(ED. NOTEA number of interesting anecdotes are always available at Dory Funk Jr.s "Gunslinger Rap" page on the web. Find it at: http://www.dory-funk.com, along with stories like the following.)
TOMMY TSURUTAS PRO DEBUT
In the fall of 1972 my father, Dory Funk Sr. agreed to supply wrestling talent for Giant Babas new company All Japan Pro Wrestling. Wrestling for All Japan Pro Wres would be Dory Funk Sr., Myself, at the time NWA World Champion, Terry Funk, Burno Sammartino, and wrestlers from the Amarillo Territory which, at the time included a young upstart from West Texas State University, Stan Hanson. Masio Koma and Mr. Okuma who had worked Amarillo would also be working for Babas company. For a new company in Japan the talent was the best in the business.P.S.Of course back in the dressing room, I did tell him that if he would give it another go, this time maybe two out of three falls I think I could take him.
Adding to (Jim) Carreys youthful mien is his giddy enthusiasm about the final cut of his forthcoming film, Man on the Moon, in which he portrays Andy Kaufman, the late situationist comedian (and incidental star of the 70s sitcome Taxi). Written by the duo who brought us The People vs. Larry Flynt, Scott Alexander and Larry karaszewski, Man on the Moon attempts to explain one of the great, unknowable performers of modern times. As a stand-up comic, Kaufman did not look for laughs, preferring to test audience endurance with surreal experiments in banality: as "Foreign Man," he would tremulously tell the most hackneyed jokes, or hed read aloud every word of The Great Gatsby. Unleashed on the network television audience, Kaufman became a fourth-wall demolition expert, famously disrupting ABCs live sketch show, Fridays, with his refusal to complete a skit. Ultimately, in a move that was deliberately ephemeral and recklessly damaging to his career, he took to wrestling women, then became embroiled in a feud with the wrestling star Jerry Lawler. The fact that Kaufman never, never broke character or let anyone in on the gag guaranteed him cult immortality when, at 35, he died of lung cancer. In fact, many believed that Kaufmans 1984 death was itself really just a gag.
________________________ VISIT TO TED DiBIASE WEB PAGE BIOGRAPHY:Ted DiBiase has been involved in the world of professional wrestling his entire life.
His stepfather, wrestler "Iron Mike" DiBiase, began the tradition and had a
strong influence on him as a child. He died in the ring when Ted was fifteen. Shortly
after, his mother slipped into a depression and turned to alcohol. Ted moved into a little
town in southern Arizona to live with his grandparents. After Teds junior year in
college at West Texas State University in Canyon, Texas, he stepped into the squared
circle to follow in his fathers footsteps.
After wrestling in Amarillo, Texas and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Ted moved to Atlanta to
continue his wrestling career. While there he met his future wife Melanie and they were
married in 1981. Teds wrestling engagements kept him away from her, while ego,
pride, and money took center stage. After the birth of their first son Teddy, the
DiBiases moved to Mississippi where he continued wrestling for Mid-South Wrestling.
Ted was hoping that the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) would take notice of his talent.
The WWF did take notice. They had an idea for a new character and developed Ted into the
"Million Dollar Man" and he was surrounded by money, limousines and life in the
fast lane. Through hard work and much determination he quickly rose to the top of his
profession were he has remained for the past twenty years.
Teds career as a wrestler has taken him all over the world; all over Europe, Japan,
India, Canada, and all of the fifty states, including Alaska and Hawaii. Ted has held many
wrestling titles over his expansive career not withstanding, "The World Championship
Title." He has wrestled alone, as part of a tag team, and in recent years as the role
of manager. You may also hear him at times behind the camera as he often commentates and
does color commentating for World Championship Wrestling.
Due to a neck injury several years ago, Ted was forced to give up the physical side of
professional wrestling. However, he still remains an active participant. He now acts as
the ringside manager of the Steiner Brothers for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) on Ted
Turners cable networks "Monday Nitro" and "Thursday Thunder" TV
programs. Ted has taken on new roles outside of professional wrestling. Ted is currently a
spokesperson for the Sunshine Foundation, an organization that grants wishes for
critically ill children. Ted also shares his message of hope all over America in
motivational assemblies speaking out against the results of drug and alcohol abuse. He
warns Americas youth about the trap of being addicted to drugs and alcohol. He also
encourages them to stay in school, set reachable goals and pay whatever price it takes to
become the best that they can be.
QUICK FACTS ON DiBIASE:
UPDATE ON TED DiBIASE IN THE WCW
"Trillionaire" Ted DiBiase has seemingly turned against the group he helped
found after returning to WCW on the 8/4/97 edition of Monday Nitro...on the broadcast,
DiBiase denounced his past by stating that he made mistakes and strayed from the path of
what was right... DiBiase also promised to stand in the corner of Rick and Scott Steiner
in an attempt to help them win the WCW tag team championships from the Outsiders, Scott
Hall and Kevin Nash at WCW Road Wild...though the Steiners did not succeed at that event,
DiBiase remains their manager...
DiBiases betrayal of the NWO has proved to be yet another setback for the New World
Order as WCW attempts to regain power...upon his WCW debut, DiBiase, formerly known as the
"Million Dollar Man," made an immediate impact by siding with the NWO...joined
the NWO after a controversial departure from the WWF, where he first became a manager
after an injury ended his in-ring wrestling career...as a wrestler.
DiBiase became famous after he "bought" the WWF Championship from Andre the
Giant...the title was later declared vacant by WWF President Jack Tunney, to be won in a
tournament at Wrestlemania IV... DiBiase lost in the final round to Randy Savage, and the
match was the closest he ever came to the title again... the only major championship
DiBiase held was the WWF Tag Team Title, which he shared on three occasions with IRS (now
known in WCW as Mr. Wallstreet). He also shared major championship belts when he wrestled
with Mid-South/UWF and All Japan PWF. (See Title History)
Upon his first WCW appearance, DiBiase promised that the NWO would grow to five the
following week... the fifth member was none other than the Giant, who was later kicked out
of the NWO...DiBiase, who was also pegged "Trillionaire Ted," often acted as the
right-hand man for "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, a man whom he despised in the
past...also often served as an announcer for the NWO; on several occasions broadcasting on
Monday Nitros, alongside Eric Bischoff when NWO members took over the broadcast
booth...DiBiase, rumored to be unhappy with his role in the NWO, disappeared from WCW for
several months, and was said to have taken a sabbatical to preach in Israel...now that
DiBiase is back in WCW and against the New World Order, the former "Trillionaire
Ted" is sure to be high on the NWOs hit list.
TED DiBIASES TITLE HISTORY
December 1976 - Early 1977
May 19, 1977 - Summer 1977
January 7, 1978 - February 16, 1978
February 12, 1978 - February 26, 1978
Early 79 - June 19, 1979
February 1, 1980 - September 19, 1980
November 21, 1980 - October 2, 1981
January 26, 1981 - January 31, 1981
June 10, 1981 - July 6, 1981
November 1, 1981 - March17, 1982
June 23, 1982 - November 25, 1982
October 27, 1982 - March 12, 1983
April 13, 1983 - July 24, 1983
October 14, 1983 - January 28, 1984
November 18, 1983 - February 18, 1984
July 14, 1984 - October 11, 1984
December 3, 1984 - December 25, 1984
January 16, 1985 - February 13, 1985
May 3, 1985 - August 28, 1985
September 1985 - September 29, 1985
December 26, 1985 - March 16, 1986
March 87 - July 3, 1987
July 11, 1987 - September 3, 1987
February 7, 1992 - July 20, 1992
October 13, 1992 - June 14, 1993
June 16, 1993 - June 19, 1993
September 3, 1993 - December 3, 1993
TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIPS
December 12, 1985ANOTHER MATMAN RUNS FOR OFFICE
(Associated Press, October 29, 1999)ROXBURY TOWNSHIP, N.J.If The Body can do it, El Matador thinks he can, too.
Tito Santana, a former World Wrestling Federation champion who has bodyslammed Minnesota Gov. Jesse "The Body" Ventura and Randy "Macho Man" Savage, wants to follow Ventura into politics.
Santana, who retired from wrestling in 1997, is battling for a Roxbury Township Council spot against Fred Hall, chairman of the planning board.
Local Democrats recruited Santana, who was known as "El Matador" in the ring, to run months after Venturas surprising victory in the Minnesota gubernatorial election.
"Im the better wrestler," Santana told The Record of Hackensack. "But Jesse had the charisma. He was good at making people hate him. Im just not like that. I really wrestled."
Santana, 46, who teaches elementary school physical education in Bound Brook, has taken up two issues. He opposes overdevelopment and wants to end a 20-year Republican majority in the township. Republicans hold a 5-2 majority on the council.
"I dont think Tito has much grasp of the issues," Hall said.
Santana is not worried.
"Compared to the ring, politics is a piece of cake," he
said.
