Monday, July 30, 2007

WCW: Brian Adams

Brian Adams (born April 14, 1964) is a former actor and professional wrestler. Adams gained fame in the 1990s while performing for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the name Crush and for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his given name.

Trained in Japan by Antonio Inoki, Adams is a two time WCW World Tag Team Champion as well as a one time holder of both the WWF World Tag Team Championship and the All Japan Pro Wrestling World Tag Team Championship among other titles and accomplishments.

In 2002, Adams briefly tried a career in boxing until he was forced to retire due to a back and shoulder injury.

Brian Adams was born on April 4, 1964 in Kona, Hawaii and was raised in Kealakekua, Hawai'i and attended Konawaena High School. After graduating from Konawaena High School Adams joined the military. It was during his time in the military, while stationed in Japan, that he was exposed to wrestling. Adams was then trained in wrestling by famed Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist Antonio Inoki. In 1986, after training in Japan, Adams came to the United States and began working in Portland, Oregon's Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW).

Adams signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), in 1998, where he was placed as part of the New World Order stable and later as part of it’s off-shoot nWo Hollywood. As a lower card performer, he often tag teamed with the likes of Scott Norton and Stevie Ray, occasionally being placed in squash matches against smaller and lesser known wrestlers. One of his most notable matches with the promotion was his involvement in a tag team tournament steel cage match on WCW Thunder, in February 1999, where he and Horace Hogan lost to Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko.

Later, he was scripted as the original Demon, a take off of Gene Simmons of the band KISS. This saw him emerging from an iron maiden with a rendition of "God of Thunder" as his entrance theme. The gimmick did not work for Adams as he made only one appearance as the Demon. Dale Torborg took over that gimmick, while Adams was placed back into tag wrestling again. He formed a team with Bryan Clark called KroniK, where he won the WCW World Tag Team Championship twice.

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Abdullah the Butcher, part 2

In addition to his successes in North America, Abdullah the Butcher would also become a true international superstar while performing in the Far East, Europe, the Caribbean, Australia, Africa, and practically everywhere else across the globe. On March 12, 1974, he traveled all the way to New Zealand, where he captured the prestigious British Empire Commonwealth Title by defeating the nation’s legendary champion John DaSilva. Furthermore, Abdullah would also establish himself among the premier attractions in Japan, where he competed as part of the round-robin tournament that ultimately crowned Giant Baba as All-Japan’s inaugural PWF Heavyweight Champion in February 1973. On October 18, 1978, Abdullah himself won the prestigious PWF belt when he defeated European legend and former AWA champion Billy Robinson; and then on October 13, 1980, he also beat Jumbo Tsuruta to capture the NWA United National Heavyweight Title. His feud with Terry Funk is still considered one of the hottest feuds in Japan, and Funk claims to have a personal top 3 all time greatest match with Abdullah the Butcher. Shreve is almost always paired with a manager (most notably "Playboy" Gary Hart in Texas, Georgia, and Florida, and Hugo Savinovich in Puerto Rico) and never speaks in U.S. territories. He has spoken in Japanese interviews, where promos aren't as important to get a wrestler over.

He arrived in World Class in 1986, where he subsequently defeated the Great Kabuki for the Texas Brass Knuckles Title while waging war against the equally wild Bruiser Brody. However, perhaps Abby’s most memorable encounters occurred in Puerto Rico, where he was billed as the very first WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion in July 1982 following three reigns as the Puerto Rican Champion between 1978-81. His violent battles against Carlos Colón and Hércules Ayala are legendary; and he still remains one of the area’s top attractions, as he recently defeated Carly Colón for his fifth Universal Title on January 3, 2004.

He was introduced in World Championship Wrestling in a giant, gift-wrapped box. This giant box was to be Sting's birthday gift from Cactus Jack. Sting unwrapped his gift and it turned out to be Shreve, leading to both feuding with Sting after the incident, culminating in a "Chamber of Horrors" match at Halloween Havoc 1991, in which Cactus accidentally "electrocuted" Abdullah in an electric chair. Afterwards, he had a brief feud with his old ally, Cactus Jack, in 1992.

Abdullah’s reputation as the most sadistic and bloodthirsty hardcore wrestler in history has established a legacy far greater than any single championship ever could. In addition, his dietary habits have also become the stuff of legend, as he has been known to eat announcer’s ties, whole raw fish, and he once even bit the head off a live chicken before a traumatized crowd! Moreover, his unpredictable, ultra-violent style is largely responsible for inspiring a future generation of wrestling madmen, including “Maniac” Mark Lewin, Kevin Sullivan, Cactus Jack, Kamala, and Sabu, among others; and at almost 70 years old, he still continues to compete on the independent circuit after a career that has now spanned six decades.

