World Class Memories: Gary Gibson's Memories

Ricky Romero

2012-02-11T14:41:00.000-08:00

One of the most popular Hispanic wrestlers to come through the Dallas territory was Ricky Romero. He was a very efficient babyface with good promos and fiery comebacks. His finisher was the cannonball, in which he would jump and land on his opponent's chest with his rear end.

Ricky came to the territory in July of 1966 and stayed until November of 1967. He was in and out the last three months of the stay. He had matches with Jack Daniels, the Golden Terror, Krusher Karlssen, Tony Borne and Danny Plechas. Ricky also had main event programs with Fritz and Waldo Von Erich. I remember reading in an old program from San Antonio that he was the only one to pin Fritz Von Erich in that city at the time. Ricky's tag team partners were Benny Mata and Duke Keomuka.

Ricky went on to be a star in both Texas territories, California, New Mexico and Colorado. The last time I saw Ricky was on a tape on the Terry Funk Wrestlefest in 1997 at the Amarillo Fairgrounds. He was in the corner of his sons, Mark and Chris Youngblood. They were wrestling the Bushwhackers, Luke and Butch. Ricky was a great babyface with very good psychology.

Ciclon Negro

2011-08-28T04:01:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite wrestlers that came through the Dallas territory in the mid-60’s was Ciclon Negro. Like Bull Curry, he was one of the first rugged “Steve Austin” type babyfaces. He used the back breaker and the neck breaker for finishing maneuvers. Another favorite maneuver was the headbutt. Negro was champion of Texas around 1960.

I first saw him in December of 1964 coming in as a heel. He turned babyface a month later, feuding with Chris Tolos, Danny McShain, Ivan the Terrible (Pampero Firpo), Killer Karl Kox, Jim and Jack Dalton, and Ike Eakins. Negro teamed with Cowboy Bob Ellis and Victor Apollo. The matches were very exciting as he would use rough tactics like the heels. This stay in the territory lasted six months.

Ciclon came back in November of 1968 as a heel. He turned babyface again under the influence of a frequent tag partner, Billy Red Lyons. As a face, Negro feuded with Chris Tolos, Mike Paidousis, and The Spoilers. His stay this time just lasted two months. It was my opinion that he made a better heel on the run and the face turn did not work out.

I did not see Ciclon again on TV until 1975. I was going to school in Stephenville, TX and saw wrestling from Abilene which was in the Funk’s territory. Ciclon was a heel and was really beating on Scott Casey. Terry Funk came in and slammed Ciclon though the TV announcer’s gimmicked desk. I guess that was the predecessor of putting someone through a table.

Ciclon went on to wrestle in Japan, Florida, the Carolinas, and other territories in his long career. There are some old films of him on YouTube which are very entertaining.

The Mongolian Stomper

2011-07-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

One of the monster heels brought into the Dallas territory in the mid-'70s was the Mongolian Stomper. His tenure was from November of 1975 to June of 1976 and he made a big impression while he was there. J.J. Dillon, his manager, did an excellent job on interviews promoting the Stomper. The finishing maneuver of the Stomper was doing a series of realistic looking stomps while circling his opponent. There was a tremendous amount of heat built up by Dillon and Stomper.

Stomper was built up as all monster heels were at the time. They would win matches against enhancement talent and then work their way to main event babyfaces. After that, the matches with Fritz Von Erich would come. Nick Kozak, Jose Lothario, Peter Maivia, Al Madril, Rocky Johnson and Red Bastien were the baby faces that Stomper worked against. J.J., Lord Alfred Hayes and Buddy Wolfe were his tag team partners.

The eventual matches with Fritz started in January of ’76. Fritz’s partners in the tag matches included Red Bastien, Jose Lothario, and Peter Maivia. The Stomper did win a brass knuckles lumberjack match against Fritz. No doubt that there was interference from one of the lumberjacks because Fritz did not lose clean in Dallas. Fritz won a Texas Death Match with the Stomper in Fort Worth. The next night, Fritz and Lothario beat Stomper and J.J. in Dallas. Stomper left the territory after this.

According to J.J.’s book, Wrestlers Are Like Seagulls, Stomper left without telling the front office.

Stomper went on to wrestle in Atlanta, Joe Blanchard’s Southwest Championship Wresting and other territories. I have some tapes of him wrestling in Jim Cornette’s Smokey Mountain Wrestling when he was around 60 years old. He looked to be in tremendous condition then.

Stomper was a great heel with very good psychology.

Benito "El Matador" Matta

2011-04-21T18:27:00.000-07:00

One of the more entertaining wrestlers that came through the Dallas territory in 1966 was Benito "El Matador" Matta. He was in the territory two years earlier as Benny Matta. His gimmick was freshened up with the matador tag. Whenever the heel was making a charge, Matta would dodge him like a matador without the cape. The heels did not move as fast as a charging bull. Benny would use a series of dropkicks and a pin for a finish when he did win a match.

The only main event program that Matta had was with Ricky Romero against Fritz and Waldo Von Erich. One night in Fort Worth, Fritz wrestled Matta and Waldo wrestled Romero. Fritz had the claw on Benny when Ricky came in and made the save costing Matta the match by DQ. Ricky and Waldo wrestled to a draw in the next match. This set up a tag team match the next week. During the match, Ricky got knocked out and the Von Erichs double teamed Benny. Joe Blanchard came in dressed in a suit and cleaned house with both Fritz and Waldo. Fritz was carried out on a stretcher and Bob Geigel took his place. Matta and Romero won the match. This set up Joe and Fritz's feud and ended Benny's program.

I saw Matta wrestle in Fort Worth on 12-26-66 during the Cowtown Tournament. This had four three-way matches and the winners met in a four-way elimination match. Benny wrestled Ronnie Etchison and Skandor Akbar. At the end, Akbar held Ronnie in a full nelson and Matta delivered a dropkick. Akbar got the pin on Ronnie and then stood up flexing his muscles in celebration. Skandor then received a dropkick from Benny and got pinned. Matta was the first one to be eliminated from the four way match.

Like most wrestlers in that era, Benny had very good psychology and was entertaining. I do not know where he went after he left Texas.

Jim & Jack Dalton

2011-03-10T20:26:00.000-08:00

Jack and Jim Dalton were one of the colorful teams that came through the Dallas territory in the '60s. They were blonde and very rough in their matches. Their psychology was great.

The wrestlers they faced included Cowboy Bob Ellis, Cyclone Negro, Silento Rodriguez, Tony Borne, Joe Corollo, Don Chuy, Billy White Wolf, and Ernie Ladd. There were tag matches with any combination of the group mentioned plus single matches. Back then, if there was a tag match on the card, there was also single matches between the wrestlers. They did this because there were fewer wrestlers on the card then than now.

The feud I remember most was with Cowboy Bob Ellis. Ellis and Cyclone Negro was wrestling Jack and Tony Borne in Dallas on a Tuesday night. Jim came in and hit Ellis with a beer bottle. Ellis and Jim had a match the next morning on the Dallas studio wrestling show.

Another angle on Fort Worth TV involved Jack and Billy White Wolf. Paul Boesch, the TV announcer, built it up as "Cowboy vs Indian." Unlike most movies, the Indian was the babyface. Jack also had a falling out with Tony Borne and had a good "heel vs heel" program.

Jack was also known as Don Stevens, Jack Dillinger, and Don Fargo. I had heard a lot about Don Fargo but did not know that they were the same person until a few months ago.

The Great Mephisto

2011-03-10T19:00:00.000-08:00

The Great Mephisto arrived in the Dallas territory in December of 1973. He made quite an impact with his great heel interviews. Mephisto had a gimmick similar to the Sheik where he did a prayer to Allah before the match and had a woman servant. The best line Mephisto used for drawing heat was "women should be treated like camels." Kicking an opponent with a loaded boot was his main finisher. The build up to the use of the boot was done very well. Occasionally, Mephisto used a fireball. He did not use the flash paper like most but shot a flame out of an object in his hand.

A list of opponents for Mephisto included Ivan Putski, Jose Lothario, Bob Orton Jr., Red Bastien, Fritz Von Erich, and Black Angus. His tag partners included Bob Roop, Roger Kirby, Dale Lewis, and the Texan (Blackjack Mulligan). Mephisto won the Texas title from Jose Lothario. After six months in the territory, Red Bastien took off the loaded boot and used it on him. Mephisto left the territory after this.

I saw Mephisto later as the manager of Mark Lewin on Georgia Championship Wrestling in the late '70s. After Lewin would put someone out with the sleeper, Mephisto would cover him up with his cape and revive the opponent.
Mephisto was really entertaining and had great psychology.

Fred Curry

2011-02-17T17:35:00.000-08:00

One of the first high flyers to come through the Dallas territory in the '60s was Fred Curry, son of legend Wild Bull Curry. Fred was different than his father being a good technical wrestler and a high flyer. Bull was a brawling, hardcore wrestler. Fred would finish a match with a flying body press after about nine or ten dropkicks.

The list of opponents for Fred included the Zebra Kid, Roger Kirby, Jack Daniels, Louie Tillet, Krusher Karlssen, Tony Borne, and Tarzan Tyler. The only main event program was with Fritz Von Erich. Fred rescued Bull in a match with Fritz that led to the feud. Bull teamed with Fred for a series of matches with different combinations of the wrestlers listed earlier.

Fred left the territory in late 1966 and returned for some matches in the '70s. He was then known as Bull Curry Jr. He had one of the best dropkicks that I have seen.