REVIEW OF NIGHT AND THE CITY (1950)
(Austin Chronicle, February 1, 1999)By Jerry Renshaw
The opening frames of Night and the City show Harry Fabian (Richard Widmark) running through the streets of London, pursued by an unknown man, heading toward his apartment. Fabian is on the run through the entire movie; hes an American petty hustler and con man setting out to make a name for himself in the London underworld. Years of clipping customers in bars and pulling two-bit scams are not enough for him; true to the American way, hes consumed with the urge to be somebody, to "live a life of ease and comfort," as he tells his girlfriend (Gene Tierney). He strikes on a scheme to become the top wrestling promoter in London, and befriends a traditional Greco-Roman wrestler, Gregorius (Stanislaus Zbyszko), convincing the old man to become partners with him. His boss at the clip joint, Nosseross (Francis L. Sullivan) agrees to put up financial backing for the venture, but the boss wife (Googie Withers) has a different angle. She wants Harry to come up with a liquor license for a nightclub she wants to open, at which point shell ditch Nosseross. Fabian uses the old man as a lever against his son Kristo (Herbert Lom), the top wrestling promoter in town. (Lom later played The Pink Panthers Captain Dreyfus).
He goads Kristos top wrestler, the Strangler, (Mike Mazurki) into a match with Gregorius; after a brutal struggle, Gregorius defeats the Strangler, but dies of a stroke after the fight. Soon, all of the London underworld is mobilized against Fabian, with a £1000 bounty on his worthless hide. Director Jules Dassin infuses a great deal of noir style into Night and the City. Dassin had been blacklisted during the Hollywood Red Scare years (after being fingered by fellow director Edward Dmytryk), and Night and the City was his first film after his exile from Hollywood. He uses the alleys, slums, and factories of London to full advantage to create a world where outsiders like Fabian dont stand a chance. In keeping with the traditions of the genre, no one really possesses a moral high ground in the story; the people who want Fabian eliminated and want his little house of cards knocked down are no better a set of losers than he is himself. Dassin often frames Fabians gaunt features in bars and jagged fragments of light that serve as visual metaphors for his isolation and hopelessness. Widmark, riding a career high that would continue for several more years, turns in a great performance with his hyena giggle and nervous energy. Fabian only wanted to be somebody, but at the same time he had everything, he was a dead man, running and running as the web in which he enmeshed himself slowly strangled him.
TITO WANTS TO BE JERSEY JESSE
(Bergen Record, October 29, 1999)By John Cichowski
Republicans, get ready to rumble. . . . A pro wrestling champ who once body-slammed ring goliaths such as Jesse "The Body" Ventura and Randy "Macho Man" Savage now has his Democratic sights on a Township Council seat in a hilly GOP stronghold in western Morris County.
"Compared to the ring, politics is like a piece of cake," said Tito Santana, the World Wrestling Federations former two-time Intercontinental champion, who is seeking a ward seat in Roxbury Township.
The personable, 245-pound Santanaknown in the ring as "El Matador"was something of an anomaly in the hard-hitting WWF, where he was pitted against bruisers such as Ventura, Savage, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, and Kodiak Bear. Two herniated discs, bursitis, a distaste for the tour, and a desire to settle down in Roxbury with his family prompted his retirement in 1997.
"Sure, the outcome of the matches was prearranged, but the blood was real," he said. "It was our job to make it look real, so people got hurt."
Local Democrats recruited Santana in the spring, several months after Venturas unexpected victory in the Minnesota gubernatorial election.
If Jesse could do it, Santana figured, so could he.
"But Im the better wrestler," he said, noting that he trained under a Japanese master.
"But Jesse had the charisma. He was good at making people hate him. Im just not like that. I really wrestled."
The charisma advantage in Tuesdays Election Day match against 180-pound Fred Hall, the Planning Board chairman and manager of a Montvale accounting firm, belongs to Santana. Unlike most Democrats, the former wrestling star gets a warm reception when he campaigns door to door, said Santanas campaign manager, Steve Landsfield.
"When Tito shows up, people invite him in," said Landfield. "If they miss him, they run outside looking for him. I never saw anything like it."
Santana has taken stands on two issues: He opposes overdevelopment and wants to end 20 years of Republican domination in the township. Republicans now hold a 5-2 majority on the Township Council.
Hall, 41, also wants to limit development and says he would end developers agreements that have led, he says, to overdevelopment.
Like many suburban towns, the issue is a hot one in Roxbury. In April, voters rejected a $21 million school expansion project that resulted from high-density housing construction.
"As a Planning Board member, Fred had a lot to say about that housing," Santana said. "People in this town have lost faith in Republicans like him."
When Santanas response was read back to him, Hall, a patron of Santanas salon, reacted as if sucker-punched by El Matadors flying forearm.
"Tito really said that?" Hall asked. He insisted that the housing was mandated by a state program requiring low- and moderate-income housing.
"I dont think Tito has much grasp of the issues," he said.
Santana admits he would have to learn on the job. The prospect doesnt bother him.
"Democrats took a poll showing me 14 points ahead," he said, shrugging.
It wouldnt be the first time hes had to overcome inexperience.
As part of his early training, a young, strait-laced Santana became a WWF referee. The experience earned him the enmity of older wrestlers.
"I didnt realize the outcomes were prearranged, so I called the fights as I saw them," he said. "Those guys hated me."
The 46-year-old father of three has more than his celebrity going for him, though. As a 14-year township resident and former substitute teacher in the Roxbury school system, his name is well known in this rural-suburban community of 21,000. He is now an elementary school physical-education teacher in Bound Brook, and he helps his wife each afternoon as manager of the family beauty salon in the Roxbury Mall.
He still wrestles sometimes on weekends for an independent circuit. This sort of hustling comes naturally to the Mexican-born Santana, whose given name is Merced Solis. As a youth, he worked in the fields with his father, a Spanish-born migrant worker who brought his family from Mexico to Texas. A high school athlete, Santana got a football scholarship, turning pro after graduation. He played tight end in a Canadian league, then switched to pro wrestling when he realized wrestlers lasted longer than football players.
His career now over, Santana looks to Minnesota for inspiration.
"I tried to reach Jesse on the phone to get his support," Santana said of his old foe. "But he doesnt return my calls."
Maybe the governor has a long memory. In the early 1980s, when both were new to pro wrestling, Santana teamed with Hulk Hogan in Nassau Coliseum for a well-remembered bit of tag-team savagery against Ventura and Adrian Adonis.
"It wasnt pretty, but the fans were with us and we
won," Santana recalled. "Jesse says some pretty dumb things sometimes, but he
never sacrificed his beliefs. I admire that. I think Im kind of like that,
too."
___________________________________
(New York Post, October 31, 1999)
By Phil Mushnick
One big difference between the nations two biggest pro wrestling impresarios, Ted Turner and Vince McMahon, is that when McMahon puts on his righteous face, most everyone knows its a con.
When Turner says hes a do-gooder, lots of people buy it.
He has an air of respectability. He owns cable networks, international news programming, a Major League Baseball team and all kinds of things commonly found around the house. So, when he declares himself an altruist, people believe him, even salute him.
They shouldnt.
To fully understand the modern phenomenon of pro wrestlinga systemic phenomenon that has established pornography for children as a runaway TV ratings and marketing money machineits important to understand the industrys recent history.
Not since Bruno Sammartino quit the business in disgusthe now speaks out against the drug-infested, deviant sex-fest that pro wrestling has becomehas anyone in the business traveled a high road. There now are only two roads takenlower and lowest.
Turners World Championship Wrestling, until two weeks ago, traveled the lower road. Its for that reason that he was getting killed in the TV ratings war by McMahons World Wrestling Federation.
McMahon takes the lowest road. Shoot, as lowest roads go, hes a pioneer, a trail blazer. The more salacious the content, the better the ratings. And McMahon beats Turner in a rout.
Sure, as pro wrestlings popularity continues to soar, American society takes a bigger hit, but thats of no concern to McMahon. In 1999, to provide children with the lowest imaginable form of television is to be on top.
But now Turner is fighting back. First, a little more background:
Several years ago, after the WWFs inside drug and sex scandals (as if the content of McMahons current shows arent scandalous), Turners WCW seized the opportunity to unseat the WWF.
One of Turners first orders of business was to sign Hulk Hogan, despite the fact that Hogans kiddie-embracing, excessively muscled WWF character had been revealed to have been built on years of steroid use and abuse.
The signing of Hogan and other WWF ring starsdrug-ring stars, includedalso revealed Turner to be a king-sized phony.
After all, Turners image of global altruism, as manifested through his "Goodwill Games," environmental concerns and acts of generosity such as pledging $1 billion to the United Nations for the advancement of humankind, certainly didnt rhyme with selecting the nations most notorious steroid abuser as his marquee act within primetime TV programming favored by American children.
Furthermore, the content of WCW showsnegative racial and ethnic stereotyping, obscene gestures and good, old-fashioned violence for violences sakewas wildly inconsistent with Turners lofty, oft-stated goals of world harmony.
Ah, but business is business. And Turners WCW business was brisk. The WCW began to bury the wounded WWF.
But McMahon, as we all know by now, was hardly through. He would fight back by turning the WWF into a showcase for lascivious acts, words, and images. Porn for kids. Operating off the same marketing plan applied by the Medellin drug cartel, McMahons capsule explanation of his successful new strategy became, "Im only giving people what they want."
