Gary Will

Last updated

Gary Will is a Canadian professional wrestling historian and writer. [1] [2]

Contents

Career

Will is best known for writing the book Wrestling Title Histories, which is widely regarded as the most complete compilation of championship listings for professional wrestling. Many wrestling fans refer to it as a "Bible". [3] [4] [5] He wrote a listing of deceased professional wrestlers, as noted on various websites. [6] [7] [8] He is also known for his "Canadian Pro Wrestling Page of Fame", which honored professional wrestlers who are Canadian citizens, as opposed to the "Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame", which honored any wrestler or wrestling associated person who made landmark contributions for wrestling in Canada. [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

Works

See also

Related Research Articles

Dale Hey was a Canadian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Buddy Roberts. Primarily a tag team wrestler, Roberts is known for his appearances as one of The Hollywood Blonds in the 1970s and as one of The Fabulous Freebirds in the 1980s. He was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2015 and the WWE Hall of Fame in 2016 as part of The Fabulous Freebirds.

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

William Reid "Bill" Eadie is an American retired professional wrestler who has competed under the names of Ax as part of Demolition and The Masked Superstar. He was a high school teacher and coach at Cambridge High School in Cambridge, Ohio, and at East Liverpool, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afa Anoa'i</span> Samoan-American actor and professional wrestler

Afa Amituana'i "Arthur" Anoa'i is a Samoan-American retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager. Since retiring, he has operated the World Xtreme Wrestling promotion and trained wrestlers at the Wild Samoan Training Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mikel Scicluna</span> Maltese professional wrestler (1929–2010)

Mikel Scicluna was a Maltese professional wrestler who gained his fame during the 1960s and 1970s. He reached the peak of his success in WWWF where he was 2-time tag-team champion, having held the United States Tag Team championship once and the WWE World Tag Team Championship once.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (WON) Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Like many other wrestling halls of fame, such as the WWE, TNA, ROH and WCW halls of fame, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame is not contained in a building, and there are no ceremonies for inductions other than a highly detailed biographical documentation of their career in the newsletter. Inductees include wrestlers/fighters, managers, promoters, trainers, and commentators. On select occasions, groups, either tag teams, trios, or quartets, have been inducted rather than the individual members of the group. This first occurred in 1996, when The Fabulous Kangaroos and The Road Warriors entered the hall. The Fabulous Freebirds, The Midnight Express, The Rock 'n' Roll Express, The Assassins, The Holy Demon Army, The Sharpe Brothers, Los Misioneros de la Muerte, and Los Brazos among others all also entered as groups. Occasionally entire wrestling families have been inducted into the hall. This first occurred in 1996 when The Dusek Family entered the hall; in 2022, the five man familial team of Los Villanos was inducted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Tolos</span> Greek-Canadian professional wrestler and manager

John Tolos, nicknamed "The Golden Greek", was a Canadian professional wrestler, and professional wrestling manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riki Choshu</span> Korean Japanese wrestler (born 1951)

Mitsuo Yoshida, better known by his ring name Riki Choshu, is a South Korean-Japanese retired professional wrestler who is best known for his longtime work in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) as both a wrestler and a booker. He is considered one of Japan’s most influential wrestlers for his work in the 1980s and 1990s and is known as the first wrestler to popularize the Sasori-Gatame, better known in English as the Scorpion Deathlock or Sharpshooter. After leaving NJPW in 2002, he formed Fighting World of Japan Pro Wrestling (WJ), but eventually returned to New Japan in October 2005 as a site foreman, booker and part-time wrestler. Choshu once again left NJPW in 2010 and primarily worked in Tatsumi Fujinami’s Dradition, as well as his own self-produced Power Hall events as a freelancer. Choshu was a second generation Zainichi Korean until his naturalization in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danny Hodge</span> American boxer and wrestler (1932–2020)

Daniel Allen Hodge was an American amateur and professional wrestler, who also had a brief professional boxing career. He is in both the U.S. amateur wrestling Hall of Fame, for his three NCAA titles and Olympic silver medal, and the pro wrestling Hall of Fame, as a seven-time NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion. The Dan Hodge Trophy is the college wrestling equivalent of the Heisman Trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smoky Mountain Wrestling</span> American professional wrestling promotion

Smoky Mountain Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Appalachian area of the United States from October 1991 to December 1995, when it was run by Jim Cornette. The promotion was based in Knoxville, Tennessee, with offices in Morristown, Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Londos</span> Greek professional wrestler (1894–1975)

Christos Theofilou, better known as "The Golden Greek" Jim Londos, was a Greek American professional wrestler. Londos was one of the most popular stars on the professional wrestling circuit in the 1930s and 1940s.

<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. But Jardine saw his greatest successes in the National Wrestling Alliance affiliated territories of Championship Wrestling from Florida, Georgia Championship Wrestling and Big Time Wrestling, which would eventually become known as World Class Championship Wrestling, from the early 1960s through the mid-1980s.

