Sometimes their toughness is greatly enhanced on the screen, and the real tough guys in wrestling are often overlooked.

Professional wrestlers lead a double life. On the screen, they play the role of warriors, not only defeating opponents in a sports sense, but usually do not try to destroy other competitors through knockdowns or painful surrender. In fact, they are indeed athletes, but they work within the framework of the storyline and the game, and have predetermined results. All roles in wrestling must be strong, even the most runny heel behavior, still enter the ring trade at a level that ordinary people can't even dream of. In real life, this may be a different story.

To be fair, every blow and every impact of a wrestler is subject to very real physical punishment, so even the least strong professional wrestler may be stronger than the average person. However, there are different levels between wrestlers who are as strong as the characters they play on TV—or even stronger—and those who may not be so bold in real life scenarios.

The 1990s was one of the hottest periods in wrestling history. WWE and WCW attracted millions of viewers to watch their products every week, not to mention that ECW became the hottest No. 3 promotion, and other independent games of the day ended. meet. This period especially flourished in hardcore wrestling, in which performers used plunder, blood, and frantic fights overflowing from the ring. But among the performers at the time, who was really tough? This countdown looks at 10 real performers and 10 performers who are just tough on the screen.

Chris Jericho may not come to mind like the tough guys of the 1990s. After all, he broke out of cowardice in the heavyweight lightweight competition, even if he turned his face in WWE, he still does not have a name based on super roughness. However, Jericho has proven himself in real life.

He is not the largest, and may not be the most skilled fighter, but he has a key characteristic of a true tough guy: he never backs down.

Jericho is most notorious for proving himself in the backstage confrontation between WWE and Goldberg shortly after his debut in Goldberg, where the famous Y2J trapped him in a front face lock to prevent him from entering the bay and playing in them. Basically won the battle before being pulled away. Decades later, when he thought that the incarnation of the beast intentionally harmed Randy Oudon, he once again proved himself that Brocklesner dared to fight and had an argument with the much younger Sinkara.

Bradshaw was a big wrestler. Before working with Faarooq in the late 1990s, he had been trying to find his foothold in WWE, the team later known as APA. This pair gave way to his JBL millionaire role, brought him the title of world championship, and made him the ultimate main event genius.

Although Bradshaw is tall and often plays bullies, real-life evidence shows that he is not that tough.

As we all know, he selected smaller and less mature talents in WWE. However, according to reports, when he met someone who was willing to stand up for himself and fight back, his record was not the best. The most notorious is that the announcer Joey Styles refused to accept Bradshaw's provocation and instead beat a bigger wrestler in front of a group of wrestlers.

In the age of attitude, WWE adopted unconventional ideas to hold the Brawl for All tournament. It is widely rumored that Jim Rose supports this idea, especially to support Steve Williams. Williams is a man with superb wrestling skills. He probably runs roughly on the court, so he has the credibility to immediately enter the main event scene.

Bart Gunn will be the real winner, beating Williams all the way. WWE definitely didn't design the main event for Gunn, so this perspective really doesn't make any sense.

In the process, Gunn proved himself to be an orthodox tough guy, and established WWE to book him to participate in WrestleMania's history single-handedly, boxing orthodox super heavyweight Butterbean.

During a recent visit to Steve Austin’s podcast, Gunn’s longtime tag team partner Billy added extra insight. He claimed that he knew Bart would win from the beginning because he was a legitimate badass. Most importantly, he claimed that WWE messed up Bart in the battle with Bart Bean and insisted that he participate in formal boxing classes, which had been formed and abandoned in his mind before the most important battle in his life. His fighting style.

Nasty Boys is a rough label team in the 1990s, known for their rough and rigid style. In real life, Brian Knobbs at least does not seem to be suitable for this kind of gimmick.

