The best wrestling stars of the 1970s

It doesn’t matter if it’s a throwback on Thursday or a flashback on Friday. Every day people want an opportunity to look back and remind themselves of their glory days. Blood, barrel chest, mutton chops. Welcome to professional wrestling in the 1970s. Everything was done there, and Grapplers were not involved in sports entertainment. Most of the time there were no high spots. German suppresses and body slams were finished, and hurricane lana, five-star frog splash, Swanton bombs and outside dives didn’t know what.

Most wrestlers did not structure or track the diet and training regimen that many athletes continue today, but there is no mistake. These guys were regularly the length of the match, allowing the crowd to easily rely on for 30, 45 or 60 minutes. In the 70s, Kayfabe was fine and energetic, and the crowd believed in what they were seeing. Don’t forget this before wrestling was called sports entertainment. Many of those on this list are legal tough people, giving sports the credibility that is lacking in a way today.

40

Stan Stasiak has become a shocking champion

1958-1984

Stan “Man” Stasiak has become the most unexpected WWE champion of the decade. No one remembers Staciac near the other top world champions of the decade, but he received a big push from the blue when the company needed a new person.

With the success of Staciac, he wrestled internationally after doing some stints across Japan and New Japan. Fans today remember that his son Sean Stasiak is low card technique, but his father Stan achieved a lot in his career decades ago.

39

Freddie Blasie retired as a great heel

1952-1986

The legendary “classy” Freddie Blassie’s career ended in the ring in the 1970s after some time in Japan and the US. About half a decade featured Great Heels finishing his time in the ring before moving on to the role of manager.

WWE signed Blasie and began his management career in the late 70s, becoming an even greater legend. Blassie has influenced the industry in multiple ways during a critical decade.

38

Waste Dog has become a breakout star

1976-1998

Waste Dog is a groundbreaking wrestler who opened the door for future black wrestlers in the US. With his debut in the late 1970s, JYD stood out for his athleticism and charisma.

Stampede Wrestling and North-South Wrestling each used junk dogs in related roles to help him break in as new stars in the industry. The 1980s made him even more famous to get opportunities in the larger WWE landscape.

37

Rocky Johnson was a groundbreaking star

1964-1991

Dwayne “Rock” Johnson’s father, Rocky Johnson, was a star from his debut in the 1960s to his retirement in 1991. Johnson began in 1964 and won the names of two world-class boxers, Rocky Marciano and Jack Johnson. He then became one of the groundbreaking stars of professional wrestling. He started in California and moved to the NWA in the 1970s, where he became a top star and won a world title.

He was playing against world champion Terry Funk and Harley Race, but he never won a world title, but he became a star thanks to his performance with the promotional top guy. He made his name primarily as a tag team wrestler over the last decade, but was regularly ranked in the top 10 rankings based on most professional wrestling magazines of the 1970s. He even had the biggest victory of that decade when he defeated Jerry Lawler in the top title in Memphis. Johnson moved to WWE in the 1980s, where he also won the tag title gold.

36

David von Erich was the pride of Texas

1977-1984

David von Erich was the most talented member of the von Erich family and had the best ceiling. He listened to him as he became the next NWA world champion, and the promotion planned that he would defeat Rick Flair and govern the title and have a long reign. However, tragedy raged and David died while on a tour in Japan. Instead, his brother Kelly von Erich won the title and less than a month before his run ended, von Erich disappeared.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. David was the most talented and legal superstar of them. He was the only von Erich, proving that he could play the hero (in Texas) and the villain (in Florida), and he both did very well. He was also extremely talented in the ring. He proved himself against Harley Race, actually debuting against the NWA world champion in 1977, racing in a 30-minute draw. He worked for three years in the 1970s and was a star before his death in 1984.

