Surprising Places Random Wrestlers Were Big Names

[Some Baritone guy IS REDEEMED!]

Basically exactly what the title says. Name a wrestler who was a big name in a place you didn't expect.

My biggest: Val Venis was a major star for CMLL in Mexico in the mid 90s before coming to WWF. He was the youngest CMLL Heavyweight champion in history and had a long violent feud with their top tecnico El Rayo de Jalisco Jr.

[Hypnosis]

Mark Jindrak in CMLL

Fake Razor Ramon in Japan

[Stone Coke Miami Watson 🥃]

Sweet Albert Tensai was a big name star in Japan

["Playboy" Don Douglas]

Roughhouse Fargo (also called Nuthouse Fargo) was a referee in the Carolinas, but would appear from time to time as a special attraction in Memphis. If a situation escalated or Jackie and Don Fargo got outnumbered, they’d “get their brother out of the nuthouse” to help them.

Roughhouse would do things like pick his nose and chase the heels with his booger.

[Mozenrath]

I know people memed on it, but Dr. Luther was legitimately a name in Japan. If someone really only followed NJPW, AJPW, NOAH, Dragon Gate, DDR, stuff like that, then sure, maybe they wouldn't know him, but he'd been heavily featured in FMW and had done work for IWA and WAR in addition to that. It was obviously a different scene, but it was still a lucrative one. It's just many people who aren't specifically into deathmatches are going to be pressed to name FMW guys outside of Onita and Hayabusa. Maaaaybe Tarzan Goto, too, but that's usually where it ends.

[Dragonfly]

The Crusher was a big deal in Pittsburgh in the 60s. He was a part of Bruno's Studio Wrestling rogue's gallery.



Tracy Smothers is just as much of a legend in Pittsburgh and Ohio as he is down south. He was the one "legacy" act that everyone, but wrestlers and fans, wanted to see.

[kingoftheindies]

Star may be stretching it but Johnny the Bull/Rellik had a solid main event run in All Japan as the Fake Great Muta

Norman Smiley was a top guy in Mexico

[Can you afford to pay me, Gah]

Johnny Ace in Japan. He was anything much anywhere else.
Didn't post wwe Kenzo Suzuki have a good run in Mexico.

["Playboy" Don Douglas]

Oct 15, 2022 23:03:22 GMT -5 "Playboy" Don Douglas said:

Roughhouse Fargo (also called Nuthouse Fargo) was a referee in the Carolinas, but would appear from time to time as a special attraction in Memphis. If a situation escalated or Jackie and Don Fargo got outnumbered, they’d “get their brother out of the nuthouse” to help them.

Roughhouse would do things like pick his nose and chase the heels with his booger.

I looked him up out of curiosity and found out that he was Jackie Fargo’s legit brother, and they teamed together in Madison Square Garden in the ‘60s. He also wrestled throughout the southeast under a few different gimmicks, and was “the Assasins’ Valet” in Florida, a silent assistant who used an oxygen tank & mask to revive them. He also legit stunned Eddie Graham by cracking him too hard with the oxygen tank.

He then became a ref and made the special appearances in Memphis. He apparently continued as a referee for the Crocketts, including the first 4 or 5 Starrcades.

[TOK Hehe'd Around & Found Out]

The Patriot had a run in AJPW immediately before his WWF run where he had a win over Kenta Kobashi in a singles match, a win over Misawa in a tag match (while teaming with RVD), and got to the finals of the Real World Tag League with Kobashi.

[koreycaskets]

I know you can't say Virgil was small time in WWF since he was involved in some huge angles but he was never like a top tier wrestler.

Anyways wasn't he a champ somewhere as Soultrain Jones before going to the WWF?

[Jaws the Shark]

PN News carved out a pretty decent career in mainland Europe in the nineties as a monster heel called Cannonball Grizzly (and also sometimes the American Avalanche).

[Deleted]

The Von Erichs being huge in Israel (IIRC).

[y4j1981]

Oct 16, 2022 14:24:50 GMT -5 koreycaskets said:

I know you can't say Virgil was small time in WWF since he was involved in some huge angles but he was never like a top tier wrestler.

Anyways wasn't he a champ somewhere as Soultrain Jones before going to the WWF?

