Well lets take a look at some of the great athletes that have come through professional wrestling and Andre the Giant the 8th wonder of the world would not constitute a great athlete despite his defeating the human punching bag Chuck Wepner in the freak match of the 70's. Don't short change the Giant, he may not have been an athlete but he did get into the ring with a heavyweight boxer who fought the great Muhammed Ali.
The "Four Horsemen" of the old NWA featured Arn Anderson, the late steroid crazed suicidal freak Chris "The Canadian" Crippler Benoit who took not only his own life but the lives of all his family members and "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair who used to get into the ridiculous verbal spats with the human Michelin Man Dusty Rhodes over who could get the most women. None could be considered world class athletes but Flair was not only a state wrestling champ in Minnesota but would go on to earn a football scholarship in the late 60's at the University of Minnesota. So one would wonder how great could Ric Flair be in today's octagon in his prime? The popular answer would be he would get his ass kicked but I beg to differ. Case in point current UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar earned honors in the state of Minnesota as a wrestling champ before heading off to the University of Minnesota to play football. Had the UFC been around in the 70's the Nature Boy very well could have traded in his gaudy purple robe along with the foreign object he hid in his trunks for Octagon fame. You may not agree but we will never know. One thing for sure Ric Flair was Brock Lesnar's predecessor in Minnesota state championship wrestling, Big 10 football, and pro wrestling and MMA was not around in Flair's prime. Was Flair crazy enough to get into the octagon, just take a look to the left.
Alongside the Nature Boy in the early 90's another "Four Horseman" came into the NWA with a gaudy resume as Steve "Mongo" McMichael earned all-American honors at the University of Texas as a Defensive Tackle and was recently inducted into the NCAA college football Hall of Fame. Even more impressive McMichael was key member of the Chicago Bears teams that won a Super Bowl in 1985 and earned Pro Bowl Honors in 1987 and 1988 in the NFL.
Going back way deep into the professional wrestling archives is former Bronco, Dolphin, Oiler and Jet Wahoo McDaniel. Hall of Fame and Super Bowl winning quarterback of the Kansas City Chiefs Len Dawson claimed the hardest hit he ever took in his football career was by one Indian linebacker named Wahoo McDaniel. As a matter of fact Hall of Famers Broadway Joe Namath and Larry Czonka both commented on Wahoo McDaniel in their autobiographies about how hard Wahoo could hit. Wahoo's career is highlighted by numerous spectacles including 23 tackles against the Broncos while with the Jets, two knocked out policeman while playing with the Dolphins and as a 44 year old man taking down steroid freak Super Star Billy Graham in an arm wrestling match. If you don't think Wahoo was a great athlete than let me know where your name is in the opinions of Hall of Fame football players and have y8ou ever made 23 tackles in a pee wee game let alone a professional football game.
One has to wonder how far Terry Bollea’s athletic career might have progressed had he taken up football or real wrestling after all he was a Hulk of a man as a 6’4” 300 lb muscle bound stud known to most of us as Hulk Hogan. Or Canadian born Larry Shreeve could he have been an MMA star as he was a 7th degree grand master in karate and judo by the age of 17 before Montreal promoter Jack Britton discovered the impoverished native of Windsor just across the river from Detroit teaching his martial arts to anyone that would pay him. Shreeve like Bollea would take the paychecks earned in pro wrestling and take on the identity of Abdullah the Butcher. Could Larry or Abdullah have been a MMA star? Who knows but one thing is for sure he was a mixed martial artist combining both judo and karate to his resume in the late 50's and through out the 60's. Then there is modern day Dwayne Johnson a member of the great University of Miami tradition where he played football alongside future Hall of Famers Ray Lewis and went onto star in the modern day walking tall and wrestle under the name of “The Rock”.
The next big leap for pro wrestlers is Bobby Lashley currently an undefeated Strike Force heavyweight who is laying waste to the competition. It’s only a matter of time before former WWE star Lashley gets a shot at the title. Lashley was a three time NAIA wrestling champion and was training for the Olympics before getting injured while working at a bank that was being robbed. Colorful path to say the least and should Lashley get his shot at the title versus Fedor Emilienanko and defeat the former champion pro wrestlers need to start receiving their due as great athletes. These are just a few examples of great athletes in the world of professional wrestling that are not just great entertainers but recognizable and legitimate athletes.
Don't disrespect Pro Wrestling as the last time the UFC heavyweight champ was leaving the ring after getting knockout artist Shane Carwin to submit he was accompanied by a former NFL defensive lineman and a Hurricane Defensive lineman that both earned fame in professional wrestling.
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