Fred's son, Fred Curry III, wrestles on the independent circuit in the Northeast.

Joe Scarpa

2011-01-24T13:00:00.000-08:00

One wrestler that passed through the Dallas territory before becoming famous elsewhere was Joe Scarpa. As a babyface, Scarpa had a very strong comeback after selling for a heel. Joe used the sleeper hold for a finisher and had a very strong sense of psychology. June through September of 1967 was the time he was in the territory.

Joe's list of opponents included Brute Bernard, the Destroyer, Danny Plechas, Mike Paidousis, Killer Karl Kox, the Spoiler, and Krusher Karlssen. Billy Red Lyons was his frequent tag team partner.

I saw Scarpa wrestle on 7-8-67 at the Turnpike Stadium show that featured Fritz Von Erich vs Gene Kiniski. Joe teamed with Joe Blanchard and Waldo Von Erich against Buddy Austin, Brute Bernard and Killer Karl Kox. Scarpa, Blanchard, and Von Erich won the match, two falls to one.

Joe left Texas to become famous as Chief Jay Strongbow in the WWF. After retirement, he became a ring agent for the WWF.

Lord Charles Montague

2011-01-05T20:15:00.001-08:00

Lord Charles Montague, whose real name was Jacob Grobbe, passed away on December 15, 2010. He came to the Dallas territory in October of 1969 and stayed until the end of 1970. Charles was the first wrestler that I remember with a body builder's physique. A really good heel interview with a British accent made him quite entertaining.

Charles managed Boris Malenko and was also his tag team partner. They had feuds with Fritz and Waldo Von Erich, Wahoo McDaniel, Tiger Conway, Nick Kozak, Mil Mascaras, and Tony Pugliese. They were American Tag champions at one time.

The best angle that Charles was involved in was with Bob Orton Sr., grandfather of Randy. Orton came in as an understudy to Charles and Boris. After weeks of being treated like dirt, Orton turned on Montague. Charles was given a piledriver on a metal chair in the ring by Orton. This led to a series of single and tag matches involving Orton against Malenko and Montague.

Montague and Malenko were involved in an angle with Paul Boesch in Houston. The Life and Times of Paul Boesch tribute show has the last three minutes of a match between Malenko and Boesch. Referee Dick Raines takes a bump and is knocked out during the match. Malenko immediately pulls off Raines' pants in the middle of the ring. Boesch gets a towel from ringside for Raines to put around his waist. Montague sneaks up and takes the towel away exposing Raines' boxer shorts. That was sports entertainment at its best. Boesch won the match when Malenko did not beat him in ten minutes. The DVD of this show can be found on wrestling video websites.

Montague wrestled under several different names in his career. He had good ring psychology that is not seen in wrestling today.

Cowboy Bob Ellis

2010-11-07T10:01:00.000-08:00

One of the most popular babyfaces that came through Dallas-Fort Worth in the '60s was Cowboy Bob Ellis. He was a real cowboy from San Angelo who owned a ranch and horses. Bob's finishing move was the bulldog headlock. He would grab a headlock on his opponent in the corner. Bob would then run and drop his foe flat on his face.

Bob did a very good babyface interview. He had the fans convinced the he would get revenge on his evil opponent. A fiery comeback after taking a lot of punishment was also a trademark of his. Bob would bleed a lot to get sympathy from the fans. His willingness to bleed made him an ideal opponent from Fritz Von Erich. The bleeding helped establish Von Erich's Iron Claw as a devastating hold. Look at the September 20, 2009 entry of Gary Gibson's Memories for details of the Von Erich-Ellis feud.

Bob did feud with several other heels. Killer Karl Kox, Tony Borne, Mark Lewin, The Destroyer, The Dalton Brothers, Chris Tolos, and the Wrecker. Bull Curry and Ernie Ladd were Ellis' most frequent tag team partners.

Some of Bob's matches can be seen on YouTube. The last I heard of Bob wrestling was in 1978 against Dale Valentine who was later known as Buddy Roberts. He was very entertaining and was one of the best babyfaces of the time.

Amazing Zuma

2010-10-12T18:05:00.000-07:00

One of the high-flying wrestlers that came through the Dallas territory in 1966 was The Amazing Zuma. He had many of the same characteristics of Argentina Rocca and was probably copied after him. Zuma used quick dropkicks and would slap people with his bare feet. The victory roll was used as his finisher.

Zuma had a variety of opponents but did not have a feud with any. He always wrestled underneath but had his share of victories. The Golden Terror, Indian Joe, The Mummy, Danny McShain, Jimmy Valentine, and Roger Kirby were among the heels he wrestled. Billy Red Lyons and Cowboy Bob Ellis were his tag team partners.

I saw Zuma wrestle Danny McShain on 5-30-66 in Fort Worth on the opening match. Zuma won when McShain dropped his foreign object and referee Marvin Jones picked it up. Marvin immediately called for the bell and stopped the match disqualifying McShain. On an interview, I heard Bobby Heenan talk about using a piece of motel soap wrapped in tape as a foreign object. I wondered if Danny used the same thing. According to Danny's record book, he only wrestled about a dozen matches after this.

Zuma may have been a copy of Argentina Rocca but he sure was entertaining.

K.O. Ken Yates

2010-09-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

One of the most colorful "enhancement talents" that came through the Dallas territory in 1965 was "K.O." Ken Yates. Ken had a gimmick of being a former boxer which I read online that he was. He had good ring psychology and held his own until the babyface made the comeback and won. I do not know what his finish was because I never saw him win a match.

I saw Ken wrestle Kanji Inoki on July 19, 1965 in Fort Worth. It was my first time to see wrestling in person. I turned eleven that day and my dad took me to matches for my birthday.

Ken started out being pretty rough to Inoki and got the upper hand. When this happened, he went outside the ring and showed his boxing stance and did some shadow boxing in front of the fans. This gave Inoki time to recover and make a comeback. Yates submitted to Inoki's armpit claw. This hold should have been called the "pit stop" because the match stopped quickly once the claw was applied. Inoki changed his first name to Antonio and became one of the most successful wrestlers and promoters in Japan.

Yates went on to work in the AWA and other territories. He had two sons that wrestled in Minnesota in the 1990s.

Jimmy Valentine

2010-09-13T19:36:00.000-07:00

A young man named Jimmy Valentine came through the Dallas territory for a short time in 1966. He was big, strong and very hard working. Jimmy's finishing move was the over the knee backbreaker. In my opinion, he was to remind the fans of Johnny Valentine.

Although Jimmy was very green at the time, he worked with many of the top baby faces. The list includes Bull Curry, Ox Baker, and Billy Red Lyons. He also wrestled some of the heels which included the Mummy, Indian Joe, and Blackjack Daniels. His most frequent tag team partner was Mark Lewin. On 5-31-66, I saw Valentine defeat Indian Joe in a squash match.

Valentine left after about three months to become Jimmy Valiant in the WWWF. According to a shoot interview from about 2000, Jimmy said that Vince McMahon Sr. called Fritz Von Erich wanting a monster heel. Fritz recommended Valentine. The rest is history. Valiant became one of the most successful wrestlers of all time.

The shoot interview was very hard to understand. I e-mailed Jimmy Valiant and ask him if he wrestled as Jimmy Valentine in Texas in 1966. He said that he did.

Louie Tillet

2010-09-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

One of the colorful heels that came through the Dallas territory during the mid-'60s was Louie Tillet. As with many wrestlers in the '60s, psychology was a strong point. Louie would break cleanly and wrestle for about the first five minutes of a match and get the people applauding good sportsmanship. He would then do dirty tactics and get the people riled. His finisher was an elbow to the jaw coming off the ropes and then a falling elbow to the chest.

Louie's most famous feud of the time was with Bull Curry for the Texas Brass Knuckles Title. They had a few matches that were stopped because of blood loss. Louie eventually won the title but lost it to Tony Borne. A closed fist was legal in a brass knuckles match where it was not in a regular match. Even though a closed fist was illegal in a regular match, I never saw anyone get disqualified for using one.

The babyfaces that Louie faced included Kanji Inoki, Bob Ellis, Ken Hollis, Torbellino Blanco, Nick Kozak, and Dory Dixon. He teamed with Al Costello, The Golden Terror, and Roger Kirby.

Tillet worked other NWA territories and became a booker in Florida. You could always depend on Louie to have a good match and be entertaining.

Roger Kirby

2010-08-22T09:18:00.000-07:00

At the start of his career, Roger Kirby came through the Dallas Territory in 1966. Kirby imitated Buddy Rogers using the same style and mannerisms. He was one of the better mid-card heels at that time using the backbreaker over the knee as a finisher.

Kirby feuded with Bull and Fred Curry, Zuma, Dory Dixon, Ox Baker, and Billy Red Lyons. He teamed with Louie Tillet and Blackjack Daniels to take on several combinations of babyfaces.

I saw Kirby wrestle in person on 5-30-66 in Fort Worth. He and the Mummy took on Dory Dixon and Bull Curry. Dixon pinned the Mummy for the first fall and Kirby pinned Dixon after a backbreaker to win the second fall. In the third fall, Dixon was attempting a cover on Kirby. The Mummy ran in to make the save but kicked Roger instead after Dixon moved. After the same thing happened again, Mummy ran back to the ring apron. By this time, Roger was pretty ticked off. He grabbed the top rope, jerked Mummy back in, and went back to the dressing room. Mummy was then pinned to end the match. I thought there would be a feud between Roger and the Mummy but it never materialized. I guess Mummy thought he screwed up and got what he deserved.

