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.

THE HOOKER, THE PROFESSOR, AND THE GENIUS - By Rock Rims

The Hooker

 

     He didn’t exactly find a bloody Horse’s head next to him in his bed, but all the same, professional wrestling promoter Jack Ganson knew he had been made an offer he couldn't refuse.  San Francisco could be a tough town to do business in.

     And that wasn’t anything new.  While the population of San Francisco was only 1,000 in 1848, the Gold Rush of 1849 caused hordes of fortune seekers to flood the city, causing the population to rise to 25,000 by December of 1849.  And by 1890, that number swelled to 300,000, making San Francisco the 8^th largest city in the nation.

     And not every one of the newcomers was a refined and highly polished citizen.  Aside from the criminals and prostitutes, there were also plenty of hardworking blue collar workers, who were aiding in the development of the city.  This collective group of the late 19^th century and early part of the 20^th century San Francisco could certainly be a rough and tumble crowd.  And often they went in for rough and tumble entertainment.

     Pro Wrestling could certainly fit the bill and it did, with professional wrestling events in the city being documented as early as the 1890’s.  The sport thrived in the city and by the early 30’s Jack Ganson was the man promoting shows in the area.

     With wrestlers such as Bill Longson, Ted Christie, Joe Savoldi, Ad Santel, Man Mountain Dean, and World Champions Ed “Strangler” Lewis and Jim Londos appearing on the cards, shows were being run at The Exposition Auditorium, the Civic Center, and the Dreamland Auditorium.

     However, Pro wrestling has always had its share of shady “goings on” behind the scenes and that time period was certainly no exception.  The toughest factions and the biggest heels often never made it to the ring.

     The period of 1935-37 saw the completion of the Golden Gate Bridge and also the beginning of Alcatraz’s use as a maximum security prison.  But Alcatraz wasn’t the only place in the area where you’d find the tough guys.  Pro Wrestling at that time was still rife with trusts or syndicates, collections of promoter and/or wrestlers who sought to monopolize or take over wrestling territories. 



JOE MALCEWICZ

     Wrestler Joe Malcewicz from New York was a shooter, a hooker, nicknamed the “Utica Cat” for his tenacity in the ring.  At various times he had challenged various holders of the World title including Joe Stecher, Ed “Strangler” Lewis, Earl Caddock, and Jim Londos.  He was so capable that in 1923 in New York, World Champion Joe Stecher walked away from a match with Malcewicz.  Shoots and double crosses were not unheard of by promoter/wrestler combines who decided it’d be much more profitable or them to hold the belt, with or without the current Champs cooperation.  When a syndicate wanted something, they often just took it.

       At the end of 1935, with the backing of the syndicate of Lou Daro, Paul Bowser, and Joe “Toots” Mondt, Joe Malcewicz strong armed his way into taking over the territory.  While the city may have been named after a Saint, not everyone felt the need to conduct themselves like one.  Feeling he really had no choice, Ganson bowed out for $15,000.  Malcewicz would soon acquire a 20 year lease for the Dreamland auditorium where he would soon begin running shows.

     The “Syndicate” would gradually break up, but Malcewicz with the help of his brother would continue to be the “Czar” of San Francisco for some time to come, not only running shows at the Dreamland but at the Coliseum Bowl and the Civic Auditorium as well.  His territory extended throughout Northern California and he was running shows in various cities including but not limited to, Oakland, Richmond, Fresno, Sacramento, Stockton, and Eureka. In the late 40’s-early 50’s he even managed to bring in such attractions as Gorgeous George, Primo Carnera, and World Champion Lou Thesz to headline cards.  And many of the mainstays for various lengths of time included notables such as The Sharpe Brothers, Ben and Mike, as well as Sander Szabo, Bronko Nagurski, Mike Mazurki, and Pacific Coast Heavyweight Champion Frank Sexton.

