Meet Danny Drake

In the 1950s and 1960s, George Drake was a popular draw in Arizona, though for some unexplained reason he decided to take his own life. Decades have  passed since that time and sadly, he has faded from the memory of many historians.

Enter a new Drake who is no relation to the one noted above,  but heading to Arizona as well.

Meet Danny Drake, who started out in West Virginia, but is heading west. He plans to be in Tempe by summer, which might not be the wisest time to arrive, yet he is on his way.

"I hate the snow," Drake commented. "That's why I am moving out of the east and heading elsewhere. California, Arizona and the Mexican border all have wrestling and  plan to get in on it. I am sure I will do better there than I have in West Virginia as in that area everybody and his brother is or thinks he is a wrestler  or promoter. Too many outfits running and too few good ones. Plus the behavior of some of these guys tends to be so unprofessional it is mind-blowing in the Ohio/West Virginia area. . I want to go elsewhere and do some lucha style."

Good luck on your relocation, Danny.

What's In A Name

Real names vs ring names of varied  wrestlers who worked Arizona.

Bill Anderson/Bill Laster
Chris Colt/Chuck Harris
Ron Dupree/Russ Grobes
The Lumberjacks/Russ and David Walters
Jack Ringer/John Lee
John Ringer/John Wall
Eddie Lopez/Al Romero
Bronco Lazar/Bruno Rodriguez
Dusty Rhodes/Virgil Runnels
Jimmy Jack Funk/Jesse Barr
Razor Ramon/Scott Hall
HonkytonkMan/ Wayne Farris
Billy Graham/Wayne Coleman
Missing Link/Dewey Robertson
Don Kent/Leo Smith
Eddie Graham/Ed Gossett
Pancho Pico/Julio Arguello
Super Argo/Art Anmerlo
Maniac Mike Gordon/Gordon Voris
The Sheik/Ed Farhat
Igor/Dick Garza
Don Fargo/Don Kult
Tarzan Tyler/Camille Tourville
Crazy Horse/Larry Lafambois
King Milo/Lewis Feinmann
JT Law/JT McGee
Mr Southern Comfort/Jim Thornton
Ed Blair/Ed Todd
Cheif Attacullaculla/Rod Blair
Taylor Thomas  /Linda Thomas
Candi Divine/Candace Rummel
Eddie Sullivan/Ruben Huizar
Rip Tyler/Dean Vaughn
Chuck Karbo/Charles Campbell
Kurt Von Steiger/Arnold Pastick
Christopher Henderson/Bert Prentice
Farmer Jones/Bob Dean
The Golden Eagle/Jim McFarland
Adrian Adonis/Keith Franks
John Shane/John Thompson
Johnny Kostas/Johnny Kostolias
Arizona Red/Hazel Cowen
The Insatiable Sadie/Joann Owen
Cowboy Bob Yuma/Frank Vaughn
Tito Montez/Ed Montamayor
Goliath/Pablo Crispan
Ringo/ Aurelio Rodriguez
Mr Murder/ Barry Bernsten Jr
Randy Savage/Randy Poffo
Mr Wrestling/David Rose
Mr Wrestling/Gordon Nelson
Mildred Burke/Mildred Bliss
Tona Tomah/Tonah Ford
Phil Melby/Paul Gottlieb
Dr Thom Parks/Tim Hicks
Paul Harvey/Hervey Kramer
The Mortician/Bud Brown
Paul Bearer/Bill Moody
Buddy Rogers/Herman Rhode
The Mercenary/Dan Clift
Bladerunner/Chuck Whitmarsh

Dick Trout

Dick Trout had an amazing run as a wrestler. I finally was able to find a picture of him recently and learn what he looked like. During a lengthy career, he held numerous titles, including a version fo the World Jr. Heavyweight crown and various regional straps. He traveled about the country and seemed popular in whatever area booked him. For a man with a name corresponding with a fish, he seemed to be quite a surprisingly tough character.

Trout was a major draw in California, having long feuds with Red Berry, Gorilla Ramos, Paavo Katonan and others. Like many working the Los Angeles circuit in the 1940s and 1950s, he also made trips to Arizona on a regular basis. usually, he had matches with his California opponents, carrying over into Phoenix and Tucson.

Trout was considered extremely skilled as a technical wrestler, utilizing a wide variety of holds and routines. He often finished his matches with an airplane spin or a simple power slam, which was amazing for his  small size.

Arizona was of course just one of the territories he appeared in . For the frequency he worked and the number of places he traveled to, it remains amazing there is not more out on him either in books or on the net.

The Black Ku Klux Klan

The Black Ku Klux Klan  seemed like a contradiction when they came into Arizona int he 1950s, though the heat they provoked was instantaneous. I have no idea who hid under the hoods. Though their tag team name didn't seem to make much sense, they rose quickly in the ranks, especially when fighting ethnic opponents.