Kirby went on to work several territories including Portland, Kansas City, WWA, Florida, and Mobile. He was very colorful and successful.

Dory Dixon

2010-08-15T17:44:00.000-07:00

One of the best African-American wrestlers to come through the Dallas territory in the 1960s was Dory Dixon. He was very quick and athletic and had good babyface psychology. Dory had very good comebacks after selling for the heel. His finisher was a flying body press. Many times he would jump over the ropes from the ring apron to pin an opponent.

Dory did not have any major programs but wrestled every mid-card heel in the territory. The Mummy, Jimmy Valentine, Indian Joe, Roger Kirby, Blackjack Daniels, Louie Tillet, and the Zebra Kid were among the people he wrestled at that time. He teamed with Bull Curry, Ox Baker, and Nick Kozak. He won the Texas Tag Team Titles with Kozak by defeating Louie Tillet and the Zebra Kid in a tournament. Dory also held the Texas Heavyweight Championship in 1962.

I saw Dory in person on 5-30-66 in Fort Worth. He teamed with Bull Curry to wrestle the Mummy and Roger Kirby. Dory won the first fall with the flying body press on the Mummy. Kirby pinned Dory for the second fall and Curry pinned the Mummy for the third fall.

Dory resides in Mexico now. I read in the Wrestling Observer about four years ago that Dory wrestled on occasion. That would make him in his late 60s at that time. He really must be in good shape.

Chief Billy White Wolf

2010-08-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

Chief Billy White Wolf came through Texas in the early and mid-1960s. He was a very good baby face who was able to sell and make intense comebacks. The Texas Championship was his for about three months in 1963.

Billy had the usual American Indian gimmick moves for that era. Tomahawk chops and a war dance highlighted his comebacks. The sound of war whoops echoed in the building from the fans when the comebacks were made.

His opponents included Mark Lewin, Chris Tolos, Jack Dalton, Tim Tyler, and Killer Karl Kox. Billy teamed with Cowboy Bob Ellis in a feud with Jim and Jack Dalton.

After leaving Texas, Billy went on to the WWWF to win the tag team championship in the territory. He also went to Hawaii and the Pacific Northwest. Later, he went to the AWA as Shiek Adnan Al-Kaissie and did very well as a manger and wrestler.

White Wolf's real name is Adnan Bin Abdulkareem Ahmed Al-Kaissy El Farthie. I did not know that White Wolf and Al-Kaissie were the same person until my brother gave me a book on wrestlers in 1995. It amazed me that a person from Iraq could pass for a Native American.

Joe Blanchard

2010-07-06T20:35:00.000-07:00

One of the most influential people in Texas wrestling history was Joe Blanchard. As a worker, he made a great babyface with his selling and fiery comebacks. He also made a great heel. His finisher was the abdominal stretch. This is a hold that is not seen anymore.

On August 29, 1966, Joe came on the scene during a match featuring Fritz and Waldo Von Erich against Ricky Romero and Benny Matta. Romero had been knocked out and Fritz was holding Matta down while Waldo kept jumping on him from the top rope. Joe Blanchard, dressed in a suit, entered the ring and knocked Waldo off the top rope. He then pummeled Fritz for a while and this resulted in Fritz being carried off on a stretcher. Blanchard's suit was torn up badly during the brawl.

Joe defeated several heels leading up to a match with Fritz for the championship of Texas. Waldo, Bob Geigel and The Golden Terror were included on that list of heels. The title match took place on 11-21-66 in Fort Worth. The final fall was on TV. Fritz won the first fall and Joe won the second with the abdominal stretch. In the third fall, Fritz was pinned with a rolling cradle after being distracted by Duke Keomuka. This is the only time I saw Fritz lose a deciding fall by being pinned working as a heel. The match is on YouTube and there were several positive comments about it. The crowd heat was much better then than it is now. Fritz won the title back on 1-16-67.

On 8-3-68, Joe was the special referee in a Texas Death Match between Fritz and Gene Kiniski for the NWA Title. Joe caused Fritz to lose the match thus turning heel. They had a series of singles and tag team matches after this.

Joe went on to promote wrestling in San Antonio. He broke away from the Dallas booking office in 1977 and formed Southwest Championship Wrestling. Tully, Joe's son, became a star there and went on to be one of the top wrestlers in the '70s, '80s and '90s. Joe was one of the first to have a wrestling program on national television. He is retired and living in San Antonio today.

Nick Kozak

2010-06-16T18:54:00.000-07:00

One of the top Dallas territory babyfaces during the late '60s was Nick Kozak. Great interviews and fiery comebacks were his trademarks. He also sold very well setting up the comebacks.

Nick wrestled nearly all of the heels in the territory during his '60s run in Texas. He had singles programs with Waldo Von Erich, the Spoilers, Jack Daniels, Louie Tillet, and Chris Markoff. He teamed with his brother, Jerry, for some exciting tag team matches.

I saw Nick wrestle twice in person. On 12-26-66, Nick wrestled in the 3 man match elimination tournament. He defeated Ken Hollis and Jack Daniels in the first match and survived the four way match to finals. He lost to Waldo Von Erich in the finals.

On 2-12-68, Nick wrestled the Destroyer in a 2 out of 3 fall match. Destroyer won the first fall with and knee drop and was disqualified the second fall. Nick won the third fall with an airplane spin. This is a finisher that has not been seen in at least 30 years. The Destroyer said he would take off the mask if he was beaten two out of three pinfalls or submission. When he would lose a two out of three fall match, one fall was always by disqualification so he would not have to unmask.

Nick refereed in Houston after his wrestling career was over. I heard he is living in Galveston doing a lot of surfing now.

Chris Markoff

2010-05-31T20:24:00.000-07:00

One of the heels that drew the most heat in the Dallas territory in the '60s was Chris Markoff. He was very loud and knew how to work a crowd.

Markoff debuted on 11-13-67 teaming with Mike Paidousis against Waldo Von Erich and Joe Blanchard in Fort Worth. He was introduced as being from Yugoslavia. Markoff then yelled into the microphone that he was not from Yugoslavia, he was from Russia. That was always instant heat during the Cold War era. He proceeded to attack Blanchard and Von Erich from behind. The match was a double countout.

During a match with Pepe Gomez, Markoff continuously jumped off the top onto Gomez until Nick Kozak made the save. Chris had tremendous heat during the post-match interview. The noise in the building was as loud as I had ever heard it.

Markoff wrestled nearly everyone who came through the territory during his eight months there. Matches with the Kozaks, Spoilers, Billy Red Lyons, Fritz Von Erich, and Buddy Moreno were all good. His main singles program was with Nick Kozak.

I saw Markoff wrestle in person on 2-12-68. He defeated Danny Plechas in the opener and then won a battle royal. There was a $500 bounty for Spoiler #1's mask in the battle royal. Spoiler #2 picked up #1 and put him over the top rope onto the floor. #1 was eliminated which ruined everyone else's chances of winning $500. Ernie Ladd and Markoff pounded on #2 with Ladd throwing #2 out. Markoff threw out Ladd after sneaking up behind him thus winning the battle royal. I was sitting on the front row when Markoff walked by me after the match. As he passed, I booed him loudly and Markoff just looked at me and laughed. I was disappointed that he was not upset about getting booed.

Markoff went on to Florida and other territories after leaving Texas. The last time I saw him wrestle was on TBS during Georgia Championship Wrestling.

Skandor Akbar

2010-05-23T14:38:00.000-07:00

One of the wrestlers who passed through Texas before becoming famous was Skandor Akbar. He made his debut in the Dallas territory in November of 1966 and stayed until February of 1967.

Akbar had matches against Ken Hollis, Ronnie Etchison, Benny Matta, and Chief Little Eagle during his stay. Being a preliminary wrestler, he never had an interview on television. The only main event match he had was when he teamed with Waldo Von Erich against Al Costello and Karl Von Brauner. The first fall of the match was shown on Dallas TV. Akbar was pinned by Von Brauner after being hit in the head by Gary Hart with Costello's boomerang.

I saw Akbar in a three way match on 12-26-66 in Fort Worth during the Cowtown Tournament. His opponents were Benny Matta and Ronnie Etchison. Akbar held Etchison in a full nelson and Benny Matta dropkicked Etchison who was pinned by Akbar. Afterwards, Akbar got up and celebrated. He was promptly dropkicked and pinned by Matta.

Akbar went to several territories and came back to Dallas as the manager of Devastation Inc. He was one of the best managers in wrestling history. Akbar did great interviews for someone who did none on his first tour in Dallas. It was obvious they he worked very hard at it.

I meet Akbar, his wife, Killer Karl Kox, and Tim Brooks at a wrestling convention at Arlington in 2003. They were all very nice and a pleasure to talk to.

Spoiler #2

2010-05-13T16:10:00.000-07:00

A wrestler that was part of Gary Hart's stable in the late '60s was the Spoiler #2. He was brought in as a tag team partner for Spoiler #1. Spoiler #2 was a big part of the scene in the Dallas territory in 1968.

