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Post by ACWA Incorporated on Feb 15, 2006 11:36:29 GMT -5
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Post by ACWA Incorporated on Feb 15, 2006 11:40:41 GMT -5
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Post by ACWA Incorporated on Feb 15, 2006 11:42:34 GMT -5
[red]Frenchy Martin[/red] Frenchy Martin eventually became best known as Dino Bravo's Manager in the WWF during the late 80's.
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Post by ACWA Incorporated on Feb 15, 2006 11:46:52 GMT -5
[red]The Spoiler aka Don Jardine[/red] REAL NAME: Don Jardine 6'4", 250 pounds ALIASES/NICKNAMES: The Spoiler, Baby Face Jardine (Toronto, 1959), The Butcher (Los Angeles, 1964), Masked Enforcer #2 (San Francisco, 1967), The Original Super Destroyer (Carolinas, 1973-75), Super Destroyer (AWA, 1977-1978) One of the all-time great masked wrestlers, The Spoiler was actually Ontario's Don Jardine. He broke into the business in 1955 at age 15 in Moncton, New Brunswick. For the first few years of his career, he was known as Sonny Cooper, and wrestled across Canada and a couple of tours of Japan. In 1967, The Spoiler was born. Jardine credits Dallas promoter Fritz von Erich and Jay Strongbow for the idea. He was hot in both Texas and Florida. Jardine was also the Super Destroyer (one of many to use the name). He was such a success in the AWA as the Super Destroyer, that two others followed, including Bob Remus aka Sgt. Slaughter as Super Destroyer Mark II. Jardine was The Spoiler who headlined against WWF champion Pedro Morales in Madison Square Gardens. At the time, MSG had a rule barring masked wrestlers, so Jardine wrestled without his mask. A few months later, the rule was ammended for Mil Mascaras. He currently resides in Alberta, where he is a manager in a car wash and writes poetry. 1955: Don Jardine began his wrestling career in Toronto, Canada for Whipper Billy Watson.. Don Jardine used the "Butcher" moniker when he was teamed with both Mad Dog Vachon and Dutch Savage for short times.. Don Jardine decided to become a "masked man" because he wanted to create a mystery aura around himself.. 1967: The Spoiler gimmick was born, as Jardine doned a mask.. ~~~Jardine credits Dallas promoter Fritz von Erich and Jay Strongbow for the idea.. Memories I remember when "The Super Destroyer"(Don Jardine) wrestled in the N W A based out of North Carolina. One of his highlights was when he fueded with Swede Hanson. I was priviledged to be able to see some of their many matches here in Norfolk, Virginia at the Scope.He was truly one of the best pro wrestlers I have ever seen.I think he was instrumental in pioneering the mask and I recall his introduction as being from "parts unknown". If anyone could tell me his whereabouts, I would certainly like to contact him. meekinsj@livenet.net The Spoiler was a great wrestler. As mentioned above,he loved wrestling so much he even wrestled as the Spoiler without his mask on. Mr. Wrestling I or II can never say that. The Spoiler gained respect for carving his own niche and should be remembered for that. Reinaldo Luciano As a kid in Houston, Texas, I remember "The Spoiler" very well. He had a tremendous physique and great agility. I remember a particular match when he had placed the "claw" on his opponent's forehead. The hapless guy tried softening up The Spoiler by punches to the midsection. After getting the Spoiler on the ropes (with the claw still on) he tried to throw him over the top rope. The Spoiler, unfortunately for this guy, very gingerly walked along the top rope (high-wire style) while still putting the claw hold on the guy. Wow! I also remember that whenever being pressed down for the count, he could kick his legs out and land on his feet. The agility that he demonstrated was amazing, especially for such a towering figure. The Spoiler was definitely one of the greatest wrestlers that I can remember. Frank Aguilar In the early to mid 1980's, to much of the country, cable TV brought us our first glimpses of non-local wrestling shows, and we finally got to see stars on TV that we had only seen pictures of in magazines. For me, living near Boston, MA at the time, WTBS brought me my first glimpse of The spoiler. He was part of the rage of the day - the Legion of Doom, back when they really were a legion. All my friends were freaking out for the Raod Warriors, whose style and physique influenced a generation. To me, however, the LoD meant the Spoiler - he was the veteran rock who Paul Ellering could trust to keep the other monsters in line. He was awesome in gold mask, red tights, black glove - walking the ropes years before the Undertaker made it famous. In those days, I was so taken by guys like the Spoiler, that in comparisson, the face painted barbaric freaks everyone else was into did little for me. 15 years later, my love affair with masked wrestlers inspires me to publish "From Parts Unknown." Mr. Unknown The Spoiler introduced the "Hart Claw" in a match against Paul DeMarco. The hold was named after the Spoiler's manager, Playboy Gary Hart. At the time, Jardine was known as Spoiler #1. His tag team partner was of course, Spoiler #2, who was eventually unmasked as Smasher Sloan. I vividly recall several "claw vs. claw" matches against Fritz Von Erich Both men gave it their all for the fans.. A tremendous athlete, Don Jardine is a Texas legend as far as wrestling is concerned. Robert Stewart I remeber the Spoiler back in the early '72, while I was a youngster living in Jackson, MS. The battles that he had with Doctor X, Grizzy Smith, and who would later be known as The Missing Link; Dewey Robertson. I also remeber the Spoiler when he was wrestling for the Von Erich promotion in Texas. One my all time greats. His one time partner Bruiser Bob Sweetan was also great. Karl Clark, New Orleans, LA I was saddened to read that someone other than my father was credited with having created "The Spoiler". My father was Vince Bagala and was wrestling in San Francisco under that name since the very early 1960's. He was partnered for a time with Hombre Montana and used the name Vince Montana for a while but quickly became The Spoiler. He wrestled all over the United States and Japan with Gorilla Monsoon, Pepper Gomez, Haystack Calhoun, etc. My father died in 1988 in Kona, Hawaii. I hope the record is someday corrected. Thank you- Lori Bagala-De Marco
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Post by ACWA Incorporated on Feb 15, 2006 11:49:59 GMT -5
[red]"Bulldog" Bob Brown[/red] REAL NAME: Robert Harold Brown 6'1", 227 pounds BORN: October 16, 1938 in Shoal Lake, Manitoba DIED: February 5, 1997 in Kansas City, Mo. The Bulldog nickname was tagged to Bob Brown in grade school, and it stuck with him his entire life. In the squared circle he was a snarling, vicious heel most of his career, with a brushcut and black tights. After growing up in Winnipeg's tough Brooklands area, Brown became a police officer until he given the chance to get in the ring. Soon, he was a top star across Canada. In his 33-year career, he had successful stints from the Maritimes to Calgary's Stampede Wrestling to the west coast, where he was a star during the heyday of Vancouver's All-Star Wrestling from 1969-74. His greatest success seemed to come in the American mid-west, the Kansas City promotion in particular. Brown was also involved in promoting wrestling in the Winnipeg area. For a while in Stampede Wrestling, he wrestled alongside nephew Kerry Brown (aka Rick Valentine in Puerto Rico & Maritimes). Wrestling fans will also remember Brown's son David, who refereed as David Puttnam in Calgary and Winnipeg. Bulldog's brother Doug Brown is a partner and co-promoter of the International Wrestling Alliance in Winnipeg with Tony Condello. Bulldog only retired from the ring in 1996 after a massive heart attack, where he was pronounced dead twice before being revived. At the time of his death at age 57 in February 1997, he was working as a security officer on the Flamingo floating casino in Kansas City, Mo. Memories Growing up as a pro wrestling fan in the early 80s, many stars of the ring were flamboyant figures, with gimmicky names or exaggerated physiques. But one of my first wrestling favorites was strictly known as the Bulldog. Although he was never a national figure in wrestling, Bulldog Bob Brown was nothing short of a legend in Kansas City and the surrounding Midwest areas that All Star Wrestling promoted shows. Growing up in Iowa I received my first taste of the short, stocky brawler from Winnipeg on t.v. and was instantly hooked. Shortly thereafter I made my father take me up to Des Moines once a month to catch the Bulldog in the ring, battling other legends such as Harley Race, Ric Flair, and future stars like Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels. Brown didn't wear shiny robes or accessories. His blue trunks and tight flat-top haircut were his trademarks. And although his "wrestling" skills might not of been the greatest, he was one of the best brawlers I'd ever seen. He could take on the worst of them, including old ladies and drunk spectators. When Bob Brown died this year, it was all over the KC media. Brown was still popular that the Flamingo Casino had pictures of him that he could autograph for fans. Bob Brown was an important figure in because he was an example of regional wrestling and what it unfortunately used to be. Fifteen years ago one could find a good local promotion almost anywhere. Today you'll be lucky to catch a house show once a month if you don't