Rick Link
Encyclopedia
"The Beastmaster" Rick Link (born February 28, 1959) is an American
semi-retired professional wrestler, trainer
and promoter
. He wrestled throughout Canada and the United States for the National Wrestling Alliance
during the 1970s and 80s under a number of ringnames, most notably, as M.E.B. (Man Eating Beast) in NWA Central States and as Man Mountain Link in the Continental Wrestling Association
where he was among the "monster
heels
" who challenged AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Jerry "The King" Lawler
and was involved in the ongoing feud between Lawler and Andy Kaufman. Other promotions Link competed in included Georgia Championship Wrestling
, International Championship Wrestling
, the International Wrestling Association, Jim Crockett Promotions
, and Stampede Wrestling
. He was also part of the NWA's 1983 visit to New Zealand, frequently appearing on the country's long-running wrestling programme On the Mat
, and remained undefeated throughout the tour.
Following the end of the NWA territory system, Link relocated to his native North Carolina
where he became a trainer and promoter of independent wrestling in the Southeastern United States
. It was on the independent circuit that he reinvented himself as a formidable "hardcore" wrestler
and engaged in bloody brawls with Abdullah the Butcher
, the Iron Sheik, Buddy Landel
, Jimmy Valiant
and Wahoo McDaniel
. He has also been long billed as "World Brass Knuckles Champion" in his home state. Since the 1990s, he has been associated with Alternative Championship Wrestling, Carolina Championship Wrestling, Coastal Championship Wrestling, New Age Championship Wrestling and New Dimension Wrestling, the latter promotion associated with his Piedmont Triad
wrestling school, the TNT Training Center. In recent years, he has appeared with other NWA territorial veterans of the Carolinas such as Bobby Eaton
, The Barbarian
, Ivan Koloff, Bobby Fulton, Jimmy Valiant
, Tommy Young
and The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton
and Robert Gibson
).
native, Rick Link became a fan of professional wrestling at a young age and was the president of the Ron Garvin Fan Club
in his teens. One Man Gang was also one of his childhood friends while growing up in the Carolinas. Link started training to become a pro wrestler at the age of 15. He was taught by Johnny Hunter, an older NWA veteran who also trained Ken Spence and George South
, who set up a ring in Link's backyard and worked out with the teenager 7 days a week unless Hunter was on the road. The training conditions, according to Link, were "brutal" as the two wrestled "stiff" and regardless of "whether it was freezing or it was in 100 degree heat". The lessons learned from Hunter, that hardship would teach students to have a love and old-school respect for the business, would carry over as a trainer years later.
which competed against Jim Crockett Promotions
in the Carolina's during the 1970s. He appeared in televised matches for well over a year against wrestlers such as Bulldog Brower
, The Love Brothers, Don Fargo, Buddy Austin, Killer Karl Krupp
and Karl Von Stronheim. Link later credited these men for giving him valuable experience during his early career though, he joked in a later interview that "it took a few months of getting stretched before they warmed to me".
in Atlanta, Georgia
. He initially worked for Ernie Ladd
and later Georgia Championship Wrestling
booker
s George Scott
and Buck Robley through 1980-81. Link was then brought into Angelo Poffo's International Championship Wrestling
by his son "Macho Man" Randy Savage
and took part in TV tapings with Angelo and Lanny Poffo
, Ronnie Garvin, Ox Baker
, Rip Rogers
, Pez Whatley
, and The Samoans (Tio and Tapu) during 1982.
