PASSING THE TORCH: Olympians Who Made The Jump To Professional Wrestling

Now that the Olympics are almost over (and too bad, too - where else am I going to find 75 hours of swimming on the tube?), many Olympians need to consider what they will do next. Some will turn pro. Some will go on the lecture circuit. Some will transition into the corporate world. But only a special few will take that truly extraordinary leap-and become professional wrestlers. Below are five athletes who traded their Olympic rings for wrestling rings, by competing in the grappling big leagues, Vince McMahon's World Wrestling Entertainment. Before we get down and dirty, though, a few qualifications: --Dan "The Beast" Severn-- former Ultimate Fighting Champion who had a proverbial cup of coffee with WWE back in 1998-- never competed in any Olympic Games; however, he reportedly did serve as an alternate for two Olympic wrestling teams. -- Todd Okerlund, son of easily-agitated former commentator "Mean" Gene Okerlund, competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics for the U.S. Hockey Team; however, since he's never actually been involved in wrestling, I didn't want to include him on the list. -- Willem Ruska of Holland, a two-time gold medalist in judo, apparently went into pro-wrestling in the late 70's. Unfortunately, except for one fight he had with Japanese legend Antonio Inoki in February 1976 (Ruksa lost), I know nothing about the man. -- Supposedly, the 400-plus pound amateur wrestler Chris Taylor, "famous for being the heaviest Olympian to have competed in any event, ever, "turned pro at some point after competing in the 1972 Olympics. I have no information on this guy, either, except that he died in 1979. --Wacky bit of trivia: Back in 1984, a five-year-old boy named Joe Seannoa performed a Polynesian dance as part of the Opening Ceremonies of the Los Angeles Olympics. That boy now wrestles in Total Non-Stop Action (TNA) Wrestling a "wait for it" Samoa Joe. -- Jorge Gonzalez, the 7'6" lug who wrestled in the early 1990s as El Gigante and the Giant Gonzalez, did not appear at the 1988 Olympics, despite what some sources report. While he was a member of the Argentina national basketball team, his team didn't qualify for the Olympics. -- For years now, former WWE champion and current Youtube sensation the Iron Sheik (real name: Khosrow Vaziri) claimed he won a gold medal at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico; however, many online sources confirm that this is just not true. -- In 1998, the 28-year-old, 235-pound Chip Minton, who wrestled briefly in World Championship Wrestling under the moniker "World Class," served on the U.S. Olympic bobsledding team. And now for the handful of Olympians who have actually gained fame/ infamy after jumping to pro-wrestling-- and what an impressive group of hooligans it is! (After the list, I'll give my take as to which among them should win the gold, silver, and bronze.) ** 1972 OLYMPICS: MUNICH ** -- KEN PATERA-- · In a Nutshell: Big white guy with a bleach-blond afro who gained fame in 70s and 80s as the "World's Strongest Man" · Olympic Moment: Won a bronze medal as a superheavyweight lifter · Famous For: Being the first American to raise 500 pounds over his head in a competition; beating his in-ring opponents with his swinging neckbreaker; engaging in a memorable feud with his former manager Bobby Heenan in 1987. · Infamous For: Going to jail for eighteen months, the result of a wild night back in 1985, when Patera and Mr. Saito (Patera's literal and figurative partner-in-crime) allegedly threw a 30-pound boulder through the window of a McDonald's and then assaulted the female cops who came to arrest them. · Biggest Load of Crap: Patera and Saito trying to convince the jury they acted in self-defense. · Oddest Adoption of a Real-Life Event into a Wrestling Gimmick: In 1987, WWE not only brought back Patera but actually acknowledged criminal transgressions. In fact, they packaged him as a good guy, "a rehabilitated citizen with a new afro (brown, not bleach-blond) to prove it. · Did It