It doesn’t matter if it’s Throwback Thursday or Flashback Friday, every day of the week, people are taking the opportunity to look back and reminisce about the glory days. Blood, barrel chests, and mutton chops. Welcome to professional wrestling in the 1970s, where anything goes and grapplers weren’t participating in sports entertainment. For most, there were no high spots; the German suplex and a bodyslam were finishers, and nobody knew what a hurricanrana, five-star frog splash, Swanton bomb, and outside dive were.

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Most wrestlers didn’t have the physiques or follow the diet and workout regimen that many athletes follow today, but make no mistake, that didn’t mean the action wasn’t good. These guys could keep crowds engaged for 30, 45, or 60 minutes with ease, as that was the length of their matches on a regular basis. In the 70s, kayfabe was alive and well and crowds believed what they were seeing. Remember, this is before professional wrestling was called sports entertainment. Many of the guys on this list were legit tough guys and gave the sport the credibility lacking in a sense today.

UPDATE: 2023/11/06 07:30 EST BY SHAWN S. LEALOS

Wrestling has changed a lot over the years, but there are still wrestlers who look and feel like they came right out of the 1970s. When watching someone like Gunther work in WWE, it brings back memories of names like Bruno Sammartino grappling with the beasts of his era. While wrestling in the 2020s is much faster-paced and exciting than it was in the 1970s, those men and women from the golden age knew how to tell stories in the ring, and they could bring in thousands of screaming fans without using much more than armbars and bear hugs. Despite the slower methodical action, the best of these wrestlers were pure storytellers, and when they connected with an audience, there wasn't much better.

33 Abdullah the Butcher

Abdullah the Butcher

Date of Birth

January 11, 1941

Years Active

1958-2010

Top Accomplishments

PWF World Champion (AJPW), NWA United States Champion, NWA World Tag Team Champion, NWA Canadian Champion, 5-time WWC Universal Champion, WWE Hall of Fame (2011), Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2019)

One of the most shocking admissions into the WWE Hall of Fame came in 2011 when the company inducted Abdullah the Butcher. It isn't that he didn't deserve it based on his legendary career. It is because of the infamous nature of his career. Abdullah was a hardcore death wrestler before that was even a popular style. He spent more time bleeding, or carving scars into other wrestlers' heads than he ever did executing an actual wrestling move. He legitimately scared wrestling fans and sometimes even his opponents.

In the 1970s, Abdullah traveled the world and was a special attraction similar to names like Andre the Giant. This means he rarely won a major title, although he did win some regional titles throughout his career. In the 1970s, Abdullah traveled to Japan, Europe, the Caribbean, Australia, and Africa, and was a major draw everywhere he stepped into the ring. He was a major star on the level of Giant Baba, Terry Funk, Billy Robinson, and Jumbo Tsuruta during that era.

32 Seiji Sakaguchi

Akira Maeda vs Seiji Sakaguchi

Date of Birth

February 17, 1942

Years Active

1967-1990

Top Accomplishments

WWF North American Champion, NWA United National Champion, Asia Tag Team Champion

Seiji Sakaguchi was a legitimate shoot fighter before he started his professional wrestling career. He was a judoka with a fifth-degree black belt and won the 1965 All-Japan Judo Championship. This meant he came into his career in Japan with the pedigree to become an immediate star. It was like more modern times when Brock Lesnar returned to WWE after winning the UFC Championship or Kurt Angle came to WWE after winning a freestyle wrestling Gold Medal in the Olympics. For Seiji, he made his debut in the JWA and then moved over to NJPW after that company folded.

His career lasted for 23 years and he even served as the NWA President in 1992 and 1993. Over his career, he was a top name in Japan, winning four titles in the JWA and several titles while in NJPW. He even won the NWA North American Tag Team Championship with partner Antonio Inoki once and Strong Kobayashi twice. He was the WWF North American Champion and was listed as #146 of the Pro Wrestling Illustrated best singles wrestlers of all time.

