Pro wrestlers live dual lives. On screen, they play the role of fighters, set on not just defeating their opponents in a sporting sense, but often as not trying to destroy other competitors with knockout blows or excruciating submission holds. In reality, they are indeed athletes, but ones working within the framework of storylines and matches with predetermined outcomes. All of the characters in wrestling have to be tough, with even the most sniveling heel act nonetheless stepping in the ring trade blows at a level regular people would never dream of. In real life, it might be a different story.

To be fair, wrestlers absorb very real physical punishment with every blow and every bump, and so even the least tough pro wrestler is probably tougher than the average everyday person. There are gradations, however, between those wrestler who are as tough—maybe even tougher—than the roles they play on TV, and those who might not be so bold when it comes to real life scenarios.

The 1990s were one of the hottest periods in wrestling history, with both WWE and WCW drawing millions of viewers to their products on a weekly basis, not to mention ECW emerging as a white hot number three promotion, and other indies of the day making ends meet. This period thrived, in particular, on hardcore wrestling which saw performers use plunder, get bloody, and stage wild brawls that spilled out of the ring. But who among the performers featured at that time were legitimately tough? This countdown looks at 10 performers who truly were, and 10 who were only tough on screen.

20 Legitimately Tough: Chris Jericho

Chris Jericho may not spring to mind as a tough guy of the 1990s. After all, he broke out in a cowardly heel cruiserweight act, and even when he did turn face in WWE, he still didn’t exactly build his name on being super rugged. Jericho has proven himself in real life, however.

He’s not the biggest, and may not be the most skilled fighter, but he has one key characteristic of a legitimate tough guy: he never backs down from a fight.

Jericho most infamously proved himself in a backstage confrontation with Goldberg in WWE shortly after Goldberg's debut, in which Y2J famously trapped him in a front face lock to keep him at bay and essentially win the fight before they were pulled apart. Decades later, he’d prove himself again by daring Brock Lesnar to fight when he thought the Beast Incarnate had intentionally hurt Randy Orton, as well getting into a scrap with the much younger Sin Cara.

19 Tough On Screen: Bradshaw

Bradshaw was a big bruising wrestler who struggled to find his footing in WWE before he found himself teaming with Faarooq in the late 1990s, in a team that would come to be known as the APA. That pairing gave way to his JBL millionaire character that brought him a world title reign and made him a surefire eventual main event talent.

While Bradshaw was big and more often than not played a bully, there’s real life evidence that he wasn’t so tough.

He notoriously picked on smaller and less established talents in WWE. Reportedly, though, when he came up against someone willing to stand up for himself and fight back, he didn’t have the best record. Most infamously, announcer Joey Styles refused to take Bradshaw picking on him, and punched out the bigger wrestler in front of a crowd of wrestlers.

18 Legitimately Tough: Bart Gunn

In the Attitude Era, WWE adopted the unconventional idea to host the Brawl for All Tournament. It’s widely rumored that Jim Ross got behind the idea, specifically to advocate for Steve Williams. Williams was a bruiser with great wrestling skills, who would presumably run roughshod over the field, and thus have instant credibility to enter into the main event picture.

Bart Gunn would emerge the actual winner, knocking out Williams along the way. WWE had absolutely no main event designs for Gunn, and so the angle really didn’t lead anywhere.

In the process, Gunn proved himself as a legit tough guy, and set up WWE to book him in the lone shoot fight in WrestleMania history, boxing legit super heavyweight Butterbean.

In a recent visit to Steve Austin’s podcast, Gunn’s long time tag team partner Billy added extra insight. He claimed he knew Bart would win from the beginning, because he was a legitimate badass. On top of that, he claimed WWE screwed Bart in the Butterbean fight, by insisting on him taking formal boxing lessons that got in his head and threw off his fighting style before the biggest battle of his life.

17 Tough On Screen: Brian Knobbs

The Nasty Boys were a rough and tumble tag team of the 1990s, known for working a rough, stiff style. In real life, Brian Knobbs at least didn’t seem up to living the gimmick.

There are various stories floating around the Internet and shoot interviews about Knobbs and partner Jerry Saggs teaming up to bully or even beat up guys who crossed them backstage. For each of these tales, there’s at least one counterpoint about Knobbs biting off more than he can chew in an altercation. Among those who claim to have bested, or at least backed down, Knobbs in real confrontations are Ken Shamrock, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, and New Jack.

