10 Non-Wrestlers Who Completely Changed Wrestling History
9. Andy Kaufman
Long before Brian Pillman was wrestlings loose cannon, Andy Kaufman was using that persona to great effect in Hollywood. The Taxi star was a man ahead of his time; someone who loathed the term comedian yet still made people laugh through his elaborate pranks and acts. Although his the prime of his career lasted less than a decade, he left an indelible mark on the industry and influenced many who came in his wake. Kaufman was inspired by the carny business of pro wrestling and had added a bit in his act where he would wrestle women, proclaiming himself the inter-gender champion of the world, even going so far as to offer a $1,000 bounty to any female who could best him in a match. An attempt at bringing his act to the WWE was met with disinterest so Bill Apter introduced Andy to mutual friend and wrestling legend Jerry The King Lawler. The angle between the two was one of the most successful to ever hit Lawlers home territory of Memphis and brought a level of mainstream attention unseen by any promotion outside of WWE, including a still-discussed appearance on David Letterman where Lawler slapped the fire out of Kaufman. For his part, Andy went out of his way to draw heat and make money for the company, and promoter Jerry Jarrett said he sent main event-level checks to Kaufman for two years and he never cashed any of them. Today we get angles involving Stephen Amell or Snookie quite frequently, but in the early 1980s when this took place, it was huge for the business and especially Lawlers career, helping to solidify his legend in Memphis.
Brad Hamilton is a writer, musician and marketer/social media manager from Atlanta, Georgia. He's an undefeated freestyle rap battle champion, spends too little time being productive and defines himself as the literary version of Brock Lesnar.
