During the 1990s, the face of American wrestling began to change. As men like Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels became superstars, more of a premium was placed on talent and athleticism, whereas previously size and spectacle were the orders of the day. As such, smaller yet talented men like Chris Benoit, Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, and others were able to break out in the U.S. pro wrestling scene. One of the most adroit superstars of the era was Dean Malenko, who was trained by his father, Boris. Malenko was a journeyman for some time, but in ECW, he finally got noticed. He formed a successful tag team with Benoit and feuded with Guerrero before jumping to WCW, where subsequent rivalries with Guerrero and Chris Jericho saw Malenko become one of the most popular midcarders in the company. Malenko was alongside Benoit, Guerrero, and Perry Saturn when the four jumped to WWE, and though he finished up his in-ring career not long afterward, he's spent the past 14 years as a well-respected road agent/producer for the company.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
