The Biggest Badass of them all

[Mantaur Rodeo Clown]

No I'm not talking about that phase the Undertaker went through on a bike. Or Chuck Palumbo's either. I'm talking about the toughest guys to ever set foot in any ring. I recently watched the "Legends of Wrestling" series on "Badasses" hosted by Jim Ross. It's available on youtube for anyone interested. It has a great story about Saito and Ken Patera throwing a boulder through a McDonalds drive through because they couldnt buy a burger.

I want to know what the general concensus is on who was the toughest guy of all time. Not kayfabe or who would win in a fight, but who could take a beating and keep on going. Im sure we'll get a few Stan Hansens from a certain poster. Maybe a few Bruiser Brodies, and definately a Steve Austin.

For my money, I think Rowdy Roddy Piper is one of the toughest guys that ever became a wrestler. Hell, on his hall of fame speech in 2005, he said without other wrestlers to be his family, he was going nowhere but prison. I remember reading an article in a special edition of WWE Magazine that as a 15 year old kid he would have to fight off people that tried to rape him, being chubby and a bagpipe player. He even goes into detail about how he was nearly killed by being driven into a wall while he was the passenger in a car driven by an angry ex-employee. The whole stopping internal bleeding by yourself without surgery sounds just a tad badass to me.

If this is dragging on I'm sorry, but i've voiced my opinion, who do you think is the toughest ever, and please explain your answer.

 

[Carter121]

Steve Blackman. That man kicked some serious ass back in the day. He was even badass when he was in Head Cheese with Al Snow and THAT is saying something.

 

[matty256]

I thought Tazz was pretty badass back in the original ECW. His Suplexes proved that you didnt have to use chairs or tables or babred wire to be hardcore. Then he came to WWE and they made him a wuzz

 

[ztwhite]

If we're posting our opinions based on sheer ability to kick someone's ass outside of a wrestling ring - my money is on William Regal or Fit Finley.

These guys really did grow up on the streets in Great Britain and Ireland, fighting for money at bars and pubs.

If I had to take one guy down a dark alley with me, I'm taking one of the guys from across the pond.

 

[Debisibmania]

Id feel pretty confident with big show by my side lol... but hes not the toughest, just has the most mass to cover up the blows.

Brock lesnar is in the ufc, that says something...

I remember Goldust taking a serious beating against ur boy piper at WM 12 too...

But i think my pick is going to be Mic Foley... based on ability to take a beating and keep going... yea... Foley

 

[Smart Mark]

If we're posting our opinions based on sheer ability to kick someone's ass outside of a wrestling ring - my money is on William Regal or Fit Finley.

He said thats not what were talking about, and tazz is is a judo specialist and would easily take down men who's only fighting ability would exist in a bar, so those guys are done right there.

Toughest I know would have to be Sabu. Early on in his barbwire match he tore his bicep right off when his arm was tangled in the barbwire ropes, he just tightly wraped his arm in medical tape on the side to keep his muscle in place and stop the bleeding and continued and finished his match. That's tough, no matter what your opinions on him are.

 

[TheBadGuy]

I have to agree, I think Finlay is probably the toughest guy on the roster today. anyone who grows up fighting in Belfast, Northern Ireland is pretty damn tough.

And from what i've heard, Haku (or Meng in wcw) is considered one of the toughest guys to ever step in a ring. I've seen shoot interviews where wrestlers like Bobby Heenan, Goldberg, and Bret Hart were asked who was the toughest guy in the business, and they all said Haku. He made a name for himself outside the ring as the toughest wrestler of his era by allegedly biting off someones nose in a bar fight, and for gouging out Jimmy Jack Funks eyeball in a backstage brawl. No one's got a reputation like this, so I'd have to say Haku is the biggest badass we've seen so far.

 

[sting4life]

I have to agree, I think Finlay is probably the toughest guy on the roster today. anyone who grows up fighting in Belfast, Northern Ireland is pretty damn tough.

And from what i've heard, Haku (or Meng in wcw) is considered one of the toughest guys to ever step in a ring. I've seen shoot interviews where wrestlers like Bobby Heenan, Goldberg, and Bret Hart were asked who was the toughest guy in the business, and they all said Haku. He made a name for himself outside the ring as the toughest wrestler of his era by allegedly biting off someones nose in a bar fight, and for gouging out Jimmy Jack Funks eyeball in a backstage brawl. No one's got a reputation like this, so I'd have to say Haku is the biggest badass we've seen so far.

Meng is one badass, I wouldn't want to get on his badside, I'm also pretty sure I wouldn't want to get into a bar fight with Dick Murdoch.

 

[shayneomac]

I heard Meng was the toughest guy. Apparently Ferrin Barr, Jr. aka Jimmy Jack Funk has a glass eye because of what Meng did to him in a backstage fight.

