CHECKING UNDER THE HOOD

 To my knowledge, THE INFERNOS were never fully unmasked in the ring, nor were their identities revealed to the fans.

Jim Crockett actually offered J.C. Dykes and THE INFERNOS a huge bonus to be unmasked all around his territory before they headed for other areas, but the trio refused the cash offer.

Actually, there was more than one team of THE INFERNOS, not uncommon for someone who was THAT hot (pardon the pun) in the business to have their ring personas ripped off. (Just try to imagine how many masked ASSASSIN teams there have been. Actually, there are STILL masked ASSASSINS wrestling in local indy outfits all over the country.)

But, back to THE INFERNOS, that is, the original ones.

If you have read some of my previous postings, it should be apparent that THE INFERNOS and J.C. DYKES were (and still are) at the top of my all-time 'heel' team list, and I've have been a pro wrestling fan now for over sixty years.

When THE INFERNOS burst upon the JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS wrestling scene back in the mid-1960s, they were an immediate sensation. They quickly joined BOGNI & LUBICH, HAWK & HANSON, MAULER & MALENKO and BERNARD & MURPHY as main event nasties. They immediately were causing in-ring trouble for BECKER & WEAVER, McKENZIE & ROYAL, the SCOTT brothers and all our other favorite babyfaces.

All of a sudden, J.C. DYKES was generating as much heat as a manager as his peer HOMER O'DELL (and that is saying plenty).

J.C. had his metal canteen (which he often used as a weapon) and that blasted whistle, playing it like a trumpet to signal his men during their match.

Add to that the fact that mysterious 'fireballs' appeared from time-to-time scorching the faces of some good guys (you can ask LES THATCHER about that) and, of course, that dreaded built-up wrestling boot (which many wrestlers claimed contained items varying from horseshoes to the kitchen sink).

These boys were so 'hot' in the territory that when they faced other heel teams in ring battles, the RIP & SWEDEs and the BRUTE & SKULLs drew the cheers of the crowd (at least for that one night).

THE INFERNOS took their ring gimmick to other territories besides JCP (such as Florida and Texas), and did the same blockbuster business there as well.

Over the course of their long run, some changes occurred within the group. The originals were FRANKIE CAIN and JIMMY 'ROCKY' SMITH. At one point, ROCKY had a heart attack (down in Texas, I believe) and how to bow out for a while, but returned later. FRANKIE eventually left to become wrestling's GREAT MEPHISTO and was replaced by ROCKY's brother CURTIS SMITH. Other INFERNOS included DOUG GILBERT, RON GIBSON, STAN PULASKI and KARL VON BRAUNER.

Then, of course, there were the copycats. When DYKES and his boys left Florida, Eddie Graham put two guys together and tried to pass them off as the originals. And to this day, like THE ASSASSINS, one can find masked men in indy outfits wrestling as THE INFERNOS.

FRANKIE CAIN is still with us. J.C. 'JIMMY' DYKES passed away in 1993. ROCKY SMITH is also gone.

But I still remember THE INFERNOS.

THE original INFERNOS

ROCKY SMITH (left) and FRANKIE CAIN (right)

A bloodied (and nearly unmasked) FRANKIE CAIN is checked out by manager J.C. DYKES.

DYKES consoles one of his men during a wild match.

Why the headgear on INFERNO ROCKY SMITH? It's because boxing champion JOE LOUIS was refereeing the match.

THE INFERNOS fall victim to GEORGE BECKER & JOHNNY WEAVER's "row your boat".

J.C. and the boys celebrate another victory.

During their Florida campaign, J.C. and ROCKY took issue with JOSE LOTHARIO's being on the wrestling program instead of THE INFERNOS.

Another bloody night in the ring.

J.C. DYKES submits to an interview, but refuses to disclose his men's identities.

A young TERRY FUNK gets an INFERNO boot to the face.

INFERNO FRANKIE CAIN unmasked.

INFERNO ROCKY SMITH unmasked.