The Spoilers had their first tag match on Fort Worth TV against Ernie Ladd and Big Bad John on 2-5-68. The match was won by the Spoilers in two straight falls. #1 won the first fall with the claw and #2 won the second with an upside down bearhug. John lost both falls because Ladd was being pushed as a top babyface. The American Tag Team Championship was next for the Spoilers, winning it from Fritz Von Erich and Billy Red Lyons. Nick and Jerry Kozak, Von Erich and Grizzly Smith and Red Lyons and Buddy Moreno also worked programs with the Spoilers.

Spoiler #2 was unmasked on Dallas TV by Nick and Jerry Kozak during a battle royal. I first thought he was Dick the Bruiser because they looked so much alike. Nick Kozak then said it was Smasher Sloan. I had read about Smasher Sloan in the wrestling magazines that were based on the East Coast. The thing that stood out about him was that he rarely won a match. Sloan came to Texas and was winning a lot of matches and I did not understand how he got so much better.

In November of 1968, Sloan turned on Gary Hart and became a face. He had matches with Don Jardine, the unmasked Spoiler #1. He also teamed with the other faces against the men managed by Hart.

Even though he was not as talented as Don Jardine, he was entertaining as his role as the Spoiler #2.

The Spoiler

2010-05-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest monster heels to come through the Dallas territory was the Spoiler. He made his debut in Fort Worth on 8-7-67. For the next twenty years, he influenced the success of the Dallas territory as much as any wrestler. His feud with Fritz Von Erich established Fritz as the top baby face for years to come.

Gary Hart, the Spoiler's manager, said the Spoiler had a big surprise for the people. This was hyped by Hart on Fort Worth TV for three weeks. During a match where Spoiler wrestled Paul DeMarco, the surprise was revealed. Hart pulled out a glove that Spoiler put on his right hand. The matched continued to give people time to wonder what the surprise would be. Spoiler then applied the head claw like Fritz Von Erich used to DeMarco, who juiced heavily. The Spoiler’s version of the claw was called the "Hart's Krusher." The camera even did a close up on DeMarco's head for extra emphasis. The psychology behind this angle was great. As I have said before, this is what today’s wrestling is missing.

There was later a "claw vs claw" challenge between Fritz and the Spoiler on Fort Worth TV. Billy Red Lyons was in Fritz's corner and Hart was in the Spoiler's corner. Spoiler applied his claw to Fritz first who fought his way out of it after a big struggle. Fritz then applied his claw and was getting the best of it when Hart interfered and broke it up. On an interview afterwards, Fritz said that the Spoiler had a strong grip but the glove was wet causing it to draw up and apply more pressure.

In my opinion, the feud between Fritz and Spoiler was the best one of that era. It continued for several years with the American title going back and forth between them. The American tag titles were also involved in this feud. The Spoiler was unmasked during this time to be revealed as Don Jardine. The mask did go back on later because Jardine did not have the impact that he did with the mask.

The Spoiler went on to be one of the biggest stars in wrestling history working in many different territories. His quickness and agility for a big man was really unique.

Ernie Ladd

2010-04-27T17:24:00.000-07:00

Ernie Ladd, one of the biggest stars in wrestling history, came through the Dallas territory on occasion in the mid to late 1960s. He usually was in the territory during the football offseason. Ladd was a special attraction because of his size and athletic ability.

Ladd was involved in feuds with Fritz Von Erich, Killer Karl Kox, The Spoilers, and Chris Markoff. Bull Curry and Cowboy Bob Ellis were Ladd's main tag partners in the mid-'60s against Von Erich and Kox. In 1964, Ernie won the Texas championship in Houston from Fritz but lost it back in a short time. The title switch was not acknowledged in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

I saw Ladd wrestle Mike Paidousis in Fort Worth on 2/12/68. For a finisher, Ladd would throw his opponent into the ropes. The person would then bounce back and run into Ladd's foot. The big splash from Ladd would end the match. Also on that same card, Ladd was a finalist in a battle royal. Chris Markoff eliminated Ladd to win the match.

Ernie went on to be a big star and booker in other territories. He did not have a big run in Texas after the '60s.

Mike Paidousis

2010-04-11T14:25:00.001-07:00

One of the veteran heel wrestlers that came through the Dallas territory in the sixties was Mike Paidousis. He worked with many of the young wrestlers during his year stay in the territory. This made me think that he was here to teach them how to have a match. Mike was very good on psychology and always motioned for the people to stand up with respect when he was introduced. It goes without saying that they booed him louder.

Mike was manager of Brute Bernard during this time period. As a manager, Mike was not good on interviews like Gary Hart, Jim Cornette, and Bobby Heenan. He would occasionally interfere and distract in a match but that was about it. Their main feud was with Fritz and Waldo Von Erich for the American tag title. Brute and Mike also worked with Gary Hart and the Spoiler in matches between the two top heel teams.

I saw Paidousis wrestle twice in person. He defeated Paul DeMarco on the card at Turnpike Stadium that featured Fritz Von Erich vs Gene Kiniski. He lost to Ernie Ladd in Fort Worth on 2-12-67. This was one of his last matches in the territory.

Mike passed away in 2002 at the age of 78.

The Golden Terror

2010-03-31T22:53:00.000-07:00

One of the colorful heel characters to pass through the Dallas territory in the mid-'60s was the Golden Terror. He was very agile for a man that weighed about 270 pounds and had excellent psychology. A backwards bump over the top rope was one of his best moves. Terror was able to get over without doing very many interviews. A gold colored skull cap was part of his outfit but it was never used for head butting purposes.

The Golden Terror had several feuds during his six month stay in the territory. Duke Keomuka, Billy Red Lyons, The Amazing Zuma, Ramon Torres, and Killer Karl Kox were some of the wrestlers on the list. His favorite finishing maneuver was the reverse neckbreaker. The Terror was the first person that I saw use this finisher. Today, the neck breaker is a move used during a match and not a finisher.

The Terror's biggest push came when he held the Dallas version of the World's Tag Team Championship with the Destroyer. They won it from Kanji Inoki and Duke Keomuka and lost it to Keomuka and Fritz Von Erich.

The Golden Terror went on to other territories and wrestled under different names. Otto Von Krump, Mr. Atomic, Shadow, and Black Shadow were some of the characters he portrayed.

Killer Buddy Austin

2010-03-17T14:17:00.000-07:00

One of the heels that I remember getting a lot of heat coming through the Dallas territory was "Killer" Buddy Austin. He debuted in March of 1967 and stayed through August. His heat was generated by putting people out of commission using the piledriver. Austin would use three piledrivers at first to end the match with one of them being on the floor or the time keeper's table. One piledriver was enough for a finisher after he was established.

Austin had feuds with babyfaces Bearcat Wright, Waldo and Fritz Von Erich, Billy Red Lyons, Duke Keomuka, and Paul DeMarco. He also had "heel vs heel" matches with Kinji Shibuya, Brute Bernard, Mike Paidousis, and Killer Karl Kox. Austin won the Texas title from Paul DeMarco in a tournament. This was after Fritz Von Erich vacated the Texas title after winning the American title.

I saw Austin wrestle on the Turnpike Stadium program where he teamed with Brute Bernard and Killer Karl Kox against Joe Blanchard, Joe Scarpa, and Waldo Von Erich. This was on 7-8-67. Austin pinned Blanchard after giving him a piledriver for the first fall and Blanchard used a flying body press to pin Austin for the second fall. Scarpa pinned Kox for the third fall after Austin punched Kox by mistake.

Here is another interesting note on that match. The card took place on a Saturday night. Mike Paidousis, Brute Bernard's manager, was in the corner of the heel team. Boyd Pierce, the PA announcer, gave the main event for Fort Worth on Monday night as Mike Paidousis vs Buddy Austin. One would think, why are they not fighting when they are going to be in the main event two nights later? I guess that was a slipup that got by the promoter.

Austin went to wrestle in California, Hawaii, and other places after he left Texas.

Baron Von Raschke

2010-03-10T21:36:00.000-08:00

One of the most successful wrestlers who passed through the Dallas territory in 1968-69 was Baron Von Raschke. He had only been wrestling for about four years but his ring work and psychology made him one of the best.

Baron was advertised as the European champion coming in having defeated Waldo Von Erich for the title. Waldo did color commentary for Baron's debut match on Fort Worth TV in which he defeated Tiger Conway. Since Fritz Von Erich and the Spoiler used the claw, Baron's finisher was the Prussian Sleep Hold. The hold looks like the Cobra Clutch that was used by Sergeant Slaughter. Waldo stated that the hold was used by Baron to defeat him for the European championship. After the match, a fan jumped on the ring apron and attacked Baron. The guy realized he had screwed up big time when Baron grabbed him. A good stiff punch to the head followed and the fan had to be carried out.

Baron had a variety of tag team partners which included Kurt Hess, Krusher Kowalski, and Dusty Rhodes. He had feuds with Grizzly Smith, Fritz and Waldo Von Erich, Wahoo McDaniel, the Spoiler, and Johnny Valentine. The matches which he teamed with Kowalski against the Spoiler and Gary Hart were my favorites since I liked "heel vs heel" matches.

Baron had a long career in the AWA and NWA after leaving the Dallas territory. Believable promos that he made are not seen on TV anymore.

Danny McShain

2010-03-02T21:58:00.000-08:00

One of the old time wrestlers passing through the Dallas territory in the mid-'60s was "Dangerous" Danny McShain. Starting in 1933, he became one of the most famous junior heavyweights. Danny was one of the original cocky, charismatic heels that did strong interviews. Good psychology was also one of his strong points.

