#76: Chyna

Real Name: Joan Marie Laurer
Biggest Fan: Barry M. Reardon

"The Ninth Wonder of the World" Chyna is well-known now for being an original member of the revolutionary D-Generation X stable in 1997. But Laurer was such a sought-after commodity (a 5'10", 180-pound female wrestler trained by the legendary Killer Kowalski) that she could have easily signed anywhere she wanted. She had a standing offer from WCW to become a member of the NWO, as well, in fact.

As far as superstars go, male or female, Chyna's credentials speak for themselves: A three-time Intercontinental Champion, former WWF Women's Champion, King of the Ring qualifier and the first woman to ever compete in the Royal Rumble. Any man would be happy to have as impressive a list of professional wrestling accomplishments to their credit.

Sadly, Chyna's career after her four-year run in the WWF hasn't been quite as successful, and it's been marred with personal scandal, including an arrest in 2005 for beating the crap out of her boyfriend (#100 on this list, the 1-2-3 Kid, which is probably why she ranks so much higher here than he does). But after a long hiatus, just this month she made her return to the ring as Kurt Angle's tag team partner and business associate in TNA. There may be more chapters yet to be written in this superstar career.

#77: One Man Gang

Real Name: George Gray

Other Aliases: Akeem

Biggest Fan: Joe Reardon "His grunts whenever he was hit were awesome. Eliminated Hogan from a Rumble. Made it fairly far in the WM4 tourney."

When the World Wrestling Federation found itself without a champion in 1988, the promotion organized the greatest single-day tournament in professional wrestling history. And who populated this amazing bracket at WrestleMania IV? Only fourteen of the top superstars in the business, and the One Man Gang outlasted eleven of them!

George Gray's career began in International Championship Wrestling (despite the name, it operated mostly in Kentucky), a promotion run by the aforementioned tournament's eventual winner's father, Angelo Poffo. As Crusher Broomfield, he feuded with "Macho Man" Randy Savage alongside another Savage nemesis, Ron Garvin, who was calling himself "One Man Gang" at the time. Eventually, Gray joined the WWF and took up that name, aligning himself with a new manager, Slick, at the same time. The One Man Gang destroyed opponent after opponent as he established himself as a true force in the World Wrestling Federation. He then ended the career of Superstar Billy Graham when he delivered a running splash to the legend on the concrete floor. So, it was no surprise when this 6'9", 357-pound monster was chosen for the WWF's most important tournament in history. And it was no surprise that he made it to the semi-final round before losing to his old foe, Randy Savage.

His feuding with Savage would continue. After rediscovering his African roots, Gray became known as Akeem "The African Dream", and formed a nearly-unstoppable tag team with the Big Boss Man called the Twin Towers. This duo was so formidable that they feuded with the Mega Powers for months, eventually causing that team so much internal strife that the tag team exploded in fantastic fashion.

Akeem and the Big Boss Man continued their winning ways until they famously exploded in 1990, leading to a match at WrestleMania VI and Gray's eventual departure for WCW. Once again going by the One Man Gang, a feud with El Gigante (see #99 below) and a WCW United States Championship run were the highlights of his time with that company.

Although he never again reached the heights of his WWF days, the One Man Gang remains a legendary superstar of wrestling, and you never know when the current prison guard at the Louisiana State Pen will lace up his boots again.

#78: Bruno Sammartino

Real Name: Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino

Biggest Fan: Jane Picard "Bruno Sammartino made my list for being one of the first wrestlers I enjoyed watching during my childhood with my Dad. He was a Superstar in his day and probably had a lot to do with developing people's love for wrestling which would continue for generations."

If someone were to declare that Bruno Sammartino should be the #1 Superstar of Wrestling, their argument wouldn't have one leg to stand on... it would have two stout, powerful legs just like the man who held the WWWF Heavyweight Championship for a combined 4,040 days. Sammartino's total domination in the 1960s and 1970s, and his continued relevance deep into the 1980s, is a clear starting point for any debate about who deserves to be at the top of the list. Unfortunately, as time moves along and the big Italian's nearly thirty-year career fades further into the past, many of the younger experts on our panel fail to give Bruno the credit he truly deserves.

