| The Royal Kangaroos | |
|---|---|
| Tag team | |
| Members | "Lord" Jonathan Boyd Norman Frederick Charles III |
| Billed from | Sydney, Australia |
| Debut | 1969 |
| Disbanded | 1977 |
The Royal Kangaroos was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of cousins "Lord" Jonathan Boyd and Norman Frederick Charles III . The duo played off their Australian heritage which included using a boomerang as their weapon of choice. Boyd and Charles were known for their brutal, brawling style. [1]
Cousins Jonathan Boyd and Norman Frederick Charles III both came into the pro wrestling world with a solid amateur background behind them. [2] Initially they wrestled in singles competition but a few years after their debut they decided to team up and head to North America. The two became known as The Royal Kangaroos, a name inspired by the legendary tag team the "Fabulous Kangaroos." [1] Like the original Fabulous Kangaroos (Al Costello and Roy Heffernan) who were despised heels and started riots wherever they appeared, Boyd and Charles were vicious rulebreakers. Boyd and Charles worked mainly for Pacific Northwest Wrestling in Oregon, capturing their first NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship from Kurt and Karl Von Steiger on 11 July 1971, [3] their first reign lasted only 6 weeks before losing the titles to Frankie Laine and Big Snuka. The Kangaroos regained the titles and held on to them by hook or by crook until Dutch Savage and Beauregarde defeated them on 26 November 1971. [3]
The Royal Kangaroos regained the titles only a few short weeks later and would hold them until 17 April where they fell to the PNW Tag Team powerhouse of Tony Borne and Moondog Mayne (it was their 11th reign together as PNW Tag Team champions). Like before the Kangaroos were not without the title for long as they cheated their way to a victory on 9 May. [3] After losing the title to Dutch Savage and Moondog Mayne on 17 June the Royal Kangaroos ventured outside of the Portland Territory. [1] The team would win the South Pacific World Tag Team Championship in 1974, a championship that represented Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, French Numea, Western Samoa and parts of Africa. [4]
After travelling around the world the Kangaroos returned to the territory that brought them the most fame and won their 5th PNW Tag Team Championship on 27 February 1975 when they defeated Dutch Savage and Jimmy Snuka. The Australians would go on to dominate the Portland tag team division as they held on to the titles for 10 months before finally being unseated by Savage and Snuka on 25 December. [1] Their sixth and last run with the PNW tag team title only lasted 3 days as they won the gold from and then lost it back to the combination of Jesse Ventura and Apache Bull Ramos between 5 June and 8 June.
After working for Pacific Northwest for a number of years, the Royal Kangaroos headed south a bit to work for the San Francisco based World Wrestling Alliance. In San Francisco the duo won the S.F. version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship from Pat Patterson and Tony Garea on 18 September 1976. Their run with the gold ended on 4 December when they lost to Jimmy and Johnny Valiant. [3] After losing the gold the Royal Kangaroos moved on from the San Francisco territory and headed further north to join Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion in Calgary. In June 1977, the duo defeated Leo Burke and Keith Hart for the Stampede International Tag Team Championship but dropped it to Leo Burke and his new tag team partner Bobby Burke only a short time later. [3] After their run in Stampede the duo briefly worked for the NWA Mid-Atlantic where they held the Mid-Atlantic Brass Knucks Championship. [3] After teaming for over seven years together the Royal Kangaroos broke up in 1978; Charles returned to Stampede for some time while Jonathan Boyd returned to the Pacific Northwest. Jonathan Boyd would later find fame as one-half of the Sheepherders alongside Luke Williams while Norman Frederick Charles III remained a singles competitor.
Robert Miller was a New Zealander professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Bushwhacker Butch, where he teamed with Bushwhacker Luke as The Bushwhackers. He was also known for his appearances under the ring name Butch Miller for promotions such as NWA New Zealand, Stampede Wrestling, Pacific Northwest Wrestling, Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Southwest Championship Wrestling, and the Universal Wrestling Federation, where he teamed with Luke as The Kiwis and The Sheepherders.
Brian Wickens is a New Zealander professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Bushwhacker Luke, where he teamed with Bushwhacker Butch as The Bushwhackers. He is also known for his appearances under the ring name Luke Williams for promotions such as NWA New Zealand, Stampede Wrestling, Pacific Northwest Wrestling, Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Southwest Championship Wrestling, and the Universal Wrestling Federation, where he teamed with Butch as "The Kiwis" and "The Sheepherders".
Curtis Thompson is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling from 1991 to 1992 under the ring name Firebreaker Chip.
The Bushwhackers were a professional wrestling tag team who competed first as the New Zealand Kiwis and then as The Sheepherders during their 36-year career as a tag team. They wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation, Jim Crockett Promotions, and on the independent territorial wrestling circuits. The Bushwhackers consisted of Butch Miller and Luke Williams while the Sheepherders also included Jonathan Boyd and Rip Morgan as members at times. Williams and Miller were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2015, and the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum in 2020.
