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George Wells (wrestler)
Encyclopedia
George Wells or Welles (born October 30, 1947) is a retired American professional wrestler and Canadian Football League
football player who competed in North American regional promotions during the early 1970s and 1980s including the Continental Wrestling Association
, Pacific Northwest Wrestling
, Stampede Wrestling
, the National Wrestling Alliance
and the World Wrestling Federation
, most notably as the opponent of Jake “The Snake” Roberts
at WrestleMania 2
. It was during this live PPV match that Roberts, after having defeated Wells, had placed his pet snake “Damien” on Wells causing him to foam at the mouth.
A popular star in the San Francisco-area during the late 1970s, he is also credited as being the only African-American to hold the now defunct NWA United States Heavyweight Championship.
and later attended Laney College
and New Mexico State University
playing college football and competed in the heavyweight division in several Amateur Athletic Union
national tournaments.
In 1971, he played in the American Bowl
in Florida and later the fourth round draft
and signed by the Dallas Cowboys
, before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers
. Moving to Canada, he competed in the Canadian Football League
for eight years with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
and Saskatchewan Roughriders
as a defensive making all-pro four times and played in five play-off games and three Grey Cup
s, winning one. He also averaged 30 to 36 quarterback sacks during four of his last five seasons.
in Sacramento, California
on March 20, Blackjack Slade in San Francisco, California
on April 20 and Dick Slater
in San Jose, California
on May 13 and in a rematch at San Francisco on May 18, 1974. He would however score one of his earliest victories defeating Terry Garvin
in Sacramento on December 26, 1974.
He would continue wrestling on televised events in the San Francisco area for the next three years and eventually scored impressive victories of veterans such as Mr. Saito, Norman Frederick Charles III, The Hangman, Butcher Vachon and, teaming with Al Madril, the Royal Kangaroos defeating them on January 26, 1977.
During early 1977, he would feud with Butcher Vachon dominating their matches in February and again teamed with Al Madril to defeat Vachon and the Black Marvel
in a tag team match on February 23, 1977.
Wells would later briefly feud with Bob Roop
, Buddy Austin and Hiro Ota during late March and early April, losing to Roop on April 2 although he later defeated him in a rematch via disqualification seven days later. Losing to Hiro Ota on April 13, he later defeated Mr. Saito on April 27 and teamed with Moondog Mayne to defeat Hiro Ota and Tank Patton three days later on April 30.
Although teaming with Darling Dagmar and Pepper Gomez in a 6-man tag team match against Bob Roop, Marie Laverau and Masked Superstar on May 11, Wells experienced a brief losing streak after being defeated by Bob Roop on May 14 and Mr. Saito on May 28 and later left the San Francisco-area.
later that year. He also had a short stint in Gene and Mike LeBelle’s World Wrestling Alliance fighting to a draw with Bad News Allen in Los Angeles, California
on July 13, 1979.
While in the St. Louis-area, he substituted for Matt Borne teaming with Frank Hill
to defeat Roger Kirby
and Steve Hall on September 14 as well as defeating The Turk by disqualification on October 15 and teamed with Dick the Bruiser and David von Erich
in a 6-man tag team match to defeat Lord Alfred Hayes, "Bulldog" Bob Brown
and Ox Baker
on October 19, 1979.
After officially retiring from professional football in 1980, he began competing in Central States Wrestling teaming with Pat O’Connor to defeat Pak Song and Ron McFarlane (substituting for an injured Mongol) on March 28 and later teamed with O’Connor and Dick the Bruiser in a 6-man tag team match against Bulldog Bob Brown, Dick Murdoch and Ed Wiskowski on April 11, 1980.
He would also team with Kerry Brown
losing to Takachio and Pak Song in St. Louis, Missouri
on April 7 although they would later defeat Billy Howard
and Ed Wiskoski in Kansas City, Missouri
on June 5.
