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It takes a lot to be a professional wrestler in 2026. If you are a young wrestler and want to earn television time, you have to be able to connect with the audience in the building and at home, hit camera angles, and abide by time cues (many times for multiple commercial breaks), all while developing catchphrases, movesets, and promo abilities, and do it all at a faster pace than 100 other wrestlers just as ready training at the WWE Performance Center not to mention the media and corporate sponsorships required of names who make it.
In all of the demands expected combined with many a wrestler constantly trying to stay ahead by evolving the style, there are many things in matches that can be lost. Semi-inspired by a conversation happening on the PWTorch VIP Message Board, where there’s a topic called “What do wrestlers need to stop doing?” there are lessons lost to time, as well as bad habits picked up over time.
I have chosen five wrestlers whose entire or bulk of their career happened before the WrestleMania era of wrestling. These were legends of the previous generation who set the foundation for the the evolution of professional wrestling we watch today, and who should be studied by wrestlers, bookers, and and fan who wants to have a well-rounded knowledge of history.
Bruiser Brody
Bruiser Brody knew who he was as a character. I think that is one of the most important aspects in wrestling to nail. If you look at the success of Toni Storm when she became “Timeless,” it was her embracing of her character and making each move, promo, and appearance strengthen who that character is. Brody was a big man who was an ass kicker. He would pass on opponents and programs, so he didn’t lose his core as a character.
The name was known by reputation through word of mouth and wrestling magazines. When you had the chance to see Brody in a match, you knew what you were in for. It was going to be hard-hitting, wild, and a lot of work for the referee to maintain order. Much of his reputation came from Japan and Puerto Rico, but wrestled in most continental US territories as well. Never the territory’s World Heavyweight Champion, it did not take away from his reputation as a main event wrestler who could have been. He chose the path that fit his vision.
Terry Funk
We got the chance to see an older Terry Funk in those years of national expansion. As a tag team with his brother in the early WrestleMania years, or a challenger one last time against Ric Flair, his ECW run, and Chainsaw Charlie, we saw a legend in his later years still giving his body and wisdom.
What was impressive in those runs was his psychology and how he approached each of those chapters differently. That was why Terry was a legend. He could work a body part and have a great traditional match. He could go out and brawl, use his fists, swing weapons, or wre3stle in environments outside of the ring. If the wrestler was fast-paced, Terry was a base. If the opponent outsized him, he could play undersized and sympathetic. If the sympathy was supposed to go the opponent, he knew how to make the crowd turn. He knew how to draw the best out of any opponent in any style match, and had a promo game that could rile up any opponent. He could literally do it all.
Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes’s name will always live on due to his own greatness, but also with his son, Cody Rhodes, rising to an elite level saved for few in the wrestling business. Dusty achieved so much with a body type that was not meant for the main event. Defying expectations of what the audience would anticipate, he would move with his “belly a little big, his hiney a little big” and win multiple world championships.
Then you have his creativity. His promos are legendary, and literally are taught in promo classes; one of his enduring legacies is teaching promos to trainees. Then you have his match ideas. Not all were winners, but some ideas, like War Games, are still used prominently today in multiple companies. He was also a finish guy. He’s most known for “The Dusty Finish,” where the babyface appears to win for the live crowd pop, just to be overturned. A true innovator in the world of pro wrestling.
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Nick Bockwinkle
It’s hard to top a Nick Bockwinkle promo. He was smarter than the audience who came to see the wrestling card he was on. His arrogance was only matched by his ability to back it up. The personification of a heel world champion, he was a top level athlete, but he wasn’t above cheating to make it easier on himself.
He was paired with Bobby Heenan, not because he needed a manager, but because the two of them together made for an even better pairing. Unstoppable in strategy, unmatched in verbal battle, there is so much to be learned from when there is a snobby elite heel on a roster.
Jerry Lawler
This man did it all in wrestling. Before he was a horny color analyst next to Jim Ross, he had drawn sold out houses for years to a smaller regional, but loyal audience. He was at times the hero, other times a villain. A perennial champion and challenger who was known throughout Tennessee as The King of Memphis. His matches and promos sold out the buildings, but he wasn’t above cheating also booking the shows, and owned part of the territory business.
One of the things that should be studied was Lawler’s working punch. They looked legitimate, yet rarely left a mark on his opponent. Next would be how he got so much out of a green opponent. Often in Memphis, it was a rookie monster heel, learning the ropes in a territory, and Lawler was great at having that match with any opponent and carrying the load for both.
(Griffin is a lifelong fan of wrestling, superheroes, and rebellious music of all forms. He is the owner of Nerdstalgia, and you can shop online, learn about visiting the store in Colorado Springs, or catch him at a comic con in the Rocky Mountain area by going to http://nerdstalgia.shop.)
