From 1945 to 1980, Detroit had its own wrestling league, Big Time Wrestling, also known as NWA Detroit, which ranked some of the greatest names in this extremely spectacular sport. Perhaps this is also why many of the protagonists of the country’s major federations were born in this city. We have chosen to offer you our all-time top 5 and we are ready to bet, maybe on american-bets.com, that so many of you will know them very well.
5) Bruiser Brody
Frank Donald Goodish, aka Bruiser Brody, was born in Detroit on June 18, 1945. He was best known for his typically rebellious style. He became mostly popular in Japan during the period between the New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and the All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) federations. His death occurred in July 1988 in Puerto Rico by the hand of his colleague José Huertas González shortly before a match. Initially accused of murder, González was later discharged, claiming that it was a case of self-defense.
4) Rhyno
Terrance Guido Gerin, better known by the ring name of Rhyno, was born in Detroit on October 7, 1975. His career took off in the Extreme Championship Wrestling in the late 90s where he became one of its main characters. Gerin was one of the last to leave the company when they went bankrupt and was also the last ECW Heavyweight and Television Champion of the federation. Later he accepted an offer by the WWE, where he returned after two short periods in the TNA and the Ring of Honor.
3) George “The Animal” Steele
William James “Jim” Myers, best known by the ring name of George “The Animal” Steele, was born in Detroit on April 16, 1937. Myers began his career in professional wrestling in the Detroit area, but to protect his privacy, he fought in disguise under the name of The Student. He then became a WWF icon of the 80s in the role of the wild monster heel, a sort of animal beast with a green tongue that in the ring tore up and devoured the turnbuckle with his teeth. On 16 February 2017, Myers died of kidney failure at the age of 79.
2) Kevin Nash
Kevin Scott Nash was born in Detroit on July 9, 1959. He began his career in the early 90s in the World Championship Wrestling but he didn’t gain any fame. Instead, he turned into a superstar in the WWF under the pseudonym of Diesel, becoming the Federation Champion in 1994. He returned two years later to the WCW where, with Scott Hall and Hulk Hogan, he formed the original stable of the New World Order, thus becoming one of the protagonists of the most successful storyline in the history of wrestling.
1) Eric Bischoff
Eric Aaron Bischoff was born in Detroit on 27 May 1955. He has been in the ring as an athlete on very few occasions but he is still one of the most important names in the history of wrestling. Bischoff joined the WCW in 1991 as an announcer and then began to climb the hierarchies and became president in 1997. He was the one who convinced the owner, Ted Turner, to make more resources available to the federation, money he immediately spent to employ several stars from his competitor WWF such as Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage. Above all, it was his idea to create the New World Order and the incredible turn heel by Hulk Hogan, probably the most beloved babyface ever in this sport.
