10 Best WWE Wrestlers From Chicago

CM Punk isn't the only wrestler synonymous with Chicago: check out these Chicago legends.

By Joseph Bachman /

108 years is a very long time, and if you pay any attention to baseball, you know it had been that long since the Chicago Cubs first won the World Series - 1908 to be exact. Oddly enough, do you know what else happened in 1908? Frank Gotch defeated Georg Hackenschmidt for the World Heavyweight Championship. Where did he do this?

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Chicago.

Not to say the Chicago Cubs secretly called on the ghost of Frank Gotch to help them win a World Series, but since we’re on the subject of Chicago, to celebrate their historic win, here are the top 10 WWE wrestlers ever to come out of Chicago.

10. Fred Kohler

Who the hell is Fred Kohler, you might be asking? While not known for his wrestling career during the 1930s, this Chicago native’s place in wrestling history is rather unique.

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Kohler - real name Frederick Koch - ran a successful Chicago based promotion in the 1940s which would later see a television deal in 1949 producing a show called Wrestling From Marigold. This gained widespread popularity throughout Chicago and even helped put names like Verne Gange (who was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1947) on the map.

Kohler would continue his success, and even became NWA President in 1961 – a position he would hold for a year. In 1964, Kohler cut a deal with Vincent J. McMahon for his promotion’s talent and tapes. Kohler died in 1969, and while his name isn’t mentioned often in the annals of wrestling history, his place should surely be recognized.

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