April 27 in the Tunnel:
Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
Frank Gotch 1877
Happy Birthday:
Yoshiaki Fujiwara (76)
Yasu Fuji\Dr Hiro Ota (76)
Jeannine Mjoseth\Mad Maxine (66)
Oleg Prudius\Vladimir Kozlov (56)
John Parsonage\"Hot Shot" Johnny Devine (51)
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.
Count Pietro Rossi 4-27-1979 at the age of 71
Kay Noble 4-27-2006 at the age of 65
Verne Gagne 4-27-2015 at the age of 89
Select Time Tunnel Pro Wrestling Match Flashbacks:
60-Year Flashback 4-27-1965: Dory Funk vs Hans Schmidt in a two out of three falls match with a one-hour time limit at the Ector County Coliseum in Odessa, Texas
*Tony Note: Although this was a straight two out of three falls match between Funk and Schmidt, Schmidt had a death match of his own he used in each territory he appeared in called the "Gestapo Death Match" as opposed to Funk's "Texas Death Match". Typically, this match was promoted as "No part this match will be seen on TV!". Although Schmidt had a huge run in the 1950s with Verne Gagne, and according to Brian Ferguson, in his book on Verne Gagne, he says that the Schmidt and Gagne feud was the second highest grossing feud of the decade of the 1950s in pro wrestling. But, in the Amarillo territory, the evil heel German that feuded with the Funks had been Fritz Von Erich, starting in 1962. In fact, Schmidt and Von Erich tagged together at this time, especially in St Louis. The difference in the Texas Death Match was in the Funk Texas Death Match, it ended when one man couldn't answer the bell or get to his feet as the referee counted. In the German Gestapo Match, it was basically a "Coward Waves the Flag Match", where each man has a second that held a white flag, waving the flag signaled their man had submitted or given up.
So, the evil German gimmick was set up here in the territory and Schmidt did well due to his national television exposure in the 50s, and Von Erich's previous success. He shared the top heel spot in the Spring of '65 with The Sheik. Schmidt had programs with the top babyfaces in Amarillo during this period, Funk, Don Curtis (who had the British Empire Championship at the time), Nick Roberts and Jose Lothario. The Funk and Schmidt Death Match angle was coming, and this was an early match in their program in a house show in the weekly loop before the big house show programs to come in Lubbock and Amarillo. If Funk followed his usual pattern, he put Schmidt over here in this first, early match in the program, winning one of the three falls. Another finish Sarpolis used a lot to get a program going that could have possibly been used here was a one-hour time limit draw with each guy winning one fall each, I wouldn't be surprised if that were the outcome. In fact, in Amarillo, they did a fast-brawling match with chaos, less than three minutes with both guys counted out of the ring. Another thing about Sarpolis' booking is he didn't always do the babyface and heel match. He would do competitive face vs face matches and rough, tough heel vs heel matches as in the following month in Amarillo, on top was Schmidt vs The Sheik in a two out three crazy, brawling match Texas was known for.
50-Year Flashback 4-27-1975: Mighty Igor & Waldo Von Erich defeated The Sheik & Abdullah the Butcher by CO at the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
*Tony Note: Today is the day for evil German gimmicks I guess, as I didn't notice it when I chose the matches for today. I mean, what seems out of place in this match and doesn't fit? Three crazy, brawling heels and Igor. Match is historically significant because of its main event status on this card and because of those three Hall of Fame level heels. It lasted a little over 8 minutes, so there was something besides just a brawl, but it ended with Sheik or Butcher being counted outside the ring. Even though I'm not the biggest Mighty Igor fan, in the northern US and Canada, this match drew money.
Maple Leaf Gardens was unique and similar to the cities of St Louis and Houston in the United States in that its location on the border between the two countries allowed for television exposure of multiple wrestling shows and time slots, including Big Time Wrestling from Detroit, which featured the Sheik and his cast of characters. Also, a couple of issues ago, I discussed the relationship with the National Wrestling Alliance, so Toronto got its fair share of big NWA World Title matches with all the great champions. So, like St Louis and Houston, the card was always stocked with a variety of stars from various territories, a "best of the best" type menu presentation. The Sheik's appeal in Maple Leaf Gardens was hurt greatly by his refusal to put Andre the Giant over the previous year in 1974 but would continue to appear on cards in the building for the next 11 years, through 1986.
