There have been many powerhouses who competed in the ring, but few were any stronger than the man known as "The Polish Power," Ivan Putski. Although he rarely was the biggest Superstar in a battle, the Krakow, Poland native's tremendous strength, power and quickness allowed him to go toe-to-toe with the sport's best and usually come out on top.


Putski's family emigrated from Poland to Texas when Ivan was just a boy, and Ivan began his sports-entertainment career there. Prior to coming to WWE, Putski won multiple regional NWA Tag Team Championships in the Southwest United States, most notable the NWA American Tag Team Titles with fellow Texas Legend Jose Lothario (who would go on to train future legend Shawn Michaels).
Putski came to WWE in the 1970s, establishing lengthy rivalries with some of the dirtiest grapplers in the game, including Bruiser Brody, Stan Hansen and Ivan Koloff. More often than not, his opponents would challenge him to some type of strength competition, and usually, they would come out on the short end of the stick. Putski was so strong that he competed in the 1978 World's Strongest Man competition.