Top 10 Wrestlers who were in the Olympics

#9 Bad News Brown

Bad News Brown getting ready for his opponent

If there ever was a Superstar who was ahead of his time, it was Bad News Brown. His wrestling monicker wasn’t misconceived either; Brown was one of the toughest wrestlers in his time, and reportedly confronted the legendary Andre ‘The Giant’. It isn’t often that Andre backs down from a challenge, but against Brown, even the mammoth Superstar had to swallow his pride, and take a step back!

Brown was an accomplished judoka before he stepped into the professional wrestling world. Bad News Brown took up judo at the age of 22, and in just a couple of years, had already become a black belt. While he initially targeted the 1972 Olympics, he was forced to withdraw due to a knee injury he suffered during the trials.

Not one to give up on his dreams, Brown shifted his focus to the 1976 Summer Olympics, and represented the United States in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, where he won the bronze medal! In doing so, Brown also became the first ever African American athlete to win a solo medal at the Olympics, in a sport other than track and field or boxing.

Bad News Brown competed in the WWE from 1988 to 1990, before leaving the promotion, alleging that Vince McMahon had promised to make him the first ever African American champion - a promise he failed to keep.