10 people who should be in the WWE Hall of Fame

Ivan Koloff

The Russian Bear was the original 'Anti-American' heel back in the 1970s and 1980s.

To those fans who started watching professional wrestling in the 1980s and who probably remember Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant the most, then we're all forgetting one of the first true heels in the WWWF.

During the Cold War between the US and the USSR, the easiest way to get heat was to have a wrestler from Russia or the USSR oppose any American wrestler.

Since WWWF tried to capitalize on this, Ivan Koloff was pushed as 'the Russian Bear' and did the unthinkable in 1971 - he defeated the first superstar of the WWWF, Bruno Sammartino - for the WWWF Championship.

Although he only held the title for 21 days and was a 'transitional champion' to get the title from Sammartino to Pedro Morales, the fact that he was the man picked to take the title from Sammartino was huge.

Champions often had long reigns back then, and especially the face ones. When Koloff defeated Sammartino, he ended a reign of over seven years.

Pulling off the act must have been difficult during those tumultuous times for both sides of the Cold War. He was also an influential act in NWA/Crockett Promotions during the 1980s.

If Hillbilly Jim is in the HOF and he never did anything of note, then Koloff is certainly more than deserving.