Cause of death: Heart attack, Tony St. Clair v Doug Joyce- WRESTLING HERITAGE, Steve Veidor vs Kendo Nagasaki 1969 - WRESTLING HERITAGE. It featured geometric edges that became a hit all over the world while super out-there for the time. Began his career in the 1940s. to these sites/people. Little Tokyo (aka Shigeri Akabane) who was inspired to quit homeland and join Lord Littlebrook and his troupe after they visited Japan in the 1960s. Through a succession of promoters, the. At that age and size, one bump is likely all he had left in him.. Click the appropriate section on the right. British grappler Darren William Regal Matthews is one of the most well-regarded wrestlers in the business, though he never was able to land on his feet at the top of the professional wrestling mountain, where many believe he could and should have been. Training under Marty Jones, Matthews made his pro wrestling debut at the age of 15 for a local promotor at Blackpool Pleasure Beach. We do not accept responsibility for views expressed in the forum, articles by Heritage members, or photographs posted in the Heritage Galleries. New Zealand wrestler. Born in Golborne, Lancashire, Smith is best known for his appearances in the United States with the then World Wrestling Federation . Wrestled in the WWWF from 1964 to 1969. 2.Davey Boy Smith (1962 - 2002). Tweet. While gender equality was an elusive dream in many fields, women were well represented in popular music, and the best female singers are legends. Raised in Texas. His first reign, in 1975, lasted 105 days, and he teamed up with Victor Rivera who was later replaced by Pat Barrett. Also later on in his career he wrestled as Enforcer Luciano in NWA Hollywood. Rex. He did it so often that he was named the PWI Most Hated Wrestler in 1977. In fact, he was so known to the British public that the Queen and former Prime Minister Margret Thatcher were said to be fans! Disclaimer, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Disclosure. He especially made his mark in handicap bouts and in what would become his specialty, the battle royal matches. Or so Joint Promotions would have the enthusiasts believe. For most, there were no high spots; the German suplex and a bodyslam were finishers, and nobody knew what a hurricanrana, five-star frog splash, Swanton bomb, and outside dive were. In the 1960s British professional wrestling was a credible rival to professional boxing for the position of Britain's most popular combat sport. Our free email updates are the best way to get headlines direct to your inbox. The best British wrestlers: From Big Daddy to Mick McManus, what became of our wrestling stars The mostly overweight men in leotards, often facing off at The Dome in Brighton, were a world. Antonio Inoki Kendo was unmasked in 1977, with 12 million viewers disappointed to learn that Peter Thornley was not Japanese after all. Tag team: Little Bruiser and Billy the Kid, September 23 1972. Though he never won a title, he was a firm favorite with fans. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. As bizarre as the premise is, Lowrance's announcing makes it work. * Some NWA promoters recognized Moolah as world champion The original Nature Boy was the total package back in the day, and he directly inspired Ric Flair with his flamboyant gimmick. It is said that Gustav Fritensk wrestled until the age of 72. People in the '60s dressed up for most occasions. Can you imagine if Cena held the WWE title that long nowadays? As of 2017, there are 42 living veterans from the "Golden Age of Wrestling" (1950s1970s) over 75 years old. The Promoters A-Z index has been split into sections. His powerhouse antics made him popular and he quickly became a star. Ruben Juarez - National Champion, Middleweight (Mexico): Free shipping for many products! Collectors of British & American back issues will find some great stuff here like Beat Instrumental magazine, early 70's glam & pop magazine Music Star, The excellent Zigzag magazine, for blues enthusiast there's Blues Unlimited, Creem, Crawdaddy, Let it Rock . He went on to win a clutch of wrestling awards including the NWA Midget Wrestling Championship twice and was a firm favorite with fans. Last wrestled for ABC Wrestling in Beziers, France, losing to Matthew Ford. One of his trademarks was to cut his opponents' face with a pencil hidden in his outfit. He was an instant top babyface who battled Gorilla Monsoon and The Sheik among others. Iron Sheik Reigns Supreme: His 10 Greatest Tweets, 10 Golden Era Wrestlers