultimo Dragon, and Gedo to win the tournament in an event that helped to establish his dominance in the Japanese pro-wrestling scene.

The next year Liger was diagnosed with a brain tumor. While he recovered, he did lose the hearing in one ear. Liger also began to change his wrestling style after the diagnosis. Liger had always been known as a high flyer, but now he began to utilize more ground-based maneuvers to ease the strain on his body.

1996 was also notable for the debut of a new Liger persona. While Liger's name had evolved with the character in the Jushin Liger manga (from Liger to Fire Liger to Thunder Liger), this change was remarkable. Liger was facing the Great Muta on October 10 of that year when Muta tore off Liger's mask. Liger tried to fight back while still keeping his face shielded from view. Muta left the ring and grabbed a chair. When he returned, Liger stood up, revealing that his face was painted totally white and spit mist into Muta's face. Liger then tore his suit open to reveal that his chest was painted as well and fought in a more aggressive style for the remainder of the match. This version of Liger would come to be known as Kishin Liger.

2000 saw the return of the Super J-Cup, now being promoted by Michinoku Pro. In this tournament, Liger defeated Tiger Mask IV, Men's TEIOH, Gran Hamada, and CIMA to win the tournament for the second time.

Liger entered the world of shootfighting in 2002. He faced off against Minoru Suzuki for Pancrase in a match after Suzuki's original opponent pulled out. Liger missed a Rolling Koppu kick, which allowed Suzuki to mount him. Suzuki rained down blows on Liger before switching to a choke, which forced Liger to tap out less than two minutes into the first round. This was Liger's only MMA-style match.

2004 saw Liger return to American shores for Ring of Honor. In his first match he defeated Bryan Danielson. The next night Liger teamed with Samoa Joe to take on Danielson and Low-Ki. Liger pinned Danielson with a Liger Bomb.

At the 2005 Bound for Glory pay-per-view, Liger made his TNA debut in a losing effort against Samoa Joe. Liger was scheduled to take on Christopher Daniels at the 2006 Lockdown but pulled out after learning that it would take place within a steel cage, which was an environment that Liger was unfamiliar with. Many suspect that Liger pulled out because he was unfamiliar with the cage and was concerned he would put on a poor match.

Liger returned not long thereafter as he led Team Japan in the 2006 World X-Cup tournament. He wound up pulling out Japan's only win in the tournament as he defeated Team Canada's Petey Williams at the Sacrifice PPV.

In 2007, Liger headed to Dragon Gate, where he defeated Don Fujii to win the Open the Dream Gate title on March 25th. He held the title until July 1, when he lost the belt to CIMA.

Liger is currently also still competing in New Japan, where he leads the CTU (Control Terrorism Unit) faction which consists of Hirooki Goto, Minoru Tanaka, Black Tiger IV, Gedo, Jado, and Prince Devitt. James Gibson (WWE's Jamie Noble) was also a brief member.

At age 43, Liger is still one of the most respected Junior Heavyweights in the world. Liger helped to push the Japanese light heavyweight style into the public eye in the late 1980's, and helped popularize it in America during the 90's by competing against top-level competitors like Pillman, Rey Misterio Jr., and Ricky Steamboat. In addition, his creation of the Super J-Cup has helped many young puro wrestlers make their mark on the Japanese wrestling scene. For all of his accomplishments, Jushin Liger has definitely earned his place on this list of the top 100 wrestlers of the modern era.

62. CHRIS ADAMS

Hometown - Rugby, England
Debuted - June 1978
Titles Held - WCCW American Heavyweight x3; WCCW Television x3; WCCW Six Man Tag Team (with Jake Roberts and Gino Hernandez); WCCW American Tag Team (with Gino Hernandez) x2; WWF Light Heavyweight; WCWA World Heavyweight; GWF North American x2; NWA Americas Heavyweight; NWA Americas Tag Team x2 (with Tom Prichard and Ringo Rigsby); NWA Los Angeles Beat the Champ Television; UWF World Tag Team (with Terry Taylor); WCWA Six Man Tag Team (with Steve Simpson and Kevin Von Erich)
Other Accomplishments - trained the likes of Scott Hall and Steve Austin; died 7th October 2001 from a gunshot wound; went to 1976 Olympics as part of the Great Britain judo squad

Chris Adams's early life never showed that he was going to become a professional wrestler. By the age of 11, he had begun taking judo lessons. Judo would dominate his sports life for the next 24 years along with rugby, cricket, soccer, and amateur wrestling. At the age of 21, Adams was on the British Olympic judo team, although he would not be chosen to compete. He would also become a three-time national judo champion as well as a black belt. Adams would return to the Olympics in 1980 and 1984, although both times he was there to support his brother Neil (who won a silver medal in 1980) and also as a consultant to the 1984 team.

In 1978 he began wrestling despite having no formal training after seeing wrestling footage of the Dynamite Kid. He competed in England for two years as Judo Chris Adams, encountering such famed British competitors as Fit Finlay, Davey Boy Smith, and the Dynamite Kid.

1980 saw Adams making his way to the NWA: Hollywood territory run by Mike and Gene LeBell, who were well-known in the judo world. Adams's first US title win would come here - on February thirteenth he teamed with Tom Prichard to win the vacant NWA Americas Tag Team titles. They would hold the belts for a month exactly before losing them to Rick and John Davidson. About this same time Adams won his first singles gold - the Beat the Champ television title. It was on October first of that year that Adams defeated Perro Aguayo (Sr.) to win the WWF Light Heavyweight title. He would lose the belt back to Aguayo in December.

In early 1982 Adams teamed with Ringo Rigsby to win the NWA Americas tag belts for the final time (Adrian Street and Timothy Flowers won them in May). Late 1982 saw Adams winning the NWA Americas Heavyweight title as the territory was dying. Adams lost the belt to El Monarca in early November. The company closed the day after Christmas.

In 1983, Adams headed to the territory which would make him famous - Fritz Von Erich's World Class Championship Wrestling. Adams debuted on April 13th (after a sit-down interview with WCCW TV host Bill Mercer) and immediately was catapulted to become one of the company's top faces. Introduced as Kevin's pen pal and even named an honorary Von Erich, the fans quickly fell in love with Adams.

Although Adams's first feud was against the Mongol (who he'd encountered in Don Owen's Portland territory), his primary opponent soon became Jimmy Garvin. Garvin's managers (Sunshine and Precious) soon entered the fray as well, resulting in several mixed tag matches. Adams (wrestling as the mysterious Masked Avenger) finally defeated Garvin in an October match to win a shot at Garvin's NWA American Heavyweight title (WCCW's primary belt at the time). Adams made the most of his opportunity and captured the belt from Garvin on November 24th. Garvin recaptured the gold on Christmas Day. January 30th saw Adams taking the belt back, only to lose it to Garvin again April 2nd. The rest of the month of April would see Adams recapture the belt yet again and lose it back to Garvin again. In addition, Sunshine (who had been taking the blame for Garvin's losses) had grown tired of Garvin's antics and begun managing Adams. The feud concluded on July 4, when Adams defeated Garvin in a loser leaves town match.

Ironically, Adams also began only appearing sporadically for the company during this time due to his commitments to the Olympic judo team.

Adams returned full-time in August, but there was a change in him. Adams, a babyface, hired a new manager - Gary Hart - a heel. The Von Erichs pleaded with Adams to drop Hart but he refused.

Things came to a boiling point in September. Adams was tagging with Kevin Von Erich against Jake Roberts and Gino Hernandez. By this point, Sunshine had left the company and her truck driving aunt Stella Mae French was filling her shoes. Stella Mae tried to interfere in the match only to give Hernandez the pin over Adams. After the match, Adams and Hart started yelling at Stella Mae. Kevin came over to try and smooth things over only to get superkicked by Adams for his trouble. In addition, Hart knocked Stella Mae out. Adams and Hart then left Kevin to get double-teamed by Roberts and Hernandez.

Kevin and Adams had a one-on-one match set for the October 27 Cotton Bowl Extravaganza. Before the match, Kevin got the microphone and made Adams a deal - shake his hand and fire Gary Hart and all would be forgiven. Adams attacked Kevin and would wind up losing the match. Afterward Adams attacked Kevin with a wooden chair. Kevin (who suffered a legitimate concussion) was stretchered out while the crowd nearly rioted.

Adams returned in the main event, where he tagged with Gino Hernandez and Jake Roberts against Kerry Von Erich, Mike Von Erich, and Bobby Fulton of the Fantastics (who was subbing for Kevin). Adams, Roberts, and Hernandez won the match to capture the WCCW Six Man Tag Team titles. Kevin, Kerry, and Mike would recapture the belts in December after the feud between Adams and Kevin was ended quickly (Kevin assaulted Adams with a chair the next month. The chair broke and a piece of wood lodged in Adams's nose dangerously close to his eye).

Early 1985 saw Adams firing Gary Hart, but maintaining his heelish ways. Adams became an unusual heel in that he wasn't above cheating, but he was also respectful to the broadcasters and the fans.

Later that year, Adams formed a tag team with Hernandez known as the Dynamic Duo. The two quickly became an iconic tag team from World Class and feuded regularly with the team of Kevin and Kerry Von Erich.

May 5th saw another memorable World Class moment occur. A two-ring twelve man match pitted the Fabulous Freebirds and the Von Erichs against the Duo, Rip Oliver, Kamala, Dr. Death Steve Williams, and the One Man Gang. The winning team would receive a new Cadillac. The Freebirds and Von Erichs won the match. Afterward, Hernandez and Adams led a charge by the heels that destroyed the car.

