Michael HarrisonObsessed with Wrestling profile
/ref> (8 October 1921 – 24 August 1981), better known under the

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 ...

Mike Marino, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

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 a leading name during the '' World of Sport'' era in British wrestling. At his death Marino was holder of the three Mid-Heavyweight

titles A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...

active in Britain at the time. Mike Marino was cousin to fellow wrestler Joe D'Orazio

Wrestling career

Born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

extraction, Marino initially turned to

boxing Boxing is a combat sport and martial art. Taking place in a boxing ring, it involves two people – usually wearing protective equipment, such as boxing glove, protective gloves, hand wraps, and mouthguards – throwing Punch (combat), punch ...

as a Cruiserweight. However unable to obtain a licence to box in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, he spent his entire career in mainland

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

.Peter Bills, ''Wrestling'', David & Charles, 1983, p. 31 He turned to wrestling in the early 1950s and came to prominence after winning an international tournament in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

in 1951. Mike Marino appeared on the first televised wrestling match in the United Kingdom, a bout against

Francis Gregory Francis Hoyt Gregory (October 9, 1789 – October 4, 1866) was an officer in the United States Navy during the War of 1812 through to the American Civil War, Civil War, serving then as a Rear admiral (United States), rear admiral. Early life Gre ...

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Municipal Baths (now Atherton Leisure Centre) on Wednesday 9 November 1955. Marino won the World Mid-Heavyweight Championship in 1957 and went on to hold the title four times. The European Mid-Heavyweight Championship was added in 1967, although his claim was for a time disputed Bill Howes, with Marino eventually relinquishing his claim until Howes retirement. He eventually added the British Mid-Heavyweight Championship, winning the title in December 1966 and holding it until his death in 1981. Marino held all three belts when he died. A regular on the main shows at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272. Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...

, Marino was recognised as one of British wrestling's leading technicians of the era. He gained the nickname 'Mr. Wrestling' due to his ability and his length of service. Nonetheless Marino was one of a number of wrestlers to be caught up in a 'tabloid exposé' when in 1972 the ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national "Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top" Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling ...

'' published the transcripts of a dressing room conversation between Marino and his opponent Albert 'Rocky' Wall discussing how their upcoming match would be arranged. With British wrestling still operating full

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced ) is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants. The term has evolved to become a code word ...

, such stories exposing the scripted nature of the sport were common in the tabloids at the time.

Death

Marino died in August 1981 whilst returning to his South London home from a tournament in

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

. He had been booked to wrestle Big Jim Harris at the town's Leas Cliff Hall but after being adjudged unable to perform was taken to Ashford Hospital where he was treated for a swollen tongue. Marino discharged himself the same night and left with fellow wrestler Mal Sanders but suffered from a

convulsive A convulsion is a medical condition where the body muscles contract and relax rapidly and repeatedly, resulting in uncontrolled shaking. Because epileptic seizures typically include convulsions, the term ''convulsion'' is often used as a synonym ...

attack as they travelled on the

M20 motorway The M20 is a Controlled-access highway, motorway in Kent, England. It follows on from the A20 road (England), A20 at Swanley, meeting the M25 motorway, M25, and continuing on to Folkestone, providing a link to the Channel Tunnel and the ports a ...

. He died by the roadside and was afterwards revealed to have been suffering from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

. A Mike Marino Memorial Shield was later contested, with Sanders winning the inaugural tournament.

Championships and accomplishments

Joint Promotions The history of professional wrestling in the United Kingdom spans over one hundred years. After a brief spell of popularity for Greco Roman wrestling, Greco Roman professional wrestling during the Edwardian era, the first catch-as-catch-can base ...

**World Mid-Heavyweight Championship (4 times) **European Mid-Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** British Mid-Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marino, Mike 1981 deaths English male professional wrestlers English people of Italian descent Professional wrestlers from London 1921 births Sportspeople of Italian descent 20th-century English sportsmen