31 The Crusher

The Crusher in an interview promo

Date of Birth

July 11, 1926

Death

October 22, 2005 (79)

Years Active

1949-1989

Top Accomplishments

3-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, 3-time AWA World Champion, 9-time AWA World Tag Team Champion, 6-time WWA World Tag Team Champion, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2005)

The Crusher was a tough brawler who made his name mostly in the AWA, as one of the biggest draws in that company's history. Crusher sometimes used the name Crusher Lisowski since other wrestlers used the name Crusher, but he was the one wrestler who deserved to use the name for himself. He started in the 1940s and picked up his name when a promoter admitted that he just "crushed" everyone he got into the ring with. It then became not only his name but his most notable trait.

His biggest success came as a tag team wrestler with his partner Dick the Bruiser. They ended up winning the AWA World Tag Team Championship five times and the WWA Tag Team Championship six times. They also won the NWA International Tag Team Championship once. Before his run in the 1970s, he was also a three-time AWA World Champion in the 1960s and he even had a tag team title run in the 1980s with Baron Von Raschke as his partner.

30 Blackjack Mulligan

Blackjack Mulligan

Date of Birth

November 25, 1942

Death

April 7, 2016 (73)

Years Active

1967-1993

Top Accomplishments

4-time NWA United States Champion, NWA World Tag Team Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Hall of Fame (2006), Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2016)

Blackjack Mulligan left quite the legacy behind him. His sons both became wrestlers, with Barry Windham as one of the best members of the Four Horsemen in history and his other son Kendall Windham having a nice long career as well. His son-in-law is Mike Rotunda, who worked as IRS. His grandsons are Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas. However, as a wrestler, there were few people as tough as Blackjack Mulligan, who made his name in the 1970s.

He worked in the WWWF starting in 1971 and ended up feuding with world champions Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales. However, his best success came in the tag team known as The Blackjacks alongside Blackjack Lanza. They won the tag team titles there once and also won tag titles in the WWA. He also worked the territories, winning titles in the Mid-Atlantic (which later became Crockett Promotions) and other NWA territories of those days. He ended up in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006 as part of The Blackjacks.

29 Baron Von Raschke

Baron Von Raschke AEW

Date of Birth

October 18, 1940

Years Active

1966-1996

Top Accomplishments

AWA World Tag Team Champion, 4-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, 2-time NWA TV Champion, NWA Six-Man Tag Team Champion, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2013)

Late in his career, Baron Von Raschke became almost a parody wrestler, a gimmick that was a German heel who struggled with English and mostly lumbered around the ring. In his time in Jim Crockett Promotions in the 1980s and the AWA in his later years, he was never seen as a good wrestler or a legitimate contender, and he was just there to work as a mid-card heel with a limited move set. That is not the Baron from the 1970s, though, who was always a threat to any champion.

The Baron began wrestling in 1966 in the AWA and worked a Nazi gimmick where he goose-stepped around the ring and threatened anyone and everyone with his Iron Claw. Actually born in Nebraska, Von Rasche really worked to develop his German character and became a top heel. In the 1970s, he was a multi-time champion, winning titles in the NWA and AWA, while also wrestling in the WWWF during that decade. He even got a WWWF Championship match against Bruno Sammartino in Madison Square Garden in 1977, which was Sammartino's final successful title defense before losing his title.

28 Ray Stevens

Ray Stevens vs Nick Bockwinkel

Date of Birth

September 5, 1935

Death

May 3, 1996

Years Active

1950-1992

Top Accomplishments

4-time AWA World Tag Team Champion, 2-time NWA United States Champion, 8-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, WWE United States Champion, WWE Hall of Fame (2020), Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2006)

Ray Stevens had two very different gimmicks and both of them made him a star. Stevens got his start in wrestling in 1950 when he was only 15, and he worked his way up after learning under former world champion Nature Boy Buddy Rogers. This led to him adopting an early gimmick as Ray "Blond Bomber" Stevens. However, it was in the 1970s that he picked up an even more successful gimmick when he became Ray "The Crippler" Stevens. This nickname arrived when he broke Doctor X's leg in the AWA.

Once he became The Crippler, Ray Stevens enjoyed a high level of success in the AWA and the WWWF. He won four AWA World Tag Team titles with Nick Bockwinkel and three NWA World Tag Team titles with Greg Valentine, Jimmy Snuka, and Ivan Koloff. In 1972, he worked in WWWF where he feuded with world champion Pedro Morales. Back in the AWA, he then set his sights on his former tag team partner Bockwinkel in 1977, one of the hottest feuds in the promotion.

