Tag: the destroyer

Daily Update: Tony Ferguson restraining order, NJPW, The Destroyer

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News

Latest Audio

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: WWE’s road to Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte vs. Becky Lynch

Though the road getting here was as convoluted as possible, WWE has finally confirmed Ronda Rousey vs. Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch for WrestleMania 35.

Storyline suspensions, injuries, and even an “arrest” for Lynch, the McMahons getting involved and Vince replacing Lynch with Charlotte, Charlotte fully turning heel and Rousey turning against the crowd, and dozens of tweets all led to Lynch facing Charlotte at Fastlane. The stipulation was that if Lynch won, the Raw Women’s Championship match at WrestleMania would officially become a triple threat.

WON NEWSLETTER: March 18, 2019 Wrestling Observer Newsletter: 2018 Observer Newsletter Awards

One of the two biggest issues of the year, the awards issue, is out right now.

The awards issue contains not only the award winners, but also top placeholders in every category and an all-time history of award winners dating back to 1980.

Have a look at the career and life of Dick “The Destroyer” Beyer, from football to college wrestling to TV stardom in Japan to teaching school. It’s really an amazing story of one of the first Americans to become a TV celebrity in Japan and the greatest American masked wrestler of all-time.

Read full coverage of the road to WrestleMania with most of the card as well as full coverage of Fastlane with a match-by-match rundown with star ratings, poll results and business notes.

Look at SummerSlam tickets, WWE creative, Bruce Prichard, Jeff Jarrett, AEW vs. WWE, Takeover Brooklyn’s complete card, newcomers to WWE this week, Dwayne Johnson award, Harlem Heat Hall of Fame notes, WrestleMania 2020 week updates, new WWE hire, WWE ticket sales, WWE stock price, most watched shows of the past week no the WWE Network plus notes from all the weekend house shows with results, angles and business.

This issue has updated coverage of the New Japan Cup, with this week’s shows, a rundown of every match so far in the tournament and an updated look at the brackets.

ORDERING INFO:  Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered  via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by  mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell,CA  95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

THURSDAY NEWS UPDATE

Bryan and I are back today with the awards show on Wrestling Observer Radio.

AXS will have a two-hour New Japan special from 8-10 p.m. with matches from the 3/6 anniversary show including Jay White vs. Will Ospreay (awesome match, one of the best of this year), Taiji Ishimori vs. Jushin Liger for the IWGP jr. title, Shingo Takagi & Bushi vs. Sho & Yoh for the IWGP jr. tag titles and Kazuchika Okada & Hiroshi Tanahashi & Hirooki Goto vs. Evil & Sanada & Tetsuya Naito.

In the New Japan Cup, it is now official that Will Ospreay and Kazuchika Okada will meet this coming Wednesday in a quarterfinal match. Also on Wednesday is Tomohiro Ishii vs. Yoshi-Hashi in another quarterfinal match.

WWE stock closed at $90.63 due to Wolfe Research saying the stock should be hitting $157 per share. This brought the average price value among analysts to $100 and caused the stock to hedge toward $100.

Cristina Ferguson, the wife of Tony Ferguson, filed for a restraining order against Tony in Orange County Superior Court. Police have been called to the house three times in the past month. Six police units came to their home on Friday night in Santa Ana according to police reports covered by MMA Junkie.

We have an interview with The Destroyer up on the site as well as one with Mike Tenay talking The Destroyer. Chris Jericho just put up a show he did with The Destroyer.

People have asked about Bryan Danielson wrestling Hiroshi Tanahashi. They did wrestle once when both were much younger here. (thanks to Paul Sosnowski)

The new NWA Ten Pounds of Gold episode.

A preview of the Kenny Omega documentary can be seen here. The documentary will air in Canada on TSN on 3/27.

