BOLO'S BACK

                                                                           July 7, 1958

                                                                                   67 Years Ago

                                                                   CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

The return of the infamous masked man of wrestling, the GREAT BOLO, will headline the wrestling program set for tonight at PARK CENTER.

The GREAT BOLO, the vicious masked man who has withstood all efforts to defeat and / or unmask him, has been matched tonight against GORY GUERRERO.

The handsome GUERRERO was BOLO's first victim in Charlotte some two months ago, and GORY has been aching for a rematch ever since. He'll get one hour and two-out-of-three falls to gain revenge.

Also getting co-feature status is a best-of-three-falls, one-hour tag match with Indian stars BILLY TWO RIVERS and CHIEF DON EAGLE taking on ruffians IKE EAKINS and HANS SCHNABEL.

Promoter JIM CROCKETT figures this one to produce some of the wildest and wooliest tag team action seen here in months.

The prelim card has two singles bouts, with one sending fan favorite 'IRISH' MIKE CLANCY lowering the boom against 'BAD' BOB CORBY.

The opening contests matches GYPSY JOE against TINKER TODD. Neither of these men respect the rules of wrestling, so anything could happen in this one.

The first bout in the AIR-CONDITIONED PARK CENTER gets underway at 8:15 p.m.

MASKED SUPERSTAR (BILL EADIE) VERSUS MR. WRESTLING (TIM WOODS)

 

THE SENSATIONAL SIXTIES

 

THE VIKING

CHARLESTON, S.C. - 1965

THE ALASKAN and THE BEAST lost to GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER.

GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT topped THE VIKING and SIR NELSON ROYAL.

MIKE VALENTINO submitted to ED CASTILLO.

GREG PETERSON rolled 'ROWDY' RED ROBERTS.

SWEDE HANSON and RIP HAWK

ROANOKE, VA. - 1969

GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT defeated LARS and GENE ANDERSON.

LUTHER LINDSAY and ABE JACOBS topped RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON via DQ.

OLE ANDERSON pinned BOB NANDOR.

PAUL DEMARCO won over TINKER TODD.

ANGELO MARTINELLI lost to BOB RAMSTEAD.

GORY GUERRERO

RICHMOND, VA. - 1966

TEX McKENZIE and NELSON ROYAL won via a reversed decision over RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON.

DON CHUY and JOE CAROLLO beat IKE EAKINS and JOHN GUDISKI.

THE GREAT MALENKO bested ROGER KIRBY.

JOHNNY HEIDEMAN lost to GORY GUERRERO.

BRUTE BERNARD

GREENSBORO, N.C. - 1966

GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER topped BRUTE BERNARD and SKULL MURPHY.

TEX McKENZIE and NELSON ROYAL lost to BRONCHO LUBICH and ALDO BOGNI with HOMER O'DELL.

KARL GOTCH bested HENRY VON STROHEIM.

KURT VON STROHEIM pinned ROGER KIRBY.

RUDY KAY beat IKE EAKINS.

ABE JACOBS kee-wee rolled HANS SCHMIDT.

THE MUMMY

LYNCHBURG, VA. - 1967

HAYSTACK CALHOUN won a ten man BATTLE ROYAL.

THE AMAZING ZUMA topped IAN MACBIRD.

HAYSTACK CALHOUN squashed HENRY VON STROHEIM.

SANDY SCOTT defeated THE MUMMY.

PEDRO GODOY beat TONY ROMANO.

JESSE JAMES wrestled KURT VON STROHEIM to a draw.

MGR. J.C. DYKES AND THE INFERNOS (ROCKY AND CURTIS SMITH)

 

A BOLO BATTLE

 

CHILLIN' WITH RIP AND SWEDE

 Anyone who ever saw RIP HAWK and SWEDE HANSON wrestle knows that when the rugged duo was in the ring, it was all business. Just ask their opponents.

But even JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS' "BLONDE BOMBERS" needed some 'down time' away from the squared circle.

Time to relax, refocus and just have a good time.

Here's how RIP and SWEDE spent their time away from the arenas.

First, they work on their tans...

Then, it's off to the links...


"Swede, I wish you would hit Becker and Weaver as hard as you hit that last drive."

Time for a bit of refreshment...

Perhaps, 'politically incorrect' by today's standards, but it was all in fun.

THE INFERNOS AT WORK AND AT PLAY

 

CHARLOTTE CHRISTMAS WRESTLING - 1968

                                                                   December 25, 1968

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

A total of eighteen professional wrestlers will participate in a charity program at the CHARLOTTE COLISEUM tonight, presented by JIM CROCKETT PROMOTIONS.

A FENCE MATCH is the top attraction this Christmas. SAILOR ART THOMAS, GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER face THE MISSOURI MAULER, HIRO MATSUDA and HOMER O'DELL in this specialty. A seven-foot chain link steel fence is to be rigged around the squared circle. Contestants will do-or-die to the finish in this match, as neither team will be able to escape before the match is over.