Work?: Unfortunately, Patera's post-jail push fizzled out by late 1988; he hasn't been seen on national television since. ** 1976 OLYMPICS: MONTREAL ** -- BAD NEWS BROWN -- · In a Nutshell: Think an African-American Stone Cold Steve Austin · Real Name: Allen Coage · Olympic Moment: Won a gold medal in judo · Famous For: Being such a bad guy that even other bad guys didn't like him; winning the WrestleMania IV Battle Royal; getting on the mic before his matches and calling the fans "beerbelly sharecroppers" (whatever that means) · Nifty Finishing Move: His cool, judo-like "ghetto blaster" kick to the back of the head · WWE Career Highlights: Feuds with Hulk Hogan, Macho Man Randy Savage, and Bret Hart. · WWE Career Lowlights: Feud with Roddy Piper (which culminated in a match at WrestleMania VI, for which Roddy painted half of his body black to prove... something); his "Harlem Sewer Rat" match with Jake "The Snake" Roberts at SummerSlam 1990, which was inexplicably missing Harlem sewer rats. · Post-WWE Career: Left WWE in late 1990; wrestled independently before knee problems hastened his retirement in 1998. · Sad News for Bad News: Died of a heart attack on March 6, 2007. · Bad News for Loiterers: Last few years of his life, worked as a security guard at a mall in Alberta, Canada. -- BRAD RHEINGANS -- · In a Nutshell: That wrestler you may have kind of heard about, but you have no idea what he's ever done · Olympic Moment: Placed fourth in Greco-Roman wrestling in the 1976 Olympicsm "which made him, at the time, the highest American to ever place in that event; also, served as assistant wrestling coach at Los Angeles Games in 1984. · Geopolitical Bummer: Won the Olympic trials in 1980, but the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Games (in Moscow) dashed his Olympic hopes · Blink, or You'll Miss Him: Only competed for a short time in WWE during mid-80s; spent majority of his career in the long-extinct American Wrestling Association (AWA). · Milking Olympic Past: In late-80s, won AWA tag-titles with fellow former Olympian Ken Patera, wrestling as (believe it or not) "The Olympians" · Legacy: Trained many past, present, and future WWE Superstars, including the Nasty Boys, Brock Lesnar, Vader, Mr. Kennedy, JBL, and Joe Hennig (son of the late "Mr. Perfect" Curt Hennig). ** 1996 OLYMPICS: ATLANTA ** -- MARK HENRY -- · In a Nutshell: His best move is still the bearhug-- what more do you need to know? · Former Nicknames: World Strongest Champ; Sexual Chocolate · Birthdate: June 12, 1971 · Hometown: Slisbee, Texas · Olympic Moment: Competed in 1996 Olympics, but didn't bring home a medal · Famous For: Setting three world records in 1996: a 953.3-pound lift in the squat; 903.5 pounds in the dead lift; and a total of 2,239 pounds in the squat, deadlift, and benchpress combined · Bet You Didn't Know That...: The 400-pound lumbering oaf could dunk a basketball at one point. · Calculated Risk: Despite Henry's lack of experience, WWE signed him to a huge, ten-year, multimillion-dollar contract in 1996. Back then, Vince McMahon and Co. were hoping Henry would be their next big thing. Twelve years later, they're still hoping. · WWE Career Highlights: Becoming ECW Champ; fighting Undertaker at a WrestleMania; joining the Nation of Domination · WWE Career Lowlights: Bizarre, damaging storylines from the 1990s that depicted Henry as a nymphomaniac. During this time, Henry's character had a fling with a transvestite named Sammi and a love affair with the 80-year-old Mae Young, who eventually gave birth to a plastic hand. (Don't ask.) -- KURT ANGLE -- · In a Nutshell: Consistent main eventer for both WWE and TNA · Olympic Moment: Snagging the gold in freestyle wrestling"and with a broken neck, no less. · Not Bad for a Rookie: During his first year on WWE television (1999-2000), won the Intercontinental, European, and WWE Championships; also won the 2000 King of the Ring tournament, and had an on-camera make-out session with Vince McMahon's daughter, Stephanie. No one "not Steve Austin, not Rock, not John Cena "has had that kind of success right