There’s a new book out — The Encyclopedia of Portland Wrestling from the House of Action — and on this episode of the Portland Wrestlecast, I talk to both author Mike Rodgers and “Moondog” Ed Moretti, former wrestler and the grandfather of current AEW star Nick Wayne.
We talk about Ed’s family, seeing them on AEW TV, his career, ribs like the time Andre the Giant farted on Buddy Rose, fun road stories, and, of course, the book.
From wrestlers you knew came through Portland like Roddy Piper to wrestlers you didn’t know came through the territory like Jake Roberts, the book is over 500 pages of information and history.
This show has a lot of fun and wrestling history. Check it out.
Left My Wallet returns with 16-year-old wrestling super phenom Nick Wayne.
Nick is one of the brightest, rising stars in wrestling today and the son of the great Buddy Wayne.
In addition to training Nick, Bryan Alvarez, Darby Allin, and countless other fantastic workers, Buddy was a great friend of mine. I have known Nick since he was seven or eight years old, so this episode means much more to me than most.
Nick has made quite a name for himself the last few months, becoming a regular for Game Changer Wrestling in addition to working for Black Label Pro, Defy and other indies this year. He is coming off of fantastic matches against TJP, Petey Williams and Joey Janela and it’s only a matter of time before he becomes a household name in pro wrestling.
I think he might be the best 16-year old-worker I have ever seen and it brings me great pleasure to bring this episode to you.
Buddy was no stranger to this website and in the coming months and years, Nick will become a topic of conversation, not only here, but all over the professional wrestling landscape. Enjoy this conversation and get to know third generation phenom, Nick Wayne.
Buddy Wayne, who was one of the first regular guests on the Figure Four and Wrestling Observer website, a veteran Pacific Northwest wrestler who trained and wrestled Bryan Alvarez probably on a regular basis for decades, passed away on Friday at the age of 50.
Wayne, who was born Steve Finley in Everett, Washington, suffered a sudden heart attack. It came out of nowhere as he was fine and talking with former WWE wrestler Antonio Thomas on the phone shortly before his death.
Because of the name Buddy Wayne, he was sometimes confused with the Memphis Buddy Wayne, Dwayne Peale, who passed away in 2015 and was the father of Ken Wayne.
Wayne started his career as a teenager in 1985 for All-Star Wrestling in Vancouver, along with current Showtime and Bellator fight announcer Mauro Ranallo, who was a heel manager with the promotion as a teenager.
Considered a great worker, a combination of his size and the death of the territorial system kept him from becoming a bigger star. He worked most of his career in the Pacific Northwest, holding a number of championships in smaller promotions, including Championship Wrestling USA, which was Sandy Barr’s promotion that ran the territory in the 90s.
Wayne had major heart surgery at a young age.
He worked many enhancement matches in the 90s, through 2003, for both WWF and WCW, including with the likes of Bam Bam Bigelow, Edge, Scott Hall, and Shawn Michaels.
Alvarez talked about him extensively at the start of last night’s Wrestling Observer Radio and there will be more shows this week with others who had worked with him over the years.
He had been running the Buddy Wayne School of Wrestling and was very well respected as a trainer.