50-Year Flashback 4-27-1975: Dean Ho & Tony Garea defeated Jimmy & Johnny Valiant w special referee: Gorilla Monsoon by 2 falls to 1 at St John's Arena in Steubenville, Ohio
*Tony Note: Because of the Video-Tape era 1980 and beyond, meaning the majority of what we have of the pro wrestling business on video tape is 1980 and after, these are two tag teams that drew big money and sold a lot of tickets that are not remembered as well as they probably should be. Ho and Garea were the top babyface tag team at this time facing the top heel team, The Valiant Brothers, During the WWF expansion of 1984, Tony Garea's career was pretty much over as a top guy, so many fans only remember him from that on WWF television putting other guys over. Jimmy Valiant was the "boogie-woogie man" in the Carolinas with his seemingly never-ending feud with Paul Jones and his Army. Gorilla Monsoon had moved into his special trouble-shooting role as a referee by now, also performing that function in the Bruno Sammartino and Bobby Duncum matches.
I am working on a more extended feature issue covering the careers of the Valiants coming soon for paid subscribers.
40-Year Flashback 4-27-1985: Dick the Bruiser defeated The Great Wojo in Indianapolis, Indiana
*Tony Note: The Great Wojo was Greg Wojciechowski, an outstanding amateur wrestler from Toledo, Ohio. The was an Olympic wrestler in 1980, who did not get to compete because the United States boycotted the games that year. Wojo was a 6-foot tall, 260-pound specimen with bulging arms and a thick neck. Exactly what the stereotypical wrestler would look like. Wojo was not typical, he was a tremendous talent, being in the Olympic picture in 1968, 1972, 1976 and 1980, but never actually making it to the games. In fact, in 1968, he was a runner-up in the free-style category for the Olympics, losing out to bronze medalist and future pro star, Bob Roop.
In 1972, he lost out to another future pro, Chris Taylor, from Iowa State, who was a huge human being, 460 pounds. Wojo had practically owned Taylor prior to '72, but Taylor went on a roll, beating Wojo five or six times in a row. This caused the Olympic Committee at the time to believe in Taylor so much, they allowed him to compete in both the free style and Greco-Roman, the first American to do that. Once he was out with the U.S. boycotting the Olympic Games, Wojo turned pro in September 1980. He was broken into the pro business by an old friend from High School, Jerry Jaffe, who wrestled as Jerry Graham, Jr. He worked here primarily in the Bruiser's version of the WWA, based in Indianapolis, which ran Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and around the Midwest.
Wojo was probably never going to get over Bruiser, no matter how popular he was, or how many credentials he had. Bruiser just had too much of the legend behind him and continued to work right up to the end of the promotion. So, it’s no surprise for this specific match that Bruiser went over him. It’s one of those things in pro wrestling where you cannot defeat the ego of the owner. Bruiser was a brawler, not a wrestler, so logically, how could a wrestler with the credentials of Wojo possibly be pinned by a brawler like Bruiser? Besides that, there was the age difference with Wojo being so much younger and in shape. It makes you wonder what could have been with the midwestern WWA had they handled Wojo in the right way. Wojo, did however, get three runs with the WWA World Heavyweight Championship. Also, close to a year from now, Wojo will be starting a program with another newcomer to the business, Scott Rechsteiner (Scott Steiner). Once he turned heel, Greg used a variation on a gimmick used by a lot of amateur guys, the $10,000 challenge. Any person from the crowd who could pin him in five minutes would receive ten grand. Wojo would usually pin them in anywhere from ten to thirty seconds. A gimmick that could never be utilized today. Wojciechowski wrestled on and off through his last match in 1994, although his matches were few and far between after 1986. The Great Wojo's last big, promoted match was in his hometown of Toledo in 1989, taking on the former boxer, Leon Spinks. Wojo won by countout.
One Thing I Learned Today About Pro Wrestling History:
Yoshiaki Fujiwara, one of the top stars for Antonio Inoki's New Japan Pro Wrestling from its inception, used the Wakigatame judo move and hold for his finisher. Also known as the "Fujiwara Armbar", Fujiwara would take his opponent down with their arm is trapped with the elbow beneath Fujiwara's armpit then lifting the opponent's hand causing a hyperextension of the elbow joint for a submission.
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!
Remember, paid subscribers get access to exclusive and special content such as to commemorate his induction to the WWE Hall of Fame, I'll be publishing some special issues including a multi-part career retrospective on Dory Funk, Sr, a multi-part flashback on the Tennessee Territory in April 1975 including all the recorded cards for the month, some special audio and video interviews and more.