7. Lou Thesz
Lou Thesz was a prodigiously gifted athlete, as well as a legitimately accomplished shoot wrestler and the second (or is that third?) ever NWA World Heavyweight Champion. He also holds the distinction of being pro wrestlings first true television superstar. Thesz was trained by the legendary Strangler Lewis and, over the course of a remarkable career, innovated a ludicrous amount of wrestling moves (including, but by no means limited to, The German Suplex, The STF, The Lou Thesz Press and The Powerbomb). In his day, Thesz exerted an enormous amount of influence on the business as a whole (almost as much as his mentor Ed Lewis, in fact). He ended his distinguished wrestling career as a six-time World Champion (four NWA titles and two AWA titles) and spent more than a decade as the undisputed champion of the world. ...So, would he do as well in todays WWE? Whilst Thesz would definitely get a spot on the WWE roster of 2014, one gets the feeling that WWE would struggle to market him to the younger generation. Without an especially marketable look, or a limitless stream of catchphrases, it seems unlikely that todays WWE would push Thesz into a top spot. In addition, many of Lou Theszs greatest matches were slow burning, scientific contests that took a very long time to reach their crescendo. Todays WWE shows routinely offer five-minute matches that are little more than glorified exhibitions - and Thesz would not be well suited for contests like that. Sadly, although the company would definitely employ him, we must conclude that a 2014-era Thesz would only get to the top of WWE if he was first an MMA Champion (something he could definitely have become). In truth, Thesz would probably be more inclined towards MMA than todays wrestling anyway. Hed probably be a multi-time UFC Champ instead...