Wrestling Culture

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame

2011-07-12T18:53:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, July 10, 2011 my wife and I were travelling back to Ontario after vacationing in Nova Scotia. On our return trip we travelled through the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. There were three reasons for this: 1) It is less total distance than actually just staying in Canada; my wife wanted to shop at Target and some craft stores; and I wanted to go to the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in Amsterdam, New York.

I am not quite sure in hindsight what my expectations were in attending. I pictured some kind of distinct building in an industrial area I guess. I expected there to be some exhibits that might be interesting, particularly in reference to someone like Whipper Billy Watson who always holds a special place for me as my Dad's favorite childhood wrestler that he always talked about. All in all, I figured that it should be o.k. but could be disappointing.

Being able to visit the PWHF blew away my expectations. My GPS machine took us right into the middle of downtown Amsterdam which is essentially part of the larger Schenectady, New York area. I saw a store-front and was expecting something small as a result. We walked in and I spoke to Tony who was volunteering there for the day and was a complete gentleman and unbelievably friendly. He is the deputy commissioner for the New York State Athletic Commission and one of the most devout wrestling fans I have ever met. And to my surprise there was absolutely no charge for admission, just the request that you sign in and accept mailings and updates from them which I would have wanted regardless.

We were there for an hour-and-a-half in which time I could not even come close to examining all of the memorabilia that was in the facility. The main floor had several outfits from wrestlers such as Bam Bam Bigelow and Mick Foley. One very surprising addition was Foley's original hand-written notes for his famous books. there were press photos all over the place including a section for female wrestlers from the days of Mildred Burke, June Byers and Nell Stewart. This was of particular interest to me as I had recently read the Mildred Burke biography.

We went upstairs and encountered multiple rooms with more show posters, press photos and obscure memorabilia than I could process, much less list here. There were numerous items regarding Don Leo Jonathan and I learned that he worked as an oceanographer and deep-sea diver after his wrestling career and was also a quick draw champion with a time of 4/100ths of a second.

There are a number of pieces in the museum from the 19th century. There are a number of old title belts including the Vermont Heavyweight Wrestling Championship. There is series of still photos of the 1911 match between Frank Gotch in Comiskey Park in Chicago. I saw a number of copies of the Police Gazette covering pioneer wrestling days. There are old wrestling posters, such as one for a show headlined by Lout Thesz vs El Medico, in which it is noted that there is a "colored section" reminding us of the ugly days of segregation. This lead me to ask if there was any Sputnik Munroe memorabilia and sure enough there was.

Probably my favorite thing was a collection of two photographs of Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis, Missouri. Both were panoramic views, with three photographs lined up with each other to show a view of the entire arena. The first was from 1944 and was from a show headlined by "Wild" Bill Longson vs. Warren Bockwinkle (Tony looked at my wife and said "He's Nick's Dad") as well as a 1946 show headlined by Longson vs Buddy Rogers. Both photographs were taken from one end of the arena and Tony pointed out that the entire arena was looking directly at the camera, including everyone in the ring. I don't know if words can do it justice but it was pretty amazing.

Another interesting piece is a painting by 1970's wrestler and Superstar Billy Graham friend Steve Strong. The painting was of Ray "Thunder" Strong (who is credited with inventing the dropkick)delivering a dropkick to Buddy Rogers with Arnold Schwartzennegger looking on in the background.

If you are a fan of any era of wrestling there is a ton of stuff to see. My wife became fascinated with Earl McCready when she learned he was Canadian and kept finding his picture throughout the museum. And to show how much her life has changed in the five years she has known me, she actually did utter the words "Oh look honey, it's the Von Erichs!!!"

I highly recommend a visit to the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum if you are going to be anywhere near the area. If your knowledge of wrestling stretches back to William Muldoon or you consider Mick Foley to be an "old" wrestler, you should be able to find something to enjoy and learn a lot. I am definitely planning on attending the Toronto dinner in the fall and possibly even the New York inductions next year. I told Tony that I plan on challenging The Destroyer to arm-wrestle me and Tony said "Well don't do that with Danny Hodge." A life with such options is a good life indeed.

The Leo Burke Chronicles 1995 to Present

2011-06-12T20:22:00.001-07:00

1995-Present

In the mid-1990s Bret Hart became a trainer of young talent for the World Wrestling Federation in somewhat of a precursor to the company`s eventual developmental program. Bret hired Leo to be the head trainer at Bret’s house in Calgary. Leo trained wrestlers such as Ken Shamrock, Mark Henry, Andrew “Test” Martin, Glenn Kulka, Adam “Edge” Copeland and “Christian” Jay Reso. Henry has said in an interview that Leo was one of the best trainers he had and that Leo taught him about being a professional as well as the importance of longevity. While working as a trainer in Calgary, Leo worked with students such as Martin in Wild West Wrestling in 1997. Leo later trained Teddy Hart as well. During this time Leo was also working at a bar in Calgary. After finishing as a trainer for the then-World Wrestling Federation, Leo started working as a trainer for World Championship Wrestling.

In 1998 and 1999 Leo returned to the Maritimes to work in the now-revived Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling. The promotion had young talent such as Rene Dupre, Joe E. Legend and Chi Chi Cruz while also bringing in legends such as Burke and his brother The Beast. These tours were likely the last time Leo was able to team with his brother and likely the last time Leo wrestled as well. The CBC did a feature on Leo, putting over his long career and popularity in the Maritimes. It featured clips from a match, an interview with Leo and footage of Leo getting a loud reaction from the crowd.

Leo eventually said in an interview with Slam Wrestling that he did not know if he would do it all over again as he would rather have his health. Leo was experiencing difficulties with both knees at that time and said he had had eight knee operations. Leo did have surgery on his knees in 2006 and reported feeling better. After the knee surgery Leo was contacted by Henry who wanted to say thanks for all the help he had given him early in his career. Leo also came down with Septicemia in 2002. As a result, he spent a few days in the Intensive Care Unit of Foothills Hospital in Calgary but he did recover from this illness. Leo’s brother Rudy Kay died in 2008 and Yvon (The Beast) died in 2009. Leo and his brothers were honored at the Cauliflower Alley Club Reunion in 2009 and Leo’s son and daughter attended with him.

In 2010 Leo made guest appearances at events for UCW in Spryfield, Nova Scotia, Berwick, Nova Scotia and Summerside, Prince Edward Island. Leo said that to the crowd that he wished his knees were in better shape so he could wrestle on the shows. Leo talked about his brother The Beast being the toughest wrestler he ever faced. Leo also worked as guest referee in matches on the cards.

Bret Hart credits Leo Burke as an early influence in his career Bret Hart has said of Leo“He was privileged to wrestle so many of the greats and his special talent was his knack for gleaning the best from each of them and adapting it to his own style.” One thing that people seem to say most commonly about Leo is that he was one of the most underrated wrestlers of his generation. In writing this career retrospective of Leo, I have wanted to shed some light on how much the man accomplished in his career. While almost all of this information was able to found on the internet already, it is hopefully helpful to have it all in one place in order to appreciate such a great professional wrestler. Thanks Leo.

Sources:
1) Vance Nevada’s Leo Burke match history at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=246
2) Bret Hart comments on Leo at http://www.brethart.com/bio/columns/kurt-angle-and-best-wrestlers-20th-century`
3) Mark Henry comments on Leo at http://bleacherreport.com/articles/202663-mark-henry-talking-wresting-smack-classic-qa-part-1
4) General information on Maritime wrestling at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?km_km_ict=f9b39869f70216be58a32f9c5104910b&forumid=5
5) Biographical history at http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBios/burke_leo.html, http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2006/03/19/1495579.html, and http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2006/05/13/1578648.html, http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/l/leo-burke.html
6) Leo Burke profile on CBC http://archives.cbc.ca/sports/wrestling/clips/6850/

The Leo Burke Chronicles 1990-1994

2011-06-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

1990-1994

Leo Burke started the year as Universal Champion in Carlos Colon's World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico and remained champion until losing the title on February 9, 1990 to TNT (Savio Vega in WWE). On March 28 Leo teamed with Chicky Starr to defeat Invader I and Invader IV for the Caribbean Tag Team Titles. The Invaders regained the titles from Burke and Starr on May 5. On May 19 Leo won the Carribean Heavyweight title from Invader I (Jose Gonzales). The two faced each other in a worked boxing match on July 7 at the 1990 WWC Anniversario show. Leo was accompanied by Chicky Starr while Gonzales was accompanied by both “Robocop” and Hector “Macho” Camacho, a Puerto Rican boxer who was WBO Light Welterweight Champion at the time. Gonzales won the match and the title with a “knock-out” of Leo.

Leo then returned to the Maritimes for what was the last summer season of Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling until 1997. Rip Rogers was the International Champion at the start of the season but lost the title to Leo on August 11. Rogers did regain the title before the end of the season. Leo also won the tag titles with his brother Bobby Kay when they defeated “No Class” Bobby Bass and “Diamond Timothy Flowers.” Televised matches that summer included Leo Burke and Bobby Kay vs Bulldog Bob Brown and Chi Chi Cruz, Leo Burke and The Beast vs Chi Chi Cruz and Diamond Timothy Flowers and
Leo Burke vs. Diamond Timothy Flowers. Leo was also associated with the Acadian Giant that summer. The Giant is better known as Kurrgan and was a trainee of Big Stephen Petitpas.

From this point on, Leo’s in-ring career appears to slow down to mostly wrestling in the summertime. Emile Dupre stopped promoting Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling but Stephen Petitpas started to promote the territory in the summer of 1991 as Maritime Championship Wrestling. The heel stable in the promotion was Team USA comprised of Ron Starr, Rico Frederico, Bobby Blaze, Eddie Watts and Goldie Rogers. Leo teamed with both the Acadian Giant and Petitpas in facing different combinations from this faction. On September 28 Burke and Petitpas defeated the Acadian Giant and Todd McPhee for the promotion`s tag team titles.

In 1992 Leo teamed with Stephen Petitpas throughout the summer in matches against the Cuban Assassin and Goldie Rogers. Burke and Petitpas won a match against Assassin and Eddie Watts on June 8 to become the first tag champions before losing the titles to Paul Peller and Butcher Vachon (the Maritime version who was not related to the famous Vachon family). Leo then started a feud with the Canadian Championship Wrestling champion Rick Patterson, with Burke wrestling more aggressively leading up to his winning the title from Patterson in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Todd McPhee was chasing the Jr Heavyweight title of Eddie Watts. When McPhee appeared to have won the title a complaint was made regarding and he was weighed in the ring. The title was returned to Watts as McPhee was over the limit and Leo and the Soaring Eagle hit the ring to help when McPhee started hitting everything. Leo put a sleeper on McPhee, seemingly to calm him down, but then released the hold and turned on Eagle. Leo had turned heel and issued a challenge to McPhee. Burke won their match with his feet on the ropes. McPhee did at one point defeat Burke for the title but lost it back to him two days later.

Leo next feuded with the Acadian Giant and formed an alliance with Paul Peller. Leo finished the summer in a feud with Big Stephen Petitpas. The two had a series of matches over the course of a couple weeks with Leo retaining the title with interference from Peller and the Cuban Assassin. At the end of the season Petitpas did defeat Burke with a small package to win the title. This was the last season for this promotion and would appear to have been Leo Burke`s only run as a heel in the Maritimes.

Leo did a tour of India in December of 1997. Records indicate that he lost to The Mongolian Mauler on December 8 in Calcutta. On December 9 Leo teamed with the Mauler and lost to Kamala and Brett Wolfe. In a later interview with Slam Wrestling Leo said that he did not like travelling to India as it was so poor. Leo said that anyone who would say they wanted to leave Canada would want to return home after travelling to India.

Sources:

1) Vance Nevada’s Leo Burke match history at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=246
2) Title history at http://www.wrestling-titles.com/
3) General information on Maritime wrestling at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?km_km_ict=f9b39869f70216be58a32f9c5104910b&forumid=5
4) Biographical history at http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBios/burke_leo.html
5) Serge Niles writing on Maritime wrestling at http://www.kayfabememories.com/Regions/agpw/agpw6.htm, and http://www.kayfabememories.com/Regions/agpw/agpw7.htm

The Leo Burke Chronicles 1985-1989

2011-06-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

1985-1989

Leo Burke started the year in Montreal and on January 14 he teamed with Armand Rougeau, going to a draw with Sailor White and Richard Charland. He might have been working as the booker in the territory as well. Leo appears to have been working as a heel by April of 1985 as he had matches against Jos Leduc on April 8 and April 15 and against Raymond Rougeau on April 22 and April 29. On April 22 he also teamed with King Tonga and Richard Charland against Jos Leduc, Tony Parisi and Dino Bravo. On May 27, 1985 King Tonga and Richard Charland defeated Leo Burke and Jos Leduc in a tournament final in Quebec City, Quebec for the vacant International Tag Team Titles. On May 29 Leo and Mad Dog Lefebvre lost to Jacques and Raymond Rougeau in 26:00 in Verdun, Quebec. He teamed with a young Rick Steiner to defeat Gino Brito Jr and Reggie Rapone on June 3. Leo went to a draw with Gino Brito Jr on June 24 and lost to Armand Rougeau on July 15. He also wrestled Tom Zenk on July 10.

Leo was apparently managed by Eddie Creatchman during his heel run in Montreal, who also seems to have gone by the name of Floyd Creatchman. This partnership was referenced by Chris Jericho in his 2007 book ``A Lion`s Tale.” While wrestling in WCW in 1998, Jericho feuded with Dean Malenko who was known as “The man of 1,000 holds.” Jericho started referring to himself as “The man of 1,004” holds in interviews. Jericho wrote in his book he had taken this line from Floyd Creatchman who was managing and would refer to him as Leo as “The Man of 1,000 holds.” During an interview Creatchman said that Leo was “The Man of 1,002 holds” and when the interiviewer said “I thought he was the man of 1,000 holds” Creatchman said “He learned two more.”

