Billy Anderson (wrestler)

Last updated

Billy Anderson
Birth nameWilliam Anderson
Born (1956-11-10) November 10, 1956 (age 68)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S. [1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Billy Anderson
Bill Anderson
Black Knight
White Shadow
Mercenario II
Star Man [2]
Billed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Billed weight229 lb (104 kg)
Trained byKurt von Steiger
DebutJune 16, 1974
Retired1996

William Anderson (born November 10, 1956) is an American professional wrestler and trainer better known by his ring name Billy Anderson best known for working in California and Arizona, the World Wrestling Federation from 1983 to 1993, American Wrestling Association, and Japanese and Mexican promotions during the 1980s and early 1990s. [3] [4]

Contents

Professional wrestling career

Anderson made his professional wrestling debut in 1974 against Buddy Rose in Tucson, Arizona. In 1982, Anderson became the very last NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Champion when he defeated Killer Kim in Los Angeles.

Anderson made his debut in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in 1983. [5] Would spend many years with the WWF whenever they were in Los Angeles, California or Phoenix. [6] [7] He would work against Adrian Adonis, Bret Hart, Randy Savage, Jake Roberts, Harley Race, One Man Gang, and Tito Santana. [8] [9]

In 1986, Anderson worked in Mexico and became the very first WWA World Heavyweight Champion defeating Tinieblas. He dropped the title to Tinieblas in January 1987.

Also in 1986, Anderson worked for American Wrestling Association whenever they were in Las Vegas until 1988. In 1988, he became the promoter for Western States Wrestling Association until 1991.

In November 1988, Anderson became the masked Black Knight in the World Wrestling Federation. [10] [11] [12] DUirng this time he also refereed matches and the ring announcer in Los Angeles whenever WWF was in town. He left the WWF in 1991. [13]

In 1990, he worked for Herb Abrams's Universal Wrestling Federation (Herb Abrams) as the Black Knight until 1991.

In 1991, he traveled to Tijuana, Mexico with Tim Patterson and his student Louie Spicolli, with whom he formed a stable known as "Los Mercenarios Americanos" ("The American Mercenaries"). They were a trio of masked villains who feuded with Los Villanos (Villano I, Villano III, Villano IV and Villano V). The Mercenarios were forced to unmask in July 1991. [14]

Then in late 1991, the Los Mercenarios Americanos made their debut in Japan for Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling. They disbanded in 1992. In 1992, he worked as Star Man.

In January 1993, Anderson returned to World Wrestling Federation as the masked White Shadow. His last match in the WWF was a lost to Kamala (wrestler) on April 6, 1993 for WWF Wrestling Challenge which aired on April 25. [15]

In 1994, he worked for the Las Vegas-based promotion National Wrestling Conference. He retired from wrestling in 1996 and became the promoter for Empire Wrestling Federation in San Bernardino, California

After wrestling, Anderson trained many wrestlers at a school in California. He trained The Ultimate Warrior, Sting, Cheerleader Melissa, Louie Spicolli, Rocky Romero, Candice LeRae, TJ Perkins, Frankie Kazarian Steve DiSalvo, Angel of Death, Keiji Sakoda, Tom Howard (wrestler), Cincinnati Red, Tim Patterson, Doug Anderson (father of Cheerleader Melissa), [16] [17] and many others. His school would shut down in 2001.

Personal life

After retiring from wrestling and training wrestlers, Anderson accepted two invitations from Armed Forces Entertainment to travel overseas to entertain the troops. He went around world in Korea, Japan, Guam, Hawaii, Kuwait, Afghanistan, Egypt and Turkey. [18]

He was best friends with Louie Spicolli teaming together in Japan and Mexico until Spicolli's death in 1998.

Anderson has been an active member of the Cauliflower Alley Club since 1985 and was honored in 2000. He was also inducted in the Southern California Pro Wrestling and Western States Halls of Fame.

