10 Wrestlers Who Succeeded Against The Odds

5. Zach Gowen

Many of the wrestlers on this list overcame a significant size deficiency to make it in WWE, but nobody can say they faced the same physical challenges as Zach Gowen. Diagnosed with cancer from a very young age, Gowen had his left leg amputated when he was just 8-years-old, but he didn’t let that get in the way of achieving his goals.

A childhood Shawn Michaels and Rey Mysterio fan, Gowen started training in 2002 and opted to work without his prosthetic leg. He gained national exposure while working for TNA in January 2003, but hit his peak by signing for WWE later that year. Initially appearing as a planted fan, he had his prosthetic limb pulled-off by Roddy Pipper, which immediately entered him in Mr. America’s ongoing battle with the Piper’s Pit host.

Gowen soon ran afoul of Vince McMahon, who ordered the scrappy grappler enter the “Kiss My Ass Club” in exchange for a WWE contract. Gowen sttacked McMahon instead, and after help from Kurt Angle and Brock Lesnar, he earned a contract by beating The Big Show.

A series of singles losses followed, before Gowen was eventually obliterated by Lesnar himself. Gowen was gradually written off television from then on and was released after suffering an injury in 2004. His run was short-lived, but the fact that he made it to WWE with such a gigantic handicap speaks volumes of his competitive willpower.

Amputation should’ve ended Gowen’s athletic aspirations: instead, it only spurred him on.