Top 40 wrestlemania performers of all time
Criteria: main events starred in, in ring artistry, historical significance, winning percentage and amount of times competed
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Born on March 24, 1965. Best known as "The Undertaker" from World Wrestling Entertainment. He first came to the WWF in 1990 as Ted DiBiase's mystery partner at The Survivor Series (1990). At first, he was a heel, but later turned face, around WrestleMania VIII (1992). He has held the WWF World Title on four separate occasions, first at the Survivor Series (1991) (dubbed "Hulk Hogan's Gravest Challenge"), from then champion, Hulk Hogan. Hogan won the title back shortly thereafter, only to be stripped of the title due to the circumstances by which he won the match. Undertaker next won the title at WrestleMania 13 (1997) from Sycho Sid. Taker defeated Stone Cold Steve Austin to win his third WWF Title at WWF Over the Edge (1999). His fourth and final WWE title reign was won at WWE Judgment Day (2002), coming full circle, by defeating Hulk Hogan once again.- Actor
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Began his career in Texas. Trained by the legendary Jose Lothario, Shawn Michaels wrestled in Kansas, where he met fellow wrestler, Marty Jannetty. A year later, after sending tapes of his matches to the major wrestling companies at the time, he was contacted by the AWA, who proposed that he team up with Marty Jannetty again. Together, Michaels and Jannetty became known as the Midnight Rockers. The AWA had just received a TV deal with ESPN, which did wonders for his career. The Midnight Rockers had a major feud with "Playboy" Buddy Rose and "Pretty Boy" Doug Somers. Their matches were considered bloodbaths at the time. Eventually the Midnight Rockers came out the victors and were the AWA World Tag Team Champions. The WWF (now WWE) noticed their efforts and signed them to a deal. Both Michaels and Jannetty were soon fired for a incident in a bar, which Michaels claims was a misunderstanding. The duo went back to the AWA for a brief time. After a while, they contacted the WWF, who gave them a second chance and they returned in late 1988. They were known simply as The Rockers. The duo had a great influence on many of the present teams in wrestling. Their trademark was being tag team specialists and using great double team moves on their opponents.
They had major feuds with The Brain Busters, The Fabulous Rougeaus, The Hart Foundation, The Orient Express, and Power & Glory. At one point the Rockers won the WWF Tag Team Titles. The match was taped before being shown Jim Neidhart of the Hart Foundation was negotiating his release at the time, then eventually came to an agreement to stay. They were stripped of the Tag Team titles which was returned to the Hart Foundation with the explanation that a turnbuckle collapsed which caused the match to go bad for both teams. Sometime after the Rockers were split apart and Shawn Michaels became a singles wrestler, after turning on his partner Marty Jannetty. In a related story, Michaels actually met with Vince McMahon to discuss his character. He told him he worked hard and would like to be pushed as a singles wrestler. He wanted to know what he had to do to convince Vince McMahon to do so. McMahon told him he just did it by coming to him. Michaels defeated Tito Santana in his first WrestleMania as a singles wrestler. He was managed by Sherri Martel, who supposedly had a crush on him. In a major upset, Michaels defeated The British Bulldog on Saturday Night's Main Event. Michaels thus won the Intercontinental Title from the Bulldog. One night on Raw in May 1993, Michaels wrestled former partner Marty Jannetty with the Intercontinental Title on the line. The match became Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Match of the Year. Jannetty won the bout.
The following year, Michaels wrestled Razor Ramon (Scott Hall, who is one of his best friends) in a ladder match at WrestleMania X. This match was voted by Pro Wrestling Illustrated as the Match of the Year and became one of wrestling's most innovative matches. In 1995, Michaels was again voted in Match of the Year by wrestling another great friend, Diesel (Kevin Nash) at WrestleMania XI. Michaels won both the 1995 and 1996 Royal Rumbles, and again was in match of the year when in 1996 he wrestled Bret Hart at WrestleMania XII in a one hour Iron Man Match. Michaels was involved in the big Montreal Screwjob on Bret Hart, that Vince McMahon was behind. The match was stopped and awarded to Shawn Michaels because Vince McMahon was worried that Hart would refuse to lose and take the WWF Title belt to WCW Nitro. This severed a friendship between Michaels and Hart. Michaels originally denied knowing about it in advance. Later on he admitted he knew but wouldn't refuse to do what Vince McMahon wanted him to, since Vince McMahon made his career. Michaels innovated another match against the Undertaker, when he wrestled him in a Hell in the Cell match. After WrestleMania XIV, Michaels didn't wrestle for 4 years due to a back injury, but maintained an on air role on occasion. During his time off, Michaels became a father, and also became a Born again Christian. At SummerSlam 2002, Michaels returned to the ring to face his friend Triple H. The two had a great feud, and Michaels who didn't think he could wrestle as well as he used to, dazzled the audience. He wasn't sure if he would be able to continue his normal wrestling schedule due to the nagging injuries, but after that, he went strong for almost 8 full years. He won his last World Championship from Triple H later that year, which he held for a month.- Actor
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Terry Eugene Bollea, better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler and television personality. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 1980s.
Hogan began his professional wrestling career in 1977, but gained worldwide recognition after signing for World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1983. There, his persona as a heroic all-American helped usher in the 1980s professional wrestling boom, where he headlined eight of the first nine editions of WWF's flagship annual event, WrestleMania. During his initial run, he won the WWF Championship five times, with his first reign being the second-longest in the championship's history. He is the first wrestler to win consecutive Royal Rumble matches, winning in 1990 and 1991. His match with Andre the Giant on WWF The Main Event on February 5, 1988, still holds American television viewership records for wrestling with a 15.2 Nielsen rating and 33 million viewers.
In 1993, Hogan departed the WWF to sign for rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship six times, and holds the record for the longest reign. In 1996, he underwent a career renaissance upon adopting the villainous persona of "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, leading the popular New World Order (nWo) stable. As a result, he became a major figure during the "Monday Night Wars", another boom of mainstream professional wrestling. He headlined WCW's annual flagship event Starrcade three times, including the most profitable WCW pay-per-view ever, Starrcade 1997.
Hogan returned to the WWF in 2002 following its acquisition of WCW the prior year, winning the Undisputed WWF Championship for a record equaling (for the year) sixth time before departing in 2003. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005, and inducted a second time in 2020 as a member of the nWo.
Hogan also performed for the American Wrestling Association (AWA), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) - where he won the original IWGP Heavyweight Championship - and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA - now known as Impact Wrestling).
During and after wrestling, Hogan had an extensive acting career, beginning with his 1982 cameo role in Rocky III. He has starred in several films (including No Holds Barred, Suburban Commando and Mr. Nanny) and three television shows (Hogan Knows Best, Thunder in Paradise, and China, IL), as well as in Right Guard commercials and the video game, Hulk Hogan's Main Event. He was the frontman for The Wrestling Boot Band, whose sole record, Hulk Rules, reached No. 12 on the Billboard Top Kid Audio chart in 1995.- Actor
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'Stone Cold' Steve Austin was born in Victoria, Texas, as Steven James Anderson, on December 18, 1964, the youngest of five children. His mother, Beverly Jane (Harrison), remarried to Kenneth Williams, and he took his stepfather's surname. He played football at the North Texas State University. He was worthy of achieving a free education because of his football skills in school. Williams then began training at Chris Adams's wrestling school as a rookie near the end of 1988, and made his professional wrestling debut at the end of 1989. He then moved over to minor wrestling companies to wrestle for money, and later entered WCW under the name of 'Stunning Steve Austin'. He didn't make a large name for himself in the company, as he only held an embarrassing two TV titles. Austin was fired by WCW and joined the WWF (now known as WWE) in December 1995. Austin left after a while to go to ECW but only stayed for a couple of weeks before he came back to the WWF as 'Stone Cold Steve Austin'. Austin then disposed of his old finishing move the 'Million Dollar Dream', which was the trademark of 'Million Dollar Man' Ted Dibiase, and began racking up the victories with his Stone Cold Stunner (kick to the gut followed by a jawbreaker).
