Top Ten Toughest Wrestlers

[Tenta]

Now, before we begin this list, let's clarify one thing; There's more to being a tough wrestler than being able to take big bumps. It's a factor, but don't expect too many ECW guys on this list. This not only measures how tough a guy is in terms of the bumps he takes, but just who you overall wouldn't want to find yourself fighting in the middle of an alley. These guys not only take a lot of punishment, they give just as much back. If I here on comment on how Mick Foley should be #1 just because of Hell in a Cell (Spoiler, Mick Foley is not #1.) I will completely ignore your post. Mick's tough; he's nowhere near the toughest man in the business, I promise you. And though he is on the list, remember; this list is about guys who can take it and dish it out, as well. With that said;

The Top Ten Toughest Men in Wrestling

10. Vader- This man was mean and nasty reincarnate. The man almost lost an eye during a match, and still kept working. Trained under Brad Rhenigans, a legit shoot artist who also came out with men such as JBL and Jerry Lynn, Vader was taught to respect the business, and to carry on as stiff as possible. And stiff he was; this is the man that made Mick Foley his play toy long before The Undertaker did, giving him twenty seven stiches, a concussion, a broken nose, and temporary loss of feeling in his leg. If that's not stiff, I'm not sure what is. Still, he was treated just as stiffly in Japan, where he took the pains of being a gaijin in stride, including all of the rookie "hazing" which borderlines flat out abuse. Actually, nevermind, it is full on abuse. Nevertheless, Vader deserves a spot in this nefarious lineup.

9. Andre The Giant- You want tough? The man was in dire need of back surgery just to live, and the guy went out and did the job for Hulk Hogan at Wrestlemania 3, anyway. I can't imagine the excruciating pain Andre went through in the later parts of his career, but it was anything but pretty. The man was as dangerous as they come; he was the same guy that forced Bam Bam Bigelow out of the WWE, because Bam Bam was afraid Andre was going to kill him. Read: Death would befall the man. Whenever you make Bam Bam Bigelow feel that way, you're doing something right. Andre was going to get a spot somewhere on this list. Still, his bravery in the face of a crippling disease is what pushes him into my list of toughest wrestlers ever.

8. Haku- This man was just a flat out bad ass. The guy almost fucking slaughtered Brutus Beefcake backstage. If it wasn't for Hulk Hogan, I doubt Ed Leslie would be alive today. Stu Hart actually referred to him at one point as the toughest man in wrestling, beside John Tenta. And anytime you get an endoresement like that from that guy, you're going high on my list. Then, there's the case of the bit off noses that allegedly occured many times. Trained to be a sumo wrestler under the king of Tonga, Haku was a legitimate badass. Goldberg, Bobby Heenan, and even reknown hardman Bad News Brown have given their backing to the guy. so I guess I may as well, too.

7. Finlay- The guy almost lost a leg, and returned later that year to fight. One night while wrestling Brian Knobbs, he was thrown into a table in the corner of the ring, causing it to shatter and the shards to cut his leg. The fear was that he would have to have his leg amputated, and he would grow to lose use of that leg. When strength finally returned to it, he suited up later that year to fight some more. One of the hardest men to wrestle, he's a legit shoot fighter that can take down most with ease. He's Finlay, he loves to fight, and can kick your ass anytime. Good enough for me to put him on my list.

6. Tie- Killer Kowalski and Lou Thesz- Yeah, I know, I know; This is a cop out, but I can't leave either of these guys off my list. Thesz is a legend who's as tough as they come. His amateur skills alone make me wet myself to sleep. I'll simply let Gelgarin sing his praises though. Killer, on the other hand, was just flat out mean. He strangled, he maimed. He literally tried to kill you in the ring. These two are great shoot fighters, and I fully expect to get my ass kicked by either man in a bar. These men are old school defined, and no toughman list is complete without either of them.

