John Lusk, 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 ...

Johnny Mantell, is an American retired

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 ...

, and current president of the

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum was an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas; following the postponement of its 19th induction ceremony, planned for May 2020, and an annou ...

who competed in Texas between the late 1970s and early 1990s for

World Class Championship Wrestling World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA), was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by ...

and

Global Wrestling Federation Global Wrestling Federation was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Dallas, Texas. It started in June 1991 and folded in September 1994. At one time its shows were presented on the ESPN television network. Often the promotion p ...

, Mid-South and Japan. He was also known as The Hood in California.

Professional wrestling career

Mantell began his wrestling career in 1977 in Louisiana while attending university studying Physical Education. In 1978, he went on his first tour of Japan working for

New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional-wrestling promotion founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, and based in Nakano, Tokyo. It is currently majority owned by card-game company Bushiroad, with TV Asahi and Amuse Inc. owning minority shar ...

. He did two more tours in 1979 and 1980. In 1979, Mantell worked in Vancouver and Portland for

Pacific Northwest Wrestling Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. ...

. Mantell teamed up with his brother

Ken Mantell Ken Lusk, better known by his ring name Ken Mantell, is an American retired professional wrestler, promoter and booker who competed throughout the National Wrestling Alliance in the 1970s and 80s. He is a former NWA World Junior Heavyweight Ch ...

in 1980 for

Mid-South Wrestling 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 ...

. Mantell, began using a gimmick, The Hood a masked wrestler for

NWA Hollywood Wrestling NWA Hollywood Wrestling (sometimes referred to as NWA Los Angeles) was a professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Los Angeles, California in the United States that promoted professional wrestling matches throughout Southern California. It ...

in 1980. He won the

NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship The NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship was the top singles championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Los Angeles territory, known officially as NWA Hollywood Wrestling, from 1968 until the promotion closed in 1982. The title was first es ...

defeating

Chavo Guerrero Sr. Salvador Guerrero Llanes (January 7, 1949 – February 11, 2017), better known as Chavo Guerrero or Chavo Guerrero Sr., and also known during the 21st century as "Chavo Classic", was a Mexican-American professional wrestler. He was best k ...

. After the Hood gimmick, Mantell left California in 1982 and went to Texas making his debut for

. On October 31, 1983, Mantell defeated

Jimmy Garvin James Williams (born September 25, 1952) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Jimmy Garvin. A member of the Fabulous Freebirds, Garvin is best known for his appearances with promotions including the America ...

for the

WCCW Television Championship The WCWA Television Championship was a secondary professional wrestling championship that was used and defended in the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). Originally created in 1979 as the NWA Television Championship, one of many television ...

where he held it for nearly a month dropping the title to The Super Destroyer on November 28. He would worked for World Class until 1988. In 1983, Mantell returned to Mid-South Wrestling where he worked until 1985. Mantell returned to Japan in 1984 this time for

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

. In 1986, Mantell worked as Johnny Mann in the

World Wrestling Federation 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, ...

. After WCCW folded, Mantell went to the new Texas promotion

in 1991 where he teamed with Black Bart as the Rough Riders. they won the

GWF Tag Team Championship The GWF Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Global Wrestling Federation in Texas. The title existed from 1991 until 1994, when GWF closed. The title was featured on the promotion's show that aired nationally on ESPN. It is known a ...

in October 1992 defeating the

Ebony Experience Harlem Heat was a professional wrestling tag team composed of two brothers, Booker and Lash Huffman (better known as Booker T and Stevie Ray). The team achieved their greatest success in World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where they won the WCW ...

. They dropped the titles a month later to

Bobby Duncum Jr Bobby Edward Duncum Jr. (August 26, 1965 – January 24, 2000) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his stint in World Championship Wrestling as a member of the short-lived men's country music band, The West Texas Rednec ...

and John Hawk. After leaving GWF in 1993, Mantell worked in the independent circuit. His last known match happened in NWA New Jersey in 1996.

Personal life

After retiring from wrestling, Mantell worked teacher's aide at the high school in Nocona, TX from 1996 to 2000 which allowed him to be a coach or an assistant coach for the football team (defensive line) and girls softball team. He also started the school's first and only wrestling team. Mantell was in a car accident on November 10, 2005, where he was seriously injured in a one-vehicle roll over accident which forced him to retire from wrestling. He is also a horse trainer and ranch owner. Mantell is the current president of the

in its new location of

Wichita Falls, Texas Wichita Falls ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Wichita County, Texas, United States. It is the principal city of the Wichita Falls metropolitan area, Wichita Falls metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Archer County, Tex ...

since 2015.

Championships and accomplishments

( 1 time) – with Black Bart *

( 1 time)
from wrestling-titles.com retrieved August 2, 2020 **

NWA World Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles version) The Los Angeles version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship was the main tag team professional wrestling championship of the North American Wrestling Alliance, a member of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), which promoted shows in and arou ...

( 1 time) - with

Ron Starr Bobby Eugene Nutt (April 3, 1951 – June 8, 2017), better known by his ring name Ron Starr, was an American professional wrestler. Starr was a mainstay for numerous wrestling territories throughout the 1970s and 80s, capturing almost three doz ...

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

**PWI ranked Mike Jackson # 224 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

in 1993 *

( 1 time)

References

External links

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mantell, Johnny American male professional wrestlers Entertainers from Fort Worth, Texas Professional wrestlers from Texas People from Chino, California Professional wrestlers from California 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers 1957 births Living people