Larry Winters
Encyclopedia
"The Living Legend" Larry Winters (born April 14) is a semi-retired American
professional wrestler and trainer
who competed in the Midwest
, Mid-Atlantic and East Coast
independent circuit
during the 1980s and 90s. He has wrestled in the American Wrestling Association
, the National Wrestling Alliance
, National Wrestling Federation
, Pro Wrestling USA
and the World Wrestling Council
.
Winters was also one of the top stars of Joel Goodhart's Tri-State Wrestling Alliance. He and his tag team partner Johnny Hotbody, as the Dog Pound, were the first TWA Tag Team Champions. However, it was his feud with D.C. Drake that brought him national attention in the wrestling world. One of the earliest displays of modern "hardcore wrestling
", Bill Apter
wrote "professional wrestling would be forever changed due to this escalated level of violence" after watching their first match in 1990.
He was one of many former TWA wrestlers later brought into Eastern Championship Wrestling by Tod Gordon
. Teaming with one-time rival Tony Stetson
, the two feuded with The Super Destroyers
(Doug Stahl
& A.J. Petrucci
) and The Suicide Blondes (Chris Candido
, Johnny Hotbody
and Chris Michaels
) over the ECW Tag Team Championship
before turning on each other. Winters is also credited for training several future ECW stars including Donn E. Allen, Glen Osbourne
and The Sandman
.
, Larry Winters made his professional debut in 1982. That year, he traveled to the Midwestern United States
to appear for Ohio Championship Wrestling's debut show in Maple Heights
on November 6, 1982. A three-day weekend supercard, others who appeared on the card included Luis Martinez, J.W. Hawk, J.R. Hogg, Zoltan the Great, Bobby Colt, The Beast and Bobo Brazil
who was crowned its first champion. While there, he faced one of his first major opponents, Malcolm Monroe and his manager "Mad Dog" Marcial Bovee, in Akron
.
Around 1985, Winters began wrestling for the American Wrestling Association
in Minneapolis, Minnesota
. Feuding with "The Living Legend" Larry Zbyszko
, he later earned the same sobriquet which he used for the majority of his career. Other notable opponents included Nick Bockwinkel
, Kendo Nagasaki
and Jimmy Garvin
. His match with Garvin was later released as part of Wrestling's Greatest Matches series. Winters also took part in tag team as well as singles matches. During the summer of 1985, he teamed with various partners against The Long Riders (Bill
& Scott Irwin
), Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens
, and The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes
, Terry Gordy
& Buddy Roberts).
He also made several appearances for short-lived Pro Wrestling USA
, specifically shows co-promoted by the AWA and the National Wrestling Alliance
, facing Buddy Roberts and Boris Zhukov. On November 24, 1985, at an interpromotional show for AWA and Jim Crockett Promotions
, Winters lost to Boris Zhukov at the Civic Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
During the next two years, Winters wrestled for the NWA as well as the World Wrestling Council
, World Grand Prix Wrestling
. and the National Wrestling Federation
. On October 2, 1987, Winters wrestled NWF Heavyweight Champion D.C. "Mad Dog" Drake at the Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida
. A year later, he and DC Drake were featured in a special documentary on violence in professional wrestling, Scar Wars, which also included Jules Strongbow
and Abdullah the Butcher
.
Between 1988 and 1989, Winters regularly did shows for promoter Jim Crockett
in Baltimore. It was during this period that Winters met Joel Goodhart who was then involved with the Squared Circle Fan Club fan club which organized bus trips to NWA and independent shows in the Baltimore area. When Goodhart opened the Ringmasters Wrestling School in Northeast Philadelphia
, Larry Winters was hired as its the head trainer.
In the summer of 1990, Winters toured Canada with IWA Championship Wrestling facing David Isley and Jim Folger. He also faced his old rival Larry Zbyszko in the Montreal
-based Lutte Internationale.
and Winters threw his opponent over the rail and onto the cement floor. Bill Apter
, editor of Pro Wrestling Illustrated
, wrote the following month that "professional wrestling would be forever changed due to this escalated level of violence". Indeed, similar TWA feuds between Cactus Jack
and Eddie Gilbert, Abdullah the Butcher
and The Sheik
, and Tony Stetson
and Johnny Hotbody were equally as violent and, in part, inspired the modern style of "hardcore wrestling
" later seen in Extreme Championship Wrestling
.
On January 27, 1990, Larry Winters beat D.C. Drake in a "stretcher" match at the TWF's Winter Challenge supercard in Philadelphia. On March 31 at Spring Spectacular, Winters lost to Drake in an "I Quit" match lasting 37 minutes. This match was later named by DeathValleyDriver.com
as one of the top matches of the decade. On June 9, Winters met Drake in a 6-man elimination tag team match pitting himself, Rockin' Rebel
and Tony Stetson against D.C. Drake, Johnny Hotbody and Mondo Kleen at Summer Sizzler. Although Stetson had been eliminated by Johnny Hotbody early in the match, Winters went on to pin Kleen, Hotbody and Drake to win the match.
At Autumn Armageddon, Winters took part in a 20-man "reverse cage battle royal" held at Philadelphia's Penn Hall on September 15. The battle royal included "Bounty Hunter" Max Thrasher, The Cheetah Kid
, Crybaby Waldo, Ghetto Blaster, Ron Shaw, Top Gun, Triton and was won by Rockin' Rebel. He and Drake later teamed up to beat Jimmy Jannetty & Rockin' Rebel at the Original Sports Bar on December 4, 1990. Winters returned to Original Sports Bar two months later where, on February 24, 1991, he won a battle royal
. On March 2, he participated in a "ringmaster rumble" at Winter Challenge II which was won by JT Smith.
