He may have stood only 5’ 6”, but Ivan Putski packed considerably more muscle on that small frame than wrestlers who stood much taller.  Putski was immensely popular and the legitimate strongman had multiple successful runs on the upper mid card for the WWE in the 70’s and 80’s.  That alone made him a legitimate Hall of Fame Selection.

The long term wild man of the WWE, George “The Animal” Steele scared audiences for years before wrestling as a beloved Neanderthal type baby face in the twilight of his career.  He rarely won any championships, but his type of character was never designed to be a champion; it was designed to scare opponents and fans alike.  Nobody did it better than George Steele.

The Big Cat was a former professional football player and though many of that sport made their way to professional wrestling none had the gridiron pedigree that Ernie Ladd had, as he was a bonafide star with the AFL San Diego Chargers.  Ladd used his large size to enter wrestling and became the first truly successful African American heels in the industry and was a natural to go against the top face in each territory.  Ladd had many big moments in the WWE and was always a favorite go to heel there.

One of the most popular wrestlers of his day, Antonino Rocca was a spectacular athlete and one of the first to really utilize acrobatics in the ring.  Rocca was a big reason for the wrestling boom in the Northeast and his following among the Italian and Hispanic audiences was especially high. He is one of the few WWE Hall of Famers form the first televised era of wrestling.