35

The Gorilla Monsoon wasn’t just an announcer

1958-1997

For most fans, the Gorilla Monsoon was either a WWE babyface announcer or the future of authority at the start of the attitude era. But before that, he was the heel of a monster and one of the most terrifying wrestlers to compete in wwwf. His career began in 1958 and he had a great career as a big man wrestler (6 feet 7, 401 pounds). However, when he signed with wwwf and Vincent J. McMahon in 1963, he became more than that. He became the heel of Mostunter and soon became a monster to challenge his beloved Bruno Samartino.

For most of the 1960s and 1970s, the Gorilla Monsoon was always ranked in the top 10 WWWF rankings and was always a threat. He towers over Bruno and proves the horrifying villain that the champions have to find a way to cut back on the match after the match. He also took part in a huge crossover event in 1976 when Ali faced off against Muhammad Ali during a TV taping while preparing to fight Japan’s Antonio Innoki. The gorilla attacks Ali with a plane spin and becomes even more hated villain.

34

Blackjack Lanza was a rough and tough cowboy

1961-1985

When you look at Blackjack, most people think about Blackjack mulligan. However, the other Blackjacks were just as great, even if they were better than Barry Wyndham’s legendary father. Blackjack Lanza was regularly ranked as one of the top contenders for the world titles of Bruno Sammartino, Pedro Morales and Bob Backlund in WWE in the 1970s. Lanza started in 1961 and worked for both AWA and WWE in the 1970s, where he was a tag team wrestler and a star heel in singles.

He won the World Tag Team title in the AWA with Bobby Duncombe (with Bobby Heenan as manager) and WWE (with Blackjack Mulligan). He also did a lot with Vince McMahon Sr. Blackjack’s bar-b-what). He also won a stint in the NWA in the 1970s, and eventually collapsed and retired in 1985. After his retirement, Lanza became a road agent for WWE for the next 20 years.

33

Abdullah, the butcher, was a wild man

1958-2010

One of the most shocking entrances to the WWE Hall of Fame came in 2011 when the company introduced butcher Abdullah. It’s not that he didn’t deserve it based on his legendary career. That’s because of the infamous nature of his career. Abdullah was a hardcore death wrestler before it was even a popular style. He spent more on bleeding scars and carving scars on other wrestlers’ heads than he did the actual wrestling moves. He was justly a wrestling fan, and sometimes even his enemies scared him.

In the 1970s, Abdullah traveled the world and had a special charm similar to a name like Andre the Giant. This means that although he has won several regional titles throughout his career, he rarely won major titles. In the 1970s, Abdullah traveled to Japan, Europe, the Caribbean, Australia and Africa, wherever he stepped into the ring, and it was a big draw. He was a major star at the level of the giant Baba, Terry Funk, Billy Robinson and Jumbo Truta during that era.

32

Sakaguchi Kiyoshi was a Japanese legend

1967-1990

Before starting his professional wrestling career, Seiji Sakaguchi was a legitimate filming fighter. He was judo with a black belt for the fifth time, winning the 1965 All-Japan Judo Championship. This meant that he entered a career in Japan with bloodlines to become an immediate star. It seemed like a more modern era when Brock Lesnar returned to WWE after winning the UFC Championship. For Sage, he made his debut at JWA and moved to NJPW after the company collapsed.

His career lasted for 23 years, serving as president of the NWA in 1992 and 1993. In his career, he was the top name in Japan, winning four titles and several titles in the JWA at NJPW. He won the NWA North American tag team championship with partner Antonio Innoki and twice with Strong Kobayashi. He is WWF North American Champion and was listed as #146 Pro wrestling illustration The greatest single wrestler ever.

31

Crusher was the mainstay of the AWA.

1949-1989

Crusher was the tough brawler who made his name primarily in the AWA, one of the biggest draws in the company’s history. Crusher sometimes used the name Crusher Lisovsky because other wrestlers used the name Crusher, but he was a wrestler worthy of using his own name. He started in the 1940s and picked up his name when the promoter admitted that he “crushed” everyone who entered the ring. It became not only his name, but his most prominent feature.

