2. Mick Foley
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez5YQUWPP7Y Trained by the legendary Dominic DeNucci, Mick Foley was another case of a wrestler becoming successful without possessing the bodybuilder-like physique that has become stereotypical of professional wrestlers. Debuting in 1983, Foley had been traveling from Cortland, New York to Freedom, Pennsylvania (just outside of Pittsburgh) to train with DeNucci and work his independent cards. Using the names Nick Foley and Jack Foley, the future Hardcore Legend became a jobber on WWF television in the late 1980s. In one infamous match, Foley teamed with veteran Les Thornton to challenge the British Bulldogs, the Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith. Before the match, Foley had asked the Bulldogs if he could hit one of them with an elbow he was particularly fond of and Davey Boy promised they would work it in. Once the match started, however, the Bulldogs laid a beating on Foley that Cactus would not forget for a long time. Mick did hit his elbow that he mentioned but it was immediately no-sold and Dynamite Kid hit Foley with a clothesline that was so stiff that it dislocated Mick's jaw. Foley was unable to eat solid food for weeks and decided that it might be time to strike out on his own before the Bulldogs put him in the hospital. Of course, Foley went on to become a multiple time world champion and a WWE Hall of Famer. It was a legendary career that came from a college kid driving hundreds of miles to a small gym in western Pennsylvania.