It's hard to put into perspective the scope of Sammartino's dominance. His first title reign began on May 17, 1963 when he defeated a bewildered "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers in a mere 48 seconds. Rogers hadn't intended to drop the belt that day, and bookers let Sammartino himself notify the champion that his title run was at an end. The legendary Rogers had no choice but to comply, faced with Bruno's ultimatum that they could do it "the easy way... or the hard way." That championship belt remained around Sammartino's waist for the rest of the decade.

Sammartino was without the WWWF title for almost three years before recapturing the gold in late 1973. This time he was champion for "only" three years, four months and twenty days; the third-longest reign in WWF history. After his championship days were done, Bruno continued to wrestle for many years, engaging in feuds with Roddy Piper and "Macho Man" Randy Savage.

It's important to understand, when reflecting on the magnitude of Bruno Sammartino's accomplishments, that his lengthy title reigns were a direct result of his immense popularity in the northeast United States. The eleven years as champion cannot be pooh-poohed on the basis of it being a different era or the competition being subpar. Sammartino was the biggest draw and the most successful commodity in the industry for almost the entirety of two decades leading up to the WrestleMania revolution of the 1980s. Has any superstar ever shone so bright, for so long, as #78 on this list, Bruno Sammartino? I guess we'll have to monitor the rest of this list and see...

#79: Diamond Dallas Page & Shark Boy (tied)

Real Name (DDP): Page Joseph Falkinberg, Jr.

Biggest Fan: Joe Timmins

Real Name (Shark Boy): Dean Mathew Roll

Biggest Fan: John Rohner "He pretends to drink clam juice. He copies Stone Cold Steve Austin's special move."

Most of us saw Diamond Dallas Page for the first time at WrestleMania VI. Wait a minute, did you not realize that the man driving the pink Cadillac that transported Rhythm & Blues to the ring before debuting their song, Hunka Hunka Hunka Honky Love? Such inconspicuous gigs were the norm for DDP for much of his early career, in fact, he was mainly a manager until age 35 when WCW's Power Plant trained him to become a glorified jobber.

Speaking of glorified jobbers, a lot of you might not be too familiar with the other man slotted at #79 on our list. Shark Boy might not be a household name, but he has enjoyed a long career in the wrestling business and at only 36, he probably has quite a few more years left to go. This masked wrestler, who recently joined North American Pro Wrestling after nine years with TNA, really caught one of our expert's eyes during a period where he parodied Stone Cold Steve Austin. This gimmick proved to be very popular for Shark Boy, although an equally interesting unmasked alter ego, that of Dean Baldwin (a fourth brother to Alec Baldwin), shows that Dean Roll is far more than a one-trick pony, er, shark. Meanwhile, in the ring, Shark Boy has proven himself time and again to be worthy of his immense cult following. His tournament victory at the second annual Brian Pillman Memorial Show won him countless fans in addition to a nice trophy.

Diamond Dallas Page wasn't winning many trophies early in his WCW career, and though his stable, The Diamond Mine, was filled with future megastars in the industry, DDP knew that to fulfill his potential he needed further instruction. Page sought out a legend in the business, Jake "The Snake" Roberts. I can only assume that what ensued was very similar to Luke's training in The Empire Strikes Back, complete with Jake complaining that DDP was too old to start the training and DDP having to explain that he'd already learned so much. Anyway, from that collaboration on, Diamond Dallas Page's career exploded, much like the Death Star, but in a good way. Page went on to superstardom, tagging up with everyone from Karl Malone to Jay Leno and battling the likes of Hulk Hogan, Bret Hart and Bill Goldberg (their 1998 match at Halloween Havoc was WCW's Match of the Year).

Diamond Dallas Page and Shark Boy are two of the more unorthodox entries on our list. Though their paths to #79 are certainly different, these two superstars both prove that charisma, work ethic and desire can trump any perceived lack of in-ring ability or athleticism and still get you a spot on a list of the Top 100 Superstars of Wrestling. Right on.