In June the Duo defeated the Fantastics to win the American Tag Team titles. September 13th saw the belts held up after a match with the Von Erich brothers which had an unclear finish. Kevin and Kerry won the belts a month later, and then saw the belts held up again in October. A November 11th rematch saw the belts return to the Duo.

Along the way, Adams and Hernandez had also begun cutting their opponents' hair, which led to a hair vs. hair match at the October Cotton Bowl show. Adams and Hernandez were defeated by Kevin and Kerry Von Erich and were shaved bald after the match. The two wore masks until their hair grew back out, but cracks soon began to appear in the partnership.

December 24th saw Adams and Hernandez defending their titles against the masked Cosmic Cowboys, who soon unmasked to reveal the Von Erich brothers (who Adams and Hernandez had denied a title shot earlier). Toward the end of the match, Adams was desperate to tag Hernandez in, but Hernandez wouldn't accept the tag. Adams threw Kevin over the top rope (a DQ, but they retained the belts), then walked over and slapped Hernandez in the face. Adams then stormed away.

Hernandez had an interview with Marc Lowrance shortly thereafter, where he explained that he'd knocked Adams out and now everything was fine. When Adams came out, Hernandez started backtracking. After Lowrance filled him in on what was said, Adams attacked.

On January 27th, a hair vs. hair match was set between the former partners (the belts had been abandoned when the two split. This was also the time period where WCCW was splitting away from the NWA and renaming itself the WCWA). This time, rather than shaving, the loser would lose his hair via the dreaded Freebird Hair Cream. Adams rapidly took control of the match but kept refusing to pin Hernandez, instead wanting to inflict more punishment. As Adams argued with the referee, Hernandez grabbed the hair cream and threw it into Adams's face. Adams won the match, but the price was high, as the fans were informed he had been blinded.

The original plan was for Adams to take some time off in England, then return to continue the feud with Hernandez. Those plans never materialized as Hernandez's body was found in his apartment on February 4th. The cause of death was eventually ruled an accidental overdose. However, before the final ruling was made, Scotland Yard did question Adams about the death.

Adams returned in May, now wearing an eye patch following his blinding. (Adams was also competing for Gary Hart's Texas All-Star Wrestling in San Antonio where he did not wear the eye patch.) Adams was booked into a feud with World champion Rick Rude. The feud culminated at the July 4th Star Wars where Adams defeated Rude to win the title.

Adams did not have a long run with the belt. He was arrested for allegedly assaulting a pilot on a flight back from the Caribbean, and was sentenced to four months in prison. World Class severed ties with Adams, and announced a phantom title swap to Black Bart.

After Adams was released, he headed to Bill Watts's Universal Wrestling Federation. Adams soon began tagging with Terry Taylor, and the two entered a tournament to crown new tag team champions in February of 1987 (the belts had been vacated after Taylor's former partner, Jim Duggan, had lost a loser-leaves-town match). They won, defeating Sting and Rick Steiner in the finals. They lost the belts to Sting and Steiner in April and began feuding with each other.

Adams also renewed his feud with Black Bart. They spent the summer trading victories at major shows - Bart won at the June Superbowl Extravaganza, and Adams won at the NWA's Great American Bash that summer.

Adams returned to World Class after the UWF was purchased by the NWA in November. He once again allied with the Von Erichs and the Simpson Brothers as they fought off the newest incarnation of the Freebirds (Terry Gordy, Buddy Roberts, Iceman King Parsons, and the Angel of Death).

In late 1988, Adams opened a school for training wrestlers which operated out of the Sportatorium. While Adams had been training on and off since 1984, now he was doing it on a more permanent basis. In 1989, Steve Williams was one of his first students. Today, Williams is best known as Stone Cold Steve Austin.

In 1990 (after World Class had been absorbed by the USWA), Adams again found himself in a mixed tag feud. This time it was himself and his wife Toni facing off against Steve Austin and Adams's ex-wife (and Austin's current wife) Jeannie. The feud also pulled in Adams's friend Chris Von Erich and Austin's manager Percy Pringle.

By the end of 1990, World Class was completely gone. The USWA had pulled out of Dallas and the Von Erichs had attempted to run WCCW shows again only to shut down completely in November. Adams teamed with Norman Smiley in December for Starrcade's Pat O'Connor Memorial International Tag Team Tournament. Adams and Smiley were eliminated in the first round by Konnan and Rey Misterio Sr.

1991 saw Adams being put on probation for DUIs before he returned to Dallas, this time for the new Global Wrestling Federation. He also competed for the Tennessee-based USWA, where he feuded with Brian Christopher over Toni Adams's affections.

Adams returned to the familiar field of tag-team wrestling in the GWF, as he and Kerry Von Erich began teaming. Their team ended forever in February of 1993 when Kerry committed suicide.

In April, a memorial show was held in honor of Kerry Von Erich. Adams teamed with Kevin Von Erich to take on Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts in what was billed as the final match ever between the Von Erichs and the Freebirds. Fritz Von Erich was in Adams and Kevin's corner, while General Skandor Akbar was managing the Freebirds. In the end Fritz locked Akbar in the Iron Claw while Kevin applied the same move to Roberts in the ring. Outside, Hayes and Rod Price attacked Adams until the Angel of Death ran in for the save. This would also be Fritz's last appearance in a wrestling match.

In December of 1993 Adams defeated Iceman King Parsons for the GWF North American title. In September he had lost a match against Parsons to crown a new champion (former champion Rod Price had been stripped of the title after an incident on a Japanese tour). Adams held the belt until April, when Price regained the title.

As the GWF began dying, the belt was held up following a controversial match between Price and Butch Reed on June 3rd. Follow-up matches also ended in controversy. Adams regained the title on July 1st. He would be the final GWF champion as the company shut down two months later.

After the GWF shutdown, Adams began splitting his time between two short-lived companies. The first was Jim Crockett Jr.'s attempt at reviving the Dallas territory under the NWA banner (which closed in May of 1995). The other was the unusual American Wrestling Federation.

The AWF promoted shows where matches were fought under European rules. The company was headquartered in Chicago and featured bouts with four minute rounds that had a one minute rest period between rounds. After three rounds (twelve for title matches) the decision went to cards held by two ringside judges and the referee to decide the winner. As one of the few men on the roster with any sort of familiarity with these rules, Adams's assistance was invaluable.

The AWF had a television program that ran throughout 1995 and 1996 called Warriors of Wrestling. They were heading toward their first pay-per-view when the company closed in December of 1996.

Adams made his way to WCW in 1998 as a lower card wrestler. He feuded with Glacier over who had the better superkick as well as a feud with Mr. World Class Chip Minton, a name Adams (according to the storyline) felt disrespected the WCCW legacy. Adams also has the dubious honor of losing the first match that ever aired on Thunder (to Randy Savage).

In 1999, Adams was teamed with fellow Britons Steven Regal and Dave Taylor as the Blue Bloods. However, Regal and Adams did not get along (reportedly due to Adams's flaunting of his wild lifestyle around Regal, who was trying to escape his own addictions) and Adams was removed from the team. After this, Adams requested his release and received it later in the year.

Adams's life began spiraling downward shortly thereafter. In April of 2000, Adams and his girlfriend were both found unconscious after overdosing on alcohol and GHB. Adams recovered, but his girlfriend did not survive. Adams was charged with manslaughter, but would never stand trial.

On October 7, 2001 a drunken Chris Adams was in a barroom brawl with his best friend. The man, fearful for his life, pulled a gun and fired, killing Adams. At the time, Adams was preparing to begin working with Ted DiBiase's WXO wrestling organization.

Former WCCW producer Mickey Grant is currently completing a documentary of Adams's life which will be called "The Gentleman's Choice."

Despite Adams's turbulent personal life, Adams was a great technician and his knowledge of judo could assist in some unorthodox offense. It could be argued that he shone brightest in World Class, where he was consistently at the top of the card whether he was alone or teaming with Gino Hernandez. Sadly, however, Adams's personal demons consistently hindered his career.

Adams's longest standing contribution, however, may very well be his training of Steve Austin. Austin helped rejuvenate the WWF in 1996 and 1997, and the aftermath of his Wrestlemania XIV main event against Shawn Michaels propelled the ratings for the WWF's Raw past WCW's Nitro for the first time in two years. In addition, Adams had a hand in training Scott Hall, who, as one of the Outsiders, gave WCW the momentum it needed to start defeating the WWF in those very same ratings.

For his contributions to the wrestling business, both in the ring and behind the scenes, Gentleman Chris Adams has definitely earned his place on this list of the top 100 wrestlers of the modern era.

61. CHRISTIAN CAGE

Real Name - William Jason Reso
Aliases - Captain Charisma
Hometown - Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
Debuted - June 1993
Titles Held - NWA World Heavyweight; WWE
Intercontinental; WWE World Tag Team
Other Accomplishments - attended Orangeville District
Secondary School with Adam "Edge" Copeland; chose to leave WWE in
October 2005 to jump to rival TNA; won WWF Light Heavyweight Title in his debut WWF match against Taka Michinoku in 1998


And they all said that he would be the Marty Jannetty of the pair.

For the past 15 years or so whenever a prominent tag team breaks up they are instantly compared to the Rockers. Which one will become Shawn Michaels? Which one will become Marty Jannetty? When the "suicide blondes" Edge and Christian went their separate ways instantly everyone decreed that Edge would be the superstar and Christian would be the after thought.

