I have a confession to make. I don’t care about the Olympics.
I think they’re a great idea. And the original concept was a good one (people coming together despite differences to compete in the spirit of sport… kinda feels like it’s gotten away from that a wee bit but that’s a rant for another time). I also love my country and I smile when I hear we’ve won another medal. I also have a huge amount of respect for the athletes that dedicate their entire lives to achieve this pinnacle. That stuff is great.
However, I’m not one of those people that watch the TV non-stop for three weeks while they’re on. Truth be told, the only competitive sport I’ve ever been fascinated by turned out not to be a competitive sport at all. Thankfully for me and others like me, pro wrestling does have a strong connection to the Olympics, especially in wrestling. It’s obviously where the art form evolved from, and some of pro wrestling’s greatest first stood on podiums before they stood on the top turnbuckle.
With that idea in my mind and The Olympics at the forefront of everyone else’s, I present my 10 favourite Olympic athletes turned professional wrestler.
Olympians Turned Pro Wrestlers
10. Jorge (Giant) Gonzalez: Gonzalez makes my list for two reasons. First, this discovery came as a real shock to me. Although I was aware that Jorge’s career in pro wrestling was preceded by a career on the basketball court, I had no idea that he had managed to reach a level where he had the honour of representing his country in Basketball at the 1988 games in Seoul, South Korea. Which brings me to reason number two for putting him on this list. Among pro wrestling fans, Gonzalez is considered the butt of many a joke for his lack of in ring ability and his laughable outfit from his time with the World Wrestling Federation. While the giggles had at Gonzalez’ expense are deserved, I wanted to put him on the list to give the man a little dignity and maybe something to remember him by other than an airbrushed bodysuit.
09. Ken Patera: Sometimes, you can do everything right and still come up short. Such was the case for Ken Patera, who prior to competing in the 1972 Munich Olympics looked poised to take home gold, or at the very least place. Sadly, it was another story when Patera hit German soil. Despite a strong showing, Patera did not let the loss stop him. It only motivated him to excel in a new venue: professional wrestling. Patera turned to a a man known for his own amateur greatness (more on him later) and had a longevity that lead him to the WWWF Intercontinental Championship. Although his career has been clouded by some poor decisions in his personal life, Patera was a formidable force to be reckoned with in professional wrestling, and I have to believe that his Olympic background played a large part in molding him into that force.
08. Maurice (Mad Dog) Vachon: When most people think of a prototypical professional wrestler, many would think of a guy like Mad Dog Vachon. A man that lived up to his nick name as a violent ferocious beast with wild facial hair and even wilder eyes. The funny thing is, when most people think of a prototypical Olympic wrestler, many would actually think of a guy like Maurice Vachon. As a babyfaced young man, Maurice would travel to London, England in 1948 to represent Canada on the mat. Although he would place seventh, he did end up meeting someone there that would change his life forever (again, more on him later). Although an obviously accomplished amateur, Maurice’s transformation into Mad Dog is why I put him on this list. The man is almost a Jekyll and Hyde figure, and a great example of someone who really understood how to make the transition from the podium to the squared circle.
07. Riki Choshu/Jumbo Tsuruta: Both of these legends come in at the same position due to the fun fact that both wrestled at the same 1972 Olympic games held in Munich (Same as Ken Patera. Must have been something in the Munich water…), and both went on to become huge stars in professional wrestling. In the case of Choshu as one of the forefathers of Puroresu and in the case of Jumbo, one of the best professional wrestlers of his era. Neither man placed, but both would go on to have some of the greatest matches in professional wrestling history and change the way the business operates. Their influence cannot be stressed enough.
06. Mark Henry: Like his predecessor Ken Patera, Mark Henry was destined for greatness. His freakish strength allowed him to perform feats previously unheard of, earning him the nickname of “The World’s Strongest Man”. He had already set three world records, and performed admirably in the 1992 Barcelona games, placing 10th overall. Sadly, it was not to be for Henry as he eventually pulled out of competition due to injury. Although Henry swore to come back in 2000 for the Sydney games, instead he traveled down a different path; albeit one that at times seemed just as arduous. Mark Henry has had his ups and downs throughout his near 20 year career. He was portrayed as a comedic figure for many years and treated as an afterthought in the business, but today is better remembered as a dominant World Heavyweight champion than his two Olympic appearances.