Teaming with Johnny Hotbody as The Dog Pound, they defeated The Confederacy (Rockin' Rebel & Jimmy Jannetty) at Spring Spectacular II in Philadelphia on May 18, 1991, to become the first TWA Tag Team Champions. On August 3, The Dog Pound teamed with TWA Heavyweight Champion D.C. Drake at Summer Sizzler II in a 6-man tag team "elimination" match against J.T. Smith, Tony Stetson and C.N. Redd. Bam Bam Bigelow was the special guest referee. Although Drake lost the heavyweight title to Smith, they ended up winning the match when Winters pinned Stetson. Winters and Hotbody lost the tag team titles a month later to The Blackhearts (David Health
& Tom Nash) at Autumn Armageddon II on September 21, 1991. DC Drake was substituting for Winters and was the man pinned when the titles changed hands. The promotion closed four months later.
for a meeting at Gordon's Philadelphia office. They all decided to continue promoting events without Goodhart and began organizing the future Eastern Championship Wrestling. Winters accepted a position as its first booker
. While head instructor of Goodhart's wrestling school, Winters had trained several future ECW stars such as Donn E. Allen, Glen Osbourne
and The Sandman
.
Though he proved competent in the role, creative differences between Winters traditional booking style and Gordon's more radical approach led to his eventual replacement by Eddie Gilbert who had the necessary contacts and experience needed by the young promotion. In a 2003 shoot interview, Gordon claimed he was upset with a racial-based angle which occurred during the main event of ECW's first show at Philadelphia's Original Sports Bar. Winters and Johnny Hotbody fought DC Drake & JT Smith to a double disqualification. Originally, they were supposed to spraypaint JT Smith white and DC Drake black. Instead, the two left the black paint in the locker room and only painted Smith white. Upset that he was "worked by the boys", Gordon took over as booker until bringing in Eddie Gilbert later that year.
At ECW's second-ever event, once again at the Original Sports Bar, D.C. Drake and J.T. Smith defeated Winters and Hotbody a month after their last match on March 24, 1992. Over the next few weeks, Winters won victories over Stevie Richards
, Derrick Domino Max Thrasher and King Kaluha. On June 23, Winters lost an intergender handicap match with Tony Stetson and Vivacious Veronica against Johnny Hotbody, former students Don E. Allen and The Sandman, and Peaches
. Winters lost to The Sandman in a single match on July 14. The following night, he and Johnny Hotbody co-won a battle royal and later fought each other to a double disqualification. On August 11, Winters lost to Hotbody in a tournament final to crown the first ECW Television Champion. Hotbody broke his ankle during the match and the title was vacated afterwards. A month later, Winters was featured in Wrestling Superstars.
Briefly teaming with Jimmy Jannetty, the two feuded with King Kaluha & Scott Summers
until early-October. He also wrestled Terry Taylor
during the summer. That same month, they fought Chris Michaels & Damien Stone to a double disqualification on October 24. With Tony Stetson, Winters faced Michaels and Stone in a rematch two months later in Morrisville, Pennsylvania
and defeated them via countout on December 19, 1992. They also defeated Michaels in a tag team match with The Samoan Warrior at Cabrini College
in Radnor
on March 12, 1993. That same night, he entered a championship tournament for the ECW TV title but lost in the quarter-finals to "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka
. Prior to the match, Sunka introduced Eddie Gilbert as his manager. This match was later broadcast on on the debut episode of Hardcore TV the following month.
Deciding to team full time with his old TWA rival, he and Stetson feuded with The Super Destroyers
(Doug Stahl
& A.J. Petrucci
) over the ECW Tag Team Championship
including putting up the hair in exchange for a title shot, and finally beat them for the titles in Radnor on April 2. Their reign lasted only one day as the lost the titles to The Suicide Blondes (Chris Candido
& Johnny Hotbody) the following night in Philadelphia. On May 14, Winters lost a 6-man tag team match with Glen Osbourne and Tommy Cairo
against Hot Stuff International (Eddie Gilbert, Dark Patriot
and Don Muraco
).
Shortly after losing the tag team titles, Stetson unexpectedly turned on Winters while participating in a 16-man battle royal for the ECW Pennsylvania Championship
. On June 19, Winters lost to his former partner in a First Blood match at ECW Summer Sizzler
at the ECW Arena in South Philadelphia
. Winter continued feuding with Stetson for the next two months. Allied with The Sandman, they beat Stetson and Rockin' Rebel in a tag team match and also fought Stetson to a no-contest. In his last appearance, Winters defeated Rockin' Rebel with Stetson in his corner. Winter was one of the many original ex-TWA wrestlers let go from the promotion by Paul Heyman
in order to bring in his own wrestlers. Tod Gordon claimed that Winters was released due to his age and his reluctance to engage in more "hardcore"-style wrestling.
He came back later that year and wrestled for a short time as the masked wrestler Mr. X. On October 16, he fought Tommy Cairo in North East, Maryland
and teamed with Don E. Allen to beat The Hell Riders in Morrisville a week later. His final match was against The Lumberjack at the ECW Arena on December 4, 1993.