in WWEs Ruthless Aggression Era, 10 Wrestlers You May Not Know Appeared in ECW, 11 Wrestling Managers Who Deserve Some Love. You can also click here to watch another poor quality video (Sammartino defeating Stasiak for the WWWF Title). Joy Division. His father was an alcoholic and his abusive and violent behavior towards his son led the teenage Murray to run away from home. He, however, was a considerable draw himself. He immediately became the No. After his face run, he ended his stint with WWWF as a heel, but it was not before earning the 1975 PWI Match of the Year award against Bruno Sammartino and to win a long feud against Jay Strongbow. He was even put in rare face-against-face matches when he challenged Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF World Title on a few occasions in the mid-60s. He continued wrestling until the late 1980s, when he was enshrined into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. Directors Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. In 1978 DeNucci enjoyed his second reign with Dino Bravo as his partner, and they held the belt for 104 days. Click here to watch Luke Graham in the ring; it's probably not a WWWF footage, but that's all I could find. Gori Guerrero - World Champion 1963-09 - Boxing Illustrated Wrestling News, 1967-10 - The Wrestler (credit: @wrestlerweekly), 1968-12 - Wrestling Revue "Official Wrestling Ratings" (credit: Tom Burke), 1968-12 - Ring Wrestling: "Official World Ratings". You can learn more about this fearless trendsetter here. One built a reputation just meeting him in the ring. t.co/O5GfUklP1O", "Cowboy" Bob Ellis profile, from LegacyOfWrestling.com, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_oldest_surviving_professional_wrestlers&oldid=1142721943. Even today, there are wrestlers who won't dare try the now 75-year-old Jerry. With wrestlers not wrestling exclusively for one promotion, Andre became the most popular wrestler of the decade. It's an impossible task, surely. Most recently wrestled for Appalachian Championship Wrestling in Williamson, West Virginia, in a match against Kerry Morton that went to a Double Count-out Draw. Share. Click here to watch Tony Garea in action against Billy Graham. published 12 September 2017. The Super-Finisher 11 Dangerous Wrestling Finishing Moves! For many, including myself, that name is totally unknown, but he left a big mark on the WWWF from 1966 to 1975. From Barbados former Mr. Universe, a bodybuilder wrestler in the 60s and 70s and teamed with Rocky Johnson. 20. However, he never got his break in what was, at the time, the top promotion in the world, WWE. Musician and wrestled in the Pacific Northwest. Label boss, former Cathedral singer and late 60s/early 70s music aficionado Lee Dorrian picks the best forgotten prog-psych albums of the 1960s. He would win tag team titles in All Star Wrestling alongside fellow Liverpudlian Doc Dean before eventually being signed to WCW in the mid-90s. No matter where he wrestled, Koloff generated heat like no other with his Russian gimmick, all that right in the middle of the Cold War. The title of the oldest verified wrestler of all time belongs to Polish-born American wrestler Abe Coleman (19052007), who lived 101years, 189days. But the oldest in the wrestling industry was promoter Harry Elliott (1904-2006) who lived 101 years, 314 days. If his nine-day reign was short, Stasiak can at least say he was one of the only six WWWF champions of the '70s and to have been a top heel of his time. His impressive reign lasted until December 1, 1973 when Stan "The Man" Stasiak defeated him for the title in a shocking moment. Oldest British wrestler in history, Second oldest worldwide. Also has trained many wrestlers like. Little Beaver was born Lionel Giroux in Saint-Jrme, Quebec in 1935. he began his wrestling career at the age of fifteen and teamed up with fellow Canadian Sky Low Low, the pair going on to become two of the most famous wrestlers in history. List of oldest surviving professional wrestlers, Oldest wrestlers to ever perform 70 and over, British Empire/Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship, List of premature professional wrestling deaths, "Seattle promoter Harry Elliott dead at 101", "Gary Will: Deceased Pro Wrestlers A Tribute to Mat Stars of the Past", "Betty Wagner, first wife of WWE Hall of Famer Gorgeous George, dead at 98", "Deepest condolences to @nicklaroberts and family on the passing of her mom Lorraine Johnson at age 90. Stacks of rare and collectible music