Abdullah worked in nearly every major wrestling promotion in the world, except WWE, but never stayed in one place for very long. He has also taken part of Juggalo Championship Wrestling owned by the Insane Clown Posse. Even at his age, he still makes wrestling appearances and still works matches as brutal as he did in his youth accompanied by his signature fork.

Besides wrestling, Shreve owns two restaurants in southwest Atlanta called "Abdullah the Butcher's House of Ribs and Chinese Food." Shreve is often onhand to meet fans and sign autographs, and the restaurant has become something of a local attraction. Shreve and his restaurant make a cameo appearance in the music video for the song "Damn!" by Atlanta recording artists Youngbloodz. Shreve's restaurant was also referenced in the 2006 Film "ATL" during a scene where the character Ant (Played by Evan Ross) and two friends argue over local BBQ. This year the WWC's Aniversary show will be dedicated to the Butcher's legacy and contributions to WWC.

technorati tags: wcw, ecw, eddie guerrero, pro wrestling, wrestlemania, hulk hogan, ric flair, booker t, tna

Abdullah the Butcher, part 1

Larry Shreve (Born Lawrence Shreve on November 2, 1936), best known as Abdullah the Butcher, and also at times the Madman from Sudan, is a professional wrestler. He is known as one of the most brutal professional wrestlers of all-time.

Despite wrestling folklore, Abdullah the Butcher does not truly hail from the arid desert of the Sudan, as he was actually born Lawrence Shreeve in Windsor, Ontario on November 2, 1936. He grew up in Canada as part of a family of ten in a deeply poor household, though he managed to learn karate and judo as a youth, eventually earning the title of seventh-degree grandmaster.

Standing 6’1” and weighing a robust 360 pounds, Shreeve was eventually spotted by Montreal promoter Jack Britton, and he soon made his professional ring debut at age 22 in 1958. He initially competed in numerous independent territories north of the border while performing under such various monikers as Pussycat Pikens, Kuroi Jujutsushi (The Black Wizard) and Zeras Amala. However, he ultimately created his legendary gimmick of an evil Arabian sadist; and in a match against Gino Brito (Jack Britton’s real-life son), Abdullah the Butcher first distinguished himself as one of the world’s most feared rulebreakers when he broke a chair over his opponent’s head and then proceeded to beat him senseless with the leg.

Such acts of violence were only the beginning for the terrifying Abdullah the Butcher, whose menacing figure, excessive violence, and complete disregard for the safety of himself or his opponents quickly established his well-deserved reputation for ruthless brutality. Abdullah’s matches almost always degenerated into bloodbaths, and he was infamous for stabbing his opponent’s wounds with his trademark fork (or any other foreign weapon that he could get his hands on at the moment). In addition to his insanely hardcore style, Abdullah the Butcher was revolutionary in that he would never stay in any one territory for too long so as to maintain the novelty and incredible notoriety of his character. By constantly roaming from region to region, Abdullah positioned his reputation as the most violent wrestler in the world. Consequently, he was often brought into a territory as a hired gun to destroy a popular fan favorite, and his appearances usually sparked local interest since he was always such a huge drawing card. As a result, Abdullah thus engaged in crimson-soaked carnages against some of the sport’s greatest legends, including The Original Sheik, Buddy Rogers, Bobo Brazil, Bruiser Brody, Carlos Colón, Dusty Rhodes, Andre the Giant, Harley Race, Terry Funk, and “The Mongolian Stomper” Archie Gouldie, among others. Moreover, since his gimmick required that he speak no English (even though it was his native tongue in actuality), he possessed an extraordinary number of managers over the course of his long career, including Gary Hart, Paul Jones, Eddie Creatchman, Black Baron, the Grand Wizard, J.J. Dillon, Damian Kane, Larry Sharpe, Oliver Humperdink, George Cannon, Bearcat Wright, Big Bad John, and Rock Hunter, who were all portrayed as “handlers” commissioned to control the Sudanese madman while doing most of the talking in interviews. Furthermore, Abdullah would often bloody his opponents with foreign objects that he concealed in his pants. He frequently used a fork as his trademark weapon.

