She may be a famous train wreck now, but there was a time when Chyna was among the top five over wrestlers in the WWE.  She was different than the other women of wrestling, and fans responded positively.  As her popularity grew, fans did not bat an eye when she was booked to defeat talented male wrestlers.  They believed in her, and she changed the way that women could be used in a ring.  There may never be another like her again, and had she not left the WWE on such bad terms it has to be wondered what she could have eventually accomplished there.  Seriously, there was probably a lot more life left in that character.

Non wrestling fans will remember Toru Tanaka for his acting roles alongside Chuck Norris and Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 80’s, but wrestling fans remember him as a vicious Japanese born heel that terrorized his American opponents.  Tanaka was actually a Hawaiian who played College Football and served in the U.S. military, but the tank like performer had a look for his era that screamed “foreign heel”.  Tanaka won titles everywhere including the WWE where in the early 70’s he thrice won the Tag Titles with Mr. Fuji.  That fact alone could allow WWE management to remember Tanaka’s legacy which is one that showcases a lot of respect from his peers.

As we entered the information age, the mask in American Professional Wrestling doesn’t hold the same power it used to.  Thankfully, it held power when Johnny Walker donned it in 1971 entering the NWA Florida promotion when he became Mr. Wrestling II where nobody knew his previous identity.  This allowed Walker, who was already in his mid 30’s (and looked considerable older) to become one of the most popular wrestlers in the South.  Some have argued that Mr. Wrestling II was the top American masked face wrestler in history.  They might be right.

(“Flyboy” Rocco Rock & Johnny Grunge)

Although it is hard to disagree that the WWE tenure of the Public Enemy was not a complete failure, “Flyboy” Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge were the first true homegrown stars of Paul Heyman’s ECW.  In many ways they were the guys who set the tone of the Philadelphia based promotion and were responsible for many of their early highlights.  They were not necessarily the innovators of using tables, but they certainly popularized it.  Although they failed in the WWE, they did make a bit of a dent in WCW.  As all their work is relatively current and part of the WWE video library, they could have a future renaissance.