5. Abdullah the Butcher- The guy is 70 now and puts on bloodbaths that make your stomach turn. Abby looks at The Undertaker's two decades of destruction, and pisses all over them. The man has an innate ability with weapons that make you just want to cry. Not only does he bleed, but he trickles floods of blood. And he causes the same of his opponent, too. The guy debuted fifty one years ago, and is still at it. If that's not toughness, I don't know what is. So yeah, Abby totally fits on my list.

4. Mick Foley- As much as I railed on the guy, he did take some pretty fantastic bumps. His match with Taker set the tone for violence in wrestling, as did his bloodbaths with Trips, The Rock, and Terry Funk. The man has taken so many hard bumps, it's impossible to keep him off the list. the only reason he doesn't win is... Well, he's just not a tough guy. I'm sorry, I just can't give the list to a guy who's a regular patron of Santaland. Just can't do it. Besides, if Mick won, what am I to do with this man...

3. Terry Funk- Do I even need to say why he's on here? He's been blown up more times than Wile E. Coyote. He's been set on fire, electrocuted, tacked, barbed wired, pissed on, thrown off of large heights, moonsaulted off of ladders, been hit with more chairs than he can remember, and overall destroyed throughout his career. And the strange thing? Most true fans consider him a technician. This guy, a technician. Figure that out. Anyway, no list is complete without the Funker, damnit.

2. Steve Austin- He broke his neck, and finished the match. need I say more? The Texas Rattlesnake, The Bionic Redneck, all that stuff. There's a reason Jim Ross loves him; he's a true throwback to the old days. He truly was as thick skinned as they came. And only one man can match his toughness.

1. Harley Race- Universally accepted as the toughest man in wrestling. The sound of his voice makes you quiver. He just is as tough as they come. He survived intestinal cancer and a car wreck, and still is in the business

 

[Y 2 Jake]

I usually don't buy into the whole idea of wrestling tough guys, after a brief look at your post I've come to the conclusion that a lot of them worked through ailments, much like normal people do after an accident or if they have a disease.

Haku biting off somebody nose, if he was really tough he'd just hit them till they're humble, surely! Harley Race having cancer and being in a car crash, it happens to a lot of people. Being stiff doesn't make you tough, I could have a match with Mick Foley and break his nose in a vain attempt to make the match seem more important.

For people who are so tough there's a lot of emphasis placed on any injuries they might've had, whereas regular people just have to deal with something like that and move on.

 

[Big Nick Dudley]

Nice thread. I think I am basing my list more upon the guys that were just downright scary. These are guys I wouldn't want to fight because, A. They know how to hurt you badly, and B. You couldn't hurt them without a gun.

10. Chris Benoit- I am just going to get this guy out of the way right now, I don't like talking about him. This guy had crazy intensity. The way he kicked, punched, held you in the crossface, everything. He just looked like he could snap at any time...and he did.

9. Mick Foley- I am not sure what you could do to this maniac that would make him stop smiling. He is a creepy kind of tough. Seems like the nicest guy in the world, and probably is. But I am not sure you could hurt him enough to even make him want to fight you back. He has been through everything you can think of (literally).

8. Tom Billington (The Dynamite Kid)- After reading Bret Harts book, I would never have wanted to meet this guy. He was a nut. He was a 5'-8", 220 lb. block of cement... that could move. Bret said this was one of the toughest guys he has ever known..and I'll take his word for it.

7. Andre the Giant- I don't know how tough he was...but I don't think anything short of a shotgun would have brought him down. He wasn't all that mobile, but could you do to him to hurt him? I don't think you could do much. Probably not that scary of a guy, but just hard to damage.

6. Tonga Fifita (Haku, Meng)- I have heard some terrifying stories about this guy. Biting people noses, choking full grown men, etc. He just sounds like a scary guy all around. I am not sure how "tough" he was, or how much punishment he could take (probably a lot), but I don't care. I wouldn't want to mess with this Samoan wild man.

5. Steve Blackman- This dude was no joke. A real martial artist, who just seemed way to skilled to hurt (for me to hurt, at least). Good with weapons too. He beat malaria, so I don't think I have a chance. The Chuck Norris or wrestling, in my book haha.