WWE

  • Aleister Black and Zelina Vega are headed to Amsterdam for their honeymoon.
  • While this probably doesn’t mean much, the local advertising for Chicago on Monday for Raw lists Braun Strowman vs. Baron Corbin and Finn Balor vs Bobby Lashley vs. Drew McIntyre for the IC title. Roman Reigns, Both Brock Lesnar and Ronda Rousey are all scheduled. (thanks to Brett Robertson)
  • An interview with Mustafa Ali.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • SoCal Pro has its 12th anniversary show on 4/13 in Vista, CA at the Vista Boys & Girls Club with Jeff Jarrett, Dr. Wagner Jr., Super Crazy and SoCal Crazy appearing.
  • The AAA Rey de Reyes show airs live on Twitch at 10 p.m. Eastern Saturday.
  • Killer Kross and Eli Drake will be appearing for CWE. Drake will be working Canadian shows from 4/13 to 4/24. 
  • KSW 48 on 4/27 in Lublin, Poland with Salahdine Parnasse (12-0-1) from France vs. Roman Szymanski (11-4) for the interim featherweight title.
  • Tickets are on sale for the annual Grapple at the Garden show which takes place on 5/6 at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden.
  • IWF on 4/13 in Nutley, NJ at the Parks and Rec Center. Appearing include Tito Santana, Brian Blair, Gilberg and Gary Cappetta. 
  • Warrior Wrestling on Friday night in Chicago Heights, IL at Marion Catholic High School at 7:15 p.m. has Christopher Daniels & Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky vs. Dave & Jake Crist & Sami Callihan, Jordynne Grace vs. Lisa Marie Varon, L.A. Park vs. Sam Adonis, Austin Aries vs. Eddie Edwards, Brian Cage vs Dezmond Xavier vs. Trey Miguel vs. Zachary Wentz, Britt Baker vs. Kylie Rae, DJZ vs. Sammy Guevara, Rich Swann vs. Andrew Everett vs. Ace Austin vs. Gringo Loco vs. Isaias Velazquez vs. Matt Knicks vs. Bryce Benjamin, Robert Anthony vs. Brian Pillman Jr., Moose vs.Wardlow, Ethan Page & Space Pirates vs. Hornswoggle & Kongo Kong & Jungle Boy and more.
  • Dynamo Pro Wrestling on 3/23 in DeSoto, MO at the Knights of Columbus Hall and 3/30 in St. Louis at the Concordia Turners Gym.
  • MoTownMania on 4/6 in  Morristown, NJ at the Talley Ward Rec Center.
  • Combate Americas on 4/26 at the Galen Center in Los Angeles with Melissa Martinez (5-0) vs. Caroline Gallardo (3-2) and Kyra Batara (7-4) vs. Angela Magana (11-10).
  • Due to a visa issue, Psicosis is off Saturday’s AAW show in Chicago at the Logan Square Auditorium. In his place, AAW has added Trent Baretta, Gringo Loco, Moose and Larry D. The card has Sami Callihan vs. Jake Something for the AAW title Kylie Rae vs. Jessicka Havok for the women’s title, Jimmy Jacobs vs. Mance Warner, Eddie Edwards vs. Fred Yehi and more. Jake Atlas also debuts on that show.
  • PCW and  MCW are both running in Melbourne with major shows on Saturday night.  PCW is claiming 1,200 tickets sold in advance.
  • El Hijo de L.A.Park vs. Gringo Loco has been added to MLW’s 4/4 show at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens.
  • OTT’s ScapperMania on Saturday night in Dublin: Angelico & Rey Hours vs. Aussie Open vs. Besties in the World vs. Lads From the Flats, Dan Barry vs. David Starr, Session Moth Martina vs. Meiko Satomura, Darren Kearney & LJ Cleary & Nathan Martin vs. Charlie Sterling & Sha Samuels & Zack Gibson, Jushin Liger vs. Scotty Davis, and an OTT title match with Walter vs. Jordan Devlin.
  • Jerry Lawler and Doug Gilbert appear on 5/11 in Hanover, IN at Southwestern High School. Jacob the Carpetbagger vs. Mortimer Blankenship III meet in a loser must shave his mutton chops match.
  • Bar Wrestling from last night in Los Angeles at the Bootleg Theater: Tessa Blanchard b Heather Monroe, Taya Valkyrie & PJ Black b Luchasaurus & Penelope Ford, Brandon Cutler b Joey Ryan, Tyler Bateman & Jake Atlas & Delilah Doom & Eli Everfly b Watts & Ryan Taylor & Yuma & BHK, Brian Cage b Andy Brown, Priscila Kelly & Darby Allin b Ray Rosas & Peter Avalon. (thanks to Shannon Walsh and Wrestling with Demons)
  • Michael Elgin and Tommy Dreamer headline A Night of Extreme on 4/12 in Sarnia, ONT at the River City Vineyard.
  • The NBC Detroit station Local 4 did a story on Andre the Giant. (thanks to Shannon Walsh)
  • wXw posted the full surprise entrance by Alexander Wolfe from this past Saturday, answering the open challenge by Marius al-Ani at their YouTube channel. (thanks to Markus Gronemann)
  • Gabby Ortiz from Ring of Honor did an interview with The Wrestling Estate discussing her participation in the ECWA Super 8 Chickfight this Saturday in New Castle, Delaware. The other participants include Scarlett Bordeaux, Zoey Skye, Nikki Addams, Quinn McKay, Sammi Pandora, Gemma Cross and ECWA Women’s Champion Miss Jasmine. 

