10 Most Influential Wrestlers Ever
1. Gorgeous George
At 5 foot 9 inches tall, George Raymond Wagner didn't cut the statuesque figure that Hogan would, some twenty years after his death, and it's unlikely that he made the same kind of money. Nonetheless, I'd rate Gorgeous George as the single most influential professional wrestler in history because much of what we see as pro wrestling gimmickry and character today was innovated and/or popularised by him, seventy-five years ago. Not only that: Gorgeous George singlehandedly invented the concept of the professional wrestler as television star, and was instrumental in wrestling becoming a televisual staple.
It was in the late 1930s that Wagner began to see how a good gimmick could draw a crowd: he legitimately married his wife Betty in the ring at a show in Eugene, Oregon, and the stunt sold so many tickets that the couple did it again and again, and again, reenacting the wedding at venues across the length and breadth of the USA.
Wagner was a good wrestler - certainly better than many on the circuit, and good enough that the legendary Lou Thesz had nothing but compliments for him - but by 1940 he was twenty-five, and hardly setting the world on fire. That's when he found his gift for drawing heat.
Stories vary as to the inspiration for the change. Some say he was struck by an article on an Ohio wrestler, Wilbur Finran, who came to the ring dressed as royalty - Lord Patrick Lansdowne - accompanied by two valets. Some say that he drew heat by accident when taking too long carefully folding a new, rather expensive ring robe, and decided to exploit it. Whatever the case, he would rename himself Gorgeous George, aka The Human Orchid, aka The Toast Of The Coast, and begin wearing stunning capes to the ring from around 1941 onwards, infuriating the crowd with over-the-top, effeminate mannerisms, curls in his long platinum blonde hair.
Hed insist on his valets spraying the ring with perfume before hed even enter, and when he did make an appearance (to the tune of Pomp And Circumstance) his entrance would often take as long as the eventual match as he daintily crept to ringside along a red carpet and under a purple follow-spot, rose petals scattered at his feet. His hair was secured by a gilded hairnet and far too many gold-plated bobby pins, all of which hed carefully remove before indicating that he was ready to start the match. Its all de rigueur now, but back then such an entrance was unheard of: most wrestling villains were brutish thugs with poor personal grooming.
Gorgeous George was a new thing entirely, and crowds hated him, turning out in droves to see whether his opponent would get to take him down a peg or three. He was the wrestling worlds' first proper heel, as we understand it today: completely shameless when it came to looking foolish or appearing to be weak or cowardly. One catchphrase was Get your filthy hands off me!, and he would cheat whenever and wherever he could, inspiring another: Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat. And Wagner wasn't just a consummate showman: he was the first true genius at working a crowd.
Gorgeous George became a national icon and the most famous wrestler of his time, at the advent of television, through being able to draw and manipulate heat to such a degree that that elaborate, infuriating entrance would instantly set the crowd off like fireworks had gone off under their seats. The new television networks needed good but cheap content, and (not for the last time) professional wrestling was that content, becoming the first programming on television to draw a profit and Gorgeous George was at the forefront of it all. His appearance, hissy fits and hysterical attitude incensed television viewers just as much as it did live audiences. He became a national celebrity, on par with Bob Hope, who quickly became a good friend. And the professional wrestling industry was never the same again.
Gorgeous George helped establish television as the second home of pro wrestling, and innovated the theatrics and character building that would keep the business fresh and keep audiences interested throughout the new era of home entertainment. The success of wrestling on television, with George at the forefront, paved the way for all the TV wrestling we know of today. Its said that people bought television receivers just to watch the programming that Gorgeous George headlined, and his celebrity status was such that stars from other media took note: both James Brown and Muhammad Ali were influenced by Wagner, and by the incredibly ability he had with the crowd.
American professional wrestling owes such a debt to Gorgeous George that there's no other name that belongs at the top of his list: there would be no Hulk Hogan, and probably no WWE as we know it, without Gorgeous George.