As a result of his frequent traveling, Abdullah the Butcher usually served as more of a special hardcore attraction than as a consistent championship contender. Accordingly, Abdullah never did win the World Heavyweight Championship, though he would nevertheless capture a myriad of regional titles during his legendary career. He won his first major championship on October 23, 1967 when he teamed with Dr. Jerry Graham to defeat John & Carlos Tolos for the NWACanadian Tag Team Titles in Vancouver. A few years later, he ventured to the Montreal region, where he secured three reigns as the IWA International Heavyweight Champion between 1969-72 while feuding against Ivan Koloff and Johnny Rougeau. He later served as one of the premier rulebreakers in Calgary’s Stampede territory, capturing the NWA Canadian Championship as well as six North American Heavyweight Titles during the early 1970’s while battling the likes of Archie Gouldie, Jerry Christy, and Sweet Daddy Siki. Before long, Abdullah the Butcher was also established as a well-known villain in the U.S.; and on June 24, 1972, he defeated Ernie Ladd in Akron, Ohio to capture the first of two eventual NWF World Heavyweight Titles. During the mid-1970’s, he also frequently performed in Detroit’s Big-Time Wrestling territory, where he engaged in a classic rivalry against local legend, the Sheik. Moreover, he also teamed with “Killer” Tim Brooks to win the region’s version of the NWA World Tag Team Titles before he then defeated Bobo Brazil on February 8, 1975 for the NWA United States Championship.

Friday, July 27, 2007

"Tank" Abbott


David Lee "Tank" Abbott (born April 26, 1965 in Huntington Beach, California) is an American mixed martial artist. He has described his fighting style, which he developed fighting on the streets of Huntington Beach, California, as "street fighting." In addition to being a mixed martial arist, Abbott wrestled professionally between 1999 and 2001 under the ring name Tank Abbott.
Abbott worked as a professional wrestler with World Championship Wrestling (WCW); initially he was brought in as an opponent for Goldberg, on the understanding he was a "legitimate" fighter - who could render any opponent unconscious with a single punch, which became his wrestling finisher, 'The Phantom Right' - and could boost Goldberg's reputation. This feud never developed, and Abbott remained mostly a comedic wrestler, frequently being featured in segments with the boy band parody stable, Three Count. The most success he had in his wrestling career was when he teamed with Rick Steiner to feud with Scott Steiner. He also nicknamed the head of WCW security, Doug Dillinger, "Mr. Smiley," and would make quacking noises at him. Many wrestling fans consider his career irreparably damaged after he jobbed to actor (and then WCW Champion) David Arquette, losing by pinfall. Recently, he signed on to be with the WWE Classic Superstar Action Figure line set to be released in July 2007. He says his favorite wrestling game is WCW/nWo Revenge for the n64.

His bad boy image and tough biker look have led many people to believe that Abbott is nothing more than a common hoodlum with a natural ability to throw punches. In reality, he never practiced any style called "Pit Fighting" and had been boxing for up to 13 years before his UFC debut and had been wrestling since high school and during his years at college. He had been coached in boxing under Jesse Reid and Tyrone Bennett and his wrestling career began at the age of 9 and by the age of 18 he became a Junior college All-American. He is also an educated man, holding a degree in history.

Abbott was the UFC fighter who appeared on the TV show Friends, fighting (and beating) Jon Favreau's character, the millionaire Pete Becker, who was dating Monica at the time. In Pete's own words he suffered "a torn rotator cuff, a hairline fracture in my right forearm, and a severely bruised Adam's Apple." Tank has also appeared on an episode of Kenan and Kel, where he swore to get revenge on Kenan for sending him to prison. His character's name was John "The Jackhammer" Rogan.

In 2003, Abbott performed a 600 pound bench press which was recorded on video. It is alleged the press was improperly done because the barbell bounced off Abbott's chest, alleviating part of the force needed to lift the weight up. Abbott responded to this claim during an interview, highlighting the ridiculousness of someone "bouncing" 600 pounds of weight off their chest without sustaining massive injury.

technorati tags: wcw, ecw, eddie guerrero, pro wrestling, wrestlemania, hulk hogan, ric flair, booker t, tna

Saturday, July 14, 2007

Super Calo


Name Super Calo
Real name Rafael García
Nicknames El Rapero (The rapper)
Name history El Greco Jr. (debut - ??), El Hijo de Superzán (90 - 91?),El Diabólico Chucky (91 - 92), Super Caló (05/92 - ), Love Warrior (96 - 97)
Family Bello Greco (father), Alan & Chris Stone (brothers)
Trained by: Bello Greco, Pepe Casas
Birth date February 22, 1971 - Guadalajara, Mexico
Wrestling Debut August 5, 1990 - Arena San Juan Pantitlán - Mexico City
Height 5'8"/173 cms
Weight 192 lbs/87 kg
Signature moves Top-Rope Headscissors, Tope Con Giro, Flying Dropkick, Slingshot somersault senton plancha
Titles: Distrito Federal Trios Titles (w/ Alan & Chris Stone), Aztecas Middleweight Title