In the end, Knobbs never looked like much of an athlete, and it would seem that when it came to real fights, he wasn’t a match for the more finely tuned athletes he shared a locker room with.

16 Legitimately Tough: Rob Van Dam

Rob Van Dam had a mixed reputation in the world of wrestling. On screen, and for a fair number of his colleagues, he was best known for being laid back. On the flip side, there’s the version of Rob Van Dam who is a complete badass.

Van Dam is legitimately trained in several martial arts, and on of his biggest shoot legacies is that he not only never backed down from a confrontation, but headed straight into them if he felt he were disrespected.

There’s an infamous story of Tazz being upset about a match and saying, behind Van Dam’s back, that he’d beat him up, only for RVD to confront him before the next show, daring him to take the first swing before Tazz powdered out. Later, in WWE, Triple H reportedly cracked a joke about RVD’s reputation as a pothead. Rather than chuckling along like most might, RVD reportedly stared him down, and asked if The Game really thought they were good enough buddies for him to crack jokes like that.

Van Dam remains well respected in any locker room he passes through.

15 Tough On Screen: Sid Vicious

Sid Vicious looked like the prototype for a wrestling sensation—tall, jacked to the gills, and able to turn on a crazed visage at will. His look earned him no shortage of high profile opportunities in the 1990s, including the chance to win world championships in both WWE and WCW.

Vicious’s colleagues don’t necessarily remember him fondly, questioning his safety in the ring, his work ethic, and his all around talent.

Despite his physical strength and looking like a million bucks, the guy didn’t do so well in the physical confrontations that are documented.

In a scrap with the much smaller Brian Pillman, Vicious infamously went looking for a weapon, and laughably came back wielding a squeegee before backing down again. In a more serious situation, Vicious got in a hotel fight with Arn Anderson after heatedly debating Ric Flair’s proper place in wrestling. By most accounts, Vicious got the worst of the altercation, before resorting to using a pair of scissors to stab his opponent.

14 Legitimately Tough: The Undertaker

The Undertaker had one of the longest careers as a top level star that pro wrestling has ever seen. After working for smaller companies and WCW, he starred for WWE for over two solid decades, and then proceeded to remain a part time presence for years to come.

While his talent in the ring, commitment to his character, and relationship with Vince McMahon all contributed to his longevity, there’s also the matter of him being respected for his toughness.

The Deadman was big and stern enough to command others’ respect, and not afraid to get physical.

That included famously going after Kurt Angle when he thought the playful wrestling match between the Olympian and Vince McMahon was a more serious confrontation. The Phenom was also respected enough to be appointed the judge of Wrestler’s Court—doling out judgment and consequences for various transgressions in locker room etiquette.

13 Tough On Screen: Sable

Sable exploded as one of WWE’s most popular characters in the Attitude Era. As the company embraced sexuality in its women’s roster, she stood at the fore, coming out of a hot storyline with Marc Mero, and more than looking the part of a pinup model.

Sable’s physical appeal was reportedly the definitive driving force behind bringing back the Women’s Championship, dormant since Alundra Blayze had dropped the title in the trash on WCW TV. Despite being booked like a star, and a largely dominant champion, the reality was that Sable had little in ring skill, and no reputation at all as a legitimate fighter. Luna Vachon, in particular, was charged with making her look like a credible competitor, and by most accounts completely carried Sable to what success she had at the time.

12 Legitimately Tough: Bret Hart

Bret Hart is celebrated as one of the greatest in ring technicians in wrestling history. Moreover, after his retirement The Hitman spoke openly about one of his greatest accomplishments being never significantly injuring anyone. On the flip side of that impressive statistic, Hart was actually quite capable of holding his own in a real fight.

Indeed, Hart was an accomplished amateur wrestler long before he got involved with the pro wrestling business.

After signing with WWE, he was never one to look for a fight, but also didn’t shy away from confrontation. That included getting the better of Shawn Michaels when they actually did come to blows. Additionally, when he got his hands on Vince McMahon in the locker room after the Montreal Screwjob, Hart has clearly explained his thought process, in a way that bespeaks a man who knows how to fight. He held McMahon close and started delivering uppercuts rather than straight punches, in order to inflict as much damage as possible, and make it harder for other wrestlers to pull them apart.