& Joey Matthews) and The Well Hung Warriors (Mark Smart & Greg Spitz) in a 3 Way Dance on July 28. A month later, he took part in a two-day card for the Universal Wrestling Federation. On August 16, 2002, Winters defeated Scotty Ice and, the following night, lost to The Sandman.
In 2007, Winters made several appearances for Tod Gordon's Pro Wrestling Unplugged. On October 27, he and one-time rival Larry Zbyszko appeared as a guest on Johnny Kashmere
's Batcave segment. That same night, he managed The Best Around (TJ Cannon & Bruce Maxwell) in their victory over The Bosom Buddies (Teddy Fine & Drew Blood) to win the vacant PWU Tag Team Championship. He also managed the team in separate single matches on November 17, 2007. Winters finally joined The Best Around in a 6-man tag team match to defeat Team P.I.T. (Gary Wolfe, Aramis & Annie Social) on January 19, 2008. In one of his last appearance with the promotion, he wrestled The Blue Meanie in Philadelphia on March 15, 2008.
At the end of the year, a second reunion show was held at St. Matthew's Baptist Church in Williamstown, New Jersey
, to collect unwrapped toys for the Toys for Tots
program. Winters won his match against King Kaluha via countout. Also headlining the show were The Blue Meanie, Steve Corino
and Tony Stetson. On January 31, 2010, he and other TWA wrestlers appeared for "Wiseguy" Jimmy Cicero
's "Bodyslam Autism Show" at the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees. Winters faced mixed martial artist "Sensei" Paul Lopresti.
After their bout, Winters "invaded" Lopresti's dojo and criticized both his opponent and martial arts in general. As the dojo regularly films its training and sparring sessions, his disruption was caught on tape and made widely available on Youtube
and similar video sharing websites. A rematch was signed for the two to meet in a tag team match at the next TWA show in Vorhees on April 11. In a tag team grudge match, Winters and his partner Cujo the Hellhound lost to Lopresti and Michael Bruno when Lopresti forced Cujo to submit. The event was to help raise money for the Adopt a Pet organization.
Winters is scheduled to participate in a Ringmaster Rumble, featuring wrestlers from the original TWA Ringmasters Wrestling School, at the next TWA card held at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
on June 5, 2010.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional wrestler and trainer
Personal trainer
A personal trainer is a fitness professional involved in exercise prescription and instruction. They motivate clients by setting goals and providing feedback and accountability to clients. Trainers also measure their client's strengths and weaknesses with fitness assessments...
who competed in the Midwest
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
, Mid-Atlantic and East Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
independent circuit
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...
during the 1980s and 90s. He has wrestled in the American Wrestling Association
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
, the National Wrestling Alliance
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim 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:...
, National Wrestling Federation
National Wrestling Federation
The original National Wrestling Federation was a wrestling promotion based in Buffalo, New York and owned by promoter Pedro Martínez. It ran from 1970-1974. The promotion was then revived in 1986 by Robert Raskin...
, Pro Wrestling USA
Pro Wrestling USA
Pro Wrestling USA was a professional wrestling promotion in the United States of America in the mid 1980s. It was an attempt to unify various federations, including the American Wrestling Association , Jim Crockett Promotions and other members of the National Wrestling Alliance .-Background:By...
and the World Wrestling Council
World Wrestling Council
The World Wrestling Council is one of Puerto Rico's two main professional wrestling promotions, the other one being the International Wrestling Association....
.
Winters was also one of the top stars of Joel Goodhart's Tri-State Wrestling Alliance. He and his tag team partner Johnny Hotbody, as the Dog Pound, were the first TWA Tag Team Champions. However, it was his feud with D.C. Drake that brought him national attention in the wrestling world. One of the earliest displays of modern "hardcore wrestling
Hardcore wrestling
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted...
", Bill Apter
Bill Apter
Bill Apter is a journalist specializing in professional wrestling and best known for the kayfabe or so-called "mark" magazines for which he edited and photographed matches from the 1970s to the present. The magazine he became most prominently known for was Pro Wrestling Illustrated...
wrote "professional wrestling would be forever changed due to this escalated level of violence" after watching their first match in 1990.
He was one of many former TWA wrestlers later brought into Eastern Championship Wrestling by Tod Gordon
Tod Gordon
Tod Gordon is the President of Carver W. Reed Co. Inc, a Philadelphia jewelry store and loan office that was established in 1860. He is also the founder of both defunct Professional wrestling promotions Eastern Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling...
. Teaming with one-time rival Tony Stetson
Tony Stetson
Tony Matteo is a semi-retired American professional wrestler, best known by his ring name "Hitman" Tony Stetson, who has competed in Northeastern independent promotions during the late 1980s and 1990s...
, the two feuded with The Super Destroyers
The Super Destroyers
The Super Destroyers is a Professional wrestling Tag team consisting of Doug Stahl and A.J. Petrucci. They both currently perform on Independent circuit and they are best known for their stint in NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling where they were the first-ever and longest reigning tag team...
(Doug Stahl
Doug Stahl
Douglas E. Stahl is an American professional wrestler who currently works in the Independent circuit as one half of the masked Tag team known as The Super Destroyers...