publications from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. The voice of the Tetley tea ads, the father-of-two died of a brain tumour in 1997, aged 63. Not moving as well as his large frame once was able, Arn Anderson recalled this time in Haystacks career on his ARN Podcast, stating, He could only probably fall one more time. Unofficially, she lost the title on four occasions, but she only spent 70 days without the gold in that 10,778-day time frame. After retiring in 1983, he wrote his autobiography, You Grunt, Ill Groan, and did acting work, getting knocked out by Honor Blackman in a fight scene on The Avengers. "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith 39 May . Worthington 'E' Ind Coope Double Diamond Draught (launched 1962) Whitbread Tankard (launhed 1957) Watneys Red Barrel Along with his accolades, he was one of the first to incorporate a female valet into his act. In a way, the espionage genre did not develop much from the '60s to the '70s. Television became a universal habit in the 60s. And, in those years, he often fought in 60-minute time limit draws. I hope you enjoyed that ride back to the old school universe, and as usual, your comments are more than welcomeespecially if I missed anyone on the list and/or if you disagree with the order. He had grueling rivalries against Bruno Sammartino and Bob Backlund over the WWWF Championship. Wrestled his last match for Italian Championship Wrestling in Brescia, Italy, teaming with Manuel Majoli to defeat Mr. After testing his trade in carnivals and holiday camps, Darren soon gained exposure working for ITVs World of Sport, like many others on this list. His reputation is tarnished for many due to several violent interactions with fellow wrestlers andmean-spirited ribbing, though he leaves behind an incredible legacy in the ring. His run as the World Champion officially lasted 2,083 days, and it took him less than one year with the company to win the title. Think about Yokozuna or Big Daddy V but wearing a farmer boy outfit and carrying a horseshoe necklace from 1955 to the late '70s. 12:36, 4 APR 2013. A spokesman for ITV said: 'The two hour special will see some of the UK's finest pro wrestlers including, 'The East End Butcher' Sha Samuels, Dave Mastiff and 'Viper' Kimberly Benson, compete in. Wrestled in the Central States and was a light heavyweight champion. Before long, he would be touring as far away as France, Japan, and eventually North America. 30 Wrestlers You May Not Know Were Related! DeNucci, who trained Mick Foley and Shane Douglas among others, was mainly a tag team specialist and a great brawler. During his career, he held the European Heavyweight Championship and British Heavyweight Championship in the UK and won the Stampede International Tag Team Championship in Canada with the Dynamite Kid. Wrestled for WWF from 1999 to 2000, 2004 and 2010. Touch device users, explore by touch or with swipe gestures. In the 1960s British professional wrestling was a credible rival to professional boxing for the position of Britain's most popular combat sport. Wrestler Movie Appearances You May Have Missed! He was 69. The Grammar Guru thinks the sixties were a decade of great fashion. Armstrong's last match was for Continental Championship Wrestling in Dothan, Alabama, where he defeated The Assassin. He was a top heel and was renowned for bending the rules so the crowd would despise him as much as humanly possible. If the whole clan of the Valiant Brothers is inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame, Johnny is the one who embraced the most success. Wrestled his last match on a AAA show in a loss to El Pistolero in San Pedro Cholula, Mexico. When he joined the WWF in 1979, Patterson was an established heel who already accumulated 32 vhampionships in various territories. Some of his best moments in the ring came when he tag-teamed against Giant Haystacks and Big Daddy in a tremendous feud that saw one of British wrestlings most prolific segments occur as he unmasked himself in 1977. Once the race barrier was finally crossed, he had feuds against Killer Kowalski, The Sheik and all the other heels in WWWF at the time. Click here to watch Strongbow taking on Professor TanakaMr. Wrestled in the UK, Asia, Middle East and India. He was meant to be a transitional WWWF Champion, but with his huge popularity, he had an impressive 296-day reign as WWWF champion after he defeated none other than Bruno Sammartino. . President of the WWF from 1978 to 1984. He headlined many Madison