Larry Matysik (April 26, 1947 – November 25, 2018) was an American

professional wrestling 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 ...

commentator, promoter and author best known for his commentary on ''

Wrestling at the Chase ''Wrestling at the Chase'' is a professional wrestling television series of local and national historical importance in the field of television wrestling. The show was recorded in St. Louis, Missouri, for KPLR-TV, Channel 11, and aired from May ...

''.

Biography

In 1963, Matysik was hired by

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

promoter

Sam Muchnick Samuel Muchnick (born Jeshua Muchnick, August 22, 1905 – December 30, 1998) was an American professional wrestling promoter from St. Louis, Missouri. He is often regarded as wrestling's equivalent of Pete Rozelle (the forward-thinking commission ...

at the age of 16 to work as a publicist and office manager. In 1970, Matysik became an announcer for his promotion. Along with

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 ...

and

Lance Russell Lance Russell (March 18, 1926 – October 3, 2017) was an American Sports commentator, sports broadcaster and ring announcer, primarily serving as a professional wrestling announcer and Sports commentator, commentator in the Memphis, Tennessee, Mem ...

, Matysik was considered one of the top wrestling announcers in the country. He remained ''

''s ringside announcer until the show went off the air in 1983. He would also occasionally do commentary for the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

. Behind the scenes, Matysik was responsible for several aspects of the business. He served as co-booker with Pat O'Connor and was partly responsible for the company's success in the late 1970s. In 1982, Matysik severed ties with the St. Louis office and started a promotion outside the control of the

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 ...

, Greater St. Louis Wrestling Enterprises. Matysik was a close friend of

Bruiser Brody Frank Donald Goodish (June 18, 1946 – July 17, 1988) was an American professional wrestler who earned his greatest fame under the ring name Bruiser Brody. He also worked as King Kong Brody, The Masked Marauder, and Red River Jack. Over the yea ...

, who created the promotion with him. Their promotion was financially successful, but issues behind-the-scenes caused problems for financiers. From 1984 to 1993, Matysik worked for

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the w ...

World Wrestling Federation 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 vario ...

. In later years, he remained active on the

independent circuit In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indie circuit is the collective noun, collective name of independent professional wrestling promotions which are smaller than major televised promotions. It is roughly analogous to a minor lea ...

and authored many books. He was also responsible for creating the

St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame The St. Louis Wrestling Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling hall of fame. After several years of debating the idea of creating the Hall of Fame, former owner and promoter of the St. Louis Wrestling Club Larry Matysik opened it in 2007. He was ...

, and was personally inducted in 2007. He battled a number of health issues towards the end of his life, including

spinal stenosis Spinal stenosis is an abnormal narrowing of the spinal canal or neural foramen that results in pressure on the spinal cord or nerve roots. Symptoms may include pain, numbness, or weakness in the arms or legs. Symptoms are typically gradual in on ...

and he suffered at least three strokes. He received the

James C. Melby James C. Melby (1949-February 11, 2007) was an American professional wrestling historian and magazine editor, publishing almost 100 wrestling projects since 1991. Career Melby's first publication was ''Matmania'' which he started aged 15 in his h ...

Award from the

George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame is a List of professional wrestling halls of fame, professional wrestling hall of fame museum located within the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum's National Wrestling Hall o ...

in 2014 but was too ill to attend the ceremony. On November 24, 2018 it was reported that he had entered hospice care, and he died the following day. In his obituary, ''

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 We ...

'' founder

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 als ...

wrote that he "learned more about pro wrestling from him than perhaps any other individual".

Awards and accomplishments

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abram ...

**Posthumous Award (2019) *

** James C. Melby Award (2014) * Missouri Wrestling Revival ** Lifetime Achievement Award (2010) *

** Class of 2007

References

External links

Larry Matysik
at the

National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum The National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum and hall of fame for amateur wrestling, headquartered in Stillwater, Oklahoma. In 2010, it began operating the Dan Gable Museum in Waterloo, Iowa. History The museum was awarded to Stillw ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matysik, Larry 1947 births 2018 deaths People from Belleville, Illinois Professional wrestling announcers Professional wrestling executives Professional wrestling historians Professional wrestling journalists and columnists