Leo then made his return to the Maritimes, once again wrestling for Emile Dupre in Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling as the Maritime-based International Wrestling had folded. E.T. Stanton was working the territory as The Super Destroyer and became International Heavyweight Champion. On July 25 he wrestled Leo in Halifax for the title. Leo had matches against both Sweet Daddy Siki and Ron Starr throughout the summer. He also teamed with The Cuban Assassin who had started working as a babyface.

In October of 1985 Leo returned to Calgary to work for Stu Hart’s newly restarted Stampede Wrestling, which had previously closed in 1984 when the promotion was sold to Vince McMahon. Throughout October and November Leo had several matches against both Ron Starr and Cuban Assassin and also teamed with Strong Machine, Hubert Gallant and Mr. Hito in matches against Ron Starr and Honky Tonk Wayne (Wayne Ferris, later known as The Honky Tonk Man). Leo continued to face Starr and Wayne through December with partners such as Dan Kroffat (Phil Lafon of All Japan Pro Wrestling fame), Hubert Gallant, Rick Patterson and Bad News Allen. Other opponents included Kerry Brown and Mike Shaw.

In January 1986 Leo began to team with Ron Ritchie. On February 2, 1986 they faced Wayne Ferris and Ron Starr for the International Tag Team Titles but Wayne and Starr ran off with the belts after the match and the titles were held up. Ferris and Starr defeated Burke and Ritchie in a rematch on February 21. The two teams worked against each other several times a week throughout January and February of 1986.

Leo started working for Jim Crockett Jr.’s Mid-Atlantic Wrestling in the Carolinas as a heel in March of 1986. In March he wrestled singles matches against Denny Brown, Italian Stallion and Pez Whatley. In April he worked singles matches against Don Kernodle and Ron Garvin. In May he worked against Denny Brown, Rocky Kernodle, Manny Fernandez, and Hector Guerrero. Leo’s television matches during this time included a March 8, 1986 match against George South, a March 22, 1986 match against Don Graves, an April 19, 1986 match teaming with Thunderfoot and Black Bart against Wahoo McDaniel, Manny Fernandes and Hector Guerrero, an April 1986 match vs Ron Rossi and a May 24, 1986 match teaming with Vernon Deaton and Thunderfoot against Jimmy Valiant, Hector Guerrero and Manny Fenandes.

On the May 31, 1986 episode of World Championship Wrestling there was an angle in which Tully Blanchard showed footage from a May 23, 1986 show in Norfolk, Virginia. In the footage, Blanchard backed out of a taped fist match with Ron Garvin claiming an arm injury and wearing his right arm in a sling. Blanchard and his manager J.J. Dillon presented Leo Burke as a Canadian Golden Gloves Champion for a taped fist match against Garvin, who was billed as having “Hands Of Stone.” During the match referee Tommy Young was knocked down by an elbow from Garvin leading to Dillon and Blanchard interfering. Dillon missed Garvin with his shoe and hit Leo. The referee recovered and counted Burke out but as he reached a count of ten Blanchard and Dillon attacked Garvin, with Blanchard throwing his sling off and revealing a taped fist. Blanchard then nailed Garvin with several punches followed by a piledriver to Garvin on a steel chair, celebrating afterward with Burke. Throughout the footage Blanchard and Dillon were mocking Garvin and putting over Burke as a Canadian Golden Gloves Champion.

Leo returned to the Maritimes in June of 1986. He was billed as International Champion but lost the title to “Madman” Frenchy Martin in July. Burke and Martin feuded throughout the summer including having a lumberjack match in July and a chain match in September. Leo also started teaming with The Cuban Assassin throughout the summer and they faced tag team champions The Spoiler (Karl Moffat) and Nikita Kalmikoff on June 12 in Halifax. On August 30 Burke and the Cuban won the tag titles from Spoiler and Kalmikoff. Leo also had singles matches against both Spoiler and Kalmikoff on television prior to the title change.

Records could not be located for Leo from the fall of 1986. On February 1, 1987 Leo defeated Yvon Laverdure in Montreal. Big Stephen Petitpas was working in Montreal as Sheik Ali, one of the area’s top heels and he was managed by Eddie Creatchman. There is apparently video footage of Leo wrestling “Sheik Al-Arab” who would presumably be Petitpas. In 1987 the International Wrestling territory in Montreal closed down.

Some time in 1987, the NWA started airing programming on TQS, the French-language version of the Canadian sports channel TSN. Leo provided color commentary alongside commentator Francois Beaule along with a female announcer, with Leo playing the part of a heel. Leo would yell and tantrum in French and Frawould say “Calme-toi, Leo, calme-toi” and Leo would cross his arms and pout.

Leo returned to the Maritimes in July of 1987. He teamed with Big Stephen Petitpas that summer as well as The Cuban Assassin with whom Leo had ended the 1986 season as the tag team champions. The 1987 season seems to have begun with The Rock N Roll Rebel Express of Dino Ventura and Kid Dynamite being billed as champion. Ventura and Dynamite lost the titles to Bulldog Bob Brown and Rick Valentine (Kerry Brown) on June 26 who then worked several matches with Leo and the Assassin throughout the summer. These two teams had a Tornado Tag Match on August 27 in Halifax. Ron Starr was the International Champion that summer and had a number of matches with Leo. The title was held up at some point and Starr and Burke wrestled for the vacant title on September 10 in Halifax. The two had a Cole Miner’s Glove Match on September 24 in Halifax.

In January of 1988 Leo started wrestling in Calgary Stampede wrestling again and was featured prominently on television. He had televised matches with Goldie Rogers and Shinya Hashimoto who used the name Hashif Khan while working in Calgary. Leo also had matches with Steve Disalvo, Kerry Brown and Biff Wellington. In interviews, Leo would talk about being an eight-time North American Champion, which was noted to be a record, and was talked about as a top contender for the title held by Owen Hart at the time. Leo wrestled top contender Makhan Singh (Mike Shaw) on February 12 in Calgary and lost by disqualification. On February 19 Burke and Singh had a re-match in Calgary that was won by Singh, setting him up for a title shot against Hart. Singh did defeat Hart for the title on May 6.

Leo toured All Japan Pro Wrestling in July of 1988. On July 2 Leo teamed with Terry Gordy and lost Jumbo Tsuruta and Yoshiaki Yatsu in a televised match. On July 26 Leo teamed with Stan Hansen and defeated Tiger Mask (Mitsuhara Misawa) and Isao Takagi in a televised match. Stephen Petitpas was also on this tour working as A. Sheik. On July 2 Petitpas teamed with Mitch Snow against Great Kabuki and Hiroshi Wajima. On July 26 Petitpas teamed with Terry Gordy against Jumbo Tsuruta and Yoshiaki Yatsu. All of these matches aired on television in Japan.

Leo then returned to the Maritimes where the International Champion was Rip Rogers. Although Rogers had worked the territory as Hercules Sinard in 1978, this was his first tour of the promotion under the name he used for most of his career. Rogers said in an interview with Slam Wrestling that the tour came about after Leo told promoter Emile Dupre that he wanted to work with Rogers every night that summer. Leo had been on tour with Rogers in both Stampede and All Japan during 1988. Rip Rogers was named International Champion on July 14. Rogers and Burke had matches throughout the territory including in North Sydney and Halifax. On August 18 Leo defeated Rogers for the International title. Leo also started the season as tag team champion with The Cuban Assassin but in July they lost the titles to Bulldog Bob Brown and future New Japan Pro Wrestling star Masa “Tokyo” Chono who was working an excursion in the territory. In September of 1988 Leo and Big Stephen Petitpas defeated Brown and Chono for the tag team titles.

Leo returned to Stampede in October of 1988. He had televised matches with Gama Singh, Volkan Singh (Gary Albright) and North American Champion Makhan Singh. Leo also wrestled televised matches against Goldie Rogers, Johnny Smith, Rip Rogers and Steve Blackman and The Cuban Assassin. He teamed with Biff Wellington and Randy Thatcher in matches against tag team champions Gerry Morrow and Cuban Assassin. Leo also had matches in which he lost to some of the young wrestlers in the territory such as Larry Cameron and Chris Benoit through November and December. This was Leo’s last tour of Stampede which closed down in 1989.

Leo had another tour of All Japan in January of 1989. He was in the annual battle royal that took place in early January and was won by Davey Boy Smith. On January 22 Leo and Mike Miller lost to Baba and Kimura. On February 12 Leo and Dan Spivey lost to Genichiro Tenryu and Toshiaki Kawada. All of these matches aired on television in Japan.

Leo returned to the Maritimes for the summer of 1989 at which time Ron Starr was billed as the International Champion. Leo defeated Starr for the title on July 1 in a no-disqualification match but Starr regained the tile on July 20. Starr later lost the title to Dynamite Kid who had his only tour of the territory that year. Televised matches that summer included Leo Burke and Big Stephen Pettipas vs. Ron Starr and Pat Brady, Leo Burke vs Pat Brady, and Leo Burke vs. The Mongolian (who later gained more exposure as The Mongolian Mauler). Leo’s brother The Beast had a match against Harley Race that summer that finished with a big brawl that involved Leo and several other members of the roster.

In the fall of 1989 Leo started working for Carlos Colon’s World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico. Leo worked as a heel and had a number of matches against Miguel Perez Jr, On December 17 Leo defeated Colon for the Universal Heavyweight Title, the top championship in the company. During his time in this company Leo worked a boxing gimmick as he usually had boxing gloves with him. Leo was often associated with Chicky Starr.

Sources:
1) Vance Nevada’s Leo Burke match history at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=246
2) Title history at http://www.wrestling-titles.com/
3) Biographical history at http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBios/burke_leo.html
4) Mid-Atlantic results at http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/jcp86.htm, and http://sportsandwrestling.mywowbb.com/forum2/17055.html
5) General information on Maritime wrestling at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?km_km_ict=f9b39869f70216be58a32f9c5104910b&forumid=5
6) Montreal results at http://sportsandwrestling.mywowbb.com/forum2/3177.html, http://newhotseat.fortunecity.com/iwm.html, http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=2455&page=1, and http://www.tomzenk.net/match_results_IWA.html
7) Chris Jericho comments on Floyd Creatchman and Leo Burke at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=53314&page=0
8) Leo doing French commentary on NWA programming at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=2291
9) Rip Rogers information at http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2007/10/14/4576641.html
10) Some information from this period is based on watching video footage of Leo Burke.

The Leo Burke Chronicles 1980-1984

2011-06-12T18:29:00.001-07:00

1980-1984

Leo Burke started the 1980s working in Calgary. In January 1980 Leo won the title from Mr. Sekigawa (later known as Mr. Pogo). Leo had several singles matches against Bret Hart between January and May of 1980. Other opponents included Bobby Bass, Cuban Assassin, Lynn Denton, and David Patterson. Leo closed out this run by losing the North American title to Bret Hart on May 2.

Leo returned to the Maritimes in May of 1980. On June 26 Leo and Hubert Gallant won the North American Tag Team Titles from The Cuban Assassin and Bobby Bass who subsequently regained the titles from Burke and Gallant. Leo Burke teamed with Big Stephen Petitpas in August of 1980 to win the tag titles. Leo wrestled International Heavyweight Champion Killer Karl Krupp on September 24 in Halifax. Leo also worked David Schultz in the Maritimes that summer who had been crowned as the territory’s first United States champion in June 1980. After Leo failed to defeat him for the title, Schultz refused to grant Burke another match. Schultz had a television match against the masked “Red Shadow”. Schultz complained to the referee that it was Burke but the referee said the match had to continue. The masked Burke won the match with a sleeper, earned a title match and then unmasked. I would guess that this might have played off of Leo’s gimmick of working as The Atomic in Japan but cannot know for sure. Leo did not win the title in the subsequent rematch with Schultz. During that summer, Schultz also teamed with Cuban Assassin against tag champions Burke and Petitpas.

In October of 1980 Leo returned to Calgary. On December 2 he and brother Bobby Burke teamed to win their second International Tag Team Title from Duke Myers and Bobby Bass in Creston, British Columbia. Leo also had a series of matches against Bret Hart through December of 1980. The Burke brothers had matches against J.J. Dillon and Kazuo Sakurada, also known as Kendo Nagasaki in North America and not to be confused with the Kendo Nagasaki who wrestled in England. Leo and Bobby also had a series of matches against Cuban Assassin and Mr. Hito prior to losing the titles on February 28, 1981 to Duke Myers and Mike Sharpe Jr. Leo also had singles matches and tag team matches against David Schultz, with Leo and Bret Hart facing Schultz and Dynamite Kid. Leo won the North American title from Schultz on February 21, 1981 with Schultz regaining the title on February 27. Leo spent the spring teaming with brother Bobby as well as well as Bret Hart against combinations of Duke Myers, Kerry Brown and David Schultz.

Leo did spend the summer of 1981 in the Maritimes. He and Big Stephen Petitpas were International Tag Team Champions at the beginning of the season. On July 18 they faced The Cuban Assassin and Mr. Hito in New Glascow, Nova Scotia. Burke and Petitpas may have lost the titles to Killer Karl Krupp and The Masked Destroyer/Super Destroyer during the summer as Krupp and Destroyer were billed in matches for the titles on September 3 and September 10, 1981. The September 3 match was against Leo and Hercules Cortez in Halifax.

Leo then had another run as Tommy Martin in the Central States territory in the fall of 1981. Results show him wrestling there as early as October 9 when he had a match against Terry Gibbs in Fort Scott, Kansas. He wrestled Ron McFarlane on November 17 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and December 2 in Hutchinson, Kansas. On November 19, 1981 he won the Central States Heavyweight title from Bob Sweetan in Kansas City, Kansas. Leo lost the title back to Sweetan on December 10 in Kansas.