live in the east coast. Despite all the modernization of pro wrestling today, the simple greatness of Bulldog Bob Brown will never be forgotten. Drew Murphy I grew up in Iowa and watched All Star Wrestling every Sunday. Bob was one of my favorites with Rufus R. Jones. Boy those were the good old days. I last saw Bob Brown in person in Vets Auditorium in 1982. Thank God for T.V. Woodstock98@webtv.net I remember Bulldog Bob Brown spit on an old lady and got into a fistfight at the Dartmouth Sportsplex here in Halifax. He could pack them in and it was worth every penny!! Rob MacNeil, Halifax, N.S. I have fond memories of watching Bulldog Bob Brown, on Sunday morning all-star wrestling, channel 41 in Kansas City, and saw him on more than one occasion here in Salina Kansas at the old Memorial Hall, along with Rufus R. Jones, the "freight train", Tony Atlas, Ted DiBiase, Harley Race, and many others! Brad Cooper I watched a match on Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling where Bob Brown was beating on Buddy Lane and a woman hit bob with her purse. He spit on her, then she hit him again. He kicked her in the face. Vintage Bulldog Bob Brown. mike cross, bedford, ns Sometime around '94-'95 Bob was in Winnipeg for Tony Condello. At a local bar show he was being harrassed by Gracie a fat old lady who is a fixture at all Winnipeg shows. Bob took great pleasure in goading old Gracie into showing off her voluminous butt (ie. "hang a moon")at each show, which she never hesitated to do. This time, when she exposed herself Bob yelled, "Well, I guess your gonna show your tits next!!!". She did, flaunting them in all their wrinkled, mountainous glory. I remember myself, as referee, immediately wretching and acting like I was going to vomit. Then I realized that the only way to survive was to try and scratch out my own eyes (unsuccessful). The Natural (aka: Jackyl) screamed like a man who had been gut-shot and actually took a bump onto the canvas. We sure = had fun in those days. Now THAT, was vintage Bob Brown!!! Dave Levinsky, Wpg., Manitoba Two memories about Bob. God rest his soul. Winnipeg MB, 1992: After a match Bob got into it with a physically challenged fan. As they argued and as Bob's spit flew I recall the quote "C'mon ya f**kin' cripple!! Get up! Get up if you're a man!!!" Nice. Stienbach MB: During a tag match Bob was into it with an overwieght young lady. Among other comments the Bulldog hollered racial slurs which enraged the entire crowd. The high point of this day was when Mr. Brown exposed his genitals for all(in particular the said young lady) to see. This of course prompted the woman to flash herself in return. Glasses were thrown tables were knocked over and, well wrestling never returned to that venue. Victor Martin I will never forget the Saturday night that I was at a Grand Prix show in Amherst, NS, with my family when Bob Brown spit in my grandmother's face. We knew alot of the wrestlers and often got involved in the show but on this night I took thinks one step further. I grabbed the chair I was sitting on a ran up behind Bob. I said, "Mr. Brown, chair?" As he turned he saw I was holding the steel chair over my head. He smiled and I brought it down on him. He hit the floor as two security men grabbed me and walked me to the exit. There was a huge fan pop. F. Norman Robitza I recall fondly the many Saturday afternoons in the 70's watching Bulldog wrestle with and against the likes of Leo Burke, The Beast, The Cuban Assassin and others in the old Atlantic Grand Prix. He was the typical arrogant wrestling bully and smart-mouth. Paul Miller I remeber as a young man seeing Bob Wrestle in a church gym in St Boniface, Man. I was greatly impressed with his abilities then, and felt he would be one of the greats, he was. even though he was always booked as a baddie. George Harwood I grew up near Wichita, Kansas, and watched Bulldog every Saturday on tv. I even saw him severak times live. He helped build some of todays stars as well past stars. I watched some great matches between him and Shawn Michaels, Marty Jannetty, Scott Hall (American Eagles), the Von Erich Family, Bruiser Brody not to mention Flair and Harley Race. Bob will truly be missed. TOPBBYGUN@aol.com The Bulldog will never be forgotten. At least not in our family! We watched the Bullldog most every Sunday on Wrestling At The Chase, a Sam Munchnik promotion out of St. Louis. Bob's marginal physique and skills always endeared him to us. His mastery of the small package hold and ability to work the fans made him a true champion of the squared circle. He will truly be missed. Alan Whittenberg I can remember watching Bob Brown in the early 80's at the Antigonish Arena N.S. He always had a way of pissing off all of the local scum-bags. One incident that particularly sticks out to me is when an old lady was shooting off to him all night and he finally grabbed a drink from a spectator and drenched her. A voice hollered, "kick him in the balls!", and that she did sending him into a fit of rage. Other wrestlers had to forcefully contain Bob as he desperately tried to get at her. The episode lasted over a span of 20 minutes until he finally settled down. He was one wrestler that showed true emotions and I'll never forget that. Jason Christie--Antigonish Nova Scotia My greatest memory of Bob Brown was when I saw him put a back-breaker on a midget! 25 years later that memory still leaves me helpless with laughter. MIKEKAUG4@aol.com I have so many fond memories of the Bulldog. He may have been a heel in St. Louis at Wrestling at the Chase. But Bob Brown had a heart of gold. I had known Bob Brown for many, many years and he was one of the truly nicest people I had ever met in the business. He was a bear in the ring, but outside he was a good guy. D. Taylor, St. Louis During my training I was getting beat up pretty good sometimes, one time in particular after training I was sitting there with my elbows all bloody from bumping for what seemed like the millionth time. All the other guys had left and it was just me and Bob, he took a look to make sure that everyone was gone, and then he helped me clean up my elbows and told me to get some polysporn so they wouldn't get infected. This was the first time that Bob had ever showed a soft side to me, and as time went on I grew to find out what a true gentleman Bob realy was.. Tod Bullet.....local Winnipeg wrestler Do you remember Coach from Cheers? The first time I met Bulldog I instantly made the connection. The only differance was that Coach was a scholer compared to Bulldog. Randy Y. I think it was either 1985 or 86 I took my kids to watch Bulldog wrestle. We had front row seats. Bulldog was a bad guy at that time, but it didn't stop me from cheering him on. When he entered the arena, I started cheering, but a young man of about twelve sitting next to me started booing. The young man then leaned over to me and said "Bulldog's a bad guy. Why are you cheering for him?" Just then, Bulldog came around to our side of the ring and hopped up on the apron. The young man stood up, gave Bulldog the finger and yelled "Bulldog Bob Brown, you suck!" Bulldog pulled up a loogie from the deepest part of his lungs and spit it right between the eyes of that young man. I leaned back over to this obviously stunned and embarrassed young man and said "Now you know why I cheer for the bad guy." Keith Renner, Topeka, Kansas I would like every one to know that I think Bob Brown was one of the nicest men on earth. I met him when I was 17yrs old in Canada he was the friend of my boyfriend Mr.Pogo. I pretty much hung out with him every day for six months. He took care of me like I was part of his family . Although he scared me on several occasions. First he flipped a car on the way to catch the ferry to Prince Edward Island and then 2 weeks later he hit a moose on the way back from Halifax. He had 9 lives. Also after leaving Canada I lived in Kansas City, MO. for a year he brought my boyfriend Mr.Pogo there. He was the greatest I am deeply saddened by his death and I will forever remember him. Debbie Klug I'm sad to hear of the Bulldog's passing, he was my favorite wrestler growing up watching all-star wrestling in Iowa. Attended a lot of the house shows at Vets auditorium. Well anyway, my favorite memory of the Bulldog is at Vets auditorium. I was sitting in the balcony front row. Bulldog and Bruiser Bob Sweetan were partnered up against two jabronis I can't remember. But anyway Sweetan stabbed Bulldog in the back and lost the match for them. Soon as Bulldog realized what happened he went chasing after him behind the curtain, I got up walked over toward the end of curtain. When I took a peek, Bulldog was chasing Sweetan around a stack of chairs and shouting profanities and explaining what he was going to do to him when he caught him. By a minute or so a security guard told me to go sit in my eat, so I did. I will always cherish my Bulldog autograph in one of my three house programs books. Thanks Bulldog for the memories you will be missed. Marty Bottema I never got to say good-bye to "The Bulldog". When I first heard of his passing, I was in an six-man tag match in Louisville,KY. for the USWA. Superstar Bill Dundee asked me if I knew Bob Brown, realize now this is in the middle of the match, Of course I said "YES". He asked me if the Bulldog was really dead. We were both standing on the apron basically ignoring Brian Christopher getting beaten up. I said "No, that's a bad rumor from a couple years ago". I didn't realize it was true, I refused to believe it as I had talked to Bob