Nepotism runs rampant in wrestling (like almost every other industry) and it has led to some people who have competed in the ring who had no business being in the squared circle.  Mike Graham may not have been a superstar on a national level, nor was he the main draw (though fairly high up in Florida) regionally, but the undersized grappler was a technical marvel and one hell of an entertainer for those who loved to watch mat based wrestling.  If Mike Graham would have ventured out of Florida more in his prime and if he was a few inches taller, the sky could have been the limit for him.

For many years, Dewey Robertson was employed as a wrestler who while was technically sound was somewhat nondescript.  In his mid 40’s, Robertson completely reinvented himself as “The Missing Link”.  This new character was as bizarre as they came, as the bulk of his offensive move set was ramming his head into his opponent.  He had a full page spread in Sports Illustrated and though his WWE run was only a few months, it was a memorable one.  Robertson continued the Link persona into successful World Class and UWF stints.  One can only wonder what Dewey Robertson’s career would have been like if he would become the Missing Link five years earlier.

Considered one of the good guys of the business and a premier tag team wrestler, Johnny Weaver competed all across the National Wrestling Alliance for many decades.  Weaver was a popular grappler who may never have been the top man of a promotion but he was a great hand for whatever area he was in.  Weaver has been given credit for popularizing the sleeper hold which was a major finishing hold in wrestling for years.

Unlike other Japanese American wrestlers of the 1970’s, Dean Higuchi did not wrestle as a foreign heel bedecked in rising sun paraphernalia.  Rather, His last name was replaced with Ho (an obvious play on popular Hawaiian singer, Don Ho) and he wrestled as a good guy for the bulk of his career.  Ho would use technical skill, power and martial arts to develop a fluid wrestling style and he was one half of the Tag Team Champions with Tony Garea in 1973.  His singles wins in the WWE were not high profile but he did have big wins for the NWA promotions in San Francisco and Vancouver and had a long feud with Gene Kiniski.  This however will probably not add up to a Hall of Fame resume.