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Dean Higuchi
Dean Kiyoshi Higuchi (July 18, 1940 – February 20, 2021) was an American bodybuilder and professional wrestler, known by his ring name, Dean Ho. He competed in North American promotions including Pacific Northwest Wrestling, the World Wide Wrestling Federation and Big Time Wrestling during the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s. A longtime veteran of the Vancouver's NWA All-Star Wrestling, he feuded with Terry Adonis, The Brute and former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Gene Kiniski. Bodybuilding career After graduating from President Theodore Roosevelt High School, Higuchi was one of Hawaii's prominent bodybuilders during the 1950s winning the title "Mr. Hawaiian Islands" competition in 1956 and finishing in sixth place in the "Mr. America" competition in Philadelphia. Dean's Gym He opened his gym on Kalakaua Avenue in 1957, and it was a popular training center for both bodybuilders and professional wrestlers. Many of the areas top bodybuilders such as Mike Brown and professi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Honolulu
Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honolulu County, Hawaii, Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island of Oahu, Oʻahu, and is the westernmost and southernmost major U.S. city as well as westernmost and southernmost U.S. state capital. It is also a major hub for business, finance, hospitality, and military defense in both the state and Oceania. The city is characterized by a mix of various Asian culture, Asian, Western culture, Western, and Oceanian culture, Pacific cultures, reflected in its diverse demography, cuisine, and traditions. is Hawaiian language, Hawaiian for "sheltered harbor" or "calm port"; its old name, , roughly encompasses the area from Nuʻuanu Avenue to Alakea Street and from Hotel Street to Queen Street, which is the heart of the present dow ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rene Goulet
Robert Bédard (July 12, 1932 – May 25, 2019) was a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name, the "Number One Frenchman" Rene Goulet. He is notable for working in the World Wrestling Federation from 1971 to 1972 and from 1980 to 1997 as a wrestler and road agent. Early life Robert Bedard was born on July 12, 1932, in Quebec City and played hockey as a defenseman, on one occasion nearly dying after an opponent's skate cut into his throat. In addition to hockey, Bedard trained as a bodybuilder and a boxer, but decided to try out wrestling after another boxer warned him he would be "punch drunk" by the time he was 25. Professional wrestling career Goulet began his career in Quebec City, Quebec, in 1957, with his first match being against Gerard Dugas. Bedard adopted his ring name Rene Goulet when he began working in Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo's Minneapolis territory. Gagne and Karbo changed Bedard's name to capitalize on his good looks (and the populari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, second-largest country by total area, with the List of countries by length of coastline, world's longest coastline. Its Canada–United States border, border with the United States is the world's longest international land border. The country is characterized by a wide range of both Temperature in Canada, meteorologic and Geography of Canada, geological regions. With Population of Canada, a population of over 41million people, it has widely varying population densities, with the majority residing in List of the largest population centres in Canada, urban areas and large areas of the country being sparsely populated. Canada's capital is Ottawa and List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vancouver, British Columbia
Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The Metro Vancouver area had a population of 2.6million in 2021, making it the List of census metropolitan areas and agglomerations in Canada#List, third-largest metropolitan area in Canada. Greater Vancouver, along with the Fraser Valley, comprises the Lower Mainland with a regional population of over 3million. Vancouver has the highest population density in Canada, with over , and the fourth highest in North America (after New York City, San Francisco, and Mexico City). Vancouver is one of the most Ethnic origins of people in Canada, ethnically and Languages of Canada, linguistically diverse cities in Canada: 49.3 percent of its residents are not native English speakers, 47.8 percent are native speakers of nei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ripper Collins (wrestler)
Roy Lee Albern (October 10, 1933 – November 12, 1991), known by the ring name Ripper Collins, was an American professional wrestler, who primarily wrestled for 50th State Big Time Wrestling, also known as NWA Hawaii. Professional wrestling career Collins started his wrestling career in Texas, before going to St. Louis. In 1961, he made his debut in the American Wrestling Association (AWA), where he stayed until 1963. NWA Hawaii (1965–1979) He made his debut for 50th State Big Time Wrestling in 1965, finding success there for most of his career as a Heel (professional wrestling), heel, and would often compete in mixed tag team matches with his wife Barbara. He would also dub himself as "The King". On January 4, 1966, Collins and Johnny Barend defeated Bearcat Wright and Luther Lindsay to win the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship, holding them until Neff Maiava & Pampero Firpo defeated them for the belts in early November. In December, Collins was involved in a miscommunication ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curtis Iaukea
Colonel Curtis Piʻehu Iaukea (December 13, 1855 – March 5, 1940) served as a court official, army officer and diplomat of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He later became an influential official for the subsequent regimes of the Provisional Government and the Republic and the Territory of Hawaii. Iaukea was raised from an early age to serve the Hawaiian royal family. He first gained prominence during the reign of King Kalākaua when he served as an important court official and an army officer in the volunteer army of the Kingdom of Hawaii. He held numerous significant positions including governor of Oahu and chamberlain to the Royal Household. He also served as Hawaii's ambassador to Europe and Asia, attending the coronation of Tsar Alexander III of Russia and the Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria. Iaukea received numerous Hawaiian honors and foreign decorations during his service to the kingdom. Following the overthrow of the monarchy, he continued to work for the subsequent regimes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Fujiwara