     In the United States the first tag team match is said to have taken place in San Francisco in 1901 and tag team wrestling really didn’t become popular in rest of the country until the 1930’s.  And while Malcewicz saw success with capable singles wrestlers in his territory, he continued the tradition of keeping San Francisco as a hot bed for tag team wrestling.  Some of the teams that were prominent in the area through the years that Malcewicz was promoting were Emil and Ernie Dusek, Gene Kiniski and Lord James Blears, and Sandor Szabo, Enrique Torres, Leo Nomellini, and Ramon Torres also saw success when teaming with various partners.  And it was in San Francisco on April 4, 1950 that the first “World” Tag Team Champions were crowned when Ray Eckert and Hardboiled Haggerty defeated Ronnie Etchison and Larry Moquin.

     However nothing lasts forever, or in same cases not very long at all, and such was the case with their title reign.  But that was usually the case for any tag team champions when they were challenged by the brother combination that would dominate and become synonymous with the tag team division in San Francisco: Ben and Mike Sharpe.

BEN and MIKE SHARPE

    The two hulking brothers from Canada each stood around 6 “4” and averaged about 270 lbs. in weight.  This 2 man demolition crew possessed tremendous stamina and a relentless brawling style that caused the Humboldt (CA) Standard newspaper to say that they made “the so-called Pier 6 brawls look like a quiet meeting at the Monday Night Sewing club.”

     Eckert and Haggerty held the tag titles for only 5 weeks before losing them to the Sharpe brothers in what would be the first of 18 NWA World tag team title reigns for the brothers.  In fact even when they would lose the titles, the brothers would often win them back within 2 weeks.  While each saw success in brief runs in other territories and with other partners, it is in San Francisco where they made the most impact.  They were so impressive that Rikidozan imported them to Japan for an angle that eventually resulted in ad 60 minute draw between the Sharpes and the tag team of Rikidozan and Mahasiko Kimura.  This served to catapult the popularity of Pro Wrestling in Japan and helped greatly in establishing Rikidozan as an Icon in Japan.  And too this day, the Sharpes are revered in Japan just as much as they are in San Francisco for their tag team excellence.

     While he was extremely tenacious in the ring, Malcewicz, after his initial take over of the territory, gradually became complacent rather than tenacious.  He made a good living and business was very good at first, but a gradual decline began as he was not a man of tremendous vision or ambition.  He was content with what he had. San Francisco remained as his “Big Town” where althou he ran shows at the 5400 seat Winterland Ballroom (the former “Dreamland arena”) as well as other venues in the city on alternating weeks.  However neither the Winterland, the Kezar Pavilion, the Coliseum Bowl, nor the San Francisco Civic Auditorium was being filled to capacity during his wrestling cards.  And while there was once a time when he’d occasionally book the 15,000 seat Cow Palace, he was now finding himself in occasional situations where he was holding a show at the comparatively miniscule California Hall.

     But while Malcewicz was comfortable and was experiencing a decline, another man had an itch he had to scratch and was looking to move upward in both his life and in San Francisco.

 

Enter The Professor

    At the end of 1960 “Professor” Roy Shire who’d had a pretty successful career as a professional wrestler winning several regional singles titles as well as teaming with Ray Stevens (who had been billed as “Ray Shire” Roy’s “brother”) to win the NWA World Tag Team titles, was a 38 year old wrestler seeking to make the transition from wrestler to promoter.

     In the latter stages of his time in Texas, Roy was wrestling hurt after having torn ligaments in his knee from a missed drop kick.  Not wanting to lose his spot as the Texas Heavyweight Wrestling Champion, he did what many wrestlers have done and continued to do; He wrestled hurt, shooting himself up with Novocain to get through his matches.  However, a knife in the ass from an irate fan (one of the drawbacks of kayfabe and being great at drawing heat) along with his knee injury went a long way towards convincing Shire that his future lay in promoting the matches rather than wrestling them.

    Shire went to San Francisco and approached Joe Malcewicz with an offer to go in as partners or for Shire to buy him out, but Malcewicz turned down the offer.  Being single-minded in his desire to promote in the Northern California area, Shire ignored the “protected” status that Malcewicz enjoyed as an NWA member and began running shows in competition.  Malcewicz, the man once known for his tenaciousness and once caused World Champion Joe Stecher to walk away from a bout, was no match for Shire’s ambition and Roy wasn’t walking anywhere.

     Malcewicz continued running shows and while he may have felt that the 6,000-9,000 people that he was pulling in every month to his various San Francisco shows was as good as business could get, Roy was a visionary who had other ideas and bigger plans.