Various stories circulated on the Internet, and interviews were filmed about Nobbs and his partner Jerry Suggs teaming up to bully and even beat people who passed them in the background. For each of these stories, at least one contradiction is that Nobbs bites more than he can chew during the quarrel. Among those who claim to have defeated or at least conceded, the Knobbs in the real confrontation are Ken Shamrock, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash and New Jack.

In the end, Knobbs has never looked like an athlete, and it seems that when it comes to real combat, he doesn't seem to be an opponent of the more sophisticated athletes who share the locker room with him.

Rob Van Dam has a mixed reputation in the wrestling world. On the screen, for many of his colleagues, he is best known for being laid-back. On the other hand, Rob Van Dam is a downright badass.

Fan Dan has received legal training in a variety of martial arts. One of his biggest shooting legacy is that he not only never retreats from confrontation, but if he feels that he is disrespected, he will rush to them directly.

There is a notorious story. Tazz was upset about a game and said behind Van Dam that he beat him just to get RVD to confront him before the next performance, and let him dare to be the first time before Tazz fell apart. Swing. Later, in WWE, it was reported that Triple H made a joke, saying that RVD was an idiot. According to reports, RVD did not chuckle like most people, but stared at him and asked The Game if they really thought they were good enough partners for him to make such a joke.

Van Dam was respected in any locker room he passed.

Sid Vicious looks like the prototype of a wrestling feeling-tall, upright, and free to put on a crazy face. His appearance gave him many high-profile opportunities in the 1990s, including the chance to win world championships in WWE and WCW.

Vicious colleagues may not remember him affectionately, questioning his safety in the ring, his professional ethics and his all-round talents.

Despite his physical strength and looks like a million dollars, this guy did not perform well in recorded physical confrontations.

In a scrap with the much smaller Brian Pillman, Vicious notoriously went looking for a weapon, then came back with a ridiculously brandishing spatula, and then flinched. In a more serious case, Vicious had a hotel battle with Arn Anderson after fiercely arguing about Ric Flair's proper position in the wrestling. In most cases, Vicious got the worst result in the quarrel before stabbing his opponent with scissors.

The mourner is one of the top stars with the longest career in the history of professional wrestling. After working for smaller companies and WCW, he played for WWE for more than two solid ten years, and then continued to work part-time for the next few years.

Although his talent in the ring, commitment to character, and relationship with Vince McMahon have all contributed to his longevity, he is also respected for his tenacity.

Deadman is big and stern enough to win the respect of others, and he is not afraid of physical discomfort.

This includes the famous hunt for Kurt Angle, when he considered the interesting wrestling match between the Olympian and Vince McMahon to be a more serious confrontation. Phenom also received enough respect and was appointed as the judge of the wrestling court-to make judgments and consequences for various violations in the dressing room etiquette.

Sable became one of WWE's most popular characters in the attitude age. As the company embraced sex in its female roster, she was at the forefront, stepping out of popular storylines with Marc Mero instead of looking like part of a female model.

According to reports, Sable's physical attractiveness is the decisive driving force to regain the women's championship. Since Alundra Blayze threw the title to the trash can on WCW TV, Sable has been dormant. Despite being booked like a star and mainly a dominant champion, the reality is that Sable has very few boxing skills and has no reputation as a legitimate boxer at all. Especially Luna Vachon was accused of making her look like a reliable competitor, and in most cases, she completely brought Sable to her success at the time.

Brett Hart is known as one of the greatest boxing technicians in the history of wrestling. In addition, after he retired, the killer publicly talked about one of his greatest achievements that he never caused major harm to anyone. On the other side of the impressive statistics, Hart is actually very capable of maintaining his strength in real battles.

In fact, Hart was already an excellent amateur wrestler before he set foot in the professional wrestling business.

After signing with WWE, he never found anyone to fight and never avoided confrontation. This includes getting better when Shawn Michaels does get hit. In addition, when he came into contact with Vince McMahon in the locker room after the Montreal Screw, Hart clearly explained his thought process, explaining his thoughts in a way that knew how to fight. He held McMahon tightly and started using uppercuts instead of straight punches to cause as much damage as possible and make it more difficult for other wrestlers to pull them away.