The man known as "Captain Charisma" and later "the Instant Classic" has definitely made his mark in the world of professional wrestling and proved the critics wrong.

He came up in the wrestling business in the mid '90s with other future stars like Rhyno, Don Callis and future "brother" Edge on the Canadian independent circuit working as Christian Cage, an apparent tribute name to actors Christian Slater and Nicholas Cage.

Cage's big break came in 1998 when he was signed to the World Wrestling Federation and was called up to the main roster in October. He debuted simply as "Christian" and won the now-defunct Light Heavyweight Championship in his "debut" match from Taka Michinoku at the Judgment Day PPV. He spent the rest of 1998 and most of 1999 working with Edge and Gangrel in the Brood and later in the Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness.

However, it was during the fall of 1999 when Christian and his partner Edge met Matt & Jeff Hardy that things really got good for our hero. The two teams redefined the ladder match and their careers skyrocketed because of it. When the combination of The Dudley Boyz was added to the mix in 2000, tag team wrestling was brought to a height it hadn't been it at in years, and Christian was right at the front of it.

In late 2001, Christian went solo, feuding with Edge as well as picking up Intercontinental, European and Hardcore Championship gold along the way. But it was in 2004 with his now trademark short hair, a deliciously evil-hot Trish Stratus by his side and top card run against Chris Jericho that he truly became a break-out star.

In the fall of 2005, Christian did "the unthinkable;" he left World Wrestling Entertainment when his contract was up, on his own terms. He, now going as his old name of "Christian Cage," showed up in Total Non-stop Action shortly thereafter and instantly made an "impact" (pardon the pun.) Within months he was the NWA World Heavyweight Champion and one of TNA's top draws. By the summer of 2006 was back to his old entertaining heel ways and started to amass a "Coalition," including his old WWE running buddy Tyson Tomko and AJ Styles. He also picked up a second NWA Heavyweight Championship reign this past spring.

Currently Christian Cage is still a top card draw for TNA Wrestling and is a threat to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at any time.

60. MAGNUM TA

Real Name - Terry Allen
Aliases - Jesse James
Hometown - Chesapeake, Virginia
Debuted - 1977
Retired - 1986
Titles Held - NWA United States; Mid-South North
American
Other Accomplishments - car crash on 14th October 1986 forced
early retirement; now owns a cell phone tower company as well as
working in real estate


The story of Magnum T.A. may be the greatest unfinished tale in the history of professional wrestling. For his contributions to the National Wrestling Alliance specifically and wrestling in general in the mid-80's, Magnum belongs on any list of the Top 100 Wrestlers of the Modern Era—the unfortunate thing is, he could have been much higher than 60.

Terry Allen came up through the territorial system in the late 70's and early 80's, making a mark in the Pacific Northwest and Florida. During his time in Florida Championship Wrestling, Allen first met Dusty Rhodes, multi-time NWA World champion and one of the most popular stars in wrestling. Rhodes took Allen under his wing, seeing great potential in the youngster.

Moving to Mid-South Wrestling after his Florida stint, Allen received the new ring name Magnum T.A. based on his physical resemblance to Tom Selleck, star of the popular television show "Magnum P.I." Nicknamed "America's Heart Throb," Magnum got over with female fans thanks to his good looks and charm while his high impact in-ring styles and intense promos gained traction with the men. Magnum won his first major title, the Mid-South North American championship, defeating Mr. Wrestling II in May of 1984. He held the title for five months before dropping it to Ernie Ladd.

In late 1984, Magnum hit the big time, signing with the mid-Atlantic-based Jim Crockett Promotions, homebase of the NWA's most well-known stars and the nationally televised World Championship Wrestling program. Magnum reunited with Rhodes, the promotion's top babyface, forming the ultra-popular "America's Team." In March, 1985, mere months after his arrival in JCP, Magnum upended veteran Wahoo McDaniel to claim the U.S. title, arguably the second most coveted title in the NWA behind the World championship.

Magnum split his first reign as U.S. champion between dispatching enhancement talent on television with his belly-to-belly suplex, teaming with Rhodes against the like of Arn & Ole Anderson, and putting on classic matches with World champion Ric Flair. In mid-summer, Magnum lost the U.S. title to the hated Tully Blanchard after Blanchard's valet, Baby Doll, interfered. Magnum and Dusty found themselves the frequent targets of attacks both in and out of the ring by Flair, Blanchard and the Andersons as the future Four Horsemen began to assemble.

Unable to reclaim his U.S. title from Blanchard thanks to the cheating tactics of the latter, Magnum challenged his foe to one final match at Starrcade in November. Initially the NWA refused to sanction the contest, but gave in to fan support for Magnum and not only booked the match, but added an "I Quit" stipulation inside a steel cage. In one of the bloodiest and most memorable I Quit matches ever, Magnum regained his belt, forcing Blanchard to give up after threatening to gouge his eye out with a jagged piece of wood.

A champion once more, Magnum spent the rest of 1985 and early part of 1986 serving as Rhodes' backup against the Horsemen. In April, his next big feud kicked into gear as "The Russian Nightmare" Nikita Koloff, seconded by his "uncle" Ivan Koloff and their enforcer Krusher Krushev, challenged Magnum for the U.S. title and America's honor. During a televised contract signing between Magnum and Koloff, Nikita insulted the champion's in-attendance mother prompting a brawl between the two. NWA president Bob Geigel publicly chastised Magnum for his role in the incident and earned a clothesline for his trouble. Geigel stripped Magnum of the U.S. title and order a best of seven series between the former champion and Koloff for possession of the belt.

Throughout the summer, Magnum and Nikita engaged in the NWA's hottest feud. Koloff initially went up 3-0, but Magnum bounced back to tie the score. Following a draw in what was to have been the deciding match, Nikita got the best of Magnum in August thanks to outside interference by Ivan & Kruschev to earn the title. Magnum became sidetracked by a feud with Jimmy Garvin, but was on the verge of challenging Flair for the World title when sudden tragedy struck.

On October 14, 1986, Terry Allen's life changed forever. Driving his Porsche on a rain-filled night, the man known to wrestling fans as Magnum T.A. crashed into a telephone pole, paralyzing the entire left side of his body. In a bitter twist of irony, unlike so many other wrestling tragedies, no drugs or alcohol were involved, Allen wasn't even speeding, he was just the victim of a cruel twist of fate and his promising in-ring career was over in an instant.

In the fallout of Magnum's accident and the end of his career, rival Nikita Koloff turned babyface out of respect and sympathy for his foe and took his place teaming with Dusty Rhodes as the "Super Powers." In an incredibly emotional moment, Magnum made his first televised appearance to manage Rhodes & Koloff to victory in the Crockett Cup tag team tournament in April of 1987. Magnum would stick around for the next few years as an occasional color commentator and even interjected himself into some of Rhodes and Koloff's feuds from time to time, but he would leave the wrestling business in 1989.

Magnum T.A. would remain away from wrestling for nearly a decade, returning briefly in 1998 to serve as manager to old rival Tully Blanchard and Barry Windham, leading them to the Tag Team titles of the scaled down NWA. In the summer of 2007, Magnum made his first televised appearance in nearly 20 years, seated in the crowd of WWE's Vengeance pay-per-view and receiving one of the loudest ovations of the evening.

From all indications, before his accident, Magnum was the guy both Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair were ready to pass the torch of being the number one guy in the NWA to. Considering how infrequently Rhodes and Flair agreed in those days, that in itself was a tremendous accomplishment. However, if you're a WWE 24/7 subscriber, check out any episode of NWA World Championship Wrestling being run (at the moment they're just starting 1986) and you'll see why they had that kind of faith. With his skills and charisma, Magnum could well have been the Hulk Hogan of the NWA and it's a shame that he never really got the chance.

While we'll always mourns what could have been as far as Magnum T.A.'s career, we've got to celebrate the brief shining period where Terry Allen truly was "America's Heart Throb" and a whole lot more.

59. Terry Gordy

Real Name - Terry Gordy
Aliases - Bamm Bamm, Terry Mecca; The Executioner
Hometown - Chattanooga, TN
Debuted - 1977
Titles Held - AJPW Triple Crown (2x); AJPW Unified World Tag Team (7x, 2 with Stan Hansen, 5 with Steve Williams); NWA Georgia Tag Team (with Michael Hayes); NWA National Tag Team (4x, 3 with Michael Hayes, 1 with Jimmy Snuka); GWF Tag Team (with Jimmy Garvin); NWA Mid-America Tag Team (2x, with Michael Hayes); NWA Alabama Heavyweight; NWA Southeast Heavyweight; SMW Heavyweight; Mid-South Louisiana; Mid-South Mississippi Heavyweight; Mid-South Tag Team (2x, 1 with Michael Hayes, 1 with Buddy Roberts); UWF Heavyweight; NWA World Tag Team (with Steve Williams); WCW World Tag Team (with Steve Williams); NWA American Heavyweight; NWA American Tag Team (with Michael Hayes); NWA Texas Brass Knuckles; WCCW Six-Man Tag Team (6x, 5 with Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts, 1 with Iceman Parsons and Buddy Roberts)
Other Accomplishments - First NWA National Tag Team champions (with Michael Hayes); First WCCW Six Man Tag Team champions (with Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts); First UWF Heavyweight champion; Unified the WCW and NWA World Tag Team titles (with Steve Williams); Final GWF Tag Team Champions (with Jimmy Garvin)

Although Terry Gordy started wrestling under the name Terry Mecca, it didn't take long for him to change to his given name of Terry Gordy. In less than a year, he and Michael Hayes had joined forces as the Fabulous Freebirds and Buddy Roberts soon joined the group as well.

