Wrestlers who would find fame after the war also found themselves serving both at home and abroad. Worried about his family’s German heritage and that he might be thought unpatriotic, Frederick Kenneth Blassie, later to become known as the outrageous heel competitor and manager “Classy” Freddie Blassie, enlisted in the Navy where he served for 42 months in the Pacific. Blassie's famous over-the-top interviews went on to inspire a fellow Kentucky resident who grew up watching him, Cassius Clay, who later became heavyweight boxing champion Muhammed Ali.

The man who go on to found the most influential post-war wrestling umbrella organization, the NWA or National Wrestling Alliance, Sam Muchnick from St. Louis served for three years in the Army Air Corps. Milwaukee’s Reginald ‘Crusher’ Lisowski—who boasted that he maintained his physique by unloading kegs of beer and beating up unruly bar patrons—served in the Army.

Perhaps the most decorated American wrestler was Brooklyn native Paul Boesch, who left wrestling to enlist in the Army, where he earned a Purple Heart, Silver Star and cluster, Bronze Star and cluster, and French Croix de Guerre for actions at the Battle of the Hurtgen Forest while serving with the 121st Infantry Regiment. Boesch authored a memoir about his experiences, Road to Huertgen: Forest in Hell, and led the Houston Wrestling promotion until 1987.

Even the man whose son continues to this day to dominate the sport of wrestling, Vincent McMahon Sr., served in the Coast Guard.

As seen in other sports such as baseball, due to the manpower drain put on by the draft wrestling promoters during World War II were faced with the dilemma of going out of business or finding alternative talent. Most opted for the latter, incorporating for the first time large numbers of female wrestling competitors. Given the nature of the times and the often scant costumes worn by the performers, female wrestling proved hugely successful. Two of the names that dominated during the war were Mildred Burke and Mae Young. Young who was still performing in-ring in the early 2000’s before her death in 2014.