Bull Curry and Danny had a long standing feud that lasted from the '50s to the mid-'60s all over Texas. There were several types of matches, one of which stipulated that the loser would be painted green on a St. Patrick's Day card in Houston.

Lou Thesz talks about McShain popularizing blading in his book, Hooker: "If I had to point a finger, I'd say that the guy who started it was Danny McShain, a junior-heavyweight performer who was bleeding in most of his matches during the World War II era."

I saw McShain wrestle in Fort Worth on 5-30-66 against Argentina Zuma. Danny was disqualified when he dropped his foreign object and Referee Marvin Jones picked it up and immediately called for the bell. Usually McShain was good at hiding his foreign objects but not this night.

Fred Hornsby's book A Record of Danny McShain states that Danny wrestled 14 more matches after that one. His final match was against Gary Hart. After that, he was a referee in Houston for several more years. Danny was enjoyable and entertaining to watch.

Torbellino Blanco

2010-02-23T18:55:00.000-08:00

One of the best Hispanic wrestlers to come through the Dallas territory in the mid-'60s was Torbellino Blanco. His mask, boots, and tights were a bright white and he was very quick. Blanco won and lost the Texas Heavy Title four times in 1960 and his finisher was the shoulder breaker.

What I remember most about Blanco was his "mask vs mask" angle with the Destroyer in Fort Worth. In their first meeting, the Destroyer's mask was pulled off and he lost on a countout going back to the dressing room to get another mask. There was a towel handy so the Destroyer was not identified. Blanco lost his mask in a return 2 out of 3 falls match two weeks later. The Destroyer won the main event rematch which ended the feud.

I saw Blanco defeat Alvero Velasco in a preliminary match the next week. His gimmick was killed by losing the mask because the mystique was gone. Gary Hart said in his book that the Spoiler had lost his mystique after his mask was removed. After Hart put the mask back on the Spoiler, he did not allow it to be removed again. The Destroyer said that he would not allow his mask to be removed and be identified in an internet interview. As much as I liked seeing someone unmasked, the gimmick would be ruined in the long run.

Blanco left about three weeks after losing his mask and did not come back. He was my favorite babyface masked wrestler.

Kanji Inoki

2010-02-15T19:48:00.000-08:00

One of the up and coming stars in the Dallas territory in 1965 was Kanji Inoki. He was bigger than most Japanese wrestlers and very quick.

Inoki worked underneath for most of his five month stay. He did team with Duke Keomuka to win the Dallas version of the World Tag Team Titles from Fritz Von Erich and Killer Karl Kox. Inoki and Keomuka would later lose the titles to the Destroyer and the Golden Terror.

Inoki's finisher was a claw hold applied to the underarm area of his opponent. He would soften up his victim with a series of open-handed chops to that region and then apply the claw. I have not seen this hold used as a submission hold since.

I saw Inoki wrestle K.O. Ken Yates on July 19, 1965 in Fort Worth. Yates' gimmick was that he was an ex-boxer. He should have stayed in boxing because I never did see him win a wrestling match. Kanji did win the match that night with the claw hold. If you look at the results section of that night on this website, you will see that I have his autograph on page four of the program.

Inoki changed his first name to Antonio and became a worldwide star and owner of New Japan Pro Wrestling. He will be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame this year.

Jack Brisco

2010-02-09T23:17:00.000-08:00

One of the up and coming wrestlers that passed through the Dallas territory in 1967 was Jack Brisco. He was different from others that came through because he was a wrestler, not a character. He wrestled underneath for most of his matches. I saw him wrestle Dory Funk Jr. on July 8, 1967 in the opening match of the Turnpike Stadium card headlined by Fritz Von Erich vs. Gene Kiniski. Dory and Jack's match was a classic scientific match by two future NWA champions.

Jack's best feud was with Killer Karl Kox. I found out in recent years that Kox was really good about helping teach young wrestlers. Jack gave Karl credit for helping his career. The following excerpt is from Karl's interview with Whatever Happened to...? in response to Jack's statement.

Yes, I did. He hadn't been out of college too long. I knew the guy had a lot of ability, but at the time, he was just doing jobs. I said to Fritz, "Let me have him in Fort Worth and work a program with him." The people watching TV see somebody they don't know working with a guy that's on top, they think it's just another job guy, you know. I put him over on TV and the people went crazy. We worked a program and every time, I just about beat him, but never did.

Jack went on to have great success in several other territories. The NWA championship became his in 1974.

Jack Brisco passed away on February 1, 2010 at the age of 68. The wrestling business lost one of its best performers.

[NOTE FROM ISE GUY: Having been ill for most of last week, I was unfortunately unable to research and write a proper tribute to Jack Brisco in a timely manner following his passing, for which I sincerely apologize. We join Gary Gibson and the entire pro wrestling industry in mourning the loss of not only one of the sport's greatest champions but, by all accounts, one of the greatest human beings ever to be a part of it.]

Ivan the Terrible

2010-02-03T20:05:00.000-08:00

One of the strange characters in the Dallas territory during the mid '60s was Ivan the Terrible. He had long hair, a beard, and hair all over his body. He was the typical heel that would hide weapons in his trunks. Even though he was really from Argentina, Ivan made a believable character with the name of a Russian Czar.

The biggest trademark that Ivan had was his deep, booming voice. You could hear it all over the arena when he was denying his dirty deeds. I remember one match that Ivan took offense over accusations made by referee Marvin Jones. Ivan went up and yelled "oooooohhhhh yyyyeaaaahhhh" in Marvin's ear. I'm sure Marvin's ears would have rung for the rest of the night if he had not put in earplugs before the match. This is another example of sports entertainment at its best.

Ivan used the "oh yeah" phrase about twenty years before Randy Savage made it famous while working for the WWF. Randy was much more kind to the referee"s eardrums than Ivan.

Ivan wrestled successfully as Pampero Firpo another twenty plus years. He had feuds with the Sheik and other top stars.

Tony Borne

2010-01-27T21:21:00.000-08:00

One of the most colorful characters in the Dallas territory from 1964-66 was Tony Borne. Tony was in and out from the Portland territory during this time period and did a heck of a heel interview. His confrontations with Paul Boesch on Fort Worth TV were classic.

Tony was constantly saying that he was a better TV announcer than Boesch and stated during an interview that he would be pulling strings to get the job. Paul then held up a handful of strings for Tony to pull which caused a big scene. Paul and Tony had a match with the stipulation that the winner would get the job as TV announcer. Paul lost the match but due to popular demand illustrated by a big box full of fan letters, Boesch kept the job.

Tony had feuds with these wrestlers: Bull Curry, Killer Karl Kox, Dick Steinborn, Nick and Jerry Kozak, Dory Dixon, and Ramon Torres. His last match in Dallas was in August of '66 against Nick Kozak.

Tony wrestled several more years mainly in the Pacific Northwest. He did return to Dallas in the late '80s in an angle with his son Matt. In the '90s, Matt went on to be Doink the Clown in the WWF.

Fritz Von Erich vs. Gene Kiniski

2010-01-19T20:47:00.000-08:00

One of the longest feuds that Fritz Von Erich had was against Gene Kiniski. It lasted from 1965 through 1969. Even though Fritz and Gene were good friends, they made it look like they were bitter enemies.

The program started in 1965 before Kiniski became NWA champion. They had two "heel vs heel" matches in Dallas with Fritz winning one and Gene winning the other by DQ. The promos were really good on the studio wrestling shows leading up to the matches at the Sportatorium.

After Kiniski won the NWA championship, the feud picked up in intensity. For some reason or another, Fritz was never able to win the title. If Von Erich did win, it was always by DQ. Two of the matches took place at Turnpike Stadium in Arlington, Texas were the local minor league baseball team played. I attended both shows and the attendance was very high.

The match on 8-3-68 was the most memorable. It was a Texas Death Match with Joe Blanchard as the special referee. There was a lot of hype that Fritz was going to finally win the title because that type of match was his specialty and Blanchard was going to keep everything fair. However, Joe turned heel and caused Fritz to lose the match. Fritz then had a long feud with Blanchard. As Fritz was rolling out of the ring after the match, he received a solid kick in the ribs from Dusty Rhodes. This led to a grudge match in Dallas a month later. This was not one of Fritz's better nights.

Fritz beat Gene cleanly in the blowoff match in Dallas on 3-4-69. If Von Erich lost this match, he would have to retire. This was after Kiniski lost the title to Dory Funk Jr.

Gene Kiniski was one of the biggest stars in pro wrestling from 1953-73. He really made his matches believable.

Gorilla Marconi

2010-01-12T17:00:00.000-08:00

One of the most entertaining job guys in the Ft. Worth-Dallas area during late 1965 was Gorilla Marconi. His physical features which included a shiny bald head and a hairy body were often used during his matches. This really made him unique.

The shiny bald head was impossible for someone to keep a headlock on. Every time the babyface would put on a headlock, Marconi would slide right out. After doing this three or four times, it would be determined that he had his head greased. The referee would always wipe Marconi's head while his opponent held him. A protest was always filed but to no avail.

The funniest part of Marconi's matches would be when the babyface grabbed a couple of handfuls of Gorilla's chest hair. Marvin Jones, the referee, would order the opponent to let go. When that demand was not met, Marvin would pull the babyface's arms thus forcing a release. Gorilla would sell the pulling of his chest hair by dancing around the ring. Now that was sports entertainment at its best.

I wish there were entertaining characters in wrestling now. They really gave us our money's worth.