Leo then returned to Calgary and was wrestling there as of January 1982. Leo teamed with both Hercules Ayala Cortez and Keith Hart in matches against the team of David Schultz and Kerry Brown as well as Duke Myers and Mike Shaw. In February 1982 Leo started teaming with David Schultz and had a series of matches against tag champs Duke Myers and Kerry Brown through February and March of 1982. In March the tag team titles were vacated when Brown and Myers were in a car accident. A tournament was held and Brown and Myers regained the titles in a tournament final match over Burke and Schultz on March 23, 1982 in Regina, Saskatchewan. The North American Heavyweight title was also vacated in March of 1982 when champion Mr. Hito was injured. Leo became North American Champion when he defeated Duke Myers in the tournament final on March 21, 1982 in Calgary. Leo had defeated the Cuban Assassin and Kerry Brown in earlier tournament matches that night. Leo retained the title until losing it to Bret Hart on June 26, 1982 in Edmonton.

Leo had already started his summer 1982 season in the Maritimes prior to losing the Stampede title in June. Leo spent the summer working against Killer Karl Krupp and Bulldog Bob Brown. In July Leo won the United States title from Rick Valentine (Kerry Brown) and he appears to have held the title through the end of the season.

In the fall of 1982 Leo split his time between Stampede in Calgary and Maple Leaf Wrestling in Toronto. In Calgary, Leo spent the fall of 1982 teaming with wrestlers such as Bret Hart, Jim Neidhart and Davey Boy Smith against different combinations of Gama Singh, Dynamite Kid, Duke Myers and Kerry Brown. On November 19 Leo Burke and Bret Hart defeated Duke Myers and Dynamite Kid in Calgary to win the International Tag Team Titles. They lost the titles to Duke Myers and Kerry Brown on December 8 in Edmonton.

Leo engaged in a feud with Johnny Weaver in Toronto through 1982 and 1983 with Leo being billed as North American Champion. Weaver was apparently the booker of the Toronto territory at this point and liked to bring in Leo as an opponent based on their friendship dating back to working together in the 1970s in the Maritimes and the Carolinas. Leo came into Toronto as a heel, being billed from Calgary, Alberta and insisting that the ring announcer let the fans know that he wanted to be referred to as “Ontario’s Dream”. Leo teamed with Weaver against Private (Tim) Nelson and Private (Don) Kernodle in Maple Leaf Gardens on October 3, 1982 with Burke and Weaver losing in 24:11. Leo subsequently wrestled Weaver in Maple Leaf Gardens on October 31, December 12 and December 26 and again on January 9, 1983.

Leo continued to split his time between Calgary and Toronto in the early months of 1983. Leo won the Stampede North American title from Bret Hart on January 14, 1983 in Calgary. Leo spent the next few months as champion having matches against wrestlers such as Bret Hart, Keith Hart, Jim Neidhart, Mr. Hito and Davey Boy Smith. He also teamed with Hubert Gallant against combinations of Bret Hart, Dynamite Kid and Davey Boy Smith. In April he had a series of matches with Smith and defeated him in a match to determine who would face AWA World Champion Nick Bockwinkle for the title on April 22 in Calgary. Leo had started this stint in Calgary as a babyface but was a heel by the time he faced Smith in this match, cutting a promo in French after the match to boos from the Western Canadian crowd. In the match with Bockwinkle, Leo lost after interference from David Schultz. Leo subsequently lost the Stampede North American title to Bret Hart on May 3 in Regina. Leo finished out May 1982 in Calgary with matches against Hercules Ayala, a match teaming with Bad News Allen in Victoria, BC and going to a double disqualification against Bret Hart and Dynamite Kid.

Leo wrestled Tony Parisi in Maple Leaf Gardens on January 23 and February 20, 1983, going to a 20-minute time limit draw in January and a no-contest in February. Leo also had matches at the Gardens with Vinnie Valentino and Mike Rotundo prior to losing the North American title to Johnny Weaver on April 10, 1983. Weaver defended the title against burke on May 15, 1983 with a win in 18:52 and defeated Burke again on May 29. On June 12 Weaver defeated Burke in a Loser Leaves Town match at Maple Leaf Gardens just in time for Burke to return to the Maritimes.

During the summer 1983 Maritime wrestling season Leo had matches against U.S. Champion Rick Valentine and International Champion Frenchy Martin. Leo won the U.S. title from Valentine on July 21, 1983 in Halifax and won the International title from Martin on August 4, 1983. The United States title was held up after a match between Leo Burke and “The Spoiler” Don Jardine. A rematch took place on September 8 in Halifax with Leo becoming a three-time champion after defeating The Spoiler. Burke was the last U.S. champion as the title was vacated after this season. Leo also finished the season as International Champion, a title that was not active in the Maritimes in 1984 as Burke was working separately from Emile Dupre’s circuit at that time.

Leo returned to Maple Leaf Wrestling in October of 1983 having matches against "Bret Hart" (who was actually Barry Horowitz), Tito Santana, Hubert Gallant, and Johnny Weaver. Leo also teamed with The Destroyer (Dick Beyer), losing to Angelo Mosca and Jimmy Valiant at Maple Leaf Gardens on November 13. Leo’s brothers Rudy Kay and Terry Kay (Bobby) were also working in Toronto at this time and Bret Hart also came in as “Heartthrob” Buddy Hart. Leo teamed with his brothers as well as Don Kernodle and Kelly Kiniski in a stable known as “The Rat Pack.” Leo was also billed as North American Champion again and defended the title in matches against Buddy (Bret) Hart and Tito Santana. He lost to Buddy (Bret) Hart in the first round of a tournament for the Canadian Heavyweight Championship on April 29, 1984. After the match Leo attacked Hart, preventing him from being able to continue in the tournament. Leo also had matches against Roddy Piper and Pez Whatley at Maple Leaf Gardens. In July of 1984 the Toronto territory was taken over by the WWF, ending the previous Mid-Atlantic association with Maple Leaf Wrestling as well as Leo’s run in Toronto.

In October of 1983, while still travelling to Toronto, Leo started wrestling for the International Wrestling promotion in Montreal, Quebec which was associated with the American Wrestling Association. Leo came in as a babyface and the first record of his time in the territory has him defeating Louis Lawrence on October 10, 1983. He also teamed with Hubert Gallant in the territory. On December 26, 1983 Leo lost to Abdullah The Butcher. In January of 1984 he was the co-winner of a 14-man battle royal with Dino Bravo.

Around this time the Montreal promotion introduced a new T.V. title. The tournament to crown a champion saw Leo defeat fellow babyface Richard Charland in the finals. In response to this loss, Charland turned heel, destroying Leo’s trophy and leaving him bloody and then introducing Tarzan Tyler as his new manager. In February of 1984 Leo teamed with Rick Martel in a tournament to determine challengers for champions Pierre Lefebvre and Frenchy Martin. They defeated Gilles Poisson and Bob Boucher in the first round and Gino Brito Jr and Richard Charland in the second round. Leo was injured and could not continue after the second round so he was replaced by Antonio Ricco who, along with Martel, lost to Dino Bravo and Tony Parisi in the finals.

In Montreal Leo was a tag team partner of Rick Martel, including a match in which they lost to Ken Patera and Jerry Blackwell. On March 5 Leo wrestled Nick Bockwinkel in Montreal. Leo also teamed with The Destroyer against Patera and Blackwell with Patera and Blackwell winning in 12:24. During the winter of 1984 Leo also wrestled on AWA-affiliated cards in Winnipeg, Manitoba including matches against Buck Zumhofe and Johnny Weaver.

In the summer of 1984 Leo’s brothers started their own promotion called International Wrestling in the Maritimes. J.J. Dillon was brought in as the booker in May 1984 and Dillon was also the International Champion throughout the one season of the promotion. Leo came in as of July 1984. Leo had his last-ever World title match facing AWA World Champion Rick Martel on July 3, 1984 in Halifax in a two-out-of-three falls match. Leo earned this match after defeating J.J. Dillon in Halifax on June 26. In his AWA title match against Martel, Leo won the only fall with a sleeper over Martel at 45:00 of the match. After a series of near-falls, Burke again had Martel in the sleeper when the 60:00 time limit expired, meaning Martel kept the title. Interestingly, Emile Dupre brought in NWA World Champion Ric Flair for a tour with a reported five title matches against Big Stephen Petitpas in August of that summer in what appears to have been a promotional war.

In July 1984 Leo toured Japan with the Universal Wrestling Federation along with other wrestlers frequently seen in the Maritimes and Quebec. On July 23, 1984 Leo Burke lost to Pierre Martel (Frenchy Martin) by disqualification in 21:48 at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan. The next night, again at Korakuen Hall, Leo Burke and Bob Dellasara lost to Nobuhiko Takada and Yoshiaki Fujiwara in 15:15.

During the summer of 1984, Leo was billed in International Wrestling in the Maritimes as North American Champion and had matches against the Great Tio and Kendo Nagasaki. Leo feuded with The Stomper Archie Gouldie, with both of them being recognized as North American Champion. The Stomper had been touring Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling and was billed as North American champion in that promotion when he jumped to International Wrestling, when he showed up by surprise and attacked Burke on July 31. They wrestled in Halifax on August 8, 1984 with The Stomper using the ropes for leverage for a pinfall in a 25-minute match. This was pointed out to the referee and the decision was overturned and the title was still undecided. Burke and Stomper then had a bloody brawl and Burke challenged Stomper to a winner-take-all match. Stomper defeated Burke on August 14 in Halifax in 17:30 after using a low-blow behind the referee’s back. They wrestled for the title in Halifax on August 21 in a match with 10 wrestlers with leather straps outside the ring. The two had a steel cage match in Halifax on August 28 with Burke winning in 19:30.

Leo started working for South West Championship Wrestling in San Antonio, Texas in the fall of 1984. He started feuding with Jonathan Boyd and his Commonwealth Army and had a match on television against Juan Reynosa. In an interview with Burke, Boyd interrupted and said that because Burke was from Canada, a British Commonwealth country, he should be part of Boyd’s Commonwealth Army but Burke refused. Leo came in as a member of Joe Blanchard`s army to take on Boyd. In a match teaming with babyface Killer Brooks against The Sheepherders, Leo turned on Brooks and it was explained that he`d been a spy for Boyd and the Commonwealth Army. Leo also had a feud with Jerry Oski who defeated Burke in a Loser-Leaves-Town match on December 9, 1984 in San Antonio, Texas.

Leo then returned to Montreal, losing to International Heavyweight Champion King Tonga on December 10, 1984 in Montreal.

Sources:
1) Vance Nevada’s Leo Burke match history at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=246
2) Title history at http://www.wrestling-titles.com/
3) Biographical history at http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBios/burke_leo.html
4) Information on Leo as the “Red Shadow” was written by Serge Niles at http://www.kayfabememories.com/Regions/agpw/agpw2.htm
5) Maritime show posters at http://jerome-macdonald.magix.net/, and http://mapleleafwrestling.4t.com/previousupdates/maritimes.html
6) Mid-Atlantic results at http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/greensboro70s.htm, http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/resourcecenter/results/pages/results_weaver.htm, http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=10118&page=15, http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?a=mss&t=65336&f=42&page=0&code=00, and http://oleanderson.com/results.htm
7) J.J. Dillon interview at http://kayfabe-wrestling.com/jj_dillon.html
8) Show posters and newspaper articles on 1984 International Wrestling in the Maritimes at http://jerome-macdonald.magix.net/
9) Ric Flair vs Stephen Petitpas information at http://www.magix-photos.com/userwebsite;jsessionid=bdbhik603hmbp.omaasp42?act=15&pos=35, http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBiosP/petitpas_stephen-can.html, and http://www.wrestling-titles.com/nwa/world/nwa-h-matches/1980s/nwa-h-matches1984.html
10) San Antonio results and information at http://wrestlingclassics.com/cgi-bin/.ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=print_topic;f=1;t=113507, http://sportsandwrestling.mywowbb.com/forum2/15522.html, and http://wrestlingclassics.com/.ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=099169
11) General information on Maritime wrestling at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?km_km_ict=f9b39869f70216be58a32f9c5104910b&forumid=5
12) St. Louis and Central States results at http://sportsandwrestling.mywowbb.com/forum2/14864.html
13) Working with Johnny Weaver in Toronto at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Tunney, and http://www.garywill.com/wrestling/canada/burke.htm
14) Toronto results at http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/mlg80s.htm, and http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/jcp84.htm
15) Montreal results at http://sportsandwrestling.mywowbb.com/forum2/3177.html, http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=45381, http://www.kayfabememories.com/Regions/intlwrestlingmont/intlwrestlingmon10-2.htm, http://www.tomzenk.net/match_results_IWA.html, http://sportsandwrestling.mywowbb.com/forum2/3177.html,
16) Winnipeg results at http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/resourcecenter/results/pages/results_weaver.htm
17) UWF Japan results at http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=507&view=matches#matches
18) Some information from this period is based on watching video footage of Leo Burke.

The Leo Burke Chronicles 1975-1979

2011-06-12T06:21:00.000-07:00

1975-1979

In early 1975 Leo Burke wrestled as Tommy Martin in the St. Louis and Central States territories. He wrestled in tag matches against Rock Riddle and Rene Goulet and had singles matches in St. Louis with Bobby Jaggers, Jumbo Tsuruta and Terry Funk. On April 4, 1975 Leo teamed with Ronnie Etchison against Ed Wiskowski and Chuck O`Connor, who went on to work as Col. Debeers and Big John Studd respectively.

The Maritime wrestling scene in the summer of 1975 was home to many long-time area workers such as Bulldog Bob Brown, Killer Karl Krupp, Johnny Weaver, The Beast and Mike Dubois. New faces in the territory included Alfred Hayes and a 21-year-old Roddy Piper. Leo had matches against Brown, Krupp, Dubois and Hayes and also teamed with Piper, Beast and Weaver.

After a phantom title switch (wrestling talk for “the wrestling promoters made this up”) with Bolo Mongol in Detroit, Leo was North American Champion when the 1975 Maritime season began until dropping the title to Brown in July. Brown and the Patriot also won the vacant International Tag Team titles with a September 29, 1975 victory over Leo Burke and Roddy Piper. Leo was also the Taped-Fist champion until dropping the title to Brown on June 24. Leo regained the title on October 4 in New Glascow, Nova Scotia. Leo closed out the season with a victory over Brown on November 15 to retain the Taped Fist title. But it is not championship reigns that set this season apart for Leo as much as the visiting wrestlers with whom he had the chance to work.