only 2 -3 days before. He had booked me to work for GPW starting in May '97. I told Bill Dundee he must be mistaken. His brother Doug phoned me from Bob's place in Kansas because he and Brian Jewel had seen my pictures on Bob's kitchen table when they went to get his stuff after the funeral. My phone number in Memphis was on the back of one of the pics. They realized that I probably never knew that Bob had died. I believe the last time I saw Bob was at his place, in the basement, having a few beers, and having a good laugh. We had many matches together, I learned a vast amount of psychology from him. I think of him as one of my mentors, a grizzled veteran with a heart of gold who helped me see that this sport isn't just physical, it's mental, a story has to be told. I could go on about funny things that he did and said, but I'd rather keep those smiles to myself. He helped to make me the man I am today and I hope he somehow knows of his influence on me. I will never forget the knowledge, inspiration, wisdom, beer, laughs, long road-trips, whiskey, advice, attitude, confidence, stories, and great matches you have granted me with. I will always remain in debt. I wish that I had a chance to say good-bye properly, but this will have to do. I miss you and I wish you were still here, Chi Chi Cruz WOW! What a guy. Very personable on the one hand and mean as a wildcat on the other. I have MANY memories of Bulldog, the last being in 1981 when he tagged up with Andre The Giant at the National Guard Armory in Iowa Falls, Iowa. What an event! Patrick Palmer The fact is that Bulldog Bob Brown is the best wrestler there has ever been. If it wasn't for Bulldog Bob Brown guys like Terry Taylor and Marty Janetty would not be stars today! I will never forget when Bob slammed the spike in Gypsy Joe's head! Bulldog Bob Brown was hardcore before it became a fad to be hardcore! David Lee Clay Pittsburg,Kansas. ps. I never met Bob but I wish I had! He was#1 'nuff said! I grew up on Bulldog Bob Brown. Watching wrestling in Iowa from 77 on Bulldog was as big to me as Hulk Hogan ever was. The wars he had with Bob Sweetan, Buck Robley, Harley Race, Buzz Tyler, and many others are great wrestling memories. One of my favorite memories of the Bulldog was in an interview and he started ranting how he was in the newest edition of "Swank." It still makes me laugh thinking of it. Rest in peace Bulldog. Bill Linn I grew up watching him on ALL STAR WRESTLING here in Kansas City. I lived for Thursday nights, where we would go to Memorial Hall and watch faithfully. I also counted down the hours to watch our studio wrestling at the old Channel 41 TV station. I remember watching Bulldog nearly beating Handsome Harley Race for the NWA Championship, and then the next week getting beat to a bloody pulp by Bruiser Brody. He was one of the best local guys ever. I truly miss him as well as what I knew as Professional Wrestling. This Crap today is horrible !!!!!!! I will never forget when he would sign autographs for people outside of the studio after the 2 hour taping and one Saturday morning around Halloween of 77 or 78 he handed out bubble gum and tootsie rolls to the kids. I was around 8 years old then and I will never forget that day. R.I.P Bulldog Love Tony in Kansas City Bob Brown was given the "Bulldog" nickname when he was in grade school and it stuck with him his entire life.. Bob Brown was particularly successful in Western Canada, the Maritimes, and the Kansas City territory.. 1996: Bob Brown retired from wrestling after a massive heart attack.. Brown was working as a security officer on the Flamingo Floating Casino in Kansas City, Mo.. February 1997: Brown died at the age of 57..
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Post by ACWA Incorporated on Feb 15, 2006 11:52:04 GMT -5
[red]Buddy Lane[/red] Buddy Lane (Dave Kochen) is the son of former wrestler "Bad" Bill Kochen.. Buddy Lane also wrestled a lot in the Maritimes for Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling under Emile Dupre.. REAL NAME: Barnabus David Kochen Lane BORN: January 7, 1956 in White Rock, British Columbia 5'10", 226-230 pounds In basketball, they talk about blue chip prospects, in hockey, the top juniors get the scouts all excited. Imagine taking the same premise to pro wrestling, and you're looking in at the class of 1972, training with Verne Gagne. There are Olympians Kosrow Vasiri (The Iron Sheik), Ken Patera and Chris Taylor, a couple of promising youngsters in Ric Flair, Buddy Rose, Rick Steamboat, and Buddy Wolfe. But this story isn't about them, it's about the unheralded, late-round draft pick, Barnabus David Kochen Lane, who despite following his father's footsteps into the mat game, got next to no publicity early in his career. Yet almost 30 years later, it's 'Buddy' Lane who is one of the key people behind the scenes in the Maritime promotion Real Action Wrestling, grooming some of the potential stars of tomorrow. Lane is a traditionalist through and through, teaching his new charges to stay grounded, learn the ropes properly before trying anything fancy. Sounds a lot like wisdom he picked up from AWA veterans like Gagne, Nick Bockwinkel and Ray Stevens. Lane's father was The Big K, 'Wild' Bill Kochen, who originally hailed from Sioux City, Iowa and settled into the AWA way of life, retiring from in-ring action in 1971, and refereeing after that. Like his dad, Lane was athletically gifted, but was only 5'10". "Wrestling was just something that I always wanted to do," Lane explained to SLAM! Wrestling. His dad got him into the training with Gagne. The camp was the easy part compared to his first few years in the business, setting up rings, being a referee and getting used as a punching bag. "I went to the camp and they kept telling me I wasn't ready. You go to the camp again and they say you're not ready yet. Then when I was finally ready, apparently, when you run into guys like Blackjack Lanza, the Super Destroyer, Angelo Mosca, Blackjack Mulligan, and you get pounded night in, night out by these big monsters ... you kind of ask yourself, 'Is this what it's all about?' Because when you get to work with a Stevens, a [Pat] Patterson, a Bockwinkel, who were like wrestling technicians, it's a whole different thing. You get to wrestle with those guys, in and out of holds. When you get into a match with a Stan Hansen, it's just a slugfest. That's sort of how you earn your way. You just get pounded and pounded and pounded. If you cry wolf or complain, they just tell you to go on home, kid, you're not tough enough." His hard work paid off, and he eventually carved himself out a spot. "I just kept coming. I remember Angelo Mosca blackened both of my eyes and I broke my nose when I starting out. I never said a word, I kept on going," he explained. "The thing is, if you want to be a wrestler, whether you're smaller or not, if you know your craft inside out, you work out, you show the fellows that you're there to stay, eventually you're going to pound out a spot for yourself." Size was certainly an issue to some people, but Lane downplays it. "I was always under the assumption that if you can take them all down on the mat, they're all the same size." His name Buddy Lane comes from a childhood nickname, and his mother's maiden name. Lane's first territory outside of Minnesota was Gene Kiniski's Vancouver promotion, where he was sent for seasoning in 1974. He quickly realized that he had actually had it great, starting out in one of the biggest, most important promotions. "All these guys would give their eye teeth to work in Minneapolis," Lane said. "There was no free ride there. You had to live it, eat it and breathe it." Besides Vancouver, which he figures he returned to at least 10 times, Lane hit Kansas City, Portland, Calgary, Winnipeg, Montreal, California, Florida, and did stints in Europe, Japan (with Harley Race), Korea and Jordan. His favourite stint was the AWA in the mid-'80s. Some of the top talent was there, and he was regularly taking on greats like Nick Bockwinkel and Billy Robinson. And there was the title chase. "I used to chase Steve Regal around, Mike Graham, Rock'n' Roller Buck Zumhoff for the lightheavyweight crown," Lane explained. Every time he came close, the belt was kept from his permanent grasp, especially against Steve Regal (not to be confused with William Regal of today's WWF). "It's all a work anyways, but you beat him for the light-heavyweight crown and then they weigh him, he's overweight, so the title can't change hands," sighed Lane. "I'd chase him all over Minneapolis and around the United States again." On one occasion, Lane beat Regal in a non-title match, then Mike Graham beat Regal for the title. Lane's chase of Graham then began. Throughout his career, Lane was pretty well always a babyface. "It was better suited for me because I had the wrestling background, but I always sort of wanted to be the heel. Guys like Verne, Gene Kiniski and that said 'No, no, you've got blond hair. You're too good looking to be a heel.'" In 1984, he got a chance to head to Eastern Canada. "I was talking to Bob Brown and the Stomper and they were going to the Maritimes. I didn't really know the Maritimes. They said, 'You know where Leo Burke is from, right?' I said, 'Yeah, New Brunswick'. 