Top 10 Wrestlers who were in the Olympics
The Winter Olympics ended earlier this week, which features some of the greatest athletes from around the world showcasing their exceptional talent. Being an Olympian is an accolade that cannot be taken lightly, nor is it something that can be scratched off your resume.
In fact, there have been multiple Olympians that decided to ply their trade in professional wrestling - and WWE in particular. The company has always looked for athletes that are a class apart, and as we see every week, they aren’t cut from the same cloth as the rest of the world.
As we celebrate the 2018 Winter Olympics, we also take a look at the top ten former Olympians, which decided to become professional wrestlers.
#10 Jumbo Tsuruta
If we rewind all the classic Japanese matches over the past three decades, we would see one name in particular having five - star matches on a consistent basis. Jumbo Tsuruta was one of the greatest Japanese professional wrestlers to grace the wrestling ring, and reached legendary status within the country.
While Jumbo did wrestle in the United States, he gained fame for his outstanding matches in Japan. However, before becoming a professional wrestler, Tsuruta won accolades as an amateur wrestler, and competed in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. The legendary grappler did not have much success, however, and was unable to notch up a victory in the Greco - Roman tournament.
Tsuruta sadly passed away in 2000 due to complications stemming from his kidney transplant, but is still remembered to this day by the Japanese faithful.