On July 1, 1975 Leo Burke defended the North American championship against Dory Funk Jr. Funk won the first fall at 31:06 with the spinning toe-hold. In the second fall Funk submitted to Leo`s abdominal stretch at 12:10. The time limit ran out resulting in a draw. A newspaper article on the match stated that fans were convinced that Leo Burke was ready to take on the world`s best.

On August 19. 1975 Leo Burke faced wrestling legend and former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz in a 2-out-of-3 falls match in Halifax. The winner of the match would receive a North American title match against Bulldog Bob Brown. The match reportedly drew more than 5,000 fans. Thesz won the first fall at 27:33 by pinfall. Burke won the second fall when Thesz submitted to the abdominal stretch. In the third fall Thesz had Burke over his head for a backdrop when Leo got his feet on the ropes and sent himself and Thesz backward, with Burke on top and Thesz being counted out.
On September 16, 1975 Leo teamed with Andre The Giant in a 2-out-of-3 falls tag team match against Alfred Hayes and The Patriot. The show reportedly drew 4, 400 fans to see Andre win the first fall over Hayes, Patriot win the second fall over Burke and Burke win the third fall over Hayes to win the match.

In what would seem to be the biggest match of his career to that point, Leo Burke faced NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jack Brisco at the Halifax Forum on October 28, 1975 with the NWA title on the line. The match reportedly drew 3, 307 fans to see the match go to a time limit draw. Leo took the only fall of the match when Brisco submitted to an abdominal stretch at 34:45. Brisco and Burke apparently went through a series of near-falls leading up to Leo again putting Brisco in an abdominal stretch with a minute left in the match. The match ended with Brisco still in the abdominal stretch and Leo seemingly thinking he had won the match and the title when the time limit expired. The referee informed the crowd that the title can only change hands when the champion has lost two falls.

Leo then returned to the Amarillo territory and on February 20, 1976 he and The Beast won the vacant Western States Tag Team Titles. The brothers defeated Ricky Romero and the Silver Streak in a tournament final. Romero and Streak then defeated Burke and Beast for the titles on February 27. Leo also worked in matches against Lord Al Hayes and Reggie Parks and faced Western States Champion Scott Casey on March 2. Leo also reportedly worked a non-title match in the territory with newly crowned NWA World Heavyweight Champion Terry Funk that involved interference from both Dory Funk Jr and The Beast.

Back in the Martimes, Leo faced Dory Funk Jr. on April 20 and May 1 and again on May 4, 1976 in a one-fall match at the Halifax Forum that was billed as a grudge match. On August 24, 1976 Leo defeated The Stomper Archie Gouldie at 25:11 in Halifax in order to earn an elimination match against the Brute with the winner facing the NWA champion. On August 31, 1976 Leo defeated The Brute in Halifax to earn his next world title match. NWA World Heavyweight Champion Terry Funk then did a tour of the territory, defending the title against Leo on September 4 in New Glascow, Nova Scotia, September 7 in Halifax and in a third defence against Leo on September 8. The Halifax match-up reportedly drew 4,000 fans. Terry apparently threw Leo over the top rope for the disqualification at 56:35 in order to retain his title. One fan who was in attendance reported that Terry blew his nose onto a fan in the crowd. Records indicate that Funk won the third title defence over Leo. Also of note is that an edited version of the non-title match from Texas was aired in the Maritimes in order to build up this tour, with the Funks being presented as heels and Leo and the Beast as babyfaces even though the roles would have been reversed when the match aired in Amarillo, Texas.

During the 1976 season in the Maritimes Leo won the newly created Maritimes Heavyweight Championship with a victory over The Brute on August 13, 1976. On August 17 Leo successfully defended the title against The Brute in front of a crowd of 4,008 in Halifax. Leo won the North American title from The Brute in September 1976 and went on to successfully defend the title against Brute in a cage match in Halifax on September 28, 1976. Leo lost the North American title to Michel Dubois on October 5, 1976.

Leo participated in his first tour of Japan in November and December of 1976 working for All Japan Pro Wrestling. Results are available for nine matches he had teaming against Giant Baba. Leo’s tag team partners included Dick Murdoch, Abdullah The Butcher, Killer Karl Kox (as The Spirit), Billy Robinson and Christ Taylor. Leo’s opponents included Baba, Jumbo Tsuruta, Akihisa Takachito (Great Kabuki), The Destroyer and The Great Kojika.

In January 1977 Leo was working in the Calgary territory and in February 1977 he won his first championship in that territory. Leo Burke and Keith Hart teamed to defeat The Cuban Assassins on television in a non-title match. After the match Stu Hart ordered a title match between the two teams. On February 18, 1976 Leo Burke and Keith Hart became the Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions with a victory over The Cuban Assassins. They remained champions until April 6, 1976 when they lost the titles to Jonathan Boyd and Norman Frederick Charles III, listed as The Royal Kangaroos.

In April of 1977 the summer season began in the Martimes. The territory had previously been promoted as Eastern Sports Association by Al Zinck and Rudy Kay. In 1977 there was a split with Leo’s brother Bobby Kay promoting Trans-Canada Wrestling and Zinck promoting International Wrestling. Leo and his brothers worked with Trans-Canada Wrestling and wrestled opponents such as Big John Quinn, Frenchy Martin, Gilles Poisson, Al Costello and the Masked Mauler. Leo won the North American title from Frenchy Martin on July 15, 1977. Leo won the title at 17:40 with a Boston Crab. Leo also teamed with Hubert Gallant to win the Maritimes Tag Team Titles on June 2, 1977 prior to losing the titles to Gilles Poisson and The Masked Mauler on June 23, 1977. Trans-Canada Wrestling closed down in July of 1977.

Leo returned to Stampede in Calgary in July of 1977. Leo teamed with his brother Bobby who went by the name Bobby Burke. Leo also worked against Don Gagne (Frenchy Martin). On September 16, 1977 Leo and Bobby won the International Tag titles. The results list the match as being against Kasavabu and Norman Frederick Charles III. Leo and Bobby lost the tag titles to Mr. Hito and Michael Martel on December 10, 1977 in Edmonton, Alberta. On October 7, 1977 Don Gagne won the vacant North American championship in a 10-man tournament final over Bobby Burke. Leo worked in tag matches with his brothers Bobby and the Beast throughout the rest of 1977 and in matches against Gagne.

On January 6, 1978 Leo won his first Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship when he defeated Don Gagne in Calgary. During this title reign Leo worked matches against Gagne, including a cage match on January 6, as well as matches against Gene Kiniski, Michel Martel, Kasavabu and Kazuo Sakurada before losing the title to Michel Martel on March 12, 1978. Leo regained the title from Martel on March 24, 1978 with Martel re-gaining it on April 8, 1978. Leo then lost the title to Kazuo Sakurada on May 20, 1978 in Edmonton. Leo faced NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race in title matches on July 13, 1978 in Regina, Saskatchewan, July 14, 1978 in Calgary and July 15, 1978 in Edmonton. Race was the fourth World champion to have title matches against Leo but this was the first time Leo received such an opportunity in the Calgary territory.

Leo travelled to New Zealand to work for the NWA territory in the area that had a television show titled “On The Mat”. Leo had matches with Les Thornton and Butch “Brute” Miller. Leo won the NWA British Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship, apparently from Mad Dog Martel in 1979 although records are not clear regarding this. Leo did say in an interview with SLAM! Wrestling in the late 90’s that “Of all my travelling I loved New Zealand a lot”. Leo vacated the title early in 1979 when he left New Zealand.

In January of 1979 Leo toured the IWE in Japan under a mask as “The Atomic.” Leo teamed with Alexis Smirnoff, wrestler Michel Lamarche from Quebec who worked in the Maritimes as Michel Dubois. Given Leo’s red mask and his association with Smirnoff, it would seem that he was working a Russian gimmick. Leo and Smirnoff had an IWE tag title match against champions Mighty Inoue and Higo Hamaguchi. Smirnoff and “Atomic” Leo also had a match against Rusher Kimura and Great Kusatsu and Leo had a singles match against Kimura who was IWE World Champion at the time.

Leo then returned to Stampede. Leo and Keith Hart won the International tag titles from Mr. Hito and Mr. Sakurada on April 6, 1979. Larry Lane and Dory Funk Jr won the titles on July 6, 1979 but Leo may not have been involved in the match as he was touring the Mid-Atlantic territory by that time. There are results listed for Leo in Mid-Atlantic in March, May, July and August of 1979. During these tours Leo worked with wrestlers such as Kim Duk, Denny Brown, Dewey Robertson, Brute Bernard, Johnny Weaver, Moose Moroswki, Les Thornton, Don Kernodle, Swede Hanson and Gene Anderson.

In May of 1979 Leo worked in the Toronto territory for Frank Tunney’s Maple Leaf Wrestling. During this tour Leo had what would appear to be his only matches with Ric Flair. On May 5 Leo and Frank Marconi teamed against Ric Flair and Greg Valentine. On May 12 Leo and John Bonello teamed against Flair and Valentine. On May 26 Leo and Silent Brian Mackney teamed against Flair and Valentine.

Leo worked in Mid-Atlantic during June and July of 1979. Results from Spartanburg, South Carolina show him teaming with wrestlers such as Don Kernodle, Pedro Morales, Jay Youngblood, Cocoa Samoa and Johnny Weaver against opponents such as Len Denton, Gene Anderson, John Studd, Kim Duk and Jacques Goulet.

In the summer of 1979 Leo returned to the Maritimes working for Emile Dupre in his promotion titled Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling. Leo worked a series of matches throughout the summer with Killer Karl Krupp who was the AGPW International Heavyweight Champion at the time. Leo also teamed with the Great Malumba in matches against Krupp and the Cuban Assassin.

Leo was back in Calgary as of October of 1979, teaming frequently with Hubert Gallant, another wrestler from New Brunswick. On December 21, 1979 Leo and Hubert Gallant lost to Dynamite Kid and Sekigawa in a tournament final for the vacant International Tag Titles. In early 1980 Leo and Gallant had matches with Bret Hart and Keith Hart as well as Cuban Assassin and Bobby Bass. Leo later teamed with Bret and Keith and had matches against Bobby Bass, Lynn Denton and David Patterson. Leo also won the North American Heavyweight title from Larry Lane during the fall of 1979, losing it to Don Gagne on November 7, 1979.

1) Vance Nevada’s Leo Burke match history at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=246
2) Title history at http://www.wrestling-titles.com/
3) Biographical history at http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBios/burke_leo.html, and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Burke
4) Maritime show posters at http://jerome-macdonald.magix.net/, and http://mapleleafwrestling.4t.com/previousupdates/maritimes.html
5) Newspaper articles at http://jerome-macdonald.magix.net/
6) Mid-Atlantic results at http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/greensboro70s.htm, http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/resourcecenter/results/pages/results_weaver.htm, http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=10118&page=15, http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?a=mss&t=65336&f=42&page=0&code=00, http://oleanderson.com/results.htm, http://sportsandwrestling.mywowbb.com/view_topic.php?id=19344&forum_id=2&jump_to=270629, http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/resourcecenter/results/pages/results_anderson_gene.htm, and
7) J.J. Dillon interview at http://kayfabe-wrestling.com/jj_dillon.html
8) General information on Maritime wrestling at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?km_km_ict=f9b39869f70216be58a32f9c5104910b&forumid=5
9) Amarillo results at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=40067, and http://sportsandwrestling.mywowbb.com/forum2/9571-2.html
10) St. Louis and Central States results at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?a=prnt&code=01&f=5&t=246&page=2&post=665208
11) All Japan Pro Wrestling results at http://www.puroresu.com/personalities/baba/results/baba_results1976.html
12) Information regarding Leo wrestling as The Atomic in Japan was gathered from video footage available from this tour.
13) Toronto results at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=55800

The Leo Burke Chronicles 1970-1974

2011-06-11T15:11:00.001-07:00

1970-1974

Leo wrestled in St. Louis as Tommy Martin through the early months of 1970. In what would seem to be a major milestone in his career, Leo had his first NWA World Title match on February 24, 1970 when NWA World Champion Dory Funk Jr. defended the title against Tommy Martin in Sedalia, Missouri. Leo also worked the Central States area during this time in matches with Bob Geigel, Roger Kirby, Bobby Shane, Killer Kox, and The Stomper. There is one record that seems to indicate that Tommy Martin and The Viking had a reign as Midwest Tag Team Champions with a title defence on March 9, 1970 against K.O. Cox and Killer Cox. Tommy Martin did wrestle U.S. Champion Roger Kirby on April 26, 1970 as well as Harley Race on May 2, 1970 with both matches occurring in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Leo returned to the Maritimes to work for the summer of 1970. On July 6, 1970 Leo Burke and his brother The Beast defeated Eric Pomeroy and Phil Robley for the Eastern Sports Association International Tag Team Titles. Leo and Beast lost the titles to Pomeroy and Fred Sweetan on August 3, 1970. Leo then appears to have spent some time in Calgary as he lost to Abdullah the Butcher on October 30, 1970 prior to beginning to tour the Carolinas.

In the Mid-Atlantic territory of the Carolinas Leo wrestled as Bobby Kay, which can be confusing as his brother Romeo Cormier wrestled elsewhere under that name. In the Carolinas Leo met Johnny Weaver, a man with whom he would both team with and work against throughout the years in the Carolinas, the Maritimes and Toronto. In the Carolinas Leo had matches with Art Nelson and Kurt Stroheim as well as a series of matches teaming with George Becker and Johnny Weaver against Bronco Lubich, Art Nelson and George Harris. In the winter and spring of 1971 Leo teamed with Weaver against the Masked Marvels and with Weaver and George Becker in a series of matches against Rip Hawk, Swede Hanson and Gary Hart. This series included a Lumberjack match and a Texas Death match.

