Professional wrestling started from humble beginnings and has grown into a billion dollar industry that has seen thousands of people enter the ring. Using a combination of some wrestling skills with theatrics, these individuals have been performing for fans of every generation. However, there are a select few that have shaped the way professional wrestling has grown through the decades.
The most looked at decades are those from 1950-2000. During these years, there was a major change as there was the introduction of television, which allowed for many households to get a glimpse of the entertainment that pro wrestling could provide. In addition, this allowed for wrestlers to create flamboyant and charismatic personas that they could use in their respective promotions.
This list will look at some of the names from the 1950s to the present that have made pro wrestling what it is today.
Top Wrestler of the 1950’s- Lou Thesz
Lou Thesz is widely considered by many in the professional wrestling industry to be the greatest wrestler of all time not just of the 1950’s. Lou Thesz started his pro wrestling career in the National Wrestling Association, where he would become the youngest World Heavyweight Champion at the age of 21. He would continue to wrestle with the National Wrestling Association until the National Wrestling Alliance was established in 1948.
While working with the National Wrestling Alliance, Thesz set a goal of unifying the various World Heavyweight titles in the United States so that the National Wrestling Alliance’s World Heavyweight title would be the one and only true Heavyweight belt. Thesz would finally accomplish this goal in 1952 when he won all the World Heavyweight Championships thus unifying the belts and making the National Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship the top wrestling championship which is still defended today.
Thesz would go on to retire as a six-time World Heavyweight champion and still holds the record for the longest reign as the NWA World Heavyweight Champion, which stands at over 5 years.
Top Wrestler of the 1960’s- Bruno Sammartino
Italian born Bruno Sammartino without a doubt had one of the best in-ring careers that a wrestler can hope to have. Sammartino began his career wrestling for promotions in the northeast United States. He worked as a promoter in Pittsburgh and was said to be quite good at promoting wrestling cards. He also wrestled for the Capitol Wrestling Federation, which would eventually become the World Wide Wrestling Federation owned by Vincent J. McMahon.
Bruno Sammartino was known for his blend of traditional mat wrestling skills and power moves that made him a force to be feared in the ring. These skills would eventually lead to Bruno Sammartino to main event many shows that were held at Madison Square Garden and would also gain him is first major wrestling title when he defeated Buddy Rogers in 1963 for the WWWF Championship.
Winning the WWWF Championship made Bruno Sammartino the top draw of the 1960’s and he would be the driving force that would carry the World Wide Wrestling Federation for the entire 60’s and even well into the 1970’s. Sammartino would go on to hold the championship for almost 8 years and in doing so he broke the longest reign as world champion that was set by Lou Thesz. Also, he holds the record for the longest reign as champion in the McMahon owned World Wide Wrestling Federation, which is now known to fans as World Wrestling Entertainment.
Sammartino has long since retired from the ring and in 2013 he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in the same place where he had so many sellouts Madison Square Garden.
Top Wrestler of the 1970’s- “Superstar” Billy Graham
“Superstar” Billy Graham is one of the wrestlers that is credited with defining the image of the pro wrestler as professional wrestling was starting to gain television coverage. Billy Graham not only had the looks which included his long bleach blonde hair and ring attire, but also had the physique that many later wrestlers would adopt.
Billy Graham wrestled in the major promotions during his career, which included the National Wrestling Alliance, the American Wrestling Association, and the World Wide Wrestling Federation. His biggest achievement of the decade and possibly his career came when he defeated Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF World Heavyweight Championship and would become the first heel champion to hold a major title for an extended period of time.
Top Wrestlers of the 1980’s- Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair
With this decade, there were two names that defined the image of what a pro wrestler from the 1980’s should be. Hulk Hogan during this time was under contract with the World Wrestling Federation, while Ric Flair was making his name in the National Wrestling Alliance.
Hulk Hogan during the 1980’s was the biggest face of the pro wrestling industry and his fame only grew more as the Hulkamania movement grew. With his 6ft 7in 300lbs build, Hogan towered over most of his competition and was an intimidating figure to be standing across from in the ring. Hulk Hogan won his first WWF World title in 1984 and this reign would not only last over the next four years, but would skyrocket both him and the World Wrestling Federation to the mainstream level.
Over the course of his in-ring career, Hulk Hogan would become a 12-time World Heavyweight Champion and would compete in both the World Wrestling Federation now renamed World Wrestling Entertainment and World Championship Wrestling.
