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One of the most famous lines of all time is that 'you shouldn't judge a book by its cover'. It basically means don't judge someone or something basically on his or her appearance.
Looks can be deceiving and ripped people aren't the only ones who can be athletic. Just ask a lot of MMA fighters.
The guys who look like someone off the street often have more endurance because the jacked fighters need more oxygen to power their muscles.
In pro wrestling, we are used to big or heavier wrestlers being powerful and strong but not necessarily athletic.
A lot of pro wrestlers today, however, buck that trend.
Wrestling is at its best when there are wrestlers of all shapes, sizes and athletic ability on a roster. If they are all cookie-cutter superstars, then it will likely be boring.
The following wrestlers didn't have the conventional look of an Ultimate Warrior or even a Shawn Michaels.
They are/were pretty darn agile for their size regardless of how they might look.
#5 Bam Bam Bigelow
If you were a child of the '80s or '90s and watched pro wrestling, chances are you were familiar with Bam Bam Bigelow.
His stout frame and bald, tattooed head were his trademarks, but so was his unconventional athleticism.
The guy was surprisingly quick for a guy who was billed at 390 pounds, making his flying headbutt off the top rope even more fearsome.
His agility made him even more dangerous when he joined ECW and competed in many hardcore matches.
If a near-400 pound guy jumps off the top rope onto a prone wrestler lying on a table, it's going to be more impactful than if a guy like Spike Dudley does so.
Bigelow was usually a solid mid-carder in WWF, ECW with the Triple Threat (Shane Douglas and Chris Candido) and in WCW with the Jersey Triad (DDP and Kanyon).
#4 Keith Lee
If you aren't basking in his glory now, you will be shortly.
Lee had a short run in ROH with fellow mammoth Shane Taylor. He then left to pursue bigger things and had runs in Evolve and Pro Wrestling Guerrilla where he was the top champion in both promotions at different points.
He had always been on the WWE's radar and he debuted for NXT on July 18, 2018, defeating Marcel Barthel.
Like the picture above, Lee has the athleticism that a man his size probably shouldn't.
He's a shade under 300 pounds but is a huge, thick man. And with that frame, he also manages to pull off moonsaults, corkscrew planchas, sentons and dropkicks.
All you need to do is search for his move set on Google or YouTube.
Of course, he does also have a power move set including power slams, pounces (running shoulder blocks) and a variety of suplexes.
He's truly a physical, agile beast of a man.
He's been close with fellow new NXT signee, Matt Riddle, so the two might tag together or even end up fighting each other.
Lee did take the WWN Title off of Riddle, so any history the two have could be built upon for future storyline purposes.
He's also had a brief history with Kassius Ohno and they've subtly noted as such in backstage skits between Lee, Riddle and Ohno. Ohno is probably the first feud for both guys.
He's still only been in NXT for a few months but will likely get a featured match at one of the upcoming Takeover specials.
NXT usually has one on Royal Rumble weekend and as a part of Wrestlemania weekend, so expect to see more of the Limitless One in the early months of 2019.
#3 Bray Wyatt
Back when he was still known as Husky Harris, he described himself with the line that he was 'like an army tank with a Ferrari engine'.
He's lost a lot of weight since then, but he's still a little on the (pardon the pun) husky side.
He's billed at 285 pounds but the weight doesn't seem to make much difference.
His explosive and agile sentons off the ropes and his running cross body are just as effective as his Sister Abigail finisher and his strikes.
He looks like a guy you'd see at a bait shop somewhere, but that's part of his appeal.
You might not think much of a guy like that until he (Wyatt) opens his mouth and can put you in a trance with his words.
And then he backs that up in the ring.
If he wasn't as agile as he was, he wouldn't have been given a run (albeit short run) with the WWE Championship.
Usually, Vince doesn't like his superstars to look to shabby, but his faith in Wyatt to give him that run was certainly a blessing for the fans who had been clamoring for Wyatt to be a permanent main-event fixture.
Unfortunately, his run didn't last too long as the more prototypical looking superstar, Randy Orton, took the belt off Wyatt a month later.
Wyatt is the quintessential 'don't judge a book by its cover'. Who thought he would have landed two beautiful women like his ex-wife and JoJo Offerman?
