39 Best Wrestlers From 39 Different Countries

1. Wales: Adrian Street

british bulldog portrait
WWE.com

Birthplace: Brynmawr, Wales

Now many may instantly think of Mason Ryan when thinking of Welsh wrestlers, largely down to his exposure on WWE television. But there are several other more notable Welshman to have donned a pair of tights and some boots.

Orig Williams is a man known as a legend in his homeland, with him being famed for working across the globe as the villainous El Bandito. Just pipping Orig to the nod of Wales’ greatest wrestler, though, is Adrian Street.

Playing on the homophobia of the day, Street honed his craft as a truly ground-breaking effeminate villain on Britain’s famed World of Sport and across the rest of Europe. He’d eventually end up becoming a staple of Alabama’s Continental Championship Wrestling, where he’d feud and team with the likes of Austin Idol, Bob Armstrong, Rip Rogers and Bill Dundee.

It’s hard to explain just how influential and game-changing Street’s erotic, flamboyant persona was, and it’s the success of his gimmick and ring work that marks his as the greatest wrestler to come from the green, green grass of Wales.

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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.