Ray Gordon

Born in New Zealand to either Yugoslavian or Hungarian parents, as there are versions of the tale that conflict, Ray Gordon became a popular wrestler in the "Down Under" area before becoming an international star. He worked for many of the old territories and was always regarded as a top hand.

Gordon likewise trained many wrestlers, such as the mufti-time World titleholder, Harley Race. in Arizona, Gordon was likewise partly responsible for the training of the then young Jody Arnold.

"He was just SO tough," Arnold would later remark. "He was like a freak of nature. I was more muscular than him. There were a lot of people more muscular than him. The only thing was, he would fool you by looking at him. He was superhuman when it came to strength. I have never seen anyone that strong. In a ring workout he could push and move anyone tryout to stand still, but when he stood his ground you could not move him. He was just so tough."

During the 1960s, Gordon had many matches in Arizona, facing the likes of Don Arnold, The Comancheros, Don Kent, George Drake and Spike Jones. His matches with Chuck Karbo were exceptionally wild and spanned several years.

This feud reached its peak in 1968, during a televised match where Gordon was facing Henry Pulusso. All of a sudden John Shane and Karbo charged the ring and helped Henry beat the hell out of Gordon. Cowboy Bob Ellis and Tito Montez charged in to make a save, which of course set up a six man tag feud.

In spite of this happening, Gordon and Karbo also continued to meet in a number of single matches that usually evolved into bloody brawls. More often than not, Gordon's airplane spin or Boston crab would win out over Karbo's backbreaker.

Gordon retired in 1971 and moved to Canada, where he died some years later.