In October 2009, Anderson released his first book, Big” Bill Anderson Remembers… The School of Wrestling! The book covers Anderson's career, the wrestling school and the students he taught. [19]

In April 2013, Anderson released his second book part 2 of "Big" Bill Anderson Remembers....His Fallen Friends of Wrestling! which covered ore of his career and his friends that have passed away. [20] Superstar Billy Graham forward the book. [21]

Championships and accomplishments

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freddie Blassie</span> American professional wrestler and manager (1918-2003)

Frederick Kenneth Blassie was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name "Classy" Freddie Blassie. Renowned as "The Hollywood Fashion Plate", he was a one-time NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion, and was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1994. He is regarded as one of the greatest wrestling heels, or villains, of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dusty Rhodes</span> American professional wrestler (1945–2015)

Virgil Riley Runnels Jr., better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who worked for the National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wrestling Federation, later known as WWE. Rhodes was considered a star wrestler and presented the persona of an American everyman, the American Dream personified. Rhodes is widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louie Spicolli</span> American professional wrestler (1971–1998)

Louis Mucciolo Jr. was an American professional wrestler. He performed in Mexico under the ring name Madonna's Boyfriend, for the World Wrestling Federation as Rad Radford, and in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling in the 1990s as Louie Spicolli. He is sometimes credited as being the inventor of the Death Valley driver finisher and even wore T-shirts in WCW stating it, though some say it was created by Japanese female wrestler Etsuko Mita.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junkyard Dog</span> American professional wrestler (1952–1998)

Sylvester Ritter was an American professional wrestler and college football player, best known for his work in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as the Junkyard Dog, a nickname he received while working in a wrecking yard. He was posthumously inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Houston (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler

Michael MauriceSmith is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Sam Houston. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation from 1987 to 1991. Houston's father Grizzly Smith was also a professional wrestler, as was his half-brother Jake Roberts and his sister Rockin' Robin.

Roberto Gutiérrez Frías, best known under the ring name El Dandy, is a Mexican professional wrestling trainer and retired professional wrestler. He is the cousin of professional wrestler Juan Conrado Aguilar, known as El Texano, and the uncle of Aguilar's sons, who wrestle as El Texano Jr. and Súper Nova. While he had a retirement tour in 2014, Gutiérrez has wrestled most recently in March 2019. Gutiérrez has wrestled for most major Mexican promotions, including Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide, Universal Wrestling Association, World Wrestling Association, and International Wrestling Revolution Group. In addition, he has worked for the US-based World Championship Wrestling as well as the Japanese Super World Sports and the International Wrestling Association of Japan.

The Blackjacks were a professional wrestling tag team consisting Blackjack Mulligan and Blackjack Lanza. After forming in the 1970s, they wrestled in a variety of professional wrestling promotions, including the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). They were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2006. Blackjack Bradshaw and Blackjack Windham briefly rebooted the idea in 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Regal</span> American retired professional wrestler (born 1951)

Steve Regal is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damián 666</span> Mexican professional wrestler

Leonardo Carrera Gómez is a Mexican professional wrestler best known under the name Damián 666. He has worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW), Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL), Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA), World Wrestling Association (WWA) and various promotions on the Mexican independent circuit, including Perros del Mal Producciones (PdM). Carrera also worked under the ring name Galaxy in WCW, a masked Luchador. Carrera often teams with Halloween, leading to the formation of the team "Mexico's Most Wanted", which has worked extensively in North America for such promotions as Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) and Revolution Pro Wrestling (RPW). Carrera's son currently wrestles on the international independent circuit as Bestia 666.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishman (wrestler)</span> Mexican professional wrestler

José Ángel Nájera Sánchez was a Mexican luchador, or professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Fishman. Fishman was one of the top wrestlers in the mid-1970s and 1980s and worked for Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre, the Universal Wrestling Association, the World Wrestling Association and AAA in Mexico as well as frequent trips to Japan and the United States. Nájera was unmasked after losing a match in 2000 and retired shortly afterwards. Three of his sons are all luchadores enmascarados known by their ring names Black Fish, El Hijo del Fishman and El Único de Ciudad Juárez.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ox Baker</span> American professional wrestler and actor (1934–2014)

Douglas Albert Baker Sr. was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known professionally as Ox Baker. He was famous for his distinctive eyebrows and finishing move, the Heart Punch, sometimes called the "Hurt Punch", after Baker's famous catchphrase "I love to hurt people!". He appeared in several films including Blood Circus and Escape from New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Spoiler (wrestler)</span> Canadian professional wrestler (1940–2006)

Donald Delbert Jardine was a Canadian professional wrestler best known for his masked gimmick as The Spoiler. Jardine was a major star in various wrestling promotions. He worked in the World Wrestling Federation, first in 1974 and again from 1984 to 1986. However Jardine had his greatest successes in the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated territories of Florida, Georgia and Texas, from the early 1960s through the mid-1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazo de Oro (wrestler)</span> Mexican professional wrestler

Jesús Alvarado Nieves was a Mexican luchador, or professional wrestler, who worked under the ring name Brazo de Oro. He was a part of the Alvarado wrestling family, the son of Shadito Cruz and brother of Brazo de Plata, El Brazo, Brazo Cibernético, Super Brazo and Brazo de Platino. His son Felipe de Jesús Alvarado Mendoza currently works as La Máscara for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. His nephews, Máximo Sexy and Psycho Clown are featured wrestlers for CMLL and Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide respectively.