While Hulk Hogan was experiencing his success in the World Wrestling Federation, Ric Flair was experiencing the same rock star like success in the National Wrestling Alliance. Ric Flair known by his fans as “The Nature Boy” was the reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion and was wrestling in many of the top territories of the National Wrestling Alliance. Flair would build his persona as a charismatic champion with his blonde hair, jewelry, suits, and his amazing mic skills. Also, during this time Flair would go on to form the stable The Four Horsemen which paved the way for many of the stables that are in the business today.
Over the course of his career, Flair would become a 16-time World Heavyweight Champion and would wrestle in many of the major wrestling companies like World Championship Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance, and the World Wrestling Federation now renamed World Wrestling Entertainment.
Top Wrestlers of the 1990’s- The Rock and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin
In the 1900’s there were many changes in the industry the most notable being the Attitude Era that the World Wrestling Federation entered into and the other being Hulk Hogan leaving the World Wrestling Federation for its biggest competitor at the time World Championship Wrestling.
The loss of Hulk Hogan was a major loss for Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation and there was a struggle within the company to find a new star to fit Hogan’s shoes. There would be two that would battle for this position in the new and edgy Attitude Era of wrestling that was far different from the previous decade.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was one of the two that would try to claim the spot that Hogan left. The Rock is known for his family lineage in wrestling and is also considered to be one of the best wrestlers when it comes to mic skills. These in addition to his natural charisma made a crowd favorite.
The Rock won his first championship in the World Wrestling Federation when he defeated Triple H for the Intercontinental Championship. The Rock would eventually become a contender for the WWF Championship and would take the moniker “The People’s Champion.” The Rock went on to win his first WWF Championship defeating Mankind in a tournament after the events of the Montreal Screwjob. Over the next few years, The Rock would have many great feuds with the likes of The Undertaker, “Stone Cold’ Steve Austin, Triple H, and even Vince McMahon.
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin was the definition of the anti-hero in the wrestling industry. He was the beer drinking, bad mouth, boss beating guy that didn’t want to be told what to do by anyone. Just like The Rock, Austin came into the World Wrestling Federation late into the decade, but the time he was there, he made a big impact in the company. Austin during the 1990’s had many championships and accolades like winning the Royal Rumble back-to-back in 1997 and 1998, won many World Tag Team Championships, won the 1998 King of the Ring tournament, and became a 4-time WWF Champion.
Austin would also be involved in many of the top feuds of the 1990’s facing the likes of Triple H, The Rock, The Hart Family, and Vince McMahon.
Austin would eventually be forced to retire from the ring in 2003 after sustaining multiple knee injuries and a neck injury. Austin would make a few appearances in the company during the years he was retired from the ring and would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.
Top Wrestler of the 2000’s- Triple H and John Cena
After the collapse of the Attitude Era in the World Wrestling Federation, there were many changes in the wrestling industry. World Wrestling Federation owner Vince McMahon purchased the failing companies World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling as well as being forced to rename his own company to World Wrestling Entertainment as the result of a court settlement with the World Wildlife Fund.
Other changes included mainstream stars like The Rock and Stone Cold Steve Austin eventually leaving World Wrestling Entertainment because The Rock was seeking a movie career and Austin sustaining career threatening injuries. Now the decade was awaiting the new stars that would try and claim the title as the top wrestler of the decade. Two would emerge and share this title and those wrestlers were Triple H and John Cena.
Triple H started out working his way through the then World Wrestling Federation where he would have reigns as the Intercontinental Champion and the European Champion before winning his first major World Heavyweight Championship in 1999 capturing the WWF Championship. As champion, he immediately became a main event wrestler and over the decade would end up winning a total of 13 world titles in the company. In addition to his championships, like Ric Flair, he would go on to form some of the biggest stable in the wrestling business forming Degeneration X with Shawn Michaels and Evolution with Ric Flair, Randy Orton, and Dave Batista.
John Cena made his debut in World Wrestling Entertainment in the 2002. John Cena made his start in WWE working his way through the ranks of the company and competing against some of the top wrestlers in the company like Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar while trying to challenge for the WWE Championship as well. Though unsuccessful at gaining the belt, Cena would eventually get his first taste of championship gold when he won the WWE United States Championship in 2004. Cena would go on to eventually win his first main event title winning the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 21. After winning the title, Cena’s popularity among fans would skyrocket him to mainstream levels similar to Hulk Hogan. Cena has since become an 11-time World Heavyweight Champion and his still one of the biggest wrestlers in World Wrestling Entertainment today.
All of these wrestlers made a huge impact on the decade that they wrestled in and each became major stars for their respected companies. These individuals have left the blueprint for the next generation of wrestlers to follow so that they can become the next big stars and immortalize themselves in the pages of professional wrestling history.