1. Gorgeous George
During what was dubbed the "First Golden Age Of Professional Wrestling", there was no bigger star and attraction than Gorgeous George. His character was flashy and over-the-top, which really stood out back in the more serious era. Wearing extravagant capes and robes to the ring was something that he didn't invent, but he took the idea to another level and received attention for it from wrestling fans and from the burgeoning wrestling media. His behavior was viewed by many at the time as "effeminate", and this made him a despised heel, as men all across the country wanted to see him get what they felt was coming to him. After dying his hair platinum blonde, he would come to the ring to the sounds of "Pomp and Circumstance" as a purple spotlight followed him, becoming the first wrestler to have an entrance theme. He had his own red carpet that he would walk on, as his personal assistants would throw rose petals at his feet and would carry a large mirror for him to admire himself in. He wouldn't even allow referees to touch him and check for foreign objects until they had been sprayed with "disinfectant". All of it might not sound too crazy in 2014, but in the early-1940s, he might as well have been coming to the ring inside of a UFO. "Win if you can, lose if you must, but always cheat" became his motto, and cheat he did. At a time when heels and faces were vaguely defined, George was a clear heel, cheating at every possible turn. The term "chickenshit heel" is used today to describe a lot of heels and their style, but George was the first one that wrestling had ever seen. His showmanship was unmatched, and everyone had to see his act, whether in person or in the early stages of wrestling on television. With television, George became one of the biggest celebrities in the world, and not just in wrestling. His flamboyance was tailor-made for television, and it showed. In the 1950s, George was making over $100,000 a year, which made him the highest-paid athlete in the world. He single-handedly changed the sport, taking it from 100% in-ring performance to what we see today, with color, characters, and theatrics. His influence stretched far beyond the world of wrestling. James Brown and Muhammad Ali are both on-record in saying that they modeled their "gimmicks" after George. Bob Dylan said that a meeting with George was "all the recognition and encouragement I would need for years". Elton John, Liberace, and Little Richard have all "borrowed" from the Gorgeous George character with their live acts. In wrestling, people like "Superstar" Billy Graham, Buddy Rogers, and Ric Flair owe just about everything they've been to George's character. We will probably never see anything like the changes that George brought to the business again. For the heights that he reached all on his own, and for the continued influence that he has 70+ years later, he gets the top spot here.