Ask 411 Wrestling: Who is the Best Wrestler From Each US State? (Part 1)

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We’re going to do something a little bit different this week. In fact, we’re going to do something a little bit different for the next two weeks. If you don’t like it, blame Kevin, because he wrote in with a question that has such a lengthy answer that I’m going to be devoting two articles to it.

Fortunately for Kevin, I found this to be a pretty interesting exercise, so I won’t be cursing his name like the guy who asked me to document every occasion in which Bray Wyatt won a match with something other than Sister Abigail.

So, what is this monster of a question that I’ve been given by the Kevster?

Here goes:

Who would you consider the best wrestler from every state?

The question is simple, but, with fifty states comprising the good ole’ USA, we’ve got a lot of figurative and literal territory to cover.

First, let me throw out one ground rule, because “from every state” is subject to a couple of different interpretations. I will be using the wrestler’s state of BIRTH, even if it is different than the state where the wrestler grew up, spent most of his life, or has become most closely associated with. Also, though this should go without saying, we’re going with real-life birthplaces, not anything from the realm of kayfabe.

So, with that established, let’s get to our fifty nifty states, which we will be going through in alphabetical order.

Alabama – Bobby Eaton – Tag team specialist Bobby Eaton is one of the most respected in-ring performers of his era and was fairly successful in main events for a time as part of the Midnight Express. He was an easy choice for best wrestler from the Cotton State, though I want to give an honorable mention to “Sensational” Sherri Martel.

Alaska – Kenny Kaos – You might remember Kaos as one half of the WCW undercard tag team High Voltage and as Rick Steiner’s Tag Team Championship partner when he was forced to replace Judy Bagwell. His career only lasted about five years, but he is literally the only wrestler of note who I could find hailing from Alaska, so he makes the list. This won’t be the last time we see something like this happening.

Arizona – Shawn Michaels – Though he’s most commonly associated with San Antonio, Texas, the Heartbreak Kid was born in Chandler, Arizona and bounced around a bit as a military brat before his family settled in the Lone Star State. You would be hard pressed to find anybody who could be called the best wrestler in any state over Michaels.

Arkansas – Bobo Brazil – Brazil is a bona fide legend, currently part of the WWE Hall of Fame, the NWA Hall of Fame, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame, and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in Wichita Falls, Texas (formerly in upstate New York). He was one of the first Black wrestlers to break through and help desegregate the sport, and he was a legitimate draw for all fans but African Americans in particular.

California – The Rock – Given that California is the country’s most populous state and has been for quite some time, I was expecting this to be a difficult choice, but, as soon as I remembered that the Rock hailed from the Golden State (specifically the City of Hayward in the San Francisco Bay Area), I knew that it was all over. The man is perhaps the biggest crossover star in professional wrestling history, so there’s no way that he’s not going to make this list.

Colorado – “Dr. Death” Steve Williams – This is another deceptive entry on the list, because Dr. Death is associated closely with Oklahoma due to his days as a collegiate athlete there. However, he was born in a Denver suburb called Lakewood. Interestingly, the two other Coloradans who I considered for this distinction – Bob Sapp and 2 Cold Scorpio – also had the best years of their careers in Japan, much like Steve Williams.

Connecticut – Bull Curry – There aren’t a lot of options from Connecticut. Technically Shane and Stephanie McMahon were both born there, but as part-time performers I couldn’t bring myself to list them. Instead I’ve gone with a pick that is probably a bit obscure to modern fans but will not be to historians. Bull Curry was a major star doing a “wild man” gimmick in his native northeast as well as Texas and Michigan. In fact, that career spanned an impressive forty years from the late 1930s to the late 1970s.

Delaware – Jay and Mark Briscoe – Again, Delaware is a small state that hasn’t produced a lot of wrestlers. However, even if there were significantly more entries on their list, Dem Boys would still be contenders as Ring of Honor stalwarts who also have held championships in New Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH. You might not think of them as being from Delaware because they’re usually adorned with the Confederate flag, but you just have to remember – there are rednecks everywhere.

