Northern California Pro Wrestling History Book Coming Soon! -- by Rock Rims

     Mozart. Picasso. Billie Holiday. Jerry Lee Lewis. Elvis Presley. John Lennon. These are just a few of the artists, whether visual or musical, who have passed through history, though their bodies of work live on, to be acknowledged, enjoyed and discussed by generations to follow. Unfortunately for fans of the art form of pro wrestling, the histories of many pro wrestling eras, territories and personalities have not received the level of documentation and acknowledgement they so richly deserve, but that will soon change for the Northern California Pro Wrestling Territory.

     William Muldoon. Ad Santel. Ed “Strangler” Lewis. Ben & Mike Sharpe. Leo Nomellini. Ray Stevens. Pat Patterson. Rocky Johnson. Peter Maivia. Moondog Mayne. The list goes on and on for the amazing pro wrestling performers who made an impact on the Northern California Pro Wrestling scene and the pro wrestling business in general, performers who contributed to making the Northern California pro wrestling territory one of the most exciting, memorable and financially lucrative in the pre-national expansion era of professional wrestling. And now their story and the story of the territory will be told.

     With over 300 pages and nearly two hundred photographs, some never published, When it was Big Time: A 100-Year History of Northern California Pro Wrestling, chronicles the evolution of pro wrestling in Northern California, including the record-setting events and the wrestlers whose performances and larger-than-life personalities transported those who watched them into a world; a world where they bore witness to morality plays consisting of epic battles of good vs. evil in intriguing storylines involving characters reminiscent of the gods of Greek & Roman mythology.

     With plans to be released in the fall of 2016, the in-depth researched book by pro wrestling research/writer Rock Rims, includes the major events and storylines of the territory’s history as well as interviews with some of the wrestlers, ring announcers, and photographers who worked for San Francisco wrestling promoter Roy Shire. A pro wrestling book unlike any other, it will also include memories of several of the wrestling fans who witnessed firsthand many of the incredible storylines produced by Promoter Shire and both the TV and live arena performances which produced such fond memories for them. This will take fans back in time to the seats they occupied when first viewing the product, and for fans who had never been privileged to witness that product themselves, it will make them understand why it is so fondly remembered and why people have been demanding for a book of this nature for decades.

     This book will also go behind the scenes to discuss and reveal the truth of some of the most notorious incidents in the territory’s history and events that led to its eventual decline. Please stay tuned for future updates.

MY FIRST TIME By Rock Rims

 

   Do you remember your first time?  Was it in an intimate setting with just you and a single partner, or did a whole group get involved?  Was there lots of sweating, lots of grunting and groaning?  Was it everything you expected?  Did it leave you wanting to come back for more?

   I can distinctly remember my first time.  I was just 3 years old.  Yeah, that’s right.  We got started early in my family.  I was 3 years old the first time I attended a live wrestling event and it definitely left me wanting to go back for more.

   I was living in East Los Angeles and I remember how excited I was that night in 1971, and my adrenaline was flowing not just from the anticipation of the upcoming live wrestling event, but because it seemed like my Stepfather and I were in danger of being late for the start of the event.  I can remember my Stepfather hopping our back fence so that we could take a shortcut to the bus stop and my Mother trying her best to help me up the side of the chain link fence so that my Stepfather could pull me over the other side.  We then crossed the huge dirt lot that was part of our neighbor’s property, a lot that would become bigger still in about a year when their house burned down.  I must have been a little bit of a sadist as a kid because I remember as the whole neighbor watched that family’s house burn to the ground; my very young uncle and I were munching on popcorn as we watched the blaze.

   My Stepfather and I had managed to catch the bus that would take us to the wrestling venue, and I would stare out the window of the bus at the lights of the city, with wonder as they contrasted with the darkness of the night while also trying to imagine what it might be like when we arrived at our destination.  Finally we had arrived at the historic Olympic Auditorium on 18^th and Grand in Downtown Los Angeles.  We finally took our seats which between the fact that they were probably fairly high up in what was a packed house, and the fact that I was only a little kid, made the ring seem as if it were a world away.  I could see cigarette hovering above the ring and I stared in wonder at the men with funny little red and white striped paper hats who with unerring and amazing accuracy, could toss a bag of peanuts to the waiting hands of anyone, regardless of how far away they were.

   I slowly ate my bag of roasted peanuts while watching the wrestling matches, and I wish I could tell you who wrestled in those matches prior to the main event or even on what exact date the event took place.  But those facts escape me.  What doesn’t escape me was the fact that the main event was something I knew was of great importance.  I don’t remember what events, what angles had led up to this particular event, but I knew that it meant something.  For in the main event, the bitterest of enemies in Southern California wrestling, not only at that time, but perhaps in all of Southern California wrestling, were about to engage in a war.  And “Maniac” John Tolos and Freddie Blassie didn’t disappoint.

   What I can also tell you is that I was in the minority.  I wasn’t in the minority because I was a Mexican-American, hell, in the Olympic Auditorium you were probably in the minority if you weren’t.  I was in the minority because I was there to root for John Tolos.  Blame it on my upbringing if you will, but this 3 year old would be cheering for a man nicknamed “Maniac.”  John Tolos was the most hated wrestler in Los Angeles at this time and was the definite “heel” or “bad guy” in this feud that had stretched back to the summer of the previous year. By contrast, Freddie Blassie with his sequined and colorful outfits, sometimes accessorized with a sombrero, had definitely endeared himself to the hearts of the fans, many of whom were Latinos.

   Finally the main event began and a chill ran down my spine as the combatants were introduced.  And the match did not disappoint.  It was a melodrama, and being seated so far from the ring, the epic battle was almost a pantomime of sorts, with the only audible sounds or soundtrack being the screaming of the fans.  The match consisted of peaks and valleys and I sat with my eyes and attention riveted to the moral play unfolding in the ring.  There was blood…lots of blood…and I remember having to fight off breaking into tears as I saw Freddie Blassie bite into the head of my then-hero John Tolos. 