27 Mr. Wrestling II

Mr Wrestling II

Date of Birth

September 10, 1934

Death

June 10, 2020 (85)

Years Active

1955-2007

Top Accomplishments

Mid-South North American Champion, 2-time Mid-South Tag Team Champion, 4-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2014)

Mr. Wrestling II got his start in wrestling in 1955 as Johnny Walker, and he retired in 1972 after working a short time as a masked wrestler known as The Grappler. However, it was in 1972 that Paul Jones asked him to return as a masked wrestler known as Mr. Wrestling II, the protégé of the original Mr. Wrestling (Tim Woods). This ended up being the gimmick that made him a superstar, both in Jones' Georgia promotion and in Eddie Graham's Florida territory.

Mr. Wrestling II ended up as one of the biggest draws in the territory system with the new gimmick, and he even had a major fan that the entire world would later know - future United States President of the United States, Jimmy Carter. In the 1970s, Mr. Wrestling II was a massively over babyface and held the Georgia Heavyweight Championship 10 times in that decade. When wrestling hit the mainstream in the 80s, Mr. Wrestling II turned heel to help put over a new young babyface in Magnum T.A.

26 Chief Jay Strongbow

Chief Jay Strongbow Promo Shoot

Date of Birth

October 4, 1928

Death

April 3, 2012 (83)

Years Active

1947-1987

Top Accomplishments

NWA World Tag Team Champion, 4-time WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Hall of Fame (1994), Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2009)

Chief Jay Strongbow started his wrestling career in 1947 and saw a lot of success in the NWA territories, winning titles all along the way. However, he had his biggest success when he showed up in the WWWF and hit the big stage where he became one of the biggest babyfaces in the world of professional wrestling and influenced so many stars with his in-ring work. He joined the WWWF in 1970 as Chief Jay Strongbow, wearing the Native American headdress and using Native-themed moves. This led to him working as a babyface in the company.

We feuded with top names like Jimmy Valiant and Superstar Billy Graham. He even almost beat Graham for the WWWF World Championship during their feud. In this time in the WWWF in the 1970s, Strongbow won the tag team titles in 1972 with Sonny King and then again in 1976 with Billy White Wolf. He spent almost the entire 1970s in the WWWF before moving back to the NWA. He finally returned to WWF in 1982 and retired in 1986.

25 Dusty Rhodes

dusty-rhodes-nwa-world-heavyweight-championship

Date of Birth

October 11, 1945

Death

June 11, 2015 (69)

Years Active

1967-2010

Top Accomplishments

NWA World Champion, 3-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, NWA United States Champion, 2-time NWA Six-Man Tag Team Champion, 3-time NWA TV Champion, WWE Hall of Fame (2007), Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2010)

The American Dream Dusty Rhodes rose to the top of the professional wrestling world in the 1980s. However, he was an enormous star in the 70s as well, working almost exclusively in the NWA and its territories. He started the decade as a heel, but in 1974 he turned babyface and shot to the top.

Rhodes made some appearances in the WWWF in the 70s, but it was the NWA where he had his biggest success. Rhodes ended up as a multi-time NWA World Champion and is a WWE Hall of Fame superstar.

24 Andre the Giant

Andre The Giant

Date of Birth

May 19, 1946

Death

January 28, 1993 (46)

Years Active

1966-1992

Top Accomplishments

WWE World Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Hall of Fame (1993), Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2002)

Andre the Giant won his only world title in 1988, but he was a man who never needed a title to be the biggest star in any company he wrestled in. WWE billed Andre as an undefeated wrestler until his loss to Hulk Hogan, but that was not entirely true. Despite that, Andre was someone that territories brought in to beat their biggest heels, and he sold out every appearance.

Andre started his career in 1964 and by the 1970s he was a top star all over the world. He worked everywhere from the AWA and WWWE to Japan and the territories. In the 70s, he also worked matches against boxer, Chuck Wepner.