Florida – Paul Orndorff – This was a difficult one to whittle down, because there are a lot of wrestlers who relocated to Florida and are closely associated with the Sunshine State, but, on closer examination, few of them were actually born there. (“Florida guys” not actually born in Florida include Hulk Hogan, Dory Funk Jr., Jack Brisco, and even longtime Florida territory promoter Eddie Graham.) Of the legitimate Floridians, Orndorff stuck out to me as being both the biggest star and best in-ring performer, though modern fans might argue that Roman Reigns should’ve taken this spot.

Georgia – Hulk Hogan – As noted in the blurb immediately above, Hulk Hogan wasn’t born in Florida as you may have guessed. He’s originally from Augusta, Georgia, though admittedly he and his family moved to Florida when he was less than two years old. However, by our rules, Hulk is still a Georgia peach, and once you see a name like his on a list of wrestlers hailing from a particular state, you know you’re going with it unless there’s another absolute icon mentioned.

Hawaii – King Curtis Iaukea – Though we’ve talked a lot about wrestlers who are from a state that you don’t associate them with, King Curtis was born in Hawaii and is Hawaiian through and through. In addition to being a star in his home territory, he also had major runs in the Pacific Northwest and Australia, on top of later serving as a manager in the 1980s WWF and 1990s WCW (with the Dungeon of Doom . . . the less said about that, the better).

Idaho – Torrie Wilson – You can count the number of pro wrestlers from Idaho on one hand. Of those, literally the only one of them who has had any kind of run in a major promotion or territory is Torrie Wilson. Though nobody would ever mistake Torrie for a ring general, she gets into this spot essentially by default – and becomes the only woman on this list thus far. (Maybe I should have given this one to Al Wilson instead.)

Illinois – Bobby “The Brain” Heenan – Though some of you were probably expecting me to list CM Punk here, I suspect that even Punk himself would agree with this pick. He is primarily known as a manager, but the Brain has 955 matches listed in CageMatch – almost certainly not a complete record – and that’s enough to qualify him as a professional wrestler in my book. Heenan was a once in a lifetime talent who is sorely missed even twenty years since he was last a regular on any wrestling television program.

Indiana – Dory Funk Jr. & Terry Funk – I’m sorry, but I can’t choose between them. The “Texan” Funk brothers were actually both born in Hammond, Indiana, which is in the northwestern part of the state on the border with Chicago, Illinois. As the only brothers who have both held the NWA World Heavyweight Title, they are true greats and certainly a far better choice than the other world champion wrestler you wouldn’t guess is from Indiana, that being the Ultimate Warrior.

Iowa – Frank Gotch – Iowa has a reputation of being a powerhouse in the world of amateur wrestling, which lead me to think that I might have more options for their top pro, but that proved not to be true. There were only a couple of contenders, and the biggest one in my mind is Frank A. Gotch. Gotch was the most popular American wrestler at the turn of the Twentieth Century, with his World Heavyweight Title feud against Estonian George Hackenschimidt being one that is still discussed over 100 years later. Honorable mention goes to Gotch’s trainer, Martin “Farmer” Burns, who was also from the Hawkeye State.

Kansas – Mildred Burke – After Torrie Wilson, I wasn’t sure that we would see another woman on this list, but now we’ve got Mildred Burke representing Kansas. Unlike Torrie, Burke is one of the biggest women’s wrestling stars in history, having held the NWA Women’s World Heavyweight Title for 19 years between 1935 and 1954 when she was bested by a woman close to my heart, June Byers.

Kentucky – Hillbilly Jim – Yes, Hillbilly Jim’s good ol’ boy persona has some real world roots, as he’s originally from the small town of Scottsville, Kentucky, now residing in Bowling Green. Though he is far more known for that persona than he is for his in-ring performances, he may well be the biggest star that the state has ever produced. Second place probably goes to current AEW wrestler Chuck Taylor, and I don’t think that you could select a wrestler more different than Hillbilly Jim if you tried.