Ángel Acevedo is a Puerto Rican retired professional wrestler known by his ring name The Cuban Assassin and for his appearances with Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling, World Wrestling Council and Stampede Wrestling. Ángel Acevedo is a permanent resident of Canada and resides in Calgary, Alberta. Acevedo's son, Richie Acevedo, was also a wrestler for many years but retired in 2009. Acevedo allowed Fidel Sierra to use the Cuban Assassin name as well, as long as he did not use it in Japan, which has led to some mistakenly crediting Acevedo and Sierra with championships they did not win.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hercules Ayala</span> Puerto Rican professional wrestler (1950–2020)

Ruben Cruz was a Puerto Rican professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Hercules Ayala. He competed in Canadian and international wrestling promotions including the eastern Canadian Grand Prix Wrestling, the Calgary-based Stampede Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling in Japan and World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico.

Laurence Roy Heffernan was an Australian professional wrestler. Roy Heffernan toured all over the world, but is most famous for being one half of the original version of the tag team the Fabulous Kangaroos. The Kangaroos used an "Ultra Australian" gimmick complete with Boomerangs, bush hats and "Waltzing Matilda" as their entrance music. The first incarnation of the Kangaroos is the most famous of all the Kangaroo versions and is often credited with popularizing tag team wrestling in the late 1950s and 1960s. Costello and Heffernan are also regarded as one of the top tag teams to ever compete in professional wrestling.

The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) Wrestling Legends Hall of Heroes is a professional wrestling hall of fame that honors people who have competed or played other major roles in the NWA. Organized by wrestling promoter Greg Price, the hall is separate from the NWA Hall of Fame and is not officially endorsed by the company, but the NWA has given permission for the use of its name. An induction ceremony takes place at the annual NWA Legends Fanfest Weekend. In 2007, there were seven inductees in the inaugural class. Seven more honorees were added the following year, and another eight were added to the Hall of Heroes in 2009. The 2009 induction ceremony took place on August 7 and was hosted by Jim Cornette.

Toni Rose is an American retired professional wrestler. During her wrestling career, Rose captured the NWA World Women's Tag Team Championship on five occasions; three times with Donna Christanello, and twice with her trainer, The Fabulous Moolah. Rose is also a former one-time NWA Southern Women's Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corsica Joe</span> American professional wrestler

Francois Miquet was a French/American professional wrestler who worked primarily in the United States of America under the ring name Corsica Joe. As Corsica Joe he teamed up with Jean Louis Roy, who was billed as "Corsica Jean" to form a very successful tag team known as "The Corsicans". The Corsicans held a number of tag team championships, especially in the southern National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) territories of NWA Mid-America, Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling, Championship Wrestling from Florida and Georgia Championship Wrestling. He was the brother of Felix Miquet who was also a wrestler, but worked primarily in the United Kingdom. He was married to female pro wrestler Sarah Lee, sometimes billed as "Sara Corsica".

<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.

Jason Anderson is a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his work in Stampede Wrestling, where he was known under the ring names Blackheart Destruction and Jason Neidhart, being portrayed as the cousin of wrestler Jim Neidhart. He would wrestle internationally.

1970 in professional wrestling describes the year's events in the world of professional wrestling.

References

  1. ↑ "Wrestling Title Histories an essential resource". 22 July 2017. Archived from the original on 22 July 2017.
  2. ↑ "CANOE -- SLAM! Sports - Wrestling - Will finds a way for Toronto history site". 9 March 2016. Archived from the original on 9 March 2016.
  3. ↑ "SUNDAY: MARCH 29, 1998: WRESTLING; My Dead Giants". The New York Times . 29 March 1998.
  4. ↑ "My Dead Giants". The New York Times. 29 March 1998. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018.
  5. ↑ https://www.webcitation.org/71wbDlRdB?url=http://canoe.ca/SlamWrestlingReviews/garywill.html
  6. ↑ https://wrestlerdeaths.com/deceased-wrestlers-list/ https://archive.today/20180820005002/https://wrestlerdeaths.com/deceased-wrestlers-list/
  7. ↑ "Complete list of deceased wrestlers". deadwrestlers.net.
  8. ↑ "Complete list of deceased wrestlers". 26 August 2018. Archived from the original on 26 August 2018.
  9. ↑ "Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  10. ↑ "House of Deception - Pro Wrestling History Links". houseofdeception.com.
  11. ↑ "House of Deception - Pro Wrestling History Links". 25 August 2018. Archived from the original on 25 August 2018.
  12. ↑ "Gary Will waves goodbye to region's tech community". 19 October 2010.
  13. ↑ "Gary Will waves goodbye to region's tech community". 19 October 2010. Archived from the original on 2018-08-25. Retrieved 2018-08-25.
  14. ↑ "Book fair a hit at Cauliflower Alley". 1 January 2003. Archived from the original on 1 January 2003.
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.