188. Mighty Igor

Published in WWE
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When Richard Garza broke into professional wrestling he did so with the pedigree of being a legitimate strongman and bodybuilding competitor. He had modest success but when Verne Gagne in the AWA repackaged him as “The Mighty Igor Vodik” he found a persona that fit him like a glove.

The gimmick of the Mighty Igor was pretty basic. He was a simple and kind-hearted strongman from Poland who loved everyone, especially children. Basically he was a natural babyface. Igor was given the AWA World Heavyweight Championship (albeit for one week) but he was not someone who collected a lot of championships, though he really did not need them. The biggest run of his career took place during his multiple years working for the Sheik in Detroit and he would battle the Sheik many times throughout his career.

The Bullet Points

Other Aliases:
Dick Garza

Johnny Bruce

Mighty Igor Vodik

Strong Man Igor
Billed From: Poland (Really from Dearborn, MI)
Key Championships Held:
Wolverine Wrestling Mid-West Heavyweight (2)

WWA (Los Angeles) International Tag Team w/Eric Rommel

AWA World Heavyweight

Nebraska Heavyweight (2)

AWA Midwest Heavyweight

NWA (Detroit) World Tag Team w/Hank James

MCW Michigan Heavyweight

WWC Puerto Rican Heavyweight
Why they will get in: A former World Heavyweight Champion should always have a shot.
Why they won't get in: Igor’s accomplishments are not in the WWE and they already inducted their version: Ivan Putski.
Five Greatest Matches/Moments: 1. Defeated Mad Dog Vachon for the AWA World Heavyweight Title (3/15/65)
2. Beat Bob Orton Sr. for the AWA Midwest Heavyweight Title (12/9/67)
3. Won the NWA (Detroit) Tag Team Titles with Hank James by defeating the Poffos (Angelo & Lanny) (??/??/75)
4. Had a memorable with the Masked Superstar in the Carolinas (1977)
5. Beat Al Perez for the WWC Puerto Rican Heavyweight Title (11/29/86)