 

[GSM]

I think that in his prime the iron Shiek was pretty bad-ass, always crazy and stoned but would have stilled whooped some ass xDD Back in the day the old school wrestlers were more bad-ass than any wrestler today. If I had to take someone of the recent rosters I´d take Joey Styles, he punched out JBL and handles the WWE.Com homepage which takes a lot of balls xDDD

 

[rightphitt]

I gotta go with mark henry. He aint the worlds strongest man for nothing. The dude is strong man

And another candidate would prolly be ken shamrock. He been ufc for a long time and has tons of experience.

These two are my 2 cents. What u think???

 

[IrishCanadian25]

Where's Lariat to extol the accomplishments of Stan Hansen? Here's a legit badass who worked stiff and got into plenty of fights. And inexorably linked with him is Vader. You've all heard my eye-popping soapbox on this before.

Paul Orndorff is up there. Apparently, when Vader confronted Paul in WCW and the two got into a fight (which led to Vader's dismissal from WCW) and Paul more than held his own. He was a real fighter. Mr One-derful gets a vote.

Let's not forget Kurt Angle. Read his book - grew up in some tough spots in Pittsburgh, a tough city. He worked his ass off on the mats to make the Olympic Team, and legit had his neck broken when he won the Gold Medal. Folks, winning the Gold Medal in Freestyle Wrestling in the Olympics may be the single hardest feat in any sport, anywhere. FACT. And Angle did it...wait for it...wait for it...WITH A BROKEN FREAKIN' NECK! That man is legit tough.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

It's hard not to think of Antonio Inoki as someone that could really screw somebody up. Inoki has a respectable MMA record, including a shoot fight win over Andre the Giant. Another guy that was legitimately tough was Bad News Brown, AKA Bad News Allen. He won the Judo Bronze Medal at the 1976 Olympics in the heavyweight division. He once called Andre out after the Giant made a little off color joke with some racist language in it and Andre declined the offer.

I might be a bit more afraid of Bad News than Inoki. Brown, real name Allen Coage, was a tough, angry black man with a chip on his shoulder that could rip you a new one at the drop of a hat. That was especially so during a match if you did something to him that he'd maybe told you not to do beforehand. I remember reading in Bret Hart's book that he'd hit Coage in the head, even though he was told not to before the match, and Brown essentially made Hart his bitch right then and there.

 

[samus500]

i gotta say for the biggest bad ass of them all id have to go with Vader. The guy broke jobber Joe Thurman's back on TV, and ended the career of Nikita Koloff. A locker room fight with Orndorff, and an assault on a TV show host in Kuwait, id say hes pretty badass IMO. I would have to agree with IC25 and say that Hansen would be another badass, but id say he a close second to Vader.

 

[truk24]

Honestly the baddest of them all is without a shadow of a doubt is Kurt Angle. May I remind many of you that he won the Gold Medal in 96 with a broken neck. If that doesn't do it for you, then I'm not sure what to say. No one, and I mean no one could ever out wrestle Angle in real life. Angle was probably the best over all wrestler of all time, and that includes actual Olympic wrestling etc.. Brock tried to hang with Angle, and was embarrassed in under 3 minutes. If Angle gets you to the ground, it is over. He reminds me of a Hoyce Gracie.

 

[The Great Gouki]

OK this is a hard one to call....but a great topic! I have a list.....

Haku/Meng- among the previous statements, he was the bodyguard for the king of Tonga. I remember hearing a shoot interview where the guy talked about Scott Steiner (can't remember who...) but they said while the Steiners were stiffing people the 2 they didn't mess with were Ron Simmons and Meng. Scott was scared of him apparently.

Stan Hansen- Dude knocked Vader's eye out....HIS EYE!!!

Vader- Dude got his eye knocked out by Stan Hansen....HIS EYE!!! lol
Broke that dude's back....you know the deal. I also hears he took on the Denver PD one drunken night and threatened to kill their dogs!

"Killer" Kowalski- Tore Yukon Eric's ear off (not like the Vader/Cactus deal...that was more of Mick's fault) then LAUGHED AT HIM!!!
On the Legends of Wrestling game there is an interview with him. He talks about a lady ripping his boot and calf open with a butcher knife, he looks at her and say something to her (which I forget) didn't yell or anything....has his match and gets stitched up later.

William Regal- as mentioned earlier he's been going since he was 15. I remember him talking about KOing guys as they got into the ring in the carnival days...he was doing that as a kid!

Roddy Piper- just like with Regal...fighting for his life from a young age.

Harley Race-Now if you were to interview a lot of the older wrestlers, I know more than a few would mention Harley. I don't know too much about him (other than almost shooting a dude over a rib) but I live a stone's throw away from his wrestling school, and have spoke to him a few times...and even though he's a bit worse for wear...still intimidates the crap outta me!!! Nice guy in person though!


and my wild card pick

Akira Maeda- Sure he was a dick, dis-respectful, and possibly egotistical....But he shattered Riki Choshyu's orbital with ONE kick. AND he was fearless in a match with Andre the Giant, when Andre was told to teach him respect.

 

[Arrynboot]

I think if the rumours about KANE beating the shit out of TIM SYLVIA are true then he gets a good few points on the badass meter too.