Soon, riding a wave of unmitigated sleaze, McMahons WWF was back on top, and then some. The ratings were through the roof.
They still are. And network programmers threw themselves at McMahon for more.
In addition to McMahons longtime confederates at USA Network, the UPN Network (Channel 9 here) now regularly "entertains" American children in primetime with words so profane that they cant be printed here and acts so vile that they cant be described here. Oh, yes, the WWFs transvestite oral sex angle has given way to even less describable acts.
A few months ago, in announcing that UPN was adding the WWF, UPN boss Dean Valentine told a conclave of concerned TV critics that the WWF is "incredibly mild entertainment." If thats the case, I challenge Valentine to rise in public and repeat exactly whats said and done on UPNs WWF shows at 8:30 or so on Thursday nights.
Few of those concerned TV critics bothered to follow up on the content of UPNs WWF shows, otherwise there would be a national outcry that wouldve painted Valentine a more evil TV monster than even, oh, Jim Gray.
After voicing their concerns, few of those TV critics would bother to learn that 11-year-old boys now regularly verbally and graphically abuse 11-year-old girls with exactly the same expressions and acts that the WWF teaches them. Few would bother to learn that grammar school, middle school and high school principals increasingly have declared bans on most anything that the WWF sells.
Meanwhile, what does Valentine care that every week hes proved a liar on his own national network? He and UPN are cashing in big. Why should he care that nearly 40 percent of WWF viewers are minors, or that 15 percent of the audience is 11 years old and younger?
And so, its now time for Turner to fight back. The first order of business is to again meet McMahon on his turfthe gutter. If Turner beat McMahon the first time by buying up McMahons steroid-swollen TV characters, why not again seek to unseat McMahon as No. 1 by playing McMahons sexual-content game?
Two weeks ago, Turner hired two of McMahons top porn writers, er, script writers. Would Turner, his ratings lagging because he chose the lower road for the WCW, now choose to join McMahon on the lowest road?
You bet he would!
This past Monday night, while channel-surfing upon Turners latest 8 p.m. WCW show on TNT, we immediately saw a line of barely clothed young women marching toward the ring. The last in line was a woman with enormous breasts. Naturally, the live audience began to hoot as one. The ringside announcers dutifully grew breathless.
Dave Meltzer publishes the authoritative weekly, Wrestling Observer Newsletter.
"Itll get worse," Meltzer said. "Now that it has WWF writers the WCW will copy the WWF formula: Find any excuse, or even no excuse, to go heavy on sexual content. The big draw isnt wrestling, anymore, its sex. And the primary target is kids."
Ted Turner, Mr. Global Goodwill himself, has declared yet another
war against Vince McMahon on the battlefield of How-Low-Can-You-Go. And, bless their
hearts, theyre fighting for the hearts and minds of Americas children.
________________________________
By J Michael Kenyon
Our good friends at SLAM! Wrestling (http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestling) continue to do yeoman work in the nostalgic realm of Wrestling As We Liked It. John Molinaros byline piece (October 27, 1999) does a fine job of detailing the lengthy career of a fellow I first saw in action back in October of 1962, in the glorious old Waco (Texas) Arena. Molinaros lead:
"Some fans remember him as the man who carried Governor Jesse Ventura through his first match. Others recall him as the harmless, yet loveable jobber who got paid to make the other guy look good. Cast in his role as a prelim bum by the fans, he was always thought of as nothing more than average.
"Yet the reality was that Omar Atlas was anything but your
average, run-of-the-mill, wrestler. Having spent over 30 years in wrestling, Atlas
traveled the world, wrestled every major star and worked for every big name promoter. He
was the archetypal journeyman, bouncing between promotions, staying in one place only a
few months before he headed off to the next territory."
Atlas now lives in San Antonio, having finally retired for good from the ring in 1993. He
told Molinaro, "I had a really good time in wrestling. I traveled a lot. We
didnt make much money but we had a lot of fun."
Atlas, after a brief amateur career in his native Venezuela, trained as a pro in Spain
with some Argentinian and Mexican wrestlers. After eight months in the tussle-for-pay
ranks there, he began traveling, first to Colombia, later Mexico, and then back to Spain.
A friend named Ciclon Negro, who had achieved main-event status in the U.S., invited Atlas
to join him in Houston.
After that 1962-63 stint for Morris Sigels famous booking office, Atlas told
Molinaro, he later worked for just about all the top promoters in the game: Sam Muchnick,
Nick Gulas, Eddie Graham, Bob Geigel, Jim Crockett Sr., Don Owen, Stu Hart, Vince McMahon
Jr., Roy Shire, Joe Blanchard, Paul Boesch and Carlos Colon. He also made his way to
Australia, Korea and Japan where he worked for both legendary Japanese promoters Antonio
Inoki and Giant Baba.
He wasnt always Omar Atlas, either. Some fans may remember him
as Buddy Moreno, one of the ring aliases he used more often than others.
It was while working for Geigels Kansas City office that Atlas helped break
"Jesse the Body" into the game. Molinaro explains:
"The two were scheduled on a card in Cedar Rapids, Iowa when the promoter pulled
Atlas aside. Unsure of Venturas ability, he told the veteran Atlas that if he
thought Ventura had promise to let Ventura throw him over the top rope and get DQd.
Otherwise, Atlas was instructed to shoot on Ventura and beat him up. Omar thought he
was doing well and told him to throw him, said Charlotte, Omars wife of 15
years. In (Venutras autobiography), Jesse writes that Omar, not being one of
those egotistical guys in wrestling, told him "Amigo, throw me over the top." He
also credited Omar with helping him start his career."
Molinaro concludes the piece, just one of hundreds that dot the bulging SLAM! Wrestling
site, byk noting that Atlas, today, is a 61-year-old security monitor for the Bexar County
Adult Probation Department, playing handball between escorting convicts to and from work
details.
http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestling/
_____________________________________________________
The WAWLI Papers No. 626...
WRESTLING FANS GET INTO ACT
(Los Angeles Times, Oct. 31, 1999)
By John M. Glionna
In a city where most movie shoots are elite, off-limits affairs overseen by uniformed
cops, this one was a regular free-for-all featuring those big-muscled kings of publicity,
the hairy-chested he-men in black leotards from the World Championship Wrestling
organization.
And like 4,000 other wild-eyed wrestling fans turned unpaid extras who filled the Grand
Olympic Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles Saturday, Steve Szapiro was in head-lock
heaven.
Wearing a shiny kings crown with phony plastic jewels provided by event promoters,
Szapiro joined fellow wrestling fanatics in a staged screech-hoot-and-hollering session
during the shooting of a movie based on their favorite sport.
Producers for the film "Ready to Rumble" couldnt have been happier.
Although they could have shot scenes for the movie in Toronto or Las
Vegas (where the fight sequence filmed Saturday supposedly took place), they said L.A.
fans captured the multiethnic roots of the sports fandom.
"On most shoots, the extras we attract are just average folks, not ready-made
fans," said Jeffrey Silver, a producer for Outlaw Productions. "But these people
are just crazy. When the wrestlers take a bump, they know exactly when to cheer. They
dont need any coaching."
Fans like Szapiro didnt need much enticing, either.
The 26-year-old works the graveyard shift at a Unocal gas station in the San Fernando Valley. But his real reason for living? Body slams, spine-numbing throw-downs, and those high-flying pile-driver maneuvers that can turn a mat opponents mind to mush.
Szapiro calls himself professional wrestlings most rabid fan. He travels the country looking for more outrageous wrestling rumbles. At home, with his satellite dish and pay-per-view TV menu, there isnt one finger-stabbing wrestling event he misses.
"I just love professional wrestling," he said. "I
know people must think theres something wrong with me. But honestly, I cant
get enough of this stuff."
On Saturday, the fans came offering homage to their heroes. Despite free parking and
pizza, and giveaways that included a new pickup, wrestling gift packs and computers loaded
with wrestling-game software, the faithful who lined up outside the arena early Saturday
didnt come for any door prizes.
They came to scream their brains out for mostly large men with long
hair and stage names such as Inferno, Sid Vicious and Bam Bam Bigelow.
To attract fans, organizers spread the word on various wrestling-related sites on the
Internet. They placed ads in wrestling magazines and made announcements at other
professional wrestling events.
"But you know what, we probably didnt have to give away one prize to attract
these people," said promotions director Tina Kerr. We could have charged these
people to get in here and we still would have had a line that stretched twice around the
block."
The fan turnout Saturday was described by organizers as "a lot
of little boys, and men who are still little boys."
With prizes offered for raunchiest costume, the crowd resembled a Halloween nightmare come
one day early. Or perhaps a segment of "Lets Make a Deal" filmed at the
worlds biggest monster truck show. There were men with shaved heads, women with
exposed bellies, and the occasional legitimate mask.
One fan, Anthony Dalton of Ontario, tried to explain the attraction of a sport in which
most moves are choreographed. He started talking about pro wrestlers as role models, but
each time he began a sentence, hed see one of his mat idols, Diamond Dallas Page,
and scream "Dallas! Dallas! Woooohooooo!"
