William Soloweyko (December 1, 1931 – October 3, 2000), better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...

Klondike Bill, was a Canadian

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...

. Trained by Stu Hart in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he wrestled in various

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA ...

territories throughout the 1960s and 1970s, before moving onto

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...

Professional wrestling career

Bill was trained by Stu Hart in the famous Dungeon in Calgary. He began his career wrestling as Bill "The Brute" Soloweyko in Hart's local promotion, Stampede Wrestling before moving on to other territories. During his career he formed various tag teams with wrestlers such as

Whipper Billy Watson William John Potts, (June 25, 1915 to February 4, 1990) was a Canadian professional wrestler best known by his ring name "Whipper" Billy Watson. He was a two-time world champion, having held both the National Wrestling Association title and the ...

and Skull Murphy. He performed in WWWF in 1964. Under the name Klondike Bill, he was hired by Jim Crockett during the 1970s to build guard rails and rings for Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, and was also a road agent for

. During the late 1990s, Bill was involved in a storyline that saw

Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, professional wrestling booker, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Senior Vice President of World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and ...

demoted as president and forced to set up a ring under Bill's supervision. Bill was also known for being the only person to consume two 72-ounce steaks at the Big Texan Steak Ranch in the one-hour time limit back in the 1960s.

Death

Soloweyko died on October 3, 2000 from a neuromuscular disorder.

Championships and accomplishments

50th State Big Time Wrestling 50th State Big Time Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Hawaii or Mid-Pacific Promotions) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Ha ...

** NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship (1 time) *

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 ...

** NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * Georgia Championship Wrestling ** NWA National Television Championship (1 time) * Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance ** All Asia Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Skull Murphy *

NWA Central States Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska ...

NWA North American Tag Team Championship The NWA North American Tag Team Championship is an inactive professional wrestling tag team championship that was used and defended in various territories throughout the National Wrestling Alliance., prior to its being purchased in 2017 by Billy ...

(1 time) - with Ron Etchison * NWA Toronto ** NWA International Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with

NWA Tri-State 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 ...

** United States Tag Team Championship - with Luke Brown

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bill, Klondike 1931 births 2000 deaths Canadian male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Calgary Stampede Wrestling alumni Neurological disease deaths in North Carolina Deaths from neuromuscular disease 20th-century professional wrestlers All Asia Tag Team Champions NWA International Tag Team Champions (Toronto version) NWA National Television Champions

Professional wrestling career

Death

Championships and accomplishments

References

Further reading

External links