& A.J. Petrucci
A.J. Petrucci
A. J. Petrucci is an American professional wrestler. He was one half of the Extreme Championship Wrestling tag team The Super Destroyers as Super Destroyer #1 with his partner Doug Stahl, who was known as Super Destroyer #2....
) and The Suicide Blondes (Chris Candido
Chris Candido
Christopher Raul Candito was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Chris Candido...
, Johnny Hotbody
Johnny Weiss
Johnny Weiss is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Johnny Hotbody. He is best known for his work in the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance and Extreme Championship Wrestling where he became the first ECW Triple Crown Champion.-Career:Johnny Hotbody broke into...
and Chris Michaels
Chris Michaels
Bill Pierce, better known by the ring name Chris Michaels is a former American professional wrestler who wrestles in the southeast independent circuit.-Career:Michaels wrestled in both Smokey Mountain Wrestling and United States Wrestling Association....
) over the ECW Tag Team Championship
ECW Tag Team Championship
The Extreme Championship Wrestling World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling...
before turning on each other. Winters is also credited for training several future ECW stars including Donn E. Allen, Glen Osbourne
Glen Osbourne
Glen Osbourne is an American professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his appearances with Eastern Championship Wrestling in the early 1990s, where he was the youngest holder of the ECW World Television Championship...
and The Sandman
Jim Fullington
James "Jim" Fullington better known by his ring name Sandman, is an American professional wrestler, best known for his career with Extreme Championship Wrestling , where he developed into a "Hardcore Icon"...
.
Early life and career (1983-1990)
A native of Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, Larry Winters made his professional debut in 1982. That year, he traveled to the Midwestern United States
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
to appear for Ohio Championship Wrestling's debut show in Maple Heights
Maple Heights, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 26,156 people, 10,489 households, and 6,964 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,039.1 people per square mile . There were 10,935 housing units at an average density of 2,106.7 per square mile...
on November 6, 1982. A three-day weekend supercard, others who appeared on the card included Luis Martinez, J.W. Hawk, J.R. Hogg, Zoltan the Great, Bobby Colt, The Beast and Bobo Brazil
Bobo Brazil
Houston Harris was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Bobo Brazil. He is credited with breaking down barriers of racial segregation in professional wrestling...
who was crowned its first champion. While there, he faced one of his first major opponents, Malcolm Monroe and his manager "Mad Dog" Marcial Bovee, in Akron
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
.
Around 1985, Winters began wrestling for the American Wrestling Association
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
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...
. Feuding with "The Living Legend" Larry Zbyszko
Larry Zbyszko
Lawrence "Larry" Whistler is a professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Larry Zbyszko. Zbyszko is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, wrestling legend Bruno Sammartino during the early 1980s....
, he later earned the same sobriquet which he used for the majority of his career. Other notable opponents included Nick Bockwinkel
Nick Bockwinkel
Nicholas Warren Francis "Nick" Bockwinkel is a retired American professional wrestler. He mainly competed in the American Wrestling Association in the United States...
, Kendo Nagasaki
Kazuo Sakurada
, better known as Mr. Sakurada and as the Japanese version of , is a retired Japanese professional wrestler. He is best known, under various monikers, for his work in Stampede Wrestling, National Wrestling Alliance, and World Championship Wrestling. Sakurada is also highly regarded by Bret Hart as...
and Jimmy Garvin
Jimmy Garvin
James Williams is a retired American professional wrestler. He is best known by his ring name "Gorgeous" Jimmy "Jam" Garvin and as a member of the legendary Fabulous Freebirds....
. His match with Garvin was later released as part of Wrestling's Greatest Matches series. Winters also took part in tag team as well as singles matches. During the summer of 1985, he teamed with various partners against The Long Riders (Bill
Barney Irwin
Barney William Irwin is a professional wrestler best known as Bill Irwin.-Professional wrestling career:Bill Irwin started wrestling in 1979 in the National Wrestling Alliance's Central States territory and in World Class Championship Wrestling...
& Scott Irwin
Scott Irwin
Scott K. Irwin was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tag team with his brother Barney "Bill" Irwin.-Debut and the World Wide Wrestling Federation:...
), Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens
Ray Stevens (wrestler)
Carl Ray Stevens , better known as Ray "The Crippler" Stevens or Ray "Blond Bomber" Stevens, was an American professional wrestler. Stevens was a wrestling superstar since the early years of the television era until he retired during the early 1990s...
, and The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes
Michael Hayes (wrestler)
Michael Seitz is a retired American professional wrestler and former musician. Seitz is best known for leading The Fabulous Freebirds under the ring name Michael "P.S." Hayes and for his role as the announcer Dok Hendrix in the World Wrestling Federation...
, Terry Gordy
Terry Gordy
Terry Ray 'Bam Bam' Gordy, Sr. was a professional wrestler who was best known in North America for being a member of the Fabulous Freebirds.-Career:...
& Buddy Roberts).
He also made several appearances for short-lived Pro Wrestling USA
Pro Wrestling USA
Pro Wrestling USA was a professional wrestling promotion in the United States of America in the mid 1980s. It was an attempt to unify various federations, including the American Wrestling Association , Jim Crockett Promotions and other members of the National Wrestling Alliance .-Background:By...
, specifically shows co-promoted by the AWA and 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...
, facing Buddy Roberts and Boris Zhukov. On November 24, 1985, at an interpromotional show for AWA and Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim 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:...
, Winters lost to Boris Zhukov at the Civic Center in Baltimore, Maryland.
