With the 5th anniversary of Penny Banner’s death coming up on May 12, it is a great time to repost Mike Mooneyham’s eloquent tribute to the legendary woman wrestler.

Pretty Penny Left Beautiful Legacy

It’s never easy writing about the passing of a pro wrestling legend. It’s even harder when the legend happens to be a close friend.

Penny Banner, who I’ve always known and will forever know as “Pretty Penny,” left us early Tuesday, peacefully at home and in the arms of her beloved daughter, Wendi.

The records may list her chronological age as 73, but to those who knew Penny, she was ageless, timeless and forever young.

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Just had The Great One back on the radio show a few months ago and as always, it was a great learning experience with bits of major minutia he recalled as if it was yesterday.  No one knew their biz history the way Bill always did.  Total student of the industry.

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 Paul Bearer Was Confident of WWE Legacy

Chris Yandek

In what might well have been Paul Bearer’s last interview, the legendary pro wrestling manager was sure of his legacy in sports entertainment.

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Saluting Tito Montez

by Dr. Mike Lano

Tito Montez was a west coast legend in the late 50 into the 70′s in Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, in Washington state, and most of the west coast during that time.  He was a regular at both Cauliflower Alley and Dean Silverstone’s Seattle Reunions where he loved seeing his friends like Tito Carreon, Tough Tony Borne, Roddy Piper, Woody Farmer, Bill Anderson and others.

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The Great Count Billy Varga

– Dr. Mike Lano

Watch for a more detailed bio and more photos to come.

Count Billy Varga (age 94) was absolutely beloved in the industry and it was extremely sad news to learn he passed after a very long stay at that nursing facility. As with Red Bastien and others, it was frustrating that this decades-long chronicler of the wrestling business who nearly knew everyone and everything pro wrestling, would begin forgetting all he’d accumulated. For Gene Lebell, John Tolos and his very best friends, he maintained his famous smile and quiet manner till the end.

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Rip ‘The Profile’ Hawk leaves lasting legacy

It’s a tough pill to swallow when one of your childhood heroes passes away.

It’s even tougher when that hero is one of your best friends.

Rip Hawk, who was born Harvey Maurice Evers, died Dec. 22 in Hereford, Texas. He had been in and out of hospitals for much of the past year, and had spent the last several weeks in a rehabilitation center.

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Paul Stratoti remembers the late Rip Hawk.

Harvey Evers began his amateur wrestling career in Ohio and was soon discovered by pro boxer Jack Dempsey who convinced him to join the pro ranks. He wrestled during his service to the  United States Marines Corps after which in 1958 won his first title – NWA Western States Sports’ Rocky Mountain Heavyweight title. As Rip Hawk, his super-stardom really took off during the TV show “Wrestling at the Chase”.

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Mike Graham suicide leaves family, friends searching for answers

The recent passing of Florida wrestling star Mike Graham has left family, friends and fans wondering why.

How could a personable, athletic, fun-loving man make the tragic decision to take his own life?

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Rest In Peace Marvin “Brain Damage” Lambert

– Article & photos by Paul Stratoti

We at Pro Wrestling Digest would like to extend our sincere condolences to the family and friends of two time IWA Mid-South tag Team Champion, CZW Ultraviolent Underground Champion and two time CZW IronMan Champion Marvin Lambert, known to the wrestling world as 35 year old Brain Damage and who also worked with hell-bent fury for such promotions as Cleveland All Pro Wrestling, CHIKARA and many more, and who died Thursday the result of an apparent suicide.

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Brad Armstrong, R.I.P.

by Mike Lano

Brad Armstrong’s passing really saddened everybody when we heard and read about it. Such a young guy who never fully, to my mind, got the credit he truly deserved in this industry. Like Bobby Eaton and other incredibly talented players and athletes, those within the wrestling industry (and obviously all of you) primarily knew what great athletes these young legends always were. But casual and average fans may have thought in Brad’s case, because he only won some smaller titles (Ole’s National championship, tag straps with his dad and various other partners like Tim Horner who he just teamed with on an Alabama indie show last weekend), that he wasn’t a (cough) superstar.

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