Her eyes glued to the ring, Laura Segura had another reason for coming: "Those
bodies!" she said, holding up a banner celebrating her two favorite wrestlers, Sting
and a character who bills himself as Big Sexy.
"Now this is entertainment," she added. "Just to come out here and see
those guys sweat. And did I mention those bodies?"
Not all the fans cheered themselves hoarse. Some were present as favors to wives, husbands
or boyfriends. One twentysomething man said his girlfriend made him do it, even though she
refused to accompany him to the shooting of a Kiss video.
Wincing in distaste, some called the wrestling scene the Cirque du Soleil for the
blue-collar class, a screaming cry for help, perhaps professional therapy.
Said 30-year-old James Murr of Montebello: "Its soap opera for men. Youve
got the same back-stabbing and outrageous story lines. And its naughty and
subversive. Let me tell you, youre not going to see this stuff on the Lifetime
channel."
Producers for "Ready to Rumble," acknowledge the sports pedestrian appeal.
The film involves two loser buddies who empty septic tanks for a living and happen to be
huge wrestling fans. The pair travel cross-country to return to glory a felled wrestling
idol they believe has been robbed of his rightful crown.
"Pro wrestling may be considered a lower rung on the artistic ladder, but its
also the widest rung," Silver, the producer, said. "People live for this
stuff."
They live for their sport like 6-year-old Brendon from Palmdale, who spotted his hero, a
wrestler known as Goldberg, back near the makeup van.
"Hey, Goldy!" he yelled, extending a paper to be
autographed.
"Hey, little man," cooed Goldberg, bending his head down to near knee-level to
face the boy.
Memento in hand, the boy watched his hero walk away and admitted
that he didnt know the names of any of the wrestlers moves inside the ring.
"But Ill bet they hurt," he said, wide-eyed.
__________________________________________________________
The WAWLI Papers No.
627...
(ED. NOTE: The New WAWLI Papers editorial board has never made a secret of the fact that a
goodly portion of the material appearing in this newsletter is ticketed, in one form or
another, for the forthcoming On Top: The Ultimate History of Professional Wrestling
in North America. Herein, another sneak preview of some of that accumulation,
namely, just a smidgeon of what will be a vastly comprehensive list of matches featuring
girls, midgets, bears, alligators and other "special attractions." Our apologies
to anyone who is offended. The following was a very, very early draft of the material,
which is now probably some 100 times lengthier, at a minimum.)
Cora Livingston vs. May Kelley
Columbus OHApril 15, 1937
Mildred Burke beat Wilma Gordon
Columbus OHApril 29, 1937
Mildred Burke beat Edna Bancroft
MemphisMay 3, 1937
Clara Mortensen beat Betty McGee
San FranciscoJune 29, 1937
Clara Mortensen beat Rita Martinez
OaklandJuly 2, 1937
Clara Mortensen beat Rita Martinez
San FranciscoJuly 13, 1937
Clara Mortensen beat Mary Davis
Columbus OHSeptember 9, 1937
Mildred Burke beat Wilma Gordon
Columbus OHNovember 18, 1938
Betty Nichols beat Mildred Burke
Columbus OHNovember 25, 1938
Mildred Burke drew Betty Nichols
Columbus OHDecember 1, 1938
Mildred Burke beat Betty Nichols
Columbus OHFebruary 9, 1939
Mildred Burke beat Peggy Flynn
RenoApril 12, 1939
Clara Mortenson beat Mildred White
Columbus OHOctober 26, 1939
Mildred Burke beat Gladys Gillem
Columbus OHNovember 2, 1939
Princess Rose White Cloud beat Gladys Gillem
Columbus OHNovember 9, 1939
Princess Rose White Cloud beat Wilma Gordon
Columbus OHNovember 16, 1939
Mildred Burke beat Princess Rose White Cloud
Columbus OHNovember 24, 1939
Gladys Gillem beat Wilma Gordon
Columbus OHDecember 28, 1939
Mildred Burke-Princess Rose White Cloud beat Wilma Gordon-Gladys Gillem
CharlotteJanuary 1, 1940
Gladys Gillem beat Rose White Cloud
CharlotteJanuary 8, 1940
Mildred Burke beat Gladys Gillem
CharlotteJanuary 15, 1940
Mildred Burke-Mae Weston beat Gladys Gillem-Babe Verner
CharlotteApril 15, 1940
GINGER THE BEAR beat Whitey Govro
CharlotteApril 22, 1940
GINGER THE BEAR beat Milo Steinborn
Columbus OHMay 31, 1940
Gladys Gillem beat Lupe Acosta
Columbus OHJune 5, 1940
Gladys Gillem beat Lupe Acosta
Columbus OHJune 13, 1940
Mildred Burke beat Gladys Gillem cor
Columbus OHJune 20, 1940
Mildred Burke beat Gladys Gillem, Mildred Burke drew Lupe Acosta (handicap)
Atlantic CityJuly 8, 1940
Mildred Burke beat Gladys Gillem
Atlantic CityJuly 15, 1940
Mildred Burke beat Lupe Acosta
CharlotteJuly 22, 1940
Lupe Acosta beat Gladys Gillem
CharlotteJuly 29, 1940
Mildred Burke beat Gladys Gillem
Columbus OHSeptember 12, 1940
Mildred Burke beat Gladys Gillem
Columbus OHDecember 6, 1940
Mildred Burke beat Mae Weston
Columbus OHDecember 12, 1940
Mildred Burke beat Wilma Gordon, Gladys Gillem beat Mildred Burke dec (handicap)
Columbus OHDecember 26, 1940
Gladys Gillem beat Patty Miller
Columbus OHJanuary 2, 1941
Elvira Snodgrass beat Gladys Gillem
Columbus OHJanuary 9, 1941
Elvira Snodgrass beat Wilma Gordon
Columbus OHJanuary 23, 1941
Wilma Gordon beat Patsy Miller
Columbus OHJanuary 30, 1941
Elvira Snodgrass beat Wilma Gordon
Columbus OHFebruary 13, 1941
Mildred Burke beat Elvira Snodgrass
DuluthJune 26, 1941
Battle royal with Mae Young, Nell Stewart, Rose Evans, Ann Miller and Kitty Duvall
Columbus OHJuly 17, 1941
Mae Young beat Gladys Gillem
Atlantic CityJuly 21, 1941
Gladys Gillem beat Cecelia Blevins
Columbus OHJuly 24, 1941
Ann LaVerne beat Mae Young
Atlantic CityJuly 28, 1941
Mae Young beat Cecelia Blevins
Columbus OHJuly 31, 1941
Elvira Snodgrass beat Ann LaVerne
Columbus OHAugust 7, 1941
Elvira Snodgrass beat Gladys Gillem
Columbus OHAugust 14, 1941
Gladys Gillem beat Celia Blevins
DaytonAugust 19, 1941
Mildred Burke vs. "Annie" Snodgrass
Columbus OHAugust 21, 1941
Mildred Burke beat Elvira Snodgrass
DaytonAugust 27, 1941
"Annie" Snodgrass vs. Wilma Gordon
Columbus OHAugust 29, 1941
Elvira Snodgrass beat Wilma Gordon
DaytonSeptember 1, 1941
Mae Young vs. "Annie" Snodgrass
DaytonSeptember 3, 1941
Mae Young beat "Annie" Snodgrass
DaytonSeptember 10, 1941
Gladys Ryan-Mae Young beat "Annie" Snodgrass-Celia Blevins
DaytonSeptember 16, 1941
Gladys Ryan drew Mae Weston
DaytonSeptember 23, 1941
Mildred Burke beat Mae Young
St. JosephJanuary 22, 1943
Mildred Burke beat Betty Weston, Mae Young beat Gladys Gillem
St. JosephJanuary 29, 1943
Elvira Snodgrass beat Mae Young
St. JosephApril 23, 1943
Mildred Burke beat Mae Young, Purple Flash beat Elvira Snodgrass
St. JosephApril 30, 1943
Mildred Burke beat Purple Flash, Gladys Gillem beat Mae Young
St. JosephMay 7, 1943
Purple Flash beat Gladys Gillem, Rose Evans beat Mae Young
St. JosephSeptember 24, 1943
Mildred Burke beat Elvira Snodgrass
St. JosephOctober 1, 1943
Mae Young beat Rose Evans, Elvira Snodgrass beat Mae Young (sub for Gladys Gillem, said out with broken leg in Minnesota)
St. PaulJune 20, 1944
Purple Flash beat Gladys Gillem, Mae Young beat Rose Evans, Nell Stewart beat Kitty Duvall
MinneapolisJune 27, 1944
Mae Young vs. Nell Stewart, Rose Evans vs. Ann Miller, Mae Weston vs. Kitty Duvall
IndependenceOctober 25, 1944
Nell Stewart beat Mae Weston
IndependenceNovember 1, 1944
Nell Stewart beat Ann LaVerne
