While not every professional wrestler has the ability to actually hold their own in a fight, there is a long, storied history of decorated martial artists competing in the art form. Five legendary martial artists turned wrestlers will be included in the latest batch of WWE Hidden Gems that are coming to the WWE Network.
Here are the official descriptions (courtesy of WWE Network News):
Texas Rasslin’ 06/17/1952 – Legendary Lou
NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz puts his title on the line against the dangerous Wild Bill Longson.WWWF @ MSG 01/31/1972 – The Great Gotch
Karl Gotch makes his impact felt on U.S. soil when he teams with Rene Goulet to face The Rugged Russians at Madison Square Garden.Championship Wrestling from Florida 11/12/1974 – Oklahoma’s Favorite Son
The highly revered Danny Hodge joins forces with wild man Jos Leduc to battle the dastardly duo of Pak Song and Toru Tanaka.Stampede Wrestling 08/12/1983 – Japanese Pride
Before becoming one of Japan’s most controversial figures in MMA, Nobuhiko Takada traveled to Canada to face Athol Foley.AWA 10/18/1984 – To Catch a Model
Billy Robinson, accompanied to the ring by WWE Hall of Famer Lord Alfred Hayes, takes on Rick Martel in this contest from Canada.
These are all fantastic additions to the WWE Network, and will give viewers a great lesson in combat sports history.
