April 22nd in the Tunnel:
Happy Birthday to those who have passed on and to those great wrestlers still with us:
In Memoriam:
Duke Keomuka 1921
Heather Feather 1949
Happy Birthday:
Ezekiel Jackson (47)
Chuck Taylor (39)
Andre Chase (36)
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.
Cora Livingston 4-22-1970 at the age of 70
The Kentucky Butcher\John Quinn 4-22-2019 at the age of 77
Time Tunnel Pro Wrestling Match Flashbacks:
61-Year Historical Flashback 4-22-1964: Dick the Bruiser defeated Freddie Blassie to win the Los Angeles version of the WWA World Heavyweight Championship at the Grand Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, California.
*Los Angeles Times, April 25, 1964
*Tony Note: Bruiser won the title in the best two out of three falls, pinning Blassie in the third fall. Dick defended the World Title for around three months before losing it to The Destroyer, again in L.A. Although The Destroyer now was the Champion, Afflis moved back to Indianapolis where he launched his own version of the World Wrestling Association along with Wilbur Snyder, and defended his own World Title, which they allowed fans to think it was the same one he had won in California. Later, a designation was created between the California version and the Indianapolis version.
Bruiser's first match in WWA was in Los Angeles on February 28, 1964, and according to Historian Steve Yohe, he was promoted and got over as a monster heel and a madman.1 He was the first wrestler to be led to the ring by a police escort, once he hit the ring, he would run around, shake the ropes and stomp the ring floor. He wrestled Edourd Carpentier and beat him very convincingly. He came off the top rope with his stomp and pinned Carpentier by standing over him and put his foot in his chest. Bruiser's only TV match was on April 8th, leading to the match with Blassie for the title on this date. This was a rare match between two big time heels, and both were perceived as the dirtiest wrestlers in the game. The semi-final match before this title match was between two brother teams, Art & Stan Neilson taking on the Torres Brothers in what Yohe says was the greatest tag team match he had ever seen at The Olympic Auditorium. They had two rematches, one on May 6th, 1964, which ended in a double count out and then the third, a Texas Death Match, which ended when Blassie hurt his knee after missing a bombs away off the top rope.
56-Year Championship Change Flashback 4-22-1969: Angelo Mosca defeated Archie Gouldie to win the North American Heavyweight Title for the 2nd time at the Victoria Pavillion in Calgary, Alberta, Canada
*Tony Note: Gouldie was one of the biggest stars ever in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling. He got his nickname "The Stomper" by stomping his opponents with his black boots. Gouldie won this version of the North American Championship an amazing 14 times between 1968 and 1984, to show you just how effective he was in this Canadian territory. He was also the inaugural champion with this title, having won a tournament defeating former NWA World champion, Pat O'Connor in the tournament finals.
50-Year Flashback 4-22-1975: The Super Destroyer defeated The Avenger in a Mask vs Mask NO DQ Match at the Township Auditorium in Columbia, South Carolina
Pictured: The Avenger (Reggie Parks) and The Super Destroyer (Don Jardine)
*Tony Note: The Avenger was a creation of booker George Scott specifically as an opponent for Jadine's Super Destroyer. Their feud started in 1974 putting a mask on undercard wrestler Reggie Parks, turning him into a main eventer, being a force for good to counteract The Super Destroyer's force for evil and cheating. The Avenger was a very popular wrestler with the fans, however, by this time, he was starting to wind down, losing this mask vs mask match in various towns around the Mid-Atlantic territory, revealing him to be Parks. The following week at the Wednesday, April 30th, 1975, television taping at WRAL-TV in Raleigh, he was in a tag team match with Charlie Cook as his partner facing the Super Destroyer and Johnny Valentine with Avenger doing the job like a preliminary wrestler, which was the indicator that The Avenger was about to finish up his run soon.2
40-Year Flashback 4-22-1985: Don Muraco defeated Hulk Hogan (CH) by CO for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York
*Tony Note: This was during Muraco's second run in the WWF. He had wrapped up his initial powerful run as a heel in August 1984, then leaving and spending some time in NWA Polynesian Wrestling in his home of Hawaii, then taking a booking for a tour of Japan. He was amazingly, not on the first WrestleMania card, but was programmed in three consecutive Madison Square Garden cards with WWF World Champion, Hulk Hogan. This is the first of the trifecta, with the second taking place on May 20th, which was a typical short Hogan match for this time, Muraco getting DQ'd in just over 6 minutes. The third match was on June 21st in a Steel Cage Match, this one going just over 9 minutes and contained lots of blood, which would become a Hogan and WWF rarity. Muraco would continue his momentum, besides being in the top program as Hogan's challenger, he wins the first King of the Ring Tournament on July 8th pinning The Iron Sheik. In this first match to kick off the series between the two, in the finish Hogan and Muraco fight outside of the ring, Hogan goes to chase Muraco's manager, Mr. Fuji, which gives Muraco the opportunity to run Hogan into a ring post and get counted out. Muraco was at the top of his game here and he makes this match actually pretty good. I thought it was a good match at the time, and in retrospect, forty years later, I think I appreciate this match even more than I did at the time.
One Thing I Learned Today About Pro Wrestling History:
My friend Brian Solomon tweeted during WrestleMania after The New Day won the WWE Tag Team Titles for their 12th Title reign asking if any tag team had ever won that many titles in a single territory. I immediately thought of Bruiser and Crusher as a possibility, although I didn't know for sure, I looked it up. So, the thing I learned was Bruiser held the WWA Tag Team Title an amazing 15 times, 6 of those with The Crusher, 3 with Wilbur Snyder, 1 time with a variety of partners, Bruno Sammartino, Bill Miller, Spike Huber, Jeff Van Kamp, Bobby Colt and Calypso Jim.3
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 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.
Wrestling Classics: Dick The Bruiser in Los Angeles by Steve Yohe
Mid-Atlantic Gateway Archived April 1975 Almanac
Wikipedia, Dick The Bruiser entry, Titles and Championships