Leo Burke won his first singles title in the Maritimes during the summer season of 1971. He was listed as North American Heavyweight Champion on either June 5 or June 22 of 1971 in Berwick, Nova Scotia. The previous champion was Eric Pomeroy but at times the Maritime promotions would name a new champion at the end of the season so it is not clear if Leo actually won the title from Pomeroy or was just named as champion. Leo lost the North American title to Pat O’Connor on August 24, 1971 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. O’Connor lost the title to Gino Brito who then lost the title to Burke on September 27, 1971 in Halifax. Burke appears to have ended the season as champion in October 1971.

Leo spent the fall of 1971 touring the Carolinas again as Bobby Kay, with one result showing him teaming with Argentina Apollo and Johnny Weaver against the Missouri Mauler, Brute Bernard and Art Nelson. The match appears to have been the main event of a sell-out crowd of 9,000 in Greensborough, North Carolina and the referee is listed as Joe Louis.

Some results show Leo working the Mid-Atlantic territory through the spring of 1972, with matches against Gene and Ole Anderson in April as well as matches against Art Nelson and Nelson Royal. Leo also teamed on numerous occasions with Argentina Apollo and Johnny Weaver against The Missouri Mauler, Brute Bernard and Horner O’Dell.

Leo returned to the Maritimes for the summer of 1972 and worked at times with both Mike Dubois, who would later work as Alexis Smirnoff, and Killer Karl Krupp. Krupp was North American Champion in the territory that summer and may have beaten Leo in June 1972, although this is not certain. Leo did work a number of matches with Krupp throughout the summer. Leo and his brother Romeo (who wrestled as Bobby Kay in the Maritimes) won the territory’s tag team titles on August 8, 1972 when they defeated Mike Dubois and Fred Sweetan in Halifax.

Leo returned to Mid-Atlantic for the fall of 1972 and winter of 1973. He had matches with Tinker Todd, Charlie Fulton, and Pancho Valdez. In the summer of 1973, J.J. Dillon came to the Maritimes for the first time to work as Nature Boy Dillon. Leo had become friendly with Dillon while working in the Carolinas during the winter months and invited him to come and work in the Maritimes. Dillon has said that while the typical summer program in the Maritimes involved booking a monster heel to work against Leo and his brothers, Dillon presented the idea of coming in a cocky and cowardly heel. Dillon won the North American title from The Beast on May 28, 1973 and worked there throughout the summer. Dillon has said that this was his first big break working on top and that he enjoyed working against Leo. During the summer of 1973, Leo was also awarded the Taped-Fist title in the Maritimes and was the first wrestler to hold it. Through that summer he worked taped-fist matches, handkerchief matches and fence matches against Dillon.

In the fall of 1973 Leo travelled to the Amarillo territory to work for the Funks. On January 2, 1974 Leo teamed with his brother The Beast to defeat Don Fargo and Hank James for the Western States Tag Team Titles. The brothers defeated Stan Hansen and Nick Nozak on January 23 and defeated Stan Hansen and Dick Murdoch on January 24. They lost to Terry Funk and Dick Murdoch by disqualification on January 31. The brothers held the titles for two months before losing them to Dory Funk Jr and Ricky Romero on February 25, 1974. Dory Funk Jr has been quoted as saying “Leo was one of the toughest wrestlers I had ever gone up against.” Terry Funk reportedly referred to Leo as “One of the toughest.” Leo and The Beast reportedly worked as heels in the territory, with Leo being portrayed as a mat technician as well. Results from this run also list Leo as working in tag team matches against wrestlers such as Terry Funk, Dick Murdoch, Stan Hansen and El Santo.

Leo spent March and April of 1974 in Calgary working with wrestlers such as Killer Karl Krupp and Archie Gouldie prior to returning to the Maritimes for the summer. The season started with Harley Race as North American champion. Leo worked matches against Race, including a taped fist match, and won the North American title from him in May of 1974. Leo subsequently lost the title to Motoshi Okuma who was working the territory as the Great Kuma. Leo had two reigns as International Tag Team Champion that summer, once with Bobby Kay and once with The Beast. Leo also lost the Taped Fist championship in August of 1974 to Geeto Mongol, who was likely Newton Tatrie of the famous Mongols tag team as he was originally from Spring Hill, Nova Scotia. Leo quickly won the title back a few days later. Bolo Mongol is also listed as working the territory that summer, including matches against Leo, and this would likely be the later Bill Eadie, Tatrie’s then-partner in the Mongols as opposed to his earlier partner Nikolai Volkoff.

Leo`s brother Terry apparently returned to the Central States territory in the fall of 1974 with Leo returning as Tommy Martin shortly thereafter. The brothers apparently returned as faces but eventually turned heel when the Oates brothers started in the territory. The brothers also defeated The Interns on February 22 and Leo had wrestled Bobby Jaggers on February 19. Leo and Terry worked in the territory through the spring of 1975. There are records indicating that Leo wrestled in the NWF in Ohio the fall of 1974 with matches in Akron against Baron Von Krupp and Kurt Von Hess and a bloody match against Abdullah The Butcher in December. Leo also wrestled in Detroit as Leo Burke between November 1974 and January 1975. However, it can be said that upon the commencement of the 1975 summer wrestling season in the Maritimes, Leo’s career seemed to move to another level.

Sources:
1) Vance Nevada’s Leo Burke match history at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=246
2) Title history at http://www.wrestling-titles.com/
3) Biographical history at http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBios/burke_leo.html
4) Maritime show posters at http://jerome-macdonald.magix.net/, and http://mapleleafwrestling.4t.com/previousupdates/maritimes.html
5) Mid-Atlantic results at http://www.thehistoryofwwe.com/greensboro70s.htm, http://www.midatlanticgateway.com/resourcecenter/results/pages/results_weaver.htm, http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=10118&page=15, http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?a=mss&t=65336&f=42&page=0&code=00, and http://oleanderson.com/results.htm
6) J.J. Dillon interview at http://kayfabe-wrestling.com/jj_dillon.html
7) General information on Maritime wrestling at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?km_km_ict=f9b39869f70216be58a32f9c5104910b&forumid=5
8) Amarillo results at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=40067
9) St. Louis and Central States results at http://sportsandwrestling.mywowbb.com/forum2/14864.html, and http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?a=prnt&code=01&f=5&t=246&page=2&post=665208
10) Akron, OH results at https://carnagechronicles.wordpress.com/tag/barbarian/, and http://carnagechronicles.wordpress.com/tag/paul-stratoti/

The Leo Burke Chronicles 1966-1969

2011-06-11T13:34:00.000-07:00

1966-1969
Leo Burke was born Leonce Cormier on June 29, 1948 in Dorchester, New Brunswick. He was one of thirteen children in his family. During his childhood, Leo and his family lived on a farm. Throughout their lives the Cormier brothers have been heavily involved not only with professional wrestling but also with horses and harness racing. His older brothers Rudy Cormier (who wrestled as Rudy Kay) and Yvon Cormier (The Beast) had already broken into the business when they trained Leo to wrestle prior to his 1966 debut. His brothers had travelled throughout the U.S. working since breaking into the business.

Leo claimed in an interview with Slam Wrestling that he had been a major wrestling fan since he was six years old. After being trained by his brothers to wrestle he took the professional name of Leo Burke. Leo borrowed the last name Burke from his friend, boxer Jackie Burke, in order to have his own identity separate from his brothers. Of course, since this is professional wrestling, the future Maritime legend had to spend part of his early career wrestling as “The Batman” for Stu Hart’s Calgary Stampede wrestling.

Between 1966 and 1967 he worked in Calgary in matches against his brother The Beast as well as Jerry Graham, Stan Stasiak, Dave Ruhl, and Kurt and Karl Von Steiger. In 1968 he worked in Vancouver for promoter Sandor Kovacs against wrestlers such as Jerry Graham, Chris Tolos, George Cannon and Abdullah The Butcher. On August 7 he teamed with Rocky Johnson and Don Leo Jonathan to beat George Cannon, Baby Boy Shields and Red McNulty (Ivan Koloff). In 1968 he worked a number of matches in Stampede against Ox Baker, Waldo Von Erich and Archie Gouldie.

Leo appears to have first wrestled in the Central States territory as Tommy Martin in 1968. Martin went to a draw against Pat O’Connor on October 3, 1968 so it would seem like he had a good position on the cards. On October 11, 1968 Martin defeated Bob Brown for the Central States Heavyweight Title. On October 31, 1968 he and his brother Terry Martin beat Bob Brown and Bob Geigel for the Central States Tag Team Titles and subsequently lost the tag titles on November 7 to Dusty Rhodes and Dick Murdoch. Martin lost the Central States Title to Dusty Rhodes on December 13, 1968 in what is cited as the first major singles championship for Rhodes.

Leo then spent the winter working for Stu Hart in Calgary prior to touring the Maritimes in the summer of 1969. At the age of 21, he seemed to be featured more prominently on the Maritime cards, appearing on show posters for cards promoted by Al Zinck. During this tour Leo was able to work with Ox Baker, The Spoiler, Rocky Johnson, The Stomper and Al Costello and Don Kent.

It would appear that this is the point in time when Leo started to work the summer months in the Maritimes and touring elsewhere in between as the Maritimes only ran a season from Spring until Autumn. Between July and September of 1969 Leo worked in Montreal. In July and August he had singles matches against Ben Sharkey and Don Serrao. In September Leo had separate tag team matches against The Mongols, with Luigi Marcera and Tony Ballairgeon as Leo’s partners. Leo also had a singles match against Ivan Koloff on September 8 at the Paul Sauve Arena. In November 1969 Leo returned to Central States as Tommy Martin and was able to work with wrestlers such as Terry Funk, Lou Thesz, Ernie Ladd, Bob Geigel, Waldo Von Erich, Blackjack Lanza, Bobby Heenan, Lars Anderson and Angelo Poffo.

Sources:
1) Vance Nevada’s Leo Burke match history at http://www.infinitecore.ca/superstar/index.php?threadid=246
2) Title history at http://www.wrestling-titles.com/
3) Biographical history at http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBios/burke_leo.html
4) Maritime show posters at http://jerome-macdonald.magix.net/
5) Biographical history at http://yvon-cormier.co.tv/
6) Montreal records at http://sportsandwrestling.mywowbb.com/forum2/577-5.html

Leo Burke and Big Stephen Petitps Comps

2011-06-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

Leo Burke Compilation Match-List

Disc 1

1977 Calgary Stampede Wrestling
Leo Burke and Keith Hart vs Cuban Assassins

1977 New Zealand
Leo Burke vs Les Thornton
Leo Burke vs Brute Miller

1979 IWE Japan as The Atomic
The Atomic and Alexis Smirnoff vs Mighty Inoue and Higomi Hamaguchi
The Atomic and Alexis Smirnoff vs Rusher Kimura and Great Kusatsu
The Atomic vs Rusher Kimura

1979 Calgary Stampede Wrestling
12/8/1979 Leo Burke and Hubert Gallant vs Tom Stanton and Oshira

1980 Calgary Stampede Wrestling
Leo Burke and Hubert Gallant vs Bret Hart and Dynamite Kid
Leo Burke vs Bret Hart
Leo Burke vs Dan Gagne (Frenchy Martin)- No ending

1981-1982 Stampede

2/?/1981 . Leo Burke vs David Schultz
2/19/82 Leo Burke and David Schultz vs Duke Meyers and Kerry Brown

Disc 2

1982 Calgary Stampede Wrestling
Leo Burke Interview
Leo Burke vs Duke Myers
12/1982 Leo Burke vs |Goldie Rogers
1/1983 Leo Burke vs Mike Miler

1983 Calgary Stampede Wrestling
Leo Burke vs Davey Boy Smith
Leo Burke vs Nick Bockwinkle (AWA Title) (Ending)

1983-1984 Mid-Atlantic Maple Leaf
Leo Burke vs. Jobber
Leo Burke and Don Kernodle vs Johnny Weaver and Mike Rotundo
Leo Burke and Don Kernodle vs Joe Marcus and Nick Decarlo
Leo Burke vs Jobber
Leo Burke vs Tito Santana
Leo Burke vs Bobby Bass
Leo Burke vs Nick Decarlo
Leo Burke vs Joe Marcus

Disc 3

1984 Mid-Atlantic Maple Leaf
Leo Burke and Don Kernodle vs Bob and Joe Marcus
Leo Burke vs Vinnie Valentino
Johnny Weaver vs Swede Hanson (Leo and Kay brothers interfere)
Leo Burke vs Buddy (Bret) Hart (very short clip)
Leo Burke heel promo
Leo Burke & Terry Kay vs Dale Moore & Don Koloff

1984 AWA Winnipeg
Leo Burke vs Buck Zumhofe

1984 Southwest (Texas)
Leo Burke vs Juan Reynosa

1984 UWF Japan
Leo Burke and Rocky Dellasaras vs Yoshiaki Fujiwara and Nobuhiko Takada

1985 Lutte International
Leo Burke vs Kendo Nagasaki
Leo Burke vs Italian Stallion Tony
Battle Royal with Leo Burke

Disc 4

1985 Lutte International
Leo Burke/Richard Charland angle
Leo Burke vs Dino Bravo

1986 NWA Jim Crockett Promotions
3/22/1986 Leo Burke vs Don Graves
4/19/1986 Leo Burke & Thunderfoot & Black Bart vs Wahoo McDaniel & Manny Fernandez & Hector Guerrero
5/24/1986 NWA Pro Leo Burke, Vernon Deaton and Thunderfoot vs Jimmy Valiant, Hector Guerrero and Manny Fernandez
5/31/1986 Leo Burke vs Ron Garvin including angle with Tully Blanchard

1986 ATLANTIC GRAND PRIX WRESTLING
Leo Burke vs The Spoiler
Leo Burke Vs. Nikita Kalimakoff
Interview with Leo Burke & Cuban Assassin
Leo Burke & Cuban Assassin Vs. Spoiler & Nikita Kalimakoff (International Tag Team Title Match)