The MINNESOTA WRECKING CREW, GENE and OLE ANDERSON, will tangle with JIMMY and BILLY HINES in the semi-final best-of-three falls match. Fans may recall that the HINES brothers wrestled a few years back as THE MASKED RED DEMONS.

There will be a special ladies wrestling contest.

Midgets are also on this holiday variety card. LORD LITTLEBROOK will defend his mighty honor against THE MIGHTY ATOM.

"BULLDOG" LEE HENNING will be out to take down NELSON ROYAL in a one-fall contest.

The opener sends TINKER TODD against PAUL JONES.

Tickets are available at the NATIONAL HAT SHOP and the COLISEUM box office. Doors open at 7:00 and the matches begin at 8:15.

WAHOO MCDANIEL AND MARK YOUNGBLOOD

 

A 1969 CHARLOTTE CHRISTMAS CARD

                                                                  December 25, 1969

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

56 Years Ago

Promoter JIM CROCKETT has slated another CHRISTMAS DAY spectacular for the CHARLOTTE COLISEUM, starting at 8:15 p.m.

It is a charity card with a FENCE MATCH set as the headliner.

This type of match takes place inside a seven-foot high steel barrier, which eliminates any escape routes by the combatants.

The two teams confined will be fan favorites GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER and the angry twosome of SKULL MURPHY and BRUTE BERNARD.

In their last meeting, MURPHY enlisted the aid of a steel chair, smashing WEAVER's head into a bloody mess, then bolting to the dressing room. The fence will prevent MURPHY (or anyone else) from doing it this time.

This main event is set for two-out-of-three falls, within a one-hour time limit.

"Two other tag team matches are booked on tonight's card," said CROCKETT.

ABE JACOBS and LES WOLFE will face KURT VON STROHEIM and ART NELSON in one of them.

In the other, SAILOR ART THOMAS and LUTHER LINDSAY will collide with GENE and OLE ANDERSON, the MINNESOTA WRECKING CREW.

"It's a wrestling card with something for everybody," said CROCKETT, pointing to the Christmas spirit of the event. "We'll also have midgets and girls as well."

TERRY FUNK

 

JACK BRISCO

 

COWBOYS, SKIN HEADS AND RAMS

                                                                    March 12, 1966

LEXINGTON, N.C.

NELSON ROYAL

TEX McKENZIE

KURT VON STROHEIM

BRUTE BERNARD and SKULL MURPHY

STEVE BOLUS

GORY GUERRERO

The wrestling tag teams of TEX McKENZIE / NELSON ROYAL and BRUTE BERNARD / SKULL MURPHY will return to the LEXINGTON YMCA tonight for more professional wrestling action, but each shall be meeting different foes.

The cowboys, TEX and NELSON, who gained a disputed win over BRUTE and SKULL last Saturday, will face the rugged German brother combo of KURT and HENRY VON STROHEIM.

The co-feature tonight pairs BERNARD and MURPHY against the NFL L.A. RAMS duo of DON CHUY and JOE CAROLLO.

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

Singles action tonight finds popular STEVE BOLUS against Mexico's GORY GUERRERO.

There is also an 8:15 opening match.

THE ASSASSIN (JODY HAMILTON) VERSUS THE AVENGER (REGGIE PARKS)

 

TIM WOODS

 

ALL OVER JCP COUNTRY

 

PHIL (BUCK) ROBLEY

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - 1969

GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT won from THE INFERNOS with J.C. DYKES via DQ.

BRUTE BERNARD and SKULL MURPHY topped ABE JACOBS and LES WOLFE.

JOHNNY WEAVER whipped MATTI SUZUKI.

BOBBY RED CLOUD topped PHIL ROBLEY.

LES THATCHER

GREENVILLE, S.C. - 1968

LARS, GENE and OLE ANDERSON toppled ARGENTINA ZUMA, LES THATCHER and PAUL DEMARCO in six man action.

JESSE JAMES topped PEPPY GOMEZ.

PANCHO VALDEZ pinned JACK RICO.

BOB RAMSTEAD wrestled JOHNNY HEIDEMAN to a draw.

GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER

CHARLESTON, S.C. - 1965

GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER won over BRUTE BERNARD and SKULL MURPHY.

THE KENTUCKIANS bested THE ALASKAN and THE BEAST.

GEORGE 'CATALINA' DRAKE topped EDUARDO CASTILLO.

PEE WEE LOPEZ pinned JIM DANDY.

EL LOBO

GREENVILLE, S.C. - 1969

GEORGE BECKER and JOHNNY WEAVER defeated LARS and GENE ANDERSON.

BOB GRIFFIN and LES WOLFE lost to BRUTE BERNARD and SKULL MURPHY.

OLE ANDERSON whipped BOBBY RED CLOUD.

JOHNNY HEIDEMAN topped EL LOBO.

