39 Best Wrestlers From 39 Different Countries

3. Ukraine: Vladimir Kozlov

british bulldog portrait
WWE.com

Birthplace: Kiev, Ukraine

Despite his Russian WWE gimmick and at times being believed to be born in Uzbekistan, Vladimir Kozlov was actually born in what is now classed as Kiev, Ukraine.

Even though he would pretty much be the Ukraine entry on this list purely by default anyway, Kozlov actually had a decent WWE run there at one point. After all, this is a performer who remained undefeated for nearly a year after making his debut in 2008, tangling with big hitters like Triple H, The Undertaker, Shawn Michaels and Jeff Hardy.

It seemed like almost the blink of an eye before Kozlov was reduced to comedic fodder alongside Santino, but this brutish Eastern European athlete certainly saw his star shine brightly, even if it wasn’t to last all that long.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.