's Stampede Wrestling
in Calgary, Alberta and accompanied the promotion on its first-ever Caribbean tour in Antigua
and Montserrat
in the West Indies where he wrestled Bret Hart
, "Dr. D" David Schultz
, Gama Singh
and JR Foley. He also joined the NWA on a major tour of New Zealand in 1983. He was among the many foreign wrestlers to appear on the country's long-running wrestling programme On the Mat
and whose opponents included Lars Anderson
, Mark Lewin
, Curt Kummala and Steve Rickard
. He initially arrived as a "heel" wrestler
, offering $1000 to anyone who could bodyslam him and challenged local wrestlers to handicap matches, but later "turned face"
to feud with the Mongols, Zar
& Gor. One of his most memorable matches from this period was a 6-man tag team match with Ricky Rickard
and Mark Lewin
against Butcher Branigan, Jos LeDuc
& "Brutal" Bob Miller
. While in New Zealand, the 24-year-old Link and then NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair
celebrated their birthdays together, Flair's 34th birthday being three days before his, along with Steve Rickard. Link also worked in Tonga, Samoa and Hawaii for Lia Maivia during his New Zealand tour. The King of Tonga, Taufa'ahau Tupou IV
, was in attendance during one of his matches. Years later, Link became the first wrestler to appear in New Zealand cartoonist Jason Conlan
's "On The Mat" comic strip for Pro Wrestling Illustrated
. He was also interviewed by Kiwi Pro Wrestling
, one of New Zealand's three major wrestling companies, which was later posted on their website.
in Memphis, Tennessee
and NWA Central States promoters Harley Race
, Pat O'Connor
and Bob Geigel in Kansas City, Missouri
. He first arrived in the Continental Wrestling Association
as one of the "monster
heels
", such as Jos LeDuc
, the Mongolian Stomper
, Kamala
, King Kong Bundy
and Andre the Giant
, brought to Memphis to challenge Jerry "The King" Lawler
for the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship. Link was managed
by Jimmy Hart
during his first run in the territory and whose "gimmick" included eating a raw chicken
walking to the ring or during interviews. Hart later claimed that Link was probably his least favourite wrestler to manage because of this eccentricity. Link fared better than prior opponents defeating Lawler for the title at the Mid-South Coliseum
in Memphis on June 20, 1983, ending Lawler's 25th reign. He and Lawler traded the title during the feud before losing the title back to Lawler three weeks later for a second a final time; Link's victories made him one of the first men to pin Lawler two consecutive weeks in a row at the Mid-South Coliseum. That same night, he took part in a 10-man tag team match with Dream Machine
, Porkchop Cash
and The Grapplers (Grappler #1
and Grappler #2
) against Steve Regal
, Spike Huber, Mad Dog and The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton
and Robert Gibson
).
The Link-Lawler feud was immensely popular with wrestling fans at the time partly due to the connections with the ongoing rivalry between Lawler and Andy Kaufman. Jason "MonkeyBoy" Phillips, a disc jockey
for WKQQ-100.1 FM
, has claimed that his all-time favourite match was between Man Mountain Link and Jerry Lawler at Louisville Gardens
. On June 27, 1983, Link and Ken Patera
challenged Jerry Lawler to a tag team match at the Mid-South Coliseum in which Lawler would get a rematch with Kaufman if he managed to pin Patera in the match. Lawler's surprise tag team partner was eventually revealed to be longtime enemy Austin Idol
with the two later going on to defeat Link and Patera in front of nearly 7,000 fans. On July 11, he and Duke Myers lost to The Rock 'n' Roll Express and on July 18 the two took part in a 10-man elimination match with Don Anderson, Tommy Gilbert, Spike Huber, Mad Dog, Sweet Daddy O, Tom Pritchard
, Ken Timbs
and the eventual winner The Giant Rebel. The end of his first stint in the Memphis territory came a week later with his defeat by Stagger Lee
in a "loser leaves town" match.
Through Link made a one-time "Halloween" appearance for a 6-man tag team match with The Moondogs
(Rex & Spot), fighting to a no-contest in a "falls count anywhere" match with Jerry Lawler, Austin Idol and Dutch Mantel
, he spent the next few months wrestling in NWA Central States under the name M.E.B. (Man Eating Beast). In early 1984, under the management of Sheik Abdullah The Great, he feuded with Art Crews
over the NWA Central States Television Championship
. After a brief absence, he returned on June 14 and easily defeated Mike Pagal. Following the match, Link and Sheik Abdullah attacked Art Crews and stole the TV belt. Link briefly held on to the title but Crews managed to regain it at a house show soon afterwards. He managed to win the TV championship in an official match before losing the title back to Crews that same year. While in the territory, Link also won the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship
with "Triple 6" Jim Star defeating Buzz Sawyer
& "Bulldog" Bob Brown
.