Austin then had a good winning streak going by 1996 and wrestled to become the 1996 King Of The Ring. Austin cut his lip open during one match, and had to get it stitched up in between matches. In the grand final of the KOTR he defeated Jake 'The Snake' Roberts with a Stone Cold Stunner, and invented his famous motto as 'Austin 3:16'. As 1997 rolled around Austin's career soared to new heights. WCW realized Austin's popularity, and tried to make a 'clone' when they invited 'Bill Goldberg' to compete for them. During that year, Austin won the WWF Intercontinental Championship twice and the Tag Team Championships. When Austin successfully defended the IC title against Rocky Maivia (now known as The Rock, real name Dwayne Johnson) on a taping of RAW, he was ordered to defend it again because he drove his pickup truck to the ring and delivered a Stunner to D'Lo Brown ('A.C. Conner') on the roof, which Vince McMahon saw as weapon usage. Austin refused to defend the title again and dumped the old belt in a river, and therefore McMahon crowned Rocky Maivia as the new champion. However, Austin said he didn't care about that title, and set his sights on the Heavyweight Championship. Although Austin had won the 1997 Royal Rumble to qualify as the Number 1 Contender for the championship at WrestleMania XIII, he didn't get the place because he was eliminated but referees didn't notice, so instead, Austin fought Bret Hart in an Iron Man match which Hart won when Austin passed out from blood loss when he was trapped in a Sharpshooter. However, Austin successfully won the 1998 Royal Rumble when he eliminated Rocky Maivia. A stipulation was made for the main event at WrestleMania XIV (Austin vs. Shawn Michaels): the special guest referee would be Iron Mike Tyson! Austin had made a friendship with Tyson, but all though Tyson betrayed him when he joined DX! However, Tyson shocked the world when Austin hit Michaels with a Stone Cold Stunner and covered him while Tyson made the count, to win his first heavyweight title! Austin then went on to enjoy three months as champion when he lost the title to Kane (Glenn Jacobs)in a First Blood match on June 28, 1998, at King Of The Ring. However, Austin regained the title a day later, and was forced to compete for it in a tournament at the 1998 Survivor Series. He was defeated by Mankind ('Mick Foley'), and later that night, The Rock won the championship and joined the Corporation.
As 1999 came around, Austin became embroiled in a feud with The Rock when Vince McMahon eliminated him from the Royal Rumble while The Rock had him distracted. However, Austin still got the place in the main event at WrestleMania XV, and he won his third championship from The Rock with a Stone Cold Stunner. He retained the title against The Rock in a Boiler Room Brawl at Backlash 1999. Austin lost the title to The Undertaker ('Mark Callaway'), but regained it in July 1999. Later that year, at the 1999 Survivor Series Austin was ran over by a car and had to have spinal surgery, and was out of action for the next 11 months. However, Austin returned to the wrestling scene at Backlash 2000 when he helped The Rock win his fourth WWF Championship from Triple H ('Michael Paul LeVesque'). Austin was then welcomed back to wrestle in October 2000 at No Mercy, when he fought Rikishi ('Solofa Fatu') in a No Holds Barred match which had to be stopped when Austin was about to run Rikishi over but was arrested by the police. The mystery was revealed that it was Triple H who had Rikishi run Austin over, and Austin battled Triple H at Survivor Series 2000, and won the match. Steve had a chance to win the WWF title from Kurt Angle, who was reigning at the time, at Armaggedon 2000, in a Six-Man Hell In A Cell Match, which also had Kurt Angle, The Rock, Triple H, Rikishi, and The Undertaker. Austin had the title in his grasp when he hit The Rock with a Stone Cold Stunner, but Angle snuck up and covered The Rock to retain the title.
Austin's hopes raised yet again when he eliminated Kane from the 2001 Royal Rumble, therefore becoming the first and only ever three-time Royal Rumble winner, and the Number One Contender for the WWF Championship. At No Way Out 2001, Austin lost a 2-Out-Of-3 Falls match to Triple H, when they both knocked each other out, but Triple H fell on top of Austin. Later that night, The Rock defeated Kurt Angle to become the first-ever six-time WWF World Champion, therefore deciding that the main event at WrestleMania X7 would be The Rock vs. Stone Cold Steve Austin. Austin defeated The Rock on April 1, 2001, for his fifth WWF title, but turned heel when he joined forces with Vince McMahon. The Rock was suspended from the WWF for almost four months. Austin's reign as Champion lasted for 5 months and 22 days, which was the longest championship reign in several years. Austin won the Tag Team Championship with Triple H at Backlash 2001, but they lost them again on May 21, on a taping of RAW to Chris Jericho and Chris Benoit. In that same match, Triple H tore his quadricep muscle and had to go to hospital for eight months of surgery. At King Of The Ring 2001 on June 24 Austin retained the title successfully from both Jericho and Benoit in a Triple Threat match.
Austin shocked the world by turning heel again on July 22, 2001 when he joined the WCW/ECW Alliance, helping them win the Inaugural Brawl against the WWF, and also invented the catchphrase of 2001, which was "What?". However, Vince McMahon reinstated The Rock on July 30. In August, Kurt Angle started feuding with Austin and was determined to take the championship back from him at Summerslam. Austin disqualified himself to remain the champion, however, Angle won the title back from him at Unforgiven on September 23, 2001. Austin then regained the title from Angle on RAW in October, when William Regal came to his aid. In November, Austin narrowly escaped losing the title to The Rock at Rebellion, with a little help from Kurt Angle. Later that month, The Rock put the WCW/ECW Alliance out of business in the Winner Take All match, which was also Austin's first loss to The Rock. However, Austin returned to the federation, still as the heavyweight champion the night after, but lost it to Chris Jericho on December 9, 2001, when Jericho became the first-ever Undisputed Champion when Austin was defeated in the grand finals. Austin then challenged Jericho for the Undisputed title at No Way Out 2002 in February, and would have won the match, but the nWo interfered and attacked Austin, helping Jericho retain the title. Austin then feuded with the nWo's Scott Hall and faced him in a match at WrestleMania X8, which Austin won, even putting away the difficulty that was made by the constant interfering of Kevin Nash. At Backlash 2002 Austin faced the Undertaker in a Number 1 Contender match for the Undisputed Championship, but Austin was screwed out of the decision when The Undertaker booted a steel chair into his face and covered him for the pinfall. Austin had his foot on the rope, but special referee Ric Flair didn't notice. Austin began feuding with Flair and faced him in a 2-On-1 Handicap match at Judgment Day 2002 - Flair's partner was Big Show Paul Wight. That would be Austin's last PPV match, as early in June, he did not show up for a taping of RAW. Austin has not been seen since. He is 6'2", and when he first entered the federation he weighed 241 pounds, but boosted up to 252 later on in his career. He says that his weight "depends on how much beer I drink".- Actor
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John Felix Anthony Cena was born on April 23, 1977 in West Newbury, Massachusetts to Carol Cena and John Joseph Cena. He is of Italian (father) and French-Canadian and English (mother) descent, and is the grandson of baseball player Tony Lupien. When he was in college, he played football. He then continued on to be a bodybuilder and a limousine driver. The 6-foot-1 tall star weighs exactly at 240 pounds and is a very successful superstar in the WWE.
The Dr. of Thuganomics started training to be a wrestler at Ultimate Pro Wrestling where he also created the character, The Prototype. Cena first appeared on WWE in a match against Kurt Angle on the 27th of June, 2002 which ended up with him losing.
In 2004, John Cena's status as a celebrity began to develop. Cena won the United States Championship from Big Show. Not too long later, Cena lost the title but he gained it back soon. Cena then lost the title again to fellow WWE superstar, Carlito. During that time, Cena apparently got stabbed in the kidney by one of Carlito's bodyguards. This resulted in staying out of action for a month.
In 2005 and 2006 respectively, Cena was involved in controversies. He had a feud with champion John Bradshaw Layfield, manager Eric Bischoff and fellow wrestler Chris Jericho. Cena also had feuds with Edge and Umaga at that time. But even so, some friendships were formed. Cena is said to be friends with Carlito after they won a match with Jeff Hardy against Edge, Randy Orton and Johnny Nitro.
