Every time Freddie Blassie would kick, gouge, choke, bite, groin pop, give a spinning neckbreaker to and kneedrop the fans’ hero to defeat, they would leave cussing and swearing never to come back as long as he was around.  But, come back they did.  And, they must have brought their friends because attendance kept increasing.  Each time a new face came in, the fans attached all their hopes on him.  "This is the guy who will get rid of Blassie once and for all." they would think.  Wrestling fans are an interesting lot.  The more their hopes are dashed, the more they come back.  As it was with Blassie, they all wanted to be there when he finally got his beating.  And, for awhile, it looked like it would never happen.  After all, he had gone through some of the biggest names in the business.  Then one night in March of 1962, during a rare televised title match, the shock of shocks happened.

As I said earlier, there were two Freddie Blassies.  The one the fans knew and the one that I got to know.  When I was a young teenager, I was a member of Jeff Walton’s World Wide Freddie Blassie fan club.  A few of us knew that Freddie liked to lay out on the beach in Santa Monica. So, occasionally some of us would go down there and visit him.  Looking back on it, we must have been pretty annoying.  But, Freddie never told us to get lost and we tried to show some respect by not bothering him too often.

As successful as Freddie Blassie was in the ring, he was just the opposite in the marriage department.  He was taken to the cleaners by two gold digging ice princesses.  And, he vowed never to get married again.  That lasted until a trip to Japan where he met a beautiful young Japanese woman and together they fell in love.  As far as I know, he has never kicked, gouged, choked, bitten, given a spinning neckbreaker to, or kneedropped her, because they are still together today.  And, after over 30 years of wedded bliss, they are still very much in love with each other.  I know, because I saw them last April when Freddie came out to California to sign autographs as part of the Wrestlemania experience.

Back in Blassie’s years in the Olympic Auditorium territory, he had many incredible matches and his share of feuds.  Some obviously stand out more than others.  The first one that comes to mind is his split up with tag team partner, Mr. Moto.  They were an OK tag team, but a whole lot better against each other.  They had a series of matches culminating in a leather strap death match.  Wrestling Revue covered this match (won by Blassie) in a pictorial.  And, I sure wish I could remember which issue that was.  I can still see a photo of Blassie and Mr. Moto tied together at the wrists by a leather strap.  Mr. Moto is judo chopping Blassie in the throat and his blond hair is flying in the air.

Freddie Blassie’s next feud was his biggest, and, by every definition of the word, a classic in the history of wrestling.  It was his series of matches with The Destroyer, the only other wrestler to ever rival his popularity in Southern California.  Freddie Blassie and The Destroyer were to Los Angeles what Ray Stevens and Pat Patterson were to San Francisco.

This was a match-up the fans knew had to happen and they wanted it.  To the fans this was an honest-to-goodness turf war because both wrestlers had staked a legitimate claim to being number one.  And, it was promoted as such.  For the first time in their careers in Southern California, there were cheers mixed in with the boos.

This series of matches ended appropriately enough with a hair vs. mask match.  And, that match ended strangely.  The only two people who are still around who know what happened, don’t want to talk about it.  Freddie Blassie won the match and took off The Destroyer’s mask.  The Destroyer covered his head with his hands and slid out of the ring on the opposite side from where I was sitting (I should say standing at this point).  I couldn’t see what was going on, but the next thing I know, The Destroyer is running up the aisle to the dressing room with a towel covering his head.  Jimmy Lennon announces Freddie Blassie as the winner and leaves the ring.  Blassie too is long gone.  Now, every fan in the Olympic is buzzing about what just happened.  A few minutes go by (seemed like a lot longer) when Jules Strongbow (the booker) walks into the ring and takes the microphone.  He simply says, " The Destroyer is Dick Beyer," and leaves the ring.  That is it.  Period.  So, the most celebrated feud in the history of Southern California wrestling ended with a whimper and amid controversy.  Basically nothing was settled.  The Destroyer went to Japan and came back as The Destroyer, as though nothing had happened. Looking back, I realize that it was all for the best.  But more about that next month.

