When Wrestling Was Rasslin'

by Birkholz, Wrestling Promoter Peter

  During those sessions, my uncle would tell me professional wrestling stories from both in and out of the wrestling ring. I thoroughly enjoyed my uncle’s stories, many of which you have already read. We would laugh together as we brainstormed all kinds of creative ways to put together a moneymaking professional wrestling show or an exciting television show. To this day, I still miss those strategic sessions.

  Though the creative element was no longer a major responsibility for my uncle and me, it was in the very capable hands of Cowboy Bill Watts. Bill Watts had one of the most innovative minds in the professional wrestling business. Whether putting together a television show or the live action inside the wrestling ring, Watts was at the top of his game. A Tuesday morning postal package from Mid-South Wrestling’s headquarters replaced the promotional strategy meetings with my uncle. The package contained a copy of the upcoming live professional wrestling card and also copies of the upcoming television log sheets. I took that information and went to work promoting and advertising those shows. Everybody worked together as a team and business was very good. Success and money always helps people accept change.

  Back to the action inside the ring! The Russian team of Nicoli Volkoff and Krusher Darsow was red hot. In the early eighties, the Cold War was still raging, and the Russian invasion of Afghanistan was an explosive subject. President Reagan was escalating the arms build-up and the rhetoric was still quite tense. The Houston Wrestling fans hated the so-called Russian Nicoli Volkoff, but even more they hated Krusher Darsow because he was a “double-crossing traitor,” an American who “defected” to the Russians. Volkoff and Darsow carried the Russian flag to the ring, and Volkoff insisted on singing the Russian national anthem before his matches. This was a great opening for the entry of the “good guys.” American wrestlers who marched down to the ring waving the American Flag to the deafening chants from thousands of Houston Wrestling fans screaming, “USA! USA! USA!”

  At that time, there were plenty of “good guys” to battle the controversial Russians: the Junkyard Dog, a repentant Hacksaw Jim Duggan, All-American Steve “Dr. Death” Williams, Magnum T.A., Jose Lothario, Tito Santana, Mr. Wrestling II and “American Dream” Dusty Rhodes. Through the years, Rhodes made appearances at Houston Wrestling regardless of where else in the country he was working. There were a couple reasons why he did that. First, he was a big hit with Houston Wrestling fans, so it was a smart financial move. More importantly, his mother lived in Houston and Dusty Rhodes liked staying close to his family.

  Cowboy Bill Watts milked the Russia versus United States gimmick for all it was worth, but that was not the only tag team angle we promoted. “The Midnight Express,” managed by the controversial Jim Cornett, was also sizzling. Cornett was the rich Mama’s boy who carried a tennis racket, a symbol of being spoiled and wealthy. He used the racket to smash the heads of the good guys when the referee was not looking. Cornett was also a great talker, and was involved in some of the most entertaining television interviews. I always enjoyed interviewing Cornett because he challenged you with his wit, so you had to be ready for him. What made the Midnight Express so good was not only Cornett’s talking skills, but the action-producing skills of Bobby Eaton and Dennis Condrey. Cornett talked the talk while Eaton and Condrey walked the walk. Wrestling fans loved to hate The Midnight Express.

  There were plenty of “baby face” tag teams ready to take them on, including The Rock N’ Roll Express, The Bruise Brothers, various combinations of “Baby-Faced” wrestlers, and later on in the year, The Fantastics. The tremendous success of smaller wrestlers like The Midnight Express and The Rock N’ Roll Express was the result of a new marketing strategy. The concept of market segmentation was reshaping the business. Gone were the days when the “smaller” wrestlers could not make big money because they would be put against the “bigger” wrestlers. When they could not compete, these smaller men would lose their appeal to the fans. Professional wrestling promoters were now smart enough to put smaller “heels” against smaller “baby faces.” Even Paul Boesch was finally convinced that market segmentation was good for professional wrestling. This was a hard concept for “old school” promoters to embrace at first.

  The new appreciation of market segmentation came about because of a new method that television stations were using to determine their ratings. This changed not only the television industry, but the wrestling industry as well. Out the window went the old methods of personal interviews, phone surveys, and personal diaries. The new and much more accurate method was the so-called “black box.” This box was attached to various test-market television sets, and kept track of what television shows were being watched and for how long. In the past, professional wrestling television shows would not do well by the old methods, because many fans would not admit in person or on surveys that they watched professional wrestling. It was interesting to me how, through the years, thousands of fans told me how their grandmother or grandfather watched professional wrestling on television. I quickly detected, however, that they were the so-called “closet” wrestling fan. Black boxes told the truth and nothing but the truth.

  These new ratings provided shocking facts about professional wrestling television viewership. First, it proved to television station managers something that professional wrestling promoters already knew--there were a lot more families watching professional wrestling on television then the old ratings were showing. In the Houston television market, the first weekend that the black boxes were installed, Houston Wrestling’s ratings skyrocketed, nearly doubling in some areas. This was the case all across America, and one of the main reasons that there was a huge surge of support for professional wrestling television shows. This movement not only gave regional promotions a push, but provided an opportunity for Vince McMahon Jr. to make his move and take the WWF nationwide.

  Not only did the new television research techniques prove how many households were watching professional wrestling, but they unveiled more surprising feedback on exactly who was watching. The old stereotype of a wrestling television fan was an overweight man in his undershirt holding a can of beer. The black boxes suggested there were more female viewers than males, which jolted television management and professional wrestling promoters. Not only did the gender breakdown open some eyes, but the numbers showed that the wrestling television audience had a huge block of young viewers, including teenage girls. National marketers love to market to teenage girls because teenage girls love to spend money, especially if it is not their own. Now you can understand why the eighties saw a wave of cute young wrestlers wearing short, tight, wrestling outfits to please the girls.

  The phenomenon of The Rock N’ Roll Express was a classic example. Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson were not as big as the massive grapplers fans were accustomed to seeing in the main events, but they were very skilled wrestlers. Women thought they were cute and had sexy bodies. They held their own as individual wrestlers, but, when they joined together and marketed themselves as The Rock N. Roll Express, they became superstars. They dressed like rock and roll stars, and acted like rock and roll stars. After viewing one of their promotional tapes, it occurred to me that we needed to enhance the way they entered the wrestling ring. After a quick phone call, I reserved a spotlight for the upcoming Friday night matches.

  Morton and Gibson also provided cassettes of rock and roll music, which were played as they made their way to the ring. That Friday night, the Sam Houston Coliseum sound system blasted rock and roll music. As the lights were turned off, the spotlight shone on The Rock N Roll Express. The crowd went wild! Young female wrestling fans started to scream and rushed to the aisle, trying desperately to touch Morton and Gibson. It was fascinating how quickly the young wrestlers were transformed into rock stars. This was just one of the changes the Houston Wrestling promotion made due to market segmentation, but similar changes were underway in wrestling promotions across the country.

  The Junkyard Dog was still the “top dog” in the early months of 1984. Howev
er, Houston Wrestling fans were saddened when he lost his American Championship belt to Mr. Wrestling II, and word spread that he would be leaving Mid-South Wrestling. The Junkyard Dog was a big asset to our promotion. Bill Watts did a great job of working with Sylvester Ritter in creating the famous character, and Ritter took that character and joined the WWF. He thought it was the best move for him and his professional wrestling career. Vince McMahon immediately made The Junkyard Dog one of his biggest stars and even used him in the famous Saturday morning cartoons featuring the World Wrestling Federation’s superstars.

  I will always be grateful to the Junkyard Dog and the contribution he made to the Houston Wrestling promotion, both in and out of the ring. There were many times that Junkyard Dog used his fan appeal to raise money for worthwhile causes or bring smiles to the faces of disadvantaged children. It was a sad day when I heard that Sylvester Ritter had died. He was one of the finest professional wrestlers I had the pleasure of working with.

  Fans were also saddened that year to read about the passing of two more favorite wrestlers. El Santo and David Von Erich, oldest son of world famous Fritz Von Erich, died in the same month. El Santo was a legend in the professional wrestling world and the motion picture industry, starring in over sixty Mexican movies. He was an icon on the Mexican television screen, and a big favorite of Houston Wrestling fans.

