May 17 in the Tunnel:
Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
Billy Red Lyons 1932
Dave Hebner 1949
Nancy Daus Benoit 1964
Happy Birthday:
Earl Hebner (76)
Alex Wright (50)
Daniel "Cash" Wheeler (38)
Odyssey Jones (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.
Shad Gaspard 5-17-2020 at the age of 39
Don Kernodle 5-17-2021 at the age of 71
Superstar Billy Graham 5-17-2023 at the age of 80
Bruiser Brody Memorial and St Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame
I had a great time at the Bill Apter Show last night at the St Louis Airport Hilton at the FanFest 3 promoted by Herb Simmons and Southern Illinois Championhip Wrestling. The legends Q&A went over well with the fans with Abdullah The Butcher, Robert Gibson, Ricky Morton, Tito Santana, Barbara Goodish and others all answering fans questions. A good time was had by everyone. Bill Apter came out wearing a Mr Wrestling 2 mask and being introduced as Mr Wrestling 2.5. I’ll be back in tomorrow’s issue with a re-cap of the Hall of Fame induction tomorrow night of Dory Funk, Senior and others into the St Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Special Author Spotlight: Scott Teal and Frankie Cain: Raising Cain
On today’s Pro Wrestling Time Tunnel Podcast, Author Spotlight, my special guest is Scott Teal from Crowbar Press, publisher of “Raising Cain: From The Inferno to The Great Mephisto”, the second book in the biographical life story of Frankie Cain. Catch my conversation with Scott on the podcast in a seperate post available in your email inbox to subscribers!
One Thing I Learned Today About Pro Wrestling History:
Ivan Koloff took his last name from Dan Koloff, a wrestler who worked in Montreal when Ivan was growing up. They wanted Ivan to take a slavic-sounding name and be a Russian because he looked a little like Vladimir Lenin, the Communist leader in the Soviet Union.
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 some special issues including a deep bio issue on this year’s WWE Hall of Fame Legacy Inductees, Dory Funk, Senior, Kamala the Ugandan Giant and Ivan Koloff and 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 and more.