'Well, they call that the Maritimes.' Well, I'd heard about it. I got to wrestle in the best place there was. So Brown says 'Gimme some pictures and I'll take them down there.' So he took my pictures and took them to [promoter Emile] Dupre. He saw me on television and he called me and asked if I wanted to come in. In the summers in Minneapolis, it does get slow. It was known as a winter territory. So Wally Karbo says 'Go ahead, go.' I came down here the summer of '84 and worked against Archie Gouldie, The Stomper, Bob Brown, Mr. Pogo." He was an instant hit because the AWA TV show was seen in the Maritimes. The style of wrestling was different than many of the other territories he worked. To Lane, the fans out East want "rock'em'sock'em wrestling" "When the Cuban Assassin told me to get a chair, I got the chair and I broke it over his head because if I didn't break it over his head, it was coming over mine," Lane said with a laugh. The East Coast was home before he knew it. "I met my wife and I ended up staying here. Otherwise, I would probably be in Florida or if this place hadn't have panned out, I would have been living in Portland, Oregon with [Roddy] Piper and Buddy Rose." With the Maritimes being primarily a summer promotion, Lane has had to find some other jobs to keep him busy. He has run a wrestling school, promoted a bit with Stephen Petitpas, worked as an inventory control manager for a furniture store and is even certified to work on the oil rigs offshore. In the Maritimes, Lane worked with Emile Dupre for 10 years, helping to book and promote the territory. The promotional aspects had come pretty easy for him, having been around so many territories and promoters. "Hanging around with Wally Karbo and Verne Gagne, watching those guys do it, it's just common sense. You're booking towns, you're booking this, you're booking that," Lane said. "I learned from Gene Kiniski, I learned from Wally Karbo, I learned from the Grahams in Florida. You pick up all these little things." He admires the job Dupre did. "He did a great job. He ran for 30 years, worked seven days a week, twice on Sundays. You've got to give him credit, whether he's running today or not." Being a student of wrestling over the years has paid off for Lane in his latest capacity as booker and teacher for the fledgling Real Action Wrestling promotion in the Maritimes. "Buddy is an important part of Real Action Wrestling. You can't replace that kind of experience. Technically, and especially on the mat itself, he is awesome. He has helped some of the younger guys to learn holds and counter holds," explained Warren Olson, one of the primary investors in Real Action Wrestling. "The other thing about Buddy, he is extremely passionate about this business. He holds it very dear to his heart. When he speaks about it, you know it's coming from his heart. He doesn't pull any punches for sure. He has been very helpful in helping us get established from both a worker and advisor's point of view. He has adapted well to the evolution of this sport becoming more about entertainment, while managing to keep and integrate the things he has picked up in his 20+ years in the ring." Lane finds that he is trying to instill different skills in the youngsters wrestling in the promotion. "What we're trying to do is bring them back the way the wrestling was, learn how to wrestle on the mat, learn how to wrestle to your feet, do your spot, catch the guy with something, take him down to the mat, wrestle your way out of a spot rather than punch and kick your way out of a spot. Then it shows that there is a bit of a competition going on there. "The ideal is, the reason a heel heels is the babyface outwrestles the heel and then the heel gets so pissed off and frustrated that then he pops the babyface. Then the babyface gets pissed off, and he's got the fans behind him, and the babyface kicks the sh** out of the heel. Then you all go home, the babyface gets his hand raised and the people are happy." He is also trying to teach the psychology that goes behind the wrestling. "Years ago, when a fellow got poked in the eye, the heel conceals it from the referee, then he pokes him in the eye. So then you get the mileage out of why the guy did it. If you do it flagrantly in front of the referee, why's the referee there? He may as well sit in the front row, just watching the two of you beat the daylights of our each other." To Lane, the current WWF scene is suffering because of the lack of wrestling. In the early days of the WWF's rise to prominence, the stars were wrestlers first. "They put these gimmicks onto these fellows, all these images ... it was very easy for those fellows to adapt to a gimmick because they had the wrestling background, they had the style. The fellows that are coming up today, they give them a gimmick first and they don't how to wrestle. Then they learn the wrestling second and that's why the product is unbelievable." He tries to be as good of a teacher as the ones he had. "I made mistakes along the way, but I had great teachers to correct my mistakes. Ray Stevens became a good friend of mine, Pat Patterson, Nick Bockwinkel, guys like that, they just tell you, 'Look, this is the way you've got to do it.'" The advice extends beyond the ring as well. Life on the road can be a challenge for a young wrestler. "When I was coming out of high school, that was the greatest thing, to be partying, being on the road in the hotel rooms and all this other stuff. After a while, the years go by, and you've spent all this money. You made a hundred grand or more, and you're sitting there wondering, 'Where'd all that money go?' You partied it all away." So Lane finds himself showing the youngsters how to save their money as well as how to do a headlock. -- By GREG OLIVER, SLAM! Wrestling, November 2001
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Post by ACWA Incorporated on Feb 15, 2006 11:53:53 GMT -5
[red]Eric Pomeroy[/red] Eric Pomeroy also wrestled under the ring name Stan Pulaski.
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Post by ACWA Incorporated on Feb 15, 2006 11:56:07 GMT -5
[red]Hercules Ayala (Cortez)[/red] Hercules took the name "Ayala" because it was his mother's maiden name.. Hercules Ayala, living in Boston, began working out and met wrestler Angelo Savoldi, who trained him.. Hercules Ayala also did a couple of tours of duty for the Atlantic Grand Prix circuit, wrestling as Hercules Cortez (not the original).. 1988: Hercules Ayala was in the 'heel' dressing room when Bruiser Brody was killed (in the 'face' locker room) in Peurto Rico.. REAL NAME: Ruben Cruz (Ayala is his mother's maiden name) BORN: July 14, 1950 in Puerto Rico 6'1", 265 pounds AKA: Hercules Ayala, Hercules Cortez Hercules Ayala is having a tough time watching wrestling's resurgence from the sidelines. The giant from Puerto Rico still works out every day, weighing in at healthy 265 pounds, and follows both the international and the local scene, but it's not enough. Instead, he finds himself working outside of wrestling for the first time in his life, employed by a fencing company. "I'd like to come back to wrestling for a couple years more," Ayala said from his home in St. Albert, just outside Edmonton. "I know I can do it!" He recently went to a Stampede Wrestling show in Edmonton, and according to his wife, Susan Cruz, "the people remembered him." Ayala, whose real name is Ruben Cruz, grew up in Puerto Rico a fan of the sport, and of Hurricane Castillo in particular. His mother left Puerto Rico in the early 1970s to live in Boston with her daughter and her grandchildren. A few months later she sent Ayala a ticket. (Ayala is his mother's maiden name.) In Boston, Ayala began working out and met wrestler Angelo Savoldi, who trained him. A short time later, he debuted in the WWWF. But it was not on the U.S. scene that he was to become a star. Ayala returned to his native Puerto Rico in the early 70s to work for Capital Sports Promotion, better known as WWC. Soon he was as big as a name as his boyhood hero Hurricane Castillo. "I've got a big, big name in Puerto Rico. Same like Bret and Hulk Hogan here," he explained. Fans in Puerto Rico still talk to this day of his heel turn against Carlos Colon, the long-time WWC promoter and champion. "I was pissed off at Carlos Colon because he always wanted to be better than anybody, all the time in the interviews, he tried to knock me down ... that's why I turn against him," Ayala said. "The bookers and I agree that it was a good idea." The colossal feud filled three stadiums with record numbers, and was even transmitted via satellite to closed circuit across Puerto Rico. WWC was home to hardcore matches well before any North American promotion. Blood flowed freely in barbed wire matches, fire matches and many other insane gimmick matches. The Puerto Rican promotions probably don't get the credit they deserve for the innovations today's fans take for granted. For Ayala, the scariest was the fire match. "After ten minutes, you've got all that heat plus the heat you've got in the arena, you feel like you're going to die," he said. "You can't breathe, plus [you're] tired, and that heat because they keep lighting the ropes. You have to get burned -- your hair, your back." For his wife, though, the scariest moment ever watching her husband was when she saw him screw up his knee during a match in Puerto Rico. "I saw his boot stay and knee go and I knew right then that he was hurt. ... and he had to finish the match. I'm sitting in the stands and I knew he had to get out of there, and I thought, c'mon you guys, stop this match! That's when he ended up having surgery on his legs." She continued. "The fans were crazy down there, so I was scared every time he went to wrestle there." In March 1985, he beat an up-and-comer named Randy 'Macho Man' Savage to win the WWC North American