11 Tough On Screen: Henry Godwinn

Henry Godwinn was something of a spiritual successor to Hillbilly Jim, playing a big man farmer face who mostly brawled his way through the mid-card before ultimately finding his greatest success as a half of heel tag team with his kayfabe cousin Phineas.

As a big man and a brawler, he seemed like a natural fit for the Brawl For All shoot fighting tournament. He didn’t do so well for himself, however, taking a beating from Bradshaw in the first round and making an early exit from the bracket. To be fair, Bradshaw was probably in his physical prime at this point and did make it to the tournament final. Just the same, it wasn’t a good look for Godwinn, who lost what was left of his credibility at that late stage of his WWE tenure.

10 Legitimately Tough: Mick Foley

Mick Foley isn’t a trained shoot fighter, and wouldn’t necessarily pummel someone else in a real fight. When it comes to sheer ability to take very real physical punishment, however, you’d be hard pressed to find somebody who compares to Mick Foley.

The funny thing about Foley’s legacy is that, while other wrestlers’ tough guy reps depend on folklore and second hand stories, we can watch Foley’s credentials on WWE tape.

While his matches were all works, the Hardcore Legend was famous for taking hits and bumps that would have sent most men into early retirement. These moments included his infamous two bumps off the top of Hell in a Cell in one match, having his ear ripped of mid-match with Vader and still fighting on, and his insistence on taking chair shots to the head without any protection from his hands. In these regards, Foley was a bit like the Terminator—absorbing inhuman punishment, only to keep on going and going.

9 Tough On Screen: Brakkus

After succeeding in bodybuilding, German star Brakkus transitioned ot the world of professional wrestling, including two brief stints with WWE. He looked like a million bucks and, in the early going, all indications were that WWE meant to treat him like a big deal. He struggled with the transition to pro wrestling, though, and each attempt to get him over with the fan base ultimately fizzled.

Brakkus may have had one last chance to succeed when he was booked for the Brawl For All Tournament and suffered a first round loss at the hands of Savio Vega. To be fair, Vega has spoken up on Brakkus’s behalf afterward, suggesting he didn’t know what he was getting into when he volunteered to enter the bracket, not understanding the competition would be a shoot.

8 Legitimately Tough: Ken Shamrock

In the lore of mixed martial artists who made the transition to professional wrestling few guys have reputations to contend with that of Ken Shamrock.

Shamrock was a decorated star from the early days of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

His look, natural athleticism, and technique paired with a fine ability to play crazed when he “snapped” made him an instant star in WWE, too.

There’s a sizeable contingent that suggests Shamrock overestimates his abilities, and particularly his drawing power as a wrestling star. In particular, he reportedly priced himself out of a lot of wrestling opportunities in his prime by demanding paydays on the scale of a star like Randy Savage. Just the same, there’s no denying that he was a lethal fighter who probably could have beaten any of his WWE contemporaries in a legitimate fight.

7 Tough On Screen: Shawn Michaels

Shawn Michaels is widely regarded as one of, if the not single greatest in ring performer in wrestling history. Those who have bucked against him tend to be traditionalists more invested in pro wrestling looking real than being entertaining. To be fair, they have a point. While Michaels’s aerial, technical, and striking work largely looked fantastic, he was small enough—relatively speaking—that there’s little chance any of this offense would work in a real fight with another pro wrestler.

There are stories of Michaels running afoul of The Undertaker and Bret Hart and being put in his place.

Most famously, he ran his mouth in a Syracuse bar when he was on this way to the top of WWE, and wound up beat up badly by a group of marines. While most accounts suggest Michaels was outnumbered in the fight, the stories vary widely as to whether it were just one or two, or as many as six marines who actually got the best of HBK in the parking lot. The main takeaway, though, is that while Michaels was a heck of a performer, he doesn’t exactly rate among real life wrestling tough guys.

6 Legitimately Tough: Brian Pillman

Brian Pillman was a legitimate athlete, having played professional football en route to his career in pro wrestling. While Pillman was never the biggest guy in the room—often featured, especially early on in his career—as a high flying light heavyweight, he nonetheless had a reputation as someone who could more than hold his own in a street fight.