His greatest success came as a tag team wrestler along with his partner, Dick the Bruiser. They ultimately won the AWA World Tag Team Championship five times and the WWA Tag Team Championship six times. He also won the NWA International Tag Team Championship once. Before his run in the 1970s, he was also a three-time AWA World Champion in the 1960s, winning the tag team title with Baron von Raschke as his partner in the 1980s.

30

Blackjack Mulligan was the beginning of his legacy

1967-1993

Blackjack Mulligan left a considerable legacy behind him. Both of his sons have become wrestlers, Barry Wyndham has been one of the best members of the four jockeys in history, and his other son, Kendall Wyndham, has had a great career. His son-in-law is Mike Rotunda, who worked as an IRS. His grandchildren are Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas. But few people as wrestlers were as tough as Blackjack Mulligan, who made his name in the 1970s.

He worked for WWWF since 1971, rebutting with world champions Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales. However, his greatest success came with the tag team known as Blackjack alongside Blackjack Lanza. They once won the tag team title there and the tag title in the WWA. He also worked on territory, won titles in the Mid-Atlantic (which later became Crockett Promotion), and other NWA territories of the time. He ended up in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 as part of Blackjack.

29

Baron von Raschke was the master of claws

1966-1996

Later in his career, Baron von Raschke almost became a parody wrestler. I became a parody wrestler. This is a gimmick that suffered from English and was mostly German heels round and around the ring. His days at the Jim Crockett Promotion in the 1980s, in his later years in the AWA, he was never considered a good wrestler or a legitimate candidate, and was there to work as a mid-card heel with a limited moving set. But that wasn’t a baron in the 1970s. He has always been a threat to any champion.

The Baron began wrestling in the AWA in 1966, rigging Nazi rigs where he set up around the ring and threatened anyone with iron claws. Von Rache, who was actually born in Nebraska, really worked to develop German characters and became a top heel. In the 1970s he was a multiple-time champion, won titles in the NWA and AWA, and wrestled in WWWF over that decade. He won the WWWF Championship match against Bruno Sam Martino at Madison Square Garden in 1977.

28

Ray Stevens was an AWA clipler

1950-1992

Ray Stevens has two very different gimmicks, both of which made him a star. Stevens got his start in wrestling in 1950 at the age of 15, working in his way after learning under former world champion Buddy Rogers. This led him to adopt the early gimmick as Ray “Blonde Bomber” Stevens. However, in the 1970s, when he became Ray “Cripler” Stevens, he picked up an even more successful gimmick. This nickname arrived when he broke Dr. X’s leg in the AWA.

Once he became a clipper, Ray Stevens achieved high levels of success with AWA and wwwf. He won four AWA World Tag Team titles with three NWA World Tag Team titles: Nick Bockwinkel and Greg Valentine, Jimmy Snuka and Ivan Koloff. In 1972 he worked for wwwf and rebutted world champion Pedro Morales. Back in the AWA, he set his sights on former tag team partner Bockwinkel in 1977. This is one of the hottest feuds in promotions.

27

Mr. Wrestling II was a beloved masked man

1955-2007

Wrestling II started wrestling as Johnnie Walker in 1955 and retired in 1972 after working briefly as a mask wrestler known as a grappler. However, in 1972, Paul Jones asked him to return as a masked wrestler known as Mr. Wrestling II, the protégé of former Mr. Wrestling (Tim Woods). This became the gimmick that made him a superstar both in Jones’ Georgia promotion and Eddie Graham’s Florida territory.

Mr Wrestling II became one of the biggest draws in the territorial system with new gimmicks. He even had a major fan that the whole world later knew – future US President Jimmy Carter. In the 1970s, Wrestling II was well above Babyface, and in that decade he held the Georgia Heavyweight Championship 10 times. When wrestling became mainstream in the 80s, Mr. Wrestling II turned his heels and helped him take over Magnum TA’s new young babyface.

26

Jay Strongbou Chief was a Native American hero

1947-1987

Chief Jay Strongbow began his wrestling career in 1947, where he achieved many successes in the NWA Territories, winning titles along the way. However, he achieved his greatest success when he appeared on wwwf and became one of the biggest baby faces in the world of professional wrestling, and hit a big stage that influenced so many stars in his work in the ring. He joined WWWF in 1970 as Chief Jay Strong Bow, wearing a Native American Head Deress and using a native-themed movement. This led him to work as a babyface at the company.

