August 6th in the Time Tunnel:
Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
Lia Miavia 1927
Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith 1932
Dino Bravo 1948
Dee Buehler\Matilda the Hun 1948
Happy Birthday:
Jimmy Valiant (83)
Jose Luis Rivera (73)
Tony Nese (40)
Thom Latimer\Bram (39)
Rebecca Hardy\Reby Sky (39)
RIP Memorial: We stop & remember those who have passed on this day and gave themselves to the business for us, the fans. We salute you and thank you.
Ken Lucas 8-6-2014 at the age of 73
60 Year Flashback:
8-6-1965: Spiros Arion defeated Killer Kowalski to win the IWA World Heavyweight Championship at Sydney Stadium in Sydney, Australia
Jim Barnett and Johnny Doyle's Australian promotion was red hot by August of 1965. Their IWA affiliation based in San Francisco was paying off to have a recognized world championship available to them in the land down under. Not only that, but they were free to book title changes with the belt when they saw fit. You would have been hard pressed to find two guys who were trusted with the value of a world title than Barnett and Doyle.
Since their arrival in Australia, Killer Kowalski was their inaugural champion in October of 1964. Dominic DeNucci, Ray Stevens and Mitsu Arakawa had all held the championship. Kowalski was on his 2nd run when they decided to make a switch to the young and talented Arion. Spiros Arion, who would eventually get five runs with the title during its six-year life, was going to be one of the hottest performers in the business over the next decade. He would trade time and tours between Australia and the WWWF, becoming tag team partners with Bruno Sammartino and then have an eventual heel turn to challenge for the WWWF World Title during a great run with Bruno in 1975.
50 Year Flashback:
8-6-1975: Ray Stevens defeated Johnny Starr to win the Brass Knuckles Championship at the Fair Park Coliseum in Lubbock, Texas
Stevens became an owner in the Amarillo booking office on January 1st, 1975, and he was in the middle of finishing up his run with Nick Bockwinkel as World tag Team Champions in the AWA. For 7 months Stevens had been doing double duty, working the AWA schedule with Bockwinkel, living in Amarillo and trying to support his new partners, Dory Funk, Jr and Ricky Romero to try to continue to keep business strong after the death of Funk Sr two years prior.
Ray Stevens was a name in the business who could draw money as a heel on top. He knew how to carry a championship as a heel and get heat to draw money for fans who wanted to see him get his butt beaten up every night in every town. Wearing the Brass Knucks Title would give him a consistent opportunity to do just that.
Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel Presents: Personalities, Territories, Towns & Buildings Episode 17: The Life and Career of Plowboy Frazier w/Kurt Neilsen and Tennessee Territory June and July 1975 w/Tim Dills
On this week's show I am joined by two great friends of mine.
First, Kurt Neilson joins to have a conversation about the man from Philadelphia, Mississippi, Plowboy Stan Frazier. Frazier was well known to us in the Tennessee Territory as he would be both babyface and heel during his run as I was growing up. Kurt has written an excellent biography on Stan's life and career and according to Kurt, the book is now published and is on its way to me as we speak! You'll get a sneak preview as to what is in the book and Kurt does a great job giving us insights on the life of Plowboy Stan Frazier!
Then, for the Summer of 1975, we head to Tennessee as our Tennessee Territory analyst and historian, Tim Dills takes us back 50 years to the personalities, towns and buildings that were hot in the summer months of '75. You'll want to hear about the situation with the Jackson Coliseum in Jackson, Tennessee and much more as Tim takes us back to Tennessee in the Time Tunnel this week!
One Thing I Learned Today About Pro Wrestling History
Ken Lucas teamed with Johnny Walker (who would later become Mr. Wrestling II) to hold the NWA Southern Tag Team Titles in March of 1969
Thank You for Reading
I'm Tony Richards, Pro Wrestling Historian, Author and Storyteller. I share pro wrestling historical items in each issue of the Time Tunnel Pro Wrestling History Newsletter. Thanks for reading! If you enjoy my information on select events, matches and insights, please share it with folks you think might like to be a subscriber!
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