It's not to say that guys who look like him can't be pro wrestlers. In fact there are a lot of wrestlers who look like him throughout the independent scene.
The fact is that he's special because he's quicker than you'd expect and much more agile than you would think a guy with a beard that almost goes all the way down his chest should be.
#2 Hanson
If you have watched ROH or NJPW before, you already know how agile Hanson is.
You take one look at he and Ray Rowe and expect nothing but power moves. A guy who is supposed to be a smidge over 300 pounds is usually not expected to pull out some of the moves that Hanson can.
And while you'd be partially correct, Hanson has shown the WWE fans just how athletic he is in his short NXT run.
If you saw WarGames 2, he just solidified that fact.
He was the second member of the Ricochet/Pete Dunne/War Raiders team to enter the match.
And while it was likely storyline related because Pete Dunne was hurt, usually the smaller, more athletic guys take the earlier entrance spots because of their superior endurance.
While the WarGames allows for the wrestlers to take breaks throughout the match due to the framework of the match itself, Hanson was just as impressive as Ricochet with his performance.
His cartwheels to get out of his opponents' way are unexpected if you aren't familiar with him. His moonsault is also something you wouldn't expect a man of his size to break out.
He has more offense based off the top rope, like the combination of a leg drop off the top rope. And he also pulls off a cannonball off the ring apron to an opponent on the outside.
Just like Wyatt, the fact that Hanson and Rowe are both big yet surprisingly agile and athletic is why they've been so successful.
Guys like he, Wyatt and Kevin Owens don't look like they would pull out a spin kick, but they all have kicks as weapons in their arsenals.
And if he and Rowe keep having impressive matches, it won't take long for Hanson to be one of the best 'big men' in WWE history.
#1 Kevin Owens
Some might think that Triple H took a chance on signing Kevin Owens to NXT due to Vince's love affair with guys who look like Greek Gods.
In his run in WWE thus far, however, Owens has done nothing but make Triple H look like a genius for signing him.
Owens was known for his hardcore matches in ROH like in Ladder Wars, but Owens was always a master of his craft.
Since most of us have watched NXT, Raw or Smackdown over the last five years, we already know that.
He is great on the mic, has had great matches with Chris Jericho, Sami Zayn, Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, John Cena and Roman Reigns and can make lemonade out of any lemons he is handed.
Currently sidelined due to injury, Kevin Owens was just starting what appeared to be the start of a face turn.
A lot of the moves in his set would certainly seem more fan friendly rather than that of a heel.
He has a cannonball, a superkick, a frog splash off the top rope and even a moonsault. Those all sound like the moves that someone like Seth Rollins would be able to pull off (and he also does).
The fact of the matter is that there were very few guys over 260 pounds that looked like Owens in the WWE before 2000 who were also successful.
Mick Foley was, but he wasn't known for his athleticism. The Undertaker and Kane are big guys, but they are also both over 6'9''.
If Vince didn't take Triple H's word on Owens, then the KO wouldn't have already had multiple runs with both the Intercontinental and United States title.
And let's not forget his Universal Title Run. Him winning the belt in the wake of Finn Balor's freak injury saved Raw from disaster.
Honorable mentions
Killian Dain was the MVP of the first WarGames and his athleticism as a big man is what surely got him signed. His build is that of a slightly bigger Bray Wyatt and both share similar moves.
Both have an explosive, off-the-ropes cross body that just floors anyone who it hits. Dain, like Wyatt, also has a senton bomb but Dain also has a senton splash and uses a bicycle kick and cannonball.
That coming from a guy who is around 320 pounds must really hurt. It's certainly effective.
Willie Mack was signed to NXT Developmental for a time, but he was ultimately released.
He had been lighting up the independent scene before he was signed, and he is currently doing the same in Lucha Underground and Impact.
He recently had a fast-paced match with Rich Swann on Impact. He uses a lot of call back moves like a stunner, Rock Bottom and frog splash.
Mack also utilizes a standing moonsault and shooting star press and a suicide senton to the outside.
Seriously, watch any of his work in LU and you'll see why his actions supersede his appearance.
What makes Sting special? His first AEW opponent opens up RIGHT HERE.