   If I remember correctly, Blassie won that match, much to my disappointment.  However to my delight, Tolos would return to fight another day.  Their feud would become the stuff of legend, and all throughout their 4 four years of battling off and on, they’d participate in every conceivable type of match against each other, including stretcher matches, cage matches, matches involving brass knuckles, chain matches, and “Gladiator Death matches.”  They would even return many years later in 1980 to square off in a tag team cage match.  Blassie would be in his early 60’s in this one and while the match was hardly a classic and the arena was less than half full, the “pop” they got from the crowd made it seem as if there were many more in the crowd than there actually was.

   The first wrestling “maneuver” that I ever learned was the “corkscrew” that John Tolos used on the temples of his opponents head.  My stepfather was gracious enough to demonstrate it’s effectiveness on me and I in turn couldn’t wait to show my brother how effective it was in producing a headache. 

   But why did a 3 year cheer for such a hated guy like John Tolos?  I guess I didn’t know any better.  On the other hand, I think I did.  Tolos was compelling, magnetic, and both his presence in the ring as well as his unique and intense interviews made you want to watch his every move, hang on his every word.  While the goal of Tolos and the storylines may have been to make the fans hate him, more importantly, the goal was to get us to watch him.  And watch him we did, he and Blassie both.  That year in 1971, the two would meet at the Los Angeles Coliseum in August and set what was then a record gate for a wrestling event as 25,847 fans paid $142,158.50 to watch Blassie defeat Tolos 2 falls to one in their “battle of the century”.

   And as a whole, pro wrestling itself was still very compelling at that time.  Even if we had the technology available back then, I guarantee you that no one would have been sending or checking their text messages or updating their facebook status.  For the only status they were concerned about was what was going on in a 20 x 20 foot ring and the only world they knew for 2 hours or so was the world within that arena.  And just as the world outside the wrestling arenas have changed so have the worlds inside them.  - RR

SPREADING THE EXCITEMENT - By Rock Rims

   Just a few years earlier the two men had paired up a few times, partners against common enemies; now they were on opposite sides, both seeking vengeance.  It was November 10, 1973 at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, and Pat Patterson and “Moondog” Lonnie Mayne were set to clash in the main event for Patterson’s United States Heavyweight Wrestling Title.  4 weeks earlier, Mayne had bloodied Pepper Martin for the second time in a matter of weeks and Patterson saved Martin from a more serious beating.  Now he was looking to avenge that beating and Mayne was looking to avenge the interference.  And if he won the U.S. title in the process that would just be the icing on the cake.

   With fans rooting for their hero Patterson to tame the wild Moondog, the two battled fiercely in a match that resulted in a draw, and even when they met again on December 1^st, with legendary tough guy Peter Maivia as the special referee, nothing was settled as Moondog Mayne lost the 3^rd fall of the rematch on a count out.  The only things that were decided was that Patterson and Mayne wanted another shot at each other and that Maivia had made a new enemy as he and Lonnie had gotten physical during the match up.

   10,000 fans had been treated to an intense back and forth battle and promoter Roy Shire knew he had gold.  3 weeks later the two were matched up yet again, and 12, 517 screaming fans packed the Cow Palace and ponied up $52,006 to watch Moondog Mayne once again challenge the champion.  That was almost twice the audience and gate that had witnessed Dutch Savage do the same thing less than 3 months earlier.  As was expected, the two fought tooth and nail, and to the shock and dismay of those in attendance, Moondog Mayne defeated Patterson in the 2 out of 3 fall event and was the new U.S. Heavyweight champion! 

   There would be rematches with Patterson as well as challenges from other formidable foes such as Don Muraco, Rocky Johnson, and Peter Maivia.  And in the summer of ’74 Moondog would find himself in the position of challenger once again.

The Champ comes to town

   NWA World Heavyweight Champion Jack Brisco was coming to San Francisco for a rare visit and as the U.S. Heavyweight Champion, Lonnie “Moondog” Mayne was the number one contender in the territory.  The two seemed like complete polar opposites in the ring as former NCAA National wrestling champion Brisco relied on his technical wrestling whereas the “Moondog” character that Lonnie Mayne had developed was a fierce brawler, prone to baying like a wild dog and biting into the flesh of his opponents every chance he got.  This would not be the first time or the last that Lonnie Mayne would fight for a World title.  And as he always did, he gave the champ all that he could handle.  Could you imagine the reaction the Cow Palace fans would have, if this dog food eating, glass chewing animal who held the U.S. title would become the World champion as well?  Their hearts must’ve momentarily stopped because it nearly happened!

   Each man had won a fall in the July 27, 1974 title match when Mayne cracked the champion with a devastating punch while wearing brass knuckles!  It went unseen by referee Larry Williams who then delivered the 3 count as Mayne covered Brisco for the pin and it seemed that there was a new champion.  However the Moondog’s victory was short lived as another referee, Frank Nocetti, entered the ring and informed Williams that Mayne had used brass knuckles.  The decision was reversed with Moondog Mayne now being disqualified and Brisco escaping with his title!  Well easy come, easy go.

   Of course this called for a rematch and Shire was willing to give the NWA Champion his typical healthy slice of the gate for their return match 3 weeks later which also saw Brisco leave with his title claim intact.  Well at least Moondog still had his U.S. title belt.  At least for a couple of months anyway as Peter Maivia would win the belt on October 12^th.  Rematches in San Francisco, Sacramento, and Las Vegas would ensue, along with a rekindled feud with Pat Patterson which was more hot and heavy than their first time around.

   And in the sometimes strange world of professional wrestling, Lonnie Mayne again displayed some of his versatility as a performer in the summer of ’75 when he not only became a “good guy” but he also began teaming with ex-bitter enemy Pat Patterson and even Pepper Martin himself!  The fans were now rooting enthusiastically for the “Moondog” but this run in San Francisco was quickly coming to its end.

