The Swami

The Swami had only a brief run in Arizona, evidently coming in from his California home base. He wore a colorful ring robe and a turban, but did not possess a great deal of capability in the ring. In modern times, had he been around in the WWE, he would have been referred to as "enhancement talent" and little else.

In 1958 a promoter named Max Spilburg attempted to run wrestling at a roller ring in Flagstaff, with the plans of starting small and growing big. These plans included running cards with unknowns or lesser knowns who would work cheaply until he could really get things going. Afterward they were to be signed on as regulars with the possibility of facing true stars like Lou Thesz, Fred Blassie and Buddy Rogers.

This never happened.

The shows at the rollerskating arena failed to provoke any interest and were so poorly  attended, the promoter didn't have the expenses from the fate to cover the rental contract, let alone pay his crew.

So much for that.

The Swami evidently had no magical powers or he surely would have placed a death curse on the promoter for what he had done. Though he could have found work with other Arizona offices and received a push due to the bizarre nature of his shtick, he choose not to do so. In a few short weeks he seemed to have had enough of Arizona and wrote it off as a disaster. This again was a pity, for though he was not said to have been the most talented of grapplers, weird routines were always popular in Arizona and a rival promoter like Rod Fenton in Tucson could have found ways to hide his shortcomings.

In his brief Flagstaff run, The Swami did have one notable match with Broadway Venus, a reliable  journeyman who never received his full due. Venus won the match, but The Swami held his own.

The Swami's other Flagstaff matches were fairly forgettable.