  The death of David Von Erich in Japan was only the beginning of a heartbreaking list of tragedies that devastated the world-famous Von Erich family. Jack Adkisson, better known as Fritz Von Erich, married a beautiful woman named Doris. Together they had six sons. The rest of the Von Erich story reads like a Shakespearean tragedy, as five of the six sons died at a young age. Some of them took their own lives. Without a doubt the Von Erich family was one of the most talented and athletic families in the history of American sports. One cannot help but feel sad because of the deeds left undone and the dreams left unfulfilled. Fritz and Doris later divorced, and some say she blamed him for the chaos and heartache. Jack Adkisson, Fritz Von Erich, died on September 10, 1997, of complications from lung cancer.

  Jim “The Anvil” Niedhart was one of the stars battling in Houston Wrestling main events that year. Jim was a very gifted athlete in many sports, but decided that he wanted to be a professional wrestler and moved to the Pacific Northwest to train with Stu Hart, patriarch of the famous Hart wrestling family. While in training, Jim fell in love with Stu’s daughter Ellie, and married her. This made him an official member of one of the most famous families in professional wrestling. Niedhart became brother-in-law to all the Hart brothers, including Bret “The Hit Man,” Owen, Ross, and Keith. He was also a brother-in-law to Davey Boy Smith and uncle to Teddy Hart and Harry Smith. Jim is also the father of WWE Diva Natalya. Quite a professional wrestling family, and all started by Stu Hart being introduced to future wife Helen on the beaches of Long Beach, New York, by lifeguard Paul Boesch. Boesch was always proud of that introduction.

  Another interesting event was the December 7th debut of Jose Lothario’s protegé Shawn Michaels. All you good professional wrestling fans know the rest of his story. Another protégé of Jose Lothario, Gorgeous Gino Hernandez, returned to the Houston Wrestling mat wars that month as he took on Kerry Von Erich. It was one of Gorgeous Gino’s last appearances in the Houston Wrestling ring.

  Attendance at live events and television ratings climbed as we headed into 1985. A Super Sunday Spectacular on January 6, 1985, launched the season. The Rock N Roll Express took on Chavo and Hector Guerrero in tag team action, while Hacksaw Butch Reed battled Kamala, the Ugandan Giant. Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Terry Gordy faced Ted Dibiase and Sheik Hercules in a special tag team event. Gorgeous Gino Hernandez, Steve Dr. Death Williams, and Shawn Michaels also saw action on the big Sunday kick-off.

  The Houston Wrestling promotion experienced its first-ever canceled live show due to weather on Friday, February 1, when Houston was hit with a devastating ice storm. World wars, assassinations, and severe weather hadn’t stopped us before. But this storm was different. It presented a severe danger to traveling wrestlers and to the thousands of wrestling fans who would have also been on the road. Even KHTV called and wanted to cancel television production that night so that their production crew could stay at home and be safe! Canceling the show was the most responsible thing to do, though it cost the promotion a lot of money.

  Another first for Houston Wrestling was the promotion of a live show on Wednesday night, February 20, 1985. There were several reasons for the Wednesday night promotion, but the most important one was a willingness of the promotion to try something new. It was neither a failure nor a big success, but fans made it clear they liked live shows on Friday nights and occasionally Sundays.

  There was also the first co-promotion of a live Houston Wrestling show on Easter Sunday, April 7, 1985 between the Houston Wrestling promotion, Mid-South Sports, and the Dallas booking office. It was a symbolic event demonstrating cooperation between so-called regional promotions as they confronted the challenge of WWF and Vince McMahon. Kerry Von Erich challenged “Nature Boy” Ric Flair for the World Title. There was also a four-team tag team tournament for $100,000, featuring The Rock-N-Roll Express, The Dirty White Boys, The Midnight Express, and The Fabulous Freebirds. Terry Taylor grappled with Kamala for the North American Title. Other superstars who saw action that night were Gorgeous Gino Hernandez, Jake “the Snake” Roberts, One Man Gang, Steve “Dr. Death” Williams, and the Barbarian.