Entering singles competition, he fought to a draw against Ed Wiskowski on April 25 before losing to him in a rematch on June 7 for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (he had previously held the title since defeating Bob Sweeney on December 12, 1979) and was defeated by Takachio on June 13. Later that year, he began feuding with Dewey Robertson
losing to him and Swede Hanson
in a tag team match with Don Kernodle
on September 9, although he later defeated him in a singles match in Forest City, North Carolina
on September 11, 1980.
The two would begin teaming with each other later that year, defeating The Sheepherders in Spartanburg, South Carolina
on December 6, six days later, defeated them for the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team titles in Richmond, Virginia
on December 12, 1980.
on January 1 and in a rematch four days later on January 5 and continued to feud with Goulet teaming with Kim Duk, Swede Hanson and Gene Lewis in unsuccessful attempts to win the tag team titles. Wells and Kernodle would remain undefeated until February 19 when they lost the titles to Mr. Fuji
and Tenryu in Norfolk, Virginia
.
Although continuing to team with each other, losing in a rematch against Mr. Fuji and Tenryu on April 5, they would eventually break up following their victory over Gene Lewis and Tenryu on May 12, 1980.
Wells remained in the Mid-Atlantic region for a few more months and defeated Swede Hanson by disqualification on January 20, 1981 before leaving the territory and later defeated Jerry Stubbs
for the NWA Alabama Heavyweight title before losing it to Jimmy Golden
that same year.
Touring the Midwest with the short-lived USA Pro promotion in 1984, he was the last heavyweight champion appearing at the last event defeating Tom Zenk
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
on March 28, 1984.
In 1985, he would once again feud with Kernodle losing to him May 29, in a 6-man tag team match with Swede Hanson and Ivan Putski
against ”Big” John Studd
and manager Bobby “the Brain” Heenan
on May 30 and again in later singles rematches in East Rutherford, New Jersey
on June 7, Kalamazoo, Michigan
on July 10 and Milwaukee, Wisconsin
on July 12.
, although he did have some success teaming with Lanny Poffo
. He would also appear at several major WWF events, losing to Adrian Adonis
at the WWF Michigan State Fair supercard
on August 28, 1985 and Jake “The Snake” Roberts at WrestleMania 2 on March 7, 1986.
Leaving the WWF in early-1986, he began wrestling in the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association
as Master Gee and feuded with Junkyard Dog
and Butch Reed
, breaking the leg of Reed during a “ghetto street fight” when he refused to release Reed from a modified figure-four leglock.
He would also appear in World Class Championship Wrestling
feuding with the Dingo Warrior, he and WCCW World Tag team Champion Matt Borne lost the tag team titles to the Dingo Warrior and Lance von Erich
on November 17 (Wells had substituted for an injured Buzz Sawyer
). After losing to the Dingo Warrior in a "chain match" at the supercard Thanksgiving Star Wars '86 on November 27 and Lance von Erich at Christmas Star Wars '86 on December 25, Wells left the promotion.
's NWF All-Star Wrestling in 1987, losing to Sgt. Jacques Goulet
in a televised match on September 8, Wells would remain inactive for most of the late 1980s until his eventual retirement in 1992.
Returning to Oakland, Wells is currently one of the leading drug counselors in the San Francisco Bay area. Having suffered from drug-related issues throughout his athletic career, he primarily works with teenage drug addicts.
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
football player who competed in North American regional promotions during the early 1970s and 1980s including the Continental Wrestling Association
Continental Wrestling Association
The Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...
, Pacific Northwest Wrestling
Pacific Northwest Wrestling
Pacific Northwest Wrestling is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The first such company was founded by Herb Owen in 1925...
, Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
, the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
and the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
, most notably as the opponent of Jake “The Snake” Roberts
Jake Roberts
Aurelian Jake Smith, Jr. is a second-generation American professional wrestler, the son of former wrestler Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith...
at WrestleMania 2
WrestleMania 2
WrestleMania 2 was the second annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation...