On January 7, 1979 Gordy and Hayes, wrestling in Nick Gulas's NWA Mid-America promotion, defeated George Gulas and Bobby Eaton to capture that company's tag team titles. In February, Eaton and the Mexican Angel briefly captured the belts, only for Gordy and Hayes to take them back. On July 4th their second (and final) reign ended as they were defeated by Gypsy Joe and Tom Renesto Jr.

By November, the Freebirds had made their way to Bill Watts's Mid-South Wrestling. It didn't take long for them to gain gold, as on November 24 Hayes and Gordy ended the two week long reign of Bill Watts and Buck Robley. This reign lasted until the following April, when Robley teamed with the Junkyard Dog to win the belts.

It didn't take long for Gordy to get revenge. On May 2nd, he ended the Junkyard Dog's reign as a double champion by defeating him for the Mid-South Louisiana title. He would lose the belt back to the Dog later that year.

On June 6 Gordy teamed with Roberts to bring the belts back to the Freebirds. That lasted until September, when JYD teamed with Terry Orndorff to win the gold.

As 1980 wound down, the Freebirds were again on the move - this time heading to Georgia Championship Wrestling. October 10 saw Gordy and Hayes won a three-team tournament against The Assassins and Mr. Wrestling 1 and 2 to win the NWA Georgia tag team titles. Their reign wasn't a long one, as they were stripped of the belts on November 14th after a match against Austin Idol and Kevin Sullivan. Again, however, the Freebirds would not be denied for long. On November 27th, Hayes and Gordy defeated Stan Frazier and Robert Fuller to become the first NWA National Tag Team champions as those belts replaced the NWA Georgia belts.

A new threat to the Freebirds surfaced in early 1981 in the form of Ted DiBiase. January 26 saw DiBiase and Stan Frazier taking the titles. They held the belts for five days until the Freebirds reclaimed them. DiBiase won the belts again in June, this time with Steve O as his partner.

Gordy reclaimed the belts in July, but this time with Jimmy Snuka as a partner. The Freebirds had split and were feuding with each other - something made abundantly clear when this title reign was ended by Michael Hayes and Otis Sistrunk.

Gordy's next stop was Robert Fuller's Southeastern Championship Wrestling. In early 1982 he defeated Jos LeDuc for the NWA Southeast Heavyweight title (which he lost back to LeDuc later that year). He also defeated Jimmy Golden for the NWA Alabama Heavyweight title in April and lost it to LeDuc as well in May.

The Freebirds then made a quick stop back in Georgia Championship Wrestling, where Hayes and Gordy reclaimed the tag team titles on July 2nd by defeating the Super Destroyer and Big John Studd. They lost the belts at the end of August to the Wild Samoans.

Gordy's next destination was the one where he would rocket to stardom - World Class Championship Wrestling. Hayes had entered the promotion first, before bringing his "brothers" in.

The Freebirds became strong fan favorites and gained tag team gold in November of 1982 as they defeated King Kong Bundy and Bill Irwin.

Things changed at the Christmas Star Wars show, where Kerry Von Erich was challenging Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight title. Hayes was chosen as the referee by a write-in vote from the fans, and Gordy was guarding the door to prevent any interference. During the match, Flair had taunted Hayes and flaunted the rules until Hayes finally attacked Flair. Hayes then turned to Kerry and told him to cover Flair. Kerry refused, wanting to win the belt on his own. A livid Hayes shoved Kerry away and left the cage. Kerry followed, trying to explain his actions, and Gordy slammed the door shut on Kerry's head before following Hayes out.

The war between the Freebirds and the Von Erichs had begun.

The Von Erichs soon began trying to recapture the belts that the Freebirds held - the Six-Man and Tag Team titles. Despite this, Gordy kept adding to the Freebirds' collection. On January 21, 1983, Gordy defeated Kevin Von Erich for the NWA American Heavyweight belt - the primary belt for World Class. Although Kevin reclaimed the belt in March, three weeks later Gordy defeated the Great Kabuki to capture the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles title.

As 1983 continued, the Von Erichs slowly reclaimed belt after belt. June 17th saw Kerry Von Erich and Bruiser Brody win the tag team titles. The Von Erich team of Kevin, Kerry, and David took the six-man belts away in July, and Chris Adams ended Gordy's Brass Knuckles title reign in August.

The Freebirds responded by zeroing in on the six-man belts. They took them back from the Von Erichs in August and the same three Von Erichs took them again in December. January saw another Freebird title reign and they would hold them until May, where at the First David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions they lost them to Fritz (who was immediately replaced by Kerry), Kevin, and Mike Von Erich. Or so they thought. The belts were held up when it was discovered that the legal man did not score the pinfall and the Freebirds regained the belts in July after a rematch. The belts were then held up again following interference from Killer Khan, and the Von Erichs (Kevin, Kerry, and Mike) ended the trading in September as they regained the belts.

Soon thereafter, the Freebirds headed north to the World Wrestling Federation. Their stay wasn't long, however, as WWF management decided to split the three up. They refused and left the company.

After leaving the WWF, Gordy and the Freebirds headed to the AWA. They feuded with AWA World Tag Team champions the Road Warriors, but were never able to gain the titles. After costing the Road Warriors the belts, they headed back to Texas.

1986 saw the Freebirds/Von Erichs feud once again firing up as the Freebirds defeated Kevin, Kerry, and Brian Adias to take the belts yet again on January 3. They held the titles until May 4, when Kevin, Kerry, and Lance Von Erich won the belts.

The Freebirds left World Class again almost immediately thereafter and their next stop was the Universal Wrestling Federation (which was the renamed Mid-South). They wasted no time in making their mark as Gordy won a tournament to crown the first UWF Heavyweight champion. Gordy held the title until November 6th. After being injured earlier in the night by Steve Williams, Gordy was easy prey for the One Man Gang.

After the UWF was bought by Jim Crockett, the Freebirds once again returned to WCCW. This time, however, the sides were different. The Freebirds soon welcomed Iceman King Parsons into the group and kicked out Michael Hayes. On Christmas day 1987, the new Freebirds came close to regaining the vacant six-man belts (which had remained vacant since Mike Von Erich's suicide in April) only to be defeated by Kevin Von Erich, Chris Adams, and Steve Simpson.

The Freebirds would not be denied. On January 4 the team captured the belts one more time. In July, a team of Kevin, Kerry, and Michael Hayes regained the gold. The belts would be abandoned later that year.

In 1989 the Freebirds resurfaced in Jim Crockett's World Championship Wrestling. Now composed of Hayes, Gordy, and Jimmy Garvin, the group failed to capture any gold. One of the reasons was the fact that Gordy began touring with All Japan Pro Wrestling later that year.

While in All Japan, Gordy and Steve Williams began teaming together as the Miracle Violence Connection. That team came to WCW in 1992 and began feuding with the Steiner Brothers. In July, Gordy and Williams defeated the Steiners to capture the WCW World Tag Team titles. Only a week later, Gordy and Williams won a tournament to crown official NWA World Tag Team titles and unified the championships. The titles remained unified until September of 1993, when WCW withdrew from the NWA.

Gordy and Williams kept the belts until September of 1992, when they lost them to Barry Windham and Dustin Rhodes.

Overseas, Gordy had continued racking up title wins. By the middle of 1993, he had held the All Japan Triple Crown twice and the Unified World Tag Team titles seven times - five with Williams and twice with Stan Hansen.

During 1993, Gordy overdosed on pain medication while on a Japan tour and slipped into a coma. He recovered, but suffered brain damage as a result.

Gordy returned to the United States in 1994 as he rejoined Jimmy Garvin and Michael Hayes as the Fabulous Freebirds in the Global Wrestling Federation. Gordy and Garvin captured the GWF Tag Team titles in June, and held the belts until the promotion closed its doors later that year.

Gordy's next stop in the US was in Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling. He captured the SMW World Heavyweight title in October of 1995 and lost the belt a month later to Brad Armstrong.

After leaving Smoky Mountain, Gordy appeared in ECW, where he was announced as an international contender for Raven's ECW World title. After the feud with Raven ended, he battled Brian Lee and also reunited with Steve Williams to battle the Eliminators.

Gordy then headed to the WWF, where he was placed under a mask as Paul Bearer's Executioner. After losing to the Undertaker at the It's Time PPV, Gordy vanished from the WWF.

Gordy passed away on July 16, 2001 after suffering a heart attack.

Gordy's influence is still felt in the wrestling world today. His son Ray currently competes for the WWE on the Smackdown brand as Jesse (cousin of Festus).

Gordy is memorable firstly because of his run with the Freebirds. It was obvious that if Michael Hayes was the brains of the group, Gordy was the muscle. Gordy was strong and agile - definitely one of the best "big men" in wrestling.

Even after leaving the Freebirds, Gordy still maintained his image as a legitimate tough guy. When paired with Steve Williams, the two were a legitimately powerful duo and an equal match for the Steiners.

It is entirely possible that Gordy would have been still higher up this list if not for the overdose in 1993. After emerging from the coma, it was very obvious that Gordy had been affected. His wrestling skills were visibly diminished. The unstoppable monster Gordy had been in WCCW was gone. Gordy was still a decent wrestler, but the exceptional wrestler he had been was no more.

