Crappler El 0 M
Dalek
Never Forgets an Octagon
I'm a good R-Truth.
Posts: 58,479
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Post by Crappler El 0 M on Jun 10, 2020 7:18:58 GMT -5
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Post by CeilingFan on Jun 10, 2020 8:08:24 GMT -5
Rest In Peace.
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Post by toodarkmark on Jun 10, 2020 8:12:12 GMT -5
I've watched a lot of Georgia Championship Wrestling and Mid-South, and Wrestling Two was insanely over and great at making angles work. RIP to the legend. He was also Jimmy Carter Mom's favorite wrestler. He was invited to the White House for the inaugeration in 1976, but refused to take off his mask like Secret Service had asked, so he didn't go.  |
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Post by BRAINFADE on Jun 10, 2020 9:37:28 GMT -5
Really sad news. I'm currently watching through Mid South on the network, and Wrestling II was crazy over with that audience. I'm up to February 84 so in the middle of his and Magnum T.A's feud with the Midnight Express, it's so friggin great.
RIP.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2020 17:17:29 GMT -5
This got me teary eyed. As a kid GCW was one of my first exposures to wrestling. I instantly became a fan of his due to his mask, his interviews and wrestling style. I also was a fan of Masked Superstar and I loved their feud against each other. Ever since then, I have been a fan of masked wrestlers, which led me to lucha libre and japanese wrestling many years ago. To this day I still count masked wrestlers as some of my favs, like Bushi in NJPW, due to the influence of II.
I thank God I was able to meet Mr. Walker on 2 occasions during some NWA fanfests years ago. It was a dream come true to meet him, RIP II, you made me the fan I still am today.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 12, 2020 9:04:13 GMT -5
He was also Jimmy Carter Mom's favorite wrestler. He was invited to the White House for the inauguration in 1976, but refused to take off his mask like Secret Service had asked, so he didn't go. I was reading last night that apparently the Secret Service confirmed years later that he was there, but of course the man himself would never admit it. So either he was there, or the Secret Service played a hand at messing around with kayfabe which is very weird the more I think about it.  |
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Post by CeilingFan on Jun 12, 2020 9:23:59 GMT -5
Really sad news. I'm currently watching through Mid South on the network, and Wrestling II was crazy over with that audience. I'm up to February 84 so in the middle of his and Magnum T.A's feud with the Midnight Express, it's so friggin great. RIP. He helped make Magnum T.A. into a superstar. |
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Post by Joe Neglia on Jun 13, 2020 18:52:29 GMT -5
I managed to miss seeing Wrestling II during his active years by mere months; he left Mid-South in September 84 and I wouldn't start watching until around February of the next year. Even getting into WWF not long after that, I still never caught him during his run there, as he was mostly kept to house shows in former territories he was well known in. Fantastic worker looking back though. His final big angle, turning on Magnum, was one of the best "mentor" angles ever. Rest in Peace, John. He was also Jimmy Carter Mom's favorite wrestler. He was invited to the White House for the inauguration in 1976, but refused to take off his mask like Secret Service had asked, so he didn't go. I was reading last night that apparently the Secret Service confirmed years later that he was there, but of course the man himself would never admit it. So either he was there, or the Secret Service played a hand at messing around with kayfabe which is very weird the more I think about it. I would not be surprised at all if he did attend maskless and kept the barring as a story to tell for kayfabe purposes. |
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FHgrad99
Vegeta
Never mind that s***, here comes Mongo!
Posts: 9,035
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Post by FHgrad99 on Jun 14, 2020 8:47:39 GMT -5
After listening to Cornette talk about him, he was very protective of his identity. Cornette worked with him for years and only saw him without the mask one time. Cornette said "even when he was young, he still looked old." He looked like a balding middle-aged man without the mask but once he put the mask on he was a very good worker. Cornette said Mr. Wrestling II would drive himself to the shows and stop a few miles from the arena to put his mask on and drive to the building and he would do the same after the show. Leave the show wearing the mask and then stop a few miles away and take the mask off.
He was a very popular star in the 70's and into the 80's. There haven't been nearly as many American masked wrestlers come along since his heyday. RIP to one of the greats of his era.
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Post by Joe Neglia on Jun 14, 2020 12:19:38 GMT -5
He was a very popular star in the 70's and into the 80's. There haven't been nearly as many American masked wrestlers come along since his heyday. What's amazing about that is that his best/biggest time in the business came after he had already retired. He originally started without a mask in 1955 and officially retired in 1964 after almost a decade in the business. About 3-4 years later, that turned into a semi-retirement as he started doing a few matches again here and there in the local area for the next five years. Only in '72, eight years after he retired did he take up the Wrestling 2 gimmick and had his big 12-year run. |
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Post by MrElijah on Jun 14, 2020 13:36:31 GMT -5
Was II ever considered for the NWA Title or was that always Wrestling I?
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Post by Joe Neglia on Jun 14, 2020 14:21:49 GMT -5
Was II ever considered for the NWA Title or was that always Wrestling I? Neither. The NWA had strict rules on not allowing masked wrestlers to carry the title. This was so audiences wouldn't/couldn't get conned into attending a show promoting the NWA champ and it end up being someone else under the mask. Honestly, as great as both were, neither were NWA champ material anyway. II was better than I, but both were in more of the "Arn Anderson" territory than they were "Ric Flair/Harley Race" |
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FHgrad99
Vegeta
Never mind that s***, here comes Mongo!
Posts: 9,035
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Post by FHgrad99 on Jun 15, 2020 2:38:52 GMT -5
He was a very popular star in the 70's and into the 80's. There haven't been nearly as many American masked wrestlers come along since his heyday. What's amazing about that is that his best/biggest time in the business came after he had already retired. He originally started without a mask in 1955 and officially retired in 1964 after almost a decade in the business. About 3-4 years later, that turned into a semi-retirement as he started doing a few matches again here and there in the local area for the next five years. Only in '72, eight years after he retired did he take up the Wrestling 2 gimmick and had his big 12-year run. I don't know of anybody who had a career path like him. |
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Post by HMARK Center on Jun 15, 2020 11:44:14 GMT -5
This is one of the big ones, and tons of wrestlers who've made an impact on the industry over the past 20+ years or so point to MWII as their favorite. I know Raven, for example, has always been highly vocal about his fandom, including using some of his moves as a homage.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 15, 2020 20:26:28 GMT -5
It still sickens me the way WWF used him, mostly as a job guy. I will never understand that. I remember seeing him on WWF TV and was instantly excited, until he lost to almost everybody.
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Post by Joe Neglia on Jun 15, 2020 20:46:02 GMT -5
It still sickens me the way WWF used him, mostly as a job guy. I will never understand that. I remember seeing him on WWF TV and was instantly excited, until he lost to almost everybody. Dude was 50 years old at that point. He did the right thing, being the "big name" to lose and put over the next generation of talent. |
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 16, 2020 9:59:29 GMT -5
Guess so, still irked me as I was a big fan. Looking at 1985 results he got wins over Terry Gibbs, Rene Goulet, and the Moondogs, but took losses to Sheik, Beefcake, and Neidhart, so I guess he wasn’t a total jobber. 😁
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