Fritz Von Erich vs. Johnny Valentine

2010-01-04T20:01:00.000-08:00

One of Fritz Von Erich's biggest feuds in the late '60s through the early '70s was with Johnny Valentine. Both participants really laid in the punches and kicks to make the matches believable.

The American Heavyweight Title went back and forth between Johnny and Fritz during this time. Texas Death and cage matches were added to the mix. Also, tag team matches were part of the program. Fritz's partners included Wahoo McDaniel, Jose Lothario, and Fred Curry. Johnny would team with Baron Von Raschke, Dusty Rhodes, and Joe Blanchard.

One of my biggest memories from the feud was Fritz and Johnny having workout matches on Dallas TV. The opponents were determined by crowd applause. Fritz faced the Stomper and Johnny wrestled Gary Hart. Hart did an excellent job in working the crowd to make sure that Valentine was his opponent. The crowd loved it when Johnny beat up Hart.

The feud ended with Fritz regaining the American title. Johnny stayed in Texas and had programs with Killer Karl Kox, Wahoo McDaniel, Killer Kowalski, and others.

Dick Raines - Referee

2009-12-28T18:37:00.000-08:00

Dick Raines was a retired wrestler that became referee in the late '60s and early '70s. Raines earned his nickname "Dirty Dick" by getting disqualified over 1000 times in his career. This is stated in obsessedwithwrestling.com.

Gary Hart mentioned in his book that Raines was very good at getting heat on managers. Like Marvin Jones, the other referee in Texas, Raines was excellent on the psychology part of the wrestling matches.

One of the things I remember about Raines was he would do a face flop like Ric Flair when taking a bump. One night he was protecting a wrestler from an onslaught by Kenji Shibuya. After Raines received a karate chop to the throat from Shibuya, his eyes bulged and he did a face flop. Everybody else would get on the mat, grab their throats, and kick after receiving a karate chop.

There was a difference in the face flops done by Flair and Raines. Instead of taking a few steps and falling like Flair, Raines would fall like a tree being cut down. I guess Ric was younger and more nimble.

Dick Raines was interviewed on Fort Worth TV about 1975 after his retirement. He was there with his grandchildren and did not look in good health. His death came in 1977. There are not any old school referees that have good psychology like him anymore.

Marvin Jones - Referee

2009-12-20T21:39:00.000-08:00

One of the most important parts in the psychology of a wrestling match is the referee. Marvin Jones did an excellent job in that respect making the matches more entertaining. His job was tough because he was the only referee on a card of five to six matches until 1967. Dick Raines, another retired wrestler, came in to help with the refereeing duties.

Marvin was very vocal when it came to enforcing the rules on hair pulling and hiding of foreign objects. He was more active during the preliminary matches than the main events. In the match between Fritz Von Erich and Joe Blanchard on YouTube, Marvin was pretty much in the background except for his blade job on Blanchard. The blade job was cut out on the YouTube version but it was obvious that Blanchard had been cut deeply.

Another match that I remember involving Marvin was one between the Destroyer and Timmy Colt. During the match, Destroyer threw Colt over the top rope which is an automatic DQ. It was obviously not the finish because Marvin just stood there. Usually the bell is rung immediately when someone is thrown over the top rope. Colt came back in and threw Destroyer over the top rope. Marvin held up the index finger of each hand saying they were now even and the match will continue. Paul Boesch, the TV announcer, verified the decision. They went on with the match like nothing had been messed up.

On October 22, 1968 Dick Raines beat Marvin Jones in a match which the loser had to retire. Bill Watts said in his book that Marvin was refereeing in the Oklahoma Territory when Watts bought into it around 1970. There had been heat between the two several years earlier in Dallas. Watts said that he held no grudges and that Marvin was dependable and worked hard.

In my 45 years of watching wrestling, Marvin Jones is the best referee in my opinion.

Maniac Mark Lewin

2009-12-15T01:38:00.000-08:00

Mark Lewin was one of the best heels in the Dallas-Fort Worth market during the sixties. He arrived in June of 1965 and was managed by his real life brother-in-law, Danny McShain. Lewin had feuds against both baby faces and heels which included Bull Curry, Cowboy Bob Ellis, Killer Karl Kox, and the Destroyer.

The feud with Killer Karl Kox sticks out in my mind the most. Lewin and Kox were partners against Bull Curry and Ernie Ladd in Fort Worth. Danny McShain was talking to Lewin for a long time outside of the ring while Kox was inside getting a beating. Kox took exception to that and challenged McShain to a match. During the match, Kox used the brainbuster which was barred in Texas at the time. McShain won the match by DQ but the decision was reversed when Lewin hit Kox in the ear with the timekeeper's hammer. In an interview with Paul Boesch, Kox wanted the camera to get a close-up of his ear. Boesch refused and I was glad because the ear was quite bloody.

This led to a match between Kox and Lewin on July 19, 1965 in Fort Worth. This was my 11th birthday and was the first show that I saw in person. It was an exciting match that ended in a double DQ in the third fall. You can see the program in the Results section by looking up the date of the match.

Lewin came back in the late '70s to battle the Von Erich boys. He was of the most successful wrestlers of all time.

Wild Bull Curry

2009-12-07T20:55:00.000-08:00

One of the most colorful performers in Texas during the 1960s and '70s was Wild Bull Curry. After being a heel during a lot of his career, he became one of the first non-scientific wrestlers to be a babyface. Even though Curry did not know any holds, he was a big attraction due to his psychology and promos. When I started watching wrestling, Curry was around 50 years old and did not take bumps.

Bull was a pioneer in the hardcore style of wrestling. Chairs, tables, and other weapons were used by him. The finishing maneuver used by Curry was throwing someone in the ropes and then punching them in the stomach. Curry had feuds with all of the heels in Texas during that time including Fritz Von Erich, Killer Karl Kox, Mark Lewin, Danny McShain, Tony Borne, Louie Tillet. He was the Brass Knucks Champion which was the title that the toughest wrestler held. Bull won and lost it several times over the years.

There is a match on YouTube from 1956 with Bull Curry vs Ovila Asselin. On the internet, there are video sites that sell the tape of Paul Boesch's tribute. Footage of Bull Curry vs Johnny Valentine is included on that video. It is too bad that there is not more footage of Curry's matches because he really was entertaining.

Bulldog Danny Plechas

2009-11-29T20:46:00.000-08:00

One of the people responsible for the success of the booking office in Dallas during the '60s and '70s was "Bulldog" Danny Plechas. According to the book written by Gary Hart, Plechas was the booker when Hart came in with Al Costello and Karl Von Brauner. Plechas had wrestled in Texas years earlier as a partner of Mike DiBiase, the father of Ted.

Bulldog Plechas returned to Fort Worth on 9-12-66. This was also the time that Fritz Von Erich and Ed McLemore broke away from the Houston booking office. Plechas must have become the booker then.

As a wrestler, Plechas was always on the undercard. The only main event that I can remember him being on was when he was teamed with Waldo Von Erich against Karl Von Brauner and Gary Hart. He usually put people over while winning a few matches here and there. Plechas would use "concealed weapons" from his trunks to draw heat. Boyd Pierce, who was the ring announcer in Fort Worth, would ask people to not bark at the Bulldog. Of course, this would get people barking louder.

After reading Gary Hart's book and looking back at the matches, I realize that Plechas was very unselfish in his booking. Many bookers who were wrestlers put themselves over in the main events. When the Bulldog wrestled, he put others over and taught young wrestlers how to have a match. Dusty Rhodes' first match in Fort Worth was against Bulldog Plechas.

Even thought Bulldog Plechas was a heel, he was one of my favorite wrestlers. I was glad to see him become a referee after his wrestling days were over.

Fritz Von Erich vs. Blackjack Lanza & Blackjack Mulligan

2009-11-22T19:47:00.000-08:00

Fritz Von Erich had a running feud with the Blackjacks, Lanza and Mulligan, for about a year and a half in 1973-75. There were several types of matches which included the Texas Death match, lumberjack, cage, and claw vs claw. Fritz's tag team partners were Sonny King, Black Angus, Red Bastien, Ivan Putski, and Al Madril. There were enough twists and turns in this program to keep it fresh for a long time.

The angle that sticks out in my mind the most was when Fritz beat Mulligan in a loser leaves town match. Mulligan came back as the Masked Texan and Lanza denied Mulligan was under the mask for several weeks. Mulligan came back with the Texan as a tag team partner one night and as fate would have it, Lanza was under the mask.

At the time I was going to college in Stephenville, a city about 70 miles south of Fort Worth. I had been at my parents' house in the Fort Worth area and had watched Fort Worth TV that Saturday. The show was taped on Monday night. On that card, Fritz's knee had been seriously injured by Mulligan. Fritz was off TV in Fort Worth for the next several weeks. When I returned to Stephenville that Sunday afternoon, I bought a newspaper from Abilene. Fritz wrestled Dory Funk Jr. to a double countout in Abilene after the Fort Worth taping. I guess it was hard to keep kayfabe in some areas where the territories overlapped.

Lanza and Mulligan were really good performers and went on to be big players in other territories.

Fritz Von Erich vs. Brute Bernard

2009-11-17T19:37:00.000-08:00

Fritz's feud with Brute Bernard came about when the American Heavyweight Title was formed for the territory in Texas. Brute Bernard came in after beating Wilbur Snyder (probably a phantom match) for the title. Fritz was the Texas Champion at the time and was looking to move up.