During the next two years, Winters wrestled for the NWA as well as the World Wrestling Council
World Wrestling Council
The World Wrestling Council is one of Puerto Rico's two main professional wrestling promotions, the other one being the International Wrestling Association....
, World Grand Prix Wrestling
Grand prix wrestling
Grand Prix Wrestling is a wrestling promotion run and owned by Emile Duprée. Grand Prix Wrestling has currently stopped touring due to heavy traveling costs...
. and the National Wrestling Federation
National Wrestling Federation
The original National Wrestling Federation was a wrestling promotion based in Buffalo, New York and owned by promoter Pedro Martínez. It ran from 1970-1974. The promotion was then revived in 1986 by Robert Raskin...
. On October 2, 1987, Winters wrestled NWF Heavyweight Champion D.C. "Mad Dog" Drake at the Al Lang Stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg, Florida
St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It is known as a vacation destination for both American and foreign tourists. As of 2008, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau is 245,314, making St...
. A year later, he and DC Drake were featured in a special documentary on violence in professional wrestling, Scar Wars, which also included Jules Strongbow
Jules strongbow
Frank Hill is a former professional wrestler, who is best known for his tenure in World Wrestling Federation , where he used to wrestle as Chief Jules Strongbow or simply Jules Strongbow, the brother of Chief Jay Strongbow.-World Wrestling Federation :Jules made his wrestling debut in the 1970s...
and Abdullah the Butcher
Abdullah the Butcher
Lawrence Robert "Larry" Shreve best known as Abdullah the Butcher, and also at times The Madman from the Sudan, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler known as one of the most brutal or "hardcore" professional wrestlers of all-time...
.
Between 1988 and 1989, Winters regularly did shows for promoter Jim Crockett
Jim Crockett
James Allen Crockett was a professional wrestling promoter sometimes known as Jim Crockett, Sr. or to people within the business simply as "Big Jim".-Early life:...
in Baltimore. It was during this period that Winters met Joel Goodhart who was then involved with the Squared Circle Fan Club fan club which organized bus trips to NWA and independent shows in the Baltimore area. When Goodhart opened the Ringmasters Wrestling School in Northeast Philadelphia
Northeast Philadelphia
Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 Census, the Northeast has a sizable percentage of the city's 1.547 million people — a population of between 300,000 and 450,000,...
, Larry Winters was hired as its the head trainer.
In the summer of 1990, Winters toured Canada with IWA Championship Wrestling facing David Isley and Jim Folger. He also faced his old rival Larry Zbyszko in the Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
-based Lutte Internationale.
Tri-State Wrestling Alliance (1990-1992)
Joel Goodhart began promoting wrestling shows and, following the formation of the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance in 1990, Winters became one of its earliest stars. Hoping to rekindle their rivalry in the NWF, Winters was paired against D.C. Drake in a series of wild matches. In their first match together, the brawl reached the balcony levelBalcony
Balcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
and Winters threw his opponent over the rail and onto the cement floor. Bill Apter
Bill Apter
Bill Apter is a journalist specializing in professional wrestling and best known for the kayfabe or so-called "mark" magazines for which he edited and photographed matches from the 1970s to the present. The magazine he became most prominently known for was Pro Wrestling Illustrated...
, editor of Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
Pro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
, wrote the following month that "professional wrestling would be forever changed due to this escalated level of violence". Indeed, similar TWA feuds between Cactus Jack
Mick Foley
Michael Francis "Mick" Foley, Sr. is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, author, comedian, actor, voice actor and former color commentator. He has worked for many wrestling promotions, including WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA. He is often referred to as "The Hardcore Legend", a nickname he...
and Eddie Gilbert, Abdullah the Butcher
Abdullah the Butcher
Lawrence Robert "Larry" Shreve best known as Abdullah the Butcher, and also at times The Madman from the Sudan, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler known as one of the most brutal or "hardcore" professional wrestlers of all-time...
and The Sheik
Ed Farhat
Edward George Farhat was an American professional wrestler best known as by his ring name The Sheik...
, and Tony Stetson
Tony Stetson
Tony Matteo is a semi-retired American professional wrestler, best known by his ring name "Hitman" Tony Stetson, who has competed in Northeastern independent promotions during the late 1980s and 1990s...
and Johnny Hotbody were equally as violent and, in part, inspired the modern style of "hardcore wrestling
Hardcore wrestling
Hardcore wrestling is a form of professional wrestling that eschews traditional concepts of match rules in favor of matches that take place in unusual environments, using foreign objects that are not normally permitted...
" later seen in Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
.
On January 27, 1990, Larry Winters beat D.C. Drake in a "stretcher" match at the TWF's Winter Challenge supercard in Philadelphia. On March 31 at Spring Spectacular, Winters lost to Drake in an "I Quit" match lasting 37 minutes. This match was later named by DeathValleyDriver.com
Death Valley Driver Video Review
The Death Valley Driver Video Review is an online fanzine dedicated to criticizing, analyzing, and reviewing professional wrestling. Characterized by its use of parody and satirical humor, DVDVR has been credited for popularizing certain expressions and slang in internet culture such as the...
as one of the top matches of the decade. On June 9, Winters met Drake in a 6-man elimination tag team match pitting himself, Rockin' Rebel
Rockin' Rebel
Chuck Williams is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Rockin' Rebel. He is best known for his appearances on the U.S...
and Tony Stetson against D.C. Drake, Johnny Hotbody and Mondo Kleen at Summer Sizzler. Although Stetson had been eliminated by Johnny Hotbody early in the match, Winters went on to pin Kleen, Hotbody and Drake to win the match.