Kansas CityNovember 30, 1944
Mildred Burke beat Peggy Lee
Washington DCMay 2, 1945
Nell Stewart beat Ann Miller, Violet Valentine beat Rose Evans
Washington DCMay 9, 1945
Rose Evans-Nell Stewart beat Ann Miller-Violet Valentine
PhoenixMay 21, 1945
Anna Olson beat Peggy Vaughn
Salt Lake CityMay 24, 1945
Mildred Burke beat Mae Young
BremertonJune 1, 1945
Mildred Burke beat Mae Young
DallasJune 12, 1945
Rose Evans beat Nell Stewart
Corpus ChristiJune 14, 1945
Mae Young beat June Byers
San AntonioJune 20, 1945
Mae Young beat Nell Stewart
Corpus ChristiJune 21, 1945
Mae Young beat Nell Stewart
DallasJune 26, 1945
Mae Young beat Rose Evans
San AntonioJune 27, 1945
June Byers vs. Nell Stewart
Corpus ChristiJune 28, 1945
Nell Stewart beat June Byers
JacksonvilleJune 28, 1945
Dolly West beat Doris Dean
JacksonvilleJuly 19, 1945
Dolly West-Wally Greb beat Doris Dean-Vincent Lopez (mixed)
PhoenixAugust 6, 1945
Mildred Burke beat Rose Evans
DallasAugust 20, 1945
June Byers beat Mae Young, Nell Stewart beat Violet Valentine
TacomaAugust 28, 1945
Mildred Burke beat Rose Evans
AtlantaAugust 31, 1945
Mae Young beat June Byers, Elvira Snodgrass-Violet Valentine beat Nell Stewart-Evelyn Wall
MemphisSeptember 3, 1945
June Byers-Violet Valentine beat Nell Stewart-Mae Young, Elvira Snodgrass beat Evelyn Wall
SeattleSeptember 3, 1945
Mildred Burke beat Ramona Valdez
AtlantaSeptember 8, 1945
Nell Stewart-Mae Young beat June Byers-Elvira Snodgrass
NashvilleSeptember 18, 1945
Mae Young beat Violet Valentine
San AntonioSeptember 19, 1945
Mildred Burke beat Rose Evans
Corpus ChristiSeptember 20, 1945
Mildred Burke beat Rose Evans
ToledoSeptember 20, 1945
June Byers beat Nell Stewart
DallasSeptember 25, 1945
Mildred Burke beat Rose Evans
NashvilleSeptember 25, 1945
June Byers beat Nell Stewart
BaltimoreOctober 2, 1945
June Byers beat Elvira Snodgrass
NashvilleOctober 16, 1945
Mildred Burke beat Mae Young
BaltimoreOctober 23, 1945
June Byers-Evelyn Wall beat CeCecelia Blevins-Nell Stewart
MiamiOctober 26, 1945
Mae Young beat Violet Valentine
MemphisOctober 29, 1945
Evelyn Wall beat Mae Weston, June Byers beat Juanita Coffman
Portland MEOctober 29, 1945
Nell Stewart drew Mae Young, Cecelia Blevins beat Violet Valentine
HolyokeOctober 31, 1945
Mae Young beat Violet Valentine, CeCecelia Blevins beat Nell Stewart
MemphisNovember 5, 1945
June Byers beat Rose Evans, Evelyn Wall beat Juanita Coffman
HolyokeNovember 7, 1945
Mae Young beat CeCecelia Blevins
ToledoNovember 8, 1945
Mildred Burke beat Mae Weston
AtlantaNovember 9, 1945
Juanita Coffman beat Evelyn Wall
Portland MENovember 12, 1945
Mildred Burke beat Mae Young
HolyokeNovember 14, 1945
Mildred Burke beat Mae Young
Klamath FallsJanuary 22, 1946
Clara Mortensen drew Rita Martinez
MedfordJanuary 23, 1946
Clara Mortensen beat Rita Martinez
AtlantaJanuary 26, 1946
June Byers beat Juanita Coffman, Nell Stewart beat Mattie Bell
MedfordFebruary 27, 1946
Clara Mortensen drew Rita Martinez nc
Klamath FallsFebruary 28, 1946
Clara Mortensen beat Rita Martinez
ColumbusMarch 14, 1946
June Byers beat Nell Stewart
MinneapolisMarch 19, 1946
June Byers beat Nell Stewart
AtlantaApril 5, 1946
Dolly West beat Wilma Gordon
PhoenixApril 29, 1946
Mildred Burke beat Juanita Coffman
YumaMay 2, 1946
Mildred Burke beat Juanita Coffman
AtlantaMay 3, 1946
Dolly West beat Wilma Gordon
AtlantaMay 17, 1946
Evelyn Wall-Violet Viann beat Ann LaVerne-Celia Blevins
St. PaulMay 23, 1946
Matty Bell beat Nell Stewart, Juanita Coffman beat June Byers
PhoenixJune 17, 1946
June Byers beat Juanita Coffman
PhoenixJune 24, 1946
June Byers-Helen Hild beat Mattie Bell-Nell Stewart
AtlantaJuly 5, 1946
Cecelia Blevins beat Evelyn Wall
ColumbusJuly 17, 1946
Mildred Burke beat Juanita Banks
AtlantaAugust 16, 1946
Ann LaVerne beat Cecelia Blevins
AtlantaSeptember 27, 1946
ALLIGATOR beat Gil Woodworth
NorfolkOctober 3, 1946
Mae Young beat Violet Valentine
NorfolkOctober 10, 1946
Elvira Snodgrass vs. Mae Young
AtlantaOctober 11, 1946
Nell Stewart beat Ann Miller, Juanita Coffman beat Evelyn Wall
AtlantaOctober 18, 1946
Mildred Burke beat Juanita Coffman
AtlantaOctober 25, 1946
Gil Woodworth beat ALLIGATOR
MinneapolisNovember 5, 1946
Ann LaVerne beat Dot Dotson
DuluthNovember 11, 1946
Ann LaVerne beat June Byers
BaltimoreNovember 12, 1946
Mildred Burke beat Juanita Mendez
MinneapolisNovember 12, 1946
Ann LaVerne vs. Gladys Galento
MinneapolisNovember 19, 1946
Mildred Burke beat Juanita Coffman
AtlantaNovember 19, 1946
Violet Viann beat Nell Stewart
MankatoNovember 20, 1946
Mildred Burke beat Juanita Coffman
St. PaulNovember 28, 1946
Mildred Burke beat Ann LaVerne
BaltimoreDecember 3, 1946
Mattie Bell beat Evelyn Wall
AtlantaDecember 20, 1946
Violet Viann-Evelyn Wall beat Mae Weston-Nell Stewart
MankatoMarch 19, 1947
Mildred Burke beat Kitty Duvall
MankatoNovember 12, 1947
Mildred Burke beat Mae Young
MinneapolisJanuary 13, 1948
Nell Stewart beat Mae Weston
ClevelandJanuary 27, 1948
Nell Stewart vs. Mae Weston
ClevelandMarch 16, 1948
Mildred Burke beat Elvira Snodgrass
St. PaulMarch 16, 1948
Helen Hild beat June Byers
ColumbusMarch 31, 1948
Therese Theis beat Mae Weston
ColumbusApril 7, 1948
Juanita Banks beat Therese Theis
ClevelandApril 20, 1948
Norma Robinson drew Jean Miller
Portland MEMay 11, 1948
June Byers beat Mae Weston
MinneapolisMay 11, 1948
Violet Viann beat Helen Hild
DuluthMay 14, 1948
Violet Viann beat Gladys Galento
Baltimore - May 18, 1948
Rose Evans beat Juanita Mendez
ColumbusMay 19, 1948
Mildred Burke beat Dot Dotson
BaltimoreMay 25, 1948
June Byers-Therese Theis beat Rose Evans-Elvira Snodgrass
ColumbusMay 26, 1948
Mildred Burke beat Juanita Banks
ClevelandJune 8, 1948
Jean Miller beat Adele Spudis
ColumbusJune 30, 1948
Elvira Snodgrass beat Mae Weston
San AntonioJuly 14, 1948
Violet Viann beat Mae Young
San AntonioJuly 21, 1948
Juanita Coffman beat Therese Theis
San AntonioJuly 28, 1948
Violet Viann beat Juanita Coffman
ColumbusSeptember 8, 1948
Violet Viann-Dot Dotson beat Nell Stewart-Mae Young
ColumbusSeptember 15, 1948
Violet Viann-Dot Dotson vs. Nell Stewart-Elvira Snodgrass
Little RockOctober 12, 1948
Nell Stewart beat Ellen Olsen, Violett Viann beat Dot Dotson
MinneapolisOctober 26, 1948
Therese Theis beat Juanita Coffman
San AntonioOctober 27, 1948
Violet Viann beat Dot Dotson
St. PaulOctober 29, 1948
Therese Theis beat Mae Young
San AntonioNovember 3, 1948
Violet Viann beat Nell Stewart dq
San AntonioNovember 10, 1948
Violet Viann-Lillian Ellison (as Ellen Ellison) beat Dot Dotson-Nell Stewart
MinneapolisNovember 23, 1948
June Byers beat Therese Theis
Little RockNovember 23, 1948
Mildred Burke beat Ada Ash
MinneapolisNovember 30, 1948
June Byers drew Therese Theis
ColumbusDecember 3, 1948
Mildred Burke beat Helen Hild
St. PaulDecember 3, 1948
Therese Theis beat June Byers
ClevelandDecember 8, 1948
Therese Theis-Helen Hild beat June Byers-Ada Ash
ColumbusDecember 9, 1948
Therese Theis-Helen Hild beat June Byers-Ada Ash
ClevelandDecember 14, 1948
June Byers-Juanita Coffman vs. Therese Theis-Helen Hild
ColumbusDecember 16, 1948
Helen Hild-Therese Theis beat June Byers-Juanita Coffman
ClevelandDecember 21, 1948
Helen Hild beat Elvira Snodgrass
(to be continued in New WAWLI No. 628)
_________________________________________________
The WAWLI Papers No. 628...
