Top 10 Jewish Wrestlers in Pro Wrestling

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Bill Goldberg was one of the most popular Jewish Wrestlers in the history of the business

In honour of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Ha'Shana as it's called in Hebrew. On the Jewish Calender, it's the year 577 and now is as good a time as ever to do a quintessential list of the top 10 Jews in wrestling. While Jews aren't as synonymous with pro-wrestling as other aspects of entertainment, as Jews have had an incredible impact on everything from movie, to TV, to comics. Some have been able to play some of the most memorable characters in wrestling history,

While there are names that you will have heard of on this list, some of you may be surprised to see that these wrestlers were Jewish and some have made Judaism a part of their character.

Honourable Mention - Sam Muchnick

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Sam Muchnick, founder of the St Louis Wrestling Club, and founding member of the National Wrestling Alliance

Sam Muchnick is one of the founding members of the NWA as the head of the St. Louis Wrestling Club. Muchnick would serve as the NWA president for a decade between 1950-1960. Muchnick also was the booker in the St Louis territory when he was able to discover talents like Harley Race, Johnny Valentine, the Funks and Ric Flair.

The St Louis Wrestling Club would be sold to Jim Crocket Jr in 1985 and absorbed into World Championship Wrestling.

# 10 Lisa Marie Varon / Victoria / Tara

Lisa Marie Varon, also known as Victoria in her WWE days, was a fantastic wrestler in an era of the WWE that was dominated by Divas. Wrestling against the likes of Trish Stratus and Molly Holly. Victoria's brutal strength made her stand out in the wake of her competition and led her to be a 2 time Women's champion for the promotion. However, it was her run in TNA, wrestling as Tara, where she truly became a star

During her 5 year tenure at TNA, she became a 5-time Knockouts champion and was involved in a variety of feuds against TNA's other female wrestlers in the Knockouts division, including feuds with Madison Rayne, Awesome Kong, who would later wrestle in the WWE as Kharma, and fellow WWE alumni Mickie James.

# 9 Matt Bloom / Albert / A-Train / Tensai

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Matt Bloom had several gimmicks during his career, is probably best known as the head trainer at the WWE PC

Matt Bloom, known in his time in the WWE as Albert, A-Train or Tensai depending on your generation, was a terminal mid-card wrestler during his career. His WWE career highlights include a reign as the Intercontinental Champion, feuds with the Undertaker. Bloom was more successful in Japan, winning the 2006 New Japan Cup, facing Brock Lesnar for the IWGP Heavyweight title, and winning the IWJP Tag team championships with Karl Anderson.

After his stint in Japan, Bloom returned to the WWE as Tensai briefly before retiring from in-ring competition. Bloom has become a star in his retirement quickly becoming the head training at the performance center where he seems to thrive in teaching new trainees.

# 8 David Starr

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David Starr, one of the best Jewish wrestlers on the independent scene at the moment

David Starr is one of the wrestlers on this list you probably haven't heard of due to the fact that he mainly wrestles on the European and UK Indy scene and to a lesser extent in the United States. Starr has wrestled in shows for Progress, RevPro, WxW, and Defiant among others. He's also been in the ring with stars like Tyler Bate, Matt Riddle, Pete Dunne, Cody Rhodes, and Undisputed Era aside from Kyle O'Reilly.

Starr also has a laundry list of nicknames such as "The Product", "The Jewish Cannon", "Davey Wrestling", "The Cream in your Coffee" and "Your favorite wrestler's favorite wrestler" to name a few.

Unfortunately, Starr got into the news more recently for an issue that he took with fellow pro-wrestler Mathias Glass, a non-Jewish wrestler with a gimmick as a stereotypical Orthodox Jew. Starr publically called out the wrestler for his offensive gimmick, and Glass refused to apologize or stop using the gimmick.

# 7 Billy Kidman

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Younger fans may not understand the hype behind Billy Kidman, but anyone who witnessed Kidman during WCW's crazy cruiserweight division can appreciate his genius. Appearing in a division that included the likes of Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, Chris Jericho, Dean Malenko, La Parka, Juventud Guerrera and Ultimo Dragon. In among the talent of this division, Kidman became a 3-time Cruiserweight Champion and would later add a further 4 reigns during his time at the WWE.

Kidman was a noted aerialist, using the Shooting Star Press calling it the Seven Year Itch as a finisher. Kidman also notably was in a relationship with WWE Diva Torrie Wilson until 2006, with their divorce finalized by 2008.

# 6 Madusa / Alundra Blayze

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The highest ranking female on this list is one of the greatest female wrestlers in history. Alundra Blayze, also known as Madusa in the WCW, was a 3-time WWF Women's champion, and a member of the 2015 WWE Hall of Fame Class. Blayze paved a path for other wrestlers of her generation to follow in her footsteps, she would be followed by Sable, Kat and later Trish Stratus and Lita would keep the momentum going.