THE KENTUCKIANS AND HAYSTACKS CALHOUN VERSUS THE THREE BOLOS

 

THE GREAT BOLO: A WANTED MAN

 

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.

RIC FLAIR

 

DEBUTS OF ANDERSONS AND KLONDIKE BILL

                                                                       JULY 9, 1966

LEXINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

59 Years Ago

Fan favorite JOHNNY WEAVER gets another crack at the SOUTHERN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP when he meets title holder THE MISSOURI MAULER in tonight's LEXINGTON YMCA pro wrestling two-out-of-three falls main event.

It will be a rematch of a thriller here several weeks ago in which the MAULER was able to hang on to his title only by a thread.

WEAVER employed his famous "sleeper hold" for what would have been the deciding fall, but he was outside the ropes, and the brutal (and fortunate) champ was allowed to retain his belt when the referee was forced to disqualify WEAVER.

JOHNNY has promised a different outcome tonight.

In the evening's tag team battle, the popular duo of ABE JACOBS and RUDY KAYE will meet LARS and GENE ANDERSON, a rugged twosome from Minnesota, who are making their Lexington debut.

This match is also for two-of-three falls.

Another big man of wrestling, Kodiak, Alaska's KLONDIKE BILL, also makes his first appearance here when he faces the tough veteran EL GAUCHO in one of two supporting bouts.

The 8:15 opener will send two bullies, IKE EAKINS and TONY NERO, against one another.

EVIL EYE GORDON AND DICK SHANNON

 

DEAL THE CARDS

                                                                THE YEAR WAS 1969

...it was a very good year...

GREENSBORO, N.C.

GENE KINISKI beat SAM STEAMBOAT to remain World Heavyweight Champion

GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT topped GENE and OLE ANDERSON

THE MISSOURI MAULER & HIRO MATSUDA with MGR. HOMER O'DELL defeated ABE JACOBS & LES WOLFF

TONI ROSE bested BARBARA OWEN

MR. WRESTLING defeated "BULLDOG" LEE HENNING

EL LOBO over JESSE JAMES

GREENSBORO, N.C.

THE MISSOURI MAULER beat JOHNNY WEAVER to become Southern Heavyweight Champion

SIX MAN MATCH between GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT and GEORGE BECKER versus RIP HAWK, SWEDE HANSON and ROCK HUNTER ended in a Double DQ

SAM STEAMBOAT and HIRO MATSUDA  wrestled to a draw

MR. WRESTLING over EL GAUCHO

KOA TIKI beat JIMMY HINES

BILLY HINES topped GREG PETERSON

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.

GEORGE BECKER, JOHNNY WEAVER and SAILOR ART THOMAS over HOMER O'DELL, THE MISSOURI MAULER and HIRO MATSUDA

SANDY and GEORGE SCOTT versus THE INFERNOS with MGR. J.C. DYKES ended in a Double DQ

MR. WRESTLING and GENE ANDERSON wrestled to a draw

OLE ANDERSON topped GREG PETERSON

SAM STEAMBOAT over RONNIE GARVIN

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.

GEORGE and SANDY SCOTT beat THE INFERNOS with MGR. J.C. DYKES

SAILOR ART THOMAS & ABE JACOBS  won over ALDO BOGNI & BRONCHO LUBUCH with MGR. GEORGE "TWO TON" HARRIS via DQ

NELSON ROYAL topped EL GAUCHO

PAUL JONES bested BOB GRIFFIN

LES WOLFF defeated PANCHO VALDEZ

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.

DORY FUNK JR. retained the World's Heavyweight Championship by defeating RIP HAWK

BRUTE BERNARD & SKULL MURPHY beat SANDY and GEORGE SCOTT

NELSON ROYAL & PAUL JONES topped THE INFERNOS with MGR. J.C. DYKES via DQ

BOBO JOHNSON & COWBOY LANG over MIGHTY ATOM & LITTLE CRUSHER

SWEDE HANSON & ABE JACOBS wrestled to a draw



GREENSBORO, N.C.

GEORGE BECKER & JOHNNY WEAVER toppled BRUTE BERNARD & SKULL MURPHY

SAILOR ART THOMAS & MR. WRESTLING over OLE and GENE ANDERSON via DQ

PAUL JONES & NELSON ROYAL beat PEDRO GODOY & PHIL ROBLEY

TONI ROSE bested DONNA CHRISTIAN

MATTI SUZUKI won over PANCHO VALDEZ



WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.

GEORGE BECKER, JOHNNY WEAVER and MR. WRESTLING topped J.C. DYKES and THE INFERNOS

SAILOR ART THOMAS & LUTHER LINDSAY over "BULLDOG" LEE HENNING & PHIL ROBLEY

LORD LITTLEBROOK beat MIGHTY ATOM

TONI ROSE pinned BETTY BOUCHER

NELSON ROYAL defeated JOHNNY HEIDEMAN

BOBBY RED CLOUD bested TINKER TODD

SKULL MURPHY