Before “Stone Cold” Steve Austin was chugging beer on Monday Night Raw, there was the Sandman.  He didn’t just drink beer; he took the empty can and smashed his forehead with it, often drawing blood.  He also entered the ring smoking a cigarette with a kendo stick in hand, the latter of which would often find its way into his matches.

Best known as the comedic foil on WWF broadcasts in the 80’s and early 90’s, Lord Alfred Hayes was actually an accomplished wrestler who carved out a solid career for himself in his native England.  Hayes would travel to the United States and won himself a handful of regional championships and would later become a brilliant heel manager.

If you only saw his lone WWF match at the 1997 Royal Rumble you wouldn’t think he was anything special.  The fact is that Perro Aguayo held multiple championships south of the border and was a major draw there whether he was a “rudo” or technico”.  He may have been undersized even by Mexican standards, and he wasn’t a high flyer by any means, but Perro Aguayo was a popular luchadore whose penchant for brawling and blading made him an icon to the Mexican audience.

Saddled with one of the worst gimmicks in WWE history (which says a lot), Bob Holly was going nowhere as the happy race car driver, Thurman “Sparky” Plugg.  As the Attitude Era emerged, Holly was allowed to develop a more hardcore style thus becoming the aptly named Hardcore Holly.  Holly’s take no prisoners attitude seemed like a natural fit and he became a solid performer on the mid card for nearly a decade.