The year 2007 was a big year for Cena as he was involved in a wrestling match with Britney Spears' ex and rap star, Kevin Federline. John ended up losing that match thanks to some assistance from Umaga to Kevin Federline. Later that night, Cena took revenge by body slamming Kevin Federline backstage. The year 2007 also started pretty well for John Cena as he became the first person to defeat the Samoan Bulldozer, Umaga that year. The Chain Gang Soldier also teamed up with Shaun Michaels defeating the RKO tag team, Randy Orton and Edge. The match ended up with Cena and Michaels winning.
As of October 2007, Cena lost his WWE Championship title because of an injury. While wrestling against Mr. Kennedy, Cena tore his pectoral muscle while executing a hip toss. Although he finished the match and completed the rest of the scripted event, a check-up the next day showed that John's pectoral major muscle was torn completely from the bone, requiring seven months to a year rehabilitation. Not able to perform, WWE's CEO, Vince McMahon stripped him off the title and ended his reign.
In 2008, Cena made an unannounced return to action on January 27 as the final participant of the Royal Rumble match. He won the match, and the traditional WrestleMania title shot. Cena also had a match against JBL, which he defeated at Judgment Day and then at One Night Stand in a First Blood match. However, JBL defeated him at the New York City Parking Lot Brawl. In the month of August, Cena was replaced by Rey Mysterio after it was announced Cena had suffered a herniated disk in his neck which required surgery and he would be out of action indefinitely. According to reports, Cena underwent successive surgery to repair the herniated disk in his neck with Doctor Joseph Maroon on August 25.
Aside from wrestling, John has also made a name in the movie business. In 2006, a WWE franchise movie titled The Marine was released with John playing the lead character, John Triton. The movie received mixed reviews due to the poor story-line and discrimination to the US Marines. Even so, fans queued up to watch the movie as this was John's first big screen appearance.
The WWE wrestler also added recording artist to his resume as he released his debut rap album "You Can't See Me" which debuted at #15 on the US Billboard 200 chart. The album was recorded with his cousin Tha Trademarc. The album featured his entrance theme song, 'The Time Is Now' & a host of other singles performed by Cena. One of the songs he performed with popular rap band Estoric and a number of other songs Cena performed with famous rapper Bumpy Knuckles. Cena is the only professional wrestler to ever perform on BBC Two's long running TV show Top of the Pops.
While still active with WWE, Cena made a couple of guest appearances: Jimmy Kimmel Live! twice to promote his album. He has also appeared on popular shows like Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Fuse's Celebrity Playlist, Fox Sports Net's The Best Damn Sports Show Period, MADtv, G4's Training Camp and two appearances on MTV's Punk'd. He also served as a co-presenter, with Hulk Hogan, at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, as a guest judge during the third week of the 2006 season of Nashville Star, and appeared at the 2007 Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards 2007.
In fashion, The Champ has also made a few trademarks. Cena is often seen with knee-high denim jeans and throwback jerseys when he first started on WWE. Lately, Cena has been wearing a lot of Chain Gang merchandise. When his movie, The Marine was released, John was seen to be adding more military-inspired clothing to his outfit to promote his movie.
Cena graduated from Springfield College, Massachusetts with degrees in exercise physiology and human anatomy. He applied to 60 colleges and he got accepted by 58 of them but in the end, he chose Springfield College. He is the second eldest of five brothers and is said to be a family guy when he is not wrestling. His good friends are fellow wrestlers, John Hennigan, Batista, Randy Orton, Carlito, Jeff and Matt Hardy, whom he will have to fight.
John Cena is definitely going to be a big inspiration to all, whether in wrestling, fashion, music or even movies as his participation in the industry is already more than regular celebrity. With all he has achieved, fans can definitely expect to see more of this WWE superstar in the coming future.
Also, recently he has completed his new movie 12 Rounds produced by WWE Films. This movie was said to have finished filming when John suffered from his injury in 2007.- Actor
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Bret Hart is one of Canada's most successful wrestlers. He is also recognized as one of the worlds best wrestlers ever. Hart comes from the legendary Hart Family of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He owns a junior hockey team named after him and has his own column in the Calgary Sun. Bret has held the WWF World Title (5), Intercontinental Title (2), co-held the Tag Team Title (2), the US Heavyweight Title (2) and was the 1993 King of the Ring. He and his brothers and sister hold dual citizenships in both Canada (where he was born) and the US (where his mother was born).- Actor
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Dwayne Douglas Johnson, also known as The Rock, was born on May 2, 1972 in Hayward, California. He is the son of Ata Johnson (born Feagaimaleata Fitisemanu) and professional wrestler Rocky Johnson (born Wayde Douglas Bowles). His father, from Amherst, Nova Scotia, Canada, is black (of Black Nova Scotian descent), and his mother is of Samoan background (her own father was Peter Fanene Maivia, also a professional wrestler). While growing up, Dwayne traveled around a lot with his parents and watched his father perform in the ring. During his high school years, Dwayne began playing football and he soon received a full scholarship from the University of Miami, where he had tremendous success as a football player. In 1995, Dwayne suffered a back injury which cost him a place in the NFL. He then signed a three-year deal with the Canadian League but left after a year to pursue a career in wrestling.
He made his wrestling debut in the USWA under the name Flex Kavanah where he won the tag team championship with Brett Sawyer. In 1996, Dwayne joined the WWE and became Rocky Maivia where he joined a group known as "The Nation of Domination" and turned heel. Rocky eventually took over leadership of the "Nation" and began taking the persona of The Rock. After the "Nation" split, The Rock joined another elite group of wrestlers known as the "Corporation" and began a memorable feud with Steve Austin. Soon the Rock was kicked out of the "Corporation". He turned face and became known as "The Peoples Champion". In 2000, the Rock took time off from WWE to film his appearance in The Mummy Returns (2001). He returned in 2001 during the WCW/ECW invasion where he joined a team of WWE wrestlers at The Scorpion King (2002), a prequel to The Mummy Returns (2001).
Dwayne has a daughter, Simone Alexandra Johnson, born in 2001, with his ex-wife Dany Garcia, and daughters, Jasmine, born in 2015, and Tiana Gia, born in 2018, with his wife, singer and songwriter Lauren Hashian.- Actor
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Paul "Triple H" Levesque is WWE's Executive Vice President, President of Talent, Global Talent Strategy & Development. In this role, he oversees the Company's Talent Development department, serves as a senior advisor to the CEO for talent strategy and is the Executive Producer of NXT, WWE's third global touring brand, which airs live every Wednesday night on USA Network and NXT UK, a weekly one-hour series airing Wednesdays on BT Sport in the UK and Ireland.
Levesque is revolutionizing the business with his global recruiting strategy and developmental training processes. In order to create a platform for future success, he established the Company's state-of-the-art training facility, the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida and last year opened the UK Performance Center, the first world-class WWE training facility outside of the United States. In addition to strength, conditioning, in-ring training and character development, recruits participate in development programs focusing on life skills, continuing education, health and wellness and career planning. Building off this success, Levesque remains focused on the development and implementation of WWE's Performance Center/Global Localization strategy.
Prior to his current role, Levesque oversaw WWE's Talent Relations and Live Events departments. He also played an integral part in the Company's creative process, helping to shape the creative direction and storylines of WWE's programming.
Levesque debuted as a WWE Superstar, "Triple H," in 1995 and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2019. He has held the WWE Heavyweight Championship title 14 times, captured every major championship, headlined thousands of WWE events and entertained millions around the world. Levesque is married to Stephanie McMahon and together in 2014 they established Connor's Cure, a fund dedicated to furthering pediatric cancer research. He was inducted into the Boys & Girls Clubs of America Alumni Hall of Fame in 2017 and is a board member for the Concussion Legacy Foundation. He has served on both WWE's Executive Committee and Board of Directors since 2015.
He is a father of three daughters ages 14, 12 and 10.- One of the most colorful wrestlers in and out of the ring, Randy "Macho Man" Savage became a larger-than-life pop icon along with other wrestling superstars, such as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, Hulk Hogan, Jimmy Snuka (aka "Superfly Jimmy Snuka"), Jesse Ventura and Dwayne Johnson (aka "The Rock").