4. Paul Wight- To me, this would be like fighting a more mobile, better trained Andre. The guy worked on a pro boxig career....and he is HUGE. Not only would it be nearly impossible to hurt him, but he could do a lot more damage than Andre could.

3. Ken Shamrock- Over the past few years, he hasn't done so well in MMA. But that is PROFESSIONAL MMA! This guy is a legend in the most brutal sport of them all. Plus, when he snaps, so does your ankle!

2. Kurt Angle- I have heard guys like Randy Orton, HHH, Jericho, and Benoit all say this dude is legit. And I'm sure he is. He won the freakin' olympic gold medal. This guy could just break you down in every way imaginable, and really hurt you. Most skilled fighter WWE has ever had. A real bad ass.

1. Brock Lesnar- I hate this guy. Great wrestler, but he just seems like an asshole. But I wouldn't want to say that to his face. He walks around at about 290 lbs. of pure muscle, and his fists are the size of footballs. Getting hit by this guy would feel like a train. And he is even better on the ground, a collegiate champion wrestler. Too big, too strong, too fast. Nothing I could do to this guy. I would run (and he would catch me).

 

[The Mark of Zur-En-Arrh]

Surely Taker should be included in someone's list? And where's the love for Sabu?

The Undertaker is aman who's wrestled with more injuries than just about anyone. He wrestled for at least 2 months with a shattered orbital bone in the early 90's, he wrestled the Foley HIAC with a broken foot, he wrestled against Batista in 2 bloody World title matches (Backlash '07 and the following SD!) with a busted elbow, and is now wrestling with severe hip damage, that apparently, surgery didn't help. Fuck man, he was completely engulfed in flames 2 weeks ago and STILL wrestled for at least 20 minutes afterward, taking some pretty stiff shots from JoMo in the process.

As for Sabu, well what do i need to say? The scars alone should be enough proof. But to have your bicep slashed open, and then duck tape it up so that he can continue to tear himself and Funk apart, is gotta be considered as 'tough'.

This is now making me remember other guys, like Hardcore Holly for instance. Had a broken neck, had to have a metal plate in his arm, got a 9 inch gash from a table and still had an awesome match with RVD for a further 10 minutes. Sadly because he sucked so 95% of his career, people forget just how tough he was.

Masato Tanaka is another guy that springs to mind. I've seen the guy get thrown through a million tables, take chair shots that sounded more like gunshots and be battered with just about everything else for 20 minutes at a time. Mike Awesome used to go to town on that guy, and he'd just keep on going at full pelt, showing absolutely no reprieve. If he'd been born 40 years earlier he'd blatantly have been kamikaze.

 

[SteveAustinsucks]

Vader is not tough, he was just stiff.

Dick Slater is one of the toughest SOBs of all time. A long time his hobby was to beat up some NFL players, and lost just a few times.

Also Haku. Bit a guy's nose off, and gouged out Jimmy Jack Funk's eye, also threatened to kill Brutus Beefcake.

Dr. Death Steve Williams who died a couple of months ago was alss a tough guy.

Booker T is a tough guy too from what ive heard. Had some streetfights and was 1987 in prison. I guess he was a true gangster back than.

Yoshihiro Takayama is one of the toughest guys in Puro history. I mean this guys is really tough. Watch his fight against Don Frye. Hes a total beast

Super Dragon from CzW and PWG was also tough.

There are many guys who are tough, but those one i list are one of the toughest ever.

 

[Tenta]

I usually don't buy into the whole idea of wrestling tough guys, after a brief look at your post I've come to the conclusion that a lot of them worked through ailments, much like normal people do after an accident or if they have a disease.

Haku biting off somebody nose, if he was really tough he'd just hit them till they're humble, surely! Harley Race having cancer and being in a car crash, it happens to a lot of people. Being stiff doesn't make you tough, I could have a match with Mick Foley and break his nose in a vain attempt to make the match seem more important.

For people who are so tough there's a lot of emphasis placed on any injuries they might've had, whereas regular people just have to deal with something like that and move on.

