THE INFERNOS IN CONTROL

 

RED CLOUD / LITTLE EAGLE ON A ROLL

                                                                  JANUARY 13, 1968

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

56 Years Ago

Winning tag teams on last week's card will go against each other on tonight's LEXINGTON YMCA professional wrestling card.

This means that the Indian team of BOBBY RED CLOUD and CHIEF LITTLE EAGLE, victorious over P.Y. CHUNG and THE MUMMY last Saturday, will be facing LARS and GENE ANDERSON, who defeated HAYSTACK CALHOUN and THE AMAZING ZUMA in their encounter.

Another tag team contest is scheduled with ABE JACOBS and LUTHER LINDSAY meeting the Spanish / Mexican duo of PANCHO VALDEZ and THE MATADOR.

Both tag contests are for the best two-out-of-three falls.

Popular BOB NANDOR, the Hungarian freedom fighter, meets "BULLDOG" LEE HENNING, and young ALEX MEDINA squares off against CHUCK CONLEY in the supporting events.

The first bell rings at 8:15.

SWEDE HANSON, PLAYBOY GARY HART, RIP HAWK

 

BECKER / WEAVER CONFRONT DEMONS

                                                                      June 18, 1966

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

58 Years Ago

They wrestled apart here last Saturday, but the fans' favorite duo, GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER, are back together as a unit tonight at the LEXINGTON YMCA in pro wrestling action.

Bell time is 8:15 p.m.

And it looks as if they will have their hands full when they enter the ring to meet a newer team to this wrestling area, THE MASKED RED DEMONS.

Just as their name implies, this tag team hides their identities under red masks and are very rough in the ring.

BECKER and WEAVER issued the following statement concerning their main event match for tonight, "We don't know who these men are or where they come from, but since coming to the area, they've beaten some good teams. And just like HAWK and HANSON and BOGNI and LUBICH, they win any way they can, with no regard for the rule book. So we'll have our hands full. But we're going to try to put a stop to them before they can get a foothold here."

THE MASKED RED DEMONS had no comment.

Another tag team loved by the fans, TEX McKENZIE and NELSON ROYAL, will be on tonight's card and will face the rugged veteran duo of IKE EAKINS and EL GAUCHO.

Both tag team matches will go the best two-out-of-three falls.

GEORGE "CATALINA" DRAKE will return here after an absence to face LUTHER LINDSAY, North Carolina's own top Negro star. These two have teamed together in the past, so the match should prove interesting.

In tonight's opening match, up-and-coming star, young PAUL DEMARCO squares off against veteran JOHN GUDISKI.

LES THATCHER AND DANNY MILLER

 

THE FEUD OF ALL FEUDS

                                                                     January 7, 1963

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

61 Years Ago

It started out as what could be called an ordinary rough and tough wrestling feud, but last week, it escalated into hatred of gigantic proportions.

That's the background for the best two-out-of-three falls match that headlines tonight's PARK CENTER wrestling card. The contest tonight gives THE KENTUCKIANS team of BIG BOY BROWN and TINY ANDERSON another shot at the villainous and hated masked team of THE GREAT BOLO and BOLO.

THE KENTUCKIANS succeeded in ripping off one BOLO mask during a recent TV bout seen on WBTV, but the other BOLO quickly stripped off his shirt and hid his partner's identity. Tonight, BROWN and ANDERSON say they'll rip off BOTH masks, boots, shirts and even tights, if necessary.

In the evening's other tag battle, THE FLYING SCOTTS, GEORGE and SANDY, will face the rugged duo of THE SICILIANS, LOU ALBANO and TONY ALTIMORE. This one is also set for the best-of-three falls.

DON WHITTLER takes on FELIX LAMBAN, and "TIGER" JACK VANSKY meets DOUG KINSLOW in singles action.

Bell time is 8:15, and a huge crowd is expected.