When signed to the WWE (then known as the WWF), Savage immediately became a top heel (bad guy). He was managed by WWE Hall of Fame managers such as Jimmy Hart, Bobby Heenan, Classy Freddie Blassie (Freddie Blassie) and, of course his best known manager--the gorgeous Miss Elizabeth (Elizabeth Hulette). During his time in the WWE Savage went up against other WWE legends in the 1980s, such as Junkyard Dog (Sylvester Ritter), Merced Solis (aka Tito Santana), Bruno Sammartino and George 'The Animal' Steele. He also had a well-known feud going with WWE superstar Hulk Hogan.
While in the WWE Savage won the Heavywieght Title two times, the Intercontinental title once and was the 1989 King of the Ring. He then moved to World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and signed a $6-million contract with them. He won the WCW Heavyweight Title four times,.
To fans, Savage is most notable for having an off- and on-screen relationship with Miss Elizabeth. Their relationship became the most famous love story in WWE history. However, their relationship started to go downhill, and it began to show in his professional life. Soon they split up. After having left the WCW, Savage went to TNA (Total Non-Stop Action) Wrestling.
Randy Savage died of cardiovascular disease on May 20, 2011, in Seminole, FL. - Adam Copeland is an actor and an professional wrestler, who wrestles as Edge in the WWE. He starred as one of the leads in the fifth season of the popular television series Haven on Syfy. He also starred as a recurring character on the History Channel series Vikings. Canadian-born, Copeland's life in wrestling spans three decades, and through his long and decorated career as "Edge", Copeland entertained millions of fans internationally while winning 31 championships overall in WWE - the most by any wrestler ever - including 11 world heavyweight championships. Copeland became the youngest wrestler ever inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in March 2012. As an actor, Copeland appeared in an installment of the popular film franchise Highlander: Endgame, and also starred in the WWE produced, Bending the Rules opposite Jamie Kennedy. Copeland's television appearances include a recurring guest arc on Sanctuary, and numerous appearances as Edge in shows such as Clash Time, the Weakest link, Mind of Mencia, Deal Or No Deal, and MADtv to name a few. Copeland's autobiography, Adam Copeland on Edge, was a New York Times bestseller, Copeland has a massive and dedicated international fan base, with a twitter following of over 750K, and growing daily. He lives in the mountains of Asheville, NC, where he spends his time hiking, biking, cuddling with his family.
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American-born, Canadian-raised professional wrestler, rock singer, actor and author. Debuted in 1990 in Calgary after training in the Hart Family Dungeon. He competed for Stampede Wrestling, for the Canadian National Wrestling Alliance (no connection to the National Wrestling Alliance) and West Fours Wrestling Alliance before jumping to Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in Japan. He also wrestled for Canadian Rocky Mountain Wrestling, CMLL, UWA and AAA in Mexico, and WAR in Japan before arriving in the U.S. as part of the team the Thrillseekers (renamed from Sudden Impact) with Lance Storm in James E. Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling promotion. He arrived in ECW in February 1996 and feuded with Pit Bull #2 (Anthony Durante) over the ECW World Television Title. Arrived in WCW in August 1996 and eventually made his home in the Cruiserweight Division, winning the title five times. Turned heel at the end of 1997, essentially solidifying his persona for years to come. Went to WWE in 1999, and would become one of the most decorated wrestlers in the company's history. Outside of wrestling, he has been leading his heavy metal band Fozzy since 1999, published three autobiographies (2007's "A Lion's Tale: Around the World in Spandex" [covering his career right up to his WWE debut]; 2011's "Undisputed: How to Become the World Champion in 1,372 Easy Steps"; and 2014's "Best In The World...At What I Have No Idea."), and has done stage acting and hosted a radio show as well as other pursuits. Among his in-ring achievements, he is a former WWE World Heavyweight Champion, an 8x WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, a former 5x WWE World Tag Team Champion, a former 2x WWE Tag Team Champion, a former WWE European Heavyweight Champion, a former WWE Hardcore Champion, a former ECW World Television Champion, a former WCW World Television Champion, and was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 2010.- Actor
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Phillip Jack Brooks, better known by the ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestler, comic book writer and former mixed martial artist.
Punk began his professional wrestling career on the American independent circuit, primarily with Ring of Honor (ROH) until 2005, when he signed with the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). He went on to become world champion throughout multiple organizations. Punk won the WWE Championship twice, WWE's World Heavyweight Championship three times and the ECW and ROH World Championships once each. In WWE, he was also a one-time World Tag Team Champion (with Kofi Kingston) and one-time Intercontinental Champion, making him the 19th Triple Crown Champion and the fastest man in WWE history to achieve this feat, doing so in 203 days. In addition, he was the 2011 WWE Superstar of the Year and the first two-time Money in the Bank winner. During the peak of his career, Punk was considered by many as the best professional wrestler in the world. Pro Wrestling Illustrated named him Wrestler of the Year in both 2011 and 2012 during which he had one of the longest WWE Championship title reigns in history at 434 days.
Brooks used the CM Punk moniker his entire career in every organization he worked. Punk consistently portrayed the character of an outspoken, sharp-tongued, anti-establishment, straight edge iconoclast. Most of the straight edge principles he portrayed, such as not drinking alcohol or not taking recreational drugs, are his real life views. Depending on his alignment as a hero or villain, he emphasized different aspects of the straight edge culture to garner the desired audience reaction.
After becoming disgruntled in WWE, Punk retired from professional wrestling in 2014. He then pursued a career in mixed martial arts (MMA) and was signed by the UFC in December of that year. On August 20, Punk made his debut for AEW at The First Dance event on Rampage, marking his return to professional wrestling after a seven-year retirement. On May 29th, 2022 Punk won AEW World title which makes him the first man in history to hold the WWE, AEW and Ring of Honor World Championships.- Actor
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Retired American professional wrestler of Japanese descent as Ricky Steamboat. He trained under Verne Gagne, and first made his name in the old Mid-Atlantic territory in the Carolinas. He had many legendary matches and feuds with Ric Flair, culminating in their epic "Holy Trilogy" of matches at WCW/NWA Chi-Town Rumble (1989), Clash of the Champions VI: Ragin' Cajun (1989) and WCW/NWA WrestleWar (1989). He had a major feud with Randy Savage over the WWE Intercontinental Title, which Steamboat won at WrestleMania III (1987) in what many consider the greatest WrestleMania match of all time. Over the course of his career, he was a 1x NWA World Heavyweight Champion, a 1x WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion, a multiple-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, an NWA United States Heavyweight Champion, a WCW United States Heavyweight Champion and a WCW Television Champion. At different points in his career, he had "retired" so he could spend time with his family and run his gym. He was forced into retirement due to a back injury suffered in a match with "Stunning" Steve Austin at Clash of the Champions XXVIII (1994). He was one of the few wrestlers to work as a babyface (good guy) for his entire career. He was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 1996, the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2002 (charter class), the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009 and the NWA Hall of Fame in 2012.
Was given the name "Ricky Steamboat" by wrestling promoter Eddie Graham due to his strong resemblance to wrestling legend Sammy Steamboat. Sammy even endorsed the name change and allowed them to bill the "Ricky Steamboat" character as his nephew. Ricky and Sammy remained friends until Sammy's death.
Played an on-air executive role in the early days of NWA TNA.
He was the "Inside Wrestling" Rookie of the Year for 1977.
Received the 1995 PWI Editor's Award.
