+Extensions for quick download

8 Awesome Wrestling Stars You’ve Never Heard Of

[Applause] let's be honest friends we don't know every wrestler that has ever existed if you say you do you're lying it's fun to try and be some sort of encyclopedia on the sport Kings but that's no easy feat a few are always gonna slip through the cracks some people hadn't even heard of shins game Nakamura before he made his way through NXT and AJ Styles was just the name as aside from someone who'd been smashing the non WWE scene for years there's nothing wrong with that either you shouldn't be expected to follow anything with that much intensity unless you choose to do so it goes further than this as well as there are plenty of guys and gals who have always gone under the radar despite being excellent I'm Simon from what culture and this is eight awesome wrestling stars you've never heard of number eight austan idols also known as the universal heartthrob which seemingly means we'd all fall in love as soon as we set our eyes on him Austin Idol was also one of the best workers in the Memphis territories he played the beach blonde Playboy he was chiseled cuca promo and go in the ring these are important tick boxes before this he'd been Mike McCord his real name a dude who was around a hundred pounds heavier with a powerlifting gimmick a plane crash in 1975 would change all that though as mcquarters forced to drop all the white one also vowing to never fly again this many mostly stayed local but transformed himself into Austin Idol before having legendary feud with Jerry the King Lawler and the road warriors he'd mostly retired by 1990 and did so officially eight years later and if you do nothing else today go and watch one of his promos notice anything that's right he basically inspired a lot of guys in that era probably one of the best talents that never worked for the WWE Idol was brilliant number seven Brad Armstrong many sayed of all the Armstrong's Brad was the best the reason that surprised his son is that the rest of the family consisted of bullet Bob Scott Steve and Brian the latter of which would change his name to the Road Dogg and being part of the biggest period in pro wrestling history in terms of might work that prize definitely went to Jesse James within the squared circle no one could touch Brad who was an astonishing wrestler and a highly skilled performer for one reason or another he just couldn't find the success he deserved even though he had some moments such as joining WCW version of the fabulous Freebirds all that time he was forced to put on a spider costume and be the awfully named Iraq Numair and surprisingly Marvel Comics sued Armstrong sadly died in 2012 of a heart attack and his legacy was summed up wonderfully by Jim Ross who said that while he called hundreds of Brad's matches he never once saw one that could be called bad number 6 dawn Leo Jonathan as odd as it sounds now wrestling didn't really attract super tall guys in around the 1950s this is why when Don do Jonathan walked in around six foot five although he was billed as six foot nine because of course he found work everywhere because of this height Japan America Europe he was a drawer and pretty much took on a who's who are pro wrestling as he made his way around the globe even before the invention of cable TV and pay-per-view Jonathan and somebody known as Andre the Giant was selling out crowds of 16,000 people in 1972 that was impressive no matter how you wanted to spin it it also helped Donna leo spread his world appeal even wider still he was also quite the hand in the ring receiving ultimate praise from Stu Hart I'll call him the best big man ever and even went over than a touristy hard-to-please Lou Thesz Jonathan retired in 1918 and stacked over ever since which is a rarity in wrestling so we can have another nod for that too number five when a me Toyota debuting in 1987 at the age of 16 Minami Kyoto is one of the best pro wrestlers ever who also managed to rack up 14 five-star matches from the Wrestling Observer say what you want about that rating system that's still pretty impressive keeping this up until she retired in 2017 Toyota has been called everything from the Shawn Michaels of joshi wrestling to someone who has more moves than you can shake a stick at she could do anything it's why she was voted the best women's wrestler ever in 2009 by those wrestling observer readers and signed off her career by competing in a 50 match marathon that's nuts but also a testament to what she could do Chioda had everything to be honest and she will more than likely blow your socks off number 4 marked rollerball Rocco one of the most inspirational and influential wrestlers on the modern scene not enough people talk about mark rollerball Rocco more famous for his work under a mask as black tiger in Japan limiting him to just that role is doing the man a huge disservice before even made it eastward of his heart hitting style over in the UK as Sammy Lee had traveled in that direction and by the time he was brought over he was ready to take his approach to pro wrestling show hundreds of wrestlers a new way of working Rocco was a huge reason we see cruiserweights flip around as we do so without him who knows where we'll be at 2018 maybe wrestling would be one big pile of crap this guy deserves all our respect and then some so why don't you give it to him today and go spread the word of Mark rollerball Rocco number three mariko yashida another contender for one of the greatest wrestlers ever Mariko Yashida revolutionized women's wrestling and did so for over three decades starting as a high flyer where she still made an impression it was when she repackaged herself with a submission specialist but all of a sudden the world stood up and took notice she invented moves trained a whole generation of performers and basically never had a bad match which she did it was soon forgotten as she raised the bar yet again a true trailblazer in this crazy sport we all watch a lot of people often compare her to the likes of Bret Hart a warrior in her own right Yoshida's body of work speaks for itself number two Luther Lindsay Luther Lindsay died in the middle of a ring following a heart attack in 1972 at just 48 years old it was utterly tragic one of the pioneers of interracial wrestling back when interracial resting was actually a thing Lindsay was a significant Talent the constantly received praise from the one and only lewd Fez incredibly popular in the Pacific Northwest the mid-atlantic territories during the 50s and 60s he was billed as the United States colored heavyweight champion Lindsay would reg Lee team with the likes of Nick Bockwinkel and feud with legends such as Iron Mike DiBiase Mad Dog Vachon and one lonely pet person he paved the way over 40 years ago and his influence on the business should never be forgotten and again that's why we're doing this list head on to YouTube see what you can track down and start to understand why Luther Lindsay helped when it came to the progression and evolution of professional wrestling number one Johnny Saint there are plenty of British wrestlers from back of the day who deserve more attention and a bright spotlight put on them but maybe the name at the top of that list is Johnny Saint the best kept secret in Western wrestling st. was not only a gentleman but one of the best technical performers that has ever existed decades ahead of his time Johnny debuted in 1958 just 17 years of age and went all the way through to 1996 before he eventually hung up his boots he inspired a whole generation of wrestlers including William Regal fit Finlay and of course Daniel Bryan and if you do want to see him today you can as the GM of NXT UK is impact on the the industry rang out far and wide which is why he now finds himself in the loving embrace of those warm WWE arms

Loading