 

[Mantaur Rodeo Clown]

Let's not forget Kurt Angle. Read his book - grew up in some tough spots in Pittsburgh, a tough city. He worked his ass off on the mats to make the Olympic Team, and legit had his neck broken when he won the Gold Medal. Folks, winning the Gold Medal in Freestyle Wrestling in the Olympics may be the single hardest feat in any sport, anywhere. FACT. And Angle did it...wait for it...wait for it...WITH A BROKEN FREAKIN' NECK! That man is legit tough

I don't know if I agree with this. No doubt, Kurt Angle is a tough guy. Broken neck, gold medal, yeah we all heard his promos in 99. But i dont think he quite classifies as a bad ass. He doesnt exude that air of badass. If anything, its more an air of psychopath. Plus he seems like a docile sort of guy when he's not in the ring. Very calm cool and collected. Psychopathic but you know, a collected one.

i gotta say for the biggest bad ass of them all id have to go with Vader. The guy broke jobber Joe Thurman's back on TV, and ended the career of Nikita Koloff. A locker room fight with Orndorff, and an assault on a TV show host in Kuwait, id say hes pretty badass IMO. I would have to agree with IC25 and say that Hansen would be another badass, but id say he a close second to Vader.

I can't say that breaking someones back in the ring is very badass. I might get flak for this, but doing something like being stiff in the ring doesnt equate to being a badass. Otherwise I'd put HHH for breaking Ortons collarbone. To me, the threatening and shouting of "IM NOT HERE TO BE MADE FUN OF" to the kuwait interviewer was much more badass, standing up for his profession and his peers.

C'mon guys, I have yet to be convinced that Roddy Piper is not THE toughest guy to ever lace up a pair of boots. Having a hundred death threats and a stadium full of people swearing at you calling you a ******? And having to fight off half of these guys in bars? And being able to come back to your family after all that? Cmon, THATS BADASS!

 

[SK]

I'm gonna have to go with Meng (Haku). Look around on the internet, there are plenty of stories about gruesome bloody fights ending with Men biting noses off, nasty.
Although, like a few hae pointed out, Angle definately gets a shout! The man not only wrestled but won with a broken neck at the olympics, that is dedication.

Stan Hansen should also get a mention, possibly one of the stiffest workers ever seen and he broke Bruno Sammartino's neck with a bodyslam, the man is a legit badass.

However, if your looking for someone to slap a bitch up, look no further than Chris Jericho.

 

[JohnnyTheAlphaMale]

Here's my list. Sum are tough guys and sum can take a beating (even more so than the standard wrestler). All of them are larger than the most men so will not comment on size/power except Lesnar, Lashley, Batista and Taker should have a special mention.

Kurt Angle (trained ameatur wrestler)
Scott Steiner (see Angle)
Brock Lesnar (see Angle & MMA)
Bobby lashley (see Angle & MMA)
Finly (street fighter)
Regal (street fighter)
Undertaker (former debt collecter etc, and high pain thresh hold )
Orndorff (tough guy)
Foley (can take a beating)
Austin (can take a beating)
Haku (madman)
Shamrock (MMA)
Puder (MMA)
Shawn O'Hare (MMA but lazy)
Batista (now trained in MMA and "philipino knife fighting") RE: keep away from Booker T

Specail Mention:

Hart Dungeon graduates like Chris Jericho

 

[jrcongine]

My vote would go to haku or Danny hodge whom i didn't see mentioned. Just a few notes on hodge. He could break apples with one hand, and also pliers i believe. once busted out windows on a vehicle he had submerged in water and swam up with a broken neck. pretty bad ass in my book.

 

[GSM]

Well Haku/Meng for sure was a tough guy, some time ago I read an interview with Alex Wright, he was asked who was most feared backstage and he said that no one wanted to mess with Meng. Then he said that Meng once threw a jukebox or something like that through a room cause he was pissed.

 

[MiiX]

Like it was said above Danny Hodge with the broken neck story thats right up there in terms of badasses.

 

[itbewilly]

Everyone will have a different opinion on who they think a real bad ass was.My answer is simple and i'm surprised he hasn't been named by others.I can't speak on any of the older guys and whatever stories they had but one VHS Tape stands out as the baddest wrestler alive.

At the only original ECW taping to take place in Cincinnati at one of their very brief TNN t.v contract i picked up a VHS labeled The best of New Jack.Sure most of what he did was obviously staged by for crying out loud the guy got charged with assault for using a knife on a guy during a match.If that doesn't qualify one as bad ass just look at the other stuff he did outside of TNA who just made him into a joke.

The match where he almost threw a guy out of the ring off of the scaffold was said to be deliberate on his part.Hes always had that bad ass foul mouthed gimmick that pretty much can be considered criminal even.

In my life time New Jack has to stand out as one of the people id never want to step into the ring with.You never knew what he was capable of and he dove off balconies at nearly ever event.He had to be able to take a hell of a beating as well as give one.

 

[Big J]

Kevin Sullivan always struck me as someone I wouldn't want to mess with.