That summer, Link returned to Memphis where he resumed his feud with Jerry Lawler. In July 1985, he was awarded the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship
and lost the title to Lawler at the Mid-South Coliseum that same month. On July 22, he lost to Jerry Oski, Tojo Yamamoto
and Jerry Jarrett in a 6-man tag team match with The Spoiler
and Jerry Bryant. He and Bryant lost a tag team match to Yamamoto and Jarrett via disqualification the following week. In August, Link faced off in singles competition against Tracy Smothers
and Yamamoto. Link would have a few more stints in Memphis over the next two years. On September 20, 1986, he was enlisted by Larry Sharpe
in a tag team match against former student Bam Bam Bigelow and Jerry Lawler. Bigelow had turned against his former manager, becoming a "babyface" in the process, and teamed with Lawler on his last night in the territory. His final CWA appearance was a tag team match with Larry Wright against Ric McCord & John Paul at the Mid-South Coliseum on October 13, 1986.
and the World Wrestling Federation began its national expansion. In October 1986, he and female wrestler Debbie Combs were among the celebrities who attended the 6th-annual WaxWorks/Videoworks trade show in Owensboro, Kentucky
. Finding work outside the U.S., he made a return appearance to Canada where, using the name Squasher Link, he lost to Gerry Morrow in Edmonton, Alberta on April 4, 1987. With the close of NWA Central States in 1988, as well as the dissolution of the old CWA Memphis territory the following year, Link returned to North Carolina where he spent the next few years as a trainer and working with local promoters. He also started competing under his real name "The Beastmaster" Rick Link and made appearances for independent promotions up and down the Eastern seaboard.
By the mid-1990s, Link had gained a new generation of fans through "hardcore"-wrestling style
matches against Abdullah the Butcher
, the Iron Sheik, Buddy Landel
, Chuck Coates, Jimmy Valiant
and Wahoo McDaniel
. He eventually headlined countless regional promotions performing in a series of thumbtack death matches and had memorable bouts against Major DeBeers
, "Dirty White Boy" Tony Anthony
, Justin Feeche and his student King Konga. Among the promotions he was involved with included Alternative Championship Wrestling and Chris Plano's New Dimension Wrestling. On July 17, 1998, Link headlined a CCW supercard with Buddy Landel, Tully Blanchard
, "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka
, the Iron Sheik, "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas
, One Man Gang and Abdullah the Butcher at the Motor Sport Park in Concord, North Carolina
. He and Abdullah wrestled in a "hardcore" match on the undercard for Link's Brass Knuckles title. His opponent used a fork
against him during the match which eventually ended in a no-contest.
Though he lost the title to "Raging Bull" Manny Fernandez
in Thomasville, North Carolina
on December 3, 1998, Link won it back in Burlington
on December 12. Two weeks later, he and Fernandez wrestled to a double countout on an Eastern States Wrestling show at the International Agri-Center in Hamburg, New York
. At the end of the month, he and Fernandez joined forces in Link's feud with The Dream Warriors defeating them in a tag team match in Thomasville on December 26, 1998. The following year, on May 15, 1999, Link successfully defended the NDW Brass Knuckles Championship against Fernandez at the Break The Barrier
supercard at Philadelphia's Viking Hall. In August 2002, he and Willie Clay became the head instructors at New Dimension Wrestling's new indoor wrestling school in Concord.
