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Philip Lafon
Philippe Lafon (born September 16, 1961) is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation as Phil Lafon and with All Japan Pro Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling under the ring name Dan Kroffat. Early life Lafon was born in Manitouwadge, Ontario, Canada, to his French-Canadian parents and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Professional wrestling career Early career (1983–1988) Lafon was discovered at a local gym in Canada by Davey Boy Smith and The Dynamite Kid, and was subsequently trained in the Hart Dungeon. In the Dungeon, he was trained by Mr. Hito. He spent two years in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling before leaving to work as "Rene Rougeau" in the Maritimes. During this time, he met The Cuban Assassin, who helped him get booked in Japan. All Japan Pro Wrestling (1988–1996) Kroffat was a longtime mainstay of All Japan Pro Wrestling with tag team partner Doug Furnas as the Can-Am Express. T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Manitouwadge
Manitouwadge is a township (Canada), township in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. It is located in the Thunder Bay District, at the north end of Ontario Highway 614, Highway 614, east of Thunder Bay and north-west of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Sault Ste. Marie. History Manitouwadge (''Manidoowaazh'' in Ojibwe language, Ojibwe, meaning "Cave of the Great Spirit") is part of the wide-ranging territory of the Ojibwe people. The town itself was founded by General Engineering Co Limited (later as Noranda (mining company), Noranda and now part of Xstrata) after staking claims in 1953 to support of copper mine. The other mine in Manitouwadge is the Willroy mine, named after two of the "Weekend Prospectors" William Dawidowich and Roy Barker. Full production at Geco and Willroy began in 1957. From 1954 to 1974 Manitouwadge was classified as an Improvement District. The community became an incorporated township in 1975. In the early 1980s, gold ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the promotion competed with other promotions such as NWA All-Star Wrestling and Pacific Northwest Wrestling and regularly ran events in Calgary's Victoria Pavilion, Ogden Auditorium and the Stampede Corral between 1948 and 1984. Bought out by promoter Vince McMahon, the company was briefly run by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) before being sold back to the Hart family the following year. Run by Bruce Hart until January 1990, he and Ross Hart reopened the promotion in 1999 and began running events in the Alberta area. Along with its wrestling school known as " The Dungeon", many of the promotion's former alumni becoming some of the most popular stars in the World Wrestling Federation and other American promotions during the 1980s and 1990s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
World Junior Heavyweight Championship (AJPW)
The Pacific Wrestling Federation (PWF) is a professional wrestling world title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling, contested exclusively among junior heavyweight (<) wrestlers. It was created on July 31, 1986, when Hiro Saito defeated Brad Armstrong in a tournament final. The original World Junior Heavyweight Championship belt had a similar design to the title it replaced, the , which had been around since 1982 and only replacing the word "International" with "World". This belt was replaced with a new belt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jackie Fulton
George Hines (born June 1, 1963) is a retired American professional wrestler, best known by his ringname Jackie Fulton, who competed in regional and independent promotions including the American Wrestling Association, East Coast Championship Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling and, most notably, his brief but memorable stint in Smoky Mountain Wrestling where he teamed with his real life brother Bobby Fulton as The Fantastics. Throughout the 1990s, he also carved out a successful career overseas competing in All Japan Pro Wrestling and IWA Japan both under his real name as well as the masked wrestler The Eagle. In recent years, he has also competed in American independent promotions as the masked wrestler American Eagle. Professional wrestling career Early career (1987–1992) Born in Columbus, Ohio, Hines eventually entered professional wrestling in 1987, joining his older brother Bobby Fulton a decade after his own debut in 1977. In early ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Patriot (wrestler)
Delbert Alexander "Del" Wilkes, Jr. (December 21, 1961 – June 30, 2021) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and college football player, better known by his ring names, The Trooper and The Patriot. Over the course of his nine-year career, Wilkes wrestled for the American Wrestling Association, the Global Wrestling Federation, All Japan Pro Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and the WWE, World Wrestling Federation. College football career Wilkes was heavily recruited as an offensive lineman at Columbia's Irmo High School and played for the South Carolina Gamecocks. He was one of only four Gamecock consensus All-Americans, the others being George Rogers (American football), George Rogers (1980), Melvin Ingram (2011), and Jadeveon Clowney (2012). Wilkes added 50 pounds of bulk to his six-foot-three, 225-pound frame to bolster an offensive line that in 1984 helped set school records for touchdowns (49), points (371) and total offense (5,095 yards). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The British Bruisers
The British Bruisers were a professional wrestling tag team who competed in Stampede Wrestling and All Japan Pro Wrestling. The team consisted of The Dynamite Kid and Johnny Smith. The Bruisers were created by Stampede Wrestling as part of a promotional angle in which Kid turned heel on longtime tag partner Davey Boy Smith. History Dynamite Kid and Johnny Smith formed The British Bruisers in Stampede Wrestling in May 1989, after the breakup of The British Bulldogs, feuding with Davey Boy Smith, until the promotion's closure in December 1989. In September 1990, Davey Boy Smith pulled out of the yearly World's Strongest Tag Determination League to return to the World Wrestling Federation. For the upcoming tag league, The British Bruisers reunited, for the 1990 WSTL, and they would ultimately finish in 9th place with 6 points. For the rest of 1990 and all of 1991, The Bruisers continued to team in All Japan. For the most part, the Bruisers were used in the midcard and never ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Footloose (professional Wrestling)