On The Road Again

   After a stopover in Portland it was on to Georgia for Lonnie Mayne where he again “flipped the script” becoming a hated heel, teaming with the likes of “Crazy” Luke Graham and Abdullah the Butcher, and opposing such “fan favorites” as Mr. Wrestling II, Dick Slater, Bob Backlund, Bobo Brazil, and Thunderbolt Patterson.  After 6 months of that it was on to the Lone Star State, where he feuded for several months with Jose Lothario, challenged the America’s Heavyweight Champion Chavo Guerrero in a rare title defense outside of Los Angeles, and won a battle royal. 

   And as if things weren’t interesting enough, as 1976 was drawing to a close, the vicious Moondog again became a fan favorite, just in time to engage in a series of matches against the Sheik in what must’ve been like watching two pit bulls going at it.  Lonnie found a place in the hearts of the Texas Wrestling fans.  It inspired Ricky Ringside to produce a 45 single entitled “The Ballad of Moondog Mayne” which was played during Moondog’s walk to the ring and sold at the arena concession stands, and it caused fans to delight as Mayne stormed the ring dressed as Santa Claus and swung a bag of toys at the heels who made a quick exit.

  Before he left the area in the spring of ’77, Lonnie would wrestle NWA World Champion Terry Funk to a draw and also challenge new champion Harley Race as well.  While he didn’t walk away with the title, he gained many new fans who remember the man for whom “every day is like Christmas” and who seemed at times to be a mischievous butt-kicking version of old St. Nick himself.

 

Did He Really Call You Crazy?

 

   In February of 1967, almost right from the start of Lonnie Mayne’s career in the Pacific Northwest, Ringside commentator Frank Bonnema was right by his side along for the ride.  Bonnema was always the epitome of composure which was in stark contrast to the sometimes chaotic atmosphere which was part of the Portland Wrestling television program.  Shown live beginning at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday nights, Bonnema was a cherished fixture, as much as the salesmen hawking used cars with vinyl seats, mobile homes and recreational vehicles, and appliances from Tom Peterson’s where you could pick up anything from washers and dryers to cb radios and faux wood console stereos complete with AM/FM radio, an 8 track cassette player and flashing disco lights. And Frank and Lonnie seemed to complement each other perfectly.

   Now, it was the spring of 1977, 10 years since they first worked together, and Lonnie Mayne was back in Oregon. With his strong drawing power at the box office and the working relationship between Roy Shire and Don Owen it wasn’t unusual for Lonnie to make an occasional trip to San Francisco while simultaneously working for Don Owen in Oregon.  And with Frank Bonnema holding the microphone, Lonnie was discussing his upcoming match with U.S. Champion Alexis Smirnoff at the Cow Palace in San Francisco.

   “Because all I heard”, Lonnie was saying during his promo, “He said I was crazy and let me you one thing Smirnoff…tonight in the Cow Palace I got a United States Championship match.  I had that before Frank.  I had that belt and tonight I got it again and you know what’s goin?  I’m going to beat him like raw hamburger!”  Lonnie then began eating raw hamburger on camera and then threw some down on the studio floor where he began to stomp it, as if to demonstrate what he would be doing to his opponent.  In mock surprise Bonnema then asked Lonnie, “Did he really say you were crazy?”

   While he never liked to be called “crazy” Lonnie “Moondog” Mayne seemed to do all he could to convince the fans that he was and there was a method to his “madness”, as he could alternately cause his audience to fear and despise him, or embrace him warmly.  And in the Pacific Northwest it was with open arms that he was welcomed back.

   Don Owen’s Pacific Northwest territory was promoted in a way that would appeal to its audience who were mostly comprised of simple, unpretentious, blue collar workers and their families, who had a strong sense of community.  It wasn’t unheard of for Don Owen to offer “specials” where for each paid adult admission a child would get in free or to offer free coloring books to the children for showed up to the arena events.      

    These were wrestling fans that no doubt agreed with the policy of “speak softly and carry a big stick” although those fans could get quite loud and vocal in the Portland Sports Arena and little old ladies were known to substitute a swing of a cane for a big stick.  They boisterously booed the villains and wholeheartedly cheered and embraced their heroes and Lonnie was one of the most popular wrestlers ever in the area.

     This wild looking man who wasn’t always articulate in his interviews but would still leave no doubt as to the point he was making, was a genius at cultivating the love the fans had for him.  He would dedicate his victories to his fans and promise to “do it for the people” and was known to sometimes where t-shirts to the ring that read “Love Oregon or bite me!”  Although his character was simple and sometimes even crude, that wasn’t something that worked against him but rather in his favor.  He spoke much like many in the audience probably did and with the type of dastardly opponents he faced, the fans no doubt felt that someone who was a bit of a roughneck is just who was needed to put the heels in their place.  Ed Wiskowski referred to him as a “blue collar Robin Hood” and that’s exactly how the fans saw him, as there to right the wrongs. 

     He was also a “Pied Piper” as this man who had in years past struck fear in the hearts of ringside fans and had even been billed alternately as “MadDog Mayne”, “Moondog Mayne” and  “Mauler Mayne” in some instances, now had children running up to him to touch him and shake his hand on his way to the ring.  In the Northwest, he was simply known as “Lonnie”.  I can still recall the image of him soundly thrashing Buddy Rose and tenaciously chasing him around the ring, only to soon after have a girl around the age of 5 run up and give him a hug.  He would then lift the child in his arms and walk with her up the aisle to the applause and smiles of those in attendance.  He was that crazy but loveable uncle, Santa Claus with a couple of shots of Southern comfort in him to keep himself warm on a cold Christmas Eve.  It was a testament not only to his appeal with the fans but to his tremendous versatility as a performer.  – RR

 

Next:  Saying Good bye to Lonnie            

 

Special thanks to Doug McCleer for sharing some of his photos for this article.  

