May 16 in the Tunnel:
Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
Bull Montana 1887
Friedrich Von Schacht 1911
Nikita Mulkovich 1917
Kinji Shibuya 1921
Happy Birthday:
Johnny Rodz (84)
Charles Wright\The Godfather (64)
Mike Bennett (40)
Omos (31)
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.
Andy Kaufman 5-16-1984 at the age of 35
Big Dick Dudley 5-16-2002 at the age of 34
Doug Somers 5-16-2017 at the age of 65
Ashley Massaro 5-16-2019 at the age of 39
Select Time Tunnel Pro Wrestling Match Flashbacks:
50-Year Flashbacks
5-15-1975: Paul Jones & Wahoo McDaniel defeated Ole & Gene Anderson (CH) to win the NWA World Tag Team Titles at the Coliseum in Greensboro, North Carolina
Some Jim Crockett Promotions fans and historians have called this the most significant title change of the year in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. After three and a half months of dominating the tag team division as the NWA World Tag Team Champions, Ole and Gene Anderson suffered a stunning defeat.
Getting this title change over to an even bigger degree, on the Mid-Atlantic Television show on the day before (5/14/1975), had an amazing main event between Ric Flair and Johnny Valentine against Paul Jones and Wahoo McDaniel. This kind of quality match was almost never seen on television in these days and there was never a feud between these four set up following up on this television match makes me think Scott was just firing up the fans for Jones and McDaniel as a tag team taking two of the top singles stars to an exciting match on TV, since the title switch happened the next night.
The seemingly invincible Anderson Brothers were beaten by two singles stars who were forged into an amazing tag team in Jones and McDaniel. Around the 33-minute mark of the match, Wahoo caught Gene Anderson in a suplex and just a few seconds later Jones covered Gene for the three count, sending the Coliseum crowd into a frenzy and the Anderson team into shock and disbelief. In another smart move, Scott kept McDaniel and Jones on top as top challengers for the Anderson's World Championship for the previous three months, the two teams did not wrestle each other at all in May prior to this match and title change. McDaniel and Jones began making title defenses against the Andersons immediately for the rest of May.
5-16-1975: Antonio Inoki wins the 2nd Annual New Japan Pro Wrestling World League Series defeating Killer Karl Krupp in the finals
Pictured: Antonio Inoki
*Tony Note: We covered the history of the NJPW World League tournament in a previous issue (Issue 16 on 5/1/2025), so today we will simply focus on the finals featuring Inoki winning the tournament for the second year in a row going over on, ironically, his same opponent in the finals in both 1974 and 1975, Killer Karl Krupp. Krupp, real name, George Momberg was from the Netherlands having made his debut in 1957 in Canada. Before I go any further into Krupp, let me just say, I always loved Killer Karl Krupp's heel facials. He had one of the best faces for a heel of all time. His smile is simply sadistic looking.
Krupp became the German heel character in 1971 while working for Stu Hart and Stampede Wrestling. Wrestling had its share of heel Germans since the advent of television in the late 1950s with Hans Schmidt, Fritz Vin Erich, The Von Brauner Brothers and a few others. But Krupp's facial expressions got the character over in a whole new way. His bulging eyes, one behind a monocle, shaved head and short beard, Krupp struck a most sinister looking character. He topped off the gimmick with a long black cape and a riding crop and his interview delivery with broken English pronunciations.
Pictured: Killer Karl Krupp
Krupp used stereotypes such as goose-stepping to the ring, threw a stiff-arm salute toward the crowd and utilized his own variation on the Claw Hold called the "Eye-Claw" as a finisher. Away from the constructed kayfabe world of professional wrestling, Krupp actually despised the Germans for their occupation and cruelty in his home nation of Holland during the World War II years. Although he fell short in the World League tournament for two straight years, Krupp was credible and very over as a challenger to Inoki in Japan. He had success there first in 1973, holding the NWA International Tag Team Championships with Karl Von Steiger in a very formidable tag team. I hate to take anything away from Krupp, who is one of my favorite heels, as I mentioned, but I will note to you now that Fritz Vin Erich had been very over in Japan since the mid-1960s, but when Baba formed All Japan first before Inoki and received the NWA membership, which Inoki did not, Von Erich worked regularly for Baba. I don't want to say Inoki wanted his own German heel to counterpoint Von Erich and Baba, but I can't ignore the notion either. Both Von Erich and Krupp used the moniker "Iron Claw Master" while working in Japan. Surely, not a coincidence, since I don't believe in them.
The amount of respect Inoki has for Krupp cannot be underestimated, as the bookers of NJPW have Krupp reaching the finals of the 1975 World League with the most points, even more than the winner Inoki, having 13.5 to Inoki's 12.5-point total, but Inoki winning the tournament by pinning Krupp. Very innovative booking for the time but laying the groundwork for the legendary foundation for the World League, which would eventually become the G1 Climax tournament, the most prestigious tournament in Japanese wrestling history from 1991 forward. In 1974, the World League had a most exciting conclusion with Inoki, Krupp and Seiji Sakaguchi having the same points total and having to do a 3-man playoff against each other with Inoki eventually triumphant over the foreigner, Krupp with Inoki using "pride of country" into an all-out rage. Inoki duplicated that same conclusion in 1975.
Issue 16: 1975 NJPW World League Tournament Antonio Inoki vs Man Mountain Mike
One Thing I Learned Today About Pro Wrestling History:
When in Junior High School, Antonio Inoki participated in basketball, karate and track & field as a shot putter.
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 flashback on the Georgia Championship Wrestling Territory in May 1975 including all the recorded cards for the month, some special audio and video interviews on territory pro wrestling and more.