The WWA World Tag Team Championship is a Mexican professional wrestling Tag Team championship promoted by the Mexican Lucha Libre wrestling based promotion World Wrestling Association (WWA) since 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brazo de Plata</span> Mexican professional wrestler (1963–2021)

José Luis Alvarado Nieves was a Mexican luchador best known under the ring name Brazo de Plata, a name he had used since his debut in 1977. He is also well known for his appearances in WWE as Super Porky. Alvarado was a member of the Alvarado wrestling family which includes his father Shadito Cruz, five brothers who used the "Brazo" name at some point and several third-generation wrestlers who have appeared over the last couple of years.

Robert Markovich is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Bob Bradley and Battle Kat. He wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation, World Class Championship Wrestling, the Universal Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling, and the National Wrestling Conference.

Pat Rose is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Pat Rose who worked in Southern promotions, Continental Wrestling Association and World Championship Wrestling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Pappas (wrestler)</span> Greek professional wrestler

Emmanuel (Manoli) Savenas, was a Greek American professional wrestler who wrestled under the name Mike Pappas. He worked mainly for World Wide Wrestling Federation in the early 1970s and the National Wrestling Alliance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bullwhip Johnson (wrestler)</span> Canadian wrestler

Daniel Johnston (1954–2003) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He wrestled under the ring name, Bull Johnson, Bullwhip Johnson or Battleship Johnson where he spent his career in the National Wrestling Alliance, Lutte International in Montreal and World Championship Wrestling.

Gary Jackson is an American professional wrestler and sheriff best known for working in the World Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Federation during the late 1980s and early 1990s and various Missouri promotions.

References

  1. ↑ Saalbach, Axel. "Wrestlingdata.com - The World's Largest Wrestling Database".
  2. ↑ Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Bill Anderson « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database".
  3. ↑ Andrews, Kendai (July 16, 2008). "The Life and Times of Flying Billy Anderson". SLAM! Wrestling. Canoe.com . Retrieved July 16, 2008.
  4. ↑ https://www.amazon.ca/stores/author/B0083Z0M6Q/about.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ↑ "1983". Thehistoryofwwe.com. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  6. ↑ "1984". Thehistoryofwwe.com. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  7. ↑ "1985". Thehistoryofwwe.com. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  8. ↑ "1986". Thehistoryofwwe.com. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  9. ↑ "1987". Thehistoryofwwe.com. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  10. ↑ "1988". Thehistoryofwwe.com. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  11. ↑ "1989". Thehistoryofwwe.com. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  12. ↑ "1990". Thehistoryofwwe.com. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  13. ↑ "1991". Thehistoryofwwe.com. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  14. ↑ Encyclopedia staff (November 2007). "Enciclopedia de las Mascaras". Villano I (in Spanish). Mexico City, Mexico. pp. 22–23. Tomo V.
  15. ↑ "1993". Thehistoryofwwe.com. Retrieved December 31, 2016.
  16. ↑ Oliver, Greg (July 19, 2004). "Cheerleader Melissa has moved past the pom-poms". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on November 5, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
  17. ↑ Kociaba, Bill. "CAC Honours A Future Star of The Squared Circle". Cauliflower Alley Club. Archived from the original on June 24, 2008. Retrieved December 18, 2008.
  18. ↑ Andrews, Kendai (July 16, 2008). "Billy Anderson Part 2: Taking the Road Less Traveled". SLAM! Wrestling. Canoe.com . Retrieved July 16, 2008.
  19. ↑ Oliver, Greg (May 29, 2011). "Big Bill Andersons Book Big on Pictures". SLAM! Wrestling. Canoe.com . Retrieved May 29, 2011.
  20. ↑ Oliver, Greg (July 17, 2013). "Bill Anderson Remembers Fallen Friends in New Book". SLAM! Wrestling. Canoe.com . Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  21. ↑ Oliver, Greg (July 17, 2013). "Superstar Billy Graham's Foreword to Big Bill Anderson Remembers....His Fallen Friends of Wrestling!". SLAM! Wrestling. Canoe.com . Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  22. ↑ "N.W.A. "Beat the Champ" International Television Title (Los Angeles)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  23. ↑ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). "Mexico: WWA Trios Title". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. p. 401. ISBN   0-9698161-5-4.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.