THE PHANTOM OF THE RING
The Man Who Saw the Future, Part 2
When we last left our hero, he had taken over the Argentine promotion and was now facing he biggest challenge of his career.
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Archive for the ‘The Phantom of the Ring’ Category
The Phantom of the Ring
From the Sublime to the Phannies
Let me begin this column by welcoming Dr. Mike Lano to our Website. Mike is not only a good friend, but also one the people I look up to as a wrestling historian. His knowledge of the history of the West Coast promotions and the Japanese scene is second to none. Couple that with his radio shows and his amazing photos and you have sort of a Renaissance Man of the wrestling scene. I loved reading his piece on the late Mike LeBell and it only confirmed in my mind that, no matter how much we think we know about wrestling, there’s always room to learn something more. The only thing I can think of that’s missing from Mike’s resume is a book of his photos. We can only hope that some clear-sighted editor rewards us with such a book.
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THE PHANTOM OF THE RING
The Man Who Saw the Future, Part 1
I recently received this news item from my good friend Mike Lano, wrestling’s premier photographer:
Juan Rafael “Levi” Rodriquez Mamani, who worked as Ghenghis Khan for Titanes en el Ring, died this week from liver cancer in Argentina. He was 69 yrs. old.
Besides working for [the] Titanes en el Ring tv show and Lucha Fuerta in Argentina, [he was also involved with] the Super Catch promotion of Paraguay.
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The Phantom of the Ring
Cap’n Lou and The Phannies, Too
The recent death of “Captain†Lou Albano closed even further a door on not only WWE history as such, but also wrestling history. Lou Albano changed the pace of pro wrestling forever, taking it out of the dark arenas of cultural trivia into the bright lights of Pop Culture.
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The Phantom of the Ring
A Redhead, A Butcher and The Phannies
Before we get around to dispensing this month’s Phannies to those truly deserving individuals, I’d like to begin by remembering two fallen warriors who, by their presence and work in the ring, made wrestling much more enjoyable for me.
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The Phantom of the Ring
Glued to the Tube, August Edition
Well, Phantom Phans, we here at Phantom Central are announcing that, beginning with this column, Glued to the Tube will now be a monthly feature that features the worst of the month.
The Phantom of the Ring
The Naughtiest Nazi of Them All
I was initiated into the world of professional wrestling at about the age of eight, courtesy of my mother, who never missed the weekly television show on Channel 5. Her favorite in those days was Antonino Rocca, and she could never understand how Rocca could take his lumps week after week from the unrepentant Nazi Karl Von Hess. Not only that, but how could the referee miss half of those dirty tricks Von Hess pulled? After the show was over, like clockwork, she was on the phone with my Aunt Roberta, another acolyte of the cathode mat. And what was their favorite topic of conversation? On many nights it was Von Hess, of course. Being both were Jewish, they found it difficult to believe not only how they could let this thoroughly un-American man wrestle, but how could they even let this man into the country. They reasoned that he was so evil that the only way he could get into the United States was to sneak in illegally.
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The Phantom of the Ring
Remembering Waldo
He was the consummate Naughty Nazi, from his World War II German helmet to his jackboots to the ubiquitous riding crop he carried, which could be brought into use if the situation warranted. And unlike his many of his “countrymen,†he never changed, unrepentant to the end.
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The Phantom of the Ring
John Tolos, RIP
He wasn’t the best wrestler in any of the many promotions in which he appeared; there were invariably workers that could tie him in knots in a shoot. He wasn’t the best worker, either; awarding him the “Golden Potato†at the Cauliflower Alley Club’s annual meeting was a tribute to his lack of skill in that very area. He wasn’t even the best promo man; again there were several in the business that could render him speechless.
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The Phantom of the Ring reviews National Wrestling Alliance: The Untold Story of the Monopoly That Strangled Pro Wrestling, by Tim Hornbaker. ECW Press.
The Phantom of the Ring
A History of the Surreal — Part 2
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