RICK AND SCOTT STEINER

 

COWBOYS BATTLE DEMONS

                                                                 September 10, 1966

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

58 Years Ago

TONI ROSE

THE MASKED RED DEMONS

with MGR. GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS

TEX McKENZIE

KLONDIKE BILL

NELSON ROYAL

ABE JACOBS

A lumberjack match has been scheduled to see if two top wrestling teams, TEX McKENZIE and NELSON ROYAL on one side, and THE MASKED RED DEMONS on the other, can settle their differences.

Six other big wrestlers will spot themselves around the ring to prevent any run outs of a type taken by the RED DEMONS two weeks ago. With one of the masked men dangerously close to having his identity exposed, the DEMONS bolted to the safety of their dressing room, and the Texans won that match on a count out.

The lumberjack match is set for the best two-out-of-three falls within a one hour time limit.

Huge KLONDIKE BILL, with lumberjack experience, will pair up with the fast New Zealand native ABE JACOBS to meet two big men, GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS and 'BIG BOY' BLONDELL in the other best-of-three falls tag match of the evening.

A special event will send girl grapplers TONI ROSE and DIXIE JORDAN against one another in what should be a crowd pleaser. These two ladies have a history.

Newcomer DON KENT, who debuted here last week, meets the veteran CORSICA JEAN in a singles match, which kicks off the card at 8:15.

KURT & KARL VON BRAUNER

 

TOP HEEL TEAM DEBUTS IN LEXINGTON

                                                                     JUNE 25, 1966

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

58 Years Ago

A speedy team of popular heroes meets brutal and deliberate opponents in featured tag team wrestling at the LEXINGTON YMCA tonight starting at 8:15.

GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT, the "FLYING SCOTTS" as they are known in the wrestling business, pit their spectacular offense against the skin-headed bullies SKULL MURPHY and BRUTE BERNARD in the main event match. These two teams are long-time rivals.

The other tag battle matches the flashy RUDY KAYE and ABE JACOBS against rugged ruffians THE GREAT MALENKO and THE MISSOURI MAULER, teaming here for the first time.

Both tag encounters are set for the best two-of-three falls.

A special attraction tonight matches two top-ranked Negro girl stars, as SWEET GEORGIA BROWN takes on PRINCESS UBANGI.

Popular STEVE BOLUS meets big JOHN GUDISKI in the opening match.

PAUL JONES & RICK RUDE

 

MID-ATLANTIC RING ACTION

 

JAKE (pre-'The Snake') ROBERTS clamps a headlock on THE GRAPPLER (LEN DENTON).

JOHNNY WEAVER holds the leg of THE MISSOURI MAULER (LARRY HAMILTON) as GEORGE BECKER lays one in. Referee ANGELO MARTINELLI observes.

High-flying DINO BRAVO coming in for a landing.

(This is gonna hurt.)

'The Russian Bear' IVAN KOLOFF snears at his victorious opponent.

The rugged ART NELSON puts the boots to the back of TOMMY SIEGLER.

DOWNTOWN DENNY BROWN

 

WANTED: THE GREAT BOLO

 

I specifically remember THE GREAT BOLO and BOLO wearing this garb when they returned to the Charlotte Coliseum in the late 1960s to face JACK BRISCO and TIM (MR. WRESTLING) WOODS.

THE GREAT BOLO and BOLO work over one of THE KENTUCKIANS in one of the biggest money-making feuds in pro wrestling history.

THE GREAT BOLO (Renesto) reaches for his 'foreign object' while working on BIG BOY BROWN of THE KENTUCKIANS. (Note the tape under the mask to cover Renesto's mustache.)

Big TEX McKENZIE works over the masked man.

Even bigger HAYSTACK CALHOUN tries to physically rip THE GREAT BOLO's hood off, along with the head the mask covers.

A 1961 posed photo of BOLO and THE GREAT BOLO when the two were working for JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS.

From the time I first started pro wrestling on TV, I was fascinated by a mysterious man who wore a mask and went by the name THE GREAT BOLO. This rulebreaker was the top heel in JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS and drew money like nobody's business.

