Although pro wrestling is predetermined, that doesn’t mean there aren’t any tough guys left in the business. Here is a list of pro wrestlings five baddest mofos.
Harley Race
The great Harley Race, a former NWA Heavyweight Champion, was one of the baddest guys in wrestling. Harley Race bought a portion of the Kansas City territory and St. Louis territories. In 1984, Vince McMahon started nationalizing sports entertainment and poaching talent from all the old territories. This put promoters like Harley race out of business. When Vince McMahon and his money machine Hulk Hogan ran a show in St. Louis in 1986, Harley Race showed just how badass he was. Race entered the locker room uninvited and went straight up to Hulk Hogan. He slapped Hogan hard in the ribs, causing Hulk to turn around. Hulk tried to ease the situation by joking around, telling Race he thought Race would show up with a big gun. Race then took out a gun and told him it wasn’t big but it would do the job. Later that year, Harley Race was employed with the World Wrestling Federation. Would you expect anything less from a man who beat polio as a child?
Meng
Meng is known as the toughest man to ever step into a wrestling ring. The man was crazy. All the wrestlers steered clear of confrontation with large wrestler. One wrestling legend states that Meng once grabbed Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake out of a shower and choked him out because Beefcake complained that Meng slapped him too hard during a match. In another instance, Meng got into a fight with fellow wrestler Jesse Barr. Meng supposedly stuck his finger in Barr’s eye and popped it out. Jesse Barr had to wear a glass eye after his fight with Meng. It should be noted that Meng was considered a great family man, just someone you needed to tread diligently around.
Brock Lesnar
Even before Brock Lesnar was the UFC’s golden boy, he was known as a monster. The 2000 NCAA wrestling champion entered the WWE with much celebration. In the locker room, the other wrestlers knew not to mess with Brock. Everyone but Hardcore Holly, a well known bully in pro wrestling. During a wrestling match in 2002, Holly was wrestling Brock Lesnar in one of his first matches for WWE. Holly thought he’d be a bully by messing around with Lesnar while the cameras rolled. Hardcore Holly thought if he bullied Lesnar on TV, there’d be nothing Lesnar can do, since he has to follow the script. Hardcore Holly was wrong. At the end of the match, Lesnar picked up Hardcore Holly for a powerbomb. Again, Holly thought it would be funny to deadweight Lesnar. Brock had enough and dropped Hardcore Holly on his head, breaking the neck of Hardcore Holly.
Kurt Angle
Being an Olympic Gold Medalist is pretty badass. And since Kurt Angle is the only Olympic Gold Medalist in wrestling history, that makes him one of the baddest mofos in pro wrestling. Although Angle isn’t well known for having fights (he did have one scrap with Eddie Guerrero), he is well known for having a vicious temper and a wicked intense wrestling style. Angle lost a lot of steam after Daniel Puder hooked in a key lock on WWE Smackdown. After that, Angle never recovered.
Rick Rude
In my opinion, “Ravishing” Rick Rude is one of the most underrated performers of all time. The man had everything it took to be a world champion. Unfortunately, in WWF, he only made it to the Intercontinental Championship. It was during his feud with The Ultimate Warrior that Rude proved how much of a badass he truly was. After a match, Rude went up to Warrior and told Warrior he needed to lighten up on his clotheslines. Warrior, the craziest man wrestling has ever seen, told Rude he didn’t have to lighten up because he was “The Waaaaarrrriiiiooooor!” Rude responded to Warrior by punching him square in the face and leaving him lying on the locker room floor. Rick Rude was a former arm wrestling champion, and knocked out Warrior with one strike.