I think you have a bit of a point Jake. But I think there should be something said for toughness, for two reasons;

1. Credibility. Keeping things kayfabe used to be an important value. Most of these guys stuck honest to kayfabe through their career. Sure, it will take off a couple years off most wrestler's lives, but the ability to keep yourself as a tough individual used to be one of the most important factors in the business.

2. Ability to perform under injury. It's no different from praising Cal Ripken for being the Iron Man of baseball. Or Brett Favre for his streak. Working under pain, as dumb as it may, still should be commererated, to some extent.

Vader is not tough, he was just stiff

I know you didn't just say that. The guy almost lost an eyeball in Japan. He nearly caused a riot in a match against Inoki in Japan. The bloodshed at the 1997 February In Your House: Final Four is still an image that resonates in my head. Plus, any wrestler that undergoes the Gaijin training in Japan gets a boat of confidence from me. Sure, he was a bit of a bully, but that shouldn't take away from how tough of a man he was. I fully support my decision upon putting him on my list.

 

[Window Licker 101]

You talk about tough how about Triple H? Yeah yeah he is the bosses son in law etc but he wrestled to the end of a match with a ripped Quad remember? He even let Y2J put the walls of Jericho, a move that effects the quadreciep on him for at LEAST 10 seconds! Thats impressive.

 

[TheLooseCannon]

Ok guys, I don't think injuries should be a factor here because every single wrestler in history have worked through pain and injuries. It's hard to tell who's tough for real and who's character looked tough. I heard from jacques Rougeau that his brother Ray was a legit bad ass and could fight and beat up almost anyone. In fact, he was once in a backstage fight with Dynamite Kid while he needed crutches to walk ( Ray had crutches...not the other way around ...). Of course, a case is easy to make for guys like Shamrock, Blackman, Lesnar, Tank Abott who were successful in real fights. Also, guys who got slaughtered in the ring like Foley, Funk, Sabu, Dreamer, Sandman should be on that kind of list. Then, Vader, Meng, Andre and a lot of old school wrestlers who did it when wrestling someone meant trying to kill them all deserve a place on a tough guy list. What do you guys think of Bob Holly, was he tough or just a bully backstage?

 

[harrythem]

One man who I'd add to any tough guy list would be Bruiser Brody. Having seen his matches he clearly was stiffer then a post with his opponents and would often change things just to please himself. The youtube video of Luger fleeing the cage because he thought Brody was gonna kill him is still great viewing me thinks.

 

[origanaljerichoholic]

10.JBL-dont care if im hated for it but JBL, throughout his career "bradshaw" was known as a tough sob, he kicked ass and took names he went through narley stuff bein in the buisness almost 25 years, and look all the injury s he over came in his title reign.

9.shawn michales- easily over came back surgery all his knee problems and u look at all the intense matches he was in and gruling time limits,he could dish out and take

8.lou thez- guy was a mean tough bastard held the heavy weight title seven years defended every match guy was tough i mean its lou thez nough said

7.sabu- i know i know what ur thinking but hes been through more than foley has and has dished out more, wathc the barb he was in he kept goin losing mass blood and torn muscle and skin, everything he has done has literaly been suicidel and homicidle most people arent the same after fighting him

6.chris benoit- ud have to be insane not to include him everyone he has fought has said he is one of the most toughest meanest agressive wrestlers ever he fought with such intensity contiuned a tlc match with broken neck i mean come on,lol

5.kurt angle- another great tech wrestler like benoit, i mean look at his credentials and look at the things hes been through in wrestling broken necks, moon saults from cages contiuned matche s with full concussion all of his peers would agree with this and lets not forget winning the olympics with a broken neck.

4.terry funk- a hardcore legend wrestled for 30 + years and has been in some of the most gruling matches (barb wire match with sabu) he s wrestled with torn eyes , on fire , even before hardcore the man would wrestle for hour long matches

3.ric flair- know hear me out , the man was the origanl iron man , so many 60 min matches that were blood bathes, all the cage and war games, wrestling everyone everynight around the world for hours, he continued this even after being in a plane wreck try saying that happens to everyone, at age 60 he was doin ladder and tlc match and i quit match with foley! i think its obivious why nature boy should be here.