     Roy was still without an actual roster of wrestling talent when he went to the Cow Palace to speak to the Arena Manager regarding a long term lease for the 15,000 seat arena.  After they came to terms on the lease the building manager asked Roy if he was aware that Joe Malcewicz was already running shows at the San Francisco Civic Center and other venues, and that the shows were only drawing an average of 2,000 people each.  At best, Malcewicz might sometimes see an attendance at the Winterland that was north of 3,000 and maybe even 4,000.  Roy acknowledged that he did, and when the arena manager asked Shire why he wanted such a large venue and how how many wrestling fans he planned on drawing, Roy responded: “We’ll fill it.”

      Years later, Roy related the story and his response to Roland Alexander, who grew up a fan of the Shire territory and now runs the APW wrestling promotion.  According to Roland, Roy said: “The building manager then laughed, and when the deal was signed and I was heading to my car, I stopped halfway there and then turned out and went back inside.  I told him ‘One last thing, I just want you to know that the next time you laugh at me, I’m going to throw you out the fucking window.”

     While the deal was sealed and the arena manager never took an unscheduled flight, the question still remained:  How in the hell was Renegade Roy going to fill the Cow Palace?

 

...TUNE IN NEXT TIME FOR THE CONCLUSION AND FOR "THE GENIUS"!

 

Special thanks goes out to Roland Alexander for sharing his memories of the Shire territory, Tim Hornbaker of Legacyofwrestling.com who wrote an excellent profile on the San Francisco territory from which I sourced some of my information; And to the gentlemen at Wrestling-titles.com for keeping a wealth of information on their site of past wrestling title holders.

GOING BEYOND THE MAT WITH ROLAND ALEXANDER- By Rock Rims

     If you’ve been a fan of pro wrestling for at least a few years you’ve no doubt heard of if not seen the movie “Beyond the Mat” which was first released in March of 2000.  “Everybody knows about that movie” Colt Cabana once said on his podcast and Roddy Piper called it “The Best Documentary ever made about Professional Wrestling.”  The movie which was produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer’s Imagine Films and put together and directed by Barry Blaustein, offered a behind the scenes look at professional wrestling and followed the day to day lives of pro wrestlers who were at various stages in their careers.

     And profiled in the beginning stages of their careers were professional wrestlers Mike Modest and Tony Jones, who were part of Roland Alexander’s All Pro Wrestling promotion in Hayward, California.  While people came away from the movie with differing views of Roland Alexander, some having a desire to meet and train with him, some feeling he was a “prick”, and others wanting to bear his children, what I’ve found to be indisputable is that Roland Alexander is a fan of pro wrestling and is very passionate about it.

     I first began communicating with Roland through the California Classic Wrestling Facebook page.  Growing up in Hayward, California (about 45 miles from San Francisco) he was a fan of Pro Wrestling and in particular a fan of Roy Shire’s Northern California promotion.

    “My father had been a prizefighter before meeting my mother and we used to go the store where he would pick up copies of “Ring” magazine because he still followed the sport” Said Roland in our recent interview. “And one day when I was 7 years old, I noticed that there was a small section in the magazine devoted to Pro Wrestling.  And he took notice that I had begun to watch wrestling on television and so one day when we went to the store he said, ‘It’s only fair that if I get a magazine that we should get one for you.’  So I looked around and settled on a magazine called ‘Wrestling Revue’.  And I grew to love that magazine, absolutely loved it!  But my mom hated it because it always came with centerfold full-color pinups of the wrestlers that I would tape to my bedroom wall.  And when I would decide to replace an old pinup poster with a new one, not only would the old poster come off of the wall but some of the paint too.  And that really pissed her off!”

