Famous Professional Wrestlers Who Were Amateur Wrestlers

"Nature Boy" Ric Flair


Ric Flair has said two different statements that totally contradict one another in recent years during interviews.  The first statement was that amateur wrestlers rarely, if ever it in the professional wrestling business.   The second was that he felt that he and Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat were two of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.   They are. They were also both amateur wrestlers.    Some websites indicate that Flair grew up in Minnesota and wrestled there until  he transferred to high school in Wisconsin where he won a state championship in 1966 and 1968. Speaking with historians and doing some research myself, I have yet to ever confirm this.   However, what I do know is true, is that Flair wrestled in Minnesota for Golden Valley High School.   One of his opponents was Robert Remus, who we know better as Sgt. Slaughter.

Sgt. Slaughter

Robert Remus aka "Sgt. Slaughter" wrestled for Eden Prarie High School in Minnesota where he wrestled and defeated Ric Flair.   According to Remus, he pinned Flair.

Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat

Richard Blood aka Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat was a three time state qualifier during his high school days, qualifying twice for the New York State championships and once for the Florida State championships.  

Jack and Jerry Brisco

The Brisco Brothers are perhaps the most successful brother tag team in professional wrestling history, depending on who you ask. Long before they became stars in the ring, they were stars on the mat.   Jerry took second place two years in a row at the Oklahoma State championships and both he and Jack went on to wrestle for Oklahoma State.  Jack won an NCAA Division I title in 1965.

The Steiner Brothers

Rob (Rick) and Scott Rechsteiner are arguably the most success brother tag team of all time winning tag team championships in both WWE and WCW.   Before they stepped into the squared circle, they were both standout amateur wrestlers at the University of Michigan.   Rick to this day, holds the fastest pin records for the Wolverines at 14 and 15 seconds.  He placed 2nd at the BIG 10 championships in 1983 and qualified for the NCAA tournament.  Scott, was a four time NCAA qualifier placing 5th-2nd-2nd-2nd at the BIG 10 championships.   He was an All American in 1986 with a 6th place finish at the NCAA championships.

The Hart Brothers

Bret and Owen Hart are two of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time and both were also standout freestyle wrestlers in Canada during high school as well.   All of the Hart brothers attended East Manning High School in Calgary, where Bret won the City Championships (equivalency to a conference title here in the United States) his sophomore and senior seasons.  He also placed at the Canadian Provincials (State championships here in the United States) as well.   He wrestled for one year at Mount Royal while in college.    Owen was also a standout amateur wrestler, who also placed at the Canadian Provincials.   Their older brother Keith, wrestled at the University of Saskatchewan.  When people say that the Hart family was a wrestling family, they meant it in every way that it can be meant, both professionally and amateur.   To this day Bret is very complimentary towards amateur wrestling and says that he feels that wrestling freestyle in high school helped him tremendously for a career in professional wrestling.   He helped to set up and continues to help sponsor the Stu Hart memorial high school freestyle tournament in Canada every year.

Jack Swagger

Joel Hager aka "Jack Swagger" was a standout amateur wrestler in both high school and college.  His sophomore year of high school he finished 2nd in the state and then won the state title as a junior.  He did not wrestle his senior year due to an injury.   In College, he had plans to only play football but was talked into joining the wrestling team as a sophomore.  He became a two time NCAA qualifier and placed 7th at the 2006 NCAA tournament becoming an All American.

Dolph Ziggler

Nick Nemeth aka "Dolph Ziggler" was a standout high school and college wrestler.   A multiple time state champion for St. Edwards High in Ohio, he holds the school record for the most amount of pins with 82.  He went on to wrestle for Kent State University where he was a three time MidAmerican Conference Champion.

Bob Backlund

After finishing 2nd at the Minnesota high school state championships for Princeton High as a senior he went on to wrestle for Waldorf Community college in Iowa where he took 3rd as a freshman and 2nd as a sophomore at the NJCAA championships.   He then transferred to North Dakota State where he won a NCAA Division II title as a junior and placed 5th as a senior.   Backlund has always stayed involved in amateur wrestling and to this day coaches high school wrestling.  

