Sheamus and the 20 Greatest Brawlers in WWE History

There have been some pretty good fighters in the WWE and in professional wrestling. They could throw punches and brawl with the best of them.

Big, small, short, fat, whatever the case. And whether face or heel, their ability to mix it up earned our admiration, and we respected their craft.

Some just went to the ring to beat the hell out of their opponents. Some took as much punishment as they gave.

Whatever the case, seeing these guys fight was a treat in itself.

Dick the Bruiser

Big and barrel-chested, Dick the Bruiser would beat on his opponents' chests and then work them over.

A wrestler in the AWA, he was instrumental in helping Verne Gagne rise to prominence. And he and his tag team partner, Crusher, dominated tag team wrestling in the Great Lakes.

Today, he would be one of the baddest men on the planet. The cigar smoking wrestler is one of those throwbacks that would become a true hell.

Bully Ray

He was big, powerful and agile.

And when he beat on you, you were in for a fight. And those trademarks are still part of his routine in TNA Impact wrestling.

Buh Buh Ray was a tag team specialist with Brother Devon, winning every imaginable title there is. Now he is an enforcer and one of the best in the business—maybe even the best heel in wrestling today.

Bully Ray doesn't run at you, he runs through you.

The Minnesota Wrecking Crew

A tag team from the NWA that worked on the wrestler to make them submit.

Ole Anderson was more of the leader, but both he and Gene Anderson, better known as the Minnesota Wrecking Crew, beat the hell out of everyone in the NWA twice over.

When Gene left wrestling and Arn Anderson joined the fray, they did not miss a beat, challenging the Road Warriors, The Rock and Roll Express, Manny Fernandez and Dusty Rhodes and many others.

Wade Barrett

In terms of today's brawlers, there are few as skilled as Wade Barrett. He is a former bare-knuckles champion and is now one of the best heels in wrestling today.

The leader of the Nexus when he came to the WWE, he has become a solid singles competitor.

Sheamus

The Big White is one big man.

The Irishman is the best bruiser in the business today.

His is big, strong and powerful. And if you are not careful, he will win the World Title in 18 seconds.

Andre the Giant

I am not sure if Andre was a "true" brawler, but the way he came to the ring and just beat on his opponents, knocked them down and sometimes beat the breath out of them would qualify.

Andre was truly a "wrestler" who did not know his own strength and could therefore get away with manhandling his opponents, some of them "huge" in normal circumstances.

His brawls with The Mongolian Stomper John Studd really showed how big and powerful he really was.

When he faced Hulk Hogan, the massive "Giant" swallowed him up.

And Hogan is no small wrestler.

BlackJack Mulligan

As a member of the Blackjacks with Blackjack Lanza or as a singles competitor, Blackjack Mulligan was a tall, rugged Texan.

He could brawl with the best of them, like his friends Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdoch.

And his son, Barry Windham, could hold his own as well.

Roddy Piper

He was one of the best in his prime.

Roddy Piper was born to wrestle and cause chaos.

I love the fact that every time he spoke or challenged someone he could back it up.

You certainly would not want to take him on in a bar fight.

Terry Gordy and Steve Williams

They were friends and they were foes. And some of the best brawling in the NWA took place between these two.

Both Gordy and Williams were immensely popular in the states.

They were world tag team champions as well as international champions. And in the height of their popularity, they were some of the toughest around.

The Road Warriors

There isn't much I need to say here.

We all know their background, their style and how they beat everyone up in their way.

Many have tried to duplicate them, and many have failed. They took on the best every promotion had to offer and they never backed down.

Jerry Lawler

He got into some real classics in the Mid-South area and fought Randy Savage, Bill Dundee, Austin idol, Lanny Poffo, the Road Warriors and many others.

When it comes to wrestling, Lawler really was the "King of Memphis."

Harley Race

According to Ric Flair, no one was tougher than Harley Race.

When he came to the ring, he looked like he had been to a bar fight and was ready for more.

He loved giving punishment and taking it as well.

No one was better at brawling. No one.

Stan Hansen and Bruiser Brody

The bad man from Borger, Tx. He couldn't see when he wrestling because he took his contacts out.

And when he delivered a lariat, most of the time, he tried to take someone's head off.

Some of his best matches were with and against his good friend Bruiser Brody, who in his own right was a great brawler and wrestler.

When the two were in the orient, they took the roof off buildings.

Steve Austin

He was the anti-hero we all loved. He did not do it for the fans, he did it for himself and we all loved him for that.

When you can take your boss out with a fist or stunner, that shows how bad ass you are.

Austin was plenty of bad ass and when he had to, he could fight with the best of them.

JBL

JBL was a classic heel. Everyone hated him. And the man from Texas could not only wrestle, he could throw fists with the best of them.

His size and power reminded us of Stan Hansen. His brashness reminded us of a young Fritz Von Erich.

He was a complete package.

Brock Lesnar

He is the bully on the school grounds who took your lunch money and laughed while you cried. Whether it be in the WWE or UFC, Brock Lesnar is a beast—and he knows it.

While his amateur background is one of the best ever, Lesnar can flat out hurt you. He is strong, powerful, enormous, and most of all, intimidating.

Triple H

A different kind of enforcer. If the Four Horsemen had been created during the Attitude Era, he would have been the leader.

HHH is one bad man. He's a fighter with strength few can match and has the resiliency to keep coming back for more. He has proven to be equals among many greats in this business, and when there was time to fight, he could give and dish it out like few could, with his fists or with his famed sledgehammer.

The Undertaker

He kept doing it and doing it well. The Undertaker did some amazing things in his career, from climbing the top rope and walking on it old style to tombstone pilerdrivers.

The ring was his backyard and anyone who walked into it was told they were trespassing.

But the one thing the bad ass could do was fight, and when he came to the ring, he came to the fight with both fists loaded.

He will always be known for his style and his ability, but there are some things we never really appreciate about him.