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International World Class Championship Wrestling
International World Class Championship Wrestling (IWCCW, originally known as International Championship Wrestling) was an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was promoted by Angelo Savoldi and his sons Mario, Tom, and Joseph Savoldi. An "outlaw" wrestling promotion in the 1980s, International World Class Championship Wrestling held interpromotional events with the Puerto Rican-based World Wrestling Council, the American Wrestling Association and World Class Championship Wrestling. Many of its former roster would later find success in the World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling and elsewhere during the 1990s. History ICW: 1984−1991 Originally known as International Championship Wrestling (not to be confused with the similarly named ICW promotion run by Angelo Poffo between 1978 and 1984), the promotion started holding events the Boston area sometime around 1984 or 1985. Initially I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angelo Poffo
Angelo John Poffo (April 10, 1925 – March 4, 2010) was an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He ran International Championship Wrestling for a number of years, holding cards in Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas. He was the father of "Macho Man" Randy Savage and "The Genius" Lanny Poffo. Early life, family and education Poffo was born in Downers Grove, Illinois (near Chicago) to Italian immigrants. Poffo attended DePaul University and was a catcher for its baseball team. He studied physical education and was a competitive chess player. He enlisted in the Navy during World War II where in 1945, he set a world record for sit-ups. He completed 6,033 sit-ups in four hours and ten minutes. According to his son Lanny, after 6,000 sit-ups he did 33 more, one for each year of Jesus's life. Professional wrestling career Poffo started wrestling in 1948 at Karl Pojello's gym in Illinois. His first match was in 1949 against Ruffy Silverstein. He sometimes wrestle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship
The WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship and the top title contested for in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council. The championship was established in July 1982, as the WWC World Heavyweight Championship, when the company was named Capitol Sports Promotions. The championship received its current name following a match between Carlos Colón (WWC World Heavyweight Champion) and Ric Flair (NWA World Heavyweight Champion) where the "Champion of the Universe" was supposed to be determined. The first champion was Abdullah the Butcher, who was billed as champion upon the title's creation. Since being established, the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship has been held by forty-nine different wrestlers and has also been held up on nineteen occasions and vacated or stripped thirteen times. History Early history The WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship was first introduced as the WWC ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kevin Sullivan (wrestler)
Kevin Francis Sullivan (born October 26, 1949) is an American professional wrestler and booker, perhaps best known for his role in World Championship Wrestling. Professional wrestling career Early career (1970–1982) Sullivan had been an amateur wrestler in the Boston area, and was not trained professionally. His first professional match was in Montreal, beating Fernand Frechette. Sullivan wrestled as "Johnny West" in the National Wrestling Alliance's Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling in the early 1970s, capturing the NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship with Ken Lucas, defeating Jack Morrell and Eddie Sullivan on March 11, 1971. Next, he went to Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) in 1972 and captured the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship with Mike Graham. He then went north to join the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) as a mid-card face from 1974 to 1977. He had a (rare for the time) face versus face battle with Pete Sanchez on a Madison Square Garden underc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Championship Wrestling From Florida
Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ''Florida Championship Wrestling''. When Mike Graham tried a return to promoting, the rights to the name had been acquired by an outside party, forcing him to use another name, ''Florida Championship Wrestling''. History Founding The original owner and promoter was "Cowboy" Clarence Preston Luttrall, a former journeyman heel wrestler who once fought a widely publicized boxing match, resulting from a wrestling angle, with a forty-something Jack Dempsey. It worked but Cowboy took a severe beating. Cowboy opened the office in 1949, and Eddie Graham bought into the promotion in 1961, then took over completely in 1971, because of health reasons with Cowboy. The office was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance during the entire CWF era, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Les Thatcher
Leslie Malady (born October 28, 1940), better known by the name Les Thatcher, is an American former professional wrestler. He helps run Elite Pro Wrestling Training, a professional wrestling school in his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, with Ricky Steamboat and, up until his death on August 1, 2019, Harley Race. He is also on the board of directors of the Cauliflower Alley Club. He won several regional tag team championships with various partners, including Nelson Royal and Roger Kirby. He turned his hand to singles competition as a junior heavyweight. Early life Thatcher was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. He first watched wrestling when he was eight years old while at a friend's house, stating, "The action on that little ten-inch black & white screen just reached out and grabbed me". In his youth, he played basketball, baseball, and football. He started wrestling at his local YMCA as a twelve-year-old. He attended Central High School in Cincinnati. Professional wrestling career Thatc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lou Thesz