They wore black hoods rather than Klan garb. They spoke with heavy southern accents. They claimed to be the best team on either side of the Mason/Dixon line.

What is presented here was about the only data I could find on them.

One thing, hwoever, is a tad disturbing.

Historically, there was supposed to ahve been a real "Black Ku Klux Klan" down south, though not commonly known in most cycles The Black KKK consisted of ultraviolet Klansmen kicked out of the official Klan, who pursued violence to the extreme.

How did this pair knew this?

One fidns some documentatuion fot hsi apior working in the Pacific Northwest and in Arizona/New Mexico, but thats eems like the end of it.

One must assume other  offices found the routine too risque or too offensive, leaving the duo to unmask and work under different names.

The Soviet

Just when people thought Russian routines were dead, The Soviet came on the scene in Arizona and proved everyone wrong. With his muscular build, shaved head and questionable accent, he did the likes of Ivan Koloff proud.

Emerging on the Phoenix scene in 1995, The Soviet was seen regularly in both California and Arizona. Ed Ahrens used him in the AIWA and Ron Sutherland in Tucson gave him a big push, as did other offices int he Southwest.

More often than not, The Soviet feuded with The Navajo Kid/Navajo Warrior, matching his crushing bear hug against the Indian's chops and slams. In the bulk of these encounters, Navajo came out ahead.

The Soviet also had a fairly brutal encounter with one Super Mangler in Tucson for Sutherland's office.

"It was one of the all-time stiffest matches I have ever seen," commented former manager Rainbow, who was at the event, viewing this match from the background. "I do not recall who, but someone else was watching behind me and remarked about being glad he wasn't up there with either of them and he sure had a point. You could hear these two pounding each other all the way back by the locker room."

The Navajo Warrior feud also spilled into the AIWA, which again saw these two facing each other and the unpopular "Russian" going down in defeat.

For varied California promotions, The Soviet faced Shooting Star, Super Chicano and Flama Azul. among the notables.

The Soviet has since gone back to being an American, retired and lives in California.

The Sheik In Arizona

The first time I could find any record of The Sheik appearing in Arizona may be found in the 1960s, when eh drifted through the state. I assume he made a few stops while driving between Texas and California for extra cash. He did not appear at the Phoenix Madison Square Garden, but had one match in Tucson and another in Casa Grande. One encounter was with Tito Montez and another with Tito Copa. He then went on his merry way.

In 1973, a Phoenix drugstore chain owner developed the idea of running wrestling, investing in television time and working with Sheik's Detroit base to run shows at the high-priced Phoenix fairgrounds. For all of his ambition, the lasted half a year.

Sheik had five matches during the run, the first being the  best in a wild bloodbath with Luis Martinez that saw them go to a double disqualification. Both men bled, brawled and had to be drawn apart by all the other wrestlers on the card.

The second match saw Sheik bloodied with his own pencil and battered by Bobo Brazil, but Brazil got carried away and ended up disqualified. A timekeeper's table made it into the ring and they wound up slamming each other into it.

The third match in Phoenix saw Sheik and Killer Brooks losing to Bobo Brazil and  Luis Martinez by disqualification. Brooks and Martinez, rather than Sheik, bled this time.  

 The next go of things saw Sheik and Dory Funk Jr. bloody each other and go to a double disqualification, which of course set the stage for a return match.

The final show saw Sheik and Funk face each other again, but in the turmoil, none of the fans were sure of the end result.

It was, however, the end of the promotion in Phoenix as the backer lost too much money and packed it in.

Trotsky The Bear

There have been many wrestling bears over the years. Victor, Gentleman Ben and Igor come to mind. Even the unpredictable Jerry Graham owned a bear for a while and once when the trailer hitch broke, he put the animal in the back seat of his Cadillac convertible and drove to the arena, sharing beers with it all the while.

Trotsky was one of the bears seen in Arizona over the years and remained undefeated. Granted, the animal was limited with the number of moves it used, usually just falling on an opponent and with its massive weight, holding the unlucky wrestler down for the pin.

Don Arnold lost to the bear. Several times, in fact!

It was not one of his favorite opponents.

"I hated wrestling that bear," Arnold emphasized whenever asked. "I hated it. That bear stank and I mean it REALLY stank. It smelled like shit. Whenever I faced that bear I was glad to have it pin me and be done with it. Even afterward, I had to take like three showers to get the damned smell off of me. I just hated that bear, but because I was one of the biggest guys in the Arizona territory as far as size went at the time, I always got stuck wrestling it."

Was it that the bear was poorly cared for?

"No," Arnold maintained. "It smelled like a bear because it was a bear. They kept it clean, they fed it and they took good care of the thing, but it just smelled. Physically, I did not mind wrestling it, for any fear of the animal, as it was really as tame as could be, but it just reeked."

Nonetheless, Trotsky remained one of the most popular attractions in Arizona for a long while. Don Arnold might ahve been its favorite opponent, but the feeling was clearly not shared by Arnold.