Henry Godwin is to some extent the spiritual successor to Jim the hillbilly. He plays the face of a big farmer. He mainly quarrels in the middle card and ends up with his kayfabe cousin Phineas. The half-heel mark team achieved the greatest success.

As a big man and a fighter, he seems very suitable to participate in the Brawl For All shooting fighting tournament. However, his own performance was not good, he was defeated by Bradshaw in the first round and withdrew from the group stage early. To be fair, Bradshaw may be at the peak of his body at this time, and he has indeed reached the championship finals. Again, this is not good for Godwin, who lost his credibility later in his WWE tenure.

Mick Foley is not a well-trained shooting fighter, and he does not necessarily beat others in a real battle. However, when it comes to the absolute ability to accept very real corporal punishment, you can hardly find someone comparable to Mick Foley.

The interesting thing about Foley's legacy is that although the representatives of the tough guys of other wrestlers depend on folklore and second-hand stories, we can watch Foley's qualifications on WWE tapes.

Although his games are very successful, the hardcore legend is known for the hits and bumps that allow most men to retire early. These moments include his notorious two falls from the top of hell in a game, his ears were torn in the game against Vader and the fight is still going on, and his insistence on being without any protection. Shooting at the head with a chair. In this respect, Foley is a bit like a terminator-absorbing inhuman punishment and having to move on.

After his success in bodybuilding competitions, German star Brakus moved to professional wrestling, including two short stays in WWE. He looks like a million dollars. In the early days, all signs indicated that WWE intends to treat him as a major event. However, he struggled with the transition to professional wrestling, and every attempt to get him to get along with the fan base ultimately failed.

When Brakkus is booked to participate in the Brawl For All Championship and loses to Savio Vega in the first round, he may have one last chance to succeed. To be fair, Vega spoke on behalf of Brakkus afterwards, implying that when he voluntarily entered the stand, he didn't know what he got into, and didn't understand that the game would be a shot.

In the legend of a mixed martial artist who transitioned to professional wrestling, few can compare with Ken Shamrock.

Clover is the early star of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

His appearance, natural athletic ability and technique, coupled with his ability to "crack" crazy playing, also made him an instant WWE star.

A sizable team showed that Shamrock overestimated his abilities, especially his drawing ability as a wrestling star. In particular, it is reported that he lost a lot of wrestling opportunities at his peak by asking stars like Randy Savage to have a payday. Likewise, it is undeniable that he is a deadly warrior who may have defeated any of his WWE contemporaries in a legal battle.

Sean Michaels is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers in wrestling history. Those who oppose him are often traditionalists. They pay more attention to the authenticity of professional wrestling rather than entertainment. To be fair, they make sense. Although Michaels’ aerial, technical, and strike work looks great to a large extent, he is small enough—relatively speaking—in a real fight with another professional wrestler, that kind of offense has almost no chance. Play a role.

There are some stories about Michaels clashed with mourners and Brett Hart and was placed in his place.

Most famously, when he was on this road to the summit of WWE, he opened his mouth in a bar in Syracuse and was beaten by a group of Marines. Although most accounts indicate that Michaels was in large numbers in this battle, the story is very different as to whether only one, two, or as many as six Marines actually achieved the best results of HBK in the parking lot. However, the main takeaway is that although Michaels is an excellent performer, he has not fully scored in real-life wrestling tough guys.

Brian Pillman is a legal athlete who has played professional football during his professional wrestling career. Although Peelman was never the biggest person in the room-he often appeared early in his career, as a high-flying light heavyweight, he still enjoys a reputation as a person who can stand firm in street fights.

According to reports, Peelman proved his courage and refused to retreat from the greater Sid Withers. The story goes like this. Vicious knocked on Pillman, saying that people of his size shouldn't appear in the show, just to make Pillman make an exception. When things were physically threatened, most accounts indicated that Vicious had flinched, just coming back and brandishing a spatula as if he would use it as a weapon. With all parties present, Peelman had to be stopped and was ready to quarrel outside of his weight class.