Blayze's most controversial and memorable moment, however, came when Blayze jumped ship to the WCW with the WWF Women's title. Blayze, wrestling under the name Medusa, proceeded to drop the title in the bin on TV at the commentary table. It would take Blayze two decades from that event to be invited back to the WWE to become a member of the Hall of Fame class.

# 5 Colt Cabana / Scott Goldman

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Colt Cabana is an interesting figure in wrestling. Incredibly popular on the independent level, known for his friendship with fellow indie darling CM Punk, but never was able to succeed on a mainstream level despite being signed to the WWE for two years. Cabana mainly wrestles in a comedic role which some have perceived as being an impediment to greater success.

Cabana is also known for his influential podcast "The Art of Wrestling" which gained notoriety during an episode with CM Punk, which resulted in a famous lawsuit being brought on by WWE Dr. Chris Amann against both CM Punk and Colt Cabana.

# 4 Dean Malenko

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Dean Malenko son of famous wrestler and trainer Boris Malenko was a great wrestler in his own right. While not the most charismatic of wrestlers, what Dean lacked in promo ability and personality, he more than made up for in technical ability in the ring. Malenko quickly emerged in the busy WCW Cruiserweight divisions as a gifted technical wrestler, picking up several title reigns of the Cruiserweight and feuded with Eddie Guerrero for the United States title.

This was followed by Malenko's most famous rivalry with fellow cruiserweight Chris Jericho. It was based on Malenko's Man of 1000 Holds that Jericho would create his infamous Man of 1004 Holds line. Jericho would also go on to target Malenko's family honor while the later was off TV.

He would also go on to be a member of the legendary 4 Horseman stable in the WCW with Rick Flair, Mongo, Chris Benoit and Malenko himself. He would later switch over to the WWF with fellow WCW alumni Eddie Guerrero, Perry Saturn, Chris Benoit to form the Radicalz.

After finishing up his in-ring career, Malenko would stay on with the WWE in the role as a road agent.

# 3 Randy Savage

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"Macho Man" Randy Savage is widely remembered as one of the most popular wrestlers of his generation.

It's not often that the Macho Man Randy Savage will appear at number three on a list of great wrestlers, such was his popularity in his time. Randy Savage, Jewish from his mother's side, was a multiple time World Champion, one half of the biggest tag team of his generation, and was involved in some of the best matches of all time against the likes of Hulk Hogan, Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat, Jake "the Snake" Roberts, and Ric Flair.

Savage was also frequently accompanied to the ring by his on and off again girlfriend and wife Miss Elizabeth. Elizabeth would frequently play central roles in Savages feuds, including the breaking up of the Mega-Powers Tag team and Savage's feuds with Ric Flair both in the WWF and WCW.

Savage is widely considered as one of the best wrestlers of his generation, taking part in matches that are considered ahead of their time for the most part. Specifically, Savage's match with Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat at Wrestlemania III is considered one of the best matches in history and truly ahead of its time.

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# 2 Paul Heyman / Paul E Dangerously

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The human embodiment of the archetype Jewish manager, Paul Heyman, has held various positions in wrestling. From advocate, promoter, writer, commentator, and agent, Heyman has seemingly done it all. Often given the lofty comparison to other legendary managers in the business like Bobby "the Brain" Henan, Jim Cornette, Paul Bearer, and Jimmy Hart. Heyman is one of the best in the game on the microphone and has managed various great wrestlers over his career, from CM Punk to Brock Lesnar in the WWE, to Rob Van Damme, Kurt Angle, and the Big Show. Heyman even managed a young Undertaker when he wrestled under the name of "Mean" Mark Callous for WCW.

Outside of his position as a manager, Heyman also ran the extremely popular ECW promotion, predominantly from his mother's house in Philidelphia. He also paired with Jim Ross on commentary for the WWE during the Invasion angle to success. Heyman is also the mind behind some of the most popular segments that have happened in the WWE in the last few years.

If not the best, Heyman is one of the best wrestling brains in the business. From his ability as a booker to his promo ability, Heyman has a great mind for both ends of the industry.

# 1 Bill Goldberg

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It says something about the popularity of Goldberg that in the height of the Monday night wars, thousands of people filled arenas around the US to chant his name. Goldberg would come down to the ring week after week in WCW showered in chants of "Goldberg, Goldberg, Goldberg". In the height of his popularity, Goldberg was WCW's answer to Stone Cold Steve Austin and reportedly racked up a streak of 173-0 before suffering his first loss to Kevin Nash.

Goldberg was less successful when he was brought over to the WWE, despite receiving a main event push feuding with The Rock and later Triple H for the World Heavyweight title. His initial run ended on a sour note with a poorly received match at Wrestlemania XX against Brock Lesnar. However, Goldberg's more recent run in the company was significantly more successful with a feud with Brock Lesnar culminating in a match between the two at Wrestlemania 33.

Among all of his accolades, Goldberg was also inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, headlining the class of 2018.

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