Author: Dr. Mike Lano

The year 2020 was devastating, with so many wrestling brothers and sisters lost, including Ric Drasin. We lost Ric Drasin on Sunday, August 30th, 2020 (far too young, like Bob Armstrong), who was still a feisty 76. Like Chadwick Boseman, none of us had any idea he was ill. For weeks, he quietly but valiantly fought kidney failure in a Southern California hospital, with his kids by his side, until it eventually took him. Richard Alan Drasin was a bodybuilder, weightlifter, stuntman/actor, wrestling school instructor, AWF show promoter, and had a wrestling gear line that rivalled those of Adrian Street…

Some guys are some of wrestling’s top indie refs around the U.S., in no particular order, begin with two longtime friends: the late/great Brian Hildebrand (who managed in Philly/Jersey as Evil Dr. Mean Mark Curtis) and Scottie Dickenson of the Boston area. Whenever I came to shoot/cover Dennis Coralluzzo’s shows, or those of ECW’s predecessor Joel Goodhart’s TWA or later ECW or any Philly/Jersey area indies (my second home). Both Brian and Scott were usually there for our hardcore midnight-till-dawn VHS-tape-watching parties of Sayama/first and best Tiger Mask vs. Dynamite Kid, Funks vs. Sheik/Abby (also in Japan), Dory vs. Terry…

In June 2020, I was floored to learn of Valerie Boesch’s death on March 23, 2020. None of us knew until now, and that is heartbreaking. I would’ve Zoomed to Texas to pay love and respect forward for this great wrestling lady. Many others, upon hearing the sad news, began grieving her passing online. We’re celebrating wrestling’s longtime heart, Valerie Boesch. Since her husband Paul’s death in 1989 at their longtime home in Sugar Land, Texas, she devoted her life to taking care of their son Joey. Val and Paul were already semi-regular presences at the Cauliflower Alley Club in…

In 2020, I knew. He was getting better at body surfing along the California coast. He laughed, saying he hoped to be this generation’s Nick Gabaldon. Santa Monica, CA native Gabaldon remains the most recognizable African-American surfer in history. He broke many barriers and helped train other Black wave riders, including Mikey February and others in the Black Surfers Collective, who formed Global Nick G Day in 2013. S had was aware of all that. Like him, he was also a student of wrestling history and its idols: Bobo Brazil, Bearcat Wright, Ernie Ladd, Jim Mitchell, Shag Thomas, Tiger Conway…

I can’t speak for everyone else ever, but watching some of Vice Network’s second season of Dark Side Of The Ring at times was pretty hard. Particularly with subjects I was close to—some real characters like Owen Hart and Herb Abrams. Owen Hart was really an example of Heaven on Earth. I spent a significant amount of time with Owen Hart. First in Japan in the early ’90s, when he shined over there with an incredible Juniors division. The one led by Jushin Lyger/Keichi Yamada and his famous workhorse dojo that was separate from NJPW’s overall one. Owen was always…

Long-time fan/wrestler/trainer/promoter “Pistol Pete” Marquez, of La Puente, California, who wrestled professionally for over 26 years, passed recently while In-Hospice at the age of 65 in May of 2021. After retiring, he was a booker, trainer, worker, and more for West Coast promotions and schools such as California Championship Wrestling, International Wrestling Federation, and United Wrestling Council. Marquez was also a TV and film stunt coordinator and a long-time financial secretary for the International Machinists Union Local 177. ________________________ He was an original CAC Board of Director when I came aboard in 1992, and he dedicated his time to serving…

Recent CAC (Cauliflower Alley Club) honorees Booker T Huffman and Mark Henry had already been lending their credible voices to Black Live Matter issues leading our industries to charge on various general mainstream news programs the past week-plus. Legendary SouthEast wrestling legend Sputnik Monroe has to be smiling down on our current guys for doing the right thing. Sputnik’s still recognized as helping integrate African-American fans so they could sit anywhere they wanted. This was primarily at wrestling matches in the South and courageously challenging then discriminatory Jim Crow Segregation Laws. His strong voice transcends the biz, making national news…

The late/great comic genius/actor/director Carl Reiner was an admitted pro-wrestling fan “since the fifties. Carl Reiner became a star on tv’s earliest hit show in America, called Your Show Of Shows. It launched the career as entertainment gods Carl, his best friend Mel Brooks, star Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Neil Simon, Nanette Fabray, and tons of others in 1950, narrowly beating nationally syndicated tv wrestling each week. A decade later, Carl had his friend Fred Blassie on the show Carl created(after his own life as a comedy tv writer), wrote, produced, and often directed in The Dyke Van Dyke show casting…

Wrestling’s loss of comic, TV host & co-host, game show host, and actor, Regis “Mr. TV” Philbin still lingers more than anyone. He is credited by the Guinness Book of World Records as having logged more television hours than anyone on the planet. Regis Philbin claimed to others that he briefly did some mid-1950s wrestling TV announcing, like his game show host idol Dennis James. Regis did, indeed, have a long relationship with the wrestling industry. One that he utilized in the 1960s while co-hosting the Joey Bishop show. Regis also made guest appearances on Johnny Carson’s Tonight Show. As…

Gordon Solie called Wrestling’s Walter Cronkite because of his distinguished, educative, superb on-air presence. He could relate to regular, every-folk still remains my benchmark. Solie commentated in Florida, Georgia, USA Championship (out of Knoxville, TN), Continental, and even at the end, for “Ring Warriors”. He could be heard on TV outside North America and was paired with Bruno Sammartino for the very first time. He was doing voiceover work on New Japan’s great action at the time. Jim Ross is obviously right there as Gordon’s later peer with most everyone following. From Bob Caudle who just had, what his amazing…