title. Savage would leave to become a major star in the WWF. It is one of a series of 'what-ifs' for Ayala and his wife. They left Calgary together too just before Stu Hart sold his Stampede promotion to the expansionary-minded Vince McMahon Jr., and guaranteed jobs for Stampede vets like Bret Hart, the British Bulldogs, Jim Neidhart and Bad News Allen. "We left Canada about a year before the WWF came into Canada too. So who knows, he could have been picked up by them too," sighed Susan Cruz. Yet wrestling took Ayala around the world, and he claimed to have no regrets. Germany was his favourite place to wrestle. "Wrestling there is different. It's like you have to go in a parade, like when you go into the ring, they put on the music, and you go one by one into the ring like a parade ... the people that like you, they send you flowers, they send you a little card to buy you dinner or lunch ... that was cool," he recalled. In 1977, while on tour in Germany, he met Bret Hart and Dynamite Kid. "Then they talked to me, they say my dad is a promoter in Canada, blah, blah, blah. And I say I'd like to go and they called Stu Hart and that's when they booked me," he said. "In the beginning, I thought that Canada was a big place. I said that that was going to be good for me," Ayala laughed. "I was supposed to come only for six months, and I stayed eight years! A long time!" He also met his wife, and Edmontonian, a short time after arriving in Canada. Susan Cruz said that they met in a bar, at a table full of friends. "As people started leaving, he said to me 'why don't you come sit up here?' I came and sat beside him there, and, pftttt! That was 20 years ago!" The couple has been married 18 years and have two daughters, aged 19 and 17, who have dual citizenship. Ayala, who is a landed immigrant in Canada, also has a son from a previous relationship in Puerto Rico. They have lived in Alberta, Puerto Rico, Boston and Texas as they followed Ayala's career. In Stampede, Ayala, who was often billed as 'The Strongest Man in Wrestling', got the chance to wrestle many different kinds of matches, and was a tag team champ with Jim 'The Anvil' Neidhart. "It was exciting [being in Stampede]," said Ayala. "Good matches, rough, solid. I enjoyed those matches and they were nice people -- Bret, Jim, Dynamite Kid, Davey Boy. They were good people. That's what I like and why I stayed so long." He also did a couple of tours of duty for the Atlantic Grand Prix circuit, wrestling as Hercules Cortez. "Almost every night we got a full house, the little places were packed every night, everywhere. It was nice. I liked it up there," he said of the Maritimes. Grand Prix promoter Emile Dupre recalled Ayala/Cortez fondly, saying that he was "a real good performer." "[He was] a good attraction for us here," said Dupre. "His size, his ability to do things right -- it's what we call being a good worker." Ayala was a champion in Montreal's International Wrestling too, beating Dr. D. David Shultz for the promotion's top title in January 1987, and losing the belt to Abdullah the Butcher a month later. ("I wrestled so many times with him. That's a lot of bloody matches!") He was managed by Pretty Boy Floyd Creatchman, and was flown in from Boston for shows. But talk of Montreal brings up the legendary Bruiser Brody, who was being brought in on occasion to the promotion, which was on its last legs. Ayala goes quiet. "He was my buddy," he said of Brody, who was killed in a dressing room altercation in 1988. "I was in the heel dressing room and he was in the babyface dressing room when it happened that night ... it was terrible. I didn't want to wrestle the next night." He said that just before the attack, he had stuck up for Brody in his argument with the promoters. It soured his relationship with Capitol Sports, but he has been back to wrestle for the promotion since, including last December. -- By GREG OLIVER, SLAM! Wrestling
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Post by ACWA Incorporated on Feb 15, 2006 11:59:16 GMT -5
[red]Bruiser Brody[/red] 1988: Bruiser Brody had his career and life cut short by Invader I in Puerto Rico.. ~~~Bruiser Brody was stabbed to death in the locker room by fellow wrestler Jose Huertez Gonzales (Invader I).. SLAM! Wrestling Editorial: Bruiser Brody remembered By JOHN F. MOLINARO -- SLAM! Wrestling Bruiser Brody was stabbed to death on July 16th, 1988 in the locker room of Juan Lobriel Stadium in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. A bastion of work ethic and ring work his entire career, he was taken from this world long before his time was up. Sadly, eleven years later, it appears to me that nobody remembers or even cares. The wrestling world's negligence in not formally remembering Brody is nothing short of criminal. One need only to look around and realize that the legacy of Bruiser Brody lives on today in the form of hardcore wrestling being promoted by the WWF, WCW and ECW. All the "junkyard matches", WWF hardcore titles and ECW death matches that litter today's wrestling world are pale imitations of the carnage, violence and havoc that Bruiser Brody wreaked over his career. Mick Foley, today's undisputed king of hardcore, studied video tapes of Brody's matches while training to be a pro wrestler, wanting to pattern himself after him. Perhaps there is no greater evidence of Brody's lasting influence than Mankind. For over 15 years, Brody wrestled around the world, making a stop in virtually every territory and promotion. He regularly toured such exotic countries as New Zealand, Austria, Thailand and Australia and became a household name in Puerto Rico and Japan where he was the top foreign wrestler in the country. Brody was a brawler that managed to bring mayhem, chaos and bedlam with him wherever he traveled. Playing the role of a madman, Brody was one of the top draws in the world and carved out a name for himself by carving out holes in the foreheads of such opponents like Dusty Rhodes, Terry Funk, Harley Race, Carlos Colon and Abdullah the Butcher. While fans will remember the Ric Flair - Ricky Steamboat feud for its drama, the Rey Misterio Jr. - Psicosis series for its daredevil spots and the Eddie Guerrero - Dean Malenko matches for its scientific wizardry, Brody's matches with Colon and Abdullah will forever be remembered as the greatest brawls and bloodbaths in the history of the sport. Bruiser Brody was a legend both in and out of the ring. In the seedy world of pro wrestling where promoters rule and make wrestlers tow the line, Brody was an outlaw. He was a true free agent, wrestling where and when he wanted, refusing to sign any long-term contract with any promoter. Brody liked to move around and didn't want to be tied down. He was in control of his wrestling career and didn't owe anything to any promoter, a fact that made him very difficult to work with. Brody was notorious for ignoring instructions from bookers and often refused to put wrestlers over when asked. Over a six-year period, he did not do one single clean-pin job. Coming out to the ring wildly swinging a metal chain with Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" blasting over the p.a. system, Brody parted a walkway through the sea of ringside fans with his blood curdling shouts. He posed a security risk to fans, fellow wrestlers and promoters wherever he appeared. And yet, he bounced around North America, from territory to territory as a hired gun. Promoters would bring Brody into their territory whenever attendance was down to help pop a huge gate. Whenever they did, Brody was sure to sell the building out. And like he had done so many times before, he was out the door on his way to the next territory. He was a true wrestling journeyman. Brody was in such big demand in Japan that he became the object of a bidding war between New Japan and All Japan Pro Wrestling in 1985. He quickly walked out on All Japan and came to an agreement with New Japan promoter Antonio Inoki that would see him earn in excess of $14,000 a week guaranteed, at the time the most lucrative deal in wrestling. Such was the power and influence he wielded in the sport. Bruiser Brody died at 42 years old. On a hot, steamy night in Puerto Rico, Brody and Jose Gonzalez - the booker of the World Wrestling Council promotion - had gotten into an argument backstage at a house show. Brody died with a hunting knife plunged into his abdomen and lungs. While a doctor scrambled to work on Brody, it took approximately 40 minutes to get him loaded into an ambulance. The damage was so severe that the surgeons at the hospital had to operate twice. It was to no avail. Brody died on the operating table, having bled to death. At a trial held months later, Gonzalez was charged in connection with Brody's death. Gonzalez pleaded self-defense and was acquitted of the charges and is still wrestling in WWC to this day. Bruiser Brody was the archetypal big man in wrestling. He used his size and gimmick to get over with the audience. He was a wrestling machine, trekking half-way around the globe, leaving a trail of broken bones and bloodied bodies behind him. His was a legend that will never be forgotten by hardcore fans. As wrestling exploded in the 80s into the realm of sports entertainment, Brody remained a pro wrestler, an athlete and a competitor. In the current landscape of pro wrestling, with its glut of monthly cookie-cutter pay-per-views, Monday night ratings war and where style takes precedent over substance, Brody would be out of place. Is it any wonder the wrestling world chose to forget instead of remember?
