| Sonny Myers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Birth name | Harold Myers |
| Born | January 22, 1924 [1] St. Joseph, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | May 7, 2007 [2] (aged 83) St. Joseph, Missouri, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Sonny Myers |
| Billed from | St. Joseph, Missouri [1] |
| Trained by | Gust Karras [1] |
Harold "Sonny" Myers (January 22, 1924 – May 7, 2007) was an American professional wrestler, involved in the business for sixty years.
Myers held prominent heavyweight championships in several territories, most notably the Central States territory, where he was the NWA Central States Heavyweight Champion fourteen times. He also held various tag team championships, as well as a brief reign as NWA World Heavyweight Champion having defeated Orville Brown in November 1947. His championship was largely forgotten when the National Wrestling Alliance was formed a year later, recognizing Brown as champion.
After wrestling Myers acted as sheriff in Buchanan County, Missouri and promoted a Sonny Myers Carnival for 22 years. [2]
Sonny Myers died after a long illness on May 7, 2007. [2]
Guadalupe Robledo was a Mexican professional wrestler, best known by the ring name of José Lothario. He performed for such promotions as the NWA and the WWF.
Salvador Guerrero Quesada, better known as Gory Guerrero, was one of the premier Mexican-American professional wrestlers in the early days of Lucha Libre when most wrestlers were imported from outside Mexico. He wrestled primarily in Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) between the 1940s and 1960s. He was also the patriarch of the Guerrero wrestling family.
Jack Barton Adkisson Sr., better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was a 3-time world champion and a 6-time NWA United States Champion. He was the owner of World Class Championship Wrestling.
The Los Angeles version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was the main tag team professional wrestling championship of the North American Wrestling Alliance, a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), which promoted shows in and around Los Angeles. The championship was the first of at least 17 championships to use that name between 1949 and 1992, as the NWA Board of Directors allowed each territory to create its own version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship if it so desired. In 1957 there were at least 13 different versions of the NWA World Tag Team Championship recognized in the United States.[Championships] Since it was a professional wrestling championship, it was not won through legitimate competitive matches, but instead determined by the decisions of the booker(s) of a wrestling promotion.
The Texas version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was the main tag team professional wrestling championship in the Dallas/Houston-based Southwest Sports territory of the National Wrestling Alliance. While the name indicates that it was defended worldwide, this version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was mainly defended in the eastern part of Texas. The championship was created in 1957 and actively promoted by Southwest Sports until 1968, when it was abandoned. The championship was later brought back by the Dallas-based World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) promotion in 1981, and was used until 1982 when WCCW decided to use the NWA American Tag Team Championship as their top tag team championship. As it is a professional wrestling championship, it is won not by actual competition, but by a scripted ending to a match.
The Chicago version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship promoted by the Chicago-based Fred Kohler Enterprises, a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The championship was for two-man tag teams only. While the NWA Board of Directors mandated that there would only be one NWA World Heavyweight Championship, they did not regulate the use of championships labeled "NWA World Tag Team Championship", allowing any member that so desired to create their own local version. As a result, as many as 13 different, regional versions were active in 1957, the highest number of active NWA World Tag Team Championships in existence at the same time.[Championships]
The Central States version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was the main professional wrestling championship for tag teams in Heart of America Sports Attractions, later known as Central States Wrestling (CSW) from 1951 to 1959, then again from 1962 to 1963 and then finally from 1973 to 1979. CSW was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), whose bylaws allowed any of their members, referred to as NWA territories, to create their own version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship that would be promoted within their territory. The Central States version was primarily defended in CSW's home town of Kansas City and during their shows across Missouri, Kansas and Iowa. As it was a professional wrestling championship, it was not won or lost competitively but instead by the decision of the bookers. The title was awarded after the chosen team "wins" a match to maintain the illusion that professional wrestling is a competitive sport. In 1957 there were at least 13 different versions of the NWA World Tag Team Championship being promoted in various NWA territories across the United States.[Championships]
John Tolos, nicknamed "The Golden Greek", was a Canadian professional wrestler, and professional wrestling manager.