Disc 5

1986 ATLANTIC GRAND PRIX WRESTLING
Leo Burke Vs. Frenchy Martin (International Title Match)
Leo Burke and Cuban Assassin vs. Butcher Vachon and Nature Boy Sweetan
Leo Burke vs. Chuck Simms
North American Tag Team Titles: Leo Burke and Cuban Assassin vs. Nikita Kalmikeff and The Spoiler

1987 ATLANTIC GRAND PRIX WRESTLING
Leo Burke and Cuban Assassin v. Butcher Vachon and Masked Thunderbolt
Leo Burke & Cuban Assassin vs Nature Boy Sweetan & Buthcer Vachon
Nature Boy Sweetan vs Leo Burke

Disc 6

January-February 1988 Calgary Stampede Wrestling
1/29 Leo Burke vs Goldie Rogers
2/5 Leo Burke vs Hashif Khan (Shinya Hashimoto)
2/12 Leo Burke vs Makhan Singh
2/19 Leo Burke vs Makhan Singh

1988 All Japan Pro Wrestling
6/1988 Leo Burke and Terry Gordy vs Yoshiaki Yatsu and Jumbo Tsuruta
7/1988 Leo Burke and Stan Hansen vs Tiger Mask and Isao Takagi

1988 ATLANTIC GRAND PRIX WRESTLING
Leo Burke vs. Bulldog Bob Brown

October 1988 Calgary Stampede Wrestling
10/7 Leo Burke vs Goldie Rogers
10/14 Leo Burke vs Cuban Assassin

Disc 7

October-December 1988 Calgary Stampede Wrestling
10/21 Leo Burke and Randy Thatcher vs Gama Singh and Akim Singh
11/11 Leo Burke vs Makhan Singh
11/18 Leo Burke vs Vulkam Singh (Gary Albright)
11/25 Leo Burke vs Johnny Smith
12/2 Leo Burke vs Rip Rogers
12/16 Leo Burke vs Steve Blackman
Leo Burke vs Gama Singh

Disc 8

1989 All Japan Pro Wrestling
1/1988 Battle Royal
1/1988 Leo Burke and Mike Miller vs Giant Baba and Rusher Kimura
2/1988 Leo Burke and Dan Spivey vs Genichiro Tenryu and Toshiaki Kawada

1989 ATLANTIC GRAND PRIX WRESTLING
Leo Burke and Big Stephen Pettipas vs. Ron Starr and Pat Brady
Leo Burke vs Pat Brady
Leo Burke vs. The Mongolian

1990 WWC PUERTO RICO
Leo Burke vs The Super Medic
Leo Burke vs Ron Starr
Leo Burke vs Miguel Perez Jr.

Disc 9

1989-1990 WWC PUERTO RICO
Leo Burke vs Armalito Selgada
Leo Burke vs Miguel Perez Jr.
Leo Burke vs The Red Demon
Leo Burke vs La Zombra
12/17/1989 Universal Title: Leo Burke vs Carlos Colon
2/9/1990 Universal Title: Leo Burke vs TNT
Leo Burke and Chicky Starr vs Miguel Perez Jr and Hurricane Castillo Jr
Universal Title: Leo Burke vs TNT
Leo Burke and Manny Fernandez vs Carlos Colon and Invader #1
Leo Burke vs Miguel Perez Jr.
Leo Burke and Chicky Starr vs Tito Carreon and Herbert Gonzalez
Leo Burke and Chicky Starr vs The Invaders

Disc 10

1990 WWC PUERTO RICO
Leo Burke and Chicky Starr vs Miguel Perez Jr and Hurricane Castillo Jr
Leo Burke and Chicky Starr vs The Invaders
Leo Burke and Chicky Starr vs Tito Carreon and Herbert Gonzalez
Leo Burke vs Super Medico
Leo Burke Training Video
Leo Burke v Invader 1
Leo Burke-Invader 1 Contract signing
Leo Burke vs Invader III
Leo Burke vs Hector Gonzales
Leo Burke v Invader 1 (Boxing, Invader 1 accompanied by Robocop and Hector “Macho” Camacho)
Leo Burke v Invader 1

Disc 11

1990 ATLANTIC GRAND PRIX WRESTLING
Continental Tag Titles: Leo Burke and Bobby Kay vs Diamond Timothy Flowers and Bobby Bass
Leo Burke and Bobby Kay vs Bulldog Bob Brown and Chi Chi Cruz
Leo Burke and The Beast vs Chi Chi Cruz and Diamond Timothy Flowers
Leo Burke vs. Diamond Timothy Flowers

Extra:
The Beast and Phil Lafleur (Dan Kroffat) vs Gerry Morrow and Cuban Assassin (North American Tag Titles)
The Beast vs Harley Race with Frenchie Martin

Disc 12 Big Stephen Petitpas

Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling

1984
Big Stephen Petitpas vs Lenny Montana (Moondog Ed Moretti (poor footage)

1985
Big Stephen Petipas and Ronnie Rich vs The Spoiler and Rocky Delasara
Big Stephen Petitpas and Great Malumba vs Rocky Delasara and Tiger Williams

Lutte International (Montreal) 1985-1986
Big Stephen Petitpas as Sheik Ali

Sheik Ali & Jimmy Garvin vs Dino Bravo & Rick Martel
Sheik Ali vs Rick Martel
Sheik Ali vs Dino Bravo
Sheik Ali & Man Mountain Moore vs Maurice Vachon & Joe Leduc

Disc 13 Big Stephen Petitpas

Lutte International (Montreal) 1985-1986
Big Stephen Petitpas as Sheik Ali

Sheik Ali and Bob Serrai vs.Rick Martel and Prince Alofa (aka Fatu or Rikishi)
Sheik Ali vs. Prince Alofa
Sheik Ali vs Abdullah The Butcher
Sheik Ali vs Abdullah The Butcher (Re-match)

All Japan Pro Wrestling 1988
Big Stephen Petitpas as A. Sheik

A. Sheik and Mitch Snow vs Great Kabuki and Hiroshi Wajima
A. Sheik and Terry Gordy vs Jumbo Tsuruta and Yoshiaki Yatsu

Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling 1990

Big Stephen Pettipas vs. Chi Chi Cruz
Big Stephen Pettipas vs International Champion Rip Rogers
Big Stephen Pettipas and Buddy Lane vs. Chi Chi Cruise and the Alaskan Bear

Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling Compilation

2010-09-05T20:32:00.000-07:00

Disc 1)
Grand Prix 1984 Part 1
Chris Pepper & Buddy Lane Vs. Sweet Daddy Siki & Cuban Assassin
Steve Casey Vs. UFO
Big Stephen Petitaps Vs. Lenny Montana (Moondog Ed Moretti)
Highlights of Ric Flair Vs. Jumbo Tsuruta (Japanese Language, I believe this was aired to build up Ric Flair's tour of the Maritimes defending against Pettipas)
Mike Blood & Danny War Eagle Vs. Bulldog Bob Brown & Mr. Pogo

Grand Prix 1984 Part 2
Killer Karl Krupp vs. TG Stone
Ronnie Rich and Ron Star vs. Sweet Daddy Siki and Len Montana

Disc 2)
Grand Prix 1985
Stephen Pettipas and Great Malumba vs. Rocky Delasara and Tiger Williams
Super Destroyer (I believe this is ET Stanton) with No Class Bobby Bass vs. Willy Tremblay
Sweet Daddy Siki with Len Montana vs. Ronnie Rich

Two Matches from Lutte International in Montreal from around 1986:
Abdullah The Butcher vs. Sheik Ali (Big Stephen Pettipas)
Re-match with Abdullah The Butcher vs. Sheik Ali (Big Stephen Pettipas)

Disc 3)
Grand Prix 1986 Part 1
The Cuban Assasin vs Bobby Crawford
Great Malumba & Gerry Etifier (Gerry Morrow) vs Rocky Delesara & Paul Peller
Leo Burke vs The Spoiler
Frenchie Martin vs Buddy Lane
Cousin Mike (Mike Shaw) & Sunny War Cloud vs Nikita Kalimekoff & Chuck Simms

Disc 4)
Grand Prix 1986 PART 2
Cuban Assassin Vs. Lou Garvin
Interview with Bobby Bass, Spoiler (Karl Moffatt) & Nikita Kalimakoff
Nikita Kalimakoff Vs. Ron Hutchinson
Sunni War Cloud Vs. Bob Crawford
Buddy Lane Vs. The Spoiler (Karl Moffatt)
Interview with Bobby Bass, Spoiler & Nikita Kalimakoff
Leo Burke Vs. Nikita Kalimakoff
Interview with Leo Burke & Cuban Assassin
Frenchy Martin Vs. Lou Garvin
Interview with Frenchy Martin & Bobby Bass
Ron Hutchinson Vs. Bobby Bass

Disc 5)
Grand Prix 1986 PART 3
Buddy Lane & Lou Garvin Vs. Bobby Bass & Bob Crawford
Sunni War Cloud Vs. Paul Peller
Interview with Bobby Bass, Spoiler & Nikita Kalimakoff
Ron Hutchinson Vs. Frenchy Martin
Interview with Frenchy Martin & Bobby Bass
Leo Burke & Cuban Assassin Vs. Spoiler & Nikita Kalimakoff (International Tag Team Title Match)
Interview with Cousin Mike , Sunni War Cloud, Leo Burke & Cuban Assassin
Man Mountain Moore Vs. Paul Gray (International Wrestling Quebec)
Cousin Mike Vs. Hercules Simms
Buddy Lane & Ron Hutchinson Vs. Spoiler & Nikita Kalimakoff
Gerard Ettifier (Gerry Morrow) Vs. Hurcules Simms
Interview with Gerard Ettifier, Leo Burke & Cuban Assassin
Leo Burke Vs. Frenchy Martin (International Title Match)
Interview with Frenchy Martin, Spoiler & Nikita Kalimakoff
Rick Patterson Vs. Iranian Sheik (Angel of Death)
Interview with Bobby Bass & Iranian Sheik
Sunni War Cloud Vs. Bobby Bass
Gerard Ettifier Vs. Hercules Simms
Bobby Bass & Iranian Sheik runs the upcoming tour.
Great Malumba Vs. Bob Crawford
Interview with Great Malumba, Gerard Ettifier, Leo Burke & Cuban Assassin
Cousin Mike Vs. Iranian Sheik (Angel of Death Dave Sheldon)

Disc 6)
Grand Prix 1986 PART 4
Killer Karl Krupp vs. Great Malumba
Bob Crawford vs. Michel Rougeau
Yvan the Terrible vs. Sunny War Cloud
Ron Starr vs. Hercules
Sheik vs. Hercules Ayala Cortez
Leo Burke and Cuban Assassin vs. Butcher Vachon and Nature Boy Sweetan
Gerry Etifier and Great Malumba vs. Rocky Delasara and Bob Crawford
Leo Burke vs. Chuck Simms
International Champion Frenchie Martin vs. Ron Hutchinson
Bobby Bass vs. Sunny War Cloud
Cuban Assassin and Mike Shaw vs. The Spoiler and Nikita Kalmikeff

Disc 7)
Grand Prix 1986 PART 5
Cousin Mike vs. Rick Patterson
Killer Karl Krupp vs. Ron Hutchinson
Interview with Leo Burke, Cuban Assassin and Hercules Ayala Cortez
Hercules Ayala Cortez vs. Rocky Delasara
Interview with Killer Karl Krupp
North American Tag Team Titles: Leo Burke and Cuban Assassin vs. Nikita Kalmikeff and The Spoiler
Interview with Bobby Bass, The Iranian Sheik and Frenchie Martin
Sheik vs. Buddy Lane

Disc 8)
Grand Prix 1987 PART 1
Paul Peller & Gordy Mills vs Buddy Lane & Sunny War Cloud
Bulldog Bob Brown vs Bobby Crawford
Rock & Roll Rebel Express vs Yvan The Terrible & Dr Zargarvo
Rick Patterson vs The Spoiler (Karl Moffatt)
Ron Starr vs. Gerry Morrow (match footage from Calgary Stampede Wrestling)

Disc 9)
Grand Prix 1987 PART 2
Bobby Hart (Biff Wellington) vs. Paul Peller.
Rick Valentine vs. Buddy Lane.
Ron Starr vs. Sunny War Cloud.
Bobby Bass vs. Rick Patterson.
The Rock & Roll Rebel Express vs. Ivan The Terrible & Nature Boy Sweetan.
The Great Malumba vs. Bulldog Bob Brown. Killer Karl Krupp causes DQ
Rasputin vs. Sunny War Cloud.
Bob Brown & Rick Valentine vs. Hercules (Steve Blackman) & Sunny War Cloud.
Michel Rougeau vs. The Masked Thunderbolt.
Butcher Vachon vs. Bob Crawford.
Bobby Bass vs. Rick Patterson.
Frenchy Martin vs. Sunny War Cloud.
Kid Dynamite vs. Paul Peller.
Bob Brown & Rick Valentine vs. The Rock N Roll Rebel Ecpress of Kid Dynamite and Dino Ventura

Disc 10)
Grand Prix 1987 PART 3
Leo Burke and Cuban Assassin v. Butcher Vachon and Masked Thunderbolt
The Beast vs. Nature Boy Sweetan
Rick Valentine vs. Buddy Lane
Frenchie Martin vs. Sunny War Cloud
Paul Peller vs. Kid Dynamite

Disc 11)
Grand Prix 1987 PART 4
Bob Crawford vs. Michel Rougeau
Sunny War Cloud vs. Yvan The Terrible
Interview with Leo Burke, The Beast, Cuban Assassin
Ron Starr with Peaches vs. Hercules (Steve Blackman)
Interview with Ron Starr
Sheik vs. Hercules Ayala Cortez

