Believe it or not, some men in wrestling actually had the audacity to piss off Andre the Giant. Have you seen this monster? Anyway, Andre became notorious for a move called “checking the oil”, where he would shove his thumb in their poop shoots. Have you seen Andre the Giants thumb?!
The aforementioned thumb of Andre the Giant…
This guy is one of two dudes Andre the Giant was actually afraid of. “King Tonga” is one of the baddest dudes you will ever hear about. One time in a bar, he bit a guy’s nose off because the guy said wrestling was fake. In another altercation, he knocked out a dude’s teeth with TWO FINGERS!
Remember when I said Andre the Giant was afraid of two men? Well Haku was one, and this steel ball swinging dude was the other one. What sort of story could make a man of Andre’s stature fear you?
When a notorious biker gang showed up to an event in Eugene, Oregon and began heckling, Race challenged the biggest one in the room to a fight. After breaking the man’s nose with a headbutt, he choked him out. According to some who were there, the biker actually sh*t himself during the fight.
In the 80’s when the Cold War was reaching its pinnacle, even pro-wrestling couldn’t escape its grasp. There were several wrestlers who turned to Russian personas the elevate their bad boy images. No one was more dedicated than Nikita Koloff. This guy legally changed his name and learned the language so well he refused to speak English for a year. He even went so far as to change the birthplace on his birth certificate to Lithuania (is that even legal?).
So this Mexican legend didn’t change his name or place of birth, he just wore a mask for 42 YEARS, PEOPLE! Anytime he went outside he was shrouded by a mask. Check the mail? Better throw on my mask. Walk the dog? Mask-up gentlemen! He even had a chinless mask made to wear while eating. In the entire 42 years, he only revealed himself once, on Mexican television. Yeah, he was buried in it too.
Ric Flair survived a plane crash that ended much more tragically for several other super stars and killed the pilot. Also on the plane were Johnny Valentine (who was paralyzed) and Mr. Wrestling (who broke his back). Ric Flair broke his back in three places. Due to his injuries, Flair changed his “power brawler” style, and became the high flying, savvy athletic bad ass we all remember him as.
Once upon a time, wrestling was a regional event. You didn’t cross into another promotion’s territory. Well, Vince McMahon never gave a f*uck about tradition so when he went national with WWE, it truly pissed some people off. The situation got so ugly, in fact, that during an event in Kansas City, Harley Race confronted and punched (the real kind) Hulk Hogan. When Hogan quipped he was surprised Race hadn’t pulled a gun, the promoter brandished a .38 pistol.
In the 90’s, when UFC was just starting to gain a real following, WWE decided to host their own version of the real fighting event. Or that was the premise… The fight was supposed to make worldwide sensation Dr. Death look like a certified badass. Apparently, they forgot to tell Bart Gunn that sh*t still wasn’t real. He proceeded to absolutely destroy everyone in the event, including the doctor. As punishment, the WWE put him in the ring against Butterbean. Gunn gave no sh*ts. After beating the mess out of Dr. Death, he found worldwide stardom and a lucrative career in japan.
This is less about wrestling and more about one of the biggest stars in the sport. This massive man downed 119, 12 oz. beers in six hours. He applied to Guiness Book for an official record, but they refused to publish his feat expecting anyone else attempting it would end ugly.
When wrestling was first becoming mainstream, there were two guys you could guarantee were the toughest dudes in the room; the champ and the dude wearing pink boas and eye shadow. This real life tough guy sh*t meant only particular legends were allowed to pull the “fey” gimmick, wrestlers Georgeous George, Adrian Adonis and Dustin “Goldust” Runnels were some of the baddest mother f*ckers you’ll ever see in a tutu.
The Von Erich’s were considered the “First Family of Texas Wrestling” until most of them met tragic ends. In all there were seven, Papa Fritz Von Erich and six sons. One boy died of electrocution and drowning at six. The next to pass was David, who died while touring Japan and rising to fame. Three more Von Erichs took their own lives. The last remaining member of the Von Erich boys, Kevin, moved to Hawaii and is one of the nicest, least bitter people you’ll ever meet. He’s even been the subject of an ESPN 30 for 30 special that is moving and inspirational.
Russo was a booker, which is to mean he was a “writer”, for WCW in its twilight. This was also when Hulk Hogan was apparently one of the least liked men in the business. because his fellow wrestlers thought he had cozied up to management a little too much. Anyway, one fateful evening Russo was giving his spiel in the ring, a scripted thrashing of the Hulkster. His performance, however, went way off script venting real vitriol towards the mustached menace. His speech apparently irked Hogan so much, he sued the company for defamation.
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