23 Larry Hennig

Larry Hennig flexing in a photo

Date of Birth

June 18, 1936

Death

December 6, 2018 (82)

Years Active

1956-1985

Top Accomplishments

4-time AWA World Tag Team Champion, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2017)

Larry "The Axe" Hennig remains known as the father of Mr. Perfect Curt Hennig and grandfather of Curtis Axel, but during his time in wrestling, he was one of the top stars in the world. He worked mostly in the AWA and was a tag team specialist, winning titles in the 60s with Harley Race.

RELATED: 10 Things Fans Should Know About Curt Hennig

In the '70s, he had a chance to work title matches in the WWWF against Bruno Sammartino and Pedro Morales before returning to the AWA, where he finally became a babyface. He ended up feuding with former allies Nick Bockwinkel and Ray Stevens. His career finally came to an end in the '80s when he worked with his son.

22 The Wild Samoans

The Wild Samoans Cropped

Date of Birth

Afa (November 21, 1942), Sika (April 5, 1945)

Years Active

1973-1997

Top Accomplishments

3-time WWE Tag Team Champions, 2-time Stampede International Tag Team Champions, NWA United States Tag Team Champions, 3-time Mid-South Tag Team Champions, WWE Hall of Fame (2007), Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2012)

While both men were great wrestlers in their own right, there was not a tag team in the 1970s that was more dominating that the Wild Samoans. This was Afa and Sika, the men who were the patriarchs of the Samoan Dynasty.

The brothers worked together in the 1970s in Stampede Wrestling They also moved on in that decade to various territories in the NWA as well as in Puerto Rico and the World Wrestling Council, where they won several tag team titles before finally making their way to WWE in the 1980s.

21 The Valiant Brothers

Jimmy and Johnny Valiant

Date of Birth

Jimmy Valiant (August 6, 1942), Johnny Valiant (November 25, 1946), Jerry Valiant (July 8, 1941)

Death

Johnny Valiant (April 4, 2018 (71)), Jerry Valiant (March 10, 2010 (68))

Years Active

1973-1979

Top Accomplishments

WWE Tag Team Champions, NWA World Tag Team Champions, NWA United States Tag Team Champions, WWE Hall of Fame (1996)

Fans who started watching professional wrestling in the 1980s never got to see how great the Valiant Brothers really were. By that time, Johnny Valiant had moved on to managing and Jimmy had become the Boogie Woogie Man. In the '70s, they were one of the most successful tag teams in history.

Handsome Jimmy, Luscious Johnny, and Gentleman Jerry dominated the tag team scene in the NWA and WWWF. They held the WWWF tag titles twice, and held NWA titles in both Georgia and Florida.

20 Verne Gagne

Verne Gagne in the AWA

Date of Birth

February 26, 1926

Death

April 27, 2015 (89)

Years Active

1949-1981

Top Accomplishments

10-time AWA World Champion, 4-time AWA World Tag Team Champion, 5-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, WWE Hall of Fame (2006), Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2004)

Verne Gagne started out in the 1970s as the AWA World Champion and he was a top contender to the title even after the rise of Nick Bockwinkel. Verne, who also owned the AWA, held the title 10 times in his career, starting in 1960, with his last reign starting in 1980.

He held the AWA World Championship for 4,677 total days. Verne was as old-school as they come, a grappler who was all about mat wrestling, and someone who could tie up any opponent and win a match with just about any move.

19 Stan Hansen

Stan-Hansen-with-his-cowbell-1

Date of Birth

August 29, 1949

Years Active

1973-2001

Top Accomplishments

4-time PWF World Champion, 8-time AJPW World Tag Team Champion, 4-time PWF World Tag Team Champion, AWA World Champion, NWA United States Champion, NWA World Tag Team Champion, WWE Hall of Fame (2016), Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2010)

Stan Hansen was one of the toughest wrestlers in the '70s, running through everyone and making his name in both the United States and Japan. In the U.S., he made his name thanks to a massive violent feud with Bruno Sammartino in WWE.

Just two months after arriving in WWE, he was fighting for the world title. Hansen went on to become a major star in Japan as well, starting in 1977 and winning several titles overseas, including the PWF World Championship four times. He continued to dominate in the '80s, winning the AWA World Championship once.