#81: Paul Orndorff

Other Aliases: "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff

Biggest Fan: John Rohner

Paul Orndorff, or Mr. Wonderful as he would come to be known, took the football-to-wrestling career path. After a solid collegiate career, this talented running back was taken by the New Orleans Saints in the 1973 NFL Draft, nineteen slots ahead of two-time Pro Bowler Larry McCarren.

After his football career failed to pan out, Orndorff began wrestling in Mid-Southern Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance. He feuded with Jerry Lawler (briefly capturing one of Lawler's titles) and "The Big Cat" Ernie Ladd (who just missed the cut on this list), himself a former football standout. Orndorff would soon capture the NWA Tag Team titles with his partner, Jimmy Snuka, from the team of Baron Von Raschke and Greg "The Hammer" Valentine.

Orndorff was no stranger to wrestling gold during his career, but he might have worn even more had he not overslept and missed his shot at the Mid-South's North American championship. Instead, Jake Roberts won the belt that day. This injustice changed Paul Orndorff forever. He became angry and the crowds began to turn on him and his new, lousy attitude. Orndorff eventually captured the belt from Roberts, before losing it to Ted Dibiase, before Dibiase had made his millions.

As such a high-profile competitor in the era of wrestling before pay-per-view and weekly cable broadcasts, it is no surprise that when wrestling's popularity grew the demand for a superstar of Orndorff's caliber grew as well. The WWF signed him in 1983, and Orndorff immediately hired Rowdy Roddy Piper to be his manager. Piper, touting his new protégé as Mr. Wonderful, was a valuable ally for Orndorff throughout his WWF career. Orndorff's debut match happened the same night that Hulk Hogan won the WWF World Heavyweight Title for the first time, making that night one of the most monumental in the industry's history.

Inevitably, Mr. Wonderful and Hogan found themselves on a collision course. Although Orndorff was unable to take the Hulkster's title, their feud led them both, along with Mr. T and Rowdy Roddy Piper, to the main event at the very first WrestleMania! This was perhaps the most high profile match of Orndorff's legendary career.

In 1988, Mr. Wonderful retired from wrestling to manage his bowling alley, but his retirement didn't last forever as he went on to win the WCW Tag Team Championship with his "Pretty Wonderful" partner Paul Roma. Sadly, though, Mr. Wonderful's toughest battle began this past year when he was diagnosed with cancer. With his superstar mentality and toughness, though, there is little doubt that this Hall of Famer can take on whatever life throws at him. We wish Orndorff luck with his treatment and recovery.

#82: Ken Shamrock

Real Name: Kenneth Wayne Kilpatrick

Biggest Fan: Barry M. Reardon

It would be very easy to write paragraph upon paragraph describing Ken Shamrock's career as a fighter, but this list is about professional wrestlers, so while "The World's Most Dangerous Man" might be just that, only his wrestling superstardom comes into play here.

Ken Shamrock was already quite famous when he signed on to compete in the World Wrestling Federation. The notoriety allowed him to immediately jump into meaningful storylines with some of the company's top competitors, including Vader and the Hart Foundation. He also was tasked, within a month of arriving in the WWF, with refereeing the submission match between Bret Hart and Steve Austin at WrestleMania 13. Because if there was one thing Shamrock knew about, it was submission holds.

Shortly after capturing his first title, winning a tournament for the vacant Intercontinental Championship, the reigning King of the Ring aligned himself with the reviled owner of the WWF, Vince McMahon. As one of the key members of Vince's Corporation, he was certainly one of wrestling's biggest stars. Soon he teamed up with fellow McMahon henchman, the Big Boss Man, to win the WWF Tag Team titles, which he held concurrently with his singles belt.

After amazing feuds with Steve Blackman, Chris Jericho and Curtis Hughes, Shamrock departed the WWF to resume his mixed martial arts career. If he hadn't felt the pull of his old profession calling him back, would we be listing this master of the ankle lock as the best superstar of all time? Sadly, we will never know.