10 of the toughest men in wrestling history

In a sport of manly men, there are those who stand above the rest. Here are ten of the toughest men to ever lace up a pair of boots.

In the modern era, everyone over the age of six knows that pro wrestling is scripted entertainment. The winners and losers are predetermined, the drama is written by professional story tellers, and even things like injuries are often just pretend.

What isn't pretend is how unbelievably TOUGH most wrestlers are. Unlike other physical sports like Rugby or American Football, there is no season for wrestling. Pro wrestlers are on the road taking the equivalent of a thirty five mile an hour car crash up to six nights a week, wrestling in different cities, countries, and time zones.

While other athletes have to deal with hectic schedules, they still have time to spend at home and recover. Even MMA fighters have a lighter schedule, and sometimes only fight a few times per year, if that.

But even among wrestlers there are those men who are throwbacks to a more barbaric time when strength of arms was tantamount to survival. Here are ten men who are the toughest, meanest, most brutally brawling specimens of all time.

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10: Bruiser Brody

Bruiser Brody

Bruiser Brody--sometimes called King Kong Brody to avoid confusion in territories where Dick the Bruiser was active--was a jerk, simply put.

In spite of his massive frame and compelling persona that had fans buying tickets, he was not a pleasure to deal with backstage. Brody was a braggadocious, bullying, bellicose titan who got on the nerves of more than one of his co-workers.

If any wrestler who had beef with Brody tried to do something about it physically, however, they were in for a beating. Bruiser Brody stood over six and a half feet tall and was rippling with muscle, and he was both willing and able to use his body to cause mass destruction.

Unfortunately, Bruiser's attitude and reputation were ultimately his undoing, as another wrestler--allegedly, as no charges were ever filed--stabbed him to death in the locker room.

9: Stan Hansen

Stan "the Lariat" Hansen

Perhaps a bigger star in Japan than he ever was in his home country of the United States, Stan "the Lariat" Hansen had loads of real world toughness.

On one of his first matches in the Land of the Rising Sun, Hansen had four teeth kicked out of his head. As he put it, if such a thing had happened in the US, there would have been firings and lawsuits, but in Japan it was just another night. Hansen finished the match and visited a dentist in the morning--after spending the night out drinking with his wrestling buddies!

Sometimes another wrestler would try to work 'stiff and snug' with Hansen, meaning the punches and kicks were much harder than is normal for pro wrestling. Hansen would readily meet their might with his own, leading to some of the best brawls in wrestling history, like his classic bouts with Big Van Vader.

And speaking of the man they call Vader...

8: Big Van Vader

Big Van Vader

They just don't make men like Vader anymore. A legit four hundred pound walking mountain of muscle and ferocity, Vader could moonsault with the best of them and had the ability to generate momentum with only a few steps.

Understandably, Vader was not someone you'd want to mess with. He once had his eyeball knocked out of socket during a match with Stan Hansen. Vader popped his eye back in and continued the match. Because he's Vader and that's how he rolls!

Allegedly, the man who plays Vader is actually an articulate, intelligent man with a college education, but his barbarism is what earned him a spot on this list.

7: Steve "Lethal Weapon" Blackman

Steve Blackman

Chiseled in stone, well versed in the Martial Arts, and with movie star good looks, it's hard to understand why Blackman wasn't world champion during his tenure in the sport.

Part of the reason was Blackman's laid back attitude out of the ring. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and Blackman was too proud to go and beg for more TV time or title reigns like many of his cohorts.

Whatever the case, while Blackman may not have ascended to the heights of pro wrestling stardom, he was unquestionably one of the most dangerous men to ever step between the ropes. Many figured him to win the shoot style "Brawl for it All" until he injured his knee while training for the event.

Once, the famous backstage bully JBL tried to push Blackman around at an airport. According to JBL, Blackman's punches were so fast he was hit five times before he even realized he was in a fight. Best give up your bar stool to Blackman if he asks!

6: Brian Pillman

Brian Pillman

Brian Pillman suffered from non-cancerous polyps on his throat from an early age. While the growths were not malignant, they had to be removed to avoid interference with his breathing. The numerous surgeries resulted in him having a very rough, growling voice that made him a target for bullies.

Pity those poor fellows, because Brian Pillman was an amateur boxer and top tier athlete. Refusing to give in to his condition, Pillman trained that much harder than the next man.

Despite being on the smaller side for a wrestler, Pillman once beat Sid Vicious--a man who stands nearly seven feet tall and outweighed Pillman by a hundred pounds--absolutely senseless, so much so that when Vicious returned to the bar later that night he was armed with--a window cleaning squeegee.