 

Top photo by Viktor Berry       

 

Sources:

Wrestlingdata.com

THE EXCITEMENT CONTINUES... By Rock Rims

     “If I could make it there I can make it anywhere” might’ve been song lyrics written about New York, but in the 1960’s world of professional wrestling, the same thing could probably have been said about any territory with a strong television presence.  Los Angeles certainly had that and Lonnie Mayne had certainly made a good impression there.  But as would be his habit, he would soon get the itch to move on.

   In October of 1966 Lonnie had a match against the original Paul Diamond at the Lane County Fairgrounds in Eugene, Oregon, and apparently he hadn’t gotten enough of either Diamond or Oregon because he returned on November 4, to defeat Diamond, this time in Portland.  For the rest of the month Lonnie occupied himself with wrestling Diamond, participating in an 8 man battle royal, tagging up with a visiting Pat Patterson, and giving Diamond the occasional breather by taking on a different opponent.

   And it was in December that business would really begin to pick up.  “Tough” Tony Borne had recently beaten Shag Thomas for the Pacific Northwest Heavyweight title and as if didn’t already have enough on his plate defending that belt, he would have his hands full with a new responsibility.

   “Lonnie came to the area and Ken Mayne, his father, phoned me and said ‘Kind of look after him’.  Little did I know what a job this would be”, Borne recalled years later.  “I did know that Lonnie possessed much talent.  Also he had strength that was second to none.  Everything he did was different and this included his lifestyle.  To Lonnie every day was like Christmas and mornings when he awoke his eyes would sparkle like a little boy arising on Christmas morning.  He was a guy with a big heart and couldn’t say no to anybody.  At times I would get so angry with him I wouldn’t speak to him for days, but he would always win a person back with his unselfish ways.”

   “Tony Borne was really the strength behind Lonnie’s start in his whole career,” reflects Lonnie’s younger brother, Shawn Mayne.  “Tony just really brought him along.  Lonnie had been around the business all his life, so he had that natural feel for it.” 

   Pacific Northwest promoter Don Owen wasn’t terribly impressed with Lonnie his first few weeks in the territory but Tony Borne went to bat for Lonnie, suggesting that the two become a tag team and in no time at all the pair began the first of what would be 11 Pacific Northwest tag team title reigns for them as partners, unseating Pepper Martin and Shag Thomas on December 14, 1966.  It would also be the beginning of a very heated feud between Mayne and Pepper Martin, the professional wrestler and sometimes ringside commentator.

   “When he came to the Northwest, the wrestling fans in the Northwest had never seen anything like Lonnie Mayne.  He would do crazy stuff, and he just got over,” Martin would later say.  “He just got over like a million dollars.  I mad a lot of money with him in the Northwest.” 

   The feud, consisting of both tag team matches as well as singles matches, was intense, with many of the matches ending in disqualification, enough times that sometimes they’d have matches with a “no disqualification” stipulation.  On June 26, 1967, Lonnie Mayne would defeat Pepper Martin in a Texas Death match in Portland, and their feud was pretty much at an end…for now.

   Other feuds would commence, including those with Paul Jones, Johnny Kostas, and Stan Stasiak, Luther Lindsay, Dean Ho, and after a falling out between the pair, Tony Borne as well.  Tony Borne proved to be right when he had told Don Owen early on that Lonnie “has got more color than any man you’ve ever had here.”  Lonnie had established himself as both a top heel and a big draw, enough so that he was tabbed to square off against Gene Kiniski on November 28, 1967 in Portland, for Kiniski’s NWA World Heavyweight tile.  Kiniski would win the first fall and in the second, Lonnie Mayne would prove that he was more than just a brawler, as he pinned Kiniski after a leap off the top rope.

   Don Muraco witnessed Lonnie’s high flying on numerous occasions, including his first night working in Portland: “”Lonnie Mayne was standing on the top turnbuckle and somebody drop kicked him from the back and he went right from the top turnbuckle right onto the cement.  This is 1970.  You talk about “Cactus Jack” Mick Foley…Lonnie was taking insane bumps!”  Muraco would also add: “I could have seen him taking a bump off a cage, given the opportunity and the venue.  He was like that.” 

   Ron Bass, who worked with Lonnie in Texas, Portland, and Los Angeles echoed those sentiments.  “He was one of the first ones of the high flyers.  Period. He’d be soused to the gills, but you’d never know it in the ring.  He was a top flyer, man.”

   However in the match with Kiniski, Lonnie’s aggressive manner got the better of him and he continued to beat on the defending champion who was still prone on the mat after having been pinned.  Lonnie was disqualified and would lose the match before the third fall even got started, but there would be more opportunities, both for title shots and mayhem.

 

Time For A Change

 

   Along with reigns as the Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Champion and another tour of Japan near the end of 1968, Lonnie and Tony Borne would patch things up and reunite as a tag team to battle with Kurt and Karl Von Steiger over the tag titles.  That reunion would eventually break up again and Lonnie would change his ways, becoming a “good guy” and forming an alliance with Dutch Savage against the new villainous duo of the Skull and Bull Ramos. 

   The late great Dutch Savage said on his website regarding Lonnie Mayne: “Lonnie was one of the better workers to ever come out of the Northwest.  He was my partner for a couple of years after I turned face.  We made an awful lot of money working against one another before he left for Hawaii.”

   “Lonnie Mayne made Bull Ramos in Portland, Oregon” Ramos would later say.  Contrary to what people believe, Bull Ramos didn’t actually break Lonnie’s arm in a match but rather it was a way of explaining Lonnie’s absence while shuttling back and forth between the Northwest and Hawaii.  In addition, it was a great way to “put over” Bull Ramos as a heel, as Lonnie never hesitated to do what was good for the business and to help those he worked with. 

