10 Wrestlers You Were Too Embarrassed To Admit You Loved

7. Yokozuna

Tafka Goldust
WWE.com

WWE recently uploaded a 1993 pre-Survivor Series special in which Yokozuna defends his World Heavyweight Championship against Bret Hart, and it's required viewing for anybody that wants to gain an understanding of exactly what Vince McMahon believed he had at the time.

Yoko started life at a kayfabe 505lbs in 1992 and was allegedly over 700 by the time he wrestled for WWE on television for the final time in 1996, but he almost never let his gargantuan size slow him down.

The man runs - literally runs - across the ring for one of his set-up moves ahead of the believably-devastating Banzai Drop, and in the aforementioned clash with 'The Hitman' leaps back into the ring to avoid the count-out with all the vim and vigor of a New Japan babyface at 19. Ultimate Warrior, Batista and others half his size (and theoretically in better shape) got blown up by less.

The commentators always put over his immense skill as well as size, but wrestling announcers aren't always the most trustworthy. Who even cares if Big Show's fist was as big as a typewriter, even when it blatantly wasn't? Everything they said about Yokozuna's phenomenal athleticism was astonishingly true, even if his matches were bogged down by required rest spots.

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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