. It was during this live PPV match that Roberts, after having defeated Wells, had placed his pet snake “Damien” on Wells causing him to foam at the mouth.
A popular star in the San Francisco-area during the late 1970s, he is also credited as being the only African-American to hold the now defunct NWA United States Heavyweight Championship.
Early life
Born in Oakland, California, he graduated in 1966 from Oakland Tech High SchoolOakland Technical High School
Oakland Technical High School, known locally as Oakland Tech, or just simply "Tech", is a public high school in Oakland, California, and is operated under the jurisdiction of the Oakland Unified School District.-Background:...
and later attended Laney College
Laney College
Laney College is a community college located in Oakland, California, next to the Lake Merritt BART station and the Kaiser Convention Center. Laney is the largest of the four colleges of the Peralta Community College District which serves northern Alameda County.Laney College originally opened in...
and New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University
New Mexico State University at Las Cruces , is a major land-grant university in Las Cruces, New Mexico, United States...
playing college football and competed in the heavyweight division in several Amateur Athletic Union
Amateur Athletic Union
The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...
national tournaments.
In 1971, he played in the American Bowl
American Bowl
The American Bowl was a series of National Football League pre-season exhibition games that were held at sites outside the United States between 1986 and 2005.- Overview :...
in Florida and later the fourth round draft
1971 NFL Draft
The 1971 National Football League Draft was held on January 28–29, 1971.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
and signed by the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
, before being traded to the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
. Moving to Canada, he competed in the Canadian Football League
Canadian Football League
The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....
for eight years with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Hamilton Tiger-Cats
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a Canadian Football League team based in Hamilton, Ontario, founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Ivor Wynne Stadium...
and Saskatchewan Roughriders
Saskatchewan Roughriders
The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a Canadian Football League team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. They were founded in 1910. They play their home games at 2940 10th Avenue in Regina, which has been the team's home base for its entire history, even prior to the construction of Mosaic Stadium at Taylor...
as a defensive making all-pro four times and played in five play-off games and three Grey Cup
Grey Cup
The Grey Cup is both the name of the championship of the Canadian Football League and the name of the trophy awarded to the victorious team. It is Canada's largest annual sports and television event, regularly drawing a Canadian viewing audience of about 3 to 4 million individuals...
s, winning one. He also averaged 30 to 36 quarterback sacks during four of his last five seasons.
Entry into professional wrestling
In 1974, Wells began wrestling professionally in northern California during the off season although he lost early matches to Kinji ShibuyaKinji Shibuya
Kinji Shibuya was an American professional wrestler and actor.-Professional wrestling career:In 1952, promoter Al Karasick suggested Shibuya try professional wrestling. He was originally given a villainous gimmick of a Japanese bad guy after World War II. He wrestled in the United States and...
in Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
on March 20, Blackjack Slade in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
on April 20 and Dick Slater
Dick Slater
Richard Van Slater , better known by his ring name "Dirty" Dick Slater, is a retired American professional wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s, 1980s, and mid 1990s for various promotions including Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling .Slater began wrestling with Mike...
in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
on May 13 and in a rematch at San Francisco on May 18, 1974. He would however score one of his earliest victories defeating Terry Garvin
Terry Garvin
Terry Joyal, better known by his ring name Terry Garvin, was a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for his work with kayfabe brother Ron Garvin, with whom he won several tag team championships in the Southern United States...
in Sacramento on December 26, 1974.
He would continue wrestling on televised events in the San Francisco area for the next three years and eventually scored impressive victories of veterans such as Mr. Saito, Norman Frederick Charles III, The Hangman, Butcher Vachon and, teaming with Al Madril, the Royal Kangaroos defeating them on January 26, 1977.
During early 1977, he would feud with Butcher Vachon dominating their matches in February and again teamed with Al Madril to defeat Vachon and the Black Marvel
Black Marvel
The Black Marvel is a fictional comic book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Al Gabriele, he first appeared in Mystic Comics #5 , published by Marvel's 1940s forerunner Timely Comics during the period fans and historians call the Golden Age of comic...
in a tag team match on February 23, 1977.
Wells would later briefly feud with Bob Roop
Bob Roop
Bob Roop is a retired amateur and professional wrestler whose career has spanned high school, college, Army, amateur and professional wrestling. He was an American Heavyweight Greco-Roman wrestler at the 1968 Summer Olympics.-Amateur career:...
, Buddy Austin and Hiro Ota during late March and early April, losing to Roop on April 2 although he later defeated him in a rematch via disqualification seven days later. Losing to Hiro Ota on April 13, he later defeated Mr. Saito on April 27 and teamed with Moondog Mayne to defeat Hiro Ota and Tank Patton three days later on April 30.
Although teaming with Darling Dagmar and Pepper Gomez in a 6-man tag team match against Bob Roop, Marie Laverau and Masked Superstar on May 11, Wells experienced a brief losing streak after being defeated by Bob Roop on May 14 and Mr. Saito on May 28 and later left the San Francisco-area.
Stampede Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance
In early 1978, he began wrestling for Stampede Wrestling and teaming with Jerry Morrow defeated Mr. Hito and Michael Martel in February 1978 although they lost the titles to Norman Frederick Charles III and the Cuban AssassinAngel Acevedo
Angel Acevedo is an American filmmaker.-Biography:Acevedo attended Hofstra University where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Film Studies and Production and won Best Screenplay for his thesis film Cheesecake...
later that year. He also had a short stint in Gene and Mike LeBelle’s World Wrestling Alliance fighting to a draw with Bad News Allen in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
on July 13, 1979.
While in the St. Louis-area, he substituted for Matt Borne teaming with Frank Hill
Frank Hill
Frank Robert Hill was a Scottish football player and manager.-Forfar and Aberdeen:Hill was born in Forfar and started his career at Forfar Athletic, joining the club in 1924. He moved to Aberdeen in 1928 and played over 100 Scottish First Division matches...
to defeat Roger Kirby
Roger Kirby
Professor Roger Kirby is a prostate surgeon in the UK. He has performed over 2000 radical prostatectomy operations in his career and has written over 60 books and published more than 300 scientific papers...
and Steve Hall on September 14 as well as defeating The Turk by disqualification on October 15 and teamed with Dick the Bruiser and David von Erich
David Von Erich
David Alan Adkisson was an American professional wrestler who competed as "The Yellow Rose of Texas" David Von Erich...
in a 6-man tag team match to defeat Lord Alfred Hayes, "Bulldog" Bob Brown
Bob Brown (wrestler)
Robert Harold Brown was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name "Bulldog" Bob Brown.- Early life :...
and Ox Baker
Ox Baker
Douglas A. Baker better known professionally as Ox Baker, is an American former professional wrestler and actor, and was feared for his dreaded finishing move, the Heart Punch, sometimes called the "Hurt Punch", after Baker's famous catchphrase "I love to hurt people!" He has appeared in several...
on October 19, 1979.
After officially retiring from professional football in 1980, he began competing in Central States Wrestling teaming with Pat O’Connor to defeat Pak Song and Ron McFarlane (substituting for an injured Mongol) on March 28 and later teamed with O’Connor and Dick the Bruiser in a 6-man tag team match against Bulldog Bob Brown, Dick Murdoch and Ed Wiskowski on April 11, 1980.
He would also team with Kerry Brown
Kerry Brown (wrestler)
Kerry Brown was a Canadian professional wrestler. Brown was best known for working in Stampede Wrestling in the 1980s under his real name, but also wrestled in Puerto Rico and the Maritimes using the ring name Rick Valentine.-Beginning and Canadian promotions:Brown began wrestling in 1979 in...
losing to Takachio and Pak Song in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
on April 7 although they would later defeat Billy Howard
Billy Howard
Billy Howard is an English comedy impressionist, who appeared on the ITV series Who Do You Do, alongside other impressionists such as Faith Brown. In 1976, his single, "King Of The Cops", reached #6 in the UK Singles Chart; it featured his impressions of TV cops including Kojak, Columbo, McCloud...
and Ed Wiskoski in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
on June 5.
Entering singles competition, he fought to a draw against Ed Wiskowski on April 25 before losing to him in a rematch on June 7 for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (he had previously held the title since defeating Bob Sweeney on December 12, 1979) and was defeated by Takachio on June 13. Later that year, he began feuding with Dewey Robertson
Dewey Robertson
Byron James John "Dewey" Robertson was a professional wrestler, known best for his ring name The Missing Link....
losing to him and Swede Hanson
Swede Hanson (wrestler)
Robert Fort Hanson was an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Swede Hanson. He spent much of his career wrestling as part of a tag team with Rip Hawk...
in a tag team match with Don Kernodle
Don Kernodle
Charles Donald Kernodle, Jr. better known as Don Kernodle was an American professional wrestler with the National Wrestling Alliance's Jim Crockett Promotions.-Professional wrestling career:...
on September 9, although he later defeated him in a singles match in Forest City, North Carolina
Forest City, North Carolina
Forest City, formerly known as "Burnt Chimney," is a town in Rutherford County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 7,549 as of the 2000 census.-Geography:Forest City is located at ....
on September 11, 1980.
The two would begin teaming with each other later that year, defeating The Sheepherders in Spartanburg, South Carolina
Spartanburg, South Carolina
thgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina, and is located northwest of Columbia, west of Charlotte, and about northeast of...
on December 6, six days later, defeated them for the Mid-Atlantic Tag Team titles in Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
on December 12, 1980.
Mid-Atlantic region
Returning to Canada for a one time appearance defeating Sgt. Jacques Goulet and Ben Alexander in Toronto, Ontario on December 28, they continued to defend their titles in the Carolinas throughout the next year defeating Kim Duk and TenryuGenichiro Tenryu
Genichiro Tenryu , real name Genichiro Shimada , is a Japanese professional wrestler. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling...
on January 1 and in a rematch four days later on January 5 and continued to feud with Goulet teaming with Kim Duk, Swede Hanson and Gene Lewis in unsuccessful attempts to win the tag team titles. Wells and Kernodle would remain undefeated until February 19 when they lost the titles to Mr. Fuji
Harry Fujiwara
Harry Fujiwara is an American former professional wrestler and manager, best known by his ring name Mr. Fuji. He was infamous for often throwing salt in the eyes of face wrestlers...
and Tenryu in Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
.
Although continuing to team with each other, losing in a rematch against Mr. Fuji and Tenryu on April 5, they would eventually break up following their victory over Gene Lewis and Tenryu on May 12, 1980.
Wells remained in the Mid-Atlantic region for a few more months and defeated Swede Hanson by disqualification on January 20, 1981 before leaving the territory and later defeated Jerry Stubbs
Jerry Stubbs
Jerry Stubbs is a retired professional wrestler. Stubbs wrestled as Mr. Olympia in Bill Watts's Mid-South wrestling area and as the villainous Jerry “Mr. Perfect” Stubbs in Southeast/Continental wrestling promotions...
for the NWA Alabama Heavyweight title before losing it to Jimmy Golden
Jimmy Golden
James "Jimmy" Golden is an American professional wrestler, who is better known as Bunkhouse Buck.Golden has many relatives in wrestling: his cousins are Robert & Ron Fuller, his father is Billy Golden and his uncle is Buddy Fuller and his nephew is Eddie Golden. His grandfather is Roy Welch...
that same year.
