10 Wrestlers Who Go Back Further Than You Think

7. Ivar

Adam Pearce
WWE

Local talent Todd Smith looks like every bit the hopeful professional wrestler in this mugshot from his one of his early televised WWE defeats. He does not resemble a future member of tag team called War Machine or somebody that might get selected to be a Viking/War Raider.

Wrestling as Handsome Johnny just about everywhere he could get booked at the time, he'd also taken on the name "Todd Hanson", which marked the first reference to the gimmick that would eventually find him his pro wrestling fortune.

Dropping this 2006 SmackDown match against Sylvester Terkay, he also fell to Doug Basham on Velocity months earlier with the same clean cut gimmick. It was obviously a long way from what WWE wanted at the time at least, though they'd be far more appreciative of his talent - and a vastly different look - when Ivar and partner Erik made waves everywhere but Stamford in the decade that followed.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett