Robert Carson (born Robert Beier; July 4, 1940 – February 10, 2017), better known by his ring name Bob Sweetan, 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 ...

. Sweetan was nicknamed "Bruiser" and "Mr.

Piledriver Piledriver or pile driver may refer to: *Pile driver, a person trained to use the diesel hammer that drives piles into the ground for foundations and bridges *Piledriver (professional wrestling), a move used in professional wrestling Entertainme ...

", the latter in reference to his finishing maneuver.

Early years

Beier was born on a farm near Goodsoil,

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, about four hours north of

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

. He played briefly with the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

, and, after a period of traveling, settled in

Calgary Calgary () is a major city in the Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the third-largest city and fifth-largest metropolitan area in C ...

, the home of

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 ...

and his

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

promotion. Beier was introduced to pro wrestling by Gerd Topsnik, a door-to-door

cookware Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookwar ...

salesman who wrestled part-time for Hart. Beier recalled: "I told opsnik 'All right, I'll buy your pots and pans if you get me started in wrestling.' He started taking me to Stu's." It is unclear when Beier changed his legal surname to Carson.

Professional wrestling career

Sweetan held numerous titles over his career. He enjoyed some success with the

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 ...

and wrestled with Freddie Prosser who went under the name Freddie Sweetan in Canada for

. Sweetan and

Terry Gibbs Terry Gibbs (born Julius Gubenko; October 13, 1924) is an American jazz vibraphonist and band leader. He has performed or recorded with Tommy Dorsey, Chubby Jackson,Theroux, Gary"Gibbs, Terry".''Grove Music Online''. Oxford University Press. R ...

defeated

Fabulous Freebirds The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...

for the

NWA Central States Tag Team Championship The NWA Central States Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team championship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1979 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988. The Central States Tag Team ...

. He also wrestled for the

World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC; Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha") is a professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón, Victor Jovica, and Goril ...

in Puerto Rico. In the WWC he defeated King Tonga for the WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship. Sweetan was in the first ever WWC Aniversario. He played himself in the movie ''The Wrestling Queen'' in 1975. Sweetan wrestled many notable wrestlers during his career such as Rufus R. Jones, Buzz Tyler,

Randy Rose Randall Alls (born July 19, 1956) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Randy Rose. Professional wrestling career Randy Rose began his career in 1974 in Tennessee. In 1980, Rose formed a tag team with Den ...

Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship succ ...

Bill Watts William F. Watts Jr. (born May 5, 1939), better known under the ring name Bill Watts, is a retired American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, promoter and former American football player. Watts garnered fame under his "Cowboy" Glos ...

Frank Hoy Francis Patrick Hoy (19 October 1934 – 21 April 2005) was a Scottish professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Black Angus Campbell, Wild Angus, and Rasputin (whilst wearing a wrestling mask). Early life Hoy was born in Ennisk ...

Butch Reed Bruce Franklin Reed (July 11, 1954 – February 5, 2021) was an American professional wrestler and football player, better known by the ring name Butch Reed. He played college football at the University of Central Missouri, was a star in Mid-Sou ...

, Adrian Adonis,

Tully Blanchard Tully Arthur Blanchard (born January 22, 1954) is a Canadian-American professional wrestler and manager. He is best known for his appearances with Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation in the mid-to-late 1980s as a member of ...

, and

Jesse Ventura Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, political commentator, actor, media personality, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE), he ...

. "Dr. Death" Steve Williams described him as a "very, very tough man." Sweetan was known for causing riots in arenas due to his

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exerted ...

antics, and was an influence on

Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...

Post-wrestling work

Following his pro wrestling career, Sweetan worked as an

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C (US) or air con (UK), is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior temperature, and in some cases, also controlling the humidity of internal air. Air c ...

maintenance supervisor, particularly in large

apartment An apartment (American English, Canadian English), flat (British English, Indian English, South African English), tenement (Scots English), or unit (Australian English) is a self-contained housing unit (a type of residential real estate) that ...

buildings.

Legal issues

In 1990, Sweetan was convicted of the

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

of his daughter, Candace. He also faced a separate charge of non-payment of child support. Sweetan stopped checking in with police in 2000, after which he was located and deported back to his native Canada.

Criticism

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

's ''Legends of Wrestling'' in 2009, longtime industry personality

Jim Ross James William Ross (born January 3, 1952) is an American professional wrestling commentator, sports announcer, and podcaster, better known by the ring name Jim Ross (often shortened to JR). He is signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he ...

stated that he "didn't like" Sweetan and "didn't want to be around him", describing him as a "miserable human being". Ross later called him a "bully", and told how

Danny Hodge Dan Allen Hodge (May 13, 1932 – December 24, 2020) was an American amateur and professional wrestler, who also had a brief professional boxing career. He is in both the U.S. amateur wrestling Hall of Fame, for his three NCAA titles and Ol ...

once physically tortured Sweetan as payback for being out of line. In his 2012 autobiography,

Jim Duggan James Edward Duggan Jr. (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best-known for his time in World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he won the first ...

also referred to Sweetan as a "bully", and a "real piece of garbage".