Wiki says:

*American Wrestling Association:

AWA International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rocky Johnson

*New Jack City Wrestling:

NJCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

*Pro Wrestling Illustrated:

Ranked No. 74 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1992

Ranked No. 483 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI Years in 2003

*United States Wrestling League:

USWL Intercontinental Championship (1 time)

*World Wrestling Federation:

Million Dollar Championship (1 time)

*Wrestling Observer Newsletter:

Best Gimmick (1996) – nWo

Feud of the Year (1996) New World Order vs. World Championship Wrestling

[Axel Dieter jr.]

Oct 16, 2022 14:39:21 GMT -5 Jaws the Shark said:

PN News carved out a pretty decent career in mainland Europe in the nineties as a monster heel called the American Avalanche.

The name he was better known under is Cannonball Grizzly. And you wouldn't believe that this was the same guy as PN News, because Grizzly seemed to know quite well what he was doing.

[Jaws the Shark]

Oct 16, 2022 17:38:30 GMT -5 Axel Dieter jr. said:

Oct 16, 2022 14:39:21 GMT -5 Jaws the Shark said:

PN News carved out a pretty decent career in mainland Europe in the nineties as a monster heel called the American Avalanche.

The name he was better known under is Cannonball Grizzly. And you wouldn't believe that this was the same guy as PN News, because Grizzly seemed to know quite well what he was doing.

Yes, you’re absolutely right. For some reason when I was writing that I thought Cannonball Grizzly was Bruiser Mastino/Mantaur. Who to be fair, would be another possible entry here.

[sungod2020]

Oct 16, 2022 14:24:50 GMT -5 koreycaskets said:

I know you can't say Virgil was small time in WWF since he was involved in some huge angles but he was never like a top tier wrestler.

Anyways wasn't he a champ somewhere as Soultrain Jones before going to the WWF?

What big angles are you talking about? The only storyline he was in that involved any sort of significance was breaking away from Ted Dibiase and winning the Million Dollar Championship. After he lost the belt back to Dibiase, he went straight to jobberdom. I think he had a mini-feud with Repo Man and tried to avenge his buddy the Big Bossman for Nailz(only to become the sacrificial lamb in the process), but they certainly weren't considered "big angles."

Back to the topic, many Attitude Era fans remember her as that horny octogenarion that takes dangerous bumps, the vast majority would be surprised to learn that Mae Young actually had a bigger impact on women's wrestling. He was a pioneer in the industry as she helped to increase the popularity of the sport throughout the 1940s and during World War II, winning several championships along the way. In 1954, she and Mildred Burke were among the first female competitors to tour post-war Japan.

[mrpeacock]

Oct 16, 2022 17:47:48 GMT -5 Jaws the Shark said:

Oct 16, 2022 17:38:30 GMT -5 Axel Dieter jr. said:

The name he was better known under is Cannonball Grizzly. And you wouldn't believe that this was the same guy as PN News, because Grizzly seemed to know quite well what he was doing.

Yes, you’re absolutely right. For some reason when I was writing that I thought Cannonball Grizzly was Bruiser Mastino/Mantaur. Who to be fair, would be another possible entry here.

Makes sense because they’re first cousins

[tafkaga]

Bart Gunn had a really strong resurgence in Japan after his career was basically considered dead in the USA.

["Playboy" Don Douglas]

Oct 17, 2022 8:07:40 GMT -5 sungod2020 said:

Oct 16, 2022 14:24:50 GMT -5 koreycaskets said:

I know you can't say Virgil was small time in WWF since he was involved in some huge angles but he was never like a top tier wrestler.

Anyways wasn't he a champ somewhere as Soultrain Jones before going to the WWF?

What big angles are you talking about? The only storyline he was in that involved any sort of significance was breaking away from Ted Dibiase and winning the Million Dollar Championship. After he lost the belt back to Dibiase, he went straight to jobberdom. I think he had a mini-feud with Repo Man and tried to avenge his buddy the Big Bossman for Nailz(only to become the sacrificial lamb in the process), but they certainly weren't considered "big angles."

Back to the topic, many Attitude Era fans remember her as that horny octogenarion that takes dangerous bumps, the vast majority would be surprised to learn that Mae Young actually had a bigger impact on women's wrestling. He was a pioneer in the industry as she helped to increase the popularity of the sport throughout the 1940s and during World War II, winning several championships along the way. In 1954, she and Mildred Burke were among the first female competitors to tour post-war Japan.

Well, he was part of the MegaPowers vs MegaBucks deal. Not a key player, obviously, but part of it. The same can be said of anything that involved Ted at that point.