Square Garden supercards, mainly in two or three-men tag team action, and in 1973, he had a 105-day WWWF World Tag Team Championship reign along with Tony Garea. Karloff Largarde - World & National Champion. You can find this story in My Bookmarks. Graham also managed to put the hand on the short-lived WWF International Tag Team Championship. (Use code PWS for a nice surprise). Best known as a top showjumper who occasionally flicked a V-sign, Yorkshires finest, 78, also grappled in the 1970s. Both were combat sports, millions of fans believed both were competitive, contests were split into rounds, combatants were introduced by a Master of Ceremony wearing a dinner jacket, and referees were smartly dressed, usually in white shirts. On April 7th, 1986, at WrestleMania 2, The Bulldogs dethroned Greg The Hammer Valentine and Brutus Beefcake, successfully capturing the WWF World Tag Team Championships. He was also inducted into the Stampede Wrestling, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, and the Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fames. The Fabulous Moolah is the longest reigning champion in pro wrestling history. Coventry Live. These are the men who became heroes of the ring as Midget Wrestlers during the 1960s and 1970s. In the '70s, this was hands-down the most romantic song on the radio. Birthdate: August 17, 1992. * Continued to exist after the National Wrestling Alliance was founded in 1948. Inducted into the. Wrestled his last match defeating Rat Ferraro at a wrestling event in Montreal, Canada. Oldies duets largely focused on romantic relationships, and for many, the greatest love songs are those featuring two great 50s, 60s, and 70s artists singing directly to each other the more believable the chemistry, the better! They would work together as a team in many matches during the final years of the channel ITVs coverage of British wrestling. A staple of the Joint Promotions and All Star Wrestling promotions in Britain throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Marty made his wrestling debut in 1972. Hawaii Five-O was a popular television series in the US during 1968 and for several years running. The 1974 PWI Rookie of the year was trained and introduced to the WWWF by Bruno Sammartino. while others continued to bill Byers as the title holder. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Despite this, he managed a very successful career. Look no further, get it all here! Excellent and Psycho Mike. In addition to his championships, he left his mark on the WWE hardcore scene, with his uncommon mix of technician and brawler's skills.Click here to watch Pat Patterson defending the Intercontinental Championship against Dominic DeNucci. So with news that World of Sport is back on ITV in June, we salute the great grapplers of yesteryear. The forgotten heroes of Midget Wrestling: Vintage photos from the 60s and 70s, Oliver Reed as a prototype Alex from A Clockwork Orange in These are the Damned, I Have No Desire To Be Nico: Post-Punks Muse Of Manchester, Linder Sterling. Click here to watch the only excerpt I found of Backlund winning the WWWF Championship and click here to watch him against Pat Patterson in a cage match in 1979. There's no Buddy Rogers WWWF footage available but click here to watch a little gem from the '50s between him and Johnny Valentine. We're always happy to receive your e-mails and comments regarding our British wrestler database, so please don't hesitate to shout in our lug holes if you'd like a word! In pictures: Mick McManus and the stars of the British wrestling FOLLOWING today's news of the passing of Mick McManus, one of the stars of ITV's World of Sport wrestling, we look back on. She won the Women's Championship in 1956, and she battled each and every woman on her path to build her unique legacy. The top 100 of the 1960s is an expanded version of a top 15 list that ran last July, a few months after we began our Lost Factor calculations. Most recently wrestled for Pro Wrestling King in Fort Wayne, Indiana, teaming with Shawna Reed and Shotgun Shuler to defeat the team of Jensyn, NERD 5th and Steven Drochner. A former tag partner of Big Daddy, they became huge ring rivals. Cowboy Bob Bradley and Joey Russell, February 23 1968. In London and the urban conurbations of northern England it was not unknown for independent wrestlers to work two, even three programmes in one night. Credits for information on this site are given So I decided to explore an unknown zone for me and to tackle an era I