2.steve austin- im sure this is on a lot of lists but still the man has been through insanity, knees, contiuned broken neck match, ran over, passed out in blood, wrestled for years with back problems did almost any kind of match no matter how much blood he lost and could still kick everyones ass


1. bob "hardcore" holly- where do i start....ever seen him and rvd extreme rules? yea 25 minute match and he continued with 19 inch slash / gash through his back while bleeding profusley, he trains alot rookies and he dont play around known as one of the most agressive wrestlers ever came back from broken neck, continued a triple threat with a broken arm from a moonsault, has had candy jars broke over his face i mean this guy was really hardcore and from everyone else's word he was tough

 

[origanaljerichoholic]

another one i should have also mentioned is arn anderson, the guy specialized in hurting people in the ring and those punches of his, and his wrestling style so grity, yet tech and aggressive he hurt people and could take a beating

not to mention the fact he survived psycho sid stabing him 25 time in a hotel fight

 

[LaughNStalk]

The answer is Haku.

I was watching Perry Saturn's youshoot, and when asked who would win a fight back in WCW between: Saturn, Scott Norton, Fit Finlay, Haku, The Barbarian, Rick Steiner and Jim Duggan, Saturn replied "Tonga. Nobody else would stand a chance. Not even a question. He could kill everyone without blinking"

Bad News Brown said in interviews that Fifita was without a doubt the most vigorous.

Bill Goldberg has also called him the toughest man he's been in the ring with.

Road Warrior Animal said in a shoot interview that Haku was the toughest wrestler of his era.

Bobby Heenan said in a shoot interview that Haku was "the toughest man I've ever met in my life."

In 1987, Haku had a backstage fight with Jesse Barr (who wrestled at the WWF as Jimmy Jack Funk) which allegedly resulted in Fifita gouging one of Barr's eyeballs out, causing Barr to later wear a glass eye. After this fight, Fifita had a reputation that steered wrestlers away from backstage confrontations.

In the book Arn Anderson: 4 Ever, Arn Anderson cites an event where Fifita pushed a cowboy through two sets of doors with one hand - and a conversation with The Barbarian about who was tougher. The Barbarian just shook his head when Anderson asked who would win in a fight between him and Fifita and stated "Meng's the man." If you've read Arn Anderson's book, you'll also know that AA said this about Meng: "There are 3 types of men: tough men, wrestler-tough men, and then there's Meng."

He had an altercation with Brutus Beefcake after Beefcake complained to WWF management that Tonga slapped him too hard during a match. After WWF management informed Tonga, he immediately went to the locker room and grabbed Beefcake out of the shower, and began choking him, lifting him two feet off the floor. Other wrestlers were hesitant to break it up, so finally Hulk Hogan (who Tonga respected) was called in and was able to calm Tonga down.

Kevin Sullivan on Meng: "One time I asked him to do something that was completely wrong and he got a little upset. And I mean that was the scaredest I've ever been in my life and he wasn't even that up. Thank God."

Kevin Sullivan story about Meng: Kevin is the booker at the time in WCW and he tells these guys to do the job and these wrestlers are all pissed and upset about loosing and they tell Sullivan to go fuck himself and they'll fight Sullivan and anyone else because they're the baddest fuckers around and they'll kill anyone around here. Then Keven said "Wait a minute, I'll get Meng to handle this for me" and then all those guys start telling Kevin "We'll do the jobs, we'll do whatever you want."

Jake Roberts said it best: If I had a gun and was sitting inside a tank with one shell left and Meng is 300 yards away? He's mine, right? Well the first thing I'm gonna do is jump out of the tank and shoot myself because I don't want to wound that son of a bitch and have him pissed off at me.

Here's what Chris Candido said about Meng: "He was talking to me, Tammy, and Chris Jericho. In comes Eric Bischoff and Greg Gagne and they walk right in front of us and starts talking to Meng. He looks at them and goes "Hey!". And the entire lockerroom just froze. I was like "Man, these weren't just funny stories, this guy must really be tough". And then Meng says "Apologize to my friends, I'm talking" and everyone shuts up while Bischoff and Gagne apologize to me, Tammy, and Chris.

