Before there was Kurt Angle, there was another legit Olympian who competed in the squared circle.  Ken Patera competed for the United States in weightlifting at the 1972 Munich games (he did not medal) and was one of the first to use the moniker as “the world’s strongest man” while competing in wrestling.

The Honky Tonk Man proclaimed himself the “Greatest Intercontinental Champion of All Time”.  Considering that he held the title for fourteen months and was one of the greatest heat generators it is really hard to argue that statement.

With all due respect to Iron Mike Sharpe (whom we love by the way) when Gene Kiniski was billed as Canada’s Greatest Athlete it seemed far more legitimate.  The former NWA World Heavyweight Champion looked every bit the tough guy and far from anyone you would want to pick a fight with.

In a downtime in the WWE in the mid-90’s, Yokozuna was one of the few bright spots. The definition of a monster heel, the 500 plus pound wrestler was the World Champion for nearly a year and despite his large girth was blessed with incredible agility. As part of the legendary Anoi’a family, Yokozuna was also a very talented wrestler who could perform with the best grapplers in the business. He was a posthumous inductee as he succumbed to an early death due to complications from his size.