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Post by ACWA Incorporated on Feb 15, 2006 12:02:07 GMT -5
[red]Gerry Etifier Morrow[/red] REAL NAME: Gerard Etifier BORN: September 10, 1949 in Martinique, French West Indies 6'0", 240 pounds AKA/NICKNAMES: Gerry Morrow, 'The Lightning', Comrade Gerry Morrow, Champagne Gerry Morrow Gerry Morrow followed his brother Eddie into wrestling. But what you probably didn't know is that Gerry hardly knew his brother when making that decision. Eddie is 12 years older than Gerry, and there were nine kids in the Etifier family. Paris, France was Eddie's home, while Gerry grew up in Martinique. When he turned 18, Gerry hooked up with his brother to become a pro wrestler too -- against their mother's wishes. "When he used to go to work in Paris, I used to go with him. I started to know about wrestling," Morrow explained recently to SLAM! Wrestling in his heavy French accent. "When I was in Paris, they used to have a wrestling school. My mom used to urge my brother to quit wrestling because it was too dangerous." When their mother passed away, Gerry got some different advice from his father. "My Dad says 'Your mom used to stop you from what you wanted to do. So now she's passed away and you can go.'" Having put in time in the wrestling school in Paris, Gerry went to Japan to learn in a dojo. He stayed in Japan until May 1975. Gerry Morrow became known as a quick wrestler, who wrestled technically. In 1975, Gerry went to Montreal with his brother to Grand Prix Wrestling for a tag team tournament. His brother had been to the promotion before, but Gerry had already met many of the top Montreal stars like Mad Dog Vachon in Japan. His brother continued to teach him on the road. "I always grew up to have respect for your elders. Because of all of his time in the wrestling business ... I always have respect for him. He always helped me lots -- what to do, what not to do." From Montreal, Gerry & Eddie ventured out to Calgary Stampede Wrestling, where they dominated the promotion for a while, holding the tag titles on three occasions and Eddie holding the North American title. A trip to the Vancouver promotion followed with Eddie, Gama Singh and Mike Sharpe. Then, after a trip to Germany, Gerry Morrow decided to settle down in Calgary. "I used to like Calgary because you used to work almost every night, and I met lots of good people there," he said. From Calgary, he went back and forth to Japan, and worked South Africa, Germany, New Zealand, Puerto Rico. Along the way, Morrow picked up many different languages including English, Japanese and German, to go with his native French tongue. 'Champagne' Gerry was almost always a bad guy in his career in Stampede, and loved it. "It was very hard for me [to do interviews] with my broken English," he said. "As a bad guy, you can say whatever you want! As a good guy, you have to clarify whatever you say, and be nice and stick with it." He met success in Stampede's tag division in 1978 as a partner with former CFLer George Welles. "He was a good guy, a good tag team partner," Gerry said, adding that he hasn't spoken to Welles in years. When asked about his favourite match, Morrow takes a long time to decide. "The British Bulldogs, after they came back from the WWF, they come into Stampede and myself and Cuban Assassin worked against them. That was very good, I've never forgotten those ones." Ah yes, the Cuban Assassin. As a partner to Gerry, they won the Stampede tag belts twice, and the WWC Caribbean tag titles as well. Gerry was even dubbed 'Comrade' Gerry Morrow for a while. In an earlier interview with SLAM! Wrestling, the Cuban Assassin said that his best partner was Gerry Morrow. "I'm from Cuba. He's from Martinique, 60-70 miles away. He speaks French, but he speaks Spanish and he speaks Japanese, and he speaks broken English like me." Over the years, Gerry Morrow has gotten the chance to see many up-and-comers on the Stampede circuit. Names like Keichi Yamada (now Jushin Thunder Liger), Hiro Hase, Owen Hart and Brian Pillman went on to bigger things. He said that he always enjoyed helping "green guys." One of those youngsters was a real student of the game, and soaked up any advice that Gerry had to offer. Chris Benoit's success didn't come as a surprise to Morrow. "He's so quiet. He's always the same. I knew that he would be doing good. I would always watch his matches." In the ring, he enjoyed wrestling Benoit. "I used to help Chris Benoit a lot, Johnny Smith, Phil Lafleur. You know those two guys in the WWF, I know them as Jay and Adam [aka Christian and Edge]. I used to work with them in Winnipeg." He also helped out Chris Jericho and Lance Storm too. "They're doing excellent. I'm glad for them." Gerry Morrow, who has been a Canadian citizen since 1983, last wrestled a couple of years ago for Tim Flowers' ICW promotion in B.C. "I don't really miss it I watch WCW and the WWF -- so much flying, sexuality, swearing there. It's discouraging me." He also can't believe the money that is in the sport now. "They don't even do half of the work I used to do!" He lives in Calgary with his second wife and two dogs -- a Rottweiler and a Border Terrier Collie. From a previous marriage, he has triplet daughters who just turned 20. Recently, after 20 years, he returned to Martinique with his wife. It was a difficult time. "Oh man, it was sad to see. The ocean, they have lots of hurricanes there and the hurricanes took half of the town that I'm from." His brother Eddie lives in Australia working at a hotel, and apparently still looks great. "He's still working out. He sent me a picture from there -- holy smokes, I couldn't believe it! The guy is 63 years old and he still looks good!"
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Post by ACWA Incorporated on Feb 15, 2006 12:04:25 GMT -5
[red]Rocky Della Serra[/red] REAL NAME: Gerry Della Serra BORN: October 6, 1958 in Montreal 5'11", 232 pounds "back in the old days, I probably carried a little more weight than I should have" AKA: Gino Della Serra (Puerto Rico), UFO #2, El Santos Timing can mean so much in wrestling. There's the length of the matches, the timing between two opponents on their moves. And then there's the timing of one's career. Two Della Serra brothers made it in pro wrestling. Bob, who is seven years older than his brother Rocky, started as a pro wrestler in the early '70s when wrestling was booming. Rocky's entrance to the mat game wasn't as well timed, hitting the tail end of the territory system. Rocky broke into the business in 1978 after a successful amateur wrestling career, and a solid background in high school football. But by the mid-'80s, the promotions were being eaten up by Vince McMahon and the WWF or put out of business altogether. "It was a blast, to experience the whole deal back then. My brother had a better time, because he started at an earlier time where the business was even in better shape for local promotions and stuff. The time he had must have just been phenomenal," Rocky Della Serra told SLAM! Wrestling from his home in New Westminster, B.C. His first wrestling trip was to Germany, a place where his brother had been working for 10 years, every fall and spring. Bob Della Serra opened a few doors for his younger brother. "Bottom line, though, once you get in there, you still have to get the job done. But it definitely helped with a brother there to help you get in doors, and that's what my brother did for me." Rocky was able to learn about the pros and cons of pro wrestling from a trusted family member, who was himself a part of a trusted, secretive occupation. "It definitely helped having an older brother in the business. Especially back then, the business was a secret. It's not like it is today. Everybody's smart to wrestling," he said. "We used to protect the business back then very much. Nobody snuck in the business. If you were going to get into the business, you had to get in because you had a lot of credibility or you knew somebody." At 18, Rocky found himself at loose ends. He didn't have the desire to pursue further success in amateur wrestling. (In 1974, he won the silver medal in Quebec at the Quebec Amateur Wrestling Championships.) A go-round with Olympic weightlifting for a while showed that the flexibility in his shoulders just wasn't there. "One thing led to another and I just had my eye on pro wrestling. Seeing my brother in the ring, and all that stuff, and I just wanted to get into that," he explained. So it was off to Germany for the October festival. "It's two months long, and they wrestled in a tent in Hanover, Germany, for two months, and they are in the same place every night. They draw phenomenal crowds. During the week, it was seven days a week--doesn't mean you wrestled seven days a week--but there was a parade at the beginning of the show ... They'd draw anywhere between 1,500 and 5,000 people. "That was easy for those days. Anybody who'd go there would just love it because it was like a paid vacation. Some days you didn't wrestle, so you were a free man and you still got paid anyway. Especially for me, it was my first time in the business and I saw all these, we used to call them arena rats back then, groupies, tons of women. I had a ball!" He returned to Montreal and got a job as a bouncer at a nightclub in the Limelight district. His brother, Bob, had also worked there off and on during his wrestling career, and so too did Rocky over the years. An ex-wrestler turned fireman, Alain St. Pierre, was the head doorman at the club and was sympathetic to the ups and downs of the grappling game. In the spring of 1979, Rocky went to Vancouver as Gino Della Serra, and lasted a couple of months. He also went to Puerto