     “After my father passed away I had an Uncle who loved Pro wrestling and began taking me to the TV tapings at the Channel 2 Studios of KTVU.  What a great scene, as it was near the water and they would have the bleachers there, and they would have the play by play guy who was Walt Harris and the athletic commission Doctor sitting at ringside, which really contributed to making things more believable.  I had a wrestling autograph book which was the greatest thing that you could have as a kid.  I got to meet lots of the wrestlers like Pepper Gomez, Edouard Carpentier and others.  I miss that and it’s sad that they don’t have that these days.  Now they have barricades, where before in the 60’s and 70’s they didn’t.  You’d see a wrestler standing in one corner of the ring before the match started and he’d be signing autographs for the fans.  I remember Pepper Gomez doing that, and he’d be facing his corner but he’d also have one eye on his opponent on the lookout of a sneak attack.  Something like that also helped make everything so believable.”

    I can certainly identify with those memories that Roland has of being a young wrestling fan, as two of the important aspects of that era were the existence of kayfabe and the intimacy a fan felt with the sport because they had an access to the wrestlers that you often find in the Indies but you just don’t find with the “Big Two” these days.  One of the biggest scores I ever had as a young wrestling fan was just before a lumberjack match at the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, where I just casually walked around the ring and collected all of the wrestler’s autographs!

     Roland himself would continue to collect not only autographs but great memories of watching such wrestling legends as Ray Stevens, Pepper Gomez, Pat Patterson, Harley Race, and Rocky Johnson, just to name a few.  In fact, Roland would become friends with many of the wrestlers, with wrestler Paul Diamond (the original one) “smartening him up” to the business when still in his teens, and also becoming quite close with Rocky Johnson.  “I would hang out with and work out with Rocky, play ‘cribbage’ with his beautiful wife Ata, and even babysat a then 2 year old Dewey, not knowing that one day he’d grow up to be known as ‘The Rock.’”

     As the years went by Roland’s appreciation and passion for Pro Wrestling would continue to grow, as would his understanding of the different aspects that went into making a match one worth watching.  Eventually his involvement with Pro Wrestling would encompass much more than watching the Television tapings and Live Events put on by Roy Shire’s promotion or partying with “The Boys”.

     “It was 1991 and I was just too burnt out from my job as an accountant for a corporation and I wanted something else to do,” Roland continued. “Rick Thompson who had been a wrestler and helped the Samoans Afa and Sika break into wrestling, approached me and said, ‘You’ve got to good a head for wrestling, why didn’t you ever get into it, even as a manager?’” And so the idea of opening up a wrestling school was planted in Roland’s mind.

   “Well when I was growing up watching wrestling, there were only 2 schools that I heard of that were teaching wrestling and that was Verne Gagne’s in Minnesota and Stu Hart’s in Calgary.  I would later learn that the best one was being run by Boris Malenko, Dean’s Dad.”  Roland soon found out that there were now many more wrestling schools in the U.S. than he realized.

     “As a result of Pro Wrestling going from regional promotions to National ones like the WCW and WWF, there were lots of wrestlers who were suddenly out of jobs and some were now turning to running schools.”  Roland would also discover a problem in that, while many of the better wrestlers were able to secure jobs with the WWF and WCW, many of the ones who weren’t so good or sound in their craft weren’t able to.  Roland feels that it was some of these who were opening some of the wrestling schools, and thus as a result, it became a case of “the blind leading the blind.”

     Originally known as “Pacific Coast Sports”, the school which would come to be called “The Boot Camp” was opened up by Roland and a partner in 1991. “The first 5 years we struggled a bit and then we got a break when Spike Dudley (a former student of Roland’s) made it big in ECW, as well as when Vic Grimes and Crash Holly had success.” Other graduates of the “Boot Camp” include the Great Khali, Michael Modest, Donovan Morgan, Tony Jones, Brent Albright, and the “Queen of Wrestling” Sara Del Rey.

     Roland feels that there are several differences that separate his school and most others in the U.S.

  “I offer a two year program, although some learn a little quicker and can do it in a year. Because this is a complex sport, a complex performance art.  I couldn’t teach you to be a good cook at McDonald’s in 3 months.  I want my students to be absolutely ready when they graduate, to look good.”  Roland said that one of the biggest compliments he ever received was when Dave Meltzer stood in disbelief when finding out that one of Alexander’s students, who had just impressed Meltzer with his wrestling performance, was only making his pro debut. 