didn't witness, the '60s and the '70s. Click here to watch Bruno Sammartino in a WWWF Title defense against Ernie Ladd, a wrestler who barely made the cut on the current list. Marty Jones perhaps might be the least known of the names mentioned on this list but is one of the best all-around grapplers of the bunch. He was often a top contender to the WWWF Championship, and he battled Bruno Sammartino on several occasions in high-profile matches. Everyone can stop writing love songs now. To build the list, I had to rely mostly on reading and assumptions in regard to what I could actually watch. Jackie Pallo (Mr TV! H/T Buzzfeed and Vintage Everyday. [Photo: dailymail.co.uk]McManuss main catchphrase was Not the ears! He was very agile and resilient for a man his size; he battled several 60-minute time limit draws against the greats of the time, such as Bruno Sammartino. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. We have them all, from the 1980's, 1990's, 2000's, including Legends and Brits of note. In the end, there can be only one! Not the ears! so that opponents would avoid his cauliflower ears. (Youngest WWE Divas Champion) 44. Where would we be without films like "Grease" and "The Godfather"? His biography has been translated into 21 different languages. Once Mia Farrow rocked the style, it was a spiral of everyone and their mother wanting to do the same. Blood, barrel chests, and mutton chops. The 60s and 70s set the ball rolling for rock music. The Genius Cast with Lanny Poffo (2018-19), HOMAGE.com Our favorite in retro wrestling attire! British wrestling legend Kendo Nagasaki. He went on to the glitz and glamour of the WWF in the US as The British Bulldog before a tragically early death at 39 after a heart attack. flickr/Roadsidepictures. Gorilla Monsoon is not just that face commentator known by the younger fans in the '80s and '90s. One of the most beautiful and athletic women wrestlers during the '50s and '60s she and Penny Banner were women's world tag-team champions with looks and talent to spare. Sources say that Gama remained active as a wrestler until 1952. You can find instructions here as to how. Known as Sammy Berg. From Wrestleview.com Jay Briscoe has passed away. 1962-08-10 - National Wrestling Association (source: LegacyOfWrestling.com) With the Tag Team Championship around his waist for two-and-a-half yers, he holds the record for the most combined days. It would be squaring off against the likes of Satoru Sayama (Tiger Mask), Keiichi Yamada (Jushin Liger), and Dynamite Kid (more on him a little later), among others, which would earn the British grappler his initial acclaim and start him on the path towards leaving an indelible mark on the profession. Was the promoter of Seattle wrestling, from 1958 to 1969 he was the sole promoter in Washington, Idaho, and Northeast Oregon. source Cauliflower Alley Club, Spanish announcer in boxing and wrestling in Los Angeles. From Martinique wrestled for Pacific Northwest and Stampede Wrestling. By 1960, nearly three quarters of the population had television, and by the end of the sixties, nearly ninety-five percent. Over the years, the United Kingdom has produced some of the very best in professional wrestling. Bobo Brazil Bobo Brazil was born Houston Harris in Little Rock, Arkansas, but moved to Benton Harbor, Michigan as a young man and got a job in a steel mill. British Wrestlers. Wrestled his last match for FMLL teaming with. The long-running debate over the best Muscle Cars from the 60s and 70s finally ends in this article. He even found time to release the single True Love in 1975 and still has stables in Bingley. News. He was also a trainer at the WWE Performance Center, where he trained the newest batch of WWE superstars. He won the WWWF World Tag Team Championship in 1976 with one of his students, Big John Studd. For most Bleacher Report readers, Mr. Fuji is that iconic manager of the '80s and '90s who led Yokozuna and Demolition to the gold. Nowadays, he trains the stars of tomorrow at the WWE Performance Center. From her blue eyes to her athletic build and immersive backstory, we are Angela Ziegler Or Mercy, was born in Switzerland. Frenchy Lamonte heading for the ring in Tampa 1970. I also discovered many gems of the WWWF era before it became the WWF. Luke Graham was one of the rare to have a gimmick that didn't include specific outfits such as cowboy or other Russian characters. [Photo: IMDB]His enormous stature was not lifelike as he stood an astonishing 6 feet, 11 inches (1.11m) tall and