Even Harley Race has stated the there's only one man in wrestling history that he was afraid to get into a fight with and that as Meng.

In an interview with Alex Marvez, Fifita was asked about one of his legendary fights. Fifita stated his favorite was one that "cost him a lot of money." He was at the Baltimore Airport Hilton bar with Sivi Afi when five men started laughing at them and said, "You guys are the fake wrestlers on TV." In response Fifita replied, "I’ll just show you how fake it is," and reached over and grabbed one man while three others jumped on him. As they repeatedly punched him he knocked Three of them out and then applied the Tongan death grip one of them and then Fifita bit the nose of the man he initially grabbed and spat it out. They saw him spit out their friend's nose, and before he could fight them, they quickly evaded. Months later, he saw on the news that he was being sued $2.5 million for the incident.

Bobby Heenan on a bar fight Meng had with some guy
He took his two fingers on his right hand, his index finger and his trigger finger, and he reached into the guys mouth and he broke off the guys bottom teeth. I wouldnt believe it unless I saw it with my own eyes.

More Heenan stories about Meng
Before the mid 80s when Andre was breaking down, there were only two men that Andre feared, Meng and Harley Race.

Rick Steiner on Meng getting arrested
I was in LA one time with him and he fought eight cops, they shot him with mace and he closed his eyes and sucked it in. He just opened his mouth and took a deep breath. I mean, some of the stuff he did was like "What the hell" Scotty and I always thought we were tough guys but that was before we met Meng.

Ted DiBiase on Meng getting arrested in St. Louis
"Some of the guys got into a fight and Meng got involved. He was just trying to help and in the process of trying to help, he gets maced by 4 cops and handcuffed. Now they handcuffed himi behind his back and then he said "Is this it?" and he broke the handcuffs. He snapped them."

Also, in the Bob Holly Youshoot, he says that Haku is THE main guy you don't fuck with

 

[deindafy]

Ive been a fan for a long time and have heard various stories of legendary wrestlers.. Amongst them are (not in order):

Georg Hackenschmidt = One of the first wrestlers, active mainly in the early 20th century and most famous for his fights with the equally legendary Frank Gotch (who was undefeated throughout his career!).. Hack invented the bearhug of all moves (in a time before wrestling was scripted) and was said to have been so powerful he could pick up a horse!!!!!

Ed "Strangler" lewis = Said to have won AT LEAST 6,000 matches!! He only lost a handful of times willingly and that was so that he could get some money and make his matches more interesting, usually beating the opponent almost immediately afterwards!!!! His sleeperhold was said to have been IMPOSSIBLE to break out of.

Yoshihiro Takayama = His matches in UFC should tell ya all ya need to know about this bloke!! Many wrestlers think theyre tough enough to try it out only to fail dismally.. Takayama could take serious ammounts of damage and just keep coming!!! The fact that he was a decent wrestler as well makes him one of the toughest out there.

Haku = The stories that you hear of this dude make you cringe!!! Granted he wasnt particularly great in the ring (unless he was facing someone like Savage who could help him!), but it must have been tough for wwf/e and wcw to actually FIND opponents for him to face due to his rep!!!! His son (the bloke cycling hunico down to the ring) is also said to be quite tough..

Andre the giant = Simply the man... Anybody that TERRIFIES Bam Bam Bigelow out of the wwf and gets Big John Studd to retire (app because he thought that Andre wanted to kill him) must be tough!!! Heck even Hogan was nervous with the guy.

The great Gama = Indian wrestler who remained undefeated ALL HIS LIFE (inc a 50 year career), he even forced a draw out of Frank Gotch and beat Stanislaus Zbyzko (fellow legendary wrestler, no relation to Larry) in 40 seconds!! Reputation was so solid many american wrestlers refused to face him..