     Training in the APW Boot Camp consists of three stages: Beginner, Semi-Pro, and Pro.  The student learns the basics and fundamentals of wrestling (“We teach 5 different kinds of arm bars.  I don’t know any other school that does that”) and progresses into the higher stages where he learns such important facets of the game as detailed selling and advanced ring psychology.  Roland adds, “I’ve surrounded myself with good people over the years and I believe that we have one of the top 2 or 3 schools in the country."

     And one of those good people would undoubtedly have to be Bryan Danielson.  With the success of the movie “Beyond the Mat” came more awareness of Roland and his school.  “It was good for APW and I’ll be forever grateful” said Roland. (“Roland is known Worldwide” said “Wrestling’s Last Hope” writer Jose Haze) It also led to an increase in revenue for Roland that resulted in his producing 2 well known events in Independent Pro Wrestling history: The King of the Indies tournaments in 2000 and 2001.  The inaugural tournament was considered a success and received acclaim, but it was the 2001 event that proved to be a pivotal point in recent Indy history.

    Going from the previous year’s 8 man to a 16 man format in 2001, the tournament featured a who’s who of North America’s Independent Wrestling talent.  “American Dragon” Bryan Danielson, Low Ki, Samoa Joe, Brian “Spanky” Kendrick, Tony Jones, AJ Styles, Bison Smith, Frankie Kazarian, Doug Williams, Christopher Daniels and Adam Pearce were just some of the wrestlers who participated.  RF video (who distributes the 2 Disc DVD set of the event), whose owner and President Rob Feinstein would go on to found Ring of Honor, has referred to this tournament as the inspiration for the forming of ROH.

     In the opening round Danielson and Spanky would set the tone for the rest of the weekend tournament with an incredible match.  Danielson has said of this match: :  “I wasn’t supposed to win the match, but we put on such a good match that Nick(Bockwinkel who along with the Destroyer was one of the legends in attendance) went up to Roland and told him that ‘that kid should win this tournament. Roland offered me a job to wrestle and train (at APW), gave me a good salary on top of that and the flexibility to do my Indy bookings.”

     Roland paid Danielson $350 a week (Almost 3 times what he normally paid) to be a trainer at the Boot Camp and offered him a room in his house to live in while he was training Roland’s students during an 8 month period in 1992.  Roland loved Danielson’s work ethic, abilities, and attitude.  Roland says, “I like Brian because Brian was a wrestler.  His room was lined with several hundred wrestling tapes and he never came out of his room, he was too busy watching, studying tapes.  He was a student of the game.” And regarding Danielson’s continued success, Roland says “This guy is a wrestler [meaning someone who uses actual wrestling holds and techniques], and at one time Japan and ROH were better for him.  I’m not surprised that he got over, but I was surprised that WWE allowed him to get over, because Vince McMahon hasn’t catered to wrestlers.  Now that Vince’s product has gotten stale, it might be different.”

      The school has had its ups and downs over the years as has Roland’s physical health, and the downturn in the economy has affected many businesses, and while Roland’s hasn’t been immune to that, he continues to persevere.  “The Wrestling School business is a struggle today”, observes Roland. “The California Classics facebook board has rejuvenated me. While I may not like how the wrestling business is today, I still have a large passion for pro wrestling. I started as a fan and I’m still a fan.”  

    In my personal communications with Roland it’s very obvious that he’s still a fan and I’m glad that he is, because he has a wealth of knowledge and memories to pass along.  One of the first lessons he learned from Paul Diamond that he still continues to pass along is “Keep your mouth shut, your ears open, and absorb like a sponge.” 

     That’s wise advice to follow, whether on the mat or beyond.  – RR

     In the near future I’ll be doing an in-depth retrospective of The King of the Indies 2001 tournament complete with interviews, so stay tuned!  Below are links for APW’s website, twitter page and their YouTube channel which has tons of APW matches and a great in-depth panel discussion on the past and present of Pro Wrestling.  You can also keep up to date on my future articles (and take a look at my past ones) via my twitter and blog links which are also below.