After he won the Intercontinental Championship, he asked Vince McMahon for some time off to be with his wife who was expecting the birth of their son Richard Blood Jr. This did not sit well with WWF management and shortly after he was forced to drop the belt to the Honkytonk Man (Wayne Farris). Still bitter, the WWE did not push him or give him any meaningful matches upon his return. He left for WCW shortly after.- Actor
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Kurt Angle was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. He won a Olympic Gold Medal in 1996 having notoriously won it with a broken neck. In 1998 he transitioned into professional wrestling where he sky rocked to success after joining the World Wrestling Federation. He later became the first ever wrestler to hold the WCW and WWF Championships during the same calendar year. He also became the second ever TNA Triple Crown Champion in the promotions history and is a overall 13 time World Champion in professional wrestling.- André René Roussimoff was born in a small farming community in Grenoble, France to Boris and Marian Rouismoff. His parents and four siblings were all of normal size, but André suffered from acromegaly, a hormonal disorder that results when the pituitary gland produces excess growth hormone. As the Giant grew up (very quickly, as he reached the height of 6' 3" by the age of 12) he began to often disagree with his parents. He left home at 14 and obtained a job with a furniture-moving firm and began to play rugby. At 17 he was seen training at a gym by several professional wrestlers. Impressed by his size, they taught him some basic wrestling skills and built a friendship with him. Later, when one of the wrestlers was injured, André stepped in for him. He would wrestle for nearly thirty more years. By his early 20s André had wrestled in Algeria, South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, England, Scotland, and most of non-Communist Europe but had not found fame. In 1971 he came to North America under the name Jean Ferre and was mildly popular in Canada. Then he met a New York based booker by the name of Vincent J. McMahon (often incorrectly referred to as "Vince McMahon Sr") who renamed him "Andre the Giant," and billed him as 7' 4" (Andre was really closer to 7'). Soon Andre the Giant became a national sensation and was a much sought after wrestler. In addition he participated in television, movies, and commercials. With his wealth the Giant bought a ranch in Ellerbe, North Carolina where he would live during his rare time off and after he retired from wrestling in 1990. He died while in France after attending his father's funeral. André was cremated and his ashes were spread across his ranch. He is survived by his one daughter.
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Roddy Piper was born Roderick George Toombs on April 17, 1954 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. He was a pro wrestler from 1973-1987 in the NWA, Pacific Northwest, California. He was a longtime mainstay in the WWF, and was one of the biggest "bad guys" in the WWF during the early '80s, before becoming a fan favorite in the late '80s. He became infamous for his mouth as much as his skills in the ring. He hosted Pipers Pit, which saluted the bad guys of professional wrestling, the most famous of which involved him smashing Jimmy Superfly Snuka over the head with a coconut. He was wrestling's most popular villain because of his feud with Hulk Hogan that culminated at Wrestlemania I. He went into semi-retirement after Wrestlemania III, when he beat and shaved the late Adrian Adonis.
He continued to wrestle into the '90s, but spent much of his time doing color commentary for WWF TV. In January 1992, he won the WWF Intercontinental Title from "The Mountie", the only title he would ever hold in his storied WWF career. After losing the title three months later, he left the WWF, and only made the occasional appearance in the ring over the next few years. In 1995, he had a stint as the WWF's interim president. He later resurfaced in WCW during the late '90s to continue his feud with "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, until the company's demise in 2001.
Roddy Piper appeared in many action films. He died of a heart attack on July 31, 2015, in Hollywood, California.- Brock Lesnar was born on July 12, 1977 in Webster, South Dakota, USA as Brock Edward Lesnar. He is an actor, known for WrestleMania XIX (2003), Summerslam (2002) and WWE Unforgiven (2002). He has been married to Rena Mero since May 6, 2006. They have two children named, Turk & Duke. Lesnar also has a son and daughter from a previous relationship named, Brock Jr. and Mya Lynn.
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Bryan Lloyd Danielson is an American professional wrestler and author currently signed to WWE under ring name Daniel Bryan.
In WWE, Bryan held the WWE Championship three times and WWE's World Heavyweight Championship once, in addition to being a one-time United States Champion, a one-time Intercontinental Champion and a one-time WWE Tag Team Champion as part of Team Hell No (with Kane). He was also the 2011 SmackDown Money in the Bank winner, the 2013 Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner and the SmackDown General Manager from July 2016 to April 2018. Bryan is the 26th Triple Crown Champion and the 6th Grand Slam Champion in WWE history and headlined several major pay-per-view events, including WrestleMania XXX.
Danielson was previously signed to the WWE, then known as the WWF, for an 18-month period from 2000-2001. Prior to joining WWE for his second stint in 2009, Danielson wrestled for various companies internationally using both his real name and the ring name (and later nickname) American Dragon.
He wrestled for Ring of Honor (ROH) from 2002 to 2009, being recognized as a "Founding Father" of the promotion, where he was a one-time ROH World Champion as well as the final Pure Wrestling Champion (unifying the Pure title with the World title). He was the first winner of ROH's annual Survival of the Fittest tournament in 2004.
Danielson also wrestled extensively in Japan, winning the GHC Junior Heavyweight Championship in Pro Wrestling Noah and the IWGP Junior Heavyweight Tag Team Championship (with Curry Man) in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Between WWE, ROH and Japanese promotions, he held eleven total championships. Danielson also won numerous titles on the independent circuit, including two PWG World Championships, the FIP Heavyweight Championship and the wXw World Heavyweight Championship.- Randal Keith "Randy" Orton (born April 1, 1980) is an American professional wrestler and actor best known to sports entertainment audiences for his career signed with WWE. Orton was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, to Bob Orton, Jr. and his wife Elaine. He is the grandson of Bob Orton, Sr. and the nephew of wrestler-turned-musician Barry Orton. Randy has a younger brother named Nate and a younger sister named Rebecca. Early in life, his parents discouraged him from pursuing any career in professional wrestling due to the major amount of time spent away from home and family. Orton however, still became involved with wrestling, on an amateur level while attending Hazelwood Central High School.
Orton graduated from high school in 1998 and then joined the United States Marine Corps. However, Orton received a Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD)in 1999 after twice going AWOL and for disobeying a direct order from a commanding officer.
After his brief military tenure, Orton opted for a career in professional wrestling. During 2000 at age 20, Orton began his training, lasting into the following year in 2001. He wrestled in local training promotions in St. Louis where his father and uncle had working relations with. Orton also gained experience as a wrestling referee.
During 2001, Orton signed with the then-World Wrestling Federation and began training in its instructional program Ohio Valley Wrestling. Orton made his debut the following year in 2002 at WrestleMania X8 (2002) Fan Axxcess, defeating Tommy Dreamer. During 2002, Orton began gaining more televised match time and screen-time for promos. The following year in 2003 after the company renamed itself as the WWE, Orton quickly enhanced his presence on the WWE roster, when he joined the heel stable known as Evolution, fronted by Paul Levesque (known in-ring as Triple H). While in Evolution, Orton won his first singles title when he defeated Rob Van Dam for the WWE Intercontinental Championship at WWE Armageddon (2003). The following year, Orton won his second title when he defeated fan favorite Summerslam (2004). By this time, Orton had began drifting away from his Evolution teammates and went on to strike out on his own. Establishing himself as the "Legend Killer" Orton began on a crusade of taking down every wrestling legend the WWE had to offer. His crusade came to a cryptic end when he was defeated by The Phenom, The Undertaker (Mark Calaway) at WrestleMania 21 (2005), after promising WWE fans he would end Undertaker's 12-0 undefeated WrestleMania record.
As Orton's career continued in the WWE, Orton won the WWE Championship a total of 8 times and was the last World Heavyweight Champion after winning that title 4 times. During the later 2000s, Orton formed a tag team with Adam Copeland (known as Edge), becoming Team Rated RKO (a play on Edge's nickname as the Rated R Superstar and Randy's finisher move named the RKO). They won the World Tag Team Championship for the first and last time before losing the titles to John Cena and Shawn Michaels. During the early 2010s, Orton formed his own stable called Legacy, comprised of Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase Jr.. Afterwards, Orton returned to his singular ways and became known as the "Apex Predator" and "The Viper", increasing his aggression and killer-instinct in the wrestling ring.
Outside of wrestling, Orton ventured into acting. He was previously intended to star in WWE-produced film titles such as The Marine 2 (2009), but was injured at the time and the lead role was given to Ted DiBiase Jr. When he was considered for the third sequel to The Marine, he was dismissed from consideration due to his history with the USMC and the lead was given to Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin. Orton made his film debut in 2011 in the film That's What I Am (2011) as the father of a school bully. His next film role was the lead in 12 Rounds 2: Reloaded (2013), followed later with a lead in The Condemned 2 (2015) and an appearance in Countdown (2016). In 2016, Orton got a supporting role in the action thriller series Shooter (2016). - Actor
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Glenn Thomas Jacobs better known by the ring name Kane, is an American politician, actor, and professional wrestler. He has been the Republican Mayor of Knox County, Tennessee since 2018. He is signed to WWE.
