Author: Ian Abugov

Growing up in front of our television screens, we witnessed a parade of kayfabe Native characters and paradoxically viewed many Natives who were never billed as such, unlike Billy Two Rivers. What can you say when two of the best-known “indigenous” performers were from Brooklyn and Baghdad, respectively? Of course, we are referring to Chief Jay Strongbow and Billy White Wolf. But somewhat forgotten in the discussion is Billy Two Rivers. Billy Two Rivers – War Chief Of The Mat In the territory of my youth, there was a talent named Johnny War Eagle out of the Red Lake Reserve…

Sweet Daddy Siki was irresistibly Groundbreaking. Local TV broadcasts both WWF and NWA programming. One could not have picked a better time to be young. Over the course of that summer, it was at that time that the then-WWE launched a new character portrayed by Butch Reed. The one-time gridiron star was billed as the Natural Man, a muscular and arrogant African American with bleached blond hair. ________________ The character was almost a throwback to heavyweight boxing star Jack Johnson, who played up the virility of racial stereotypes in a teasing-like fashion. I thought myself to be a real-life incarnation…

As of the early 1970s, one of the mainstays on the Québec wrestling scene was Dino Bravo. Bravo distinguished himself not as a tag team competitor but as a solo performer as well. Born Adolfo Bresciano in Montreal in August of 1948, a childhood move at the age of three would change his life forever. Dino’s family became neighbors with the Accocella family, whose patriarch, Jack Britton, wrestled out of Boston and was given his name by the promoter who was looking to push Irish faces to cater to the city’s demographic. Britton had a son, Gino Brito, who was…

Over ten years ago, at a Northern Championship Wrestling show in a church basement in the city’s eastern tip, sadness befell those in attendance. The show began with an announcement that Montreal wrestling fixture Edouard Carpentier had passed away. Those in attendance stood for a minute of silence. It was at that moment that it struck many to realize the extent to which Carpentier revolutionized the art form we all love. The spectacular acrobatic moves we see on a regular basis were highly influenced by Carpentier’s and gymnast-like moves. They were introduced as of the late fifties. While Lucha Libre’s…

It must have been about 5 years ago or so. I was on my customary Saturday afternoon clothes, music, and cap shopping trek. When I ran into Pat Patterson outside a swanky well-situated downtown condo. It was mid-afternoon, but he looked he just rolled out of bed. Pale complexion, puffy eyes, freshly washed hair. My dilemma, do I just let him walk by and carry on his business? Or do I engage him in conversation? I definitely chose the latter route. And thanked him for providing me with so much laughter and entertainment over the years. Later on in this…

Adrian Adonis had rugged good looks like a cast member of On The Waterfront. Being billed as hailing from Hell’s Kitchen was first-rate casting. Adonis was decked in leather with a biker-like cap and a riding crop. His look was very akin to that seen at New York’s wildest establishments in the late seventies and early eighties. Adonis was catering to the bold and the beautiful looking to frolic to a fantastic disco beat. Gaga at the Gogo, indeed! Joking aside, the young Adonis could have passed for a hybrid mix of John Belushi and Dean Ambrose; remember him! Adonis…

The CTV affiliate here in Montréal had a fantastic track record for broadcasting wrestling shows every Saturday at high noon. According to many an aficionado, this association went way back to the days of the territories, wrestling at its finest. In the early to mid-1970 s, the station ran a local fed known as Grand Prix wrestling. It had no official link at all to Emile Duprée’s Atlantic Grand Prix wrestling. The Montreal promotion, which had as its rival All-Star wrestling run by the Rougeau clan, was run in fact by Paul Vachon. One Saturday show just blew me away.…

We are familiar with the story of Jackie Robinson and the vital role that Branch Rickey played in the integration of America’s past time. In Memphis, Tennessee, however, Sputnik Monroe took Rickey’s insight to a greater degree by opening the door for African American performers and fans to integrate into the mainstream. For this, Monroe deserves national hero status. His story needs to be told and his legacy underscored. It is an honor for me to do so. We travel back in time to mid 20th century. Our focus is on the American South. Race relations have been a considerable…

Abdullah the Butcher is undoubtedly the most famous Black Canadian-born wrestler to have donned ring attire. Rocky Johnson of Nova Scotia would place a close second on my list. While Abdullah has traveled the globe and performed everywhere, nowhere was he a bigger draw than in Montreal, where he was the most notorious heel for close to twenty years. He drew legit heat and filled all of the city’s major venues. He never wound up in a mid-card status. Abdullah was the main event money in the bank, a non-super kicking showstopper. The man known as Abdullah was born in…

“I was Handsome Jimmy (Valiant) in the ’60s and the ’70s, I was a bad cat, man. I strutted around and was one of the first blonds with a good body…When I went into the Carolinas in the ’80s I looked around and saw all the pretty boy blonds. “You know (Ric) Flair was there just getting going and Buddy Landel was just getting going, so there was a lot of those kids that already did that. So I reinvented myself, and you have to continue and have a long career like I did. So I threw away my razor…