Pillman proved his courage in reportedly refusing to back down from the much larger Sid Vicious. The story goes that Vicious knocked Pillman, saying a guy his size shouldn’t be featured, only for Pillman to take exception. When things threatened to get physical, most accounts suggest Vicious backed down, only to come back wielding a squeegee as if he’d use it as a weapon. From all parties present, Pillman had to be held back and was ready to brawl well outside his weight class.

5 Tough On Screen: Buff Bagwell

After working a clean cut face gimmick in the early 90s, in the Monday Night War period, Marcus Alexander Bagwell turned heel by joining the New World Order and was rebranded as Buff Bagwell. He was a guy with a great physique and plenty of personality, and thus arrived as one of WCW’s top mid card acts.

Despite his successes in the ring, Bagwell had a reputation for not doing so well when things got real backstage.

The details are murky, but there are stories floating around the Internet about his altercation with Ernest Miller (Miller confirms a fight happened in one shoot interview) over some combination of Bagwell not wanting to put the legit karate master over, and delivering a racially insensitive promo in the build to their PPV match. The consensus is that Miller won the altercation handily. Another story reveals Bagwell getting into it with Hurricane Helms, only to get beaten up in that instance, too.

4 Legitimately Tough: Marc Mero

Whether you remember him as Johnny B. Badd from WCW or Marc Mero from WWE, the performer in question didn’t exactly register as a particularly bad dude. In reality, though, he had legitimate fighting credentials that made him much more dangerous than his kayfabe career might lead you to believe.

Mero was a trained boxer who won multiple amateur tournaments—most notably the New York Golden Gloves. He still had the look of a legitimate athlete and threw punches with a pugilist’s skills throughout his wrestling career.

While Mero doesn’t exactly go down as a wrestling legend, he’s the kind of guy who may well have been a victim of showing up in the wrong era or opposite the wrong talents, and might have been a bigger star at other times. As it stands, though, he remains one of the more credible real fighters of his day.

3 Tough On Screen: Tazz

Over his time in ECW, Tazz transitioned from a wild man beast to the gimmick of an MMA shoot fighter. He carried the latter persona on to his work in WWE where he became more of a household name. He served as a trainer for the Tough Enough reality series where he furthered the sense that he was a hard nosed veteran with infinite wrestling credibility, and then worked as a color commentator, during which time he largely reinforced that ethos.

While Tazz was a rock solid sports entertainer, with a legit judo background to support him, there have been several wrestlers to call his toughness into question.

New Jack and Rob Van Dam have each commented on an instance when Tazz spoke behind RVD’s back, only to powder out when Van Dam confronted him and slapped him in the face. Bob Holly also spoke in a shoot interview about Tazz being pulled from Tough Enough because of a fear that his bullying antics would lead to one of the trainees actually punking him out. It’s unclear if the latter is more a matter of fact or Holly’s speculation, but it does call into question Tazz’s legitimacy.

2 Legitimately Tough: Scott Steiner

Scott Steiner would have gone down as a legendary tag team wrestler had he never split off from his brother Rick. The guy attained a whole new level of stardom, however, when he turned heel and embraced the Big Poppa Pump persona in the final days of WCW. He’d later carry the gimmick forward to WWE and to Impact Wrestling, with mixed results.

While Steiner has his critics—particularly for his main event level singles work—one thing we can’t question is that the guy could handle himself in real life. He had an impressive amateur wrestling pedigree behind him when he came into wrestling. Combine his freakish strength and athleticism with that foundation of real technique, and you had a guy able to bully other wrestlers backstage at will. In addition to reportedly manhandling a wide variety of guys throughout this tag team days, after he’d turned heel, he reportedly had a scuffle with Diamond Dallas Page, too, and clearly got the better of it.

1 Tough On Screen: Ric Flair

Ric Flair is inarguably one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. He was a top shelf worker, and all time great talker, and an enduring character who successfully bridged a variety of eras and promotions without making any huge changes to his persona.

In real life, however, there’s no real record of Flair proving himself as a tough guy. Moreover, in the fall of 2008, news suggested that Flair got into a fight and was badly beaten by one of his daughter’s boyfriends, who was not a wrestler. To be fair, Flair would have been well past his physical prime by that time. Just the same, most signs suggest that while he was a terrific entertainer on screen, he wasn’t much a tough guy when the cameras weren’t rolling.