He began his professional wrestling career on the independent circuit in 1992, wrestling in promotions such as Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) and the United States Wrestling Association (USWA), before joining the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1995. Jacobs played various characters until 1997, when he was repackaged as Kane, a horror-themed personification of fire and juggernaut younger half-brother of The Undertaker and son of Paul Bearer. This "hellfire and brimstone" gimmick branches from acts of arson by The Undertaker as part of their characters' youth backstory. Jacobs would alternatively feud and team with The Undertaker as The Brothers of Destruction.- Actor
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He was trained by the Original Sheik, Ed Farhat, who was one of pro-wrestling's classic and greatest bad guys. Even though their styles are quite different (Sheik being a wild hardcore-style brawler, known for throwing fire, cutting his opponent's forehead's up with foreign objects like a pencil, fork, etc. whereas Van Dam is a technical high-flyer), Farhat taught him the importance of the right mindset.- Producer
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Vince McMahon, Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer of WWE, Inc. (WWE), is a third-generation promoter who has made WWE into the global phenomenon it is today.
As a pioneer in the television syndication business, a recognized television personality throughout the world, a visionary promoter and a fearless marketer, he continues to make his presence known as a leader within the broadcast and entertainment industries. In 1972, McMahon joined his father's company, Capitol Wrestling Corporation, on a full-time basis. By 1979, the company had syndicated programming to 30 television stations. In 1982, he purchased the Capitol Wrestling Corporation from his father and decided to take what had been a regional operation and turn it into a national venture.
McMahon soon became an innovator in the cable television industry by leveraging the new technologies of pay-per-view and closed-circuit television for the first WrestleMania in 1985. Now, not only had he built a brand that people would watch in syndication, he had built the WWE into a brand that people would pay to watch. In April 2000, more than 1 million fans purchased WrestleMania X-6, at the time making it the most-watched non-boxing event in pay-per-view history. In February 2014, WWE Network, the first-ever 24/7 direct-to-consumer network, launched live in the U.S.
In 2016, WrestleMania 32 set a new attendance record of 101,763, as fans from all 50 states and 35 countries converged on AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The previous WWE attendance record was at WrestleMania 3 in 1987, where 93,173 fans filled the Pontiac Silverdome.
Today, WWE produces seven hours of live weekly programming 52 weeks a year with no off season. Programs such as "Monday Night Raw" and "WWE NXT" on USA Network and "Friday Night SmackDown" on FOX are ratings successes that can be seen in more than 900 million homes in 180 countries and heard in 28 languages. In addition, WWE hosts more than 550 live events a year within the United States and abroad, making WWE the largest traveling show in the world.
Under McMahon's leadership, WWE has developed into one of the most popular and sophisticated forms of global entertainment today. WWE is an integrated media and entertainment company that features a portfolio of specialized businesses that creates and delivers original content to a global audience. WWE is committed to family friendly entertainment on its television programming, pay-per-view, digital media and publishing platforms. In addition to its headquarters in Stamford, CT, WWE has offices in New York, Los Angeles, London, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, Munich and Tokyo. WWE trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol WWE.
In 2017, McMahon established and personally funded a separate entity from WWE, Alpha Entertainment.
For his accomplishments in entertainment, television, and pay-per-view, McMahon, one of the longest running personalities on television, was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2008. He also has received a Promax/BDA Lifetime Achievement Award and has been inducted into the 2008 Cablefax Hall of Fame. He has been included in Variety's annual Variety500 listing since 2017, which honors the most influential business leaders shaping the media industry. In 2019, McMahon was named as one of the Most Influential People in Sports Business by Sports Business Journal.
In recognition of WWE's work to support children over the past 30 years, McMahon, in 2005, was appointed to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America's National Advisory Council. He is a tireless supporter of the U.S. military, bringing WWE Superstars to war zones in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2002 to entertain the troops. WWE was the recipient of the USO of Metropolitan Washington's first ever Legacy of Hope award for the company's extensive support of our troops and the USO's Operation Care Package program. In 2006, WWE and McMahon received the Secretary of Defense Exceptional Public Service Award for its support of deployed service members in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2008, the company received the GI Film Festival's Corporate Patriot Award.- Owen Hart was one of twelve children from a legendary Canadian wrestling family. His brother Bret is also one of the most well known wrestlers of all time. Owen was one of the best wrestlers in the business and his major accomplishments include being the 1994 King of the Ring, former Intercontinental Champion(2), former European Champion, and co-holder of the Tag Team Championship (4). Sadly, Hart plunged to his death on May 23, 1999 during a PPV when he was performing a spectacular entrance. Hart was only 34 and is survived by his wife Martha, his son Oje and his daughter Athena.
- Standing out than the rest, Ultimate Warrior became one of the most popular wrestlers in the WWE (back then in the WWF). During his run from the 1980s-90s, Warrior became known for high high energy when running down to the ring with his music hits, shaking the ropes during his entrance, his signature move, the Gorilla Press Drop and the Big Splash, which seems that Warrior would be one the only non-heavyset built wrestler to use it.
Before reaching high status to become a main eventer in the WWE, Warrior became popular when he became a two-time Intercontinental Champion by defeating the Honky Tonk Man (Wayne Farris) (within 32 seconds at the first ever Summerslam in 1988) and Ravishing Rick Rude.
Warrior is now deceased. - Ray Traylor was born on 2 May 1963 in Marietta, Georgia, USA. He was an actor, known for Fully Loaded (1999), WCW Monday Nitro (1995) and WWE Smackdown! (1999). He was married to Angela Easterwood. He died on 22 September 2004 in Dallas, Georgia, USA.
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David Michael Bautista, Jr. was born on January 18, 1969 in Washington, D.C., to Donna Raye (Mullins) and David Michael Bautista, a hairdresser. He has Filipino and Greek ancestry.
When WCW officials told him he'd never make it in sports entertainment, Bautista pushed himself to achieve his dream of being a Superstar. In May 2002, he made his debut on SmackDown using the ring name Batista, but it wasn't until a move to Raw and two victories over Kane that "The Animal" began to make noise in the WWE Universe. The wins impressed Ric Flair and Triple H, who were looking to align themselves with the industry's brightest new stars. After a lengthy search, they identified Randy Orton and Batista. Collectively the four Superstars became known as Evolution.
Batista earned his first championship alongside "The Nature Boy" when the duo captured the WWE Tag Team Championships in December 2003. As Evolution dominated WWE, Batista started to emerge from the shadows of Triple H and Ric Flair. By the time Batista won the 2005 Royal Rumble Match, World Heavyweight Champion Triple H viewed him as a serious threat to his title.
After a triceps injury at the hands of Mark Henry forced Batista to relinquish the title in January 2006, he vowed to return. Batista successfully regained the World Heavyweight Championship at Survivor Series in 2006. Four months into his second reign, Batista faced the Undertaker at WrestleMania 23. "The Animal" took Undertaker to the limit, but was unable to stop the streak of "The Deadman" at WrestleMania. Though disappointed, Batista stayed hungry and always managed to keep himself in the championship hunt for the rest of his career.
At Bragging Rights in 2009, Batista shocked the world when he blamed Rey Mysterio for a loss to Undertaker, then attacked his former tag team partner. "The Animal" then became locked in a tense rivalry with another former friend, John Cena, over the WWE Championship. The grueling match at Over the Limit led to a wheelchair-bound Batista declaring "I quit!" the following night on Raw before fading from the WWE Universe in May 2010. Following his departure from WWE, Bautista appeared opposite Vin Diesel in the Universal film Riddick (2013) and RZA's feature directorial debut The Man with the Iron Fists (2012), in which he played the villainous Brass Body and starred opposite Russell Crowe and Lucy Liu. His other film credits include The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption (2012), where he played Argomael; the action film House of the Rising Sun (2011); and Wrong Side of Town (2010) opposite rapper Ja Rule.
Two years later, he joined MMA and won his first professional MMA fight. In January 2014, he made his long awaited return to the WWE, before quitting a second time in June of that same year. He did this in order to promote Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), which was released on August 1, 2014, and starred Chris Pratt, Benicio Del Toro, Zoe Saldana, and Djimon Hounsou, alongside Bautista.