(ED. NOTE: The New WAWLI Papers editorial board has never made a secret of the fact that a goodly portion of the material appearing in this newsletter is ticketed, in one form or another, for the forthcoming On Top: The Ultimate History of Professional Wrestling in North America. Herein, another sneak preview of some of that accumulation, namely, just a smidgeon of what will be a vastly comprehensive list of matches featuring girls, midgets, bears, alligators and other "special attractions." Our apologies to anyone who is offended. The following was a very, very early draft of the material, which is now probably some 100 times lengthier, at a minimum.) (continued from New WAWLI No. 627)MankatoApril 28, 1949
Mildred Burke beat Juanita Coffman
Salt Lake CityApril 28, 1949
Helen Hild beat Nell Stewart
MankatoMay 11, 1949
Helen Hild beat Nell Stewart
DuluthJune 30, 1949
Violet Viann beat June Byers
MankatoOctober 26, 1949
Dot Dotson beat Helen Hild
Rochester MNNovember 3, 1949
Therese Theis beat Dot Dotson
Salt Lake CityNovember 3, 1949
Violet Viann beat June Byers
DuluthJanuary 4, 1950
June Byers beat Violet Viann
MankatoJanuary 5, 1950
June Byers beat Violet Viann
EugeneJanuary 28, 1950
GUS THE BEAR beat George Dusette
Salem ORJanuary 31, 1950
GUS THE BEAR beat Tony Ross
RoseburgFebruary 4, 1950
GUS THE BEAR beat Leo Wallick
SanduskyFebruary 6, 1950
Wilma Gordon beat Nell Stewart
Grants PassFebruary 7, 1950
GUS THE BEAR beat Jack Lipscomb
Klamath FallsFebruary 8, 1950
GUS THE BEAR beat Buck Lipscomb
MedfordFebruary 9, 1950
GUS THE BEAR beat George Dusette
Coos BayFebruary 10, 1950
GUS THE BEAR beat Leo Wallick
EugeneFebruary 11, 1950
GUS THE BEAR drew Tony Ross
SanduskyFebruary 13, 1950
Eva Lee beat Mae Young
Portland ORFebruary 13, 1950
GUS THE BEAR beat George Dusette
Astoria ORFebruary 15, 1950
GUS THE BEAR beat Tony Ross
SanduskyFebruary 20, 1950
Wilma Gordon-Eva Lee beat Mae Young-Nell Stewart
EugeneFebruary 25, 1950
GUS THE BEAR beat Jack Lipscomb-Tony Ross
SalemMarch 7, 1950
GUS THE BEAR beat Jack Lipscomb-Leo Wallick
Wichita FallsMarch 16, 1950
WRESTLING BEAR beat Whitey Whittler
Wichita FallsMarch 23, 1950
WRESTLING BEAR beat Ali Pasha
SanduskyMarch 27, 1950
RED TIGRESS-Clara Von Straus beat Lillian Ellison (Moolah)-Patsy ONeil dq
MankatoMarch 30, 1950
Mae Weston beat Ellen Olsen
SanduskyApril 3, 1950
RED TIGRESS-Clara Von Straus beat Lillian Ellison-Patsy ONeil
DuluthApril 5, 1950
Mae Weston beat Helen Hild
SanduskyApril 10, 1950
Lillian Ellison-Patsy ONeil beat RED TIGRESS-Clara Von Straus
Wichita FallsApril 13, 1950
Mildred Burke beat Elvira Snodgrass
SanduskyApril 17, 1950
Mildred Burke beat Mae Weston
SanduskyApril 24, 1950
Mildred Burke beat June Byers
SanduskyMay 8, 1950
GORGEOUS GUS THE BEAR beat Billy Venable
MankatoMay 11, 1950
Mildred Burke beat Mae Weston
SanduskyMay 15, 1950
Sky Low Low beat Tiny Roe
Rochester MNMay 18, 1950
Mildred Burke beat Nell Stewart
SanduskyMay 22, 1950
Tom Thumb beat Pee Wee James, GORGEOUS GUS THE BEAR beat Frank Marconi
SanduskyJune 5, 1950
Carol Cook-Marilyn Martin beat Mae Young-Millie Stafford, Millie Stafford beat Carol Cook, Mae Young beat Marilyn Martin
SanduskyJuly 3, 1950
Lady Angel beat Lillian Ellison
SanduskyJuly 12, 1950
Carmen Lee beat Conchita Pons
SanduskyJuly 26, 1950
Muriel Fontaine beat Mattie Bell
SanduskyAugust 2, 1950
Juanita Coffman beat Lady Atlas
DuluthOctober 3, 1950
Sky Low Low beat Pee Wee James
MankatoOctober 5, 1950
Pee Wee James beat Sky Low Low
Rochester MNOctober 12, 1950
Sky Low Low beat Pee Wee James
SanduskyOctober 23, 1950
Juanita Coffman beat Sandra Kowal
SanduskyOctober 30, 1950
Margie Markoff (Lady Monster) beat Juanita Coffman
Rochester MNNovember 1, 1950
Nell Stewart beat Carol Cook (sub for Mars Bennett)
MankatoNovember 2, 1950
Nell Stewart beat Gloria Barratini
SanduskyNovember 6, 1950
Lillian Ellison beat Conchita Pons
DuluthNovember 10, 1950
Nell Stewart beat Mars Bennett
SanduskyNovember 13, 1950
Wilma Gordon beat Juanita Coffman
SanduskyNovember 20, 1950
Conchita Pons beat Lillian Ellison dq
SanduskyNovember 27, 1950
Lillian Ellison-Patsy ONeil vs. Lady Angel-Conchita Pons
SanduskyDecember 4, 1950
Marilyn Martin-Margie Green beat Muriel Fontaine-Ann Rommell
SanduskyDecember 11, 1950
GORGEOUS GUS THE BEAR beat Ivan Bulba
MankatoFebruary 1, 1951
Mars Bennett vs. Lilly Bitter
Rochester MNFebruary 14, 1951
Sky Low Low beat Mighty Fritz
Rochester MNMarch 3, 1951
Mars Bennett beat Mae Young
DuluthMarch 12, 1951
Ella Waldek beat Ann LaVerne
Rochester MNMarch 15, 1951
Ella Waldek beat Beverly Lehmer
MankatoMarch 15, 1951
Mildred Burke beat Ann LaVerne
DuluthMarch 19, 1951
Mildred Burke beat Ella Waldek
MankatoApril 25, 1951
Tiny Roe beat Tom Thumb
DuluthMay 15, 1951
Tiny Roe beat Tom Thumb
Rochester MNMay 17, 1951
Pancho the Bull beat Tiny Roe
MankatoMay 17, 1951
Little Beaver beat Tom Thumb
DuluthMay 21, 1951
Carol Cook beat Dot Dotson
MankatoMay 24, 1951
Carol Cook beat Dot Dotson
DuluthJune 25, 1951
Nell Stewart beat Carol Cook
DuluthOctober 1, 1951
Carol Cook beat Dot Dotson dq
MankatoOctober 4, 1951
Donna Marie Dieckman beat Dot Dotson
MankatoOctober 11, 1951
Donna Marie Dieckman-Therese Theis beat Dot Dotson-Carol Cook
Rochester MNOctober 11, 1951
Nell Stewart beat Carol Cook
DuluthJanuary 7, 1952
Therese Theis (sub for Mary Jane Mull) beat Ruth Boatcallie
MankatoJanuary 10, 1952
Ida May Martinez beat Therese Theis
St. PaulJanuary 11, 1952
Therese Theis beat Ruth Boatcliffe
Rochester MNJanuary 12, 1952