The next feud to get some major attention involved another tag team partner, Don Carson. Although their matches were good, they were by no means classics.  However, something very special came out of this series of matches.  The most hated wrestler in the history of the Olympic Auditorium was about to become the most loved.  Fans who had wanted to kill Freddie Blassie, now adored him.  Wrestling fans.  Go figure.  But, it segued beautifully into his next major feud.

If there was any one wrestler during the 60s and early 70s that was as hated as Freddie Blassie, it would have to be The Sheik.  I won’t debate the subject of who was the most hated, because that would depend entirely on the territory.  However, The Sheik was plenty hated in LA.  Even though he was never a regular here, he made enough appearances for the fans to know him very well.  And, they wanted to see him take a beating.  Who would be better than their newest hero, Freddie Blassie?

At this point in time they were well passed their prime.  The Sheik could last for maybe ten minutes and Blassie a little more.  But, they gave their matches everything they had.  They had a couple of matches where The Sheik spent much of the time running out of the ring.  What to do?  What to do?

"How do you keep an animal from running away?"  Freddie Blassie asked Dick Lane during an interview.  "You put it in a cage," thus the Freddie Blassie steel cage was built, with the sole purpose of keeping The Sheik in the ring.  During the week leading up to the match, the cage was set up and put on display next to the Olympic Auditorium’s box office.  Fans had never seen anything like it before.  Now, I have to say that this was NOT my proudest moment in the business, because the promoter, Mike LeBell, got the bright idea of dressing somebody up as a Sheik and putting him in the cage while it was on display.  Yeah, that somebody was me.  I still get teased about it.  Anyway, Blassie and The Sheik had their cage match and milked it for all it was worth.  Blassie won, the fans went nuts and cage matches went on to become an integral part of the business.  As overused as just about anything else.

We now come to 1971 and Freddie Blassie’s last hurrah in Southern California.  It was John Tolos’ turn on top of the heat lamp.  The fans loved to hate him and he did not disappoint them. Fans were now heaping the abuse on Tolos that they had formerly reserved for Blassie.  In fact, Blassie was now so loved that anything bad that happened to him was almost sacrilegious. Seizing the impetus of Blassie’s popularity and the hatred for Tolos, it was decided that these two should get together in a most unfriendly way.

John Tolos vowed to the fans that he would get rid of Freddie Blassie.  But, what could he do that Blassie hadn’t already done or seen?  Nothing really.  Then one Saturday night at the KCOP-13 studios, while Blassie was being interviewed by Dick Lane, Tolos ran in and threw a mysterious powder into Blassie¹s face.  Burning his face and blinding him.  Ending his career.

Miracles do happen!  Freddie Blassie got his vision back and set his sights (pun intended) on John Tolos.  No indoor arena was big enough for this event.  The demand was so great that the only place it could be held was the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.  Home of the Rams, USC and UCLA football teams (at that time).  And, the undercard was not too shabby either.  It featured Bobo Brazil vs. The Sheik and a tag team match between Black Gordman & The Great Goliath vs. Kinji Shibuya & Masa Saito, among others.  But, the main event was won by Blassie and it was a great night of wrestling.  Or, so I’ve been told.  I never got to see it.

Two nights prior to the big Coliseum show during the Wednesday TV show, John Tolos had just finished squashing his opponent, Bengali.  I was in my usual place sitting directly behind timekeeper, Jack Smith relaying timing signals from the TV truck.  Suddenly, I felt a whack to my head like somebody had hit me with a baseball bat.  I thought my right eye had immediately swollen shut, because I couldn’t see out of it.  As it turned out, it wasn’t a bat.  Some rocket scientist with a bad aim had thrown a quarter toward the ring meant for Tolos.  Instead, it hit me square in the eye.  And, my eye was not shut.  Our ringside physician, Dr. Schwartz, was honest. He said he had no way of determining the extent of my injury, or if I would see out of that eye again.  The next day I went to an eye doctor who said I had a dislocated lens.  I was laid up for three weeks before I went back to work.  And, of course, missed the Coliseum show.