   Working in Hawaii, Lonnie continued to distinguish himself as an impact player in pro wrestling, wrestling to time limit draws with the likes of Sam Steamboat, Mil Mascaras, promoter Ed Francis, and winning the NWA Hawaiian Heavyweight title from Bearcat Wright.  Unfortunately for Superstar Billy Graham, who was also working in Honolulu at the time, Lonnie didn’t take it easy on inanimate objects either.  Always curious as well as mischievous, Lonnie wondered what it’d be like to body slam a friend off of the first floor balcony of the hotel they were staying at.  Not wanting to injure his friend on the concrete, he figured the roof of Graham’s car would make a much better landing spot.  He was right, as his friend walked away without injury, but the roof of Graham’s car was caved in.  There was never a dull moment in the life of Lonnie Mayne. 

 

Enter The “Moondog”

 

   1973 rolled in, and so did Lonnie Mayne, or rather “Moondog” Mayne, into New York and Vince McMahon Sr.’s World Wide Wrestling Federation.  While Lonnie had nice exposure in Los Angeles and Portland, and had wrestled in the historic Olympic Auditorium, New York’s Madison Square Garden was still considered to be the “Mecca” of pro wrestling venues.  The Lonnie Mayne who hit the East Coast wrestling rings was indeed a Wildman and every night he lived up to the reputation he quickly established for himself there.  After defeating a succession of preliminary wrestlers he beat ring veteran Chief Jay Strongbow on January 13^th in the Boston Garden, a site where the wrestling fans were almost as rabid in the stands as he was in the ring.  And then 2 days later, after being in the area only two weeks, he was in the main event in Madison Square Garden.  As always, his path to the main event was the same as his path in life: In the fast lane.

   On January 15^th “Moondog” Mayne attempted to take the WWWF World Heavyweight title from Pedro Morales, and while he was unsuccessful in the attempt, it wouldn’t be his last opportunity.  Mayne would take enlist “Captain” Lou Albano as his manager and continue to challenge the champion up and down the East coast, including a title shot he earned after winning a battle royal in the Boston Garden in front of 15,600 screaming fans.  

   His character, charisma, and ring psychology captured the imaginations of East Coast fans as well as the wrestling magazines, in which articles appeared describing their shocked responses to his baying like a wild dog in the middle of the ring, his brutal assaults on his opponents and his eating glass during interviews.  Even though his time in the WWWF would be brief, his impact on the East Coast scene was memorable.  Nearly 40 years later while being inducted into the 2012 WWE Hall of fame, “Iron” Mike Tyson cited Moondog Mayne as one of his favorite and most memorable wrestlers from his childhood.  In between title shots Mayne also battled Tony Garea, Gorilla Monsoon, and even the “Living Legend” Bruno Sammartino, and occasionally paired up with another ring legend, “Classy” Freddie Blassie.

   However on June 29, 1973, Lonnie’s time in the WWWF would come to an end in Madison Square Garden. Ever the professional, Lonnie did what was good for the business, putting over Haystacks Calhoun and getting pinned cleanly in the middle of the ring in a little over 6 minutes. 

   His time there was memorable not only for the fans but also memorable for him as well.     Shawn Mayne remembers: “He had come home for a visit and he told my Dad, ‘You know this guy, Vince Jr., he’s really something.  He’s going to go places.  He doesn’t think like the other promoters’ meaning that he really thought out of the box.”  It was one creative mind and innovative mind showing appreciation for another.

   However on June 29, 1973, Lonnie’s time in the WWWF would come to an end in Madison Square Garden. Ever the professional, Lonnie did what was good for the business, putting over Haystacks Calhoun and getting pinned cleanly in the middle of the ring in a little over 6 minutes.

 

 

 

Going Back To Cali

   In the fall, Lonnie would begin an extended run in San Francisco working for promoter Roy Shire, and this time, the Northern California fans would get the “Moondog Mayne” treatment.  Wrestling announcer and commentator Joe Sousa remembers first seeing Lonnie Mayne on Portland television in 1972 while he was living in Medford, Oregon.  “I was nine years old and he was wrestling as a ‘good guy’ when I first saw him and I thought ‘This guy is awesome!’”

   However Lonnie soon went to New York and then San Francisco, where Joe could resume following Lonnie’s exploits.  “Living in Medford, not only could I watch Portland wrestling on television, but on cable we could also see wrestling from San Francisco.  Referee turned Wrestler Ed Moretti would later give me heat for that because I had the best of both worlds” Joe recalls with a laugh.  “The ‘Moondog’ character was quite different from the Lonnie Mayne I saw in Oregon.”

   It would also be a reunion of sorts for Moondog Mayne and Pepper Martin, although not nearly as pleasant.  Martin had retired from the ring after an injury sustained in a match with Lonnie several years earlier in Oregon, and had turned to acting part time and doing ringside commentary during Roy Shire’s “Big Time Wrestling” television shows, with the occasional wrestling match thrown in for good measure.  His commentating style was one that sometimes led to verbal confrontations between him and some of the heel wrestlers.  On one occasion he made the critical mistake of calling Lonnie “crazy”.

   Long time San Francisco wrestling fan Fred Lazarus remembered that incident vividly: “Mayne busted open Pepper Martin and commentator Hank Renner went nuts, yelling over and over again, ‘My friend! My friend!  What have you done to him?!’  Then at the Cow Palace when Pepper got his chance at Moondog, you know the outcome…Moondog busted him open again big time and Pat came to the rescue and that started their feud!”