Rico where he also worked as Gino. ("They didn't feel that Rocky was a wrestling name. I don't know about that anymore!") Up next was a stint with George Cannon. "He was going into Newfoundland for the first time. Superstars of Wrestling had been there in Newfoundland for a couple of years, so everyone was established. TV is important," he said. "Those were the days when independent promotions had TV. So we went in there and packed the houses." On occasion, Della Serra would be billed under a hood as El Santos. "It was his gimmick, George, and he would just put different guys under that hood. It was like a white-black outfit," Della Serra said. "I remember one wrestling date I worked for George on Superstars. I worked the first match as Rocky Della Serra, on the same show, then I came back in the last match, TV time limit, as El Santos. So those were the good old days." Rocky also worked for Emile Dupre in a costume as UFO #2, a gimmick that his brother Bob had also used, primarily around Quebec. Many fans know him from his days in All-Star Wrestling in B.C. in the early-to-mid 1980s, or from his time in Portland. His career highlight? "I think the pinnacle, that I could have gone either way from here; maybe I had just gone here or there, I think we all do in life. But I think the pinnacle was when I went to Puerto Rico the first time in 1982. They were going to team me up with Eddie Gilbert," said Della Serra. "He was a super talent there. I thought it was a compliment to me to be recognized in the same breath as somebody like that. I was young at the time, I looked great, I had the ability. They were going to team us up as a young tag team but all of a sudden he got a call from Vince McMahon Sr. to go work for the WWF. So he had to go. So they ended up teaming me up with another pretty good wrestler, a different style of wrestler but still good, Frenchy Martin, (aka) Pierre Martel." It's a serious "What if?" that haunts Della Serra. "Who knows what could have happened there. We could have gotten over real good, we could have become buddy-buddy and gone further. Sometimes things like that can turn somebody's career around." By the end of the 1980s, it was all over. "I didn't pack it in, but the business was packed in, in 1989," he said. Up next was a hand at running the show. "I had this wild idea that I thought that I could be a wrestling promoter and turn things around. It's just like the old story, when a stock is going down, sometimes it is time to buy. I bought in here when Al Tomko packed it in. We didn't really buy from Al, we just bought his ring." He ran shows with Fred Rosselli (Mike Rosselli's dad) and "it didn't work out" from 1989-1995. He doesn't miss the promoting at all. "I didn't miss the last five years, trying to promote your own show or work some other small promotion because the money wasn't there. My ex-wife was on my case about not working. I didn't miss that. But I do miss the good old times, definitely, say 1978-1988, that period there where you could just pick up a phone and call a promoter and get booked somewhere." Today, the 44-year-old Della Serra works as an account rep for the Credit Bureau of Vancouver, and dons the tights on occasion for the local Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling promotion. He is working this Friday, August 22nd, teaming with old foe Michelle Starr against Ladies Choice and Adam Firestorm. The show is at Bridgeview Hall, 11475 - 126A Street in Surrey, BC. Tickets are $12 front row, $10 general admission.
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Post by ACWA Incorporated on Feb 15, 2006 12:05:24 GMT -5
[red]The Great Kuma[/red]
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Post by ACWA Incorporated on Feb 15, 2006 12:08:43 GMT -5
[red]Sweet Daddy Siki[/red] Sweet Daddy Siki teamed with "Sailor" Art Thomas, and feuded with men such as Leo Burke, Dave Ruhl and countless others.. Early 80s: After retiring, Siki & Johnny Powers began training wrestlers out of Southwestern Ontario.. ~~~While in Toronto, Sweet Daddy Siki also made appearances as a country singer.. 2003: Sweet Daddy Siki is now the DJ/Karaoke host at a bar called the Duke of York in Toronto.. A fan Wrote... Naomi wrote: I remember sweet Daddy siki as a young girl... I am a polio survivor and one afternoon in Niagara falls ont. Mr. siki happened to be in a drug store purchasing, I happened to be behind him in my wheelchair... I knew him as my father is a wrestling watcher at that time. I was about ten maybe. He turned and said hello asked me if i would be alright I said yes and he gave me a dollar.. which i spent immediately to the horror of my parents.. I will never forget the blonde hair, as well as how big and strong he was.. Wondering if he is still alive and if so... send him my Thank you. It was very thrilling. REAL NAME: Reginald Siki 5' 10", 245 pounds BORN: June 16, Montgomery, Texas Sweet Daddy Siki started wrestling in 1955 in Artisa, New Mexico. He also did some training in Los Angeles with Sandor Szabo and Ray Ortega. He says he was about 180 pounds when he started, but within three years weighed in at 230. He moved to Toronto in 1961 because it was a good central location to travel across North America. "When I came to Toronto, I said 'My God, this is God's country," he said recently. "I fell in love with it." He still lives in Toronto today, and uses it as a base for his country & western band and his work as a DJ. Siki is well known right across Canada. He fought in Stampede wrestling for years, travelled with Bearman McKigney's circuit and was a mainstay of the eastern scene. "I always did like Newfoundland. That's about the best province there is ... The people there are really nice." Besides Canada, Siki wrestled right across the United States, in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Puerto Rico, Bahamas, Trinidad. QUOTE "A lot of people try to copy me, but there's only one Niagara Falls and only one Mona Lisa. And there's only one Mr. Irresistible -- Sweet Daddy Siki." Memories Sweet Daddy, he had the blonde, white hair and beautiful mirror. He was the black Gorgeous George of his day. He did everything Gorgeous George did, except he was black. I'd never seem him in a bad wrestling match either. He was pretty colorful. He wrestled that Dave Ruhl a number of times. The 'hand and pig farmer' he called him. Stu Hart from a Nov. 1997 interview with SLAM! Wrestling I remember as a kid growing up on Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling and the sort watching "Sweet Daddy", my all time favorite memory of him was when he came to the ring with the sunglasses, And the hand Mirror, And every time he went to take off the Glasses very slowly the crowd would Boo! He then would stop and turn to the fans and tell every one to Shut up! He would try again to remove them but only to have the same result. This would go on for about five or ten minutes, when he would finally seem to get frustrated and just pull them off. Blair Spicer, North Sydney, NS I remember as a youngster watching Sweet Daddy Siki..but I also remember my older sister playing his albums... Darlene Dacuk I remember the introduction for Siki - Detroit area - early 70s. "In this corner, from Toronto, Canada, weighing 245 pounds ... the Sweetest Man in the Whooooooooooooole Wide World ... Mr. Irresistible ... Sweet Daddy Siki!" MDCSmoke I remember when I was a kid of about 12 or 13 watching Dave Ruhl and Sweet Daddy Siki battling in a match on Stampede Wrestling. Siki had hidden a short length of wood under the ring and soon started beating on Ruhl with it. I was so upset I didn't watch wrestling for over two years Bruce Fairman, Moose Jaw, SK Growing up in the Toronto area I got a chance to see the Sweet Man wrestle for the Tunney promotion.. Thirty years later, I can still see myself imitating the ring announcer saying, " From Greenwich Village New York weighing in at 235 pounds it's the Sweet Man ... SWEEEET DAAAAADDDDDDDYYYYYY SIKI. Tom Ruff, Orillia, Ontario In 1985 I was preparing to play my first Single Gig in a bar called the Bradford Exchange in the somewhat distant town of Bradford Ontario. Although I had been playing in bands for some years, I was somewhat nervous about playing a single. On the Monday prior to the performance, I received a call from Sweet Daddy Siki, (whose acquaintance I had made over the years), to ask how things were going. During the course of our conversation, he mentioned that he wasn't doing anything that weekend, and might drop out to see me. Of course I had heard this kind of conversational banter from quite a few people over the course of the years and gave little credence to it. When Saturday night rolled around, and being February it was a blizzard outside, the venue was packed to the rafters with over 400 farmers and businessmen out for an evening of Country Music. At 10:00 a still came over the audience as one of the most recognizable wrestlers in the world entered the front door. Sweet Daddy came in and took a seat, and when the set ended, he made his way to the stage, and greeted me like a long lost brother. He stayed long enough to do some songs with me, and when he finished, a gentleman announced that in honour of Sweet Daddy's visit he would like to by the house a round. As Sweet Daddy prepared to leave, we spoke for a few moments at the front door, and as people left to escape the worsening blizzard, many of them stopped to thank HIM for the drink HE had bought for them. Two hours travel in a Blizzard in the middle of the Winter! Is it any wonder I hold this man in my memory with the greatest pride in being able to call him my friend? Peter Styles, Stypro Records & Promotions, Canada I remember