Mary Jane Mull beat Therese Theis
DuluthJanuary 14, 1952
Mary Jane Mull beat Therese Theis
St. PaulJanuary 18, 1952
Therese Theis beat Mary Jane Mull
BaltimoreFebruary 12, 1952
Betty Hawkins-Cora Combs beat Terry Majors-Ida May (Martinez)
BaltimoreFebruary 19, 1952
Terry Majors beat Cora Combs
Miami BeachFebruary 29, 1952
Therese Theis beat Mary Jane Mull
St. PaulFebruary 29, 1952
Lilly Bitters beat Dot Dotson
MankatoMarch 6, 1952
Ramona Rundquist beat Lilly Bitter
Miami BeachMarch 7, 1952
Betty Hawkins won all-girl royal from Helen Hild, Therese Theis, Anne LaVerne, Cora Combs, Mary Jane Mull
Miami BeachMarch 21, 1952
Betty Hawkins beat Helen Hild
DuluthMarch 31, 1952
Lily Bitter (sub for Millie Stafford) beat June Byers
MinneapolisApril 1, 1952
Lilly Bitters beat June Byers
Rochester MNApril 2, 1952
Millie Stafford beat June Byers
MankatoApril 3, 1952
Lilly Bitter beat June Byers
St. PaulApril 4, 1952
Lily Bitters beat Ella Waldek
MinneapolisApril 8, 1952
Lilly Bitters beat Ella Waldek
St. PaulApril 11, 1952
Lilly Bitters beat June Byers
DuluthMay 26, 1952
June Byers beat Terry Majors
MinneapolisMay 27, 1952
June Byers beat Terry Majors
Rochester MNMay 28, 1952
June Byers beat Carol Cook
St. PaulMay 29, 1952
June Byers beat Terry Majors
Rochester MNJune 11, 1952
Millie Stafford beat Ella Waldek
St. PaulJune 13, 1952
Millie Stafford beat Ella Waldek
MinneapolisAugust 5, 1952
Nell Stewart beat Ida May (Martinez)
MinneapolisNovember 4, 1952
Violet Viann beat Mars Bennett
St. PaulNovember 7, 1952
Carol Cook beat Mars Bennett
Rochester MNNovember 8, 1952
Carol Cook beat Mars Bennett
MinneapolisNovember 11, 1952
Carol Cook beat Ruth Boatcallie
St. PaulNovember 14, 1952
Violet Viann beat Carol Cook
DuluthNovember 21, 1952
Carol Cook-Violet Viann beat Mars Bennett-Ruth Boatcallie
DuluthDecember 21, 1952
Shirley Strimple beat Lavon Hart dq
MankatoJanuary 22, 1953
Shirley Strimple beat Lavon Hart
AtlantaJanuary 30, 1953
Tuffy McRae-Farmer Pete beat Sky Low Low-Irish Jackie
DuluthFebruary 6, 1953
Shirley Strimple beat Ramona Hazel
AtlantaFebruary 20, 1953
Kathleen Wimbley vs. Betty White
MankatoMarch 5, 1953
Cora Combs beat Terry Majors
DuluthMarch 6, 1953
Cora Combs beat Terry Majors
Rochester MNMarch 18, 1953
Ella Waldek beat Millie Stafford
MankatoMarch 19, 1953
Millie Stafford beat Ella Waldek
DuluthMarch 28, 1953
Betty Hawkins beat Ella Waldek
AtlantaApril 3, 1953
Irish Jackie vs. Sonny Boy Cassidy-Farmer Pete
Porterdale GAApril 11, 1953
Farmer Pete vs. Irish Jackie
Rochester MNApril 15, 1953
Mildred Burke beat Therese Theis (sub for Ella Waldek)
MankatoApril 16, 1953
Mildred Burke beat Ella Waldek
DuluthApril 17, 1953
Mildred Burke beat Cora Combs
DuluthApril 25, 1953
Therese Theis vs. Cora Combs
MankatoMay 14, 1953
Pee Wee James vs. Mighty Schultz
DuluthMay 15, 1953
Mighty Schultz beat Fuzzy Cupid (sub for Pee Wee James)
AtlantaJune 26, 1953
Cora Combs vs. Millie Stafford
AtlantaJuly 24, 1953
Mildred Burke beat Cora Combs
DuluthOctober 2, 1953
Little Beaver-Tuffy McRae beat Fuzzy Cupid-Karl Krueger
AtlantaOctober 9, 1953
Little Beaver-Tito Infante beat Fuzzy Cupid-Tom Thumb
AtlantaNovember 20, 1953
Mildred Burke beat Millie Stafford
AtlantaDecember 11, 1953
Nell Stewart beat Ida Mae Martinez
MankatoDecember 17, 1953
Ramona TeSalle beat Delores DeWitt
AtlantaDecember 18, 1953
Terry Majors beat Carole Carota
DuluthDecember 18, 1953
Princess Ramona beat Delores DeWitt
AtlantaDecember 25, 1953
Terry Majors beat Carole Carota
DuluthJanuary 9, 1954
Ethel Brown beat Ella Waldek dq
AtlantaJanuary 8, 1954
Tuffy McRae-Tito Enfante beat Fritz Krueger-Fuzzy Cupid
Rochester MNJanuary 14, 1954
Ella Waldek beat Ethel Brown
AtlantaJanuary 29, 1954
Mildred Burke vs. Catherine Simpson
Rochester MNFebruary 17, 1954
Hailie Selassie-Pee Wee James beat Tiger Jackon-Tom Thumb
MankatoMarch 4, 1954
Pee Wee James-Tuffy McRea beat Sky Low Low-Tiger Jackson
Rochester MNMarch 18, 1954
Shirley Strimple beat Delores DeWitt
MankatoMarch 18, 1954
Ella Waldek vs. Ethel Brown
DuluthMarch 19, 1954
Ella Waldek beat Ethel Brown
AtlantaMarch 26, 1954
Mildred Burke beat Bonnie Watson
AtlantaApril 9, 1954
Ada Ash vs. ALLIGATOR
DuluthMay 4, 1954
Shirley Strimple beat Delores DeWitt
AtlantaMay 7, 1954
Mary Jane Mull drew Ida Mae Martinez
AtlantaMay 14, 1954
Suzanne drew Millie Stafford
Rochester MNMay 26, 1954
Shirley Strimple beat Ann LaVerne
AtlantaMay 26, 1954
Millie Stafford drew Ida Mae Martinez
AtlantaJune 5, 1954
Mildred Burke beat Mary Jane Mull
AtlantaJuly 23, 1954
Millie Stafford drew Carole Yantis
AtlantaAugust 6, 1954
Mildred Burke beat Bonnie Watson
BaltimoreAugust 10, 1954
Nell Stewart beat Judy Glover
AtlantaAugust 20, 1954
June Byers beat Mildred Burke 1-0
DuluthSeptember 14, 1954
Shirley Strimple beat Ramona Waukazo
DuluthSeptember 21, 1954
Tiny Tim-Tito Infante beat Sky Low Low-Otto Bowman
AtlantaOctober 1, 1954
Barbara Baker vs. Nell Stewart, GORGEOUS GUS THE BEAR beat Jerry Graham
AtlantaOctober 8, 1954
Cora Combs beat Belle Starr
AtlantaOctober 29, 1954
Little Beaver beat Ivan the Terrible
DuluthNovember 2, 1954
Betty Hawkins beat Barbara Baker
Rochester MNNovember 4, 1954
Betty Hawkins beat Barbara Baker
MankatoNovember 4, 1954
Ethel Brown beat Nell Stewart
DuluthNovember 9, 1954
Nell Stewart beat Ethel Brown
Rochester MNNovember 10, 1954
Nell Stewart beat Ethel Brown
AtlantaDecember 10, 1954
Kathy Branch beat Ethel Brown
(to be continued in New WAWLI No. 629)
______________________________________________
The WAWLI Papers No. 629...