  The Houston Wrestling promotion also tried for a Father’s Day live show on Sunday June 16, 1985. Sunday live shows were starting to take hold with Houston Wrestling fans because of the push the Houston Wrestling promotion could give Sunday promotions with Saturday night and Sunday morning television shows. Announcing on television that the ticket office is open all day Sunday and that the live show is just a few hours away is very effective. Occasional Sunday shows allowed the promotion to tap a different segment of the wrestling market since some fans either worked on Friday nights or felt Sunday promotions were easier to attend.

  Stars like Eddie Gilbert, Dutch Mantell, and the Fantastics joined Mid-South Wrestling’s impressive array of talent. There was also the return of favorites like Wahoo McDaniel, World Champion Ric Flair, and even Cowboy Bill Watts, who put on wrestling tights for special events. General Skandor Akbar had put together the “Zambuie Express” consisting of Kamala and Kareem Muhammed to add more competition to the lineup of top ranked tag teams. National Wrestling Alliance World Champion Ric Flair was making regular appearances since the NWA and the Houston Wrestling promotion had worked out their differences and regained each others’ trust.

  The Houston Wrestling promotion changed in other ways, as I purchased Nick Bockwinkel’s stock. Though it had been a great investment for Bockwinkel, there were other factors in his decision to sell out. I bought his stock more out of respect for Nick than any other reason. Nick Bockwinkel is one of the true class acts of professional wrestling, both in the ring and outside the squared circle. He was one of my favorites and I will always be grateful for the contribution he made to the Houston Wrestling promotion, and how he helped my promotion of the Friday, May 14, record-setting show. That show helped elevate my career, and made me an equal partner with Paul Boesch and Bill Watts. But what I respected more than anything else about Nick Bockwinkel was his friendship. I cherish it to this day.

  Our television ratings were so strong that KHTV Channel 39 expanded the Houston Wrestling television show to two full hours both on Saturday night and Sunday morning. The format remained the same one used for the last couple of years. Paul Boesch and I hosted Houston Wrestling while Jim Ross and various other guest announcers were the hosts of the Mid-South Wrestling portion of the action. To give the television show as much continuity as possible, Jim Ross was a guest ringside commentator with Paul Boesch and me. I enjoyed working with Ross not only because he was very talented, but because he was a true survivor. It was that ability that enabled him to have a
very successful career in the professional wrestling business.

  We'd had a very successful 1985, weathering the turbulent industry. What would 1986 bring?

  The Two-Ring Battle Royal had now expanded to a Twenty-Five-Man athletic event. With all the changes taking place in the promotion, it was comforting to hold onto some traditions that provided stability.

  Tag team action remained one of the focal points of the Houston Wresting ring wars as the Famous Sheepherders came to Houston along with The Fabulous Ones, Steve Kiern and Stan Lane. Tag team shows were one of Bill Watt’s strong suits, and he knew how to get the most out of his wrestlers’ skills.

  On Friday, February 14, 1986, Paul Boesch was introduced inside the ring and given a standing ovation by Houston Wrestling fans, who had found out that Boesch had been in the hospital weeks earlier for heart surgery. He'd received a quadruple bypass and was doing fine after the operation. That was his first night back to the live matches.

  But then there was devastating news of the tragic death of Gorgeous Gino Hernandez.

  Gino’s real name was Charles Eugene Wolfe, Jr. He was born on August 14, 1957. As a little boy, he knew that he was going to be professional wrestler just like his step dad Luis. He started training at a very early age. As a teenager, he trained under Jose Lothario, who treated Gino as his own son.

  As I mentioned, Gino Hernandez made his professional wrestling debut at Houston Wrestling in 1973. He quickly became a big crowd favorite, but later changed from a “baby face” to a “heel” by turning on his mentor Lothario. But whether Gino was a good or bad guy, fans admired his wrestling talent. Outside the ring, Gorgeous Gino was a tremendous showman, and socialized with Hollywood stars such as Farah Fawcett and other beautiful actresses. His flair earned him a reputation of being second only to the legendary Gorgeous George for his flamboyant wrestling style. Gino was only twenty-eight years old when he died, leaving behind a lovely daughter who he loved dearly. His death was ruled a suicide, but that did not satisfy everyone’s suspicions. Gino’s death was extremely tragic, since an extraordinary man was taken from us when he was so young and had much of his life left to live. Gino was a very dear friend of mine and I still miss him.