05. (Bad News) Allen Coage: We finally come to our first Olympic medalist on the list. Allen Coage was one of the best Judo competitors in the world, and in the summer of 1976, he headed to Montreal to prove it. Coage managed to do just that by placing 3rd overall and taking home a bronze medal in Judo for the United States of America. Coage believed he should have placed higher, and although some would argue that fact, those that witnessed his rise in the pro ranks would know better than to argue with Bad News Allen. Ironically, Coage would spend much of his pro wrestling career back in the great white north, as he built his reputation working for Stu Hart in Stampede Wrestling. Allen would eventually be signed with the World Wrestling Federation and would be remembered as a man who you didn’t mess with. And why would you want to? The man has a bronze medal in Judo!
04. Danny Hodge: One of Good Ol’ JR’s favorite wrestlers (and fellow Oklahoman), Danny Hodge is considered by many to be one of the strongest wrestlers of all time. Perhaps it was this super human strength that made him such a great amateur wrestler. Hodge represented the United States of America on two occasions, first at the 1952 Helsinki games and again at the 1956 Melbourne games. Hodge’s second Olympic bid showed how much he had learned from his past experiences by taking home a silver medal. Hodge would later go on to apply the skills he learned on the amateur mats (as well as a few new ones picked up along the way) to reign for years as NWA Light Heavyweight champion.
03. Noaya Ogawa: Another Judo competitor. Another medalist. This time a silver. Ogawa placed second overall at the 1992 Barcelona games and although he failed to make the same impact four years later in 1996, his foray into professional wrestling told a different tale. Just a year after the 1996 Atlanta games, Ogawa made his professional wrestling debut by defeating IWGP Champion Shinya Hashimoto in front of 60,500 fans. Not a bad way to start your professional career. How do you follow that up? How about you defeat Dan Severn, one of the most famous mixed martial artists in the world, and becoming NWA World Heavyweight Champion? Once you do that, do it a second time. Ogawa did and it’s safe to say his transition from amateur to pro was a huge success.
02. Verne Gagne: Now I know many will consider Verne Gagne’s inclusion on this list a cop out, and I can understand why. He never officially competed at the Olympics. That being said, he WAS a member of the United States Olympic Wrestling Team, but decisions were made that took Gagne’s Olympic dreams away from him. Thankfully for him (and all wrestling fans) he found a new dream and created the American Wrestling Association. Through the AWA and his training camp, Verne Gagne created some of the biggest stars in pro wrestling history and his contributions to the industry are many and important. He was the first to take his amateur status and excel in the world of professional wrestling. It is also because of Verne Gagne that Top 10 Olympicans Mad Dog Vachon and Ken Patera entered the pro wrestling world. It is an influence only possibly matched by Dory Funk Jr. (who had a hand in training Kurt Angle and Jumbo Tsuruta).
01. Kurt Angle: As if there was any doubt who would take the number one spot. While Verne Gagne was the first amateur to excel in the world of professional wrestling, Kurt Angle has dominated BOTH worlds emphatically. In 1996, Kurt Angle went to Atlanta and won a gold medal for wrestling… with a broken freaking neck! Catch phrases aside, that puts him in another echelon of Olympic wrestlers who rose above to achieve greatness. Then, when faced with the new challenges of professional wrestling, Kurt Angle rose to the top faster than anyone before him and stayed there. For over a decade Kurt Angle has been a main event player and is even considered among the greatest of all time by any of his fans and peers. His abilities are extraordinary, his talent is undeniable, and he has proven emphatically to be the greatest Olympic export pro wrestling has ever had.
Of course, there have been many great Olympians who stepped into the square circle. Let me know who your favorites are with the #olympianstopros.