was an American professional wrestler, actor and manager, known professionally by his ring name Mr. Fuji (or Master Fuji to his protégés). He was famous for often throwing salt in the eyes of fan favorite wrestlers. Notable wrestlers and tag teams managed by him include Don Muraco, Yokozuna and Demolition. Early life Harry Masayoshi Fujiwara was born on May 4, 1934, in Honolulu, Hawaii. He was of Japanese and Native Hawaiian ancestry. Professional wrestling career Early career (1962–1972) Fujiwara made his professional wrestling debut in 1962 in his native Hawaii under the ring name Mr. Fujiwara. He won his first championship, the NWA Hawaii Tag Team Championship, with King Curtis Iaukea on January 7, 1966. He shortened his ring name to Mr. Fuji and toured many territories, including Don Owen's Portland, Oregon based NWA Pacific Northwest Wrestling where he won many championships. World Wide Wrestling Federation (1972–1974) Fuji debuted in Vince McMahon, Sr.'s Wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johnny Barend
John R. Barend (March 27, 1929 – September 20, 2011), better known as "Handsome" Johnny Barend, was an American professional wrestler. Early life Born in 1929 in Rochester, New York, Barend started wrestling as an amateur at the age of eight. After graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School in Rochester in 1944, he served in the United States Navy during World War II and wrestled while in the service. Professional wrestling career Early career (1949–1962) He was trained to wrestle professionally by Ed Don George and made his professional debut on November 1, 1949, defeating Faro Rinaldi. In 1956, he started teaming with Gene Dubuque, who was wrestling under the name, Magnificent Maurice. Barend's original manager was Ernie Roth, then using the name Mr. Kleen. Roth would gain fame in the WWWF as the Grand Wizard of Wrestling during the 1970s. Barend and Maurice went on to win many tag-team championships. Barend first appeared in Hawaii with 50th State Big Time Wre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hans Mortier
Jacob "Jaap" Grobbe (January 28, 1924 – December 15, 2010), better known as Hans Mortier, was a Dutch professional wrestler best known for his stint in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) and his feud with WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino in the 1960s. Hans Mortier was a world-class bodybuilder before he entered the ring and was known by many as "The Great". Professional wrestling career Before becoming a professional wrestler, Grobbe worked as a professional body builder. His first wrestling match was in Tacoma in 1946 against Abe Yourist. He later wrestled out of Columbus, Ohio, in the late 1940s and early 1950s using under the ring name Dutch Howlett. Grobbe went around the world fighting in New Zealand, Australia as the Great Zorro, South Africa, and France. He at one time held the European Championship. By the early 1960s, Grobbe returned to the United States. In 1963, Grobbe signed a contract with the World Wide Wrestling Federation where he was managed by Wild ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mongolian Stomper
Archibald Edward Gouldie (November 22, 1936 – January 23, 2016) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He wrestled for Stampede Wrestling for decades as Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie, with the nickname coming from the wrestler's reputation of "stomping" on his opponents, when they were down, with his black cowboy boots. He was also known by the ring name The Mongolian Stomper. Professional wrestling career Central States Wrestling (1962-1972) Early in his career, Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie was a babyface (good guy) in the Central States territory. He won the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Central States Version) from Enrique Torres in St. Joseph on Dec. 20, 1963, losing it to Rocky Hamilton on Jan 31, 1964. He regained it on May 22, 1964, only to lose it to Sonny Myers June 12, 1964. He regained it yet again in 1965 from Sonny Myers, and dropped it to Bobby Shane in December in Waterloo, IA. Archie won his first Central States Heavyweight Title from Ron Ree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tosh Togo
, better known as Harold Sakata, was an American Olympic weightlifter, professional wrestler, and film actor of Japanese descent. He won a silver medal for the United States at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London in weightlifting, and later became a popular professional wrestler under the ring name Tosh Togo, wrestling primarily for various National Wrestling Alliance territories as a tag team with Great Togo. He also wrestled in Japan for the Japanese Wrestling Association between 1955 and 1957. On the basis of his wrestling work, he was cast in the James Bond film '' Goldfinger'' (1964) as the villain Oddjob, a role he would be closely associated with for the rest of his life. Early life Toshiyuki Sakata was born on July 1, 1920, in Holualoa, Hawaii, to Japanese-American parents who worked at a Kona coffee farm. His father Risaburo was ''issei'' (first-generation), and his mother Matsue was ''nisei'' (second generation). He had ten siblings, six brothers and four siste ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonio Inoki
(born ; 20 February 1943 – 1 October 2022) was a Japanese professional wrestler, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#school, professional wrestling trainer, martial arts, martial artist, politician, and Promoter (entertainment), promoter of professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA). He is best known as the founder and 33-year owner of New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). He is considered to be one of the most influential professional wrestlers of all time, and one of the biggest key influences on MMA in Japan and internationally. After spending his adolescence in Brazil, Inoki began his professional wrestling career in the 1960s for the Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance (JWA) under the tutelage of Rikidōzan. After he changed his in-ring moniker to Antonio Inoki in 1963, a Homage (arts), homage to accomplished Italian wrestler Antonino Rocca, Inoki became one of the most popular stars in Professional wrestling in Japan, Japanese professional wrestling. He is credited wi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