He was also a regular in Southern Championship Wrestling
, which helped produce future WWE superstars Shane Helms, Joey Matthews, Shannon Moore
and the Hardy Boyz
, where he was part of manager Count Grog
's "heel" stable The Brotherhood with Major DeBeers, Boris Dragoff, Manny Fernandez, KC Thunder and Frank Parker. A one-time holder of both the SCW North Carolina Heavyweight and Brass Knuckles Championship Trophy, Link was among the wrestlers who appearred at the final SCW show, a joint interpromotional supercard with Travis Bradshaw's Vanguard Championship Wrestling, held in Bedford, Virginia
on October 30, 2004.
wrestling in a Russian chain match. As the self-proclaimed "World's Brass Knuckle Champion", he beat "The Cowboy" Cletus Bass "to a bloody mess" during their match at a CWE show on March 24, 2007, while CWE Revolution Champion Aaron Devil watched from ringside. The match had been put together at the last minute by CWE Commissioner Richie Blaisdell as a punishment for Bass for "sticking his nose in his business". Link and Willie Watts represented CWE at the 3-day 2007 NWA Wrestling Legends Fanfest at the Hilton University Place Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina
from August 10–12, 2007.
. Link won the match when Baby Doll
, Foley's valet, turned against him and joined with Link and his manager Count Grog. At the GOUGE supercard "March Mayhem" in Youngsville, North Carolina
, Count Grog allowed Stevie Charles and Nicky Richards to manage Link for one night only against Eskimo Joe later that night. In exchange, Charles agreed to appear at GOUGE's second anniversary show in Raleigh, North Carolina
in a "gimmick" of Grog's choosing which was revealed to be dressing up in drag
. Link later defeated Eskimo Joe after Link hit his opponent with a fireball.
One year later, on January 31, 2009, Link was among the many independent wrestlers who performed at the 7th-annual Seagrove Supershow, co-promoted by ACW and GOUGE, which included George South
, Malia Hosaka, Brandi Wine, Scrap Yard Dog, Ric Converse, Lumbee Warrior, Rob Killjoy, Semour Snott, Count Grog, Cowboy Willie Watts, Leroy Green and Otto Schwanz. The event, called "A Night with the King", was headlined by his old Memphis arch-rival Jerry "The King" Lawler and held at the local Seagrove Elementary School as a fundraiser for the Randolph County Knockouts. Two weeks later, Link (with Count Grog) beat Scapyard Dog in a dog collar match at the GOUGE vs. ACW Legends Super Show in Seagrove. The show was also held as a memorial to ACW promoter Jerry McNeil. On April 4, he and Major DeBeers wrestled Dick Foley & Mudd Face (Scotty Matthews) at GOUGE's "Final Countdown". This was the last pro wrestling show held at Kings Barcade before being torn down later that year.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
semi-retired professional wrestler, trainer
Athletic trainer
An athletic trainer is a certified, health care professional who practices in the field of sports medicine. Athletic training has been recognized by the American Medical Association as an allied health care profession since 1990....
and promoter
Promoter (entertainment)
An entertainment promoter i.e. music, wrestling, boxing etc is a person or company in the business of marketing and promoting live events such as concerts/gigs, boxing matches, sports entertainment , festivals, raves, and nightclubs.- Business model :Promoters are typically hired as independent...
. He wrestled throughout Canada and the United States for 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...
during the 1970s and 80s under a number of ringnames, most notably, as M.E.B. (Man Eating Beast) in NWA Central States and as Man Mountain Link in 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...
where he was among the "monster
Super heavyweight
In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms . Introduced for the 1984 Summer Olympics, the division, despite its grandiose name, is merely the amateur equivalent of the professional heavyweight division...
heels
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
" who challenged AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Jerry "The King" Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
and was involved in the ongoing feud between Lawler and Andy Kaufman. Other promotions Link competed in included Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on Atlanta, U.S., superstation WTBS. Though based in Atlanta, the company also ran live wrestling shows throughout its geographic "territory" of Georgia Georgia...
, International Championship Wrestling
International Championship Wrestling
International Championship Wrestling was an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Lexington, Kentucky that operated from 1978 until 1984. It was run by WCW Hall of Famer Angelo Poffo, the father of Randy Savage and "The Genius" Lanny Poffo...
, the International Wrestling Association, 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:...
, and 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...
. He was also part of the NWA's 1983 visit to New Zealand, frequently appearing on the country's long-running wrestling programme On the Mat
On the Mat
On the Mat was a professional wrestling television program for the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated All Star Pro-Wrestling , or simply NWA New Zealand, that aired on Television New Zealand's TV2 from 1975 to 1984...
, and remained undefeated throughout the tour.
Following the end of the NWA territory system, Link relocated to his native North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
where he became a trainer and promoter of independent wrestling in the Southeastern United States
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
. It was on the independent circuit that he reinvented himself as a formidable "hardcore" wrestler
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...
and engaged in bloody brawls with 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...
, the Iron Sheik, Buddy Landel
Buddy Landel
William Ansor is a professional wrestler better knownas "Nature Boy" Buddy Landel.-Career:Buddy Landel started his career in 1979 as a young talented athlete in ICW. He left high school even though he had received letters of intent to play baseball and football at the University of Tennessee...
, Jimmy Valiant
Jimmy Valiant
James Harold Fanning is a former professional wrestler and author better known as Jimmy Valiant.-Personal life:...
and Wahoo McDaniel
Wahoo McDaniel
Edward "Wahoo" McDaniel was a Choctaw-Chickasaw Native American who achieved fame as a professional American football player and later as a professional wrestler.-Early life:...
. He has also been long billed as "World Brass Knuckles Champion" in his home state. Since the 1990s, he has been associated with Alternative Championship Wrestling, Carolina Championship Wrestling, Coastal Championship Wrestling, New Age Championship Wrestling and New Dimension Wrestling, the latter promotion associated with his Piedmont Triad
Piedmont Triad
The Piedmont Triad, or Triad, is a north-central region of the U.S. state of North Carolina that consists of the area within and surrounding the three major cities of Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point. This close group or "triad" of cities lies in the Piedmont geographical region of the...
wrestling school, the TNT Training Center. In recent years, he has appeared with other NWA territorial veterans of the Carolinas such as Bobby Eaton
Bobby Eaton
Robert Lee "Bobby" Eaton is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, who made his debut in 1976. Eaton is most famous for his work in tag teams, especially his days as one-half of the team the Midnight Express. Under the management of Jim Cornette, Eaton originally teamed with Dennis...
, The Barbarian
Sione Vailahi
Sione Havea Vailahi is a professional wrestler best known in wrestling as The Barbarian.-Life and career:Born and raised in Tonga, Sione was one of five teenagers sent by the King of Tonga to Japan to study Sumo wrestling in the mid 1970s. Tonga Fifita was one of the other teenagers...
, Ivan Koloff, Bobby Fulton, Jimmy Valiant
Jimmy Valiant
James Harold Fanning is a former professional wrestler and author better known as Jimmy Valiant.-Personal life:...
, Tommy Young
Tommy Young
Tommy Young is a professional wrestling referee famous for his time in the National Wrestling Alliance and Jim Crockett Promotions.-Career:...
and The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton
Ricky Morton
Richard Wendell "Ricky" Morton is an American professional wrestler who has worked for such wrestling organizations as Jim Crockett Promotions, the American Wrestling Association, Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and Total Nonstop Action...
and Robert Gibson
Reuben Kane
Robert Gibson is a professional wrestler. He is famous as half of the tag team known as Rock 'N Roll Express, with Ricky Morton.-Early career:Cain started wrestling as Robert Gibson in 1977...
).
Professional wrestling career
A North CarolinaNorth Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
native, Rick Link became a fan of professional wrestling at a young age and was the president of the Ron Garvin Fan Club
Ron Garvin
Ron Garvin is a Canadian former professional wrestler and referee most known for his time in the National Wrestling Alliance.-Early career:...
in his teens. One Man Gang was also one of his childhood friends while growing up in the Carolinas. Link started training to become a pro wrestler at the age of 15. He was taught by Johnny Hunter, an older NWA veteran who also trained Ken Spence and George South
George South
George South is a professional wrestler who has appeared as a preliminary wrestler in World Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation.-Professional wrestling career:...