Louisiana – Ernie Ladd – Though his heyday was in the 1960s and the 1970s, Ernie Ladd is probably still on the list of the top five African American wrestlers of all time, having an imposing physical presence in the ring and being a very good promo by the standards of the era. In addition to headlining Madison Square Garden for the WWWF against Andre the Giant and Bruno Sammartino, he had a strong run in the Mid-South territory and worked in the office there during a time that you would not necessarily expect a Black man to do so. If you haven’t seen any of Ladd’s interviews, I’d suggest that you look them up. You’ll probably learn a thing or two.

Maine – Scotty 2 Hotty – Maine is another sparsely populated state that has produced very few wrestlers, but Scotty is definitely the best of the small lot. Though he’s mostly known for his outrageous hair and his even more outrageous W-O-R-M, he was a very solid in-ring performer who could have had a long career even without the gimmicks. Word on the street these last couple of years is that he’s been teaching classes at the WWE Performance Center, and he’s really not a bad choice to do so.

Maryland – Luke Gallows – In my mind, Luke Gallows is from the south, but I guess that’s a result of the Festus gimmick taking up so much real estate in the old noggin. However, he was actually born in Cumberland, Maryland, which sits on the border with West Virginia. He also had some tough competition in this category from Duane “Gillberg” Gill, who is from the Baltimore suburbs. Maybe they can face each other on an upcoming Talk ‘N Shop A Mania in order to determine who the true best Marylander is.

Massachusetts – John Cena – You’ve got to respect John Cena’s dedication to his home state. Even though he spent many years living in California before making it big in WWE and even though he had a gimmick inspired by Michigan’s Eight Mile Road, Cena always made sure that his announced hometown was his legitimate hometown, i.e. West Newbury, Massachusetts. He’s also the best wrestler to emerge from that state, with his closest competition being Kevin Sullivan, who probably would’ve taken it if he weren’t up against a multi-time WWE Champion.

Michigan – Lou Thesz – There was a lot more competition in Michigan than I realized, with the original Sheik, Rob Van Dam, Kevin Nash, Christopher Daniels, and both Steiner brothers being born in the mitten. If you want to go to the management side of things, you’ve even got Detroit-born Eric Bischoff. However, one man towers over them all, and that is the three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz, whose longest reign with the title was an over six year span between 1949 and 1956. Thesz essentially defined what it was to be an NWA Champion in the second half of the Twentieth Century, creating the mold that the Funks, the Briscos, Ric Flair, and more would be cast out of.

Minnesota – Verne Gagne – Speaking of competition, there are a TON of wrestlers from Minnesota, particularly relative to its population. However, there’s a reason that there are a ton of wrestlers from Minnesota, and that’s because it was the headquarters of the AWA, one of the most powerful territories in the country from the 1960s through the 1980s. There wouldn’t have been an AWA without Verne Gagne, who created the promotion around himself after being a major star in the 1950s. If you basically created the wrestling scene in the state of your birth, I think we need to call you the best wrestler to ever come out of that state.

Mississippi – Kamala – Writing about Kamala is difficult. He is who he is in wrestling because of his gimmick. His gimmick is deeply, deeply problematic, promoting all sorts of negative stereotypes of Africans and Black people more generally. However, if you turn off the part of your brain that tells you this gimmick is racist as hell and watch how James Harris, the man behind the character, performed it, he was excellent. You believed he was what he was portraying, and, more importantly, you believed that he was dangerous. He wasn’t putting on five star classics, but he was an iconic character, and that makes him the best wrestler from Mississippi.

Missouri – Harley Race – As of the 2010 census, Quitman, Missouri had a population of 45 residents, down from its peak of 356 residents in 1900. Despite being incredibly tiny, the town has one important distinction. It is the birthplace of eight-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race. (Or seven times if you disregard that one tour of New Zealand.) Admittedly, I went back and forth on this one for a while, because, despite being a Hollywood fashion plate, “Classy” Freddie Blassie is originally from St. Louis. Ultimately I decided to pick Race, which may be a bit of personal bias since I’ve seen much more of his work than Blassie’s.

That will do it for this week’s installment of the column. We’ll return in seven-ish days, and, as always, you can contribute your questions by emailing [email protected].