While Gordy's later years are less than memorable (especially his short run as the Executioner), his earlier years were something special. From his run as a Freebird to half of the Miracle Violence Connection, Gordy showed his skills every time he stepped into the ring.

58. DICK MURDOCH

Aliases - Captain Redneck
Hometown - Waxahachie, Texas
Debuted - 1965
Titles Held - WWF World Tag Team; WWC Universal
Heavyweight; NWA World Tag Team
Other Accomplishments - son of wrestler Frank Murdoch;
cousin of wrestler Tim Brooks; not related to WWE'S Trevor
Murdoch

I was never a real fan of Dick Murdoch. He was ahead of my time and when I did see him he never really impressed me to a great deal. But my peers at Pulse Wrestling and his peers in the wrestling business were fans of his, and thus he will be honored here for his accomplishments.

Hoyt Richard Murdoch was a second-generation wrestler from Texas. He grew up in the business with fellow second-generation Texans Dory & Terry Funk while watching their fathers tear up the industry.

Murdoch's first real success came in the 1970s when he and fellow big-bellied blonde Dusty Rhodes formed a violent heel team dubbed "The Texas Outlaws." They tore up all the territory hotspots like Florida, Mid-South and the AWA through the decade and made a name for themselves in the ring and out of it as well. Eventually Dusty decided he wanted to go solo and left the territory they were working. The pair split without the violent break-up that has become commonplace.

Through the '80s Murdoch made a name for himself as an established singles star and a top-flight technical wrestler, even though his demeanor and physical appearance didn't lead credence to that notion. Even though he looked like just a raw-boned brawler, he could put on scientific mat clinics with the best of them if he was so inclined.

He was dubbed "Captain Redneck" for his apparent bigoted and racist tendencies, but those who knew him best said it was just a facade to keep the fans paying their money to see him. In fact his tag team pairing with the Junkyard Dog in Mid-South in the early '80s was a huge draw for the promotion, with both black and white fans.

In 1984 he made a stop in the World Wide Wrestling Federation and picked up a Tag Championship with Adrian Adonis. That run didn't last long before he soon settled into Mid-Atlantic/Jim Crockett Promotions in the late '80s. He gained national notoriety thanks to his battles with Ric Flair, his old partner/rival Dusty Rhodes and The Russians.

As the '90s came around Murdoch's career began to wind down. He made one last stop down south, in WCW, where he teamed with Dick Slater as "The Hardliners." They made a name for themselves by attacking The Steiner Brothers at a Clash of the Champions in July 1991 and legitimately injuring Scott Steiner.

His last appearance on the global stage was his one-shot deal for the World Wrestling Federation, where he was an entrant in the 1995 Royal Rumble.

A year and a half later, Murdoch died of a heart attack. He was only 49 years old.

He could be hated or loved by fans, but was genuinely loved by those co-workers who really knew him. He could wrestle Broadways with Ric Flair or engage in bloodbaths with the likes of Kevin Sullivan. He knew how to read a crowd and knew how to work a ring. Murdoch was a man who was good at his profession and was rewarded for his talents.

Though he is gone his legacy still lives on. Even in today's wrestling landscape he is honored. Current WWE wrestler Trevor Rhodes, who bears a striking resemblance to Murdoch, uses the surname "Murdoch" and is billed as hailing from his old stomping grounds of Waxachachie, Texas as a tribute to late "Captain Redneck."

57. JOHN CENA
Aliases - The Prototype
Hometown - West Newbury, MA
Debuted - 16th February 2000
Titles Held - OVW Heavyweight (1) OVW Southern Tag (1); UPW Heavyweight (1); WWE Heavyweight (3); WWE Tag Team (1); WWE United States (3)
Other Accomplishments - starred in WWE Films' major motion picture "The Marine"; released rap album "You Can't See Me which reached #15 on the Billboard top 200; only 5 men have spent longer as WWE Champion; Portrayed Big Tim Kingman on "Manhunt"

Like him, love him or hate him, John Cena is THE face of World Wrestling Entertainment right now. Just by walking out into an arena the man can illicit some sort of reaction from at least 90% of the crowd. Whether it's high-pitched cheers and squeals from the women and children or bass-filled boos from the men of the crowd, he's got them all saying something at least. And it this point that is a lot more than a lot of his colleagues can say.

John Cena debuted on WWE television in the summer of 2002 as a babyface so vanilla that Bob Backlund from the 1980s would have thought he was plain. Sporting a high-and-tight buzz cut, two-toned matching tights and a gimmick of having "ruthless aggression" you would think he should have been Velocity jobber fodder.

Then Christmas came in the form of Halloween for young Mr. Cena. One Vanilla Ice impression later and John Cena was on a path to super stardom. He battled though low card feuds with Billy Kidman and Rikishi and failed partnerships with Rodney Mack and Bull Buchanan. His popularity grew as he got his first chance at WWF gold against Brock Lesnar in April 2003 and battled the Undertaker through that summer. By the fall he began his chase for The Big Show and the United States Championship. His chase finally ended at WrestleMania XX, as he hoisted the big man on his shoulders for an F-U. He won the belt and got his first WrestleMania moment. Under his watch the US belt became a silver plated spinner as he battled against Rob Van Dam, Rene Dupree and often-forgotten best-of-five series with Booker T. He was "stabbed" by freshly debuted Carlito, but he used the time off while healing the stab wound to shoot a movie. He was back soon enough to win his belt back in order to lose to Orlando Jordan so that he could be properly ready for his WWF Championship match at WrestleMania 21.

From that point, the WWE has entered the "era of Cena." In the two and half years since that event, the WWE Championship has become synonymous with John Cena. If he's not defending the belt, he has been challenging for it. The belt has been even been molded into an expensive, diamond-studded spinner; a reminder to us all that yes, this is John Cena's world and we just live in it. When we see that belt go away, we'll officially see the end of his era. In the approximately thirty months since initially won the belt, he has been in possession of it nearly 26 of those months. He stopped to briefly give the belt to Edge for the better part of a month in January 2006 and then took the summer of 2006 off so that Rob Van Dam could launch the new ECW and Edge could try to repair the damage Van Dam created. As we approach the one-year anniversary of his third reign as Champion, it is apparent that John Cena is the superstar of today.

Whether you love him or hate him, you pay to see him. No one in wrestling today can cause every fan to have some sort of reaction to him, especially reactions as polarizing as the ones Cena gets. He has been a good face for WWE to promote and one helluva company man. He is a life-long wrestling fan and you can tell he loves his job; it's easy to see. He busts his ass every time he is performing in public and that is an admirable thing. Like him or hate him, at least respect him.

John Cena is currently injured after suffering a torn pectoral in early October 2007. He forfeited the WWE Championship upon suffering the injury. He could be out anywhere from six months to a year.

56. SCOTT HALL

Aliases - The Bad Guy; The Lone Wolf; Last Call; Starship Coyote; The Diamond Studd; Razor Ramon
Hometown - Chuluota, Florida
Debuted - October 1984
Titles Held - AWA World Tag Team (1); USWA Unified World Heavyweight (1); WWC Caribbean Heavyweight (1); WWC Universal Heavyweight (1); WCW United States (2); WCW World Tag Team (7); WCW World Television (1); WWF Intercontinental (4)
Other Accomplishments - winner of World War 3 - 97; member of backstage gang the 'Clique' in mid-90s WWF; founding member of the nWo


Hey Yo!

Those two simple words could get more of a response from the crowds during Nitro's heyday than any cruiserweight high spot. And it's all because of the charisma and presence of one Scott Hall.

The man I personally believe to be the best to never hold a World Championship was one of the instrumental architects in perhaps the greatest pro wrestling angle in history - the new World order. His inclusion in the start of that angle is enough alone to include him in this list, but as a performer in the ring his talent and accomplishments just add to his wrestling pedigree.

Scott Hall started in wrestling 1984. His first national exposure was Starship Coyote, one half of the American Starship with Danny Spivey. Bu it was in the late '80s when Hall got his first real notoriety, teaming with Curt Hennig in the AWA. The duo was wildly successful and won the company's tag championship.

By 1991 he showed up in WCW as The Diamond Studd, the centerpiece for Diamond Dallas Page's Diamond Exchange stable. His push soon fizzled by the summer of 1992 Hall was in the World Wrestling Federation as his most iconic character - Razor Ramon.

Ramon got an early push, competing in main event matches with and against men like Randy Savage, Ric Flair and Bret Hart. In the fall of '93, Hall won the first of his four Intercontinental Championships, which in turn led to arguably the greatest match of the 1990s - the iconic ladder match at WrestleMania X with Shawn Michaels. It was also during this time period that Hall, Michaels, Kevin Nash, Triple H and Sean Waltman formed the infamous backstage "Clique" in the WWF.

In early 1996, Hall got the call to join World Championship Wrestling for a large sum of money, along with Nash. On Hall and Nash's last night in the WWF they performed the now-legendary curtain call in Madison Square Garden with Triple H and Michaels that saw HHH's career derailed for over a year. (But in the end I think Helmsley's career rebounded nicely.)

