The Heel Who Found His Faith Johnny Lee Clary’s story reads like something out of a Southern Gothic tragedy spliced with a wrestling promo. Born June 18, 1959, in Martinez, California, Clary once strutted across the squared circle under the name Johnny Angel, a bleach-blond brawler with a manager’s sneer and a villain’s timing. But … Read More “Johnny Lee Clary: From Hate to Redemption in and out of the Ring” »
There are wrestlers who burn bright, and there are wrestlers who burn slow. Then there’s Bryan Clark — a man who seemed forged in the molten core of late-80s wrestling excess, survived the fallout of the ‘90s boom, and emerged from the wreckage of WCW and WWF with something most of his peers didn’t: perspective. … Read More “Bryan Clark: The Bomb, The Wrath, and The Man Who Outlasted the Fallout” »
In the sepia-toned scrapbook of professional wrestling’s golden years, names like Lou Thesz and Verne Gagne dominate the bold print. But tucked in the margins, with a quiet confidence and the kind of Midwest grit you can’t manufacture, sits Cristopher J. Clancy—better known to fans and foes alike as Mike Clancy. Born September 9, 1924, … Read More “Mike Clancy: Wrestling’s Everyman Sheriff” »
By the time Gregory Scott Daves—better known inside the ropes as Cincinnati Red—took his last bump, his fingerprints were all over Southern California wrestling. Not in the glossy, pyrotechnic-laden way Vince McMahon would brag about, but in the quiet, gritty reality of the indie scene: the VFW halls, the high school gyms, and the converted … Read More “Cincinnati Red: The Man Who Bled for the Indies” »
Professional wrestling has always been a business built on survivors—men and women who find ways to keep their boots laced long after the spotlight fades. And few embody that spirit better than Matthew Bowman, better known by the name that has rattled around dingy armories, smoke-filled bars, and even the bright lights of ECW: “Wiseguy” … Read More “The Wiseguy’s Road: Jimmy Cicero’s Long Strange Trip Through Wrestling’s Underbelly” »
There’s a certain breed of wrestler that lives in the foggy middle ground between stardom and anonymity—too talented to be a footnote, too unlucky to be a household name. Paul Christy fit snugly in that purgatory, a man who piled up accolades in regional territories, feuded with stars who went on to the Hall of … Read More “Paul Christy: Wrestling’s Forgotten Shape-Shifter” »
The first thing you noticed about Brian Christopher was that grin.Not the kind of grin that sold toothpaste in the magazines, but the cocky, squinting, Memphis-proud smirk of a man who believed the spotlight belonged to him and him alone. If the ring had a mirror, he’d have cut promos to his own reflection. He … Read More “Brian Christopher (1972–2018) – Too Sexy for This World” »
If Japanese wrestling ever needed a mob boss, Masahiro Chono filled the role in spades. Born in Seattle but forged in the crucible of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Chono grew from clean-cut prospect to leather-clad menace, the kind of man who could walk into an arena wearing shades at midnight and make the whole building flinch. … Read More “Masahiro Chono: The Godfather in Black” »
In the old Marigold Arena on Chicago’s North Side, the crowd knew him before he even stepped through the ropes. “Moooose! Moooose!” the chants rolled across the arena, low and steady, like a drumbeat announcing a coming storm. And then Edward Cholak would appear—a tower of a man, 6-foot-4 and nearly 400 pounds, sometimes with … Read More “Edward “Moose” Cholak: Wrestling’s Gentle Giant of the Midwest” »
In pro wrestling, nicknames usually live larger than the men who wear them. But for William Jones, better known as Chilly Willy, the name was only part of the story. Born September 24, 1969, in North Carolina, Jones carved a life that straddled the madness of Extreme Championship Wrestling and the unforgiving heat of war … Read More “Chilly Willy: From the ECW Arena to the Front Lines” »
