Bill Verna (born 1929), also known as Big Bill Verna, was an
Australian
Australian(s) may refer to:
Australia
* Australia, a country
* Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia
** European Australians
** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists
** Aboriginal A ...
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 o ...
. He wrestled throughout the world during his 20-year career, especially in his adopted country of
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
, winning the All European Championship and the British Empire/Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship during the 1950s. One of the first major ''
heels
The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg.
Structure
To distribute the compressive forces exert ...
'' in
Joint Promotions
Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom spans over one hundred years but became popular when the then new independent television network ITV began showing it in 1955, firstly on Saturday afternoons and then also in a late-night midweek slot. ...
, he was mentioned by "Exotic"
Adrian Street
Adrian Street (born 5 December 1940) is a retired Welsh professional wrestler and author known for his flamboyant, androgynous wrestling persona, brought to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s. Street was often accompanied to the ring by his long- ...
as one of the wrestlers who helped shape
professional wrestling in Britain.
Biography
Bill Verna was born in
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...
in 1929.
He moved to Belgium in 1947 and adopted freestyle wrestling as his profession.
[ When he became a pro wrestler, he weighed around 224 pounds, and stood 5 feet and 10 inches in height. He trained for two to three hours each morning and raised his weight to 280 pounds.][ After settling in Britain, he traveled the world to wrestle but continued to return to Britain to face such wrestlers as Billy Two Rivers, Gord Nelson, and Paul "Butcher" Vachon. He also faced, but was defeated by, ]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 ...
in a match that took place in Brighton, East Sussex.[ In 1948, he wrestled in the main event at a show at Happy World Stadium in Singapore. In the sixth round, he was knocked out by Dara Singh. He then wrestled a series of matches against Jagindar Singh, defeating him in the main event of a show on 4 September and again on 16 October. The following January, he was again knocked out during a match in Singapore. Competing against Jejl Goldstein, he was hit and fell out of the ring and on to a fan at ringside. Two months later, he collapsed during a match; as a result, his opponent, King Kong, was awarded the victory.
Verna fought more than 2000 wrestling bouts.][ In 1952, he won the All European Championship. Bill married a Singaporean in 1954 while he was living in Belgium.] In the mid-1950s, he wrestled in Pakistan as a face
The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may aff ...
. During this time, he was outspoken against the Pakistani media, as he objected to them always depicting local wrestlers controlling matches against foreign wrestlers.[ While he was competing, Verna's best friend was ]Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of t ...
r Bert Assirati
Bartolomeo "Bert" Assirati (9 July 1908 – 31 August 1990), was an English professional wrestler who became a multiple-time British Heavyweight Champion, and, posthumously, a charter member of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. He ...
, although the two had matches in which both wrestlers made each other bleed quite a bit. Verna explained in an interview that neither man held back because they did not want the fans to "complain that they did not enjoy the fight".
While competing against Pakistani wrestler Akram Pahalwan, Verna's opponent suffered a dislocated left shoulder that forced Pahalwan to take a break from wrestling. Verna later held the British Empire/Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship in the 1950s before dropping the title to Geoff Portz during a match in Newcastle, New South Wales
Newcastle ( ; Awabakal: ) is a metropolitan area and the second most populated city in the state of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie local government areas, and is the hub of the Greater Newcastle area ...
in 1959.[ He also defeated Phil Siki, the heavyweight champion of the West Indies, in a match at Cambridge Road Baths. In the summer of 1960, he headlined wrestling events held at the California Ballroom in bouts against Francis Sullivan and Ray Hunter. In the 1960s, Verna appeared regularly on televised wrestling programs in Britain. These were some of the earliest televised matches broadcast in the United Kingdom and, between 1961–62, were promoted by ]Joint Promotions
Professional wrestling in the United Kingdom spans over one hundred years but became popular when the then new independent television network ITV began showing it in 1955, firstly on Saturday afternoons and then also in a late-night midweek slot. ...
. Among his opponents included Frankie Townsend and Bill Rawlings. He wrestled as a heel and gained the hatred of many fans. In March 1966, Verna agreed to serve as a last minute replacement for the "flu-struck" Wayne Bridges in his match against Dennis Mitchell at Royal Albert Hall. Verna scored a submission victory in the second round but was knocked out by Mitchell in the next round.
In Pakistan, where Verna spent most of his career, the journal ''Ash Shuja'' featured Verna in a 1955 story. He was said to be "appreciated and admired as a player throughout the world". It also stated that he was "acknowledged with great respect among the famous wrestlers of the world".[
]
Championships and accomplishments
*Other titles
**All European Championship (1 time)[
** British Empire/Commonwealth Heavyweight Championship (1 time)]
References
External links
Big Bill Verna at Genickbruch.com
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Verna, Bill
1929 births
20th-century professional wrestlers
Australian male professional wrestlers
Living people
Sportsmen from Western Australia
Sportspeople from Perth, Western Australia
Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom
Australian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
Australian expatriate sportspeople in Pakistan