Central States Wrestling
Wells would again face Kernodle upon returning to Central States Wrestling, defeating Kernodle and Ray Hernandez in a tag team match with Mark Romero on June 10 and again in a singles match on July 15, 1983. He would later team with Ron Ritchie to defeat The Sheiks (Roger Kirby & Abdullah the Great) to become the Central States tag team champions in August before losing the titles back to them that same month.Touring the Midwest with the short-lived USA Pro promotion in 1984, he was the last heavyweight champion appearing at the last event defeating Tom Zenk
Tom Zenk
Thomas Erwin "Tom" Zenk is a former Mr. Minnesota Bodybuilder, and most notably a American professional wrestler, also known by his nickname Z-Man.-Early career:...
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
on March 28, 1984.
In 1985, he would once again feud with Kernodle losing to him May 29, in a 6-man tag team match with Swede Hanson and Ivan Putski
Ivan Putski
Józef Bednarski , is a Polish former professional wrestler and bodybuilder. He is known by the ring name Ivan Putski and was given the nicknames "The Polish Hammer" and "Polish Power"....
against ”Big” John Studd
Big John Studd
John William Minton was an American professional wrestler and actor who was born and raised in Butler, Pennsylvania, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd.-Career:...
and manager Bobby “the Brain” Heenan
Bobby Heenan
Raymond Louis "Ray" Heenan , better known as Bobby "The Brain" Heenan , is a former American professional wrestling manager and color commentator, best known for his time with the American Wrestling Association , World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation...
on May 30 and again in later singles rematches in East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford, New Jersey
East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,913. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan....
on June 7, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Kalamazoo, Michigan
The area on which the modern city stands was once home to Native Americans of the Hopewell culture, who migrated into the area sometime before the first millennium. Evidence of their early residency remains in the form of a small mound in downtown's Bronson Park. The Hopewell civilization began to...
on July 10 and Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
on July 12.
From Hartford to Memphis
He soon debuted in the World Wrestling Federation, although he was generally used as a preliminary wrestler regularly appearing on WWF Prime Time WrestlingWWF Prime Time Wrestling
WWF Prime Time Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It aired on the USA Network from 1985-1993. A precursor to Monday Night Raw, Prime Time Wrestling was a two-hour long, weekly program that featured stars of the World Wrestling...
, although he did have some success teaming with Lanny Poffo
Lanny Poffo
Lanny Mark Poffo , better known by his ring name "Leaping" Lanny is an American professional wrestler. Poffo was born in Calgary, Canada, to Angelo Poffo, an Italian American Catholic, and Judy, a Jewish American. He is also the brother of wrestling legend "Macho Man" Randy Savage...
. He would also appear at several major WWF events, losing to Adrian Adonis
Adrian Adonis
Keith A. Franke was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Adorable" Adrian Adonis.-Career:Franke trained under Fred Atkins and debuted in 1974, wrestling under his own name...
at the WWF Michigan State Fair supercard
SuperCard
SuperCard is a high-level development environment that runs on Macintosh computers, under OS 8 and 9, and OS X. It is inspired by HyperCard, but includes a richer language, a full GUI toolkit, and native color .The programming language used by SuperCard is called SuperTalk, and is largely based on...
on August 28, 1985 and Jake “The Snake” Roberts at WrestleMania 2 on March 7, 1986.
Leaving the WWF in early-1986, he began wrestling in the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association
Continental Wrestling Association
The Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...
as Master Gee and feuded with Junkyard Dog
Junkyard Dog
Sylvester Ritter was an American professional wrestler and professional football player, best known for his work in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as The Junkyard Dog...
and Butch Reed
Butch Reed
Butch Reed is an American professional wrestler best known for his stints in the World Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance/World Championship Wrestling.-Career:...
, breaking the leg of Reed during a “ghetto street fight” when he refused to release Reed from a modified figure-four leglock.