   The match that Fred Lazarus spoke of between Lonnie and Pepper took place at the Cow Palace was on October 13, 1973, and the “Pat” that he referred to was Pat Patterson, former “bad guy” but current “good guy,” as well as the current United States Heavyweight Champion.  He had just successfully defended his title against Dutch Savage that night and now he had his sights set on Lonnie Mayne.  And that suited the Moondog just fine.  – RR

 

 

I’d like to thank Shawn K. Mayne, Joe Sousa, and Fred Lazarus for sharing their fond memories of Lonnie Mayne. - RR

 

 

Sources:

Wrestlingdata.com

“Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels” By Greg Oliver and Steven Johnson

“Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Team” By Greg Oliver and Steven Johnson

Don Muraco Shoot interview – RF Video

“Regional Territories: Pacific Northwest” by Mike Rodgers – Kayfabememories.com

DutchSavage.com

“’Apache Bull Ramos Still Battling” By Greg Oliver- Slam! Wrestling, October 13, 2014

Thehistoryofwwe.com

"EXCITEMENT IN THE AIR" (PT.1) By Rock Rims

 

 

  He was quite a large man.  And like many large men, he had a strong air of confidence.  In fact, he seemed to exude such a high level of confidence that he appeared to think he was invulnerable.  And it was all those traits that made the words he would speak seem all the more ominous.  “…Whenever I saw that, I’d sit in the dressing room watching the monitor and I’d say ‘what am I going to be facing?!  What am I going to have to go out in the ring against?!  What could I possibly do against a man like that?!”

     The Large Man who was speaking was Professional Wrestler Sam Oliver Bass, who would go on to be better known as “The Outlaw” Ron Bass.  And the man he was referring to, the man who seemed to disrupt his air of confidence and give him pause for thought, was the Professional Wrestler named Lonnie “Moondog” Mayne.  And the “thing” that he was witnessing, the thing that he would describe as “inhuman” , the thing that made he and others wonder what they were dealing with, was a bloody “Moondog” Mayne biting into a broken bottle and chewing the glass. 

     It was in December of 1977 when Bass recounted his early impressions of Lonnie Mayne and I’m sure much to his relief, Lonnie was now his partner rather than his opponent, and they were engaged in a very heated feud with Buddy Rose and Ed Wiskowski in Don Owen’s Pacific Northwest territory.  Soon, the feud would end and Lonnie would be headed back to California and I would catch my first glimpse of the Moondog.  And while this would be my first opportunity to witness what Lonnie Mayne had to offer in the world of professional wrestling I would later find that others had been captivated by him for years and that he was no stranger to California.

 

Where It All Started

 

     Ronald “Lonnie” Doyle Mayne was born on September 12, 1944 in the small town of Fairfax in Northern California.  Lonnie came from a wrestling family, as his uncle Ronald was active as a pro during the 30’s and 40’s, and his father Kenny was in 1934 an Intermountain AAU wrestling champion at 145 lbs.  Kenny would also venture into professional wrestling, first as an in-ring performer before also adding to his resume the  promoting of wrestling in Utah starting in the 1950’s. 

     Though he was born in California Lonnie was raised in Utah and was active as a youth, participating in many activities, including sports and motorcycle riding, and the latter would remain a favorite pastime for him throughout his life.  Like wrestling, motorcycle riding was a bit of a tradition in the Mayne family as Lonnie’s uncle Pete Cazier, who in addition to having been an amateur boxer and race car driver also raced bikes for the Harley Davidson Motorcycle team.  Lonnie’s younger brother Shawn told a story regarding a young Lonnie expressing extreme disappointment when Santa hadn’t delivered a much desired motorcycle.  “That dirty old son of a bitch didn’t bring me a motorcycle!’ Lonnie exclaimed before heading back to his room.  Always a fun loving character, “Dirty old son of a bitch” may also have been the same words uttered by angry patrons of a particular Holiday Inn as Lonnie rode his motorcycle down the hallways in the early morning hours many years later.

      It became evident early on that the sport of wrestling was also in his blood as Lonnie would tag along with his father to some of his matches.  The elder Mayne had wrestled in various territories including Utah (where he was once the State Middleweight Champion), Ohio, Texas, and Idaho, and had wrestled such notables as Antone Leone and Bill Curry, as well as the occasional not so-notable such as “Young Hitler”.  Another territory Kenny would work is the Pacific Northwest which was also a main stomping ground for Tony Borne who would become a legend in the Pacific Northwest territory and would become instrumental in Lonnie’s early success in pro wrestling.  Borne later fondly recalled his first impressions of a then-12 year old Lonnie Mayne.  While he referred to him as a “snot nosed kid”, he also said,  “…Even at this early age, I knew he had a little something extra going for him.” (Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Heels- Greg Oliver and Steven Johnson)

     Lonnie would also display an aptitude for football and was an All-American while playing at the College of Southern Utah.  After college Lonnie weighed his options between pursuing a possible career in professional football and pursuing one in professional wrestling.  Fortunately for many fans of the mat game, he chose the ring.

     He began wrestling at age 20, and after wrestling for a few months in Utah, where he held the North American tag team titles with Bobby Mayne, he then headed to Southern California. Promoter Jules Strongbow who along with the Cal and Eileen Eaton, were the promoters of the WWA in Southern California and despite not being affiliated with the NWA, ran an extremely strong promotion.  At the time Los Angeles was a hotbed for wrestling and the roster was stacked very deep. And with its strong television programming it also attracted visiting wrestling luminaries who were looking for increased exposure as well as a quick payday on the way to or on the way back from a tour in Japan.

 

   Even so, the promotion saw value in the strong young man and he saw success from the get-go, and within days of his arrival, he wrestled Pedro Morales to a draw during a TV taping in Los Angeles on October 5, 1965, less than 2 weeks before Morales would win the WWA Heavyweight title.  That great showing would earn him a rematch with Morales 3 weeks later, this time for his newly won title.  Each combatant would win a fall only for the match to end in a draw as neither was able to secure the decisive fall. 