He countered top names such as Jimmy Valiant and superstar Billy Graham. He almost defeated Graham for the WWWF World Championships during their feud. At this point in the WWWF in the 1970s, Strongbow won the tag team title along with Sony King in 1972, and again won with Billy White Wolf in 1976. He spent the entire 1970s at wwwf before returning to the NWA. He finally returned to WWF in 1982 and retired in 1986.

twenty five

Dusty Rhodes was the American Dream

1967-2010

アメリカンドリームダスティロードスは、1980年代にプロレスリングの世界の頂点に上がりました。しかし、彼は70年代の巨大なスターであり、NWAとその領土でほぼ独占的に働いていました。彼はかかととして10年を始めましたが、1974年に彼はベビーフェイスを向けてトップに撃った。

ロードスは70年代にWWWFにいくつか登場しましたが、彼が最大の成功を収めたのはNWAでした。ロードスはマルチタイムNWAワールドチャンピオンになり、WWEの殿堂スーパースターです。

24

アンドレの巨人は世界の8番目の不思議でした

1966-1992

アンドレ・ザ・ジャイアントは1988年に彼の唯一の世界タイトルを獲得しましたが、彼は彼が格闘した会社の最大のスターになるためにタイトルを必要としなかった男でした。WWEはハルク・ホーガンに敗れるまで無敗のレスラーとしてアンドレを請求しましたが、それは完全に真実ではありませんでした。それにもかかわらず、アンドレは彼らの最大のかかとを打ち負かすために領土が持ち込まれた人であり、彼はあらゆる外観を売り切れました。

アンドレは1964年にキャリアを始め、1970年代までに彼は世界中でトップスターになりました。彼は、AWAとWWWEから日本と領土までどこでも働いていました。 70年代には、彼はボクサーのチャック・ウェプナーとの試合も働いていました。

23

ラリー・ヘニグはアワのxでした

1956-1985

ラリー「アックス」ヘニグは、パーフェクト・カート・ヘニグ氏とカーティス・アクセルの祖父の父として知られていますが、レスリングの時代には、彼は世界のトップスターの一人でした。彼は主にAWAで働き、タグチームのスペシャリストであり、60年代にハーレーレースでタイトルを獲得しました。

70年代、彼はブルーノ・サムマルティノとペドロ・モラレスとのWWWFでタイトルマッチを働かせる機会があり、その後AWAに戻り、そこで彼はついにベビーフェイスになりました。彼は元同盟国のニック・ボックウィンケルとレイ・スティーブンスと反論しました。彼のキャリアは、80年代に息子と一緒に働いたときについに終わりました。

22

野生のサモア人はサモア王朝を始めました

1973-1997

両方の男性はそれ自体が偉大なレスラーでしたが、1970年代には野生のサモア人を支配していたタグチームはいませんでした。これは、サモア王朝の家長であったAFAとシカでした。

兄弟たちは1970年代にスタンピードレスリングで協力しました。彼らはまた、NWAのさまざまな領土に、プエルトリコとワールドレスリング評議会に移りました。シーカは2024年に79歳で亡くなりました。

21

勇敢な兄弟は、チームレスリングにタグを付けるためにカリスマ性をもたらしました

1973-1979

1980年代にプロレスを見始めたファンは、勇敢な兄弟が本当にどれほど素晴らしいかを見ることができませんでした。その時までに、ジョニー・ヴァリアントは管理に移り、ジミーはブギウギーの男になりました。 70年代、彼らは歴史上最も成功したタグチームの1つでした。

ハンサムジミー、甘美なジョニー、紳士ジェリーがNWAとwwwfのタグチームシーンを支配しました。彼らはWWWFタグのタイトルを2回保持し、ジョージアとフロリダの両方でNWAのタイトルを保持しました。