At Autumn Armageddon, Winters took part in a 20-man "reverse cage battle royal" held at Philadelphia's Penn Hall on September 15. The battle royal included "Bounty Hunter" Max Thrasher, The Cheetah Kid
Rocco Rock
Theodore James Petty was an American professional wrestler better known as "Flyboy" Rocco Rock, one half of The Public Enemy.-Career:...
, Crybaby Waldo, Ghetto Blaster, Ron Shaw, Top Gun, Triton and was won by Rockin' Rebel. He and Drake later teamed up to beat Jimmy Jannetty & Rockin' Rebel at the Original Sports Bar on December 4, 1990. Winters returned to Original Sports Bar two months later where, on February 24, 1991, he won a battle royal
Battle royal
Battle royal traditionally refers to a fight involving three or more combatants that is fought until only one fighter remains standing. In recent times the term has been used in a more general sense to refer to any fight involving large numbers of people that are not organized into factions...
. On March 2, he participated in a "ringmaster rumble" at Winter Challenge II which was won by JT Smith.
Teaming with Johnny Hotbody as The Dog Pound, they defeated The Confederacy (Rockin' Rebel & Jimmy Jannetty) at Spring Spectacular II in Philadelphia on May 18, 1991, to become the first TWA Tag Team Champions. On August 3, The Dog Pound teamed with TWA Heavyweight Champion D.C. Drake at Summer Sizzler II in a 6-man tag team "elimination" match against J.T. Smith, Tony Stetson and C.N. Redd. Bam Bam Bigelow was the special guest referee. Although Drake lost the heavyweight title to Smith, they ended up winning the match when Winters pinned Stetson. Winters and Hotbody lost the tag team titles a month later to The Blackhearts (David Health
David Heath (wrestler)
David William Heath is an American professional wrestler and pornographic film director. He is best known for his time in the World Wrestling Entertainment under the ring name Gangrel.-Beginning:...
& Tom Nash) at Autumn Armageddon II on September 21, 1991. DC Drake was substituting for Winters and was the man pinned when the titles changed hands. The promotion closed four months later.
Eastern Championship Wrestling (1992-1993)
Days after Goodhart announced the close of the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance, Winters met with Steve Truitt, Bob Artese and Tod GordonTod Gordon
Tod Gordon is the President of Carver W. Reed Co. Inc, a Philadelphia jewelry store and loan office that was established in 1860. He is also the founder of both defunct Professional wrestling promotions Eastern Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling...
for a meeting at Gordon's Philadelphia office. They all decided to continue promoting events without Goodhart and began organizing the future Eastern Championship Wrestling. Winters accepted a position as its first booker
Booker
- Places :*Booker, Buckinghamshire, a hamlet in England*Booker, Texas, a town in the United States*RAF Booker, a Royal Air Force airfield from 1941 to 1963- People :Given name*Booker T , the name of several people...
. While head instructor of Goodhart's wrestling school, Winters had trained several future ECW stars such as Donn E. Allen, Glen Osbourne
Glen Osbourne
Glen Osbourne is an American professional wrestler, perhaps best known for his appearances with Eastern Championship Wrestling in the early 1990s, where he was the youngest holder of the ECW World Television Championship...
and The Sandman
Jim Fullington
James "Jim" Fullington better known by his ring name Sandman, is an American professional wrestler, best known for his career with Extreme Championship Wrestling , where he developed into a "Hardcore Icon"...
.
Though he proved competent in the role, creative differences between Winters traditional booking style and Gordon's more radical approach led to his eventual replacement by Eddie Gilbert who had the necessary contacts and experience needed by the young promotion. In a 2003 shoot interview, Gordon claimed he was upset with a racial-based angle which occurred during the main event of ECW's first show at Philadelphia's Original Sports Bar. Winters and Johnny Hotbody fought DC Drake & JT Smith to a double disqualification. Originally, they were supposed to spraypaint JT Smith white and DC Drake black. Instead, the two left the black paint in the locker room and only painted Smith white. Upset that he was "worked by the boys", Gordon took over as booker until bringing in Eddie Gilbert later that year.
At ECW's second-ever event, once again at the Original Sports Bar, D.C. Drake and J.T. Smith defeated Winters and Hotbody a month after their last match on March 24, 1992. Over the next few weeks, Winters won victories over Stevie Richards
Stevie Richards
Michael Manna is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Stevie Richards. Also known by his ring names, Steven Richards and Dr...
, Derrick Domino Max Thrasher and King Kaluha. On June 23, Winters lost an intergender handicap match with Tony Stetson and Vivacious Veronica against Johnny Hotbody, former students Don E. Allen and The Sandman, and Peaches
Lori Fullington
Lori Fullington is an American retired professional wrestling manager. She is perhaps best known for her appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling under her real name and as Peaches.-Career:...
. Winters lost to The Sandman in a single match on July 14. The following night, he and Johnny Hotbody co-won a battle royal and later fought each other to a double disqualification. On August 11, Winters lost to Hotbody in a tournament final to crown the first ECW Television Champion. Hotbody broke his ankle during the match and the title was vacated afterwards. A month later, Winters was featured in Wrestling Superstars.