He will shoot Kickboxer: Vengeance (2016), directed by John Stockwell, and co-starring martial artist Alain Moussi and UFC fighter Georges St-Pierre. The remake of the 1989 Jean-Claude Van Damme film, Kickboxer (1989) is about two brothers David and Kurt Sloan; When David wins the Karate World Championship, a promoter lures him to Hong Kong, despite his brother's protestations that the man is a crook. When Kurt travels to Thailand to meet his brother, he discovers he has died and seeks his revenge.
After starring in films such as, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017), Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Hotel Artemis (2018), Escape Plan 2: Hades (2018), and Final Score (2018), he made a special guest appearance on WWE Smackdown! (1999) for it's 1000 episode reuniting with his former Evolution members Triple H, Randy Orton, and Ric Flair on October 16, 2018. The following year on February 25, 2019, he made his return to WWE Raw (1993) when he attacked Ric Flair on his 70th birthday at the end of the episode sending a message to Triple H that would ultimately lead to a No Holds Barred match for WrestleMania 35 (2019). Batista added the stipulation that if he wins the match, Triple H will have to retire from in-ring competition. As a result, Triple H was finally able to beat Batista for the first time and won the match, which ultimately led to Batista announcing his official retirement from wrestling in the WWE. Following his retirement, he will continue with his career as an actor in Hollywood.
His next films scheduled for release will be; Stuber (2019), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Escape Plan: The Extractors (2019), and My Spy (2020). He is one of many professional wrestlers to make the smooth transition from wrestling into the entertainment world.- Aurelian Smith Jr. better known by the ring name Jake "The Snake" Roberts, is an American professional wrestler and actor signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs as manager to Lance Archer. He is best known for his two stints in the World Wrestling Federation (later called WWE); the first between 1986 and 1992, and the second between 1996 and 1997. He wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance in 1983, World Championship Wrestling in 1992, and the Mexico-based Asistencia Asesoría y Administración between 1993 and 1994 and again in 1997. He appeared in Extreme Championship Wrestling during the summer of 1997 and made appearances for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling from 2006 through 2008.
Throughout his career, Roberts was known for his intense and cerebral promos, dark charisma, extensive use of psychology in his matches, and innovative use of the DDT finishing move (which was later named the "coolest" maneuver of all time by WWE). He often brought snakes into the ring, most famously a python. He was one of the subjects of the 1999 documentary film Beyond the Mat. In 2012, he moved in with fellow wrestler Diamond Dallas Page to seek help in getting his life back on track following years of alcohol and drug addiction, a period covered in the 2015 documentary The Resurrection of Jake the Snake. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on April 5, 2014, and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2020. - Actor
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Rey Mysterio was a professional wrestler for WCW who made his wrestling debut in Mexico. He dropped out of school to become a pro wrestler in Mexico. He is the nephew of wrestler Rey Misterio. He had a brief role (unmasked) as himself in Ready 2 Rumble. Came to WCW from ECW In 1996 after he debuted against Dean Malenko and lost in a stellar match. Like many luchadores (Latin wrestlers), he wore a mask until 1999 when he lost it to The Outsiders. Rey held multiple WCW Titles (8 different reigns in the cruiserweight, tag team & cruiserweight tag team divisions). He now resides in San Diego, California.- Actor
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The son of a professional wrestler, Ted DiBiase had started his pro wrestling career as a fan favorite, but soon "changed sides" and became a heel throughout the rest of his career. DiBiase entered the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the late 1980s where he gained most of his fame as "The Million Dollar Man." He employed a valet "Virgil" (formerly "Soul Train Jones, " and was an instrumental story line when Hulk Hogan's long WWF championship reign ended. DiBiase stayed in the WWF for more nearly 10 years, ending up as a manager for (soon to be star) "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. DiBiase left the WWF when Austin (then known as "The Ring Master") lost a match, and went to the WWF's rival World Championship Wrestling (WCW) as an "advisor" to Hogan's new NWO (New World Order) gang.- Paul also played college basketball at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville from 1992 to 1993, and was a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II Cougars basketball team. Paul is a member of the Xi Beta Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. He scored a total of thirty-nine points for the Cougars in limited action during the 1992-93 season.
- Colby Daniel Lopez is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to WWE under the ring name Seth Rollins. Prior to signing with WWE, Lopez wrestled as Tyler Black for Ring of Honor (ROH), where he held the ROH World Championship once and the ROH World Tag Team Championship twice (with Jimmy Jacobs), as well as the winner of the 2009 Survival of the Fittest tournament. He also wrestled for various independent promotions including Full Impact Pro (FIP), where he was a one-time FIP World Heavyweight Champion, as well as Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG), where he was a one-time PWG World Tag Team Champion (also with Jacobs).
After signing with WWE in 2010, he was sent to its developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) where he was the first FCW Grand Slam Champion. After WWE rebranded FCW into NXT, he became the inaugural NXT Champion. Rollins debuted on WWE's main roster in 2012 alongside Dean Ambrose and Roman Reigns as The Shield. Rollins won his first main roster championship while with the group, the WWE Tag Team Championship, with Reigns. Following The Shield's first breakup in June 2014, Rollins has gone on to become a two-time WWE World Heavyweight Champion, one-time Intercontinental Champion, a one-time United States Champion, a three-time WWE/Raw Tag Team Champion (with Reigns, Ambrose and Jason Jordan, respectively), the 2014 Money in the Bank winner and the 2015 Superstar of the Year. Upon winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 34, Rollins became the twenty-ninth Triple Crown Champion and the eighteenth Grand Slam Champion.
Rollins has headlined numerous major pay-per-view events for WWE, including WrestleMania 31. Industry veteran Sting, who wrestled his final match against Rollins at Night of Champions on September 20, 2015, described him as the most talented professional wrestler he has ever seen or worked with. - Joe Anoa'i was born on 25 May 1985 in Pensacola, Florida, USA. He is an actor, known for Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019), The Wrong Missy (2020) and WWE Smackdown! (1999). He has been married to Galina Anoa'i since 6 December 2014. They have five children.
- Much of Good's wrestling persona is based on his own real-life upbringing in Cincinnati's East End, where he spent much of his childhood in public housing. An avid wrestling fan who idolized Bret Hart as a child, he used wrestling as an escape from his rough upbringing by immersing himself in wrestling videotapes and reading stories about wrestling's earlier days. A year after beginning to train as a wrestler, he dropped out of high school.
In March 2015, WWE broadcaster Renee Paquette, better known by her ring name Renee Young, confirmed that she is in a relationship with Good.
In August 2014, Good began filming the Lionsgate-WWE Studios co-production Lockdown. The film is due to be released in 2015. - Actor
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Michael Francis Foley was born on June 7th, 1965, in Long Island, New York. Nicknamed Mick by his father, a lifelong Yankees and Mickey Mantle fan, he attended college in upstate New York, he hitchhiked to New York City to see a wrestling match between Jimmy Snuka (Jimmy Snuka) and Don Muraco that convinced him he wanted to be a professional wrestler. He trained under the tutelage of Dominic DeNucci, alongside such wrestlers as Shane Douglas, and made his debut in the late 1980's. He wrestled all around the U.S., Europe, Japan and Africa before landing a job in World Championship Wrestling as under the name Cactus Jack. He wrestled in excellent feuds with Sting (Steve Borden), Rick Steiner, Scott Steiner, and most notably Vader (Leon White), against whom he lost an ear mid-match in Germany in 1992. Around this time, he met his future wife, Collette Foley. His tenure with WCW at an end, he wrestled for Extreme Championship Wrestling under Paul Heyman, and in Japan, where he took place in (and won) the now legendary _IWA King of the Death Match (1995) (V)_. This attracted the attention of 'Vince McMahon', who brought Foley in to the World Wrestling Federation, under the name Mankind. Foley's first feud was with The Undertaker, against whom he wrestled several classic matches, most notably _King of the Ring (1998) (V)_, where, in possibly the most famous professional wrestling moment of all time, The Undertaker threw Foley off the top of a 20-foot cage, through a table. Foley's lifelong dream came true on December 28th, 1998, when he defeated The Rock (Dwayne Johnson) to win the WWF World Title. He would hold the belt three times before his career ended at WrestleMania 2000 (2000). Now retired, Foley is a bestselling and critically acclaimed author, having wrote two autobiographies (both of which topped the New York Times bestseller charts), a series of children's books, and a novel.- Christopher Michael Benoit is a Canadian wrestler who was born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Michael and Margaret Benoit. He grew up in Edmonton, Alberta, from where he was billed throughout the bulk of his career. He had a sister living near Edmonton.
