Every Wrestling Rookie Of The Year: Where Are They Now?

43. 1980: Barry Windham

A massive unit and amazingly dynamic worker in his prime, Barry Windham evolved from rookie sensation to outright critical darling throughout the 1980s. His matches with Ric Flair were outstanding by the standards of the time. Both men had unreal engines in them.

His prime was shorter than most, and after the Great American Bash 1991 fiasco was never really considered a top main event player. He was more over in the main event than reductive history suggests - on the night of "We Want Flair", he actually did well to pop the crowd - but the injuries had mounted up, too. His size and style didn't mesh long-term, and he was finished as an in-ring wizard when he was saddled with the babyface (!) 'Stalker' gimmick in the WWF in 1996.

Sadly, Windham has spent much of his last few years mired in health problems.