Daily Pro Wrestling History: WWE WrestleMania XX

Ed in San Antonio presents the WRESTLEMANIAWeekend Events (more to be added):

  • Saturday, April 6th, at 12:00 pm: Lunch (all you can eat) at Churrascaria Plataforma ($90 per person), located at 316 W. 49th street in Manhattan. Purchase tickets here~!
  • Luxury Bus to MetLife Stadium for Wrestlemania: We will depart from the Hilton Midtown (site of Wrestlecon) located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas. Departure time is 4:00 pm and will return from MetLife approximately 30 mins after the event. Times are subject to change, and cost $67.00 per person for the round trip. Purchase tickets here~!

CONTACT INFORMATION

Daily Update: WWE weekend notes, The Destroyer, Ciampa surgery

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

DAILY UPDATE

Latest News

Latest Audio

NEW JAPAN WORLD PRO WRESTLING AT 8 P.M. TONIGHT ON AXS TV

  • Taiji Ishimori vs. Ryusuke Taguchi for IWGP jr. title
  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Bad Luck Fale

CMLL TONIGHT FROM ARENA MEXICO AT 9:30 P.M. EASTERN HERE

  • Stigma & Oro Jr. vs. Nitro & Sangre Azteca
  • Rey Cometa & Fuego & Star Jr. vs. Virus & Kawato San & Tiger
  • Titan & Triton & Esfinge vs. Shocker & Rey Bucanero & Vangellys
  • Atlantis & Dragon Lee & Valiente vs. Sanson & Cuatrero & Forastero
  • Diamante Azul vs. Gilbert El Boricua
  • Angel de Oro & Niebla Roja & Caristico vs. Bestia del Ring & El Terrible & Rush

NEW JAPAN CUP ON SATURDAY MORNING AT 4 A.M. EASTERN FROM NAGOYA ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • Mikey Nicholls vs. Hikuleo
  • Lance Archer vs. Toa Henare
  • Will Ospreay vs. Bad Luck Fale
  • Kazuchika Okada vs. Michael Elgin

UFC ON ESPN+ FROM WICHITA, KANSAS AT THE INTRUST BANK ARENA AT 5 P.M. EASTERN

  • Dan Moret (155.5) vs. Alex White (154.5)
  • Alex Morono (170.5) vs. Zak Ottow (170)
  • Matt Schnell (135) vs. Louis Smolka (135.5)
  • Maurice Greene (264.5) vs. Jeff Hughes (254)
  • Grant Dawson (145.5) vs. Julian Erosa (145)
  • Yana Kunitskaya (135) vs. Marion Reneau(134.5)
  • Anthony Rocco Martin (170.5) vs. Sergio Moraes (171)
  • Omari Akhmedov (184) vs. Tim Boetsch (185)
  • Beneil Dariush (156) vs. Drew Dober (156)
  • Blagoy Ivanov (254.5) vs. Ben Rothwell (264.5)
  • Tim Means (171) vs. Niko Price (170.5)
  • Curtis Millender (170) vs.Elizeu Zaleski Dos Santos (170.5)
  • Junior Dos Santos (246.5) vs. Derrick Lewis (265.5)

WWE has shows on Saturday with Raw in Rochester, NY, Smackdown in Detroit and NXT in Crystal River, FL.  We’re looking for reports on those shows to [email protected].

NEW JAPAN CUP ON SUNDAY MORNING AT 2 A.M. EASTERN FROM AMAGASAKI ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • Hiroyoshi Tenzan vs. Ryusuke Taguchi
  • Hiroshi Tanahashi vs. Shota Umino
  • Evil vs. Zack Sabre Jr.
  • Tetsuya Naito vs. Kota Ibushi

WWE FASTLINE FROM THE QUICKEN LOANS ARENA IN CLEVELAND AT 6 P.M. EASTERN

  • Roman Reigns & Seth Rollins & Dean Ambrose vs. Drew McIntyre & Baron Corbin & Bobby Lashley
  • Charlotte Flair vs. Becky Lynch – Lynch must win to get into WrestleMania
  • Daniel Bryan vs. Kevin Owens for WWE title
  • Bayley & Sasha Banks vs. Nia Jax & Tamina for women’s tag title
  • Asuka vs. Mandy Rose for Smackdown women’s title
  • Usos vs. Shane McMahon & The Miz for Smackdown tag titles
  • Rey Mysterio vs. Andrade (pre-show match)
  • Big E & Xavier Woods vs. Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev (pre-show match)

NEW JAPAN CUP ON MONDAY MORNING AT 6 A.M. EASTERN FROM TAKAMATSU ON NEW JAPAN WORLD

  • Togi Makabe vs. Colt Cabana
  • Davey Boy Smith Jr. vs. Toru Yano
  • Minoru Suzuki vs. Satoshi Kojima
  • Seiya Sanada vs. Hirooki Goto

Raw is Monday night from Pittsburgh. Ronda Rousey, Dave Bautista, Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are all scheduled.

Smackdown and 205 Live will be taped on Tuesday night in Dayton. 205 Live has the semifinals of the tournament for a WrestleMania shot at Buddy Murphy’s cruiserweight title with Tony Nese vs. Drew Gulak and Oney Lorcan vs. Cedric Alexander.        

F4W NEWSLETTER: Figure Four Weekly: Roman Reigns announces his leukemia is in remission

“When I made my announcement, I said that I was going to swing for the fences. We did better than that, y’all. We didn’t just swing for the fences, we hit a home run.”

The entire professional wrestling world breathed the sigh of relief they’ve been waiting four months for as Roman Reigns announced last Monday that his leukemia is in remission.

Reigns shared the positive update while appearing on WWE television for the first time since revealing his battle with leukemia, which had returned 11 years after he was first diagnosed with the disease.

WON NEWSLETTER: March 11, 2019 Observer Newsletter: Death of King Kong Bundy

Read the update on the situation with Roman Reigns as the lead story in the new issue of the Observer, talking about his leukemia diagnosis with more details as to the strain, his health situation and what he did in his four months away as well as other athletes with similar strains.

This issue has a major story on the career of Chris “King Kong Bundy” Pallies. Look at how he broke into wrestling, the irony of his very first match, his first role, his first push, where the King Kong Bundy name came from, where the five count came from, what pop culture characters he inspired, the story behind his famous WrestleMania matches including one that has rarely been talked about. 

Also look at Jushin Liger’s retirement announcement. Read about his background, how he got started in pro wrestling, his New Japan Dojo legendary class, who he idolized and copied, his first match with the gimmick and what the plans are for his retirement.

This issue has an update on Tommaso Ciampa regarding the nature of his surgery, and what decisions NXT has to make.

Look at the career of Harley Race, how he broke into wrestling, the run that made him a national star and how he got the NWA world title, and how close he came to being champion a second time before it happened more than a year later. 

Read full coverage of UFC 235, with all the highlights, business notes, and match-by-match coverage and poll results. Also look at contracted base pay for the show.

ORDERING INFO:  Order the print Wrestling Observer right now and get it delivered  via mail, by sending your name, address, Visa or Master Card number and an expiration date to [email protected] or by going to www.paypal.com directing funds to [email protected].

Rates in the United States are $14.50 for 4 issues, $35.50 for 12, $70 for 24, $116 for 40 and $149.50 for 52.

In Canada and Mexico, the rates are $16 for 4, $27 for 8, $38.50 for 12, $76 for 24, $126 for 40 and $162.50 for 52.

For the rest of the world, rates are $18 for 4, $48.50 for 12, $93 for 24, $155 for 40 and $201.50 for 52.

If you order by  mail with a check, cash or money order to P.O. Box 1228, Campbell,CA  95009-1228, you can get $1 off in every price range.

FRIDAY NEWS UPDATE

For the weekend house shows, Ronda Rousey will be working all the Raw shows this week. Roman Reigns and Seth Rollins are only working Fastlane. On the Smackdown side, Randy Orton, Rey Mysterio, The Miz, A.J. Styles and Daniel Bryan are working the weekend tour this week.

There has been a ton of pub in upstate New York on the death of The Destroyer. We’ll have a special show on The Destroyer on Sunday. A good article from the Buffalo News is here and some photos can be seen here. (thanks to Tom Mehs) 

WaleMania has been announced for 4/4 at Sony Hall in New York. MLW is not affiliated with this show as in years past.

WWE

  • Tommaso Ciampa had his neck surgery yesterday. WWE.com has photos of the surgey.