He would also appear in World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
feuding with the Dingo Warrior, he and WCCW World Tag team Champion Matt Borne lost the tag team titles to the Dingo Warrior and Lance von Erich
Lance Von Erich
William Kevin Vaughan is a retired American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Lance Von Erich.-Wrestling as "Ricky Vaughan":Vaughan started wrestling in the NWA's Pacific Northwest territory as Ricky Vaughan in 1984...
on November 17 (Wells had substituted for an injured Buzz Sawyer
Buzz Sawyer
Bruce Woyan was a professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Buzz Sawyer. Throughout his career, he was also known by the nickname "Mad Dog". He was characterized by his crazy antics inside the ring and out.-Career:Sawyer started wrestling in 1979 in the National Wrestling Alliance 's...
). After losing to the Dingo Warrior in a "chain match" at the supercard Thanksgiving Star Wars '86 on November 27 and Lance von Erich at Christmas Star Wars '86 on December 25, Wells left the promotion.
Later years
After a brief appearance in Dominic DenucciDominic DeNucci
Dominic DeNucci is an Italian-American professional wrestler. He is also an accomplished trainer, counting former World Heavyweight champions Mick Foley and Shane Douglas, as well as referee Brian Hildebrand, among his students.-Early career:...
's NWF All-Star Wrestling in 1987, losing to Sgt. Jacques Goulet
Jacques Goulet
Jacques Goulet was an early pioneer in New France , a miller and the ancestor of virtually all of the Goulets in North America.-Early Life:...
in a televised match on September 8, Wells would remain inactive for most of the late 1980s until his eventual retirement in 1992.
Returning to Oakland, Wells is currently one of the leading drug counselors in the San Francisco Bay area. Having suffered from drug-related issues throughout his athletic career, he primarily works with teenage drug addicts.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
-
- The Avalanche
- Signature moves
-
- Football tackleTackle (football move)Most forms of football have a move known as a tackle. The primary purposes of tackling is to disposses an opponent of the ball, to stop the player from gaining ground towards goal or to stop them from carrying out what they intend....
- Headscissors
- PowerslamPowerslamA powerslam is a professional wrestling body slam move in which the wrestler performing the slam falls face-down on top of his/her opponent. The use of the term "powerslam" usually refers to the front powerslam and the scoop powerslam.-Emerald Flowsion:...
- Football tackle
Championships and accomplishments
- Central States WrestlingHeart of America Sports AttractionsHeart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa...
- NWA Central States Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Central States Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Central States Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team championship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1979 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988...
(1 time) - with Ron Ritchie
- NWA Central States Tag Team Championship
- Mid-Atlantic Championship WrestlingJim Crockett PromotionsJim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship is the tag team title currently defended in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Mid-Atlantic territory. The championship was originally created in the summer of 1968 and was originally named the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship...
(1 time) - with Dewey RobertsonDewey RobertsonByron James John "Dewey" Robertson was a professional wrestler, known best for his ring name The Missing Link....
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship
- NWA All-Star Wrestling
- NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version)NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version)The Vancouver version of the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship was established in 1962 as the top tag team title in NWA All-Star Wrestling. The title held that status until late summer 1985, when the title was renamed the UWA Tag Team Championship upon All-Star Wrestling's departure as a member of...
(1 time) - with Dean HoDean HiguchiDean Higuchi is a retired American professional wrestler, known by his ring name Dean Ho, who competed in North American regional promotions including Pacific Northwest Wrestling, the World Wide Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance, specifically the Hawaii-based Big Time...
- NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version)
- NWA San FranciscoNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (San Francisco version) (1 time)
- Southeastern Championship WrestlingContinental Championship WrestlingContinental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based out of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1974 until 1988 and Dothan, Alabama from 1978 to 1990, managed by Ron Fuller. When Fuller sold the promotion to David Woods, it changed name to the Continental Wrestling Federation...
- NWA Alabama Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Stampede WrestlingStampede WrestlingStampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) (1 time) - with Jerry Morrow
- Western States Alliance
- WSA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)