Hall made wrestling history on the Memorial Day 1996 edition of WCW Monday Nitro when he interrupted a match between "Mauler" Mike Enos and Steve Doll (there's an answer for a trivia question for you) and declared, "We're taking over." He was soon joined by Kevin Nash as "The Outsiders" and then eventually by Hulk Hogan to form the groundbreaking new World order. The trio led the nWo to astronomical heights through '96 and '97 before the faction soon split into various different forms. As the '90s wore on, Hall became more sporadic on WCW television, between injuries and stints in and out of rehab. He and Nash feuded through late '98 over Hall's drinking problems, including scenes of Hall showing up on Nitro acting drunk and out of sorts. The pair ultimately reunited in 1999 after the "fingerpoke of doom" incident. Hall soon disappeared again and resurfaced in late '99 in another nWo faction, this time with Nash, Bret Hart and Jeff Jarrett as nWo 2000. Hall's last appearance in WCW was in February 2000, losing in a three way dance at the main event of SuperBrawl against Jeff Jarrett and Sid Vicious.

After a brief stop in ECW and a run in Japan, the original nWo trio of Hall, Nash and Hogan arrived in the WWF in February 2002. Unfortunately Hall's problems caught up with him again and he was out of the promotion by May of 2002 after a run with Steve Austin and a brief feud with Bradshaw.

Hall then made sporadic appearances in the early days of NWA-TNA and by the fall of 2004 he and Nash were in TNA full-time. They formed the Kings of Wrestling stable with Jeff Jarrett, but by early 2005 Hall had disappeared again.

He had been out of the limelight since then, but in July 2007 Hall resurfaced in Puerto Rico competing as Razor Ramon, and is currently the reigning WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion.

55. MICHAEL "PS" HAYES

Real Name - Michael Seitz
Aliases - Dok Hendrix
Hometown - Marietta, Georgia
Debuted - 1977
Retired - 2001
Titles Held - NWA World Tag Team (with Jimmy Garvin); WCCW Six Man Tag Team (five with Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts, one with Kerry and Kevin Von Erich) x6; NWA Georgia Tag Team (with Terry Gordy); NWA National Tag Team (three with Terry Gordy, one with Otis Sistrunk) x4; WCWA World Tag Team (with Steve Cox) x2; Mid-South Tag Team; WCW United States Tag Team (with Jimmy Garvin) x2; WCW World Tag Team (with Jimmy Garvin); WCW World Six-Man Tag Team (with Jimmy Garvin and Badstreet); Power Pro Heavyweight
Other Accomplishments - Wrestling Observer's Hall of Fame Class of 2005 (with Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts as the Freebirds); TV host and color commentator for the WWF in the mid '90s; current head writer of Smackdown; Wrote and performed the Freebirds' entrance theme "Badstreet USA"

Michael Hayes started wrestling in Tennessee in 1977 under his real name. By 1979, he had already taken the first steps on his road to fame. He began tag teaming with Terry Gordy as the Fabulous Freebirds as they headed to Bill Watts's Mid-South Wrestling. The Freebirds soon added a third member- Buddy Roberts. In addition, their title reigns were marked by what would come to be known as the Freebird Rule. The rule stated that the belts could be defended by any combination of the Freebirds at any time.

Hayes and Gordy would even win the Mid-South Tag Team titles later in 1979. They dropped the belts to Junkyard Dog and Buck Robley in April, and then the Freebird team of Gordy and Roberts recaptured them in June. Junkyard Dog and Terry Orndorff won the titles in October as the Freebirds prepared to depart the company.

1980 saw the Freebirds heading to Georgia, where they competed in the NWA affiliated Georgia Championship Wrestling, which was owned by Jim Barnett. In October of 1980 they competed in a three-team tournament against Mr. Wrestling I and II and the Assassins. The Freebirds won the belts and became the last NWA Georgia Tag Team champions. The belts were held up after a match against Austin Idol and Kevin Sullivan in November.

A tournament was then held to crown new champions with new National Tag Team title belts. On November 27th, the Freebirds defeated Stan Frazier and Robert Fuller to claim the new gold. They held the belts for nearly two months before Frazier and new partner Ted DiBiase defeated them.

DiBiase and Frazier only held the belts for five days before the Freebirds took them back. This time they kept them for almost six months before DiBiase and new partner Steve O defeated them.

About this time the Freebirds split and went their separate ways. The next champions were Terry Gordy and Jimmy Snuka. Hayes and Otis Sistrunk took the belts in September, only to relinquish them when Sistrunk quit the company. July of 1982 saw the reunited Freebirds defeat the Super Destroyer and John Studd to reclaim the belts. In August, Afa and Sika defeated them to end their final title reign.

The Freebirds, however, were about to explode onto the national scene. Michael Hayes headed to World Class Championship Wrestling, where he quickly established himself as a fan favorite. He soon brought in his "brothers" "" Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts, but Hayes was the obvious leader of the group.

The Freebirds soon were wearing World Class gold. On Christmas night, 1982, Hayes, Gordy, and David Von Erich (who was subbing for Buddy Roberts) defeated Iron Mike Sharpe, Ben Sharpe, and Tom Steele to become the first World Class Six Man Tag Team champions.

The Freebirds' days as fan favorites would not last long. Immediately after their title win, Hayes was serving as the guest referee for an NWA World title cage match between Kerry Von Erich and current champion Ric Flair. Hayes also brought Terry Gordy out to guard the door of the cage to be sure that no one tried to interfere. Flair had challenged Hayes's authority throughout the match and Hayes finally had enough. Hayes punched Flair, knocking him out. Hayes then turned to Kerry and demanded that he cover him. Kerry refused because he didn't want to win the belt that way. Hayes was furious. Hayes shoved Kerry, and then left the cage. Kerry tried to follow Hayes to explain his decision. Gordy slammed the door shut on Kerry's head, which allowed Flair to get the victory.

Needless to say, the Von Erichs declared war. One of World Class's signature feuds had begun.

The centerpiece of the war soon became the six-man titles. It took until the following July for Kevin, David, and Kerry Von Erich to capture the gold. In August, the Freebirds won the belts back.

And then problems started to occur. Michael Hayes lost a loser-leaves-town match to Kerry in November, but the remaining Freebirds still had control of the belts. On December second Kevin, David, and Kerry challenged for the belts again. The Freebirds brought in Ric Flair as their partner, but not even he was enough to keep the titles with the Freebirds.

Hayes was back in the company by January, and the Freebirds regained the titles yet again.

In February, Hayes was part of an unprecedented tribute. After David Von Erich's passing, other wrestlers from the World Class roster were interviewed to share their memories of David. Rather than assaulting his longtime foe, Hayes gave a classy speech (which was echoed by Ric Flair later in the program) where he said that while he didn't like David, he did respect him.

At May's Parade of Champions, the Von Erichs thought they had recaptured the belts. With Fritz substituting for Kerry (who would win the NWA World championship from Flair at that same show), Kevin and Mike won the match. However, the belts were immediately held up because the legal Von Erich did not make the pinfall.

A rematch was held at the July 4th Star Wars show. This time, the bad luck was on the Freebirds' side. They defeated the Von Erichs, but the belts were again held up because Killer Khan had attacked the Von Erichs during the match.

In August, the feud appeared to be at an end as the Freebirds left the company. Their next stop was the WWF, where they were managed by Dave Wolfe. They made several appearances at Madison Square Garden shows. However, WWF management decided that the group needed to be split up and all three needed to compete as singles wrestlers. The Freebirds refused, left the company, and returned to WCCW.

On the third of September, the battle over the six man tag belts ended as Kevin, Kerry, and Mike Von Erich won the gold.

A year later, the Freebirds departed again and headed to the AWA. While there, they feuded with the Road Warriors over the AWA Tag Team titles. However, they were unable to overcome Hawk and Animal to capture the gold. Finally, on September 29, 1985, the Freebirds assisted their allies Steve Regal and Jimmy Garvin (now being referred to a fourth Freebird) to end the thirteen month title reign of the Road Warriors.

That feud ran into early 1986. Following the end of it, the Freebirds returned to World Class for a brief stay.

Later that year, the Freebirds headed to Bill Watts's Universal Wrestling Federation. With Sunshine as their new manager, the Freebirds feuded with the Fantastics, Ted DiBiase and Dr. Death Steve Williams (the angle included the Freebirds breaking Williams's arm), and even Watts himself.

After the UWF was bought out by Jim Crockett at the end of 1987, the Freebirds headed to Frank Dusek's Wild West Wrestling. After differences were resolved between Dusek and Fritz Von Erich, Wild West closed and the roster (with the exception of the Fabulous Lance "" AKA Lance Von Erich) returned to WCCW.

This time, however, the Freebirds-Von Erich feud took a definite twist. Hayes was out of the Freebirds and replaced by the self-proclaimed "Blackbird" "" Iceman King Parsons. Hayes wound up teaming with his former foes to battle the Freebirds.

As might be expected, the new Freebirds didn't take long to take the six man belts away from the current champions "" Chris Adams, Kevin Von Erich, and Steve Simpson. And just like years earlier, the Von Erichs (now with Michael Hayes) stood in their way. On July 8, 1988 Kevin, Kerry, and Hayes took the belts back. The title was abandoned soon thereafter. The feud was also ended as Gordy left the company to focus on competing in All Japan.

Hayes then began teaming with Steve Cox. They quickly began feuding with the Samoan Swat Team of Samu and Fatu, who were now being managed by Buddy Roberts. Hayes and Cox took the WCWA tag titles away on September 16, 1988 and lost them back to the Samoans three days later. Hayes and Cox recaptured the belts on October 15th and only held them two days.

Hayes soon headed to the NWA, again as a babyface. Again, this would be short-lived as he would turn on Luger during a match against Hiro Matsuda's Yamasaki Corporation, which Hayes then joined. He went on to win his first singles gold by defeating Lex Luger at the 1989 Wrestlewar to become the new NWA United States champion (with a little help from Terry Gordy). Hayes held the title for about three weeks, which is when Luger took the belt back.

