Top Five Underappreciated Influencers in Pro Wrestling

Rob Faint

The Top Five wrestlers who don’t get enough credit for their contributions to the professional wrestling business. Wrestlers who don’t nearly get discussed enough for what they helped build in this industry.

1.      “Crippler” Ray Stevens-Ray Stevens has influenced an entire generation of wrestlers, from Ric Flair to Shawn Michaels.  His mastery of bumping and making his opponent look good blurred the lines of reality.  He knew the importance of selling for his opponent.  He was one of the first to use off-the-top rope maneuvers, such as the elbow drop.  Add in his great tag teams with Nick Bockwinkel and Pat Patterson and you have a man whose fingerprints can be found all over wrestling today. 

2.      Ivan Koloff-By the time Koloff began wrestling the concept of the foreign heel was not new.  But his defeat of Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF title raised it to a new level.  Good doesn’t always triumph over evil.  And his influence inspired many other Russian villains such as Nikita Koloff and Krusher Khruschev. 

3.      The Fabulous Kangaroos-This team is credited with making tag team wrestling popular in the 1950’s and 60’s.  They didn’t invent it, but they perfected it.  They were also some of the first to play up the “sports entertainment” element of wrestling.  They threw fliers or cardboard boomerangs to the fans with their name and picture on it.  They were also the 1^st team to be inducted into the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame. 

4.      Ox Baker-It’s hard to determine which was more influential, his look or his reputation.  He looked like a monster, sinister and evil.  Add a reputation of killing 2 men in the ring.  His monster heel persona has been emulated and copied multiple times.

5.      Thunderbolt Patterson-When you talk about the great talkers in wrestling people mention Superstar Graham, Dusty Rhodes and Ric Flair.  Only recently has T-Bolt been getting his due.  Part minister, part carnival barker, he had the gift of gab.  He also fought for wrestlers’ rights and unionization, which made him very unpopular at the time.