Michael DiBiase was an American professional wrestler also known by his ring name "Iron" Mike DiBiase. The adoptive father of professional wrestler "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, he was married to Ted's mother Helen Hild, and was the grandfather of Mike, Ted Jr., and Brett DiBiase.
Robert Frederick Geigel was an American professional wrestling promoter and professional wrestler. He operated the Kansas City, Missouri-based Heart of America Sports Attractions promotion from 1963 to 1986, and served three terms as the president of the National Wrestling Alliance from 1978 to 1980, from 1982 to 1985, and finally from 1986 to 1987.
Archibald Edward Gouldie was a Canadian professional wrestler. He wrestled for Stampede Wrestling for decades as Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie, with the nickname coming from the wrestler's reputation of "stomping" on his opponents, when they were down, with his black cowboy boots. He was also known by the ring name The Mongolian Stomper.
Willard Rowe Longson was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Wild Bill Longson. He spent most of his career in St. Louis, Missouri. He perfected the role of the arrogant heel, and is credited with inventing and popularizing the piledriver.
McRonald Kamaka was an American-Canadian professional wrestler known by the ring name Tor Kamata. He won several heavyweight and tag team championships, most notably the PWF World Heavyweight Championship in All Japan Pro Wrestling and the AWA World Tag Team Championship in the American Wrestling Association. He was a classic heel, reviled for dirty tricks in the ring, included rubbing salt in his opponent's eyes.
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.
Alexander Charles Newman was a Canadian professional wrestler known by the ring names Al Lovelock and The Great Bolo. Lovelock was born in Windsor, Ontario and was active in the 1950s and 1960s and was primarily known for his work in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida. Lovelock was the first to use the name "the Great Bolo" but would later allow Tom Renesto to use the name as well. He is the younger brother of politician Bernard Newman.
Robert Carson, better known by his ring name Bob Sweetan, was a Canadian professional wrestler. Sweetan was nicknamed "Bruiser" and "Mr. Piledriver", the latter in reference to his finishing maneuver.
Miguel Wenceslao Guzmán Huerta, best known by his ring name Black Guzmán, was a Mexican luchador. His ring name was a nickname he had earned due to his tan skin color. Guzmán's style was centered on the headscissors, pioneering several variations of the headscissors takedown, and was one of the first luchadors to work a fast-paced, aerial style. He was the first Mexican National Light Heavyweight Champion, winning a tournament in 1943. Guzmán also competed under his real name for Texas-based Southwest Sports, Inc. for a number of years, including eight reigns as the NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion and one run with the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship alongside Rito Romero.
The Amarillo version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was the main tag team professional wrestling championship for the Amarillo, Texas-based Western States Sports promotion, a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Promoters Doc Sarpolis and Dory Funk introduced the championship in 1955 and continued to use it as their main tag team championship until 1969. The NWA Board of Directors dictated that there would be only one NWA World Heavyweight Champion but allowed any NWA member, also known as a NWA territory, to create its own local version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship. In 1957 no less than 13 different versions of the NWA World Tag Team Championship were promoted across the United States.[Championships] This even included another version in East Texas, which was used mainly in Houston and Fort Worth at the time.
The Salt Lake Wrestling Club version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship for tag teams that was promoted between 1955 and 1959 in the Salt Lake Wrestling Club territory of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). Local promoter Dave Reynolds promoted the championship primarily in Utah, but would occasionally runs shows in Idaho and Washington state. Since the promotion was a member of the NWA, the Salt Lake Wrestling Club was entitled to promote their local version of the championship, as the NWA bylaws did not restrict the use of that championship in the same way they restricted the NWA World Heavyweight Championship to one nationally recognized championship. In 1957 there were no less than 13 distinct versions of the NWA World Tag Team Championship promoted across the United States.[Championships] Because the championship was a professional wrestling championship, it was not contested for in legitimate sporting events, but instead determined by the decision of the bookers of a wrestling promotion.
Ramon Eduardo Rodriguez, better known by the ring name Ciclón Negro, was a professional wrestler who was originally from Venezuela. He toured Australia, Canada, Japan, Puerto Rico and the United States. He achieved a good amount of popularity and recognition during the 1970s.
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