Meanwhile, the Yamasaki Corporation had completely collapsed. Barry Windham was out with an injury, Kendall Windham was not being used, and group leader Hiro Matsuda soon departed from the company. With the Corporation history, Hayes rejoined old ally Jimmy Garvin and reformed the Freebirds, with Diamond Dallas Page and Big Daddy Dink (Sir Oliver Humperdink) managing.

A tag team tournament was set for the seventh Clash of the Champions. Former champions Mike Rotunda and Steve Williams had been stripped of the belts after attacking special referee Nikita Koloff. Hayes and Garvin wound up defeating the Midnight Express to win the NWA World Tag Team titles. They held the titles until November, when they lost the belts to the Steiner Brothers.

The Freebirds would not be long without gold, however. On February 24th they won the belts back from new champions Doom, only to lose them (once again) to the Steiners in March. This reign is notable for one reason "" the show where the Freebirds lost the titles was taped six days before they actually won them.

By this point, the Freebirds had added a member (the masked Badstreet "" really Brad Armstrong) and found themselves in a feud with the Young Pistols "" a team composed of Steve Armstrong and Tracy Smothers. That May, they defeated the Pistols to win the WCW United States Tag Team titles, which had been vacated when the Steiners had won the world tag belts. They would lose the belts in August to the Patriots (Todd Champion and Firebreaker Chip).

June also saw the Freebirds becoming double champions, as they also defeated Tommy Rich, Ricky Morton, and the Junkyard Dog to win the WCW World Six Man Tag Team titles. They would lose these belts in August as well, to Dustin Rhodes, the Z-Man Tom Zenk, and Big Josh.

As 1991 wound down, the Freebirds found themselves in a state of flux. Badstreet was gone, as Brad Armstrong had been repackaged as the infamous Arachnaman. Page and Dink were gone as well. The decision was made to turn the Freebirds face with Garvin's wife Precious serving as their manager.

On May 17th, the Freebirds won the United States Tag Team titles back and held them for a month before losing them to Dick Slater and the Barbarian (who would soon see the belts abandoned). Soon thereafter, the Freebirds disbanded.

Hayes stepped back from the ring and began managing Dangerous Alliance members Arn Anderson and Bobby Eaton. Hayes proved himself to be a worth Alliance associate as he also assisted Paul E. Dangerously during his feud with Madusa.

Hayes returned to in-ring competition in early 1993 and began feuding with World Television champion Paul Orndorff. Despite his best efforts, Hayes was never able to capture the belt. Hayes had a short-lived tag team with Johnny B Badd as well, then turned to the commentary table for the rest of his WCW stay.

In 1994, Hayes and Garvin left WCW and headed to the Global Wrestling Federation, where they reformed the Freebirds along with Terry Gordy. Gordy and Garvin were able to capture the Global Tag Team titles, but the company had closed by the end of the year.

As 1995 began, Hayes retired from the ring and found a job with the WWF. Here he was "Handsome" Dok Hendrix, where he hosted multiple Coliseum Video releases and also co-hosted WWF Action Zone with Todd Pettingill.

Hayes returned to action in 1999 for Power Pro Wrestling, a Memphis-based development territory run much like the USWA had been before it. Hayes defeated Baldo (better known as Albert or A-Train) to win their heavyweight title. He held the belt for two months, until he was defeated by J.R. Smooth (Rikishi).

On April 29th, Dok Hendrix was called to the ring by the Brood, who used his Michael Hayes name. Once there, he was hit by a blood bath. Shortly thereafter, he became the Hardy Boyz's manager in their feud against the Brood. In August, the Hardys fired Hayes and he returned backstage, where he worked as an agent.

Hayes would remain backstage, first as an agent and then as a writer. He would also make occasional returns to the ring, such as at Wrestlemania XVII's Gimmick Battle Royal. Hayes's last major on-screen appearance was in 2005, when he confronted Edge, who was mocking Ric Flair's recent legal problems.

Today, Hayes works as the head writer for Smackdown.

Michael Hayes is remarkable not only for his lengthy tenure with the legendary Freebirds, but also for his style. Hayes was like a prototype for Shawn Michaels. Hayes was the perfect cocky heel, gold on the microphone, and strutting around in sequined robes in the ring. In addition to that, Hayes has gone on to become the head writer for one of the top-rated wrestling programs in the country.

Not bad for a guy from Marietta, Georgia. But when you live in the last house on the right on Badstreet, USA, you've got to expect great things.

54. PAUL WIGHT

Aliases "" The Big Show, The Giant
Hometown "" Tampa, Florida
Debuted "" 1995
Titles Held "" WCW World, WWF/E World, WCW Tag Team, WWF Tag Team, WWE United States, ECW Heavyweight
Other Accomplishments - PWI Rookie of the Year award in 1996, PWI Wrestler of the Year award in 1996, PWI ranked him # 137 of the best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003.


I wanted to give Paul Wight the respect he deserves in this column. The fact is, he was a talented pro wrestler who gallantly worked through, what must have been, torturous pain in the climax of his career in a gracious effort to "do the right thing" and give what rub he could to Bobby Lashley with a clean pin fall loss. What's more, he made the unselfish choice of walking away from the industry when he knew his body was no longer up to the schedule, despite the promise of a big payoff. He put his family and health above what many had deemed his best push in the WWE since he joined. However, Paul Wight will also have to be remembered for the fact that he could have been much more than he was if he hadn't been so lazy.

When Wight began his career as The Giant in WCW he weighed about 350 pounds. He was ripped, athletic and absolutely dripping with potential. On top of that, he was astronomically athletic for a man his size being able to dropkick and even moonsault! Just a couple of years later he had ballooned to 500+ and, had he tried a moonsault he no doubt would have broken the ring and had it swallowed up by the concrete! As well as chronic laziness and a diet which in the words of Lance Storm would "choke a goat", Wight also suffered from terrible booking during his career. Debuting in WCW, he was put with Hulk Hogan and was made to look inept at every single turn. I mean when you can only win a world title by some screwy DQ ruling and then can't even beat Hulk Hogan in a Monster Truck match then you need to rethink your attack plan. He went on to join the nWo, twice, both for inexplicable reasons (especially considering he was beaten up and kicked out the first time). Along, the way he held a handful of major titles in WCW and actually had a brief stint as an effective monster heel that soon ended up going nowhere. His last major matches with WCW were clean losses to DDP and Goldberg. Sick of WCW and, as he said himself, seeing the rats leaving the ship he decided to try his luck up north and signed a sickeningly large and lucrative contract to become the WWF's new monster heel.

He entered the WWF in impressive fashion, literally throwing Steve Austin through a cage, and all signs seemed to point to him becoming a huge star in the talent starved WWF, WCW still had a much more solid talent back bone at the time. However, just a few weeks in he was stupidly jobbed clean to Steve Austin in a move that made zero sense and he then went on to lose his next 4 successive pay per view matches, turning face and heel about 3 times along the way. After a tasteless storyline with the Big Bossman, which involved him riding his "father's coffin" like a sled and being "outed" as being a bastard everyone just assumed that his career was toast and he might as well enjoy mid card hell forever. But, Wight amazingly was able to recover and ended the year 1999 with the WWF Championship and the heel turn that finally turned him into the star everyone knew he could be.

To cover all of his WWF/E tenure would take forever and I would rather focus on the fact that Paul Wight was a damn fine professional wrestler when he wanted to be. Simply viewing his entertaining matches with Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar and The Rock would be proof of that. And let's not forget the time he carried Gene Snitsky to perhaps one of the best and most dramatic matches of the big goofs career. You also have to factor in that Wight had a natural charisma that hooked you into his act the moment you saw it. One of my fondest memories of his career was Backlash 2000 where he did a hilarious spoof of Hulk Hogan as "The Showster" that I think redefined wrestling comedy. Not to mention the time he debuted his new "chicks dig it BIG" shirt where he gleefully told the crowd "that's one of them there innuendos" in such a manner that I still remember it with fondness to this day.

Paul Wight's natural charisma and imposing look made him a perfect fit for the wrestling business we all love and follow. And the fact that he's the first, and so far only, man to hold the WCW, WWF/E and ECW World Championships is a feat that should be respected and admired. Would Paul Wight have been such a big name in wrestling if not for his size? I think so. There's a difference between being big and being big with talent.

Paul Wight still wrestles the odd match now and then but his mainstream wrestling career seems done with. I wish him luck.

51. BRIAN PILLMAN

Real Name - Brian Pillman
Aliases - Flyin' Brian; Yellow Dog; The Loose Cannon; The Rogue Horseman
Hometown - Cincinnati, Ohio
Debuted - 1986
Titles Held - Stampede International Tag Team (2x, with Bruce Hart) ; NWA United States Tag Team (with Tom Zenk);
WCW World Light Heavyweight (2x); NWA World Tag Team (with Stunning Steve Austin) ; WCW World Tag Team (with Stunning Steve Austin)
Other Accomplishments - First WCW World Light Heavyweight Champion; Winner of Wrestling Observer Rookie of the Year award in 1987; Winner of Wrestling Observer Tag Team of the Year award in 1993 (with Stunning Steve Austin); Winner of Wrestling Observer Most Underrated Wrestler award in 1994; Winner of Wrestling Observer Feud of the Year award (Hart Foundation vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin; Ranked #84 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the PWI years by Pro Wrestling Illustrated; Ranked #50 of the top 100 tag teams of the PWI years by Pro Wrestling Illustrated (with Stunning Steve Austin); Participant in first ever match on WCW Nitro, died on 5th October 1997 from heart disease; 'Loose Cannon' gimmick broke new boundaries in mid '90s wrestling; played football in NFL and CFL

Looking at the cold hard facts, Brian Pillman should have never been on this list. He was 6 feet tall and weighed 226 pounds "" not exactly what the "big-man" era of the 1980's was looking for. In addition, Pillman had undergone numerous throat surgeries since he was two years old to remove recurring polyps.