     Lonnie would continue to make a showing for himself as a singles wrestler, also wrestling to draws with such Los Angeles wrestling stars as Nick Bockwinkel, Enrique Torres, and Mr. Moto.  In addition he would also form a solid tag team with “Crazy” Luke Graham, and the two unpredictable brawlers quickly became top contenders for the WWA World tag team titles during the first few months of 1966, even wrestling champions Thunderbolt Patterson and Alberto Torres to a draw.   His aggressive and relentless style of wrestling led to him being billed as “Mauler Mayne” on at least one promotional poster at the time and was a contributing factor to his being booked in Japan that same year.

     Feeling that his promoter father may have had something to do with that, no doubt Lonnie’s being booked in Japan so early in his career and at the tender age of 21 also could be attributed in part to the strong relationship that the Los Angeles WWA had with Japan’s JWA.  JWA star and promoter Rikidozan had learned long before that importing American wrestlers as opponents for the Japanese professional wrestlers added to the prestige of the events he promoted, and the fans were always eager to cheer for their hometown boy against the “foreign invaders.”  Shawn Mayne also feels that Lonnie’s strong amateur wrestling background played a part.

     “Truth be known Lonnie had a great scientific talent!  Our Father had a great Amateur career and in fact was going to the Olympic trials when he broke his leg in a motorcycle accident.  He became a true hooker in the pro ranks.  Lonnie took after our Father to an extent and learned a lot from him!  He was a State Champion in High School in Wrestling.  Lonnie was the youngest wrestler to go to Japan in the late 1960’s where as you know, scientific skills were and still a must, even being ‘green’”!

     Before that first overseas tour however, Lonnie would spend a month in Northern California wrestling for promoter Roy Shire, including a match with the then U.S. Heavyweight Champion Bill Watts.  While the stay would be brief Lonnie gave the local fans a taste of the performer that several years later they would alternately love and also love to hate.

     It must’ve been quite an experience for the young man from Utah to be on a professional wrestling tour in the exotic country of Japan at such an early age.  Even at that time a tour of Japan was considered quite a coup not only for the increased exposure and the great paydays, but because pro wrestling was held in such high regard by the local fans and they had come to expect nothing but the best.  The tour lasted a little under 2 months and Lonnie would find himself on opposite sides of the ring with some of Japan’s top stars including Shohei “Giant” Baba, Antonio Inoki, and Kintaro Oki.  Tours of Japan can also make strange bedfellows as Pedro Morales, his main singles opponent in Los Angeles, sometimes found himself as Lonnie’s partner during the tour.  Evidently Lonnie made a good impression during his stay in the “Land of the Rising Sun” as he would be invited on another tour two years later.

     But for now it was back to Los Angeles where he would wrestle for a few more months before heading to the area where he would make his biggest mark and perhaps even have his strongest legacy.

 

Next time:  What else would a dog eat?

 

Sources:

Legacyofwrestling.com

Wrestlingdata.com

RON STARR: GOOD AT BEING ROTTEN - PART II - By Rock Rims

                                                                   About Face

     In 1980 while the Southern California wrestling territory still had some talented workers, the roster wasn’t anywhere near as deep as it once was and ticket sales and interest were becoming negatively affected.  Ron Starr along with John Tolos were the biggest heels at the time but they were sorely in need of a strong babyface to work with.  Chavo Guerrero had been the top babyface for years but he was wrestling less frequently in the territory as he was earning more money on his tours of Japan and was occasionally doing shows in other U.S. territories as well.

     Walter Johnson was given a push but both his promo skills and ring work were solely lacking.  While Al Madril, Tom Pritchard worked well in the ring and Chavo’s brother Mando was even better, they all lacked the charisma and presence that Chavo had.  He had left some awfully big shoes to fill.

     By this time, Ron Starr had begun teaming with Tolos and the decision was made to turn Ron into a “babyface”, a “good guy.”  While Ron preferred to wrestle as a heel, the fans responded well to his face turn and one of the most hated heels in the territory was then voted “The most popular wrestler” in the area by the fans as he now had begun to battle Tolos and his cronies.  And it was late in the year that Al Madril was receiving a beatdown in the Olympic Auditorium ring as Ron Starr stormed the ring and delivered standing dropkick after dropkick, including a missile dropkick off the top rope to even up the odds.  The fan response was tremendous as many were jumping up and down and screaming enthusiastically as their new hero was cleaning house of Tolos, the Assassin, and Prof. Ito.

     But while this type of fan reaction to Ron Starr was something new in L.A., it had been going on for nearly two years up North in Roy Shire’s Big Time Wrestling promotion and almost nearly as long in Don Owens’s Portland Wrestling territory.

Anything but “Rotten”

     It was late in 1978 that Ron Starr entered Roy Shire’s Northern California territory but as would be his habit, he was quick about making an impact.  In his first few months in the territory he would have 2 reigns as one half of the San Francisco version of the NWA World Tag Team champions, first with Dean Ho and then later winning the tag team titles on November 23, 1978 with partner Enrique Vera, who was a former National Champion and future UWA Heavyweight Champion in Mexico.

    Ron was soon positioned as one of the top babyfaces in the promotion engaging in both a singles and tag team feud with Buddy Rose and Ed Wiskowski who were managed by the hated Dr. Ken Ramey, who was excellent at drawing heat.  While Big Time Wrestling was undoubtedly at it’s strongest during the 60’s, this feud was definitely a bright spot in the late 70’s and featured 4 people who were all excellent when it came to cutting compelling promos.

     “Roy liked the way I did my promos” Ron says.  “He said ‘I like that you don’t yell and scream like so many other guys.’” And the feud was one that Ron enjoyed working and considering that things were changing for California Wrestling as a whole, it still did well and was even later extended to the Portland Wrestling territory as well.

     “I liked Buddy Rose and felt that he was a real good worker and good on the mic.  He was this fat, pudgy kid and sometimes he would ‘blow up’ on me a little bit in the ring but he would always drag out enough to do what he needed to do in the match.  He’d get winded but I’d just tell him ‘Just stay down for a minute and catch your breath’.  Yeah, he was a good guy to work with.”
 