APW Official Website: www.allprowrestling.com/

Follow APW on twitter: http://twitter.com/allprowrestling

APW Then & Now http://youtu.be/J-H8cMdOF4I

FEEDING MY HABIT by Rock Rims

     I was addicted.  There’s no two ways about it.  While the people who were close to I thought I was doing one thing, I was actually doing another.  I was sneaking around in the middle of the night, always worried about being discovered, paranoid, jumping at every sound… and I was only 7 years old…

    Yeah…that’s right… a 7 year old addict.  Because when I was supposed to be sleeping, I was sneaking out of bed and getting my night time television Wrestling fix.  I was always worried about getting caught, because I knew if I did, I’d probably get as bad a thrashing as any of the wrestlers on the TV show I was watching.  But to me it was worth the risk.  Those are just the kind of risks that an addict is often willing to take.  Not that I didn’t take precautions though.  I’d turn the volume on the television down really low, sit so close to the set that you’d think I was in the ring itself, and I’d shove a blanket under the door to my parent’s bedroom so that they wouldn’t see the flickering light from the TV set.  And of course I’d pray that my Stepdad didn’t have too many beers before he went to bed, and as a result have to make a late night trip to the bathroom.

   But in reality, he was partly to blame for my addiction.  After all, one of my first memories was when I was 3 years old and living in East Los Angeles (Yeah, I’m Latino), and we were both climbing the fence in the backyard, in a hurry to catch the bus in order to make that evening’s wrestling matches.  Even now, I can vividly recall the excitement and anticipation I felt that night, and it truly was a supercharged night, due in large part to the main event that evening.  For the main event was going to be a feud match between “Classy” Freddie Blassie and “Maniac” John Tolos.  The year was 1971, and when I got older I would learn what a special place that feud would hold in Los Angeles Pro Wrestling History.  But in all honesty, even at 3 years of age, a couple of years before I would even learn to read, I knew that the match was something special.  We sat high up in the nose bleed section, but the drama of that intense and bloody match was strong enough to be felt even where I was sitting.

   And I was hooked, hooked for life.  And my first Halloween memory was from the age of 3 as well.  I don’t remember anything about the candy, but I definitely remember that my parent’s had a hell of a time trying to get me out of my wrestling mask at the end of the night.  It was itchy as hell, but there was no way I was going to submit.

   And through the years I would have many more pleasant experiences as a result of my love for wrestling.  And during those critical formative years, before the days of cable TV, before wrestling programs were being broadcast from various territories around the country, and before tape and DVD trading would expose fans to international wrestling, there was only one wrestling world for me.  And that wrestling world was Mike LaBelle’s Southern California Wrestling Territory, particularly wrestling from the famed Los Angeles Olympic Auditorium.  And what a world it was!

    Through the years, I’d watch either on television or at the occasional live event,  local mainstays and future legends such as the Guerreros, Carlos Mata, The Twin Devils, Black Gordman & The Great Goliath, Bad News Allen Coage, Victor Rivera, Maniac John Tolos, Classy Freddie Blassie, The Hollywood Blondes, and many more.  And then there were the visiting greats, people who up until that time I had only read about in the wrestling mags, or heard being hyped about by Jeff Walton either during the television programs or in his souvenir wrestling programs.  People like Harley Race, Superstar Billy Graham, Terry & Dory Funk Jr., Wahoo McDaniel, the Original Sheik, El Halcon, Moondog Lonnie Mayne, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Adrian Street, the Eighth Wonder of the World Andre the Giant, Tatsumi Fujinami, Seiji Sakaguchi, and my absolute favorite visiting wrestler, the legendary Mil Mascaras.

   But as great as it was to have those visiting greats (some of whom I’ll be writing about in the near future), it was always the mainstay local wrestlers who were the foundation that the territories were built upon in those days. These were the talents that the fans would watch week in and week out, and these were the ones that the fans became emotionally invested in.  And of those mainstay wrestlers in L.A. during the 70’s, the one who stood head and shoulders above everyone (in esteem and position if not physical stature) was Chavo Guerrero Sr.  And for the rest of this piece, I’m going to drop the “Sr.”, because no offence to his son, who is talented in his own right, but there really is only one Chavo Guerrero.

    From 1975 through 1980, Chavo Guerrero, the eldest of the legendary Guerrero brothers was the main “face” in the L.A. territory.  In addition to having a great wrestling pedigree, being the son of the Mexican Wrestling Legend Gory Guerrero, Chavo had a great wrestling background, having been an accomplished amateur wrestler in addition to having trained in judo.  And more importantly, he was trained from a young age by his father in the fundamentals of professional wrestling, and had great athletic ability.