, who set up a ring in Link's backyard and worked out with the teenager 7 days a week unless Hunter was on the road. The training conditions, according to Link, were "brutal" as the two wrestled "stiff" and regardless of "whether it was freezing or it was in 100 degree heat". The lessons learned from Hunter, that hardship would teach students to have a love and old-school respect for the business, would carry over as a trainer years later.
Early career
After about six months of training, Link made his pro debut on March 1, 1975, one day after his 16th birthday. He spent the first few years of his career wrestling for local North Carolina-based independent promotions such as Johnny Hunter's Eastern Wrestling Association. During his rookie year, Link joined up with the International Wrestling Association, an "outlaw" promotion run by Johnny PowersJohnny Powers
Johnny Powers is a retired Canadian professional wrestler, known by his legally changed ring name Johnny Powers...
which competed against 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:...
in the Carolina's during the 1970s. He appeared in televised matches for well over a year against wrestlers such as Bulldog Brower
Bulldog Brower
Richard Gland was an American professional wrestler who used the ring name Bulldog Brower.-Professional wrestling career:...
, The Love Brothers, Don Fargo, Buddy Austin, Killer Karl Krupp
Killer Karl Krupp
George Momberg , better known by the ring name Killer Karl Krupp, was a Dutch-born professional wrestler famous during the 1970s and early 1980s.-Early life:...
and Karl Von Stronheim. Link later credited these men for giving him valuable experience during his early career though, he joked in a later interview that "it took a few months of getting stretched before they warmed to me".
Wrestling for the NWA and ICW
In 1979, Link began wrestling for the National Wrestling AllianceNational 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...
in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. He initially worked for Ernie Ladd
Ernie Ladd
Ernest "Ernie" Ladd , nicknamed "The Big Cat" was an American collegiate and professional football player and a professional wrestler.-Pro Football career:...
and later Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on Atlanta, U.S., superstation WTBS. Though based in Atlanta, the company also ran live wrestling shows throughout its geographic "territory" of Georgia Georgia...
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...
s George Scott
George Scott (wrestler)
George Scott was a Canadian professional wrestler, booker and promoter. From the 1950s until the 1970s, he and his younger brother Sandy competed as The Flying Scotts in North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance, particularly the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic...
and Buck Robley through 1980-81. Link was then brought into Angelo Poffo's International Championship Wrestling
International Championship Wrestling
International Championship Wrestling was an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Lexington, Kentucky that operated from 1978 until 1984. It was run by WCW Hall of Famer Angelo Poffo, the father of Randy Savage and "The Genius" Lanny Poffo...
by his son "Macho Man" Randy Savage
Randy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo , better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling .Savage held twenty championships during his professional wrestling career and was a...
and took part in TV tapings with Angelo and 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...
, Ronnie Garvin, 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...
, Rip Rogers
Rip Rogers
Mark Sciarra whose professional name is Rip Rogers is a former professional wrestler and trainer for Ohio Valley Wrestling. He is currently a trainer for Derby City Wrestling in Louisville, Kentucky.-Career:...
, Pez Whatley
Pez Whatley
Pezavan Whatley was a professional wrestler in the 1980s and early 1990s who wrestled primarily under the ring name Pez Whatley.-Career:...
, and The Samoans (Tio and Tapu) during 1982.
International tours to the Caribbean and South Pacific
Later that year, Link left the United States for Stu HartStu Hart
Stewart Edward "Stu" Hart, CM was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer. Hart founded Stampede Wrestling, a promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, and was the father of famous wrestlers Bret and Owen Hart...
's 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...
in Calgary, Alberta and accompanied the promotion on its first-ever Caribbean tour in Antigua
Antigua
Antigua , also known as Waladli, is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after an icon in Seville Cathedral, Santa Maria de la...
and Montserrat
Montserrat
Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...
in the West Indies where he wrestled Bret Hart
Bret Hart
Bret Hart is a Canadian on-screen personality, writer, actor and Semi-retired professional wrestler. Like others in the Hart wrestling family, Hart has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling at Ernest Manning High School and Mount Royal College...