Footloose was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Toshiaki Kawada and Ricky/Samson Fuyuki. Career Toshiaki Kawada and Samson Fuyuki started teaming up in 1985, while on an excursion in San Antonio, wrestling for Texas All-Star Wrestling. Kawada and Fuyuki, who by then went under the name Ricky Fuyuki, went under the team name Japanese Force and they feuded with American Force ( Paul Diamond and Shawn Michaels). They were managed by Gary Hart. In 1987, Kawada and Fuyuki, now going by the name Samson Fuyuki, joined Genichiro Tenryu's Revolution. In January 1988, they began wearing matching ring attire and named their team Footloose. On March 9, 1988, Footloose won the All Asia Tag Team Championship, defeating Mighty Inoue and Takashi Ishikawa. They would hold the titles for exactly six months before losing the belts to Shinichi Nakano and Shunji Takano on September 9, 1988. However, Footloose rebounded by defeating Nakano and Takano to reclaim the titles six days ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
All Asia Tag Team Championship
The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). It was created on November 16, 1955, in the Japan Wrestling Association (JWA) when King Kong Czaya and Tiger Joginder Singh defeated JWA founder Rikidōzan and Harold Sakata in a tournament final. Originally it was the top tag team title in the JWA, but its status became secondary once the NWA International Tag Team Championship was brought from the United States. It was abandoned in 1973 when the JWA closed, but was later revived in 1976 by AJPW in response to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) announcing the creation of its own version of the title. It is currently one of two tag team titles in AJPW, along with the World Tag Team Championship. It is also the current oldest active title in Japan. There have been a total of 117 official reigns and 34 vacancies, with the first 27 reigns from the JWA also being recognized by AJPW. There have been a total of 85 teams consisting of 100 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Weekly'' website in 2008, becoming ''Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online''. Issues are offered in print and digital. The newsletter is often considered the first "dirt sheet", which is a wrestling publication which covers the art from a real-life perspective. History The beginnings of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' date back to 1980, when Meltzer began an annual poll amongst those with whom he corresponded regarding professional wrestling. According to Meltzer, he was just a fan at first. A short time later, he began maintaining a tape-trading list, and would occasionally send match results and news updates along with tape updates. Meltzer stated that he wanted to keep his friends in college "in the loop" for his tape trading as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dave Meltzer
David Allen Meltzer (born October 24, 1959) is an American journalist who reports on professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Since 1983, he has been the publisher and editor of the ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON''). He has also written for the ''Oakland Tribune'', the ''Los Angeles Times'', Yahoo! Sports, SI.com, and ''The National Sports Daily''. He has extensively covered mixed martial arts since UFC 1 in 1993 and currently covers the sport for SB Nation. He has been called "the most accomplished reporter in sports journalism" by Frank Deford of ''Sports Illustrated''. He is also a frequent lecturer on many aspects of the business of MMA, professional wrestling, and boxing at the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University. Early life Meltzer lived in upstate New York, later moving with his family to San Jose, California. Meltzer earned a journalism degree from San Jose State University and started out as a sportswriter for the ''Wichita Falls Time ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tsuyoshi Kikuchi
(born November 21, 1964) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for All Japan Pro Wrestling and Pro Wrestling NOAH. Kikuchi idolized and patterned his style after the Dynamite Kid. Professional wrestling career All Japan Pro Wrestling (1988–2000) Kikuchi turned pro on February 26, 1988, his debut was against veteran wrestler Mitsuo Momota. Like many, Kikuchi spent his early years wrestling in opening and low midcard matches, paying his dues. By late 1990, Kikuchi began moving up the card and before long was becoming a Jr. Title contender. His first title shot was on July 12, 1990, when he challenged Masanobu Fuchi for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship but he came up short. He challenged for the title four more times between January 26, 1991, to February 28, 1993, coming up short each time. By 1991, Kikuchi also began teaming with future legend: Kenta Kobashi. The two first received a shot at the vacated All Asia Tag Team Championship on April ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenta Kobashi
is a Japanese former professional wrestler. He started his career in All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1988, where he became one of the promotion's top stars, holding the Triple Crown Heavyweight Championship three times, and winning the Champion Carnival in 2000. Kobashi left All Japan in June 2000, taking part in a mass exodus led by Mitsuharu Misawa, which led to the formation of Pro Wrestling Noah. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Kobashi worked for Noah for thirteen years, and became the longest reigning GHC Heavyweight Champion of all time, holding the championship for 735 days between 2003 and 2005, a record that stands to this day. He was a four-time world champion. Kobashi spent many of the later years of his career sidelined due to various injuries. He underwent numerous surgeries on his arms and legs in the early-mid 2000s before retiring from in-ring action in May 2013. Kobashi continues to make sporadic appearances in bot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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