Why He's The Most Influential Pro Wrestler Ever
Robert King
Published Mar 28, 2026
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There are several names of professional wrestlers who remain integral to the success of the business today. If not for names like Bruno Sammartino and Hulk Hogan, the WWE never could have grown to the levels it did when Vince McMahon helped take over the world of professional wrestling. However, for men like Hulk Hogan and Superstar Billy Graham before him, there was one name in professional wrestling who paved the road for the entertainment aspects of World Wrestling Entertainment.
George Wagner was born in 1915 in Butte, Nebraska. The small town in the middle of corn country only had 326 people living in it as of the 2010 census. However, from that small community came one of the biggest personalities in professional wrestling history. When Wagner joined the world of professional wrestling, he eventually morphed into the superstar known as Gorgeous George. Everyone from Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair to Ultimate Warrior and "Macho Man" Randy Savage owe their entire careers to the roads that George traveled over his 30-year career.
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Gorgeous George Created The Over-The-Top Wrestling Persona
George Wagner dropped out of high school when he was 14 and began his career as a carnival wrestler. Cutting his teeth on the carnival circuit slammed home the fact that wrestlers had to suck in the fans and make them care. While some wrestlers like Lou Thesz did this by being technically proficient, George took a different path. He started out with dark hair and was a regular guy fighting against wrestling masters and giants, but he knew he needed something more. That is when he got with his wife and came up with the concept of Gorgeous George.
Knowing the attitudes of wrestling fans in the 40s, Wagner knew he could create a persona that they hated upon sight. Slightly basing his character on that of Wilbur Finran, an Ohio native who became a snobbish character named Lord Patrick Lansdowne, George took it one step further. He bleached his hair blonde and came to the ring in extravagant robes, acting snobbish and conceited while touring an area of the country known for blue blood hard-working men and women. He was an instant heel.
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Gorgeous George Defined The Colorful Heel In Wrestling
Gorgeous George even pulled his real life into his character, something that clearly rubbed off on men like "Nature Boy" Ric Flair. He enlisted in the military, but he never ended up serving. Every time his moment came, constant deferments kept him at home. This caused many fans to sour on George and hate him even more. This led him to work more on his more effeminate and cowardly actions in the ring, and fans began booing this man who wouldn't fight unless he had cheated his way to the advantage.
That led to the origins of televised wrestling. By this time, Wagner had perfected his Gorgeous George gimmick, and it was the perfect time to head to TV. He went to big cities like Chicago and Los Angeles and began working for promoters with television shows in major markets. Watching boring guys roll around a ring exchanging rest holds in wrestling wasn't any more exciting in the 1960s than it is now. The fans needed a reason to invest in wrestlers. Thanks to his over-the-top arrogant heel character with the bleached blonde hair and colorful robes, Gorgeous George gave American wrestling fans someone they could hate. That made them cheer on their heroes even harder. George even mastered self-promotion, tipping off the media about where he might be and then going to a beauty parlor. He used the music "Pomp and Circumstance" to lead him to the ring, decades before "Macho Man" Randy Savage used it as his own entrance song.
It is easy to believe that professional wrestling wouldn't have remained a mainstay on television if not for Gorgeous George. Other wrestlers took on similar characters to keep up with him. He won several titles over his career, including two world championships, but holding titles didn't matter. He was one of the highest paid athletes in the world, making more than even football and baseball players of that era. And then he was gone too soon. Gorgeous George died when he was 48 following a heart attack. However, his legacy endures on. Men like Muhammad Ali clearly took influence from what Gorgeous George did before him. In WWE, colorful characters and entertaining TV shows wouldn't exist if George hadn't proved so many years ago that it was the way to fans' hearts.