, "Dr. D" David Schultz
David Schultz (professional wrestler)
David Schultz is an American retired professional wrestler. Although he is known for competing in North American regional promotions such as Stampede Wrestling, the National Wrestling Alliance and the American Wrestling Association during the late 1970s and 1980s, he is perhaps best remembered for...
, Gama Singh
Gadowar Singh Sahota
Gadowar Singh Sahota is a professional wrestler known as Gama Singh. Sahota eventually wound up in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling in Calgary. Sahota worked Kuwait, Dubai, Oman, Australia, and Hawaii for Vince McMahon and the WWF from 1980-86...
and JR Foley. He also joined the NWA on a major tour of New Zealand in 1983. He was among the many foreign wrestlers to appear on the country's long-running wrestling programme On the Mat
On the Mat
On the Mat was a professional wrestling television program for the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated All Star Pro-Wrestling , or simply NWA New Zealand, that aired on Television New Zealand's TV2 from 1975 to 1984...
and whose opponents included Lars Anderson
Lawrence Heinemi
Larry Heinemi is a retired professional wrestler better known by the name of Lars Anderson. His career spans over a decade of performing in National Wrestling Alliance territories as well as American Wrestling Association .-Career:...
, Mark Lewin
Mark Lewin
-Career:Mark Lewin broke into wrestling in the early '50s and had great early success in a matinee-idol babyface tag team with Don Curtis, headlining in major territories like New York and Chicago. The team's brief heel turn was a shock to its many fans...
, Curt Kummala and Steve Rickard
Steve Rickard
Sydney Mervin "Merv" Batt , best known by his ring name Steve Rickard, is a retired New Zealand professional wrestler, trainer and promoter...
. He initially arrived as a "heel" wrestler
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
, offering $1000 to anyone who could bodyslam him and challenged local wrestlers to handicap matches, but later "turned face"
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
to feud with the Mongols, Zar
Barry Darsow
Barry Darsow is a former American professional wrestler who is known as Smash, one half of the tag team Demolition, and as Krusher Kruschev, Repo Man, and The Blacktop Bully...
& Gor. One of his most memorable matches from this period was a 6-man tag team match with Ricky Rickard
Ricky Rickard
Rick "Ricky" Rickard is a retired New Zealand professional wrestler who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated All Star-Pro Wrestling, promoted by his father Steve Rickard, as well as touring Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and the United States during the 1970s and early 80s...
and Mark Lewin
Mark Lewin
-Career:Mark Lewin broke into wrestling in the early '50s and had great early success in a matinee-idol babyface tag team with Don Curtis, headlining in major territories like New York and Chicago. The team's brief heel turn was a shock to its many fans...
against Butcher Branigan, Jos LeDuc
Jos LeDuc
Michel Pigeon was a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Jos LeDuc. Wrestling with a lumberjack gimmick, he debuted in Stampede Wrestling with his kayfabe brother, Paul LeDuc...
& "Brutal" Bob Miller
Butch Miller (wrestler)
Butch Miller is a retired professional wrestler best known as one half of the tag team known as "The Sheepherders" on the independent scene and in the National Wrestling Alliance and as one half of The Bushwhackers in the WWF.-Career:Butch Miller started wrestling for NWA New Zealand in 1964 where...
. While in New Zealand, the 24-year-old Link and then NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
celebrated their birthdays together, Flair's 34th birthday being three days before his, along with Steve Rickard. Link also worked in Tonga, Samoa and Hawaii for Lia Maivia during his New Zealand tour. The King of Tonga, Taufa'ahau Tupou IV
Taufa'ahau Tupou IV
Tāufaāhau Tupou IV, King of Tonga, GCMG, GCVO, KBE, KStJ son of Queen Sālote Tupou III and her consort Prince Viliami Tungī Mailefihi, was the king of Tonga from the death of his mother in 1965 until his own death in 2006...
