The Gorgeous George Book

Gorgeous George by John Capouya is a wonderful book that  captures both the light-hearted and the darker side oft hsi revolutionary showman.

The book also mentions some of the appearances of this late star in Phoenix, where he was a mainstay.

One section tells of how George was talked into having an injured knee numbed up by Rod Fenton and going out to do a match, only to have the thing turn twice as bad the next morning, when the medication wore off. He evidently called Fenton on the phone and tore him apart with every profanity known to man.

There is another tale of how George and traveling companion, Howard Cantonwine, got into a  roadside fist fight when both left the arena thinking the other had collected their pay off for the night.

A great book and a close up look at a controversial man who was certainly far from flawless, but nonetheless a magnificent showman.

"I wrestled Gorgeous George three times and he was drunk all three times," Tito Montez explained to me in a phone conversation once a few years back. By what is presented in this book, such is no surprise.

Don Arnold also told me about  wrestling George when the latter was blitzed and literally holding him up in the corner as he pummeled him, while trying to keep him from passing out.

Again, the George described to me by those who knew him seems clearly to be the one presented in this book.

Worth reading.

Daniel "Sergio" Camacho

Camacho is the son of a martial arts master and a friend to The Hawaiian Lion, so he grew up understanding self-defense from an early age and was able to walk into pro wrestling with relative ease.

In 2010, Camacho rocketed onto the scene in Phoenix, where he was declared the RDPW "Rookie Of the Year" following several harrowing matches for this promotion.

Just as he was really picking up steam, however, a torn Achilles tendon sidelined him for months.

He is now back in  action and appearing for a number of different promotional offices n Arizona.

With some luck, bookings will pick up in surrounding states and he will really get the recognition he deserves.

The Death Of Woody Farmer

Woody farmer passed away last week without a lot of publicity. Though known predominately in Texas, Oklahoma, California and the south, he also made varied trips into Arizona in the 1960s and 1970s.

For the most part, Farmer wrestled as a villain, using an unorthodox stomping headlock to force people into submission or a crushing bearhug to do the same. Some of the people he faced included Cowboy Bob Ellis, Cowboy bob Yuma, Nano Ortega, Greg Campbell, Kiko Torres and Eddie Lopez, though he really reached his height in a  feud with Tito Montez.

In 1977, Montez and Farmer met several weeks straight at the Phoenix Madison Square  Garden, facing each other  in all types of matches before Tito was able to finally gain the conclusive win.

During his last days in Arizona, Farmer became a fan favorite, after a split between his partner Jody Arnold and himself in a tag match. The two then ended up facing each other as well, in a series of hectic matches, until Woody finally gained the upper hand.

Always a tremendous physical specimen, Farmer would often perform feats of strength or in a straight shoot, allow fans from the audience to try to hurt him by punching him in his stomach. When he tightened his stomach muscles many fans found it was like hitting a brick wall.

Bob Kelly

Cowboy Bob Kelly was a top draw in Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Louisiana in the 1960s and 1970s. The odd part is as a wrestler he never appeared in Arizona as far as I know.

This seems a bit odd, for in the south he feuded with many Arizona mainstays such as Bearcat Wright, Eddie Sullivan, Ken Lucas and Dick Dunn.

The strangest part is Kelly DID show up ion Arizona to meet with Eddie Sullivan and others, but not in the ring.

Kelly came in to shoot a movie in Apache Junction titled Gunfight In Tombstone, about the gunfight at the OK  Corral. Kelly became Wyatt Earp and Eddie Sullivan made an unconvincing Doc Holiday as someone way too big for a man supposed to be dying from TB.

It is strange Kelly never bothered with this neck of the woods when active as a wrestler as he could have gone over big.

Mr Insanity

Mr. Insanity is primarily known for working eastern states from his Ohio home base,  though he has made it as far as Japan.

He has become recognized for ultra violent hard core matches with Necro Butcher, Ian Decay, Brain Damage and  Jebediah.

Injuries have taken their toll on him and for the moment he seems to be calling ti quits or at least taking a rest. No one believes he will be out for good.

Few people remember in 1999, when Jerry Gray was running a set of spot shows in Arizona and Utah, using his crew from the south along with some people from the west.

Mr Insanity made the circuit, engaging in a brief feud with Navajo Warrior, an Arizona mainstay and one of the best grapplers to come out of Phoenix in the 1990s. Their matches were not mega brawls like those that would earmark Mr Insanity's later style, but were nonetheless exciting.

Will he be back in Aruizona one day?

Time will tell,

No one, after all, is taking his retirement seriously.

Keep In Mind Those In Poor Health

Please keep in mind those who appeared in Arizona in the past w ho are having varied health issues. This is just a collective listing and not goign into specifics for each individual, but they could definitely use some good vibes.

Red Bastien
Don Arnold
Tito Montez
David Rose
Pedro El Grande
Len Rossi
Lex Lugar
Jay Strongbow
Moose Morowski
Count Billy Varga
Lumberjack 1
Gangsta Man
Morgan "Death Dealer" Wormwood
Barry Windham
Cowboy Claw
Cowboy Bob Ellis
Ken Lucas
Billy Graham
Luis Martinez (there have been rumors of his death, but not confirmed)
Tony Marino
Carlos El Malo
Sheik Abdul
Enigma

Plus the grandson of Pistol Pete  is an infant fighting cancer......... .. ..
.

The Ballards

The Ballard Brothers started out in California using different names than this and seeing action fro varied independents around the Los Angeles area. They were pushed by Ed Ahrens and the AIWA as well as other offices.

It was when they decided to use the collective name of the Ballard Brothers and become villainous hockey player types entering a wrestling ring like something out of Slap Shot hat they were caught on.

Ed Ahrens continued to push them in the AIWA, while adding their local phenomenon, Luscious Laura, as their manager.

Other promotional groups picked them up and the pair saw  themselves being booked regularly all over.

The Navajo Warrior had some wild battles withe the pair in California and saw them as a top drawing possibility in Arizona. Thus he brought them in as a tag team when he was running his own shows, bringing them to Phoenix and other areas.

As in California, they took Arizona by storm.

"Few other tag teams ever generated such heat in the independent world," commented wrestler Stinky The Garbage Man. "The Comancheros, Sergeant Shultz 1&2 and The Lumberjacks maybe, but no one else. They were just so over. I mean they were fucking hot!"

The Ballards have not been back top Phoenix in a while and seem to have been sticking to raising chaos in their California homeland, but who knows. maybe one day they will return.