Siki as one of the first wrestlers I saw while watching TV in the late 50's with my Dad. His Tag Team partner was Sailor Art Thomas and sometimes Bearcat Wright Mark Liebermann, Wappingers Falls, NY My favourite memory of the Sweet Daddy was seeing him wrestle in Windsor, NS at the old Arena. The ceiling was only about 12 feet high or so..a very low ceiling. He was wrestling Leo Burke and was getting the worst of it. Leo climbed the top rope and jumped down to give him an elbow smash or something like that. As he did, he hit his head on the overhead lights and pretty much knocked himself out. Everyone stopped and was stunned, including ref Ron Gogagne. Not Sweet Daddy Siki. He promptly went to ringside, grabbed one of his mirrors, then proceeded to beat the unconcious Leo with his mirror. Vintage Sweet Daddy. Mike Cross, Bedford, NS I hate- wrestling Born in Regina, sports was not high on the list in the fifties and sixties. Hockey sucked and so did wrestling. BUT, my dad loved Sweet, and he made me take a second look. I moved to Calgary in 1973 and started to like Stu hart. I still hate wrestling. But these 2 men, I admire. They both bring fond memories of my now de-funked tree. I respect the Hart family, as a Canadian, and in general, still love Sweet. I have never been to a match, and cried, about Owen. Saddened with Bret's anger, and mournful over the whole concept of wrestling. My memory is sweet with Sweet. Dee Henney Sweet Daddy Siki was nothing short of sensational during his tenure with Grand Prix Wrestling at the height of it's popularity in the mid 80's. He was one of the innovators of a patented strut with which he would enter the ring,and also cut great interviews with Bill McCullough. One of my favorite quotes Sweet Daddy ever said with his manager "No Class" Bobby Bass at his side was: " 99% of the women love me, 1% hate me, but they are the fat, ugly ones with no teeth, Leo Burke can have those ones" --Ladies Choice--(Wrestler) "The Ladies' pet and the men's fret.." was a popular saying by Sweet Daddy. He was an exciting and impressionable wrestler to watch in a time when wrestling skills were required for the "show". R.D.(Rick) Hawkins I remember as a kid in the mid-sixties, I would go to the Welland Arena Friday nights to watch all the true superstars of this business. I was 12 at the time, and every Friday night I would get to the arena early, waiting for Sweet Daddy to arrive. He would pull up, and soon he waited for me to show and I was the one chosen every time to carry his suitcase into the arena. Rick Longhurst, Essex Ontario I remember watching Siki wrestle on television here in Chicago at the old Marigold Gardens. The event that I remeber the most was after a tag match that him and Sailor Art Thomas had just defeated the Sicilians. They were being interviewed, and a person who stated that she was the president of the Sweet Daddy Siki club had presented him with a jacket. The Kangaroos then came out and ripped the jacket apart. There was a near riot following this happening. It was a show to remember. KStanhibel@aol.com Seeing Sweet Daddy do a TV interview in the early eighties was the funniest things I have ever seen. With a mirror in each hand and his photo on the back, he praised himself to the roof for a match he was having that night in Sudbury. Perfumed himself to high heaven also making the local announcer (Who probably never interviewed a wrestler before or since) choke and try to make sense of the SWEEEEEEEtes DUDE in Wrassling) I also had the country album that he sang in and unfortunately lost it when I lent it to a friend. As a singer he's a good wrestler. Terry Fielding, Sudbury, Ontario I see Sweet Daddy every week in Toronto at the Duke, he has to be the sweetest man I ever knew, and caring, and wrestling is not my scene....but what a hunk , still looks great.... Best wishes love Linda and Charlie I remember when Sweet Daddy had a protege named Duke Nobel who was a young wrestler that had promise but was not the draw that Sweet Daddy was. Sweet Daddy made an announcement on Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling show that from now on the young fella would no longer be Duke Nobel but would now be known as the magnificent Duke of Earl. This did not really do a lot for Duke Nobel but it would be hard to top an act like Sweet Daddy. Sweet Daddy was indeed a great wrestler. I think the Sweet One certainly did a lot for wrestling and he was definitely a pioneer in breaking the color barrier in wrestling. Keep on keeping in Sweet Daddy. Eric Jordan, Dartmouth N.S. I recall watching Sweet Daddy Siki, master of the drop-kick, as he entertained us on Saturday TV in Columbus Ohio in the 50's. There was Handsome Johnny Barond(spelling?) and Ace Freeman and soiome others..but Sweet daddy was the one...I hope you are still out there Sweet daddy... Where can I get a CD? Jim Freeman, Freeland Washington
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Post by ACWA Incorporated on Feb 15, 2006 12:11:53 GMT -5
[red]Sunny War Cloud[/red] REAL NAME: Robert Rancourt BORN: May 10, 1955 HOMETOWN: Jonquiere, Quebec 5'10" 242 pounds Sunny War Cloud has been in the wrestling business since 1984. He's been on the independent scene in the province of Quebec for most of that time, but has wrestled around thw world. You'll often find him as an early card wrestler on WWF or WCW shows. Lately, he's been on indy shows in Quebec. Memories Sunny my uncle saw when you beat Bozo Brazil. ROC1446@aol.com Does anyone remember little Suni Warcloud - I think he used to do a Suni Indian Rain Dance before he put his victim down for the 10-count. I loved that guy - anyone know whatever happened to him? I remember he and Mil Mascaras teamed up for a totally great tag-team against Gordman & Goliath and kicked the stuffing out of them. Stan Dubyn Sunny is my brother... I'll always love you Robert... PrincessIsab@aol.com
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Post by ACWA Incorporated on Feb 15, 2006 12:21:50 GMT -5
[red]Sky Low Low[/red] REAL NAME: Marcel Gauthier BORN: Montreal, Quebec DIED: November 6, 1998 at 70 42 inches, 86 pounds "The Little Atlas of the Wrestling World" has passed away at age 70. Montreal's Sky Low Low made his name in the fifties as he travelled from territory to territory, taking on the best midget wrestlers from around the globe. He was fast in the ring, an excellent dropkicker, and was usually the heel, using dastardly tactics to gain the upperhand. Sky Low Low even faced Little Beaver in front of royalty like Queen Elizabeth and King Farouk of Egypt. The two are generally considered the greatest midget wrestlers of all time. Both Sky Low Low and Little Beaver were for a time managed by Jack Britton, father of Gino Brito. Britton also managed midgets Fuzzy Cupid, Lord Littlebrook and Pee Wee James. One of Sky Low Low's gimmicks was an open challenge to any midget wrestler for $100.00 in a two-out-of-three fall match. Another was his ability to stand on the top of his head without using his hands for balance. During the Second War War, he served fixing rivets in the tail of aircraft bombers. Outside the ring, he loved to golf, fish and go horseback riding. Sky Low Low died from a heart attack. The funeral was a simple affair, attended by his wife, sisters and neighbours. Wrestlers attending included Gino Brito, Yvon Robert Jr., Paul Leduc and Lionel Robert. -- By GREG OLIVER, SLAM! Sports Memories I worked for the promotion here in San Jose , Calif during the 60's . Every time Sky Low Low would come to the area you could be sure the house would be sold out . Pound for pound Sky was one of the biggest " athletics " in his day . Their was always ACTION every second in the ring when Sky Low Low was in a match . Joe Pottgieser A sad day for the wrestling world. Sky Low Low will be missed. Rest in Peace Sky Low Low. You will never be forgotten. Judy Wihlfehrt I remember when Stu Hart would bring the midgets through and you could count on Sky Low Low being one of them. At the age I was at it was a treat to be as tall as the guys in the ring. My favourite antic of the Sky Low Low was how he would torment the referee along with whomever was his opponent. Particularily at one time Stu Hart would bring Sky Low Low in with Andre the Giant and three other midgets truly a treat and a great loss for wrestling. scic He brought joy to my heart...may he rest in eternal peace...may God be with him...........a great may and a great wrestler...may God bless him Frank Thomas Hodnik After a card in Chicago about 1973, Marcel "Sky Low Low" Gauthier was among a few wrestlers who were signing autographs for the fans, when some high school boys walked up to a girl of about the same age and started badgering her. It was apparent from the conversation that they knew each other from one of the schools, and it was equally apparent that the girl wished that the boys would go away. But the boys kept annoying the girl with lewd comments. Marcel stopped signing autographs and stared intently at the boys. The kids paid no attention, continuing to make suggestive remarks. Finally, one boy reached out and felt the girl, commenting "You don't have a bra on, do you?" Sky faced the offensive boy and tapped him on the stomach. The boy looked down at Sky. Sky punched the kid hard in the crotch, commenting: "You don't have a jock on, do you?" He then went back to signing autographs---with Billy Graham standing there, a look on his face making it clear that whatever that boy or his friends might have in mind for Sky would have to go through him first. Of course, there were no volunteers from the kids to avenge their friend. Butch
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