Fritz beat Brute for the championship on 3-27-67 in Fort Worth and most of the match was shown on TV. Kenji Shibuya, who was feuding with Fritz at the time, caused Fritz to be distracted before the introduction to the match. Brute then jumped on Fritz to gain the advantage and win the first fall. Fritz won the second fall with the Iron Claw and Brute bladed big time for it. The match was going Fritz's way in the third fall when TV time ran out. It was reported the next week that the championship had changed hands.

Fritz and Brute had a series of matches during the next several months. The Brass Knuckles Title was also involved as well as the American Tag Team Titles. Waldo Von Erich was Fritz's partner and Mike Paidousis was Brute's partner and manager.

Brute was a very entertaining wrestler and made a great heel. He walked like a chicken making loud noises. He never did promos and would usually use concealed weapons. Mike Paidousis, his manager, would do promos for him.

Fritz went on to hold the American Title 13 times from 1967 to 1982 when he retired.

Fritz Von Erich vs. Kenji Shibuya

2009-11-08T23:53:00.000-08:00

One of Fritz Von Erich's first feuds as a babyface in the Dallas-Fort Worth area was with Kenji Shibuya. Like other Japanese wrestlers of the day, Kenji was skilled in the arts of judo and karate. "Judo chops" were legal using the side of the hand or the palm to the throat. (It was really the chest area.) "Karate chops" were illegal because the points of the fingers were used to the throat. The referee's back was always turned when the karate chops were delivered.

The feud started out with Fritz in a handicap match with Gary Hart and Kenji. Fritz beat Hart in the first fall but was attacked from behind by Kenji. A karate chop was delivered to Fritz with the ref's back turned to secure the victory. This led to a series of singles and tag team matches. During the tag matches, Fritz's partner was Waldo Von Erich and Kenji's was the Masked Executioner.

Fritz and Waldo did prevail in the feud with Kenji and the Executioner leaving Texas. The Executioner was unmasked as Tarzan Tyler, a veteran wrestler who was in Texas years earlier.

This feud further established Fritz and Waldo as babyfaces after the program with Al Costello and Karl Von Brauner.

Fritz Von Erich vs. Billy Red Lyons

2009-11-02T20:10:00.000-08:00

Billy Red Lyons provided Fritz Von Erich with a very good feud in 1965-66. Lyons was from Canada and had a very good babyface interview. He used the sleeper and the figure four leg lock as his finishing holds.

Lyons did some promos on Fritz that aired on Dallas TV from the Sportatorium. Fritz went to the ring and challenged Lyons to an impromptu match. Lyons won the match in about three minutes with Fritz doing a rare job. This led to a series of matches in Fort Worth and Dallas in which Fritz won or the matches would end with no decisions.

One of the more interesting angles was Fritz and Lyons doing handicap matches on Dallas TV the week before a big match. Fritz defeated Ramon Torres and Pedro Morales in short order with Morales never being able to tag in. Lyons defeated the Destroyer and the Golden Terror by DQ. This was a better match in which Destroyer said he would unmask if Lyons beat him even though it was a one fall match. The Golden Terror was not allowed to tag in by the order of the Destroyer. Lyons had the Destroyer pinned and we thought the mask was going off. At the count of two, the Golden Terror stomped referee Marvin Jones in the back and was therefore disqualified.

Lyons went on to do color commentary on Fort Worth TV. He was doing commentary on WWF TV in the early nineties the last time I saw him.

The Destroyer

2009-10-22T18:43:00.000-07:00

One of the most successful masked wrestlers in Texas and all of wrestling was the Destroyer. He debuted in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market in August of 1965 and made a big impact. Top notch interviews and psychology were trademarks. The Destroyer was a small man unlike the other really successful masked wrestler ever to appear in Dallas, the Spoiler.

There were some interesting gimmicks done by the Destroyer. One of them was that he would give anyone $1,000 if they could break the figure four leg lock once it was properly applied. No one won the money. Also, he would remove his mask if someone beat him two out of three pin falls or submission. The mask was ripped and torn several times teasing that it would be pulled off and we would see who he was. The mask was pulled off once by Torbellino Blanco, a masked Mexican wrestler. However, the Destroyer just happened to have a towel handy to cover his face. This set up a program between the two with Blanco losing his mask. The Destroyer did lose some two out of three fall matches but one of the falls was always lost by count out or disqualification. Even if he had lost a match and was unmasked, not very many people had heard of Dick Beyer.

The Destroyer had feuds with heels and babyfaces alike: Fritz Von Erich, Billy Red Lyons, Killer Karl Kox, Duke Keomuka and Nick Kozak.

It is too bad that film of the Destroyer in the '60s is rare. He was very entertaining and was worth the money to see.

Killer Karl Kox

2009-10-04T19:21:00.001-07:00

One of my all time favorite heels was Killer Karl Kox. He displayed tremendous psychology and was very believable. Even though he put a lot of people over, he was not diminished in the eyes of the fans. He did not yell on his interviews but he got his point across.

The wrestlers he had feuds with included Fritz Von Erich, Bull Curry, Billy Red Lyons, Mark Lewin, Jack Brisco, Wahoo McDaniel, Tony Borne, and Cowboy Bob Ellis. Kox would feud with heels as well as babyfaces.

He was in the main event of the first show that I saw in person. It was on July 19, 1965 against Mark Lewin. The match was scheduled for two out of three falls with a 90 minute time limit. Like I stated in an earlier column, I never knew of a main event that went the full ninety minutes. The match ended in a double DQ in the third fall. The heel vs heel matches always interested me.

I got a chance to meet Kox at a wrestling convention in Arlington in 2003. He is a very nice person, but when I was a kid, I was scared to death of him. I was still sort of a mark before I approached him. He told me that he would rather be a heel than a babyface and he is not a fan of wrestling today. Kox also said that he was going to be partners with Fritz Von Erich in the Dallas territory but the deal fell through.

Mrs. Kox was selling memorabilia at the convention and she was very nice. I bought a videotape of some of his matches and it was titled The Best of Killer Karl Kox. It had probably the only matches that could be found since there aren't many wrestling tapes from the '70s and earlier.

Killer Tim Brooks and Skandar Akbar were also there and were very nice.

I miss the believable heels. It is too bad that there are not any in wrestling today.

The Mummy

2009-09-27T19:08:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite heel characters in the 1960s was the Mummy. His real name was Benji Ramirez and he wrestled as both characters in Dallas. In Fort Worth where Paul Boesch was booking, only the Mummy was used.

He wore a mask with a black wig attached to it. The suit that he wrestled in was white and wrapped with athletic tape. The suit must have been pure torture to wrestle in because it gave the appearance of not having any ventilation. Powder was inserted between the layers of athletic tape so when he was hit, "Mummy Dust" would fly out. It made his opponent sneeze and the Mummy took advantage. Expect for the black wig, he did look like a mummy.

I saw the Mummy in person on May 30, 1966 in Fort Worth. He was teamed with Roger Kirby against Bull Curry and Dory Dixon in the 2 out of 3 fall semi-final match. Dixon pinned the Mummy for the first fall. Kirby pinned Dixon for the second fall. In the third fall, Mummy came in to make the save when Dixon tried to pin Kirby. Dixon moved and Mummy stomped on Kirby's chest. After it happened a second time, Kirby was angry and probably thought the Mummy's brain was affected by the dust. He flipped Mummy back into the ring from the apron and left him. Mummy was then double teamed by Dixon and Curry and Curry made the pin to win the match.

The Mummy was a very entertaining character. There are not many interesting characters today in wrestling who know psychology like the ones back then.

Fritz Von Erich vs. Cowboy Bob Ellis

2009-09-20T20:07:00.000-07:00

Another good feud that Fritz Von Erich had was with Cowboy Bob Ellis. There were different types of matches included in the feud. One match had no ropes around the ring, one match could be won by submission only, and there was a Texas Death Match.

The feud started in Dallas when Ellis was a special referee in a match between Fritz and Lou Thesz for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship. During the deciding fall, Fritz had Thesz beat when a person planted in the audience came in the ring and jumped on Fritz. After the guy was booted out of the ring, Ellis came behind Fritz. Thinking it was that guy again, Fritz swung and hit Ellis causing a disqualification. The film on the match was shown on the studio wrestling show in which Fritz and Ellis had an altercation. Beside single matches, this angle led to some tag matches with Fritz teaming with Killer Karl Kox against Ellis and Bull Curry.

The match I saw in person between Fritz and Ellis was on Dec. 27, 1965 in Fort Worth. It was a 2 out of 3 fall match. Fritz attacked Ellis before the bell and applied the claw during the first fall. Ellis bled right away and was pinned. He bled a lot during many of his other matches. I guess the bleeding helped put the claw over.

Both participants were disqualified for the second fall. Ellis won the third fall with the bulldog headlock. Since the match ended in a draw, the feud continued.

The main event and the semi-final matches were two out of three falls. The time limit for the main event was 90 minutes and it was 45 minutes for the semi-final. I never saw a main event go 90 minutes. With only ten wrestlers on the card, they had to have two out of three fall matches to fill out the card. You do not see that done now.

Fritz Von Erich vs. The Ox

2009-09-13T18:17:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite childhood babyfaces was the Ox. This is before he became famous as Ox Baker. During the introductions, the Ox would applaud himself and his opponent. As an eleven year old kid, I thought that was really neat. He would also holler "I'm not mad at you" after his opponent used dirty tactics. In promos, Fritz would say that Ox was "big as an ox, strong as an ox, and as smart as an ox."