out of the gate. · Is Kurt Hurt?: On five separate occasions, Angle has broken vertebrae in his neck yikes! · Accolades: Winning the NCAA Heavyweight Title, becoming the smallest man (at 196) to ever accomplish such a feat; winning pretty much every belt in WWE, including the World Title on six occasions; basically, being one of the greatest and most celebrated performers ever in WWE history. · That Is, Until: He left WWE in 1996 and almost immediately signed with TNA; now, WWE never mentions him. · The World Will Never Know: Why he left WWE in 2006. Angle said he asked for his release because WWE worked him too hard and didn't give him enough time off to heal his many nagging injuries; meanwhile, sources in WWE have said they wanted Angle to get off prescription painkillers. At the time of his WWE departure, wwe.com only said they were granting Angle his release for "personal reasons." · WWE to TNA, Good Move?: Tough to say. Even when he's not the champion, Angle's definitely the number one guy in TNA but it's sort of a "big fish/ little pond" syndrome. · Family Affair: Kurt's wife Karen now does an interview segment for TNA, called "Karen's Angle." AWARDS CEREMONY To whom would I award the bronze, silver, and gold medals for outstanding performance in the field of professional wrestling? Here are my final picks: BRONZE: Mark Henry Don't get me wrong: he's absolutely terrible. But the fact that he still has a job after twelve years, despite showing little to no discernible improvement along the way, is sort of a remarkable feat in itself, isn't it? Plus, I give him points for writing a poignant poetic eulogy for Owen Hart, who died in the ring back in May 1999. SILVER: Bad News Brown. I always had a soft spot for ol' Bad News. The ghetto blaster was a great move, and I always got a kick out of the way he abandoned his opponents at every Survivor Series pay-per-view. Plus, in terms of "Attitude," he was a good ten years before his time. GOLD: Kurt Angle No-brainer on this one. No Olympian made the transition to the mat wars more seamlessly than Kurt. Great in the ring, magic on the mic, Angle in his prime was the consummate entertainer. And yet, I give him this award with two caveats: (1) During his first few years in professional wrestling, he played to his comedic strengths: calling himself "the most celebrated REAL athlete" in WWE history; preaching about his "three I's" (intensity, integrity, and intelligence); punctuating his promos with his catchphrase, "It's true. It's true." Over time, though, his character got meaner, nastier�'¢â‚¬"and, in my opinion, less entertaining. I guess I just prefer the "clueless-braggart-doofus" persona over the "Wrestling Machine" one. (2) I'm sorry, but seeing Angle nowadays always makes me uncomfortable. Why hasn't this guy hung up his boots? He has broken his neck five times, for crying out loud! One more bad bump could turn him into a paraplegic�'¢â‚¬"it's true, it's true. ONE LAST THING Before signing off, I'd like to offer some final predictions on which members of the 2008 Olympic crop could someday make the jump to the hallowed squared circle: Ara Abrahamian: He's the Swedish wrestler who was stripped of his bronze medal after he threw it on the ground in disgust; also, during a match, he had to be restrained from going after an official. The guy's a natural for WWE! Misty-May Treanor and Kerri Walsh: Watch how forcefully they spike that volleyball; then imagine if they did that to someone's head. Plus, Kerri's got that "menacing-black-bandage-on-her-shoulder"-thing going for her. Dzhakhon Kurbanov "He's a light heavyweight boxer from Tajikistan who was disqualified for allegedly biting his opponent on the shoulder. Talk about hardcore! Usain "Lightning" Bolt: Yes, he's got speed (he won gold in the men's 200 meters), but more importantly, he's got a great nickname. Milo Cavic: Call him The Spoiler. He's the guy who almost beat Michael Phelps in the seventh race, but he coasted at the end and lost by one-hundredth of a second. You don't think he's got some aggression he wants to work out?"