Despite his physical limitations, Pillman began playing football in high school where he excelled. He walked onto the team at Miami University and set a school record in tackles for loss. After graduation, Pillman joined his hometown Cincinnati Bengals as a free agent. In 1985 he was sent to the Buffalo Bills, where he was the last player cut before the season started. Still determined to succeed, Pillman headed to the Canadian Football League in 1986 where he played for the Calgary Stampeders.

After his football career had ended, Pillman finally found himself in the right place at the right time. Calgary had long been a wrestling hotbed in Canada (that didn't focus on size as much as skill), and Pillman soon began training with the legendary Stu Hart and his family.

Pillman debuted later in 1986 for Stampede Wrestling and joined Bruce Hart in a tag team known as Bad Company. Bad Company would claim the Stampede Tag Team titles by defeating Ron Starr and the Cuban Assassin in the final round of a tournament. Ironically, another tournament in October of that year would come close to ending their reign. After a match with Jerry Morrow and Makhan Singh the titles were held up. Bad Company ended the feud in November with a decisive victory to regain their belts. In July of 1988 Morrow and the Assassin would take the belts away and end Bad Company's only title reign.

(Interestingly enough, during 1988 Stampede stationed Pillman's real-life girlfriend at ringside. She was introduced as his sister so that he could save her from the heels and gain heat for himself by doing so. His "sister" would return to the ring years later without Pillman under the name Beulah McGillicutty.)

Pillman returned to America in 1989 and signed with Jim Crockett's World Championship Wrestling. It didn't take long for him to gain gold as he and Tom Zenk defeated Fabulous Freebirds Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin to win a tournament that would crown new WCW United States Tag Team champions in February of 1990. They would lose the titles to the Midnight Express in May.

Pillman got another shot at gold the following October as he entered a tournament to crown WCW's first World Light Heavyweight champion. At the 1991 Halloween Havoc Pillman defeated Richard Morton to win the belt and become the first champion.

Pillman held the title until Christmas Day, when he lost the belt to Jushin Liger. He regained the belt at the following February's Superbrawl and lost it again in June at Beach Blast to Scotty Flamingo (who would, three years later, become better known as Raven).

In 1992 Pillman turned heel and, after a brief time working with Barry Windham, allied himself with the cocky Stunning Steve Austin to form the Hollywood Blonds. On March 3, 1993 they won the unified NWA/WCW World Tag Team titles from Ricky Steamboat and Shane Douglas.

Steamboat and Douglas, however, weren't through. They donned masks and began billing themselves as Dos Hombres. At the 1993 Slamboree, Dos Hombres were scheduled to take on the Blonds in a steel cage match for the gold but there was one problem. Shane Douglas was no longer with WCW. Undeterred, WCW put the mask on Tom Zenk and the Blondes won the match to end the feud.

The Blonds set their sights even higher as they targeted Ric Flair and Arn Anderson next. The mockery started on Ric Flair's interview program a Flair for the Gold, where they did nothing but insult Flair and Anderson through the entire segment. The Blonds continued by launching their own segment "" a Flair for the Old, where Pillman dressed up a senile Ric Flair and Austin stuffed a Pillow under his shirt to portray Anderson.

The feud appeared to culminate at the 23rd Clash of the Champions. Flair was making his long-awaited in ring return as he and Anderson challenged the Blonds for the titles in a two out of three falls match. Flair and Anderson won the match but not the titles. The match ended with Barry Windham running in to attack Flair, which drew a DQ.

Still, Anderson wasn't willing to let this rest. After Paul Roma was recruited as a Horseman, he and Anderson joined forces to go after the Blonds. After the Blonds retained by dirty tactics at July's Beach Blast, WCW had another problem. Pillman went down with a knee injury. At the following Clash of the Champions the makeshift team of Austin and Lord Steven Regal lost the belts to Anderson and Roma. It was also the end of the Blonds.

When Pillman returned he found himself marking time until late 1995. At that time he allied himself with Arn Anderson, who was feuding with Ric Flair. A match was set for Halloween Havoc that would settle the feud "" Anderson and Pillman vs. Flair and Sting. Needless to say, Flair turned on Sting and the Horsemen were reborn. They were soon joined by new WCW signee Chris Benoit.

Pillman had been undergoing a personality change through 1995 as well. His personality had grown darker and more unpredictable, which had earned him the nickname of the Loose Cannon. This was nowhere more evident than at the 1996 Superbrawl. He'd been feuding with Kevin Sullivan and was set to take on Sullivan in a strap match that would only end when one man said the words "I respect you." Less than a minute into the match, Pillman grabbed the mic, said, "I respect you, Bookerman," and left the ring.

The truth is somewhat harder to discern as Pillman had his side and Eric Bischoff has his. Apparently, Pillman convinced Bischoff that the next logical step would be for him to be given a release from his WCW contract (Bischoff himself claims this was done so that Pillman could go to ECW and continue developing his Loose Cannon character). Regardless of the motivation, the outcome was the same. Pillman was gone.

Pillman headed to ECW for a time. In his first appearance (at the 1996 Cyberslam) he shredded Bischoff and WCW during an interview with Joey Styles, then made history by saying that since he'd pissed on WCW verbally, he might as well do it physically, then began trying to undo his pants. ECW security, led by Tod Gordon and Shane Douglas quickly hustled Pillman out of the ring. Pillman, however, broke free and attacked a "fan" in the audience with a fork he'd hidden in his boot.

Pillman's stay in ECW would not be long. In April of 1996, he fell asleep at the wheel of his Hummer and was involved in a car accident. The Hummer was totaled and Pillman's ankle was shattered. In addition, he was in a coma for a week. Pillman's doctors were forced to operate on his ankle and fused it, which spelled the end of his high-flying style and forced him to adopt one that was more mat-based.

In June, before Pillman was even off his crutches, he signed a contract with the WWF (which was notably the first guaranteed contract in WWF history). While Pillman recovered he was placed as a color commentator on Shotgun Saturday Night.

Still, Pillman longed to be back in the ring and, after recovering (and attacking a "fan" at a Shotgun taping) he found himself back in active competition. Soon after Wrestlemania 13, Pillman joined forces with Bret and Owen Hart, the British Bulldog, and Jim Neidhart to reform the Hart Foundation. The anti-American Harts soon found themselves at odds with Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Pillman himself would soon bear the brunt of his former partner's wrath.

Off-screen, Pillman's health had been deteriorating. He had returned to the ring too soon after his ankle injury and he had damaged the ankle further. To remove him from active competition, he was attacked by Steve Austin, who placed Pillman's ankle inside a folding chair and stomped it shut in an angle today known as "Pillmanizing." This would also lead to one of Raw's most infamous moments.

In November of 1996, Austin had declared that he was going after Pillman. On the November 4th Raw, Kevin Kelly had a live remote at Pillman's home, where Pillman was recovering from a follow-up ankle surgery. During an interview with Kelly, Pillman pulled out a pistol and asked what would happen when Austin 3:16 met Pillman nine millimeter.

Outside, Austin brawled his way through a group of Pillman's friends and broke into the house through the back door. Just before the feed went to static Pillman produced the pistol and aimed it at Austin.

Commentator Vince McMahon demanded updates from Kelly, who said only that there had been a couple of "explosions." As Raw ended, we got the feed back and saw Austin being dragged from the house while Pillman screamed that he was going to kill him (and managed to drop the f-bomb in the process).

As might be expected, the USA network was less than pleased with not only the whole angle with the gun, but also the profanity going out on a live broadcast. The WWF and Pillman both apologized, and the relationship between the WWF and USA returned to normal.

Throughout 1997, Pillman continued to work with the Hart Foundation until he shifted his attention to Goldust. Pillman wound up pursuing Goldust's manager (and wife) Marlena, eventually winning her services for 30 days at the Ground Zero In Your House. Pillman went on to torment Goldust by running vignettes of Pillman's XXX Files on the Titantron.

The rematch at the Badd Blood In Your House would never take place. During the night before the show Brian Pillman passed away in his sleep. His cause of death was listed as arteriosclerotic heart disease. He was 35 years old.

During his short life, Pillman showed that he was unafraid to buck the status quo, and that trend only grew in his wrestling career (especially once he joined up with fellow rebel Steve Austin). The Hollywood Blonds shot to notoriety with their assaults on legends like Flair and Anderson and are still remembered fondly today. Once Pillman began developing the Loose Cannon character, all bets were off. He shattered the walls of kayfabe by "outing" Kevin Sullivan as the WCW booker. He gave a promo that was too extreme for ECW. He got the better of Austin and caused waves between the WWF and their longtime broadcaster.

Pillman may have been a rebel, but he loved the business of wrestling. The effects of Pillman's rebellion are still being felt today. Despite his short life, Pillman definitely earned his place on this list of the top 100 wrestlers of the modern era.