Disc 12)
Grand Prix 1987 PART 5
Nature Boy Sweetan (Vicious Verne Siebert) & Paul Peller vs Rock n Roll Rebel Express
Interview: R & R, Cuban Assassin & Bobby Hart
Nature Boy Sweetan & Butcher Vachon vs Rock n Roll Rebel Express
Hercules vs Ivan the Terrible
Ron Starr vs Bobby Hart (Biff Wellington)
Interview: Ron Starr & Peaches
Nature Boy Sweetan vs Cuban Assassin
Nature Boy Sweetan & Butcher Vachon vs Rock n Roll Rebel Express
Hercules Ayala vs Iranian Sheik (Angel of Death)
Nature Boy Sweetan & Buthcer Vachon vs Leo Burke & Cuban Assassin
Interview: Ron Starr, Peaches and midget Sky Low Low
Nature Boy Sweetan & Ivan the Terrible vs Rock n Roll Rebel Express
Nature Boy Sweetan & Ivan the Terrible vs Rock n Roll Rebel Express
Nature Boy Sweetan vs Leo Burke
Ron Starr vs Buddy Lane

Disc 13)
Grand Prix 1988
Leo Burke vs. Bulldog Bob Brown
With an appearance from Masahiro `Tòkyo`Chono

Grand Prix Wrestlers in Stampede:
Bret Hart vs. Leo Burke (1980)
Owen Hart vs. Makhan Singh (Mike Shaw) (1987)
Owen Hart vs. Gerry Morrow (1987?)
Bruce Hart and Brian Pillman vs. Rip Rogers and Kerry Brown (1988)
Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid vs. Cuban Assassin and Gerry Morrow (1988)

Disc 14)
Grand Prix 1989 Part 1
Leo Burke and Big Stephen Pettipas vs. Ron Starr and Pat Brady
Buddy Lane vs. The Spoiler (Don Jardine) with Frenchie Martin
North American Tag Titles: Cuban Assassin and Gerry Morrow vs. Phil Lafleur (Dan Kroffat/Phil Lafon) and The Beast
Frenchie Martin vs. Wayne Gillis (Buddy Wayne)
Pat Brady vs. Leo Burke
Cuban Assassin vs. Paul Peller
Eddie Watts vs. The Beast
Dynamite Kid vs. Gerry Morrow
International Championship: Steve Casey vs. Ron Starr
Eddie Watts vs. Paul Peller
Big Stephen Pettipas vs. Cuban Assassin
Steve Casey vs. Pat Brady
Gerry Morrow vs. The Beast

Disc 15)
Grand Prix 1989 Part 2
International Championship: Dynamite Kid vs. Bulldog Bob Brown (Leo Burke as referee)
N.A. Tag Titles: Wayne Gillis and Buddy Lane vs. Cuban Assassin and Gerry Morrow
Pat Brady vs. Phil Lafleur
Leo Burke vs. The Mongolian
Ron Starr vs. Paul Peller
Harley Race with Frenchie Martin vs. The Beast

Disc 16)
Grand Prix 1990 Part 1
The Alaskan Bear vs. Mike Lozanski
Butcher Vachon vs. Robert Messerall
Rip Rogers vs. Buddy Lane
Stephen Pettipas vs. Chi Chi Cruz
Interview with Leo Burke, Paul Peller and Bobby Kay
Continental Tag Titles: Diamond Timothy Flowers and Bobby Bass vs. Leo Burke and Bobby Kay

Disc 17)
Grand Prix 1990 Part 2
Mike Lozanski vs. Diamond Timothy Flowers
Robert Messerall vs. Butcher Vachon
Interview with Bulldog Bob Brown
International Champion Rip Rogers vs. Rick Baker
Interview with Rip Rogers
Bulldog Bob Brown and Chi Chi Cruz vs. Leo Burke and Bobby Kay
Interview with Big Stephen Pettipas and The Maritime Giant (Kurrgan)
Mike Lozanski vs. Butcher Vachon
Bobby Bass and Bulldog Bob Brown vs. Paul Peller and Robert Messerall
Interview with Bulldog Bob Brown and Penelope Paradise
Alexander The Great vs. Bobby Kay
Interview with Leo Burke, Bobby Kay, The Maritime Giant and a woman
Chi Chi Cruz and Diamond Timothy Flowers vs. Leo Burke and The Beast
Interview with Bobby Bass and Rip Rogers
International Champion Rip Rogers vs. Big Stephen Pettipas

Disc 18)
Grand Prix 1990 Part 3
Bobby Bass and International Champion Rip Rogers vs. Mike Lozanski and Robert Messerall
Rick Baker vs. Bulldog Bob Brown
Leo Burke vs. Diamond Timothy Flowers
Big Stephen Pettipas and Buddy Lane vs. Chi Chi Cruise and the Alaskan Bear
Bobby Kay vs. Butcher Vachon

Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling- 1990

2010-07-31T09:52:00.001-07:00

Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling- 1990
Gair Maxwell and Bulldog Bob Brown on commentary, this show was taped outside at the exhibition in Riverside Albert, New Brunswick

1) Bobby Bass and International Champion Rip Rogers vs. Mike Lozanski and Robert Messerall
Lozanski came out of Calgary and would go on to wrestle in Mexico, Japan and briefly in ECW. He’s a young rookie here who looks great in the ring. I don’t know anything about Messerall, which I don’t know if I’m spelling right, but he’s announced from Moncton so I assume he was a trainee of AGPW. He takes the heat for most of the match, getting worked over by Bass and Rogers. Bass is moving good at this point and Rogers is just a superstar. He eventually takes the match after a DDT. Longer match then I expected but fun and there was a great promo afterwards where they are challenging tag team champions Leo Burke and Bobby Kay.

2) Rick Baker vs. Bulldog Bob Brown
I know nothing about Rick Baker. Rip Rogers was on commentary for this match, talking about his buddy the Bulldog who did a quick squash in this match. Bulldog was way up in years at this point but I remember him bringing a real presence to AGPW in its last couple years of its original run. He was all offense and took no bumps here and that’s ok. He finishes it off with a piledriver and a couple legdrops.

3) Leo Burke vs. Diamond Timothy Flowers
This match has Bobby Bass on commentary, who absolutely loses his mind when told that he and Flowers have to wait in line for a shot at the tag titles held by Burke and Bobby Kay. In a time capsule moment, they reference how Mike Tyson has to wait for a shot at Buster Douglas who will be taking on Holyfield first.
Flowers is much different from how I remember him. He was actually about 30 here and I would have thought he’d be older. They reference that before he “crossed over to the dark side” that he wrestled on the US Olympic team at the 1976 Olympic Games. A profile of him online says he was an alternate for the games. He’s pretty talented at this point, working smoothly with Burke and taking some of the better bumps I’ve seen in these shows. This was a fun match between two name guys with your traditional bad-guy beatdown followed by big Leo winning after rolling Flowers up with a schoolboy after Bass’s interference backfired.

4) Stephen Pettipas and Buddy Lane vs. Chi Chi Cruise and the Alaskan Bear with Bulldog back on commentary. I realized during this match that Bulldog sounds like Winnie the Pooh.
I remember Chi Chi from the Grand Prix comeback in the late 90’s and I saw him have a fantastic match in North Sydney with Joe E. Legend. He was a major babyface then but in 1990 he was a young heel associated with Bulldog. I checked out an article on him at http://www.canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingBios/bolton_bobby.html and it looks like he did a lot of travelling in Europe and in the southern U.S. I think he could have done really well and it’s a shame he didn’t get the chance early to tour Japan, Mexico and Europe or he could have been up there with the other great names of his generation to come out of Canada. He bumps a lot, works hard and most importantly has awesome hair. He and Buddy Lane do the majority of the work in this match, mixing it up with the two veterans in what could be part of the formula that gave the Maritimes the reputation as one of the top places to learn. Pettipas goes wild at the end of the match, finishing off the Alaskan Bear with a Fisherman Suplex, a move made popular at that time by “Mr. Perfect” Curt Hennig in WWF. There was a confrontation between Bulldog and Pettipas after the match, with Bulldog taunting Stephen, leading to a slap in the face for Bobby and an unaccepted challenge to take into the ring.

5) Bobby Kay vs. Butcher Vachon
My memories of Bobby Kay (brother to Leo Burke and one of the famous four Cormier brothers with Rudy Kay and The Beast) so this should be fun. This is not the famous Butcher Vachon, just the Maritime version, kind of like in the mid 90’s when people would get hyped for bands like “Road Apples” coming to town doing cover tunes of The Tragically Hip. Anyways, Bobby Kay is fun in the role of the aging veteran here and it’s like watching a comeback of one of the Harts in Calgary or one the Armstrongs in Alabama. Nothing wrong with this match, with the two of them going through their spots and then picking up the pace toward the end, with Bulldog escalating over the tag title situation on commentary until he got up and rang the bell, which of course always ends the match when done by the timekeeper but Bulldog did it on his own. Apparently this referee had no mind of his own since he declares the match a draw. Being bad guys, Timothy Flowers and Bulldog adamantly defend these actions, much like George W. Bush when no w.m.d.’s were found in Iraq.

Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling: Somewhere Around June-July 1986

2010-07-31T06:07:00.000-07:00

Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling: Somewhere Around June-July 1986

1) Cuban Assassin vs. Bobby Crawford
This was a lot of Crawford working around the Cuban and doing armbars. A lot of armbars. Which is fine, really. The commentator noted that the Cuban Assassin had not as of yet been able to solve the riddle that is Bobby Crawford. Which apparently is a riddle that involved a lot of armbars. The match climaxed at the end when the Cuban put Crawford away with “a reverse brainbuster of sorts” which I guess is what you’d call the DDT he did a year before anyone in the Maritimes had seen Jake Roberts do it on WWF television.

2) Rocky Delasara and Stompin’ Paul Peller vs. Gerry Efifier (Gerry Morrow) and The Great Malumba
Gerry is probably the smoothest worker I’ve seen on either show so far. No wonder Lance Storm raves about him. Nothing seemed like it was just killing time. Malumba had more time in this match and was ok.

3) Leo Burke vs. The Spoiler
I was pretty sure starting out that this was Don Jardine, with the only thing making me think otherwise being what appears to be a red beard. But he’s huge and moves well. They also announce him as being tag champion with Nikita Kalmikov and Jardine’s title histories list that as being him. Fun match. Burke was working hard and these guys worked well together, including a sunset flip out of the corner that was impressive on someone as big as Spoiler. Disqualification ending when The Iranian Sheik (Angel of Death) ran in, speaking of huge guys. And it’s the Cuban to the rescue.

4) International champion Maniac Frenchy Martin vs. Buddy Lane
I can’t fathom Martin being anything other than a heel. He calls himself the “Republic’s Greatest Athlete” with the Republic being Quebec, at the time the heels of Canada. But then they gave us poutine and there was peace and love. Martin dominates the match with dirty heel tactics like choking Lane with tape. He finishes him with a shoulder-breaker, pins him and then drops a leg for fun. He grabs the mic and tells Leo Burke to “stay away from the madman, stay away from the Frenchman”.

5) Chuck Simms and Nikita Kalmikov vs. Sunny War Cloud and Cousin Mike (Shaw)
This match is most falls to curfew. It’s fascinating seeing a team of an American and a supposed Russian (which in pro wrestling means he was from Quebec or Northern Ontario) teaming in the Maritimes. Both are outside super-powers in that area. Sunny War Cloud is constantly doing his Native dance when he’s in the ring, he shows a lot of good energy Young Mike Shaw is fun, it’s a shame he didn’t really get to have a good heel run in the Maritimes a few years later as he’s a big guy who could move. He gets a fall over the heels and then they go back and forth a little more until curfew.

Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling- August 20, 1985

2010-07-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling: August 20, 1985

1) Big Stephen Pettipas and The Great Malumba vs. Rocky Delasaras and Tiger Williams
Holy Crap, Pettipas is great. He’s a really big guy with a solid build and presence and he moves well. He throws good elbows, has good armdrags and does some good bumping and selling too. Wiliams was nothing too special, although the Newfoundland heel is a cool idea. But his work wasn’t that great. And at least at this point, Malumba was almost all gimmick but hey, it was an iconic gimmick for the Maritimes. The heels worked over Pettitpas for most of the match, with Malumba doing a couple stretches plus the hot tag. Pettitpas and Malumba Irish whipped the heels into each other with Pettipas catching Williams off the rebound into a small package. A little long but it was great to watch Pettipas, shortly after he won the International title from Super Destroyer.

2) Super Destroyer with Bobby Bass vs. Willy Tremblay
I’m quite sure this is Karl Moffatt and not Don Jardine. He’s bigger than Bobby Bass but not monstrous and seems built differently. Plus he works a little bit more of a dirty and chickenshit style rather than monster heel. This was a fun little match with Bobby Bass having great presence on the outside, taunting the crowd and poking Tremblay with a kendo stick. Destroyer won with his feet on the ropes.

3) Ron Starr and Bobby Bass vs. Buddy Lane and Rick Patterson
Ron Starr is fantastic here, doing some great mat wrestling and counter wrestling with Buddy Lane that is not dated at all. In fact, Starr and Lane would not look out of place on any show today and Patterson seems like a good young talent. Starr works most of the match, with Bass doing some work and showing some fun stuff such as a splash of the top rope onto his Patterson’s arm and a missed fist-drop in which he sells his fist afterward. Bass and Starr won over the young guys in a good ol’ time of a match.

4) Sweet Daddy Siki with Lenny Montana (Ed Morretti) vs. Ronnie Rich
Rich is in amazing condition. Siki plays up the “Black Gorgeous George” gimmick in taking a while to take his gloves off before the match and having Montana hold a mirror up for him. Siki also holds out his fist in front of the camera with brass knucks on and has Montana take them. Strangely, the knucks don’t get used again. Montana taunts the crowd through the match. Siki is older and slow but fun and Rich seems like he should have been a star, firing up and playing a fantastic babyface. Anyway, Montana interferes and gets Siki disqualified. They double-team Rich. In comes Pettitpas to help Rich! In comes Pettitpas to help Rich! In come Williams and Delasara to help the heels! In come ultra-babyfaces The Cuban Freakin’ Assassin and Man Mountan Mike aka Mike Shaw in shorts, a t-shirt and flip-flops!!!