GENERAL HOMER O'DELL, BRUTE BERNARD, THE MISSOURI MAULER

 

A STEAMBOAT BATTLE

                                                                        March 8, 1969

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

56 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 SUPER DESTROYER (DON JARDINE)

 

A CHARLOTTE CARD I REMEMBER WELL

                                                                    October 24, 1966

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

59 Years Ago

The very first Monday night after I received my driver's license in September 1966, found my friend Jimmy and me planted in our ringside seats at Charlotte's Park Center.

Even though that was a school night, I was permitted to flex my independence somewhat and make my first trip to Charlotte as a licensed driver.

Once this venture was over, I was informed that wrestling (at least attending live matches) would have to be sacrificed for the time being. I had just started high school, and I was expected to hit the books, make good grades so I could get into a good college, so I could have a brilliant career in...whatever. You know the drill.

So back to the regular confinement of seeing wrestling only on WBTV and WGHP every Saturday.

With much begging and persuasion, the ban was lifted six or seven weeks later when I was permitted to return to the Queen City for a "wrestling extravaganza." I was permitted to attend ONLY because the show was at the Charlotte Coliseum, a building I had visited only a couple of times since it opened in the late 1950s. Once was for the Ringling Bros. Circus and the other for some ACC basketball game that I was dragged to by a friend.

KLONDIKE BILL was in the midst of his big push by JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS at this time. He had been "injured" by THE GREAT MALENKO during the summer, building to the Russian's annihilation by the Alaskan on the Charlotte Labor Day card.

KLONDIKE then set his sights on MALENKO's tag team partner, THE MISSOURI MAULER, who held the SOUTHERN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP. BILL would take the belt from the MAULER, eventually losing it back to his nemesis.

The Texas team of TEX McKENZIE and NELSON ROYAL were working a program with BRONCHO LUBICH and ALDO BOGNI during the Fall of 1966. With nothing really settled, the JCP bookers decided to head this Coliseum show by putting TEX and NELLIE in a match with BOGNI and LUBICH and to toss their evil manager HOMER O'DELL into the mix as a wrestler. To even up the sides, the red-hot KLONDIKE BILL was added to the Texas side of the ledger.

NELLIE took fall number one over LUBICH with his atomic drop. A triple-team body slam by the villains (with the far-sighted referee missing it completely) put BILL's shoulders down for the count to square the match. Then KLONDIKE's big splash on O'DELL closed the show.

BOBBY SHANE (one of David Crockett's proverbial young lions) was getting a CROCKETT push at the time. In fact, SHANE would soon be teaming with KLONDIKE in tag team main events. On this night, he faced GEORGE "TWO TON" HARRIS, in his final days as a headliner. Young BOBBY grabbed a DQ victory over TWO TON.

Girls were featured on the show, and probably for the 500th time, the great PENNY BANNER pinned TAMMY JONES.

The rugged German duo of KURT and HENRY VON STROHEIM, a B-plus to A-minus team faced another young lion in PAUL DEMARCO and veteran JESSE JAMES. With JESSE involved, it was no more than a TV match. DEMARCO could hold his own, but JESSE's career  dissolved as fast as Cam Newton's. The Berlin boys won.

The match of the card which interested me the most was the semi-final. The SOUTHERN TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS and favorites of most all area wrestling fans, GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER were battling the rowdy duo of the MASKED RED DEMONS, with red-headed TWO TON HARRIS at ringside as their manager.

BECKER and WEAVER had been feuding with the DEMONS since the summer when the masked men first appeared in the CROCKETT territory. After a short while, the DEMONS added the tutorial skills of TWO TON, who quickly dyed his locks red and obtained a bright red suit, with a belt buckle the size of Rhode Island, which was comparable to HOMER O'DELL's cane, i.e., a weapon.

I had witnessed these two teams go to a double DQ back in a Statesville, N.C. summer card.

JIM CROCKETT, for this match, added a stipulation to the proceedings. One of these masked men had to wear a white mask so the referee and participants could tell the ruffians apart. "Too much switchin' goin' on," said the boss. "It's too confusin." TWO TON protested. Too bad.