18 Ivan Koloff

Ivan Koloff with a Russian chain

Date of Birth

August 25, 1942

Death

February 18, 2017

Years Active

1965-2013

Top Accomplishments

5-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, 3-time NWA TV Champion, 2-time NWA Six-Man Tag Team Champion, WWE World Champion, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2011)

Ivan Koloff did the impossible. The Russian Bear beat Bruno Sammartino for the WWE Championship in 1971, a win that almost caused a riot. This made Koloff one of the only men to ever beat Sammartino in a WWE match. He lost it shortly afterwards to Pedro Morales but cemented his place in history.

Koloff went on to the NWA where he became a top villain as the leader of the Russians, with his kayfabe nephew Nikita Koloff and Krusher Kruschev. Koloff is one of the only former WWE Champions who is still not in the WWE Hall of Fame.

17 Pat Patterson

Pat Patterson with The Wizard as the IC Champion

Date of Birth

January 19, 1941

Death

December 2, 2020 (79)

Years Active

1958-2000

Top Accomplishments

AWA World Tag Team Champion, 11-time NWA World Tag Team Champion, WWE 24/7 Champion, WWE Hardcore Champion, WWE North American Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, WWE Hall of Fame (1996), Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2006)

Pat Patterson was the first man to hold the WWE Intercontinental Championship. He was also, at the time, one of the best pure wrestlers in the company. He worked as a villain when he was given the title, with Lou Albano as his manager, but when he broke away, he became one of the most popular WWE wrestlers of his era.

RELATED: 10 Best Pat Patterson Moments In WWE History

Patterson also became one of the most important men behind the scenes when he retired in the '80s. He was one of Vince McMahon's most trusted confidants and is the man who created the Royal Rumble match.

16 Bob Backlund

Bob Backlund as the WWE Champion

Date of Birth

August 14, 1949

Years Active

1973-2018

Top Accomplishments

2-time WWE Champion, WWE Tag Team Champion, WWE Hall of Fame (2013), Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2008)

Bruno Sammartino was the biggest name in WWE in the '60s and '70s, but in the late '70s, another man took his spot. Bob Backlund was as different from Bruno as anyone. While Sammartino was a big man who overpowered his opponents and had more charisma than anyone, Backlund was more vanilla but was a technical marvel in the ring.

Backlund was a collegiate All-American and a former NCAA Champion. In WWE, he beat Superstar Billy Graham for the WWE Championship in 1978 and held the title for five years before dropping it to Iron Sheik.

15 Killer Kowalski

Killer Kowalski in a promo photo

Date of Birth

October 13, 1926

Death

August 30, 2008 (81)

Years Active

1647-2008

Top Accomplishments

WWE World Tag Team Champion, WWE United States Tag Team Champion, 5-time IWA World Champion, WWE Hall of Fame (1996)

Killer Kowalski began his wrestling career in 1947 and went on to have a long and successful run in professional wrestling. In the '70s, he was part of the WWE and was still on top of the world until his retirement in 1977.

In the 1960s and 1970s, Kowalski became a great tag team wrestler, while also becoming a top rival for world champion Bruno Sammartino. While he never beat Bruno for the world title, Kowalski teamed up with Gorilla Monsoon and Big John Studd to win tag team titles. When he retired, Kowalski started a wrestling school and ended up training Triple H years later.

14 Superstar Billy Graham

Superstar Billy Graham wrestling in WWE

Date of Birth

June 7, 1943

Death

May 17, 2023 (79)

Years Active

1970-1987

Top Accomplishments

WWE World Champion, NWA World Tag Team Champion, WWE Hall of Fame (2004), Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (2009)

Born Wayne Coleman, the bodybuilder with the 22-inch biceps spoke as well as the Christian preacher whose name he used as his own. Superstar held the WWWF Heavyweight Championship one time after beating the legendary Bruno Sammartino in 1977, hailed as Pro Wrestling Illustrated Magazine's Match of the Year.

Superstar Billy Graham dropped it nearly a year later to Bob Backlund, PWI’s 1978 Match of the Year. Superstar spawned a number of imitators including Hulk Hogan, Jesse the Body Ventura, and Scott Steiner.