The babyfaces clear house. Mike cuts a promo talking about the Cuban being one of the toughest wrestlers in the world and suggesting that he ally himself with Mike, Pettipas and Rich. Apparently The Cuban had been playing Switzerland for a while. The Cuban shakes hands with everyone and leaves with Mike. Pettipas cuts a promo saying that he’s been in “battles and battles” with the Cuban Assassin and that Bobby Bass owes him a lot of money. Pettipas steadfastly encourages Bobby Bass to start trainin’. Rich cuts a promo then the Cuban cuts a promo “People say Bobby Bass got no class...last time I and Bobby Bass fly to Cuba by airline...next time I fly Bobby Bass way up in the air with right hand...you never gonna forgot, you know, the power that Cuban Assassin got in his right hand” (shakes his fist in the air). The Cuban suggests that they can fight in a street-fight in the middle of the ring, in the street, in the parking lot or in downtown in any town here in the Maritimes. Bobby Bass and the Cuban Assassin duking it out in downtown North Sydney, Nova Scotia would be great. And man, the Cuban had the greatest hair and beard in history.

So wow, a show with matches all leading up to a climax and interconnected storylines. Good times and I can’t wait to watch more.

Fights For The Ages

2008-10-11T07:32:00.000-07:00

In light of the upcoming Brock Lesnar vs. Randy Couture fight, I am reminded of my childhood.

Twenty-one years ago, I recall the anticipation felt by myself and all my twelve-year-old friends of the upcoming epic, the fight for the ages, the clash of the titans. We were waiting for Hulk Hogan to square off against Andre The Giant.

Andre was my favorite wrestler. Sure, I had hardly seen any Andre matches but there was a mystique to him that was unmatched. After all, he was the guy who had always stood by the fans and had never lost but still had never received a title match. I sympathized with the man and wanted to be second in line to slap Hulk Hogan upside the head. I thanked Roddy Piper for providing Piper's Pit as a forum to set this up.

Hulk Hogan was the unstoppable force to Andre's immovable object. He was the only world champion I had ever known. He was the reason I started to watch wrestling. I was enthralled when he played Thunderlips in Rocky III. I was in awe when he accompanied Ciny Lauper to an awards show, flexed to the crowd and my brother said "He's a real wrestler, you know". I sought him out and realized that I liked Andre better. But Hogan won all his matches right? Andre had never been bodyslammed but if anyone could do it the Hulkster could, right?

Most importantly, it was the first match between them and none of us knew what would happen. We talked about it at our Scouts meetings. I picked Andre. Jeff picked Hogan. And of course we were both right and noone could convince us otherwise.

Of course, there was a lot of myth in this. Andre had done plenty of work as a "bad guy" in Japan which I enjoy much more when I watch it as an adult. Andre had lost plenty of times, including to El Canek in Mexico. He had been bodyslammed by Harley Race, Killer Kowalski, and El Canek (that guy again). And he had faced Hogan in Japan, in Memphis and most importantly on the 1980 Shea Stadium card, a predecessor to Wrestlemania.

But we didn't know these things. And we didn't need to know them. I could have felt betrayed when I learned these things later but I'm glad we didn't know. What mattered was that we believed. And the day after Wrestlemania III the result was the buzz of the playground at school. Hogan won. Hogan bodyslammed Andre. When I got to see the show a couple months later, my family cheered as Hogan bodyslammed Andre, dropped the leg and pinned him. My father simply said "Yup, that's it, he's the best". It didn't even matter that the match kind of sucked, the hype and belief had captured our imaginations and put enough people in the Pontiac Silverdome that Vince McMahon could lie and say it was 93,000.

Fast forward to 2008. Brock Lesnar and Randy Couture are set to meet in the modern fight for the ages. And yes, they've both lost inside the octagon of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Those losses actually and vulnerabilities actually add intrigue and everyone is sure they know who will win.

The third fight between Randy Couture and Chuck Lidell drew me into starting to watch UFC again, much like Hulk Hogan in 1986. Randy is like Andre in this fight with the size difference reversed. He's the old soldier of Mixed Martial Arts, the man who perseveres against all odds. He has fought the greatest mixed martial artists inside the cage and bureaucracy of promoting outside it (whether you think he was right or not, he did fight). He is every thing that an Ultimate Fighter should be: a world class athlete who brought his specialty (wrestling) into MMA, learned other skills and tied it together with the most important thing, heart. He has probably been in UFC a comparable amount to what Andre had been in the World Wrestling Federation (eleven years compared to fourteen years).

And then along came Brock Lesnar. The amateur wrestler turned professional wrestler turned mixed martial artist. The man who was seen as a bland, Bob Backlund-type in pro wrestling but is a colorful personality and promo man in MMA. Not because everyone else is bland in comparison but because there is such an air of legitimacy to this once "fake fighter". There has never been anyone like him. He exploded out of the gates to attack former UFC champion Frank Mir in February at a pace never before seen before getting caught in a kneebar. Then in August he spent three rounds bouncing around former Pride fighter Heath Herring, looking like a tiger playing with its catch before sinking in the killing blow.

Randy has never faced anyone like Brock. Tim Sylvia was bigger but Brock will be cutting to 265 pounds of muscle and strength, like any of the lower weight class champions, just way bigger. Randy's advantage is often wrestling, a hard advantage to have over Brock. And Brock's aptitude for picking up pro wrestling faster than most has transferred to his ability to pick up MMA faster than most.

Brock has never faced anyone like Randy. Randy always figures out a way to beat his opponents. even if he doesn't win, he seems to know how. Randy has as much experience as just about any MMA fighter you'll find, at least any one that is still good. And Brock was just a "fake wrester".

Is Brock too young? Is Randy too old? Is Brock too powerful? Is Randy too experienced? Is Brock too good for Randy? Is Randy too good for Brock?

Everyone thinks they know the answers. And everyone is sure they're right. Me, I think Brock will win. The harcore fan in me thinks that it is the best thing for business long-term, for both MMA and pro wrestling as Brock's exposure could be capitalized on by wrestling promoters (which doesn't mean they will do it). But more important than any such analysis, I just think it would be really cool. Of course, I will still cheer to see Randy win, just like I did when my father said "Yup, that's it, he's the best".

None of us know for sure. And it doesn't really matter what we think ahead of time. What does matter is that we believe.

The Wrestler

2008-09-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

From September 7, 2008:

"The Wrestler" from director Darren Aranofsky and starring Mickey Rourke saw its North American debut at the Toronto International Film Festival tonight. Director Aranovsky was in attendance and spoke to the crowd, bringing the producer Scott Franklin on stage as well as Rourke and Evan Rachel Wood, who plays Rourke's daughter in the film. The film was simply fantastic. It was amazing that twenty years WWE was part of producing a lame wrestling film called "No Holds Barred" and ten years ago WCW was part of producing a lame wrestling film called "Ready To Rumble" but it took until 2008 for a great wrestling film to be made. And it happened through the work of an intellectual director and fantastic method acting by people not previously connected to the business. If the people behind this film weren't previously fans they sure did their homework. As a wrestling fan, I realized how much some scenes such as his deathmatch with Necro Butcher must have seemed, a seeming work of fiction based all too much on reality. A concern I had going into the film was whether the wrestling world presented would try to pretend the wrestling was "real" or if they would try to portray as the "work" that it is. Unlike No Holds Barred and Ready To Rumble which tried to present wrestling as "real", this film took you into the locker room to see wrestlers discussing the layout of their matches with terms like "the heat", "the comeback" and "take it home". And it is this presentation which makes wrestling seem more real than any work of fiction previously has. You are drawn into the psychology of pro wresting and even moreso, the pain experienced is depicted as more real than anything in the epic wars of Hogan vs. Zeus or David Arquette vs. Diamond Dallas Page. Central to the film is the character study. Much like the simple title of "The Wrestler" camouflages the catharsis of the film, the seemingly simple presentation of Randy "The Ram" Robinson as a 1980's leftover continually trying to relive the past belies the insight provided into the human condition. Rourke brings this character alive with elements of Terry Funk, Mick Foley, and Jake Roberts as they all appeared in "Beyond The Mat". Add in a more contemporary version of a wrestler such as Eddie Guerrero pushing his heart to the brink through the use of steroids, or even Rick Rude in his attempted comeback. But although elements of these men are seen in the portrait of Randy, he is no more them than Robert Deniro was any of the taxi drivers he drove with in preparing for his role as Travis Bickle in "Taxi Driver". "The Wrestler" provides a wholly original portrait of a man dealing with his physical and professional mortality and using the high of performing as the motivation for the drugs he uses to get him there. The relationship of Randy with Marisa Tomei's character of "Cassidy" is fascinating in its use of juxtaposition. She is a stripper using her body to perform and pretend to be give her customers the acceptance they seek from her without accepting them outside the world of the strip club. Randy is a wrestler using his body to perform in order to receive the acceptance he seeks from the fans who do not accept him outside the world of wrestling, where is alone and has to work at a grocery store deli counter. Cassidy puts on her mask to provide for her son whil Randy puts on his mask which drives him away from his daughter. Cassidy wants to quit to have a life with her son but cannot get away. The last thing Randy wants is to quit, but being forced to for health reasons brings him temporarily closer to his daughter. Rourke presents one of the most likeable characters I have ever seen on screen. Cassidy's referencing "The Passion Of The Christ" paints him as a Christ figure. He is a man in search of his soul in this film and sacrifices himself for his fans. He uses a Chris Benoit-like diving headbutt, bringing him more adoration while it brings him closer to death, and you feel awkward cheering him all the way. But he makes a choice, realizing the the wrestling arena is the only place he feels home and somehow it is painted as understandable. The film does not poke fun at wrestling. It presents it as something that seems simple but is layered and complex in its catharsis, much like Randy and Cassidy and the film itself.

Bigger Stronger Faster

2008-09-30T17:17:00.001-07:00

I just finished watching Bigger Stronger Faster and it was a great documentary. I assumed I had seen a lot of the highlights that would be in the movie or heard about them already but there was still plenty to take in.

One of the things that struck me about the movie was the honesty, openness and balance displayed by Chris Bell. The viewer is provided with several opportunities to change their mind in the movie without always being told what your mind should be.

I was reminded of also being an overweight child wanting to grow up to look like Hulk Hogan or Arnold Schwarzennegger. For years I steadfastly refused to believe that they and the professional wrestlers I enjoyed watching were using steroids. Of course, when I was eleven years old I also refused to believe that the Giant Machine was Andre The Giant under a mask. "No way man, Andre wouldn't do that, he was suspended". Sadly, this was about as credible as believing that Hulk Hogan's muscles came from prayers and vitamins.

Chris Bell appears to have interviewed as wide an array of experts as could be expected for a film on steroids. Anti-steroid politician Henry Waxman is provided the opportunity to explain his side and comes off about as knowledgable as Nancy Grace saying that Chris Benoit was demoted from the Four Horsemen to Raw. Joseph Biden is in the film saying that the use of steroids is Un-American. Maybe it's the Canadian apathy regarding nationalism coming out in me, but shouldn't his concern be more about whether or not it is Un-Human?

I especially enjoyed that he interviewed Harrison Pope, a noted researcher regarding the use of anabolic steroids. One thing that wasn't discussed (and I realize that not everything could be) is that in 1993 Pope was responsible for defining what is often known as "muscle dysmorphia" as well as "reverse anorexia". He maintained that just as someone with anorexia nervosa (a type of body dysmorphia) would never think they are skinny enough and always perceive themselves as being fat, a bodybuilder with body dysmorphia would never see themselves as being big or muscular enough. Such obsessions would lead to harmful extremes taken to become more muscular, which would frequently include the use of anabolic steroids. After the death of Chris Benoit, I remember reading in Dave Meltzer's "Wrestling Observer" that Benoit would stay on steroids during two periods when he was out of WWE for six months as well as a year and that he would obsess about thinking his arms were getting smaller. Just as anorexia can occur in female models being pressured to be thin, Benoit often had difficulty being taken seriously in wrestling due to his size even though he was apparently a heavy steroid user. I imagine it didn't take much to convince himself he wasn't big enough when he was told this was the case.

Anyways, the film contains a non-mainstream presentation that there is a lack of empirical evidence regarding the harmful effects of steroids. One of the arguments frequently presented by anti-steroid people when steroids were compared with alcohol and smoking is that alcohol and smoking are legal. In my opinion, this is a pretty weak argument given that for people who have died from the use of alcohol or tobacco, the fact that they are legal does not make them any less dead. The legality (or lack therof) of such substances is a human construction and the insides of one's body do not discriminate in their reaction based on the legality. I can have the gut reaction that steroids are bad and harmful to your long-term health, but this doesn't fly too far if I'm having that gut reaction while up-sizing my extra value meal at McDonald's (perfectly legal by the way).

One would almost come out of watching this film thinking that society should just give up and not worry about steroids. That does not seem to have been Bell's intent but the lack of previous emphasis on the pro-steroid argument (or at least the non-anti-steroid argument) makes it something unfamiliar and thus fresh and convincing. Certainly the deaths of professional wrestlers connected to steroid abuse would seem to be evidence against steroid use, but are steroid use and steroid abuse always the same thing? It has been said that an issue for pro wrestlers is using steroids year-round rather than in cycles. Another issue is the combination of steroid use with the use of painkillers and other drugs. Perhaps the concept of harm reduction, involving a reduction in substance abuse with a person's drug of choice while recognizing that complete abstinence is not possible for that person, could be introduced to wrestling. Unfortunately, the Vince McMahons of the world would likely use this as a rationalization to enable continued steroid use rather than to allow people to do the best they can.

I would highly recommend this film. Bell has a gift for comparing steroid use with other issues such as pilots using amphetamine and musician using beta blockers, asking why one is acceptable when another is not. Chris Bell also delivers messages that Canadians would be proud of, noting that American soldiers on "Go Pills" bombed and killed friendly Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan and that Ben Johnson was stripped of his Olympic Gold Medal for steroid use while Carl Lewis was awarded the gold medal after his steroid use was covered up. It took courage for him to make this film and to highlight hypocricy.

Oh, and the bull with mega-muscles was really cool to look at as well.