William Soloweyko (December 1, 1931 – October 3, 2000), better known by his

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Klondike Bill, was a Canadian

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. He wrestled in various

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

territories throughout the 1960s and 1970s, before moving onto

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

Professional wrestling career

Soloweyko was an accomplished amateur wrestler. After training with

Stu Hart Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian sport wrestling, amateur and professional wrestling, professional wrestler, wrestling Booker (professional wrestling), booker, professional wrestling promotion, promoter, and ...

in the famous

Hart Dungeon The Hart Dungeon or Hart Family Dungeon, otherwise known simply as The Dungeon, was the gym and wrestling school located in the basement of the Hart mansion. The school was created by Stu Hart, patriarch of the Hart wrestling family and is known ...

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

, he began his career wrestling as Bill "The Brute" Soloweyko. He was noted for his barrel-chested physique, beard, and

bearhug The bear hug is a grappling maneuver often seen in sports, such as wrestling. It also exists outside sports, such as street fighting, martial arts personal defense, military hand-to-hand combat, and even affectionate hugging. Bear hugs can be dan ...

finishing move. On January 18, 1962, Bill and

Whipper Billy Watson William John Potts, (June 25, 1915 – February 4, 1990) was a Canadian professional wrestler best known by his ring name "Whipper" Billy Watson. He was a two-time world champion, having held both the National Wrestling Association title and th ...

defeated

Chris Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, and Christine. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common. People with the given name * Chris Abani (born 1966), Nigerian autho ...

and

John Tolos John Tolos, nicknamed "The Golden Greek", (April 5, 1931 – May 28, 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler, and professional wrestling manager. Professional wrestling career Tolos was born on April 5, 1931, in Hamilton, Ontario to G ...

to win the

NWA International Tag Team Championship ''This was a regional NWA championship based in Japan. For the version of this title that was promoted in NWA All Star Wrestling in Canada, see NWA International Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version).'' The NWA International Tag Team Champio ...

, until they dropped the titles back to them in March. From 1963 to 1964, as Klondike Bill, he performed for the WWWF, often defeating

enhancement talent In professional wrestling slang, a job is a losing performance in a wrestling match. It is derived from "doing one's job,” a euphemism to hide kayfabe-related information. When a wrestler is booked to lose a match, it is described as "a job". ...

, but served on the losing end against bigger stars like WWWF Champion

Bruno Sammartino Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with the WWE, World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). Sammartin ...

Bobo Brazil Houston Harris (July 10, 1924 – January 20, 1998) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Bobo Brazil. Credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling, Harris is considered one o ...

, and

Ernie Ladd Ernest L. Ladd (November 28, 1938 – March 10, 2007), nicknamed "the Big Cat", was an American professional American football, football defensive tackle and professional wrestling, professional wrestler. A standout athlete in high school, Ladd ...

. Bill unsuccessfully challenged for the

NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship The NWA World's Heavyweight Championship is a men's professional wrestling Professional wrestling championship#World championships, world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professiona ...

on multiple occasions in 1966. However, he enjoyed championship success in 1968, winning the

NWA North American Tag Team Championship The NWA North American Tag Team Championship is an inactive professional wrestling tag team championship that was used and defended in various territories throughout the National Wrestling Alliance., prior to its being purchased in 2017 by Billy ...

with Ron Etchison in January, the

All Asia Tag Team Championship The is a professional wrestling tag team title in Japanese promotion All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). Originally, it was the top tag team title in the JWA, but its status became secondary once the NWA International Tag Team Championship was brou ...

with

Skull Murphy John Joseph Murphy (December 7, 1930 – March 23, 1970) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Skull Murphy. He began his career wrestling in Canada and later worked at Jim Crockett Promotions and Georgia Championship ...

in July, and the

NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship The NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and was defended in the US state of Hawaii. The title, which began in 1935. From February 1940 through 1942 the titl ...

in August. On March 21, 1971, he won the NWA National Television Championship from Luke Graham, holding the title until October 9, when he was defeated by Big Bad John. Bill would also compete for

NWA Tri-State The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level riv ...

, holding the United States Tag Team Championship with

Luke Brown Carl Dennis Campbell Sr. (July 28, 1935 – November 12, 1997) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Luke "Big Boy" Brown. He is most noted for being one-half of a tag team in the 1950s and 1960s known as the Kentuc ...

in early 1974. He would then wrestle only sporadically after this. He was hired by

Jim Crockett James Allen Crockett Sr. (June 2, 1908 – April 1, 1973) was an American professional wrestling promoter and professional sports franchise owner sometimes known as Jim Crockett Sr., or to people within the business simply as "Big Jim". Early lif ...

during the 1970s to build guard rails and rings for

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. Founded in ...

, and was also a road agent for

. In addition, he worked for Crockett's

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team, the Charlotte O's, as a groundkeeper. During the late 1990s, Bill was involved in a storyline that saw

Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Booker, professional wrestling booker, promoter, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Sen ...

demoted as president and forced to set up a ring under Bill's supervision. He was also known for being the only person to consume two 72-ounce steaks at the Big Texan Steak Ranch in the one-hour time limit back in the 1960s. Bill and fellow wrestler Johnny Heidemann were once kicked out of a buffet after they ate 56 pieces of chicken.

Death

Soloweyko died on October 3, 2000, at the age of 68, in

Pineville, North Carolina Pineville (; locally ) is a suburban town in the southernmost portion of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, United States. Part of the Charlotte metropolitan area, it is situated in the Waxhaws region between Charlotte and Fort Mill. As of ...

. He had been suffering from a neuromuscular disorder that took away the use of his tongue and left him speechless.

Championships and accomplishments

50th State Big Time Wrestling 50th State Big Time Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Hawaii or Mid-Pacific Promotions) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Haw ...

(1 time) *

Georgia Championship Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades b ...

** NWA National Television Championship (1 time) *

Japan Pro Wrestling Alliance The , also known as the Japan Pro Wrestling Association and the Japanese Wrestling Association (JWA), was the first professional wrestling promotion to be based in Japan. It operated from 1953 to 1973. History JWA under Rikidōzan (1953–1963 ...

(1 time) – with

NWA Central States Heart of America Sports Attractions, Inc., operating as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebr ...

(1 time) – with Ron Etchison * NWA Toronto **

(1 time) – with

** United States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bill, Klondike 1931 births 2000 deaths Canadian male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Calgary Stampede Wrestling alumni Neurological disease deaths in North Carolina Deaths from neuromuscular disease 20th-century male professional wrestlers All Asia Tag Team Champions NWA International Tag Team Champions (Toronto version) NWA National Television Champions 20th-century Canadian sportsmen