After Freddie Blassie won the WWA World Heavyweight Championship from Edouard Carpentier in the summer of 1961 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, it looked like he would keep it forever.  He went through the best of the best.  So, the fans at the Olympic and those watching on TV were not prepared for what was about to happen on Wednesday night March 28, 1962.  In a rare televised title match, Blassie put up the belt against a Japanese challenger few people around here had heard much about back then, Rikidozan.  It was two out of three falls to a curfew time limit.  Rikidozan won the first fall when Blassie was counted out of the ring and that was the only fall when the time expired.  Rikidozan was awarded the belt and Blassie went ballistic, tearing referee Johnny "Red Shoes" Dugan's shirt.  Drawing a fine from the California State Athletic Commission (shoot).

This also prompted one of Freddie Blassie's most memorable interviews.  With TV time running out, an out of breath and agitated Blassie ran up to Dick Lane.  "I was robbed!  Title matches are supposed to be two out three falls.  This is a conspiracy!  I'm going to take this all the way to the supreme court if I have to.  I'm going to call my good friend, President Kennedy.  You saw what happened.  It was out and out robbery."

Freddie Blassie and Rikidozan both left for Japan right after that match and on April 23rd in Tokyo, Blassie lost again to Rikidozan.  In June, Blassie returned to the Olympic and had a few matches for the first time in a year without the WWA strap around his waist.  However, his third match with Rikidozan was not far away.

During this time at the Olympic Auditorium, there were no Friday night house shows that later became a staple.  Wednesday nights were it.  TV ran from 8:30 to 10:00. The big non-televised main events (usually title matches) were normally started at 7:30.  Occasionally, the non-televised main event would go on after TV at 10:00.  Such was the case with the much anticipated Freddie Blassie/Rikidozan rematch.  Plus, it was one fall with a one hour time limit.

I was sitting in the first row of the balcony at the Olympic on Wednesday night, June 25th, 1962.  I could not tell you who was on the TV card.  Even though I was not your typical fan, I was nervous.  Hoping that they would do the right thing.  I knew Freddie, and I wanted to see the belt around his waist again.  When the match started, Blassie got the upper hand, but not for long. Rikidozan knocked Blassie from pillar to post, as it were, for most of 20 to 25 minutes.  That ended suddenly when Rikidozan slammed Blassie hard into the turnbuckle.  Blassie slumped in the corner and Rikidozan charged him.  Blassie ducked and Rikidozan went through the ropes, headfirst into the steel ringpost.  Blassie was down in the ring and Rikidozan was down on the apron.  The referee started counting Rikidozan out, but he got to his knees, bleeding profusely from his forehead.  As Rikidozan tried to get back into the ring, Blassie grabbed him and pulled him in by his head.  Quickly applying his spinning neckbreaker and at least a dozen kneedrops, he pinned Rikidozan to regain the WWA belt and thumped his chest triumphantly.

This championship reign would not last long.  Two nights later on Friday, June 27th, 1962, Freddie Blassie dropped the title to The Destroyer in San Diego.

This past February, Freddie Blassie celebrated his 83rd birthday.  And, his mind is still sharp. Last year when he came out here, a few of us spent some quality time with him at his hotel.  We all recounted stories of the career of one of the greatest wrestlers of all time.  So, here’s to the classy one.  Long live Freddie Blassie.  Long live the King.

NEXT MONTH:

The next time we get together, I will talk about the greatest masked man of them all.  The man who demanded to be introduced as "The Intelligent, Sensational Destroyer."  And, who can argue with him?  His career speaks for itself.  Until next time, take good care of yourselves.