In the early 90s, during the Monday Night War, Marcus Alexander Bagwell joined the New World Order after completing a clean facial stunt and changed his name to Buff Bagwell. He is a man of strong physique and full of personality, so he became one of WCW's top medium-card actors.

Despite his success in the ring, Bagwell was known for underperforming when things really went backstage.

The details are vague, but there are stories on the Internet about his dispute with Ernest Miller (Miller confirmed that there was a battle in a filming interview) because Bagwell did not want this legal person The karate masters surpassed certain combinations and provided a person who was indifferent to race to promote their PPV competition in the construction. The consensus is that Miller won the argument easily. Another story reveals that Bagwell was involved with Hurricane Helms, but was also beaten in that situation.

Whether you remember him as Johnny B. Badd from WCW or Marc Mero from WWE, this performer is not entirely considered a particularly bad guy. But in fact, he has legal fighting qualifications, which makes him much more dangerous than his kayfabe career might lead you to believe.

Melo is a well-trained boxer who has won many amateur championships-the most famous being the New York Golden Gloves. Throughout his wrestling career, he still maintained the appearance of a legal athlete and threw his punches with boxer skills.

Although Melo did not fully become a wrestling legend, he is likely to be the victim of appearing at the wrong time or confronting the wrong talent, and may become a bigger star at other times. Despite this, he is still one of the most credible true fighters of that era.

During the ECW, Tazz changed from a savage beast to an MMA shooting warrior gimmick. He brought the latter role to his work at WWE, where he became more well-known. He served as a trainer for the Tough Enough reality show series, where he deepened his feeling of being a stubborn veteran with unlimited wrestling credibility, and then served as a color commentator, during which he reinforced this to a great extent Kind of spirit.

Although Tazz is a rock-solid sports artist with a legal judo background to support him, several wrestlers question his toughness.

Both New Jack and Rob Van Dam commented on Tazz speaking behind the RVD, but when Van Dam faced him and slapped him, he was out of breath. Bob Holly also talked about Tazz being pulled from Tough Enough in a filming interview because he feared that his bullying would cause one of the trainees to actually kick him out. It is unclear whether the latter is fact or Holly's speculation, but it does make people question Taz's legitimacy.

If Scott Steiner never separated from his brother Rick, he would become a legendary doubles wrestler. However, when he turned around to embrace the role of Big Poppa Pump in the last few days of WCW, his star status reached a whole new level. He later brought this gimmick to WWE and Impact Wrestling, and the results were mixed.

Although Steiner has his critics—especially his major tournament-level singles—the one thing we cannot question is that this person can handle himself in real life. When he started wrestling, he had an impressive amateur wrestling pedigree behind him. Combine his amazing strength and athleticism with the foundation of real technology, and you have someone who can bully other wrestlers in the background at will. According to reports, in addition to the rough handling of various people during the days of this doubles team, it is reported that after he turned around, he also had a scuffle with Diamond Dallas Page and apparently made Better grades.

Rick Flair is undoubtedly one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. He is a top-level worker, has always been a great talker, and an enduring role. He has successfully traversed all ages and promotions without making any huge changes to his character.

However, in real life, there is no real record of Flair proving that he is a tough guy. In addition, in the fall of 2008, it was reported that Flair had fought and was beaten by a boyfriend of his daughter who was not a wrestler. To be fair, by then, Fryer had passed his physical peak. Similarly, most signs indicate that although he is a great entertainer on the screen, he is not a tough guy when the camera is not moving.

It seems that Cody Silagyi, the father of super fan Izzy, turned his attention from MSK to Lince Dorado after Dorado was released from WWE.

Michael Chin is a writer living in Las Vegas who specializes in covering professional wrestling and other forms of popular culture. He has been following WWE for more than 30 years. Follow him on Twitter @miketchin.