Marty Jannetty

Marty Jannetty was a three time Georgia State qualifier while in high school and then went on to wrestle for Chattahoochee Valley Community college where he was a two time NJCAA qualifier.  He then transferred to Auburn University where he had plans of walking onto the wrestling team.  Unfortunately for him, the school dropped its wrestling program the same year. 

Maxx Payne

Maxx Payne/Man Mountain Rock aka Darryl Peterson was a successful amateur wrestler.  After wrestling in high school and junior college,  Peterson went on to wrestle for Iowa State University.  He took 5th at the 1985 NCAA championships, where he also won the Gorriaran award for the most amount of falls in the least amount of time.


"SuperSplash" Chris Taylor

Chris Taylor was a phenomenal amateur wrestler,  winning NCAA titles in 1972 and 1973 for Iowa State University and earning a bronze medal at the 1972 Olympic games.

"Jumping" Joe Scarpello

Scarpello wrestled in high school in Nebraska and then went on to the University of Iowa where he won four BIG 10 titles and placed 1st-2nd-3rd-1st at the NCAA championships. 

Kurt Angle

Angle wrestled for Mt. Lebanon high in Pennsylvania where he was 3rd in the state as a junior and then won the state championship as a senior.   He went on to wrestle for Clarion University where he finished 2nd in the nation as a junior, winning an NCAA Division I title as a sophomore and senior.   He then went on to become the 1996 Olympic gold medalist in the HWT division.

Mr. Wrestling

Mr. Wrestling aka Tim Woodin, was a standout amateur wrestler for Michigan State University where he was a two time BIG 10 champion and two time NCAA Division I runner up.

Jim Duggan

Duggan wrestled for Glen Falls High School where he won a New York State championship.

Mike Rotunda

Mike Rotunda aka IRS/Michael Walstreet/Mike Rotundo was a standout amateur wrestler at Syracuse University in New York where he won the 1981 EIWA conference championship.

Gorilla Monsoon

Robert "Gino" Marella wrestled for Ithaca College where he was the 1959 NCAA Division I runner up at the Super HWT division.  Always a big support of amateur wrestling, he spoke very highly of it on many occasions.  He also helped donate a lot of the money he made in professional wrestling to the wrestling program at Ithaca.


Russ Haas

The late Russ Haas wrestled for Seton Hall university.

Mick Foley

Mick Foley aka Mankind/Cactus Jack/Dude Love wrestled in high school for Ward Melville High in New York. 

Baron Von Rashke

Jim Rashke was a BIG XII champion for the University of Nebraska.

Dan "the Beast" Severn

Dan Severn, who also made a name for himself in MMA, was a successful amateur wrestler long before he ever stepped into the octagon or the professional wrestling ring.   He was a multiple time conference champion and a two time All American for Arizona State. 

Dr. Death

Dr. Death Steve Williams was one of the best wrestlers that the University of Oklahoma has ever had placing 6th-5th-3rd-2nd at the NCAA championships.  


Fritz Von Erich

Jack Adkisson never had much of an opportunity to wrestle in junior high or high school, because the state of Texas during the time he was growing up didn't have offer much, if any amateur wrestling at all.   However, upon joining a local YMCA, a coach there started a wrestling program and would drive Jack and the other kids out for the team to Oklahoma and Louisiana for competition.   Jack said that learning amateur wrestling is what helped him to become so successful in amateur wrestling.  He tried on many occasions to get amateur wrestling into Texas and has been quoted on more than one occasion that he wished that his sons would have had a chance to do amateur wrestling but that it just wasn't available to them at the time they were in high school.

Shawn Stasiak

Shawn Stasiak aka Shawn Stipich was a two time NCAA qualifier for Boise State placing 2nd two years in row at the PAC-10 championships.

Verne Gagne

Verne Gagne was a Minnesota state champion in high school and a two time NCAA champion in college for the University of Minnesota.