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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →“Everybody loved” and “forgot about” are too sweeping to establish as facts: wrestling fans followed different promotions and territories, and there is no audience poll here that measures who was most loved. The available material supports three vivid examples rather than ten complete profiles: Nick Bockwinkel, Bruno Sammartino and Superstar Billy Graham. Their careers show different paths to prominence in the 1970s, from the AWA championship scene to the WWWF title and its changing generations.
Why these three wrestlers belong in a 1970s retrospective
AinsworthSports’ ranking of pro wrestlers of the 1970s places names including Bockwinkel, Sammartino and Graham’s contemporary rivals among its leading candidates. The reviewed page does not explain its ranking method or give a publication year, so it is one list—not a consensus measure of popularity. The profiles below focus on career details documented by WWE and the International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame, rather than treating the ranking as proof that audiences universally loved anyone.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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WWE: The Greatest Wrestling Stars of the '80s | $59.10 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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WWE: Greatest Stars of the '90s | $9.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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WWE: Legends of Mid-South Wrestling | $24.94 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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CLASSIC WRESTLING BATTLES DVD | $13.01 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Classic Memphis Wrestling - The Best for Last DVD | $12.99 | Buy on Amazon |
Nick Bockwinkel: the AWA champion with a sharp edge
Bockwinkel’s greatest success came in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), according to WWE’s profile. He and Ray Stevens won the AWA World Tag Team Championship in 1972. In 1975, Bockwinkel defeated Verne Gagne to win the AWA World Championship, ending Gagne’s seven-year reign. WWE says Bockwinkel held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship four times in total.
His appeal was not simply that of a heroic fan favorite. WWE describes him as an arrogant, hated champion whose confidence coexisted with in-ring ability. That combination made him a compelling antagonist: a polished titleholder who could provoke the crowd while backing up his self-assurance in the ring.
#1 Best Overall
- WWE-GREATEST WRESTLING STARS OF THE '80S (DVD MOVIE)
Bruno Sammartino: a long-running champion at the center of the WWWF
Sammartino’s second championship reign began on December 10, 1973, and ended on April 30, 1977, according to WWE. A 2013 WWE announcement described him as a two-time champion whose reigns together lasted 11 years. Those figures put his 1970s run in context: he was a defining champion of the era, not merely a name attached to one notable match.
The International Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame’s Sammartino profile also recounts the second reign and its end at the hands of Superstar Billy Graham. The shift in titleholder is a useful snapshot of how a long championship era gave way to a new, sharply differentiated persona.
Rank #2
- Factory sealed DVD
Superstar Billy Graham: a new look and voice for the champion
On April 30, 1977, Graham defeated Sammartino for the WWE Championship. WWE says Graham held the title for nearly 10 months and identifies his interviews, fashion and physique as influential on performers including Hulk Hogan, Jesse Ventura and Scott Steiner. These are reasons to remember him beyond the title change: his presentation helped make the champion’s personality part of the attraction.
The Official Wrestling Museum describes Graham’s bleached hair, colorful attire, improvised rhymes and braggadocio influenced by Muhammad Ali, and notes his popularity in the AWA before his later WWWF championship run. WWE’s profile reproduces one of Graham’s self-descriptions: “The man of the hour, the man with the power, too sweet to be sour!”
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Rank #3
- Factory sealed DVD
What this small selection says about the decade
- There was no single wrestling scene. Bockwinkel’s defining championship success was in the AWA, while Sammartino and Graham’s 1977 title change belongs to the WWWF story.
- Champions could occupy very different roles. WWE characterizes Bockwinkel as an arrogant villain; Graham’s striking self-presentation helped distinguish him from the champion he defeated.
- Popularity is not established by a retrospective list. AinsworthSports offers one ranking, but its reviewed page does not explain its method or establish a universal audience verdict.
These three performers are well-supported examples, not a definitive top ten. The available sources do not provide enough biographical detail to build seven more equally grounded profiles or substantiate the premise that everyone loved—and later forgot—these wrestlers.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- Brand New- Sealed By Manufacturer
- Region- 0 Will play World-Wide
Rank #4
- Factory sealed DVD
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