10 Most Influential Wrestlers Ever
7. Gory Guerrero
The father of Eddie Guerrero, Gory was a huge influence on the sport in Mexico in the early days, when it was very common to bring in wrestlers from north of the border to work for Mexican promoters. While he never wore a mask, his career was established very early on south of the border, and his innovation and reputation spread both directly and in an indirect trickle-down effect worldwide.
He's considered one of the very greatest wrestlers of all time. He invented the camel clutch submission hold (named La de a Caballo at that time, before it became a staple of Middle Eastern gimmicks) and the octopus stretch, made most famous as AJ Lee's Black Widow finishing manoeuvre. He'd have some of the bloodiest matches in Mexican history in the late 40s and early 50s, and can be considered a pioneer in the judicious use of the crimson mask to sell a match to the awestruck crowd.
His influence on lucha libre cannot be overestimated: his style was characterised by virtuoso hard hitting technical ability, and became the go-to approach to wrestling for literally hundreds of luchadors after him. Generations of Mexican wrestlers owe their bread and butter to Gory Guerrero, and given lucha libres influence on Japanese and North American wrestling over the last few decades, that influence has spread far beyond Mexican and Hispanic culture.