During his 22-year career, Benoit worked for numerous promotions including the World Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling Entertainment (WWF/WWE), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), and New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Industry historian Dave Meltzer considered him "one of the top 10, maybe even the top 5, all-time greats".
Benoit held 22 championships between WWF/WWE, WCW, NJPW, and ECW. He was a two-time world champion, having been a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, and a one-time World Heavyweight Champion in WWE; he was booked to win a third world championship at a WWE event on the night of his death. Benoit was the twelfth WWE Triple Crown Champion and sixth WCW Triple Crown Champion, and the second of five men in history to achieve both the WWE and WCW Triple Crown Championships. He was also the 2004 Royal Rumble winner, joining Shawn Michaels as the only two men to win a Royal Rumble as the number one entrant. Benoit headlined multiple pay-per-views for WWE, including a victory in the World Heavyweight Championship main event match of WrestleMania XX in 2004.
Benoit murdered his wife and son on June 22, 2007, and hanged himself two days later. Research suggests depression and brain damage from numerous concussions are likely contributing factors leading to the crime. - Actor
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William Jason Reso is a Canadian actor and professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in WWE under the ring name Christian and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) and All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Christian Cage. He also starred as a guest character on the Syfy original series Haven. He has also appeared on other television series Casino Cinema and Murdoch Mysteries and was featured in multiple films including Shoot 'Em up. He has been married to Denise Hartmann since May 25, 2001. They have one child.- Bill Eadie was born on 27 December 1946 in Brownsville, Pennsylvania, USA. He is an actor, known for Royal Rumble (1989), WWF Championship Wrestling (1972) and WCW Worldwide (1975). He is married to Sue. They have two children.
- Actor
- Producer
William Scott Goldberg , better commonly known as Goldberg, is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former American football player. He is best-known for his time in WCW and WWE.
Goldberg is one of the most popular figures of the late 1990s/early 2000s professional wrestling boom. He is regarded as the inventor of the spear finishing move in wrestling and is credited with popularizing, and being the best at executing, that move. He rose to fame in WCW with a lengthy undefeated streak in 1997-1998 singles competition. During his time with the promotion, he became a one-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion, two-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion and one-time WCW World Tag Team Champion with Bret Hart. Along with Hart, he is the fifth WCW Triple Crown winner.
Following WCW's closure in 2001, Goldberg wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) between 2002 and 2003 and for WWE between 2003 and 2004, becoming a one-time World Heavyweight Champion in the latter. After 12 years away from the company, he returned to WWE in 2016, winning the WWE Universal Championship for the first time in March 2017 and a second time in February 2020. Goldberg has headlined multiple WCW and WWE pay-per-view events, including WCW's premier annual event, Starrcade (in 1998 and 1999). He headlined the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018 and is a four-time world champion in his professional wrestling career between WWE and WCW. He is also the only man in history to have been WCW World Heavyweight, World Heavyweight and WWE Universal Champion.- Actor
- Stunts
Jeffrey Nero Hardy is an American professional wrestler and musician. Born and raised in Cameron, North Carolina, Hardy started his career as a youth performing in the Trampoline Wrestling Federation, which he started alongside his brother Matt Hardy. Hardy is widely considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all-time and is regarded as one of the most daring high fliers and risk-takers throughout his career. Together with his brother Matt Hardy, the tag team The Hardy Boyz are now widely regarded as one of the greatest tag teams in professional wrestling history.
Hardy has had great success in his singles career, capturing his first of six world championships, the WWE Championship in 2008 and going on to hold WWE's World Heavyweight Championship twice and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship three times. Within WWF/WWE, he has also won the Intercontinental Championship five times, the Hardcore Championship three times and the European, Light Heavyweight, and United States Championships once each. Having won the required championships, he is the 18th Triple Crown Champion and 9th Grand Slam Champion in WWE history (one of five men to complete both WWE Grand Slam formats, and one of two to win all original Grand Slam titles). He has headlined numerous pay-per-view events for WWE and TNA, including TNA's flagship event, Bound for Glory, on two occasions. Readers of Pro Wrestling Illustrated named him "Most Popular Wrestler of the Year" on two occasions.
Hardy is involved in motocross, music, painting and other artistic endeavors. He is a member of the band PeroxWhy?Gen, with whom he tours and has released three studio albums and four extended plays. In 2003, Hardy, along with his brother Matt, co-wrote an autobiographical book of memoirs titled The Hardy Boyz. Their book was a New York Times Best Seller.- Deceased Canadian Sumo turned professional wrestler best known for his work for WWE from 1989 to 1993. He went undefeated as a Sumo wrestler but left the sport out of frustration with the lifestyle and knowing he would never get elevated to Yokozuna (Grand Champion) status. He trained in All Japan Pro Wrestling and debuted for the promotion in 1987 and spent the next two years going back and forth between All Japan and Vancouver All-Star Wrestling and the UWA promotion in British Columbia, Canada. winning the UWA World Heavyweight Title twice and the UWA Canadian Heavyweight Title once. WWE signed him in 1989 and he worked some dark (non-televised) matches and house shows before making his first televised appearance in the U.S. as an audience plant named John on the November 11, 1989 "WWF Superstars of Wrestling." "Canada's Strongest Man" Dino Bravo (Adolph Bresciano) and manager "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart had thrown out an open challenge to the biggest guy in the audience to sit on Bravo's back while he did push-ups. "John" sat down on Bravo's back while Bravo did some push-ups. Then WWE Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion the Ultimate Warrior (Jim Hellwig) made his way to the ring to take the challenge. John set up on Warrior's back and sat down on him. John and Bravo beat down the Warrior until referees cleared the ring. A week later, Hart and Bravo introduced "John" as the Canadian Earthquake, which was later shortened to Earthquake. He would get pushed as a monster heel immediately, including facing Hulk Hogan at "SummerSlam 90." Formed the Natural Disasters in 1991 with former nemesis Tugboat (Fred Ottman) after he turned heel on the Bushwhackers (Butch (Butch Miller) and Luke (Brian Wickens)) and became Typhoon. They turned face in 1992 after Hart betrayed them and got Money Inc. ("The Million-Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and IRS (Mike Rotunda)) the shot to dethrone the Legion of Doom (Hawk (Mike Hegstrand) and Animal (Joe Laurinaitis)) for the WWE World Tag Team Titles. The Disasters defeated Money Inc. for the belts in July and held them until Money Inc. regained them in October. Quake temporarily left WWE in 1993 and went back to Japan. He returned in 1994 and had a feud with Yokozuna (Yokozuna before going to WCW. He was repackaged as Avalanche and teamed with Kevin Sullivan and the Butcher (Ed Leslie) as the Three Faces of Fear for a feud with Hulk Hogan, Sting (Steve Borden) and Randy Savage. He was repackaged again in June 1995 as the Shark of the Dungeon of Doom. He was kicked out of the group in May 1996, with Big Bubba (Ray Traylor) shaving off half of his hair. He dropped the gimmick and started wrestling under his own name until he left in 1997. He returned to WWE on the May 25, 1998 "WWE Raw Is War" as the masked Golga as part of the debut of the Oddities, with Luna Vachon (Trudy Vachon), the Giant Silva (Paulo Silva) and manager the Jackyl (Don Callis). The group, eventually reduced to Golga, Silva, Kurrgan (Robert Maillet) and George 'The Animal' Steele, were released in 1999. Tenta went back to Japan and the independents. He returned to WWE as Earthquake for the Gimmick Battle Royal at "WrestleMania X-7," which he lost. He finished out his career in Japan and retired in 2003 due to contracting bladder cancer, which ultimately killed him in 2006 at the age of 42.