10 Greatest Wrestling Brawlers Of All Time

Not only did Stan "I Will Straight-Up Decapitate You" Hansen basically create the gimmick of the violent cowboy with a perpetual axe to grind, he also paved the way for guys with less-than-lean physiques to be taken seriously in a business that all too often favored six-packs and gigantic biceps.

With a beer belly spilling over his black trunks, Hansen was all business in the ring. Having no use for flashy finishing moves or choreographed taunts, he pulverized opponents with a stiff, bare bones move set that was surely cultivated in dive bars all across the country.

Unfortunately, Hansen's physicality wasn't usually a work, with the rough-and-tumble cowboy legitimately hurting the guys who were in the ring with him. In 1976, Hansen broke Bruno Sammartino's neck with a barbaric lariat followed by a botched powerslam. In 1990, with his own eyesight being a little worse for wear, he misjudged a sturdy right hand to Vader's face and ended up knocking the big guy's eye right out its socket.

But Hansen will always have a place in Best Brawler Ever discussions based on his ability to get the job done, and entertain without having to resort to the constant use of foreign objects.