Rafael García (born February 22, 1971) is a Mexican professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Super Calo. A longtime mainstay of Asistencia Asesoría y Administración during the 1990s, he also competed in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ,PWI ranked him # 273 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI Years in 2003

Calo's brother Chris Stone may have worked under the Super Calo name in 2005 when he jumped to AAA. Chris jumped back to CMLL a few months later, and Calo was last reported retired and not living in Mexico, so it's unclear who's currently using the name and image.

http://www.luchawiki.org/index.php?title=Super_Cal%C3%B3


technorati tags: wrestling,pro wrestling,wrestling news,pro wrestling news, professional wrestling,lucha libre,lucha libre aaa,lucha libre mask

Thursday, July 5, 2007

WCW: Kevin Sullivan, part 2


Kevin Sullivan went to the ECW in early 1993 and teamed with Tasmaniac (Tazz) . Along with with Devil Angel, who was now called Woman, they won the ECW Tag Team Wrestling Titles and then feuded with "Public Enemy" Johnny Grunge and Rocco Rock. Sullivan had a bloody feud with Abdullah The Butcher. In the spring of 1994, Sullivan left Woman behind and headed to WCW.

In WCW, he formed a tag team with his kayfabe brother Dave Sullivan, a dyslexic character who referred to himself as "Evad" who was being picked on by The Nasty Boys .Kevin enlisted Cactus Jack's help and beat the Nasty Boys for the ECW Tag Team Titles. Dave was injured and out of action for awhile and Sullivan split with Cactus Jack after losing the titles. Kevin later defeated Cactus in a Loser Leaves WCW Match at Fall Brawl on September 18, 1994.

Dave came back and dressed like his idol, Hulk Hogan.( Can you say Eugene?) This infuriated Sullivan, who hated Hogan, and so the two "brothers" began feuding. Sullivan brought in Hogan's best friend, Ed Leslie, as The Butcher to feud with him. He also brought in Avalanche calling themselves 3 Faces of Fear. They feuded with Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and Sting.

Early in 1995 , after not being able to end Hogan's career, Avalanche left the group and Sullivan turned on Butcher. Sullivan started putting together a new group with the help of his mentor, The Master. They called it the Dungeon of Doom. It was a huge stable and included Kamala, The Barbarian, Meng, Manager Jimmy Hart, Shark (formerly Avalanche), Zodiac (formerly Butcher, formerly Brutus Beefcake), Yeti, Hugh Morrus, One Man Gang and for a very short time, Vader and Big Bubba Rogers.

During this time, Sullivan began calling himself the Taskmaster. Four Dungeon of Doom members lost to The Hulkamaniacs in a WarGames match at September's Fall Brawl. As a result of Hulk Hogan's win over Zodiac, he got to spend five minutes alone with The Taskmaster. The Dungeon started a feuded with the Four Horsemen, and Sullivan acquired a certain disliking for Brian Pillman.

Once Sullivan had sent Pillman packing, the Dungeon and the Four Horsemen rejoined forces to get rid of Hogan and his friends. They brought in The Giant ( Paul Wight) , Maxx Muscle and Big Bubba Rogers. They formed the Alliance To End Hulkamania with the Horsemen in a failed attempt to do so. When they couldn't get the job done, Sullivan and Chris Benoit of the Horsemen picked up where Pillman left off and started a feud. This was a brutal feud and lasted over a year, with Benoit "stealing" Woman from Sullivan in the course of the feud. Sullivan brought in Jacquelyn to help him and also added Konnan to the Dungeon.




At Bash at the Beach on July 13, Sullivan lost a retirement match to Benoit. Kevin was already the booker so it gave him more time to do his job. Sullivan stayed on as the booker or a member of the WCW booking committee and made a brief onscreen appearance with the reformed Varsity Club of Rotunda and Rick Steiner with their cheerleader, Leia Meow. After a couple of months, he was back off TV.

Sullivan was among those blamed for the 2000 departure of Chris Benoit, Dean Malenko, Eddie Guerrero and Perry Saturn from WCW, though by no direct action of his own. After the departure of Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo, the resulting chaos led to Sullivan's promotion to head booker. This move angered a number of WCW wrestlers, given Sullivan's history of professional rivalries (notably Benoit) and poor decisions. At Souled Out 2000, Sullivan booked Benoit to win the WCW title in a desperate attempt to quell the uprising, but Benoit, Malenko, Guerrero and Saturn would quit the night after, immediately signing with the WWF. Sullivan would be fired before WCW's sale in 2001.

