Michael Smith (wrestler)
Michael Maurice Smith (born October 11, 1963) is an American semi-retired professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Sam Houston. He is best known for his appearances with the WWE, World Wrestling Federation from 1987 to 1991. Houston's father Grizzly Smith was also a professional wrestler, as was his half-brother Jake Roberts and his sister Rockin' Robin (wrestler), Rockin' Robin. Professional wrestling career Early career (1983–1985) Smith started wrestling in 1983, initially competing in Championship Wrestling from Florida. Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (1985–1986) In 1985, he began working for Jim Crockett Promotions, Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. He was billed as a protégé of Dusty Rhodes (wrestler), Dusty Rhodes and Magnum T. A., which made him a target for the Four Horsemen (professional wrestling), Four Horsemen. They finally got to him in the summer of 1985 when Tully Blanchard, Ole Anderson, and Arn Anderson (kayf ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dorling Kindersley
Dorling Kindersley Limited (branded as DK) is a British multinational publishing company specialising in illustrated reference books for adults and children in 63 languages. It is part of Penguin Random House, a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Established in 1974, DK publishes a range of titles in genres including travel (including DK Eyewitness travel), history, geography, science, space, nature, sports, gardening, cookery and parenting. The worldwide co-CEOs of DK is Paul Kelly and Rebecca Smart. DK has offices in New York, Melbourne, London, Munich, New Delhi, Toronto, Madrid, Beijing, and Jiangmen. DK works with licensing partners such as Disney, LEGO, DC Comics, the Royal Horticultural Society, MasterChef, and the Smithsonian Institution. DK has commissioned Mary Berry, Monty Don, Robert Winston, Huw Richards, and Steve Mould for a range of books. History DK was founded in 1974 by Christopher Dorling and Peter Kindersley in London as a book ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Arn Anderson
Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by the ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a manager. Although he is widely regarded as one of the finest tag team wrestlers in history, he also had a successful singles career and became a four-time NWA/WCW World Television Champion, which he often called his "world title". Anderson's career was highlighted by his alliances with Ric Flair and various members of the wrestling stable The Four Horsemen in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). After his retirement, he worked as a producer for WWE until 2019, when he joined AEW. On March 31, 2012, Anderson was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the Four Horsemen. His son, Brock Anderson also pursued a career in professional wrestling, performing for AEW. Early life Martin Anthon ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ron Bass (wrestler)
Ronald Heard (December 21, 1948 – March 7, 2017) was an American professional wrestler, best known under the name "The Outlaw" Ron Bass. His gimmick was a Texan cowboy who entered World Wrestling Federation (WWF) rings to the sound of a bullwhip. Professional wrestling career National Wrestling Alliance (1971–1987) Heard started wrestling as Ron Bass in 1971 in the Gulf Coast territory. Throughout the 1970s, he performed primarily in National Wrestling Alliance territories. He was known as "Cowboy" Ron Bass, Sam Oliver Bass, and "Outlaw" Ron Bass, depending on which territory he was working at the time. In the early 1980s, he wrestled in Championship Wrestling from Florida and Jim Crockett Promotions, frequently teaming with Black Bart as The Long Riders in both promotions. He also teamed and feuded with Barry Windham in Florida. As a face he would feud with Angelo Mosca and Kendo Nagasaki. Bass would later turn heel after turning on Dusty Rhodes during a match where Bass wa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bam-Bam Bigelow
Scott Charles Bigelow (September 1, 1961 – January 19, 2007) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Bam Bam Bigelow. Recognizable by his close to 400-pound frame and the distinctive flame tattoo that spanned most of his bald head, Bigelow was hailed by Ryan Murphy (a writer for Bigelow's former employer WWE) as "the most natural, agile and physically remarkable big man of the past quarter century", while former co-worker Bret Hart described him as "possibly the best working big man in the business." Bigelow is best known for his appearances with promotions New Japan Pro-Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) between 1987 and 2001. Over the course of his career, he held championships including the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, the ECW World Television Championship, the IWGP Tag Team Championship, the WAR World Six-Man Tag Team Championship, and the WCW Wor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The One Man Gang
George Gray (born February 12, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, (The) One Man Gang. For two years in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he was Akeem "The African Dream". Prior to this, he was the top heel for Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF), and UWF Heavyweight Champion for six months in 1986 and 1987. Early life Gray was born in Chicago, but moved to Spartanburg, South Carolina when he was 5. Professional wrestling career Early career (1977–1982) Grey trained with longtime local independent wrestler and promoter Chief Jay Eagle (Jerry Bragg) and Darren "Rattlesnake" Westbrooks. He started his career at the age of 17 on the Carolina independent circuit wrestling both under his real name and as "Crusher Gray." He then moved on to wrestle in the Kentucky/Tennessee area, including for International Championship Wrestling (ICW), under the ring name Crusher Broomfield. Gray went in as part of a package along with B ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ted DiBiase
Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, ordained minister and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE working in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship success in a number of wrestling promotions, holding thirty titles during his professional wrestling career. He is best recalled by mainstream audiences for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), where he wrestled as "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. He has been named as one of the best technical wrestlers, and greatest villains, in pro wrestling history. Among other accolades in the WWF/E, DiBiase was the first WWF North American Heavyweight Champion, a three-time WWF Tag Team Champion (with Irwin R. Schyster), a one-time WWE 24/7 Champion, and winner of the 1988 King of the Ring tournament. He held the WWF World Heavyweight Championship once, although recognition of this reign was withdrawn by the company. DiBiase ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sika Anoaʻi
Leati Sika Amituana'i Anoa'i (born April 5, 1945), better known as Sika Anoa'i or simply Sika, is an American Samoan retired professional wrestler. He is best known as one-half of the tag team The Wild Samoans with his brother Afa. Championships held by Anoa'i over the course of his career include the WWF World Tag Team Championship. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2012. He is a member of the Anoa'i family and the father of professional wrestlers Rosey and Roman Reigns. Early life Anoa'i was born in the village of Leone on the island of Tutuila in American Samoa on April 5, 1945; one of thirteen children born to Amituana and Tovale Anoa'i. In 1959, at the age of 14, Anoa'i moved with his family to San Francisco, California in the United States. Shortly after the move, Anoa'i enlisted in the United States Merchant Marine, working on ships sailing to the Philippines and Japan. Anoa'i left the Merchant Marine in 19 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and various other business ventures. The company is additionally involved in licensing its intellectual property to companies to produce video games and action figures. The promotion was founded in 1953 as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation. It is the largest wrestling promotion in the world with its main roster divided up into two primary touring groups, along with a developmental roster based in Orlando, Florida (referred to by WWE as "brands"). Overall, WWE is available in more than 1 billion homes worldwide in 30 languages. The company's global headquarters is located in Stamford, Connecticut, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai and Munich. As in other professional wrestling promotions, WWE sh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts)
The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level rival of the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now known as WWE). However, Watts' business strategy quickly swung from "overnight" success to catastrophic failure, resulting in the 1987 sale of the UWF to another rival: Jim Crockett Promotions (owner of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling, Georgia Championship Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s most important championships, and the predecessor of World Championship Wrestling). The promotion began as an NWA territory, NWA Tri-State, founded by Leroy McGuirk in the 1950s. Tri-State/Mid-South/UWF promoted in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi until 1987. Because Watts did not register the "Universal Wrestling Federation" name with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, bu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bill Dundee
William Cruickshanks (born 24 October 1943) is a Scottish-born Australian professional wrestler and author better known by his stage name Bill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father of J. C. Ice, Jamie Dundee and the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby Eaton. Career Dundee was born in Angus, Scotland, and raised in Melbourne. At 16, he joined the circus as a trapeze artist. He started wrestling in Australia in 1962 and finally arrived in the United States as "Superstar" Bill Dundee in 1974 with his tag team partner George Barnes. Dundee made a name for himself in the Memphis Wrestling, Memphis Territory, where he regularly teamed and feuded with Jerry Lawler and Jimmy Valiant for years. Dundee and Lawler ventured to the American Wrestling Association in 1987 and captured the AWA World Tag Team Championship twice. As a singles wrestler, he held the Southern Heavyweight Championship belt several times from 1975 to 1985. Also, he had a successful team with Buddy Landel, "Nature Boy" Buddy ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Nelson Royal
Nelson Combs (July 21, 1935 – February 3, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, trainer and promoter, better known by his ring name, Nelson Royal. He held the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship on six occasions along with numerous regional championships. Early life Combs was born on July 21, 1935 in Wheelwright, Kentucky. As a youth, he participated in amateur wrestling. While competing in an amateur wrestling contest in Columbus, Ohio, he met professional wrestler Don Eagle, who agreed to train him. Professional wrestling career Early career (1955–1965) Combs was trained as a professional wrestler by Eagle, debuting in 1955 in the Midwest Wrestling Alliance promotion under the ring name Nelson Royal. In the late 1950s, Royal wrestled for the Portland, Oregon-based promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, where in 1958, he briefly held the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship with Black Hawk, and for the Texas-based promotion Big Time Wrestling. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Black Bart (wrestler)
Richard Harris (born January 30, 1948), better known by his ring name Black Bart, is an American retired professional wrestler. Professional wrestling career Early career (1975–1981) Rick Harris started wrestling in 1975. He went through several names, such as "Man Mountain Harris," "Hangman Harris," and "Hangman Ricky Harris". Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (1981) In 1981, Harris competed as a preliminary wrestler on the Jim Crockett Promotions "Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling" program as "Ricky Harris". Georgia Championship Wrestling (1982) From January to May 1982, Harris wrestled for Georgia Championship Wrestling. Mid South Wrestling (1982) From May to October 1982, Harris wrestled for Mid South Wrestling. It was during his "Hangman" Rick Harris phase, working for Bill Watts, that he debuted as a bounty hunter for Skandor Akbar in 1982. Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (1982–1983) In November 1982, Harris returned to MACW. He wrestled for the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |