Tag: doug somers

DragonKingKarl: May 29, 1986 Wrestling Observer Newsletter review

Posted on by Karl Stern

With the release of his new book DragonKingKarl’s 1986-1987 Pro Wrestling Omnibus available on Amazon, Karl Stern continues a deep dive into those two years to look at the stories between the stories.

To do that, Karl goes into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter from May 29, 1986, issue where Dave Meltzer started by stating that there isn’t “any big news this week” which allows us to look at a lot of stuff that doesn’t get regularly discussed.

Buddy Rose and Doug Somers won the AWA World Tag Team titles from Curt Hennig and Scott Hall, “Cowboy” Bob Orton was arrested, UWF was running a hot angle with Bill Watts, Eddie Gilbert, and Korsita Korchenko, and the big powerhouse team of The Blade Runners (the future Ultimate Warrior and Sting) were changing companies… sort of.

This week is a fun deep dive back into 1986 pro wrestling history.

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‘Pretty Boy’ Doug Somers passes away at 65 years old

Posted on by Dave Meltzer

Douglas Somerson, who wrestled regularly from 1971 to 1992 as “Pretty Boy” Doug Somers, is reported to have passed away earlier today at the age of 65.

Somers was best known for his run as AWA World Tag Team Champion with Buddy Rose, as The Playboy and the Pretty Boy, managed by Sherri Martel, and their feud over the belts with the Midnight Rockers, Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty.

Somers, a native of Minneapolis, started his career driving the ring truck, often working with John Sutton, who became Sir Oliver Humperdink. He also refereed before getting into the ring.

He worked a number of territories, mostly as a lower card journeyman type wrestler, traveling all over the world.

He did occasional independent shows as late as 2012.

In 2011, he filed a suit against WWE regarding them using footage of his matches on DVDs and Classics on Demand, notably Rose & Somers vs. Rockers matches which were key parts of the early portion of Michaels’ career, and one bloodbath match was considered among the top matches of the 80s. The case was ruled in favor of the WWE.