Aloysius Martin "Lou" Thesz (April 24, 1916 – April 28, 2002) was an American professional wrestler. He was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion and held the title for a combined total of 10 years, three months and nine days (3,749 days) – longer than anyone else in history. Considered to be one of the last true shooters in professional wrestling and described as the "quintessential athlete... a polished warrior who could break a man in two if pushed the wrong way", Thesz is widely regarded as one of the greatest wrestlers of all time and the single greatest wrestling world champion in history, and probably the last globally accepted world champion. In Japan, Thesz was known as the 'God of Wrestling' and was called ''Tetsujin'', which means 'Ironman', in respect for his speed, conditioning and expertise in catch wrestling. Alongside Karl Gotch and Billy Robinson, Thesz later helped train young Japanese wrestlers and mixed martial artists in catch wrestling. A s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gordon Solie
Gordon Solie (born Francis Jonard Labiak, later Jonard Pierre Sjoblom, January 26, 1929July 27, 2000), was an American Florida-based professional wrestling play-by-play announcer working for Georgia Championship Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida, USA Championship Wrestling, Continental Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest and most influential wrestling announcers. Jim Ross cites him as the most significant influence on his career as an announcer. Early life Solie was born on January 29, 1929, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His parents divorced at a young age. His mother then remarried and her new husband adopted Gordon at the age of four. He attended Southwest High School in Minneapolis, where he chose radio as a major and went by the nickname "Josie". He ran the school PA system and participated in several high school productions and drama workshops at local radio stations. He moved to Tampa, Florida, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Al Perez
Al Perez (born July 23, 1960) is a retired American professional wrestler. He held 16 titles during a 20-year career, including the WCWA World Heavyweight Championship. Professional wrestling career Early career Perez began wrestling as an amateur in high school and was one of the top athletes in his home state of Florida. He started professional wrestling in 1982. He wrestled in Southwest Championship Wrestling in Texas and formed a team in ICW with Joe Savoldi known as the "New York Rockers". He then worked for the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico where he teamed a lot with Joe Savoldi and later feuded with Invader l. Mid South In 1986 Perez wrestled for Bill Watt's Mid-South Wrestling, and teamed with "Wildcat" Wendell Cooley and defeated the team of Steve" Dr. Death" Williams and Bruiser Bob Sweetan for the Mid-South Tag Team Championship. Sweetan was substituting for Ted DiBiase while DiBiase was touring Asia. World Class Perez went on to make a name for himself as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Joe Savoldi
Joseph Anthony Savoldi Jr., (born Giuseppe Antonio Savoldi; March 5, 1908 – January 25, 1974) more commonly known by his nickname "Jumping Joe" Savoldi, was an Italian-American professional wrestler, football player, and Special Ops agent for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during World War II. Early life Savoldi was born two months premature in Castano Primo (Italy). He spent his childhood in Castano Primo and Bergamo (Milan, Italy) and was raised by his grandmother and an aunt before finally joining his family in Three Oaks, Michigan at age twelve. Giuseppe Savoldi anglicized his first name to "Joe" and became an athlete in high school, excelling in football, basketball, baseball, and track. Football career Notre Dame After graduation from Three Oaks High, he enrolled at the University of Notre Dame, where, beginning in 1928, he played football for the Fighting Irish teams coached by Knute Rockne. His first start for Notre Dame came during his sophomore year agains ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruben Cruz
Ruben Cruz (July 14, 1950 – January 22, 2020) was a Puerto Rican professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Hercules Ayala. He competed in Canadian and international wrestling promotions including the eastern Canadian Grand Prix Wrestling, the Calgary-based Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling in Japan and World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico. Professional wrestling career Born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Ayala was a fan of professional wrestling and admired Huracan Castillo. During the early-1970s, he traveled to the United States several months after his mother had left to live with her daughter and her grandchildren in Boston, Massachusetts. While living in Boston, Cruz met former National Wrestling Alliance wrestler Angelo Savoldi working out at a local gym. After undergoing training with Savoldi, he was able to compete for the then World Wide Wrestling Federation for a brief time. In December 1976, Ayala and tag team partner Victor Jovica won the NWA N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abdullah The Butcher
Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling matches of all time. Over his time in wrestling he was given the moniker of "Madman from Sudan". One of Shreve's trademarks is a series of divot-like scars on his head that he has due to excessive use of blading during his career. The scars are so deep that, according to Mick Foley, Shreve is able to put gambling chips into them. An amateur martial artist, Shreve also has knowledge of judo and karate, often including this knowledge in his wrestling matches through throws and chops. Early life Shreve was born on January 11, 1941 and raised in Windsor, Ontario, as part of a family of ten people in a deeply impoverished household. He learned karate and judo as a youth and, teaching fellow children in the backyard, claims to have eventually earn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bangor, Maine
Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor was established in the mid-19th century with the lumber and shipbuilding industries. Lying on the Penobscot River, logs could be floated downstream from the Maine North Woods and processed at the city's water-powered sawmills, then shipped from Bangor's port to the Atlantic Ocean downstream, and from there to any port in the world. Evidence of this is still visible in the lumber barons' elaborate Greek Revival and Victorian mansions and the 31-foot-high (9.4 m) statue of Paul Bunyan. Today, Bangor's economy is based on services and retail, healthcare, and education. Bangor has a port of entry at Bangor International Airport, also home to the Bangor Air National Guard Base. Historically Bangor was an important stopover on the Great Ci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
