Top 10: Influential Wrestlers (And A Place) You Might Not Know

There is a true art to the world of professional wrestling. The establishment of characters, the booking of events, the plotting of storylines, and the eventual production fans plunk down money to see as their “heroes” clash in a good-versus-evil world of make believe.

The characters fans watch on television and read about on social media and wrestling websites are just part of the fiction we buy into. There is more to it than two superstars jumping in a ring and trying to produce some mass hysterical event. Those on the “inside” of the business are far more important than the t-shirt totting, action figure waving goons we grow to love and emulate.

Wrestling used to be a business where self-promotion was everything and nothing at the same time. Fans witnessed Dusty Rhodes or Bill Watts get into a ring and pummel opponents, but they were just as important backstage with booking, planning, and offering up other wrestlers they thought might be a good fit for a promotion.

At one point, did you know Ricky Steamboat was “traded” from one promotion to Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling for the One Man Gang? Did you know Jim Cornette, for all his flash and pomp and circumstance, got his start in the business as a photographer at local events, which led to the tennis racket wielding lunatic I used to watch on Saturday mornings as a teenager?

Here is a look at 10 wrestling figures from the past who have impacted this business from the time they got into professional wrestling until today—and we rarely ever talk about them.

---

10. Orville Brown

Brown was a professional wrestler. Born in Sharon, Kan., Brown is a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, and was recognized as the promotion’s first in 1948. Brown’s professional wrestling career ended on November 1, 1949, when he suffered severe injuries in an automobile accident.

Brown’s acknowledgement of being the first-ever world champion meant wrestling had moved away from the carnivals and sideshows which made the “sport” popular. Brown’s title meant there was more interest across the country aside from regional success.

9. Toots Mondt

Mondt was an American wrestling promoter who revolutionized the wrestling industry in the early to mid-1920s and co-promoted the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Some of the stars Mondt helped create from the ’20s through the ’60s included Wayne Munn, Jim Londos, Antonino Rocca, Bruno Sammartino, Stu Hart and, Cowboy Bill Watts. Mondt helped in establishing hero-versus-villain scenarios, which became the precursor to the theory of Kayfabe.

8. Ole Anderson

A rugged wrestler in the 1970s and 1980s, Anderson’s contributions to the business were more than just a part of the Minnesota Wrecking Crew and the original Four Horseman. Anderson was a booker in the NWA with Georgia Championship Wrestling and is credited with bringing the Road Warriors to the NWA, which changed the tag team division in the business forever.

7. Thunderbolt Patterson

Wrestling was never a business of equality or one that helped its wrestlers protect themselves.

Patterson challenged the establishment.

Patterson is best known for his efforts at starting a labor union for professional wrestlers. He began his career in 1965 and wrestled primarily in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

6. George Wepner

Otherwise known as “Gorgeous George,” Wepner was wrestling’s first television star. Due to the star he was during the first Golden Age of professional wrestling in the 1940s–1950s, Gorgeous George gained mainstream success and became one of the biggest stars of this period, gaining media attention for his outrageous character—described as flamboyant and charismatic.

5. Frank Gotch

Gotch is considered by some to be the Godfather of American Pro Wrestling. His career started in 1899 and spanned two decades, seeing him become one of the longest reigning world champions in the history of the industry, with a single reign lasting over five years.

When Gotch was wrestling, the matches lasted much longer than they do today and were more like watching a Greco-Roman wrestling match than what we are used to seeing.

4. Robbinsdale High School

It is odd to add a high school to this list, but for some reason, the school in Minnesota can lay claim to producing some of professional wrestling’s brightest stars. Verne and Greg Gagne, Barry Darsow (Demolition Smash), Nikita Koloff, Curt Hennig, Rick Rude, and Mean Gene Okerlund were all graduates.

3. Eddie Sharkey

Wrestling trainer to the Stars.

Sharkey has been instrumental in training some of the biggest names in the industry, including The Road Warriors (Hawk and Animal), “Ravishing” Rick Rude, Tom Zenk, Bob Backlund, Jerry Lynn, Sean Waltman, Nord the Barbarian, Barry “Demolition Smash” Darsow, Rick Steiner, Madusa, Jesse “The Body” Ventura, and Austin Aries.

2. Antonio Inoki

The founder of New Japan Pro Wrestling is one of the more important figures in Japanese wrestling. His legendary bouts are well documented, but the best-known would have to be his iconic match with Ric Flair in front of 190,000 people. A little known fact is that Inoki actually did hold the WWF Heavyweight Championship for a short time after defeating Bob Backlund for it in 1979. The long career of Inoki has been filled with many important moments, and his spot in the WWE Hall of Fame was well-deserved when he was inducted in 2005.

1. Dutch Mantel

Many of today’s wrestling fans might not be familiar with the name Dutch Mantel (though, many know him as Zeb Colter) but after reading this, you might want to go learn about him. Wayne Keown is a former wrestler, author, and Vietnam veteran and he is one of the most influential people in wrestling history.

Keown debuted in 1973 and later changed his ring name to Dutch Mantel, as it is easier to pronounce and spell than Keown. His skills have been passed to many of the people he helped trained, including Sting, Ultimate Warrior, Kane, and The Undertaker.

One of the more interesting tidbits about Mantel is that he is the man who actually named gave Steve Williams the name Steve Austin.

Follow Wrestledelphia.com contributor David M. Levin on Twitter at .