As the son of Professor Boris Malenko, Dean Malenko was bred to be a wrestler.  Surprisingly, the Iceman really didn’t hit the national stage until his mid thirties, but when he did; anyone who watched a Dean Malenko match knew they were watching one of the best ring tacticians in the world.

What would the legacy be if Butch Reed had not have no showed one night in Buffalo where he would have been scheduled to win the Intercontinental Title from Ricky Steamboat?  It stands to reason that it might be greater than it is now, but it is not like Butch Reed did not have a solid wrestling career.

The bulk of Adrian’s career was spent as a leather clad biker who excelled in the tag team ranks and was known for his technical skills.  That isn’t how he is best remembered.  Like others before him, he was given the gimmick of a playing a homosexual, but nobody before or since had played as over the top as Adonis did.  He claimed he was gay, wore granny dresses and wore garish makeup.  He looked more like a fat cross dresser than anything that may be found in a gay pride parade but he was playing the perceived stereotype.  His weight ballooned to the mid 300’s, yet his skill never waned.  After his Wrestlemania III match with Roddy Piper, he was let go from the company and was killed in a car accident a year later.  Regardless of what his gimmick was, Adrian Adonis should be best remembered as a great wrestler.

By the time 1986 rolled around it was clear to anyone following the NWA that Magnum T.A. was being groomed as a future World Heavyweight Champion.  Had he not had a car crash that ended his career, all bets are that he would have gained that coveted belt.