UFC

  • UFC announced a main event of Ronaldo Jacare Souza vs. Yoel Romero for 4/27 in Sunrise, FL. Romero was originally to face Paulo Costa.
  • Aspen Ladd vs. Sijara Eubanks at bantamweight (Eubanks had been fighting at flyweight but had trouble making the weight) has been added to the UFC’s show on 5/18 in Rochester, NY.

MISCELLANEOUS

  • Ric Flair and Ricky Steamboat will appear on 6/23 at the Collar and Elbow Comic Expo in Texas City, TX.
  • World Series Wrestling from earlier today in Melbourne, Australia before just under 400 fans: Frankie Kazarian & Scorpio Sky b Flamita & Bandido, Kellyanne b Indi Hartwell, Abyss won three-way hardcore match over Syd Parker and Gino Gambino, Slex b Austin Aries, Marty Scurll & Brody King b Brian Cage & Adam Brooks, Jordynne Grace b Joey Ryan, Robbie Eagles b Christopher Daniels. Flamita & Bandido were great. Scurll match said to be ****1/4. Flip Gordon was there and said he wasn’t ready to return but still came. Grace vs. Ryan said to be very funny. Main event was great as well. (thanks to Dave Roughton) 
  • Impact is partnering with TNT Pro for a Twitch show on 4/12 (air date 5/11) for Fort Campbell, KY at the Fort Campbell Army Post. It’s a military show. UFC once ran an event from the same building.
  • Innovative Wrestling’s Smoky Mountain Cup on 3/30 in Kingsport, TN at the Civic Auditorium.
  • Combate Americas announced the signing of Daniel Barez from Valencia, Spain, who faces Ivan Flores Hernandez on their 4/12 show in Monterrey, Mexico. Barez is the BAMMA flyweight championship in Europe.
  • Teddy Hart was announced for the Battle Riot special on 4/5 on Bein Sports for MLW from the Melrose Ballroom in New York.
  • Undertaker is doing a signing on 3/23 in Friendswood, TX.
  • AAW on 3/16 in Chicago at the Logan Square Arena has Sami Callihan vs. Jake Something for the AAW title, Kylie Rae vs. Jessicka Havok for the women’s title and Jimmy Jacobs vs. Mance Warner.
  • 559 Fights on 3/16 in Fresno, CA at the Rainbow Ballroom at 7 p.m.
  • Glory airs tomorrow night on UFC Fight Pass starting at 3 p.m. Eastern time from Strasbourg, France.
  • The PFL announced that Sarah Kaufman has signed and will be part of their 155 pound women’s tournament. Kaufman had been fighting at 135. Two-time Olympic gold medal winning judoka Kayla Harrison and Kaufman are the two biggest stars in an eight-woman tournament with the winner getting $1 million.
  • Dr. Oz features Daniel Puder on The Dr. Oz Show – How to solve bullying using EQ.

Daily Pro Wrestling History: The Wild Samoans win WWF Tag Team titles

Ed in San Antonio presents the WRESTLEMANIAWeekend Events (more to be added):

  • Saturday, April 6th, at 12:00 pm: Lunch (all you can eat) at Churrascaria Plataforma ($90 per person), located at 316 W. 49th street in Manhattan. Purchase tickets here~!
  • Luxury Bus to MetLife Stadium for Wrestlemania: We will depart from the Hilton Midtown (site of Wrestlecon) located at 1335 Avenue of the Americas. Departure time is 4:00 pm and will return from MetLife approximately 30 mins after the event. Times are subject to change, and cost $67.00 per person for the round trip. Purchase tickets here~!

CONTACT INFORMATION

Dick ‘The Destroyer’ Beyer passes away at 88 years old

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Richard “Dick” Beyer, who was probably the single biggest non-Mexican masked wrestling star in pro wrestling history as The Sensational Intelligent Destroyer, as well as Dr. X, passed away today at the age of 88.

His son Kurt wrote, “It is with a very heavy heart to let you know that Dad–aka The Destroyer–aka Dr. X, aka Dick Beyer, aka Coach–passed away shortly after Noon today. He was in bed at home and was surrounded by all of his children, and wife, as he slipped peacefully away.”

Beyer had been in hospice care in recent weeks and a number of his friends had called him in recent days, including Ric Flair. 