Much to my disappointment, when the RED DEMONS entered the ring for war, one wore a white tobagon, pulled all the way down over his face, with eye, nose and mouth holes cut out.

The championship looked to be in jeopardy when one DEMON pinned WEAVER for the first fall. Between falls, with the referee distracted, TWO TON gave JOHNNY a "big splash" with that giant belt buckle strategically placed on WEAVER's sternum. JOHNNY barely made it to his feet for the second fall.

BECKER abdominal stretched one of the DEMONS, and the match was even.

The winner of the third fall would claim the titles. And for a time, it appeared the masked men would take the crown. But our heroes battled back. Soon the DEMONS were getting thrashed. BECKER tossed the white-clad DEMON out of the corner, and the tobagon came off. Of course, his regular red mask was underneath. Then the hooded duo tried their usual switcheroo, but to no avail. JOHNNY had one of them in the corner and was ripping at the mask. At this point, TWO TON gave the "clear out" signal. But before the DEMON got away from WEAVER, the front of his mask was torn to the point that it flapped open and I remember seeing his face as clear as a bell. Of course, at that time, I had no idea who he was, but I remember this as if it happened this morning. I saw his face.

The three sped up the aisle and BECKER and WEAVER were awarded the match on a count-out.

Three months before JOHNNY passed away, I asked him about this particular match. Was he supposed to tear the mask as he did, or was it an accident? He said he didn't remember what I described to him.

"You remember lots of these matches better than I do. George and I wrestled these guys so many times in a six-month period, I can't keep them straight."

That is completely understandable.

I saw George and Johnny work these guys, maybe four times, out of the probable one hundred matches they had with one another.

"What I do remember about these guys is that they were both small as wrestlers go, and you could throw them a mile. They took great bumps. Many times it scared me the way they took bumps. I just knew for sure that they weren't going to get back up, but they did. Oh...and they both loved their liquor."

Another story Johnny told me about the DEMONS...Some of the wrestlers had complained a little about smelling alcohol on the them during some matches. One night, in a small Virginia town, the promoter told IKE EAKINS to watch them like a hawk and make sure they didn't have any booze to drink before their main event. IKE assured the promoter he would take care of it. But when the DEMONS got to the ring, they smelled like a still.

After the show, the promoter got in IKE's face and chewed him out for not doing as he was asked. "I was with them the entire time in the dressing room before they went out. They did NOT take a drink," IKE replied. "Were you with them the ENTIRE time?" the promoter wanted to know. "ABSOLUTELY, except when they used the bathroom before their match."

Hearing that, the promoter and IKE went into the bathroom. The promoter found a bottle of booze hidden in the toilet tank.

PENNY BANNER

 

LET'S TAKE TIME FOR THIS COMMERCIAL MESSAGE...

                     ABOUT THE MID-ATLANTIC WRESTLING EVENTS COMING UP IN YOUR AREA...

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

(Typo on card: 'Rick' Hunter was actually 'Rock Hunter'.)

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

(What a booking for DORY FUNK JR.---wrestling 'Bulldog' LEE HENNING in a prelim.)



RICHMOND, VIRGINIA
(from the MID-ATLANTIC GATEWAY)



RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

NORFOLK, VIRGINIA

NELSON ROYAL, SWEDE HANSON, ANDRE THE GIANT

 

JCP GAVE US THE BEST

 

RIP HAWK shows he could wrestle as well as break the rules.

JOHNNY WEAVER in control of his match.

Russian "bad guy" NIKITA MULKOVICH prepares for battle.

SKULL MURPHY having a bad day at the office.

A bloodied GREG VALENTINE and partner RIC FLAIR puttin' it to RUFUS R. JONES.

GENE ANDERSON and DUSTY RHODES trading blows.

The match over, RIC FLAIR hops into his Caddy and heads back to Charlotte.

