May 29th in the Tunnel:
Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
Ronnie P Gossett 1944
Happy Birthday:
Samuel Anoa'i\Samu (62)
Peter Gasperino\Pete Gas (54)
Steve Corino (52)
Brian Kendrick (46)
Savelina Fanene\NIa Jax (41)
Dylan Posti\Hornswaggle (39)
Josh Alexander (38)
Ridge Holland (37)
Zak Zodiak (34)
Kenosuke Takeshita (30)
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.
Man Mountain Dean 5-29-1953 at the age of 61
Tarzan Goto 5-29-2022 at the age of 58
Select Time Tunnel Pro Wrestling Match Flashbacks:
60-Year Flashback 5-28-1965: May 28, 1965: Enrique & Alberto Torres defeated King Curtis Iaukea & Mr. Fujiwara to win the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship in Honolulu Hawaii
This is another piece I really wanted to write for a match today. Due to the time constraints, I have had recently (explained below) I haven't had the time to dedicate to it. Let me say the professional wrestling environment at this time in Hawaii was at a crucial point. Longtime NWA Promoter Al Karasick dies just a few days before this match. He had been involved with a wrestling battle for Hawaii with former NWA World Junior titleholder, Ed Francis for control of wrestling in Hawaii. Now with Karasick gone, almost immediately, the Honolulu City Council announces it will only grant one license to one Promoter to promote wrestling in the city. Karasick isn't hardly in the ground before they decide to take action to make sure they don’t have to deal with the headaches of wrestling competition again. This is a really interesting story (aren't all wrestling stories interesting?) that I want to get back to and do it justice. My notebook is starting to fill with backlogged stories! All four of these performers in this match are in the beginning stages of superstardom and it will be interesting to track their progress as we progress through the pro wrestling time tunnel. I'm including some of the promotion for the card below. Two things strike me right away. 1. Victor the Wrestling Bear is the biggest star on the show according to the advertisement and 2. I wonder how they got Victor to Hawaii? I'm sure it was boat and not plane and also, how much did that cost? I'm sure Victor drew his share of the house for it.
60-Year Flashback 5-28-1965 Buddy Fuller defeated Mario Galento with Special Referee Rocky Marciano to win the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship at Ponce de Leon Park in Atlanta, Georgia
Pictured: Ponce De Leon ballpark in Atlanta in 1965
38,000 people at the Ponce De Leon Park in Atlanta, GA witnessed Buddy Fuller defeat Mario Galento to win the Georgia title.
The special referee for this match would be Rocky Marciano, who was an American professional boxer who competed from 1947 to 1955 and held the world heavyweight title from 1952 to 1956. He is the only Heavyweight champion to have retired undefeated as champion.
This would be a record crowd at the time for a professional wrestling match in the state of Georgia. Due to putting out a Territories, Towns and Buildings episode of the podcast yesterday as well as recording the first of three episodes of the Brisco and Bradshaw Show on the life of Pro Wrestling Power Broker Jim Barnett, I didn't have the time to allocate in writing the feature I wanted to do for this match, and at the same time, it didn't want to allow too much time to go by without putting it in the newsletter. Therefore, I made a note to myself to come back and revisit this historic match and put some time and work into it that it deserves.
One Thing I Learned Today About Pro Wrestling History:
Lord Lansdowne, a pioneer wrestler from Ohio is the wrestler first credited with doing the "snob gimmick" later popularized by everyone from Dizzy Davis to Gorgeous George to Ric Flair. He was a top draw in the 1930s and wrestled up until 1951.
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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