(ED. NOTE: The New WAWLI Papers editorial board has never made a secret of the fact that a goodly portion of the material appearing in this newsletter is ticketed, in one form or another, for the forthcoming On Top: The Ultimate History of Professional Wrestling in North America. Herein, another sneak preview of some of that accumulation, namely, just a smidgeon of what will be a vastly comprehensive list of matches featuring girls, midgets, bears, alligators and other "special attractions." Our apologies to anyone who is offended. The following was a very, very early draft of the material, which is now probably some 100 times lengthier, at a minimum.) (continued from New WAWLI No. 628)Rochester MNJanuary 12, 1955
Penny Banner beat Millie Stafford
DuluthJanuary 14, 1955
Penny Banner beat Millie Stafford
Rochester MNJanuary 19, 1955
June Byers beat Penny Banner (world title defense)
DuluthJanuary 21, 1955
June Byers-Millie Stafford beat Penny Banner-Betty Hawkins
MankatoJanuary 27, 1955
Tiny Tim-Tito Infante beat Sky Low Low-Otto Bowman
DuluthJanuary 28, 1955
Tiny Tim-Tito Infante beat Sky Low Low-Otto Bowman
MobileFebruary 8, 1955
Vickie Lynn beat Patty Neff
MobileMarch 1, 1955
Ethel Brown beat Judy Glover
Rochester MNMarch 30, 1955
Nell Stewart beat Ida May Martinez
DuluthApril 1, 1955
Nell Stewart beat Kathy Branch
DuluthApril 8, 1955
Kathy Branch-Ida Mae Martinez beat Nell Stewart-Olga Zapata
Rochester MNApril 13, 1955
Tiny Tim-Pee Wee James beat Sky Low Low-Irish Jackie
MankatoApril 14, 1955
Pee Wee James-Tiny Tim beat Sky Low Low-Irish Jackie
MobileApril 20, 1955
Otto Bowman beat Tuffy McRae
MobileMay 17, 1955
China Mira beat Dot Dotson
MobileMay 24, 1955
Ethel Johnson beat Babs Wingo
MobileMay 31, 1955
Millie Stafford beat Lana Lamar
MobileJune 7, 1955
Cowboy Bradley beat Tom Thumb
MobileJuly 19, 1955
Kathleen Wimberly beat Betty White
MobileAugust 30, 1955
Lord Littlebrook beat Ivan the Terrible
DuluthSeptember 16, 1955
Cowboy Bradley-Brown Panther beat Tom Thumb-Otto Bowman
MobileSeptember 21, 1955
Belle Starr-Lee Fields vs. Dot Dotson-Mario Galento (mixed)
DuluthOctober 18, 1955
Tiny Tim-Tito Infante vs. Sky Low Low-Ivan the Terrible
DuluthOctober 25, 1955
Rusty Ryan (sub for Le Chon LaClaire) beat Kathy Branch
Rochester MNOctober 26, 1955
Bonnie Watson beat Rusty Ryan
MankatoNovember 3, 1955
Kathy Branch beat Bonnie Watson
Rochester MNDecember 7, 1955
Ethel Brown beat Millie Stafford
MobileDecember 14, 1955
GORGEOUS GUS THE BEAR vs. Rube Wright
Rochester MNDecember 15, 1955
Ethel Brown beat Barbara Baker
MankatoDecember 15, 1955
Barbara Baker vs. Millie Stafford
Kansas CityJanuary 12, 1956
Penny Banner beat Belle Starr
North AttleboroJanuary 13, 1956
Fabulous Moolah beat Susie Starr
WichitaJanuary 16, 1956
Belle Starr-Edith Wade beat Penny Banner-Millie Stafford
Rochester MNMarch 1, 1956
June Byers beat Bonnie Watson (world title defense)
MankatoMarch 1, 1956
June Byers vs. Kathy Branch
DuluthMarch 2, 1956
June Byers-Betty Hawkins beat Penny Banner-Bonnie Watson
DuluthMarch 9, 1956
Betty Hawkins beat Penny Banner
MobileMarch 14, 1956
Verne Bottoms-Les Welch beat Carol Kowalski-Stan Kowalski (mixed), Carole Kowalski beat Verne Bottoms
MankatoMarch 21, 1956
Little Beaver-Pee Wee James beat Otto Bowman-Ivan the Terrible
Rochester MNMarch 28, 1956
Little Beaver-Pee Wee James beat Ivan the Terrible-Otto Bowman
DuluthMarch 30, 1956
Little Beaver-Pee Wee James beat Ivan the Terrible-Otto Bowman
AtlantaMarch 30, 1956
Cowboy Bradley beat Fuzzy Cupid
Portland ORApril 23, 1956
Pee Wee James-Tiny Roe beat Otto Bowman-Ivan the Terrible
EdmontonApril 24, 1956
Barbara Baker beat Betty Hawkins
VancouverApril 25, 1956
Olga Zepeda beat Millie Stafford
St. LouisApril, 1956
Mae Weston beat Bonnie Watson
EdmontonMay 1, 1956
Millie Stafford beat Barbara Baker
Kansas CityMay 3, 1956
Mars Bennett beat Belle Drummond, China Mira beat Lana Lamar
St. JosephMay 4, 1956
Belle Drummond beat Mars Bennett
PortlandMay 4, 1956
Pee Wee James-Tiny Roe beat Otto Bowman-Ivan the Terrible
BostonMay 7, 1956
Judy Grable drew Fabulous Moolah
MobileMay 9, 1956
Verne Bottoms beat Libbie Gonzalez
ColumbusMay 10, 1956
Belle Starr beat Lana Lamar
Kansas CityMay 10, 1956
Belle Drummond-China Mira beat Mars Bennett-Ella Waldek
St. JosephMay 11, 1956
Belle Drummond-China Mira beat Mars Bennett-Ella Waldek
St. LouisMay 11, 1956
June Byers beat Bonnie Watson
VancouverMay 16, 1956
Betty Joe Hawkins-Millie Stafford beat Barbara Baker-Olga Zepeda
OmahaMay 21, 1956
Shirley Strimple beat Lorraine Johnson
Little RockMay 22, 1956
Ethel Johnson beat Marva Scott
VancouverMay 23, 1956
Otto Bowman-Pee Wee James beat Ivan the Terrible-Tiny Roe
DetroitMay 24, 1956
Fuzzy Cupid beat Tiny Tim Girard
MobileMay 30, 1956
Fuzzy Cupid vs. Tiny Tim
HollywoodJune 4, 1956
Irish Jackie-Tom Thumb drew Cowboy Bradley-Little Beaver
HamiltonJune 5, 1956
Fuzzy Cupid-Sky Low Low drew Lord Littlebrook-Tiny Tim
DuluthJune 21, 1956
Shirley Strimple beat Lorraine Johnson
TorontoJune 21, 1956
(midgets)
St. PetersburgJuly 11, 1956
Millie Stafford beat Jean Wright
VancouverJuly 11, 1956
June Byers beat Bonnie Watson
MobileJuly 25, 1956
China Mira beat Dot Dotson
Portland ORAugust 20, 1956
Lord Littlebrook-Tiny Tim beat Tom Thumb-Irish Jackie
MobileAugust 22, 1956
June Byers beat Penny Banner (title defense)
MobileSeptember 5, 1956
June Byers beat Bonnie Watson (title defense)
MobileSeptember 19, 1956
Kathy Branch beat Ella Waldek
Rochester MNSeptember 20, 1956
Lord Littlebrook-Tiny Tim beat Irish Jackie-Fuzzy Cupid
Rochester MNSeptember 26, 1956
Lorraine Johnson beat Annette Palmer
MankatoSeptember 26, 1956
Tiny Tim-Lord Littlebrook vs. Fuzzy Cupid-Irish Jackie
MobileSeptember 26, 1956
Kathy Branch beat Penny Banner dq
MobileSeptember 27, 1956
Millie Stafford beat Rusty Ryan
MankatoOctober 24, 1956
Bonnie Watson beat Penny Banner
Rochester MNOctober 25, 1956
June Byers-Penny Banner beat Betty Hawkins-Bonnie Watson
DuluthOctober 26, 1956
Penny Banner-Bonnie Watson beat June Byers-Betty Hawkins
DuluthNovember 2, 1956
June Byers beat Penny Banner (world title defense)
Rochester MNNovember 22, 1956
Shirley Strimple beat Annette Palmer
MobileNovember 22, 1956
Penny Banner vs. Millie Stafford
MontgomeryNovember 24, 1956
Millie Stafford beat Ellen Whitnor
MankatoDecember 5, 1956
Shirley Strimple beat Annette Palmer
DuluthJanuary 18, 1957
Lord Littlebrook-Brown Panther beat Sky Low Low-Irish Jackie
EdmontonJanuary 22, 1957
Barbara Baker-Penny Banner beat June Byers-Betty Jo Hawkins
MankatoJanuary 23, 1957
Lord Littlebrook-Brown Panther beat sky Low Low-Irish Jackie
VancouverJanuary 23, 1957
June Byers beat Penny Banner
Rochester MNJanuary 24, 1957
Lord Littlebrook-Brown Panther beat Sky Low Low-Irish Jackie
CalgaryJanuary 25, 1957
Betty Jo Hawkins vs. Barbara Baker
EdmontonJanuary 29, 1957
Penny Banner-Betty Jo Hawkins beat June Byers-Barbara Baker
VancouverJanuary 30, 1957
June Byers beat Betty Jo Hawkins
DuluthFebruary 1, 1957
Lord Littlebrook-Brown Panther beat Tom Thumb-Irish Jackie
CalgaryFebruary 1, 1957
Penny Banner-Betty Jo Hawkins vs. June Byers-Barbara Baker
VancouverFebruary 6, 1957
Betty Jo Hawkins-Penny Banner beat June Byers-Barbara Baker
VancouverFebruary 13, 1957
June Byers-Barbara Baker beat Betty Jo Hawkins-Penny Banner
MankatoFebruary 20, 1957
June Byers-Barbara Baker beat Penny Banner-Betty Hawkins
VancouverFebruary 20, 1957
Lord Littlebrook-Brown Panther beat Irish Jackie-Tom Thumb
Rochester MNFebruary 21, 1957
June Byers-Barbara Baker beat Penny Banner-Betty Hawkins
Rochester MNFebruary 28, 1957
June Byers beat Penny Banner (world title defense)
ReginaFebruary 28, 1957
Pee Wee James-Irish Jackie vs. Brown Panther-Lord Littlebrook
CalgaryMarch 1, 1957
Pee Wee James vs. Lord Littlebrook, Irish Jackie vs. Brown Panther
EdmontonMarch 5, 1957
Lord Clayton-Brown Panther vs. Tom Thumb-Irish Jackie
CalgaryMarch 8, 1957