Van Vader = Ignore his later career in wwe (what the hell did they do to him?), if you REALLY want to see what this monster could do, watch his matches in Japan.. Eyes popping out, broken arms and legs during matches.. Nuff said.

Dynamite Kid = Small stature and IMMENSE amount of steroids did nothing to hide the fact that this dude was as tough as they come! Kind of a cross between Harley Race and Chris Benoit in a odd way, but he was probably FAR tougher than either of them.

Undertaker = Face the facts folks, the guys been active for at least 20 years!!!!!!! Hes had so many matches where he was clearly in some pain or discomfort (the stumble he does on that broken ankle in the hell in the cell match!), plus he is said to have competed with various niggles and aches which NO-ONE knew about till too late (his hips).. I'm guessing being a ufc fan probably helps as well!!!!!! The dude has a solid rep, and from the sounds of things its well earned.

Bruiser Brody = Another tough man with a rep so solid another wrestler actually killed him to prove a point!! Brody would NEVER loose a fight unless it was by dq and was more than happy to face equally insane wrestlers such as Abdullah the Butcher.. There is a video on line where Brody is facing Lex Luger in a steel cage, Brody suddenly decides to no sell EVERYTHING Luger throws at him! Luger realising that he might very well be in danger gets the hell out of there!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Canadian_SXE]

How about Akira Hokuto, regarded as one of the toughest wrestlers in Japanese wrestling history. And she is a female. She has also had her neck broken during a match like Austin and Sabu had. But unlike both of those guys who did absolutely nothing after the fact, she literally continued wrestling for another 10 min and finished the match literally holding her neck together with one hand while still performing missile dropkicks and moonsaults, and her patented Northern Lights Bomb to finish the match. Austin didn't do anything but lay on his back until he got feeling back in his legs and simply roll Owen up. Sabu had the match immediately ended. How bout Taz. Who had his neck broken continued the match and then walked the few blocks to the hospital afterwards only for the doctor to tell him there was no way he walked here because he technically had a broken neck. Gregory Helms also comes to mind. He worked months and months with what he thought was just a pinched nerve until he went to the doctor and found out he and somehow broken his neck. Oh and the last person on I will mention is Perry Saturn. There is an analogy used alot about only way to stop someone is with a gun. That is of course unless your name is Perry Saturn. The guy stopped a mugging and beat the crap out of 3 guys and during the fight said he felt a sharp pinch in the back of his head and neck but continued fighting and later found out when he went to the hospital and found out he had been shot in the back of his neck and head. Anybody who can be shot in the head and one live to tell about and two not even know this had happened is pretty fucking tough.

 

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

I'm not going to make a Top 10 list, but I will throw out a few choices of my own...

Kurt Angle: He won an Olympic gold medal "with a broken freaking neck!" He's survived potentially career-threatening injuries and come back better for it every single time. Sure the guy is a pathological lair and an overall dick, but he's also one of the best wrestlers to step in a ring.

Brock Lesnar: Nick already said what needs to be said. One scary-as-hell mafucka. Remember that botched SSP that could have ended his career (or life)? Remember how he came back and kicked ass shortly after it? The guy is a truck...

Batista: You have to give him some credit here. Whether he makes your list or not, he's jacked up and knows how to give some punishment. He's gone toe-to-toe in some pretty brutal contests. He's taken a lot of damage, and given it all right back. Plus...he did Melina while she was with Morrison, and JoMo didn't do a damn thing about it. Why? Well...would you?

John Cena: Controversial choice? I don't think so... Who has taken as many beatings in the ring as John Cena? I get that it's a part of how they book him, but he still gets his ass handed to him on most occasions, and comes back to deal massive damage. Plus, the guy is jacked and can lift an insane amount. If you think you could take him in real life, just because he sells for 9/10 of a match, I'd love to see you get your ass kicked...

Sabu: Super glue...that's all.

Rob Van Dam: Not to be confused with Rob Dam Van... The guy knows how to take a spot better than almost anybody. It might be the drugs in his system, but I don't think there's a single spot RVD wouldn't do! Plus, he's got a lot of power build into that relatively mid-sized figure. He's also a trained martial artist. So, in review: he can take a massive beating, he can give a massive beating, he's a martial artist.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Haku, Haku, Haku.