     Ron began to be pushed more as a singles wrestler and won the Annual 18 man San Francisco Battle Royal in 1979 which included the likes of Superstar Billy Graham, Dory Funk Jr., and Harley Race, and was awarded a trophy as well as a $30,000 dollar check.  Later that night he would face Harley Race for the NWA World Heavyweight title.  Actually, Ron wasn’t the opponent that was originally slated to face the World Champion that evening in the Cow Palace.

     “Jimmy Snuka was originally scheduled to face Harley for the title but he missed his flight.  I then went up to Shire and said, ‘Hey Roy, I don’t want you to think I’m an asshole or anything, but since Snuka couldn’t make it, I’d like to be the one to wrestle Harley for the title.  I think we could have a good match.’ “

     “Roy thought about it for a second and said, ‘I think you’re right.  Alright, you’ll be in the match with Harley tonight.” Ron then went out and cut a promo to set up the match.  “I went out and got on the mic and said ‘I know that Jimmy’s not here and he was supposed to wrestle Harley for the title tonight, but since he’s not here…I’ll challenge Race for the title…that is if he’s man enough to accept the challenge!”

     Snuka had been in the territory for a few months by that time and had been engaging in a feud with the United States Champion Buddy Rose over the title belt.  Although he was popular, the Cow Palace fans in attendance cheered enthusiastically when it was announced that Starr would in fact be substituting for Snuka and facing Race for the World Heavyweight title.  “They just ‘popped’ when they heard that.”

     Robert Counts who grew up within walking distance of the Cow Palace and was a regular for years at the wrestling events, was there that night at well and remembers his reaction to the announcement.  “I was thrilled!  Though Snuka was popular and impressive, Ron was a step higher in most minds.  Starr was the technical wrestler that I always felt could out wrestle most, and out maneuver the rest.  The ‘dumb wrestler’ is the one who interferes with the twenty count at 18, and instead of attacking, would argue with the ref.  I was a fan who wanted the story to make sense, and Starr was ‘real’, as far as that’s possible to be in wrestling.  Snuka could hit Race with a crowbar and get rolled up in a small package by Race.  That wouldn’t happen to Starr.”

    Starr’s match with Race would be the first 1 hour Broadway (draw) that he was ever involved with.  Always priding himself on never “blowing up” or running out of gas, the match with the Wrestling Legend was a new experience for Ron.

        “I thought I was going to drop dead before it was over!  You talk about someone who could run you ragged…Harley Race could do it.  I was really nervous, worried that I might make a mistake or mess things up because I was in there with Harley Race, even though I had years of experience.  But Harley, he just took me by the hand and led me through it.”

     Roy Shire had definitely taken notice of what Starr could bring to the table, and as it turned out, he was not alone.

     “Buddy had gone up to work for Don Owens in Portland and Roy Shire then asked me ‘What do you think about working in Portland?’  I told him ‘I’ll go wherever you want me to go.’  My first time wrestling there I heard that Roy was talking with Don Owen while watching my match with Buddy Rose and Roy said ‘Now that’s what I call wrestling!’  I liked working there and we taped at the Portland Sports Arena, which was an old skating rink and Don Owen was always pretty good about the payoffs.  The first night I was there I heard some of the other guys griping about the payoffs but I told them ‘I don’t know what you guys are complaining about, because I’ve been to a lot of different territories and I’ll tell you, just from tonight, this is the one with the best payoffs yet.’”

     Tagging with Adrian Adonis, Ron continued the feud with Buddy Rose and Ed Wiskowski as it had worked so well in Shire’s territory and in April of ’79 they defeated Rose and Wiskowski for the Pacific Northwest Tag Team titles.  Ron was beginning a collection of titles as the month before, he had defeated Piper at the San Francisco Cow Palace for the U.S. Heavyweight title.  That feud was also extended to Owens’s territory and even featured a memorable angle where Starr came to the rescue of Women’s wrestling legend Vickie Williams.  Apparently Piper felt that all women should stay in the kitchen and tossed Vickie around before Ron intervened. 

     Like several of the wrestlers in the area, Ron split time during 1979 between Portland and San Francisco, driving back and forth to shows.  In Northern California he also picked up another rival in Bob Sweetan as they competed over the U.S. heavyweight title.  Another veteran that Ron would face is Ernie Ladd, whom he wrestled on the annual San Francisco Battle Royal card on January 26, 1980.  After a brief stop in the Leroy McGuirk’s Tri-State area, Ron soon wound up in L.A. where he split time between there and Roy Shire’s territory for much of the remaining year. 

     Roy Shire had been burnt out on the wrestling business for a few years by that point and by his own admission was running out of finishes and creative ideas.  The strongest years for his promotion had been during his first 24 months of operation and since then there had been a gradual decline in attendance at the shows.  Even when Patterson and Stevens were on top during the late 60’s and early 70’s there were fewer and fewer sellouts at the Cow Palace and 8,000-9,000 attendance numbers became more and more the norm, and by the time the late 70’s rolled around, it was more like 5.000-7.000.  While there were occasional spikes in attendance, they were rare and more often than not came on the nights of the annual battle royals.

     Shire would close shop in early ’81 and Ron Starr would work then work a bit for Antone Leone’s Western States Alliance promotion which was running shows in some of Shire’s former towns.  Ed Moretti worked as a referee for Roy Shire and later as a wrestler before Shire’s promotion closed.  Like many, he had great respect for Ron Starr and even faced him in the ring and had this to say about him on WrestlingClassics.com:  “Bobby Eugene Nutt (Rotten Ron Starr) is/was one of the best workers I have ever seen, a really nice guy, a good booker…”  With a great track record as a worker, Ron would soon be off to new territories, reprising some old roles and finding himself in new ones.

 

Next time: We’ll visit some of the other places Ron’s career takes him, we’ll also travel back to the beginning, and we’ll hear the good advice Ron gave Hulk Hogan.