The best wrestler from each of the 50 United States 

OKLAHOMA - Jack Brisco

HONORABLE MENTION: Goldberg

Jack Brisco has been called the greatest champion of the 20th-century.

Not a lot of folks mention Jack Brisco in the conversation for one of the best ever, and I'm not really sure why.

Let's do a little retrospective - for 20 years, Brisco dominated several NWA territories, as well as the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico. All in all, Brisco captured 29 Heavyweight Championships, 26 Tag Team Championships (most of which were with his brother, Gerald or "Gerry"), three Television Championships, two Junior Heavyweight Championship, a Brass Knuckles Championship. Now, I don't think you need to know anything about wrestling to know that that is A LOT of championships.

His extraordinary list of achievements has earned him four Hall of Fame rings, among other honours. He is considered one of the best of all time by many that could be called the same, such as Ric Flair. Though he is no longer on Earth, his work has conferred his immortality. There can be no question that he is the best wrestler to ever come from Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plains.

OREGON - Art Barr

HONORABLE MENTION: Ken Patera

Art Barr is one of the most classic cases of "what could have been?" in wrestling history.

Before his unexpected death at the age of 28 in 1994, Barr was the most despised heel in Mexico's main wrestling promotion, Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA). He and his tag team partner, Eddie Guerrero, were wildly successful together as "La Pareja del Terror" (The Pair of Terror) before building a stable called "Los Gringos Locos" (The Crazy Americans). They were essentially the nWo and D-Generation X before either of those stables existed - a group of anti-establishment heels who thought of themselves as "above rule".

But anyway, more about Barr - he was an exceptionally talented in-ring performer with what I believe to be the most gorgeous Frog Splash ever. He has been called the most hated rudo (heel) in the history of Mexican wrestling. Just seventeen days before his untimely death, he and Guerrero put on one of the greatest PPV matches in history when they squared off in a 2-out-of-3 falls Mask vs Hair match against Octagón and El Hijo del Santo. If you haven't seen it, please do so ASAP. It's one of the most deserving matches of a 5-star rating from Dave Meltzer that I've ever seen.

As I've mentioned before, Barr's career was met with an untimely end. He passed away in November of 1994 from a drug-related heart attack when he was only 28. It's so sad to know that his homesickness turned him to such vices, as he could've had a much longer and more fruitful career in wrestling. Still, his short run earned him an AAA Hall of Fame ring, and it earns him my pick for Oregon's best of all time.

PENNSYLVANIA - Kurt Angle

HONORABLE MENTION: Bruno Sammartino.

The Olympic gold medalist edged out Italian-born Bruno Sammartino to place on this list

No disrespect to the great Bruno Sammartino, but in the end, I had to choose Kurt Angle over him because he was actually born and raised in Pennsylvania.

I'm going to go on record for a second and say that I've never seen someone "get" pro-wrestling as quickly as Kurt Angle did. The man transitioned seamlessly from amateur wrestling to the garish, showy world of professional wrestling in the late 90's. His matches with the likes of Brock Lesnar, Shawn Michaels, and Chris Benoit can only be described as works of art.

Then again, we all expected him to be fantastic in the ring. But I don't think that many expected him to be as charismatic and as naturally comfortable on the microphone as he was. He was even recognized by Wrestling Observer Newsletter as the "Best on Interviews" in 2002, beating out a cavalcade of microphone legends such as The Rock.

There was arguably no one better in the ring than Kurt Angle in the late 90's and early 2000's. For that, he earns his place as the greatest wrestler from the state of Pennsylvania.

RHODE ISLAND - Spike Dudley

How very apropos that the smallest state produced one of the smallest men to ever wrestle. But don't let his 5'8", 150-pound frame fool you - Spike Dudley was a tough cookie.

Known for his penchant for taking huge and/or painful bumps, Spike was a mainstay in ECW and WWE for almost a decade, then he worked the indies for about another decade. He's done pretty well for himself, too - he's won a total of four Tag Team Championships, two Cruiserweight Championships, eight WWF Hardcore Championships, one WWF European Championship, and - get this - 2 Heavyweight Championships. It's true, look it up.

Spike hasn't wrestled since 2015, so whether or not he intends to continue getting thrown through tables at the age of 47 is yet to be seen. But, for his memorability and his accomplishments thus far, he earns his place as the best professional wrestler from Rhode Island.

SOUTH CAROLINA - The Fabulous Moolah

HONORABLE MENTION: Big Show

Holding a championship for a decade is no easy feat

Let me just preface this by saying that I, in no way, condone The Fabulous Moolah's questionable "training" methods. In fact, I think they're condemnable in every regard. That being said, her contributions to the wrestling industry cannot be ignored.

Moolah was a trailblazer; the original women's "superstar". She was the first ever WWF Women's Champion, a title that she held for a day short of a decade.

"Wait...what? I thought it was 28 years!" Well, allow me to explain that to a non-existent person that I am using as an impetus for the following history lesson -

Moolah held the title from 1956 to 1966, when she lost it to Bette Boucher. She won it back 13 days later and held onto it until 1968 when she lost it to Yukiko Tomoe. Tomoe held the belt for 23 days before Moolah won it back once again, holding it until a 1975 loss to Sue Green (a win which is also unrecognized by the NWA). Moolah won it back immediately later, only to lose it to Evelyn Stevens and then gain it back two days later. She then held onto it until 1984, the year she famously dropped the strap to Wendi Richter.

So no, Moolah did not hold the Women's Championship for 28 straight years...WWE just doesn't recognize any of the in-between champions.

Still, a decade-long reign, followed by a two-year long reign, followed by a 7-year long reign, followed by a 9-year long reign is absolutely nothing to sneeze at. Regardless of who she was behind the scenes, she is one of the most iconic female wrestlers of all time. And she's the best to ever come from South Carolina.