My god, I listened in awe to his stories during the Legends of Wrestling Roundtable. All those bloody tales do make me cringe and I would like to believe at least half of them are true. The Samoans have a fierce reputations and have been knows as some of the toughest people around. I remember Haku's match with Show where he no-sold everything and his kicks had amazing reach. If you see it closely you could see Show getting peeved but moreso worried as to WHAT IN THE HELL is he supposed to do. In an era where wrestlers frequently went out on the town and where egged on to nightly fights this man's rep is something fierce.

Two mentions:

Danny Hodge.

Ever hear his stories from JR? He had a car accident and his car fell into reviere. His neck is broken so he punches his window, swims out holding his neck in the upright position so it isn't hung causing complications. His pliers and apples stories is the giggles.

Brock Lesnar.

In our time, he is someone I do not wanna cross and he has shown some of those legitmacy in the cage.

 

[FlairFan2003]

I'd say Race - anyone who wrestled with him testifies to his incredible toughness, he wasnt afraid of anyone backstage and never backed down from a fight.

Terry Funk also deserves some cred, as does Bruiser Brody and Stan Hansen. Dont forget about Steve Williams. Ron Simmons had a rep as guy you just didnt want to mess with either

I saw Ric Flair on here. To me he falls into a slightly different category of dedicated, Flair has had some moments where he wasnt afraid to stand up for himself (particularly at Starrcade 93 when Vader knocked his teeth out and dared to him to hit back legit or he would pound on him all match, so Ric took him outside the ring and clocked a few times until Vader backed off being so stiff) - I will say that Flair has wrestled matches many times while suffering legit injuries and continuing, as bad as having his teeth knocked out by Vader it must have hurt much more breaking his ankle and continuing to wrestle Curt Henning in 1997. Guys like Foley, HBK, etc fall into this category, not necessarily they guys so tough I wouldnt want to deal with them, but so dedicated to their job that even a major injury doesnt keep them out.

HBK deserves props for his WM match with Austin, maybe the only time he claimed to be injured when booked to lose that he legit was, but rather than risk Vince's wrath and wreck the show he soldiered through to put over Austin and carry WWE. HHH finishing a match with atorn quad is another good one.

 

[justtxyank]

If we distinguish between being a legit tough guy as in badass and a guy who just works through injuries and doesn't complain, the list changes a lot.

Meng is the guy I've always heard was a total tough as nails tough guy in the back and nobody would mess with him. Nobody ever worked stiff with him in the ring because they knew he would bust them up pretty bad. The tag team of he and The Barbarian in WCW was so awesome to people who were "smarks" because we knew how badass those two guys really were.

When people like Harley Race, Bad News Brown, Andre the Giant, The Barbarian, The Steiner Brothers, etc. all attest to you being the baddest man in the room there is no room left for debate. Take Bad News Brown, a man that made Andre the Giant keep his mouth shut. He didn't want to mess with Meng.

Chuck Norris wears Meng pajamas.

 

[agentmichaelscarn]

By tough if you're talking about who would be the best fighter, what about Bad News Brown? The dude won an Olympic medal in Judo so he obviously knew what he was doing. Not to mention I've heard that he once punked out Andre the Giant.(Hogan denies this so it may not be true). If that is true you know you are a badass if you do that.

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Which episode? I watched the 'toughest wrestler' episode and all he got was a brief mention from Pat Patterson

I forget or I may have exaggerated, anyway look it up it must be somewhere.

Danny Hodge recap: Man represents USA in wrestling at the Olympics, comes back home and then decides to be a boxer and wins the Golden Gloves in his first year. I, what, he's not human.

Ever hear the story where Brody was no selling Hodge in a tag match? When Danny found what Brody was trying to do, he stretched Bruiser like a rubberband. Brody kept screaming to his partner Bill Watts to help him out, to which the Cowboy replied with a grin, "Do the pose, do the pose!"