Every week, all across the Carolinas and Virginia, droves of people tuned in and turned out to see the likes of GEORGE BECKER, 'Irish' MIKE CLANCY, CHIEF BIG HEART and GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT rip off the hood of this hoodlum so we could all find out who he was (not taking into account that just because we might see his face, we would automatically know his name), but that was a mute point.

The mask of THE GREAT BOLO was his championship belt. To lose the mask was to destroy his wrestling career. Many years after the fact, we now know that THE GREAT BOLO was a superb grappler named TOM RENESTO. But according to an interview the late Mr. Renesto gave a few years before his passing, at the time, the other wrestlers did not actually know who was under the mask of THE GREAT BOLO. Promoter Jim Crockett demanded that Renesto travel alone and don the hood before entering the wrestling venue.

Very similar scenario as the old-time movie serials in which the villains were named The Scorpion, The Wrecker, The Crimson Ghost , The Lightning, etc. Only in the last chapter would the identity of the evil doer be exposed to the audience.

But, ironically, the identity of THE GREAT BOLO would be revealed by only one person in the wrestling business. That person was...THE GREAT BOLO.

A number of years after leaving JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS, THE GREAT BOLO (Renesto) and his partner BOLO were wrestling in Georgia as THE ASSASSINS when Renesto decided it was time to leave the business as an in-ring combatant.

He removed his own mask, and THE GREAT BOLO was no more.

WAHOO McDANIEL / RIC FLAIR

 

A (SAM) STEAMBOAT BATTLE

                                                                     March 8, 1969

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

55 Years Ago

Last week's wrestling card was called off due to heavy snowfall, but action returns tonight to the LEXINGTON YMCA with a star-studded card, beginning at 8:15.

SAM STEAMBOAT, the Hawaiian sensation, will be joined by his regular partner, the masked MR. WRESTLING, to meet the villainous duo of ALDO BOGNI and BRONCHO LUBICH, in the evening's two-out-of-three fall main event. And where BOGNI and LUBICH go, so does their manager HOMER O'DELL.

THE MINNESOTA WRECKING CREW, GENE and OLE ANDERSON, slated to meet STEAMBOAT and MR. WRESTLING last Saturday, will battle the hero unit of New Zealander ABE JACOBS and gridironer LES WOLFE in the night's semi-final tag battle, also for the best-of-three falls.

Singles matches will pit young DAVE COX against tough TONY NERO, and BILLY SPEARS faces veteran "BULLDOG" LEE HENNING in the opener.

THE ROCK 'N' ROLL EXPRESS (ROBERT GIBSON and RICKY MORTON)

 

QUEEN CITY LABOR DAY ACTION

                                                                 September 7, 1959

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

65 Years Ago

Eighteen wrestlers make up one of the biggest wrestling cards in the history of Charlotte grappling tonight in the LABOR DAY mat card at the CHARLOTTE COLISEUM. It promises to be a memorable evening.

The huge holiday card consists of three tag matches, one of which matches six wrestlers, and two single scraps.

Headlining the card is the SIX MAN setto, with the Jap trio of MR. MOTO, DUKE KEOMUKA and SUIGI taking on ruffians LARRY 'CRUSHER' HAMILTON, THE GREAT BOLO and PAT O'HARA. None of these men respects the rule book, so the best-of-three falls encounter is bound to be an explosive skirmish.

The semi-final beings in four colored girls for tag action. One team has BABS WINGO and MARVA SCOTT with the opposition being furnished by CAT WINBLEY and ETHEL JOHNSON.

Then comes a pair of singles tussels, one sending crowd favorite GEORGE BECKER against STEVE BOLUS and the other pairing DICK STEINBORN against DANNY MERCE.

The third tag battle will open the card at 8:15 and pairs JOHNNY HEIDEMAN and JACK DONOVAN to fight CYCLONE ANAYA and JOHN FOTI.