     But it takes much more than physical attributes and skill sets to become a success in the world of professional wrestling, especially when it comes to the long term, something that many of today’s “stars” fail to recognize.  For one thing, one has to be willing to learn from the veteran’s, and fortunately, Chavo was both willing and able to do that.  When visting veterans and World Champions like Terry Funk, Dory Funk Jr., Harley Race, and Superstar Billy Graham would come through the territory, they would talk, and Chavo would listen.  This on the job experience paid off both for Chavo and those of us who would watch him.

   And another thing that Chavo had going for him was that he understood the importance of good ring psychology.  He understood and practiced the art of telling a story in the ring, of building a program, and getting the fans to become emotionally invested in him, the match, and the program.  And it’s that high emotional involvement, and that escapism, that are such critical factors in a wrestling fan’s enjoyment.  And Chavo understood that and delivered.

   These things contributed to his becoming a 15 time America’s Heavyweight Champion, a 10 time America’s tag team Champion, and the NWA World Jr. Heavyweight Champion during his run in the territory.  And several times during his career in L.A., he would be the man to challenge the visting NWA World Heavyweight Champion for title.  And he did a great job of balancing those roles.  For Chavo not only was the perennial Champion, but the perennial challenger as well.  He was both the capable and accomplished Champion, as well sometimes being the underdog, albeit a capable underdog.

    And those qualities contributed to his appeal.  For while we all knew and had faith that going into a match, Chavo could beat his opponent, he did a great job of leaving us hanging, wondering if he would in fact defeat his opponent.  Because another part of ring psychology that Chavo understood was that when you make your opponent look good, you look good.  For another part of good ring psychology is putting over your opponent.  After all, how fun is it to watch a wrestler beat a nobody, someone who appears to be infinitely inferior? And that’s another thing that some wrestlers fail to recognize.  In their fixation to get in their “spots” or as many spots as possible,  in their fear that their opponent getting in any offense will make them look “weak”, they often fail to build a story or put over their opponent.  And yet, if you watch videos of some of the all-time legends in Pro Wrestling, like Harley Race, Ric Flair, Bret Hart, and Superstar Billy Graham just to name a few, you’d see them bumping all over there place for their opponents.  And their place and stature in Wrestling History cannot be disputed.  Fans who truly appreciate the true art of professional wrestling want to eventually find themselves sitting on the edge of their seats with anticipation.  And Chavo was one of the ones who both understood that and delivered.

     Without a doubt, as both a young fan of Pro Wrestling, and a Mexican-American growing up in the L.A. area, Chavo Guerrero was one of my boyhood heroes.   I don’t think that when he started out in the wrestling game that he set out to or even imagined holding such an important place in the hearts and memories of those that watched him perform.  I don’t think that any Pro Wrestler sets out to do that in the beginning.  But some do accomplish that very thing, especially for those of us who grew up during the territory days, and hopefully, just hopefully for some of those who will grow up with the Independent Wrestling promotions.

    I finally had the pleasure of meeting Chavo in person several years ago, and we enjoyed a pleasant conversation together, talking about our memories of the 70’s L.A. promotion.  He said then what he’s also said on many other occasions, that he was just “in the right place at the right time.”  While I agree with that, as that’s really the case with anyone who ever earns a place in history, it really doesn’t tell the whole story.  While he benefited from being Gory Guerrero’s son, while he was in the right place at the right time, Chavo still had to have the ability to carry the ball and run with it.  Even if a football coach can get his son on a team with his connections, and even if the offensive line can create a “hole”, the running back still has to be able to run with the ball.  And Chavo ran, and ran hard.

   And he’s one of the ones that contributed greatly to my being hooked on the true art of Professional Wrestling.  And I don’t think I want to find a cure.

 

 

     This is the first in what will be a series of articles covering the heyday of the Los Angeles Wrestling territory that existed until the end of 1982.  It was a great time for wrestling and it's fan's in the Southern California area, and it holds great memories for those of us who were there, and I hope that you tune it for more.