Briefly teaming with Jimmy Jannetty, the two feuded with King Kaluha & Scott Summers
Scotty Summers
Scotty "Hot Body" Summers is a retired American professional wrestler who competed in regional and independent promotions throughout the United States and Canada during the 1990s and 2000s. One-half of Hot Paradise with Johnny Paradise, the two held the unified tag team titles of Border City...
until early-October. He also wrestled Terry Taylor
Terry Taylor
Terry Taylor , is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his time in the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation...
during the summer. That same month, they fought Chris Michaels & Damien Stone to a double disqualification on October 24. With Tony Stetson, Winters faced Michaels and Stone in a rematch two months later in Morrisville, Pennsylvania
Morrisville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Morrisville is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 8,728 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Morrisville is located at . It is situated on the Delaware River directly across from Trenton, New Jersey...
and defeated them via countout on December 19, 1992. They also defeated Michaels in a tag team match with The Samoan Warrior at Cabrini College
Cabrini College
Cabrini College is a coeducational Roman Catholic residential college in the Philadelphia metropolitan area of Radnor Township, Pennsylvania, founded by the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in 1957. It was one of the first colleges in the United States to make community service a...
in Radnor
Radnor, Pennsylvania
Radnor is a wealthy Main Line township. It is an unincorporated community in Radnor Township of Delaware County and Tredyffrin Township of Chester County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It lies near the communities of Villanova and St...
on March 12, 1993. That same night, he entered a championship tournament for the ECW TV title but lost in the quarter-finals to "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka
Jimmy Snuka
James William "Jimmy" Reiher is a semi-retired Fijian professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka. Originally from the Fiji Islands, Snuka wrestled for several promotions in the 1970s and 1980s. Snuka is a two-time world heavyweight champion, having been a...
. Prior to the match, Sunka introduced Eddie Gilbert as his manager. This match was later broadcast on on the debut episode of Hardcore TV the following month.
Deciding to team full time with his old TWA rival, he and Stetson feuded with The Super Destroyers
The Super Destroyers
The Super Destroyers is a Professional wrestling Tag team consisting of Doug Stahl and A.J. Petrucci. They both currently perform on Independent circuit and they are best known for their stint in NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling where they were the first-ever and longest reigning tag team...
(Doug Stahl
Doug Stahl
Douglas E. Stahl is an American professional wrestler who currently works in the Independent circuit as one half of the masked Tag team known as The Super Destroyers...
& A.J. Petrucci
A.J. Petrucci
A. J. Petrucci is an American professional wrestler. He was one half of the Extreme Championship Wrestling tag team The Super Destroyers as Super Destroyer #1 with his partner Doug Stahl, who was known as Super Destroyer #2....
) over the ECW Tag Team Championship
ECW Tag Team Championship
The Extreme Championship Wrestling World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling...
including putting up the hair in exchange for a title shot, and finally beat them for the titles in Radnor on April 2. Their reign lasted only one day as the lost the titles to The Suicide Blondes (Chris Candido
Chris Candido
Christopher Raul Candito was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Chris Candido...
& Johnny Hotbody) the following night in Philadelphia. On May 14, Winters lost a 6-man tag team match with Glen Osbourne and Tommy Cairo
Tommy Cairo
Thomas "Tommy" Cairo is an American retired professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his 1994 feud with The Sandman in Extreme Championship Wrestling. He is the former co-owner of the New Jersey-based Force One Pro Wrestling promotion and school.-Career:Cairo was a bodybuilder before...
against Hot Stuff International (Eddie Gilbert, Dark Patriot
Doug Gilbert
Doug Gilbert is a professional wrestler from Memphis, Tennessee who wrestles on the independent circuit. He is the brother of "Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert and the son of wrestler/referee/promoter Tommy Gilbert....
and Don Muraco
Don Muraco
Donald Muraco , better known by his ring name "The Rock" Don Muraco, is a retired American professional wrestler...
).
Shortly after losing the tag team titles, Stetson unexpectedly turned on Winters while participating in a 16-man battle royal for the ECW Pennsylvania Championship
ECW Pennsylvania Championship
The ECW Pennsylvania Championship was a short-lived title in ECW when it was called Eastern Championship Wrestling. It was also known as the NWA Pennsylvania Heavyweight Championship and existed in 1993.-Title history:-References:-See also:...
. On June 19, Winters lost to his former partner in a First Blood match at ECW Summer Sizzler
ECW Summer Sizzler
Summer Sizzler was a professional wrestling event which took place on June 19, 1993 from the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.-Results:-External links:*...
at the ECW Arena in South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia
South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south, and the Schuylkill River to the west.-History:...
. Winter continued feuding with Stetson for the next two months. Allied with The Sandman, they beat Stetson and Rockin' Rebel in a tag team match and also fought Stetson to a no-contest. In his last appearance, Winters defeated Rockin' Rebel with Stetson in his corner. Winter was one of the many original ex-TWA wrestlers let go from the promotion by Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman
Paul Heyman is an American entertainment producer, best known for his career in professional wrestling as a promoter, manager, commentator and journalist. He is also an occasional actor in film....
in order to bring in his own wrestlers. Tod Gordon claimed that Winters was released due to his age and his reluctance to engage in more "hardcore"-style wrestling.