Sullivan makes occasional appearances on the independent circuit, mainly in Florida. He owns a gym in the Florida Keys called Froggy's Fitness.

In 1985, Sullivan married Nancy Daus (née Toffoloni), his valet. In the mid-1990s, Sullivan, the then WCW booker, scripted a storyline in which Daus would leave him in favor of his on-screen rival, Chris Benoit. During the execution of the storyline, Daus legitimately left Sullivan in favour of Benoit, divorcing Sullivan in 1997 and marrying Benoit in 2000. Insiders would say that Sullivan booked his own divorce.

Between June 22 and June 25, 2007, Benoit allegedly murdered Daus and their son, Daniel, before committing suicide. Following the incident, Sullivan expressed shock at Benoit's actions, stating "I'm in the dark...I wrestled with him a lot. I thought he was a great performer...it was shocking, just shocking."

On June 28, 2007, FOX News noted in an article on the incident that Sullivan had links to both Benoit and Sherri Martel, who had died earlier that month.

Source:
http://www.answers.com/topic/kevin-sullivan-wrestler


technorati tags: wcw, ecw, kevin sullivan, pro wrestling, wrestlemania, wcw,fallen angel,woman,sherri martel

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

WCW: Kevin Sullivan, part 1


Kevin Francis Sullivan (born October 26, 1949) is an American professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his feuds with the "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes and Mike Graham in the NWA's Florida Championship Wrestling, and against Chris Benoit and the Four Horsemen in World Championship Wrestling.

Sullivan started wrestling in October 1970 in Georgia. Since 1972 he was a face and teamed with Mike Graham in Championship Wrestling from Florida.

In 1976, he wrestled briefly for the World Wrestling Federation.

In 1981, he turned on Graham and started a feud. For the next few years, he was known as a Satan-worshipping heel in Florida Championship Wrestling & Southwest Championship Wrestling.

He had a stable of wrestlers and valets to help him with his nefarious doings. The Fallen Angel was his female sidekick who was evil but had model-quality looks. The "Fallen Angel" later became "Woman". Some of his male sidekicks were "Maniac" Mark Lewin,(AKA The Purple Haze), "Maniac" Mike Davis (who was put under a "spell" to act like Dusty Rhodes), Jake Roberts, Superstar Billy Graham, Buzz Sawyer (whom he led to the ring on a chain), Maha Singh, Karma, Winona Littleheart and Luna Vachon. Oliver Humperdink managed them. They feuded with Dusty Rhodes, Bugsy McGraw, Blackjack Mulligan, Barry Windham and Mike Graham.

This group broke up by 1986, and he feuded with Bad News Allen and Mike Rotunda. Sullivan spent from September to December in 1986 feuding with Brad and Steve Armstrong in Alabama's NWA Southeastern Championship Wrestling.

He was back in Florida in 1987 and feuding with Lex Luger and Scott Hall. After a brief face run in which he feuded with Dory Funk Jr. and Sir Oliver Humperdink, he left NWA Florida for the main NWA circuit in December 1987.

Sullivan formed The Varsity Club upon arrival in the NWA with Mike Rotunda and Rick Steiner. They immediately started feuding with Jimmy Garvin because Sullivan wanted his wife Precious for himself. This feud lasted a while with Sullivan "breaking" Garvin's leg at one point.

Steiner left the group and was replaced by "Dr. Death" Steve Williams and Dan Spivey. They feuded with Dusty Rhodes, the Road Warriors, Rick Steiner and Eddie Gilbert. Sullivan even attacked Gilbert's wife Missy Hyatt. By late 1989, the Varsity Club was gone, and Sullivan formed Slaughterhouse with Cactus Jack and Buzz Sawyer to feud with Rotunda.

Sullivan took time off in late 1990 and returned in early 1991 as the manager of One Man Gang, Black Blood, and the Angel of Death. They cut El Gigante's hair and had a brief feud. Sullivan also was the masked Merlin the Wizard briefly to manage Oz.

In 1992, Sullivan went to Smoky Mountain Wrestling and reunited with Fallen Angel, now called Devil Angel. He feuded with Brian Lee and managed the Nightstalker.

Source:
http://www.answers.com/topic/kevin-sullivan-wrestler

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