A lot of the times, local boys would mess with the larger wrestlers like Ahmed Johnson hoping to prove their own toughness, but it would be the fiery Pillman they would have to deal with instead. Pillman had no qualms about standing up for his fellow wrestlers, and loved to make bullies suffer.

5: Mr. Wrestling II

Mr. Wrestling II

One of the most athletic men to ever compete, Mr. Wrestling II was once called 'rubberman' because of his extreme flexibility.

While most wrestling fans are well versed in his vicious knee lift finisher, not many know that Mr. Wrestling literally put his body and career on the line to protect the sport he loved.

Mr. Wrestling was in the famous plane crash that broke Ric Flair's back. Since the passenger manifest was a matter of public record, many speculated that Tim Woods was the man behind Mr. Wrestling II's mask.

This was the 1970s, and kayfabe was alive and well. The prevailing opinion among wrestling promoters and the wrestlers themselves was that if it were ever revealed that sports entertainment was scripted, the business would suffer. This atttutide extended to things like heels not hanging out with babyfaces, and the identity of masked wrestlers.

In order to protect kayfabe and the wrestling community, Mr. Wrestling II climbed into a ring just two weeks after the plan crash, to 'prove' that Tim Woods and Mr. Wrestling II could not be the same person! If that's not tough, we don't know what is!

4: Antonio Inoki

Inoki vs Ali, boxer vs. wrestler.

American fans may not be familiar with Antonio Inoki, but he is Japan's most celebrated pro wrestler, ever.

Inoki popularized 'strong style,' which involves stiffer shots than American wrestling, and was known to take his craft very, very seriously. When Italian wrestling star the Great Antonio refused to 'sell' or make Inoki's shots look convincing, the fiery Japanese competitor responded by throwing real punches and kicks. The Great Antonio was left a bloody, bruised mess and Inoki's legend grew ever larger.

In order to protect pro wrestling's integrity, Inoki even climbed into the ring in a shoot fight against boxing GOAT Muhammed Ali. The fight was very one-sided, and involved Inoki going after Ali's legs with brutal kicks. Even the grandiose trash-talking Ali admitted that Inoki won the bout, though he was quick to mention he still made millions of dollars even as the loser.

3: Andre the Giant

Andre the Giant

Andre's exploits both in and out of the ring are nothing short of legendary. One hundred beers in one sitting, followed by wine with dinner? Check.

Turning over a small European car full of drunken hecklers? Check.

Leaving his hand print on Randy Savage's chest (Andre didn't like the Macho Man. At all.)? Check.

While Andre was a gentle giant most of the time, when he lost his temper--watch out! It was well known that no one could legit beat Andre, a fact that was reinforced when he actually pinned Hulk Hogan during their famous Wrestlemania III match. The announce team hastily stated it was a quick count, but all could see that Andre was just showing Hogan that the only reason the Hulkster would win was Andre was going to LET him.

2: Meng/Haku

Meng, AKA Haku and King Haku.

When asked who the toughest wrestler of all time was, Hulk Hogan had one response;

"Meng, brother!"

The native of the kingdom of Tonga was a legit three hundred pounder with great power and speed. He was also trained in the art of Sumo wrestling, which only added more toughness to his tough guy tank.

Meng once got into a bar brawl, and things got so bad that the police were called in. Meng took a face full of the officer's mace, and it did nothing! It took a dozen members of the PD to get Meng onto the ground and into handcuffs, and all of them were bloody and beaten in the process.

There are legends of Meng biting off a man's nose in a fight, and taking brutal chair shots without so much as a blink of his eyes. Legendary stories of legendary toughness for a legendary personality in wrestling.

1: Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar

Brock Lesnar has had many people tell him 'you can't do that!'

When he failed to get a scholarship to a four year university by virtue of his wrestling skill, he competed in a junior college instead and racked up such an impressive record the same universities which had rejected him were begging him to enroll.

When he tired of pro wrestling's hectic schedule and chose to go into MMA, he was told flat out by Dana White that he was going to fail. White would sign Brock anyway, knowing the big man would be a ratings draw, and after a brief stumble against Frank Mir Lesnar would go on to be UFC heavyweight champion.

In recent years, Ryback attempted to get physical with Lesnar, and paid the price. The Beast took down the Big Guy with a simple double leg hook and then hit him twice. Brock then simply got up and walked away, leaving a dazed and defeated Ryback on the floor seriously pondering his life decisions.

Brock's status as a champion in the legit fighting game, as well as his unparalleled athletic acumen, put him at the top of this list.

There you have it: Ten of the toughest men to ever work in the wrestling industry.