The best wrestler from each of the 50 United States 

MONTANA - Gary Albright

Though he's here by default, don't take him lightly - Gary Albright was no joke

For those of you who have never heard of Gary Albright, he is an oft-forgotten member of the Anoa’I wrestling family (through marriage – he married Afa’s daughter) who wrestled primarily for All Japan Pro Wrestling, Stampede Wrestling in Canada, and various other promotions. His impressive showings in Stampede (as himself and as Vokhan Singh, a “Pakistani” heel) earned him the Wrestling Observer Newsletter’s “Rookie of the Year” award in 1988.

From there, Albright shuffled around a bit in the indies before staking his claim in UWF International, a shoot-style promotion that framed itself similarly to the UFC. There, he earned a reputation as “Suplex Machine” long before Brock Lesnar did so in the WWE. Later, Albright moved to All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he was a 2-time Tag Team champion with the likes of Stan Hansen and “Dr Death” Steve Williams.

Sadly, his career had a tragic end – during an independent wrestling show in Pennsylvania, Albright collapsed after taking an Ace Crusher from his opponent. Due in part to some previously undetected health issues, the impact caused Albright to go into cardiac arrest, killing him almost instantly. He was only 36 years old. It’s a real shame, as he had the potential to have a much longer career.

NEBRASKA - Gorgeous George

HONORABLE MENTION: Sting

One of the toughest decisions I had to make while making this list was choosing the best from Nebraska. I ended up going with Gorgeous George for two reasons - the first is that he was both born and raised in Nebraska, the second was that there may have been no Sting if it weren't for Gorgeous George.

Allow me to explain - at a time when pro-wrestlers didn't have much of personality aside from "guy who can fight," Gorgeous George was unlike any other. He was flamboyant, he came out to the ring with two women on his arm, he had entrance music... he was easily pro wrestling's biggest heel in the 1940's. Fans never saw anything like him, so they gravitated to arenas to give him the heat he craved ever so much.

While he didn't win a whole lot of championships in his career, I attribute that to the fact that there weren't many promotions around at the height of his popularity. He did win three Heavyweight Championships, two Light Heavyweight Championships, and one Middleweight Championship throughout his career, but he's also earned three Hall of Fame rings, two of which were from companies he never even worked for. Yes - he was that influential.

Without Gorgeous George, there would be no eccentric sportsmen. His influence even reached beyond wrestling; Muhammad Ali and James Brown both cited George as their inspiration for their self-promoting personalities, and Bob Dylan has publicly held him in a very high regard. And for good reason. He's arguably the most influential sportsman of all time, and he's my pick for Nebraska's greatest wrestler.

NEVADA - Buddy Rose

Thank you, Buddy Rose, for earning this spot over Ryback

Contrary to what his run in the WWF may have had you believe, “Playboy” Buddy Rose is no joke – the man actually has a rather noteworthy list of accolades to his name.

Born November 27th, 1952 in Las Vegas, NV, Rose rose (heh) to prominence as the rival of “Rowdy” Roddy Piper in Pacific Northwest Wrestling. The feud established both men as icons of the business, Piper on a more global scale and Rose on a more local one. And boy, was he ever a local icon...He would go on to win eight World Heavyweight Championships and twelve Tag Team Championships there, and eventually, he won various other Heavyweight and Tag Team Championships in other promotions.

Altogether, Rose won an amazing 13 World Championships. Unfortunately, his success was exclusively on a territorial level, so he is not often mentioned in the same conversation as other multiple time champions like Ric Flair, Triple H, or others.

Rose’s life was met with an unfortunate and sudden end when he passed away from complications from diabetes and weight issues on April 28th, 2009. He was only 56. Despite his early departure, “Playboy” Buddy Rose will always be remembered as a gifted yet unorthodox sports-entertainer, and that’s why he’s my pick for the greatest wrestler to come from Nevada.

NEW HAMPSHIRE - Triple H

For pretty much the entirety of Paul Levesque’s career, he’s been associated with Connecticut. He began his tenure in WWF as “The Connecticut Blueblood,” and has always been billed from Greenwich, CT. However, believe it or not, Triple H is originally from New Hampshire! That's right - Triple H comes from Nashua, NH. So he's easily the best they've ever produced.

Let's "break it down" (pun completely intended) - five World Heavyweight Championships, nine WWE Championships, five Intercontinental Championships, two European Championships, three Tag Team Championships, and a King of the Ring crown. Plus, he's one of seven men to win more than one Royal Ru... okay, how many times am I going to have to say that on this list? Anyway, he's one of the most decorated champions in the history of the industry.

Yes, Triple H has developed somewhat of a reputation for burying talent throughout his career (see: Goldberg, Booker T, Randy Orton, Sting, etc.), but his accomplishments and impact on the industry are nonetheless undeniable, and I wholeheartedly believe that he is one of the greatest heels in professional wrestling history.

NEW JERSEY - Buddy Rogers

The first-ever WWF champion and the original "Nature Boy" is one of the most iconic wrestlers ever

Look! Another Buddy!

Starting his career off as a white-meat heroic babyface, Buddy Rogers had a natural charisma that eventually evolved into his colourfully arrogant "Nature Boy" character. He employed a lot of in-ring techniques that were relatively unheard of at the time, such as "flying" moves (i.e. dropkicks). His promos were widely influential as well, as he was one of the first examples of a braggadocious wrestler that downplayed his opponents during interviews.

As far as honours and accomplishments go, he holds the distinction of being the first ever WWF (or, at the time, WWWF) Champion, though he only held the belt for three weeks before dropping it to Bruno Sammartino. He also ended up winning 24 more Heavyweight Championships across other promotions, as well as eight Tag Team Championships and five different Hall of Fame ring.

As the first-ever WWF Champion, the inspiration for Ric Flair, and the innovator of such moves as the Figure Four Leglock, Buddy Rogers is not just New Jersey's best wrestler - he's one of the best of all time.