Paul E. Perschmann was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Playboy Buddy Rose. He wrestled primarily for the AWA, WWF, and for promoter Don Owen in Pacific Northwest Wrestling.
Frank Stewart was an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter, best known for his time spent competing in Pacific Northwest Wrestling under the ring name Dutch Savage.
Kurt and Karl Von Steiger were the ring names of Canadian professional wrestlers Lorne Corlett and Arnold Pastrick. The Von Steiger gimmick was that of two German villains, called heels, despite both wrestlers hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Arnold Pastrick used the name Kurt Von Steiger, and Lorne Corlett worked as Karl Von Steiger. The Von Steigers are best known for competing in Pacific Northwest Wrestling in Portland, Oregon, between 1968 and 1973 but also competed in Tennessee, San Francisco, Stampede Wrestling, Australia, the American Wrestling Alliance and the Carolina territory.
Jonathan Barry Boyle was an Australian professional wrestler who is known worldwide under the name "Lord" Jonathan Boyd. Initially Boyd competed both in North American and international promotions as part of the Royal Kangaroos with his cousin Norman Frederick Charles III. Later on Boyd would team up with Luke Williams as the Sheepherders and compete in many North American federations such as Continental Wrestling Association, Southeast Championship Wrestling and Southwest Championship Wrestling. Boyd would also act as a manager for Luke and Butch Miller as they competed under the "Sheepherder" name.
Ronald Doyle "Lonnie" Mayne was an American professional wrestler in the 1960s and 1970s who frequently went by the name Moondog Mayne. He wrestled in various National Wrestling Alliance territories, as well as the World Wide Wrestling Federation in 1973.
Les Thornton was a British professional wrestler who competed in Great Britain, Japan, European and North American regional promotions throughout the 1970s and 1980s including Joint Promotions, Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance.
Craig Renney is a Canadian professional wrestler best known by his ring name, Juggernaut. He has competed for several North American independent promotions and has competed in several wrestling tours in Asia. He also had a brief stint in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 2000.
George Wells is a retired American professional wrestler and Canadian Football League player who competed in North American regional promotions during the early 1970s and 1980s including the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA), Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW), Stampede Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and the World Wrestling Federation, most notably as the opponent of Jake "The Snake" Roberts at WrestleMania 2. It was during this live PPV match that Roberts, after having defeated Wells, had placed his pet snake "Damien" on Wells causing him to foam at the mouth.
Dean Kiyoshi Higuchi was an American bodybuilder and professional wrestler, known by his ring name, Dean Ho. He competed in North American promotions including Pacific Northwest Wrestling, the World Wide Wrestling Federation and Big Time Wrestling during the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. A longtime veteran of the Vancouver's NWA All-Star Wrestling, he feuded with Terry Adonis, The Brute and former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Gene Kiniski.
John Anson is a Canadian retired professional wrestler, known by his ring name "Handsome" John Anson, who competed in North American and Japanese promotions from the mid-1960s until the early-1980s, including International Wrestling, Maple Leaf Wrestling, NWA All-Star Wrestling, Pacific Northwest Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling.
Luther Jacob Goodall was an American professional football player and wrestler, known by his ringname Luther Lindsay or Lindsey, who competed throughout the United States with the National Wrestling Alliance as well as international promotions such as All Japan Pro Wrestling, Joint Promotions and Stampede Wrestling.
Charles B. Sprott was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring names Ricky Hunter and the masked wrestler The Gladiator. He was best known for his title-winning success in Championship Wrestling from Florida in the late 1960s, and for his stint from the mid-1980s in the World Wrestling Federation.
Frank Luhovy, known as Cowboy Frankie Laine, was a Canadian professional wrestler.
Norman Frederick Charles III was an English professional wrestler who was known worldwide under the name Murphy the Surfie. Initially Charles competed both in North American and international promotions as part of The Royal Kangaroos with his cousin Jonathan Boyd.
Bobby Eugene Nutt, better known by his ring name Ron Starr, was an American professional wrestler. Starr was a mainstay for numerous wrestling territories throughout the 1970s and 80s, capturing almost three dozen championships throughout his career including two reigns as NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion and several reigns as NWA World Tag Team Champion. He was also notable for his involvement with Stampede Wrestling in Canada and his tenure with the World Wrestling Council (WWC) in Puerto Rico. Starr has been called "one of the unsung heroes of the territory days of professional wrestling" and "one of the most effective heels that territorial professional wrestling had ever seen.
Joe Ventura is a Canadian retired professional wrestler who was active throughout the 1970s and 80s. Although he is of Italian descent, Ventura had most of his success portraying an Indian under the ring name (Chief) Joe Lightfoot. He spent the majority of the 1970s competing in Canada for Stampede Wrestling and NWA All-Star Wrestling and the majority of the 1980s competing in the United States, primarily throughout the National Wrestling Alliance, where he is a former NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion.
We both wrestled very successfully as amateurs