weighed 685 lbs (311 kg). Not all boxing came under the control of the BBBC. The last surviving wrestler from the "Pioneer Era" (1900s1940s) was American wrestler Angelo Savoldi (born April 21, 1914, died September 13, 2013, aged 99years, 145days). Some consider this match one of the greatest matches of all time. Larry Chene, Mike Clancy, Jack Curtis, Mike DiBiase, Pepper Gomez, Red McKim, Sonny Myers, Angelo Savoldi, Joe Scarpello, Oni Wiki Wiki. He portrayed a Japanese samurai with a relatively unknown past: Kendo Nagasaki. One such style was the Vidal Sassoon pixie, which was created by the British hairstylist of the same name. These promoters were commonly known as the independent or opposition promoters. Whenever not on tour overseas, Rocco would continue to compete for All Star Wrestling back home in Britain for the remainder of his career, which would last into the early 90s. ALL STAR WRESTLING IN THE 50's, 60's, 70's and 80'S (BCTV ) Fit Finlay David "Fit" Finlay began his wrestling career in 1974, though his first mainstream exposure came when he debuted as the Belfast Bruiser in WCW in 1996. He became good friends with fellow wrestler Andre the Giant and has a career as a movie actor. However, like many of his colleagues, his career and achievements have been sadly overlooked. Gorgeous George gained epic mainstream popularity, followed in the Second Golden Age in the 1980's and 1990's by the likes of Ric Flair, Andre the Giant, Hulk Hogan, Shawn Michaels, Bret Hart, Sting, The Undertaker, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Kurt Angle, and Triple H. Ric Flair Saturday Night was all about the WWF Main Event! Widely respected for his integrity and personal principles, Sammartino was one of the most popular wrestlers in the 60's and 70's. Born and raised in a small Italian town, Bruno Sammartino's childhood was quite tough. * Continued to exist after the National Wrestling Alliance was founded in 1948. 41.88, Davey Boy Smith is the 2nd most famous British Wrestler. When his three-year reign ended in 1977, Sammartino established an unbeatable record of 11 years as the reigning WWWF Champion. Another World of Sport favorite, Martin Austin Ruane, as Giant Haystacks, became a massive star in 1975 after teaming up with previously mentioned Big Daddy as one of the most dominant tag teams in British Wrestling history. Peter Thornleys version of the character remained a household name throughout Britain, but most Americans and Japanese fans associated the character mostly with Kazuo Sakuradas version. Kowalski, who opened a pro wrestling school after he retired in 1977, trained none other than Triple H and many others. World-famous fitness guru had a brief pro wrestling career in 1938. Frost. Many icons paved the way to what would become an empire in the world of wrestling. Admittedly, we've had a lot of fun putting this wrestler information together and we hope you enjoy reading it too! He was a top draw in Australia and in Europe when he headed to America to join the company. Still wrestles in independent shows as of December 2022. Cowboy Bob Bradley was born Robert Claton Bradley in Dickens County, TX, in February 1935. Referee George Gadaski talks to the legendary Little Beaver (back to camera) with tag partner Jamaica Kid to his left, and rivals Billy the Kid and Cowboy Bradley to his right. Sky Low Low (outside ring) in a tag team with Little Beaver (nearside) versus Mighty Atom, May 5, 1967. From 1972 to 1978, in an age when tag team wrestling actually meant a lot, Fuji portrayed the stereotypical heel Japanese persona, and he was often involved in anti-American storylines. Due to the lack of complete records, it is believed that Farmer Pete was World Champion for seven days in 1957, after beating Sonny Boy Cassidy, who won the title back in a rematch in October the same year. Something went wrong, please try again later. You play to your strengths in this game and my strength is as a bald, rough-looking Yorkshireman, he said. Mekita Rivas, SNR communications and project associate, publishes a biweekly feature called "Grammar Guru." Every other week, the Grammar Guru will share writing tips to help make your work as polished as possible. Monsoon lost the match, but he once again proved he could hold his own against the largest wrestlers in the business at the time, being himself a 6'5", 400-pounder. Referee, and British Wrestlers Reunion President until BWR ended in January 2022 after 30 years. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.