ED CAPRAL interviews #1 PAUL JONES on TV's WIDE WORLD WRESTLING.

Referee SONNY FARGO tries to get GREG VALENTINE and RIC FLAIR off WAHOO McDANIEL.

OLE AND GENE ANDERSON

 

WEAVER AND ELLIS MEET THE BOLOS

                                                                   February 3, 1964

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

A return tag team match which throws the masked BOLOs against COWBOY BOB ELLIS and JOHNNY WEAVER headlines tonight's PARK CENTER wrestling card.

The hooded BOLO and THE GREAT BOLO gained a draw with ELLIS and WEAVER in an earlier match here when the time limit forced a one-hour stand-off. Tonight, there is NO TIME LIMIT, so a winner should be determined.

BOB and JOHNNY won the only fall recorded in the earlier contest, but could not apply the clincher before the sixty minutes ran out.

Tonight's semi-final could be a main event on any wrestling card at any location. It pairs the gigantic duo of THE KENTUCKIANS BIG BOY BROWN and TINY ANDERSON against wrestling's "BLONDE BOMBERS," RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON. This battle has a 45-minute time limit.

Both of tonight's tag matches are for the best two-out-of-three falls.

EMIL DUPREE takes on TOMMY O'TOOLE in the top prelim.

The 8:15 opener sends TED EVANS against JOE TOMASSO.

KLONDIKE BILL

 

QUEEN CITY WRESTLING

                                                                       July 15, 1963

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

JOHNNY WEAVER

JOHNNY 'RUBBERMAN' WALKER

JOHN and CHRIS TOLOS

GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS

RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON

JESSE JAMES

GEORGE 'CRYBABY' CANNON

Six man tag team action, one of the wildest, rowdiest forms of professional wrestling, will head up tonight's big card at Charlotte's PARK CENTER. Bell time is 8:15.

Making up one trio of the big scuffle will be wrestling's 'BLONDE BOMBERS', RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON, who will be joined by GEORGE 'TWO TON' HARRIS, and opposing this rugged threesome will be fan favorites JOHNNY WEAVER, 'COWBOY' JESSE JAMES and JOHNNY 'RUBBERMAN' WALKER.

This main event is scheduled for the best two-out-of-three falls with a one hour time limit.

There's also standard four man tag action in the semifinal, this one matching two brother teams against one another, when JERRY and BOBBY CHRISTIE face rule breakers JOHN and CHRIS TOLOS, known as THE MICHIGAN WRECKING CREW.

The best-of-three falls will also settle this one.

In singles competition, PAT O'HARA meets the girth of GEORGE 'CRYBABY' CANNON, and popular REGGIE PARKS takes on JOE McCARTY, a newcomer from (honestly, he says) Tigertail, Tennessee.

RICKY MORTON, ROBERT GIBSON, RICK RUDE

 

HOMER O'DELL IN TIGHTS

                                                                       July 11, 1964

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

CHIEF BIG HEART

ALDO BOGNI and BRONCHO LUBICH

GEORGE BECKER

RONNY ETCHISON

NICK KOZAK

MIKE CLANCY

FRANK VALOIS

HOMER O'DELL

Professional wrestling returns to the LEXINGTON YMCA with a bang tonight following a week's layoff because of the Fourth of July holiday.

A six man tag team match, with grudge ingredients thrown in, features the program.

Heroes GEORGE BECKER, RONNIE ETCHISON and CHIEF BIG HEART will battle top bullies ALDO BOGNI, BRONCHO LUBICH along with their arrogant manager, 'COLONEL' HOMER O'DELL, in a best-of-three falls encounter. This time out, O'DELL will don wrestling attire instead of the usual tuxedo and will participate as a legal wrestler.

'IRISH' MIKE CLANCY returns after a long absence and will meet tough Canadian FRANK VALOIS in the semi-final match of the evening.

Newcomer NICK KOZAK battles TOMMY O'TOOLE, and in the 8:15 opener, BOB BOYER faces PANCHO GOMEZ.