He came back later that year and wrestled for a short time as the masked wrestler Mr. X. On October 16, he fought Tommy Cairo in North East, Maryland
North East, Maryland
North East is a town in Cecil County, Maryland, United States. The population was 2,733 at the 2000 census.-History:The Turkey Point Light Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002...
and teamed with Don E. Allen to beat The Hell Riders in Morrisville a week later. His final match was against The Lumberjack at the ECW Arena on December 4, 1993.
Semi-retirement and the independent circuit (2002-2008)
After nearly ten years in retirement, Winters began wrestling for local independent promotions in the Philadelphia area. On March 3, 2002, Winters defeated Jeff Rocker for the Cutting Edge Wrestling Federation but lost to Tony Stetson in a lumberjack match for Liberty All-Star Wrestling on April 20. Within three months, however, Winter reunited with Stetson in KAPOW Wrestling to defeat The Badstreet Boys (Christian YorkChristian York
Jason Spence is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Christian York.-York and Matthews:...
& Joey Matthews) and The Well Hung Warriors (Mark Smart & Greg Spitz) in a 3 Way Dance on July 28. A month later, he took part in a two-day card for the Universal Wrestling Federation. On August 16, 2002, Winters defeated Scotty Ice and, the following night, lost to The Sandman.
In 2007, Winters made several appearances for Tod Gordon's Pro Wrestling Unplugged. On October 27, he and one-time rival Larry Zbyszko appeared as a guest on Johnny Kashmere
Johnny Kashmere
Johnny Kashmere is an American professional wrestler, best known as one half of The Backseat Boyz, along with the late Trent Acid...
's Batcave segment. That same night, he managed The Best Around (TJ Cannon & Bruce Maxwell) in their victory over The Bosom Buddies (Teddy Fine & Drew Blood) to win the vacant PWU Tag Team Championship. He also managed the team in separate single matches on November 17, 2007. Winters finally joined The Best Around in a 6-man tag team match to defeat Team P.I.T. (Gary Wolfe, Aramis & Annie Social) on January 19, 2008. In one of his last appearance with the promotion, he wrestled The Blue Meanie in Philadelphia on March 15, 2008.
TWA Reunion Shows (2009-)
On October 24, 2009, Winters was one of several former TWA stars who took part in the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance Reunion Show at the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees, New Jersey. With former tag team partner Johnny Hotbody in his corner, he defeated Jimmy Jannetty. Former TWA manager Hunter Q. Robbins III was also at ringside scouting Winters.At the end of the year, a second reunion show was held at St. Matthew's Baptist Church in Williamstown, New Jersey
Williamstown, New Jersey
Williamstown, home of brandon ciarlante, is a census-designated place and unincorporated area located within Monroe Township, in Gloucester County, New Jersey...
, to collect unwrapped toys for the Toys for Tots
Toys for Tots
Toys for Tots is a program run by the United States Marine Corps Reserve which donates toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas. The program was founded in 1947 by reservist Major William L...
program. Winters won his match against King Kaluha via countout. Also headlining the show were The Blue Meanie, Steve Corino
Steve Corino
Steven Eugene "Steve" Corino is a Canadian professional wrestler, who currently works for Pro Wrestling Zero1, Ring of Honor and numerous other independent promotions. Corino is a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion and ECW World Heavyweight Champion.-Early years :Corino began wrestling in 1994...
and Tony Stetson. On January 31, 2010, he and other TWA wrestlers appeared for "Wiseguy" Jimmy Cicero
Jimmy Cicero
Matt Bowman, best known by his ring name "Wiseguy" Jimmy Cicero, is an American professional wrestler who has competed in several promotions on the independent circuit. He had also competed for the United States Wrestling Association, Extreme Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation...
's "Bodyslam Autism Show" at the Flyers Skate Zone in Voorhees. Winters faced mixed martial artist "Sensei" Paul Lopresti.
After their bout, Winters "invaded" Lopresti's dojo and criticized both his opponent and martial arts in general. As the dojo regularly films its training and sparring sessions, his disruption was caught on tape and made widely available on Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and similar video sharing websites. A rematch was signed for the two to meet in a tag team match at the next TWA show in Vorhees on April 11. In a tag team grudge match, Winters and his partner Cujo the Hellhound lost to Lopresti and Michael Bruno when Lopresti forced Cujo to submit. The event was to help raise money for the Adopt a Pet organization.
Winters is scheduled to participate in a Ringmaster Rumble, featuring wrestlers from the original TWA Ringmasters Wrestling School, at the next TWA card held at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania
Plymouth Meeting is a census-designated place in the Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the northern terminus of the "Blue Route" and the southern terminus of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Northeast Extension . The population was 6,177 at the 2010 census...
on June 5, 2010.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
-
- Cannonball Splash
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Woman
Championships and accomplishments
- Eastern Championship WrestlingExtreme Championship WrestlingExtreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...
- ECW Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Tony StetsonTony StetsonTony Matteo is a semi-retired American professional wrestler, best known by his ring name "Hitman" Tony Stetson, who has competed in Northeastern independent promotions during the late 1980s and 1990s...
- National Wrestling Federation
- NWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Tri-State Wrestling Alliance
- TWA Tag Team Championship (1 time, first) with Johnny Hotbody
- United States Wrestling Federation
- USWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI ranked him # 253 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1993
- PWI ranked him # 251 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1992
- PWI ranked him # 366 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1991