During Fritz's program with Ox, Bull Curry was brought in to be Ox's manager. Fritz and Ox had a series of matches, some of which were tag matches involving Curry.

On May 30, 1966, Fritz and Ox wrestled in the main event in Fort Worth, which I saw in person. Paul Boesch was the special referee. I do not remember why this stipulation was put in. The match was 2 out of 3 falls with Fritz winning the first fall with the Iron Claw. Curry tried to get Ox to do some exercises between the first and second falls to get in the winning mode. Ox ignored him. However, Ox did win the second fall with a bear hug. During the third fall, Ox grabbed Fritz from behind and Curry got up on the apron to hit Fritz. I was afraid that Ox was going to get disqualified but Fritz ducked and Curry decked Ox. The result was Fritz pinning Ox and winning the match. Curry punched Fritz two or three times so the feud was not over yet.

Fritz wrestled Ox and Curry in a handicap match in the blowoff. Fritz pinned Ox with the claw and Fred Curry made the save when the claw was being applied to Bull.

After that match, Ox left the territory and became the monster heel, Ox Baker. He returned to battle the Von Erichs in the '70s.

Fritz Von Erich vs. Tiger Conway

2009-09-06T23:18:00.000-07:00

One of the more interesting Fritz Von Erich feuds was with Tiger Conway. Conway's gimmick was that he had the hardest head in wrestling. He used head butts like Bobo Brazil to win matches.

In an interview, Conway used a c-clamp on his temple area to show that his head was too hard for the Iron Claw to be effective. Bull Curry had used this previously.

Several feuds Fritz had during his heel days lasted two matches. The opponent would look good the first match and get beat the second. Conway looked good his first match despite losing by count out when Fritz ran the back of Tiger's head into ring post. The claw had little effect on Conway's head.

The rematch was for 2 out of 3 falls for the Texas Title. Fritz had to win with the claw or lose the title. Conway won the first fall due to interference from the Destroyer. During the second fall, the claw had little effect on Conway. Out of the blue, Fritz won the second fall with the claw on the stomach. Tiger was not able to return for the third fall. Fritz kept the title by using the claw.

This was the first time I saw the claw on the stomach used in Texas. Years later, I bought a tape where Fritz was wrestling Bobby Brown and used the stomach claw to win. The match with Brown was years earlier while Fritz was still goose stepping.

Fritz Von Erich

2009-08-27T18:46:00.000-07:00

The biggest wrestling star in Texas from the '60s to the '80s was Fritz Von Erich. He was being established when I first started watching wrestling in 1964 and was a heel who rarely lost a match. Fritz would defend the Texas Heavyweight Title against the top babyfaces and heels at the time. In my opinion, he had the best heel interview of any one I had ever seen because it was so convincing. I was still convinced even thought the superintendent at my school knew Fritz as a baby and told me his real name.

The Iron Claw was a unique hold. He applied it to the head and his victim would start bleeding and submit. Later on, Fritz would shove the person down and pin him. The claw was outlawed on the Dallas studio show but was present on the arena show. The claw did not get much exposure on KTVT until around 1966 when parts of the main events were put on TV.

One night on Fort Worth TV, Fritz had a special match with Danny McShain to give a good illustration of the claw. In an interview with Paul Boesch, Fritz described how the claw was going to be used when McShain bounced off the ropes. It was applied and McShain bled and submitted. I read in Lou Thesz's book that McShain made using the blade popular. I guess that is why he was chosen to show the effects of the claw.

There is a match on one of the old Von Erich documentaries between Fritz and Joe Blanchard [11/21/66, with Blanchard winning the Texas belt]. Joe bounces off the ropes and Fritz applies the claw. Referee Marvin Jones then reaches over and blades Blanchard and blood starts gushing out of his head. This same match is on YouTube but the sequence of Joe being bladed is cut out.

After Gary Hart turned Fritz babyface, many heels were brought in over the next several years to face him. Also, the American Title was invented and the Texas Title became secondary. Fritz dropped the American Title many times over the next few years and won it back. The last time he won it back was during his retirement match with King Kong Bundy.

I wish there was still film of Fritz's matches from the '60s and '70s.

Paul Boesch, Dan Coates and the Ed McLemore-Morris Sigel Promotional War

2009-08-16T22:07:00.000-07:00

In 1966, when the promotional war was going on, I was 12 years old and did not realize it. I remember Dallas TV had some matches from the Bronco Bowl. I just thought the Sportatorium was undergoing repairs.

Paul Boesch was announcer on KTVT. One night he was not there and there was no explanation given. That is when Dan Coates moved from ring announcer to TV announcer. Boesch's last night in Fort Worth was 8-8-66. I remember this because he was interviewing Danny Little Bear one week and Dan Coates was interviewing Little Bear the next week. Paul Boesch was really a good announcer and I hated to see him go.

There was a subtle change in the television programming on KTVT. Over the next several months, they started to show part of the main events on TV. The first partial main event to be shown on TV was the third fall of the Fritz Von Erich-Joe Blanchard match for the Texas Heavyweight Title. It can now be seen on YouTube. When Fritz turned babyface, more entire or partial main events were seen.

Another change in booking was Duke Keomuka coming to Fort Worth. He did programs with Fritz at this time in Dallas but was not used in Fort Worth. Gene Kiniski also did a program with Fritz in Dallas but did not come to Fort Worth before he was champion. Boesch may have been the booker coming in from Houston and chose not to use Kiniski and Keomuka.

Gary Hart said in his book that he came in during the promotional war. I looked back at the results from 1966 and his first match was on 10-31-66. He added a lot more excitement as did Fritz's babyface turn also because he brought in a lot of top heels to face him.

Channel 4's Studio Wrestling and Sportatorium Wrestling

2009-08-10T23:19:00.000-07:00

When I started watching wrestling regularly around 1964, the wrestling show was from the Channel 4 [then KRLD, now KDFW] studio in Dallas. Studio Wrestling was in black and white, came on from 5 to 6 P.M. on Saturdays and usually had three matches. It was taped on Wednesday mornings to promote the matches at the Sportatorium.

The studio show did not have theme music. A voice-over announcer introduced the show and then it turned to announcer Bill Mercer. The matches were usually one-sided to promote the big names. There was a competitive match booked every now and then. (The matches listed for Dallas TV on 3-27-65 in the Results section came from the studio.)

Fritz Von Erich wrestled occasionally on the program but usually he was dressed in a suit and did promos. He smoked cigars constantly on the show. There was a stipulation on the show that he could not use the Iron Claw. If you wanted to see the claw, you had to pay at the arena. Ed McLemore told Fritz if he used the Iron Claw on Channel 4, he would never wrestle in Texas again. I think their explanation for it was that it was too bloody for TV.

The wildest feud that I remember seeing was Fritz Von Erich and Duke Keomuka. They had a big brawl on Studio Wrestling with Keomuka using karate chops with the point of the fingers to get the best of Fritz. When Keomuka was a heel, he would always use the illegal chops behind the referee's back and win the match. He also had the stomach claw and the feud was billed as "claw versus claw." He had been turned babyface against Fritz, who broke up with Keomuka after being accidentally hit with a judo chop. Von Erich also had feuds with Bull Curry and Cowboy Bob Ellis during the studio show era.

On a Saturday in September of 1965, the show suddenly appeared from the Sportatorium with no explanation given. They would show some underneath matches and sometimes one or two falls of the main event. The main events were 2 out of 3 falls back then. The stipulation that Fritz could not use the claw on Channel 4 was also dropped without explanation.

After the show went to the Sportatorium, Fritz took exception to something that Billy Red Lyons had said during an interview. Fritz went down and challenged Lyons to a match and was pinned in three minutes. It was the only time on that show that I remember Fritz getting pinned without interference or distractions from the outside of the ring.

George Preston was the ring announcer and always showed partiality to the babyface after the introductions. I believe Sportatorium Wrestling went to color in the late 60's. The show went to about 1970 and was then dropped.

I wish the film from those shows was still available. It was much better than what is on today.

Krusher Karlssen

2009-08-09T00:00:00.000-07:00

I will start off with one of my favorite heel gimmicks: The aviator's helmet that
Krusher Karlssen used.

Karlssen also would go by the name of Swede. He was tall with a barrel chest and long, skinny arms. He wrestled in the preliminary matches and usually lost. I guess he was considered a "jobber." However, his matches were entertaining. He would use the helmet to rub in someone's eyes or hide a foreign object for a head butt.

That night, he wrestled against the Blue Avenger. Before the introduction, kids would go up and get autographs from the babyfaces. I had just gotten mine and was standing there watching before I went back to my seat. All of the sudden, Karlssen ran up and kicked the bottom rope while hollering. His goal was to make the kids scatter. I certainly got back to my seat quicker than I had planned. It was my 11th birthday that night and I guess that was his way of wishing me a happy birthday.

The match started and Karlssen beat down the Avenger. Then he climbed to the top rope to do a knee drop. Every time you would see a heel do this, the babyface would move and the heel would miss. It held true this time. The crowd came alive as the Avenger asked them for permission to punish Karlssen. The wrestlers back then knew how to work a crowd. That is one of the things missing in today's wrestling.

The match ended up being a 15 minute draw. When the ring announcer said "ten minutes" during a 15 minute time limit match, it was probably going to be a draw. When the announcer said "only two minutes time remaining," it was definitely going to be a draw.