Leo Burke Léonce Cormier (June 29, 1948 – July 24, 2024) was a Canadian professional wrestler. He was born in Dorchester, New Brunswick. He competed across Canada, in several American promotions, and wrestled internationally for Puerto Rico's Worl ...

called him "easy to work with" in the ring but "kind of lazy", while Ed "Colonel DeBeers" Wiskoski said of Sweetan: "I wasn't a fan of his... from being a locker-room thief to just among other things, just an asshole." Sweetan's ex-wife Rebecca commented: "He's a waste of skin as far as I'm concerned... He fried his brain ith drugs deserted his children, abused them emotionally, physically, sexually, mentally."

Personal life

Sweetan met an

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

woman, Rebecca Jane Terhune, at a

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

club in 1969 and the couple were married in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1971. They had four children. Sweetan also had one child to another woman. Sweetan allegedly deserted his family on October 15, 1985; he had been having an affair with a ring rat who was also a

drug dealer A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...

. Rebecca divorced Sweetan in 1986.

Death

Sweetan died at a

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

nursing home on February 10, 2017. He had been suffering from

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

memory problems Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or brain diseases,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be temporarily caused by t ...

and mobility issues.

Championships and accomplishments

* Big Time Wrestling ''(San Francisco)'' **

NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (San Francisco version) The NWA San Francisco United States Championship was a version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship that was defended in NWA San Francisco and, later, Big Time Wrestling. The title, which originated as the American Wrestling Allian ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) *

Central States Wrestling 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 ...

NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship The NWA Central States championship was reactivated in 2002 seeing Shane Somers defeat. 7'1 Butch McClain becoming the 1st champion since 1989 & youngest at 19 years of age. Title history {{Professional wrestling title history middle {{BundleEn ...

( 5 times) **

(

) - with Mike George (1) and

(1) **

NWA Central States Television Championship The NWA Central States Television Championship was the secondary singles championship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1977 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988. Because the championship ...

(

) ** NWA North American Tag Team Championship ''(Central States version)'' ( 3 times) – with

Dick Murdoch Hoyt Richard Murdoch (August 16, 1946 – June 15, 1996) was an American professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring names "Dirty" Dick Murdoch and "Captain Redneck". He was best known for his time in the NWA, WWE, Wo ...

(2), Killer Karl Kox (1) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship (Central States version) ( 1 time) - with

Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is an Australian former politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a Australian Senate, senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian ...

*Mid-States Championship Wrestling **MSCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time) * NWA Gulf Coast **

NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Championship The NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Southern Division) was originally the primary singles championship for '' Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling'' and was originally named the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Championship. As the name indicate ...

( 1 time) * NWA Tri-State - Mid-South Wrestling Association **

NWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship The NWA Tri-State Tag Team Championship was a tag team title created in 1962, and contested in the National Wrestling Alliance's Tri-State territory, which was promoted by Leroy McGuirk (Arkansas and Oklahoma) and Jack Curtis and Aurelian "Gri ...

( 3 times) - with Seigfried Stanke (1), Killer Karl Kox (1), and Tony Rocco (1) **NWA Brass Knuckles Championship ''(Tri-State version)'' (2 times) ** Mid-South Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with Mike George *

Southwest Championship Wrestling Southwest Championship Wrestling (SCW) was a professional wrestling promotion that was owned by Joe Blanchard and based in San Antonio, Texas, from 1978 to 1985, when it was purchased by Texas All-Star Wrestling and absorbed into that company. ...

** SCW Southwest Heavyweight Championship (

) ** SCW Southwest Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with

Dick Slater Richard Van Slater (May 19, 1951 – October 18, 2018) better known by his ring name "Dirty" Dick Slater, was an American professional wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s, 1980s, and mid-1990s for various promotions including Mid-Atlantic Champ ...

** NWA International Tag Team Championship ''(Calgary version)'' ( 4 times) - with The Beast (1), Gil Hayes (1), Fred Sweetan (1) and Paul Peller (1) *

** WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time)

References

External links

*http://www.wrestlingclassics.com/wrestlingppv/bullies-babes-brawn.htm *https://archive.today/20040502211439/http://www.oldschool-wrestling.com/centralstateswrestling/1977.htm *https://web.archive.org/web/20090531115903/http://kayfabe-wrestling.com/library-texas.html *http://hollywood.premiere.com/celebrity-Bob+Sweetan *http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0163910/ *http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2573760/ *http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xu56g_tully-blanchard-vs-bruiser-bob-swee_sport *http://www.solie.org/titlehistories/csttnwa.html *http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2&nr=6218&gimmick=Bob+Sweetan {{DEFAULTSORT:Sweetan, Bob 1940 births 2017 deaths 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century Canadian professional wrestlers Canadian male professional wrestlers Canadian people convicted of child sexual abuse People convicted of incest People deported from the United States Stampede Wrestling alumni Professional wrestlers from Saskatchewan WWC Puerto Rico Champions Stampede Wrestling International Tag Team Champions Stampede Wrestling North American Heavyweight Champions NWA United States Heavyweight Champions (San Francisco version) 20th-century Canadian sportsmen