In particular, in Japan, The Destroyer was legendary for having beaten Rikidozan, who he was good friends with and whose death haunted him for years. Rikidozan asked him to stay an extra day after the conclusion of the final tour of 1963 in Japan, and go out with him on December 8, 1963. Instead, Beyer decided, after thinking about it, to go home to see his family. Rikidozan went out to a club that night, where he was stabbed, and one week later, passed away.

Shortly before Rikidozan’s death, a live 61-minute rematch between Rikidozan and The Destroyer drew a 64.0 rating on NTV. At the time it was the most-watched television show ever in Japan, and aside from one night of the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo, it was number two for decades.

That feud made Beyer such a star that he lived in Japan for six years during the 70s with his family and had a featured role on a network comedy television show that was at one point the most popular show in the country. He also by that time wrestled regularly for All Japan Pro Wrestling as a babyface, regularly teaming with Giant Baba and Jumbo Tsuruta, and feuding with the likes of Abdullah the Butcher and Mil Mascaras, the latter over the mythical title of the world’s greatest masked wrestler.

His love for Japan was such that he built a Japanese style short golf course, called Park Golf, near his home in Akron, New York, a business that his daughter ran called The Destroyer Park Golf course.

Beyer was a star college athlete at Syracuse University, a starter in the 1953 Orange Bowl football game and a heavyweight on the wrestling team. During his senior year, he went undefeated during the season but didn’t place in the NCAA tournament.

He received a Master’s Degree, but after teaching school, became a local babyface pro wrestler. He studied Pat O’Connor (who he considered the best babyface worker of that era) and Buddy Rogers (who he considered the best heel) heavily.

He also, after graduation, spent several years both wrestling locally and being an assistant football coach at Syracuse. He was voted 1955 rookie of the year in pro wrestling by Wrestling Life magazine.

During the 60s, The Destroyer and Ray Stevens were often talked about as the two best in-ring wrestlers of that era.

Beyer was still just a journeyman wrestler, working in Hawaii, when Fred Blassie, the top star in Los Angeles, would regularly see him when he was flown in for major shows. Blassie raved about working with Beyer, who he called the best babyface worker in the country. Then, after Beyer turned, he went back, watched him, and saw him wrestle as The Sensational Intelligent Dick Beyer, Blassie said he was the best heel in the country, and brought him to Los Angeles.

He came to California, where booker Jules Strongbow told him he was going to be a masked heel, The Destroyer. He was against the idea, and tried his first mask and hated it. Later, Ox Anderson made him a mask made out of a women’s girdle. He would brag that nobody could break his figure four leglock and nobody could unmask him. His pet line was, since he was wearing a mask made from a girdle, that you can’t take a girdle off someone who doesn’t want it taken off.

He became a multi-time WWA Champion during a business boom, routinely selling out the Olympic Auditorium, including multiple times against a young Giant Baba. This got him coverage in the Japanese sports newspapers since he beat Baba, who was a major star in Japan, and also held wins over Rikidozan and later Antonio Inoki, the only man to have beaten all three of Japan’s biggest stars. He credited an on-the-spot television angle with Killer Kowalski on Japanese TV for getting him over at first for Rikidozan.

He got over so big as The Destroyer that when Strongbow wanted him to unmask, he instead quit the territory and went to Oregon. He spent the rest of his career as a masked wrestler, as The Destroyer almost everywhere, but Dr. X when working for Verne Gagne in the AWA, where he very briefly held the AWA World Heavyweight title.

He returned to the United States and took a job at Akron Central School in Akron, New York, coaching sports. Until recent years, every summer he would come to Japan and bring young American amateur wrestlers with him to learn and compete with the Japanese, including Ric Flair’s son Reid.

He was also a regular at get togethers such as the Cauliflower Alley Club, where he would almost always wear his mask. He wrote a 2011 biography called “Masked Decisions.”

WOR: “The Destroyer” Dick Beyer

Posted on by Bryan Alvarez

Wrestling Observer Radio with Dave Meltzer and Bryan Alvarez returns today with a nearly two hour show!

First, we’re joined by the sensational, intelligent “Destroyer” Dick Beyer, one half of the most-watched televised pro wrestling match in the history of the world to talk his long career, working in Japan for Giant Baba, his feud with Rikidozan and how he thinks he might have been able to save his life, how he got his mask, working as Dr. X, his post-wrestling career, and so much more.

Then Dave and discuss Half Pint Brawlers, The Ultimate Fighter, the UFC 114 buyrate, Chuck Liddell vs. Rich Franklin, the Raw rating, and your mailbag questions.

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