, was in attendance during one of his matches. Years later, Link became the first wrestler to appear in New Zealand cartoonist Jason Conlan
Jason Conlan
Jason Conlan is a New Zealand cartoonist, best known under the pseudonym Mister J, who is the creator of Pro Wrestling Illustrated's monthly cartoon strip "On the Mat"...
's "On The Mat" comic strip for 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...
. He was also interviewed by Kiwi Pro Wrestling
Kiwi Pro Wrestling
Kiwi Pro Wrestling is a professional wrestling promotion based in Wellington, New Zealand.-History:Started in May 2006 by veteran New Zealand wrestler Rip Morgan, KPW was formed with the express purpose of taking NZ wrestling from club level to professional level and groom local wrestling talent...
, one of New Zealand's three major wrestling companies, which was later posted on their website.
From Memphis to Kansas City
Link returned to the US in the summer of 1983 and spent most of the decade wrestling for promoter Jerry JarrettJerry Jarrett
Jerry W. Jarrett is an American promoter and former professional wrestler, and the father of wrestler Jeff Jarrett. He is the co-founder and former part-owner of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
and NWA Central States promoters Harley Race
Harley Race
Harley Leland Race is a retired American professional wrestler and current promoter and trainer. During his career as a wrestler, he held the NWA World Heavyweight Championship 7 times...
, Pat O'Connor
Pat O'Connor (wrestler)
Patrick John "Pat" O'Connor , was a professional wrestler from New Zealand. O'Connor was regarded as one of the premier workers of his era...
and Bob Geigel 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...
. He first arrived in 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...
as one of the "monster
Super heavyweight
In amateur boxing, the super heavyweight division is a weight class division for fighters weighing in excess of 91 kilograms . Introduced for the 1984 Summer Olympics, the division, despite its grandiose name, is merely the amateur equivalent of the professional heavyweight division...
heels
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
", such as Jos LeDuc
Jos LeDuc
Michel Pigeon was a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Jos LeDuc. Wrestling with a lumberjack gimmick, he debuted in Stampede Wrestling with his kayfabe brother, Paul LeDuc...
, the Mongolian Stomper
Mongolian Stomper
Archie Gouldie is a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name The Mongolian Stomper.-Stampede Wrestling:Gouldie held the North American heavyweight title a record ten times between 1968 and 1984, quite a streak of longevity for that time frame...
, Kamala
Kamala
Kamala is a common Hindu name, usually meaning Nelumbo nucifera, the lotus. Variants include Kamal and Kamla. It is unrelated to the similar sounding name of Arabic origin meaning perfection or integrity usually spelled Kamal in English but spelled Kemal in Turkish, which appears as the middle name...
, King Kong Bundy
King Kong Bundy
Christopher Alan "Chris" Pallies is an American professional wrestler, stand-up comedian and actor, better known by his ring name, King Kong Bundy.-Personal:...
and Andre the Giant
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...
, brought to Memphis to challenge Jerry "The King" Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
for the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship. Link was managed
Manager (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...
by Jimmy Hart
Jimmy Hart
James "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional...
during his first run in the territory and whose "gimmick" included eating a raw chicken
Chicken (food)
Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world, and is prepared as food in a wide variety of ways, varying by region and culture.- History :...
walking to the ring or during interviews. Hart later claimed that Link was probably his least favourite wrestler to manage because of this eccentricity. Link fared better than prior opponents defeating Lawler for the title at the Mid-South Coliseum
Mid-South Coliseum
The Mid-South Coliseum, also known as "The Entertainment Capital of the Mid-South", was a multi-purpose arena, that seated 10,085 people, in Memphis, Tennessee...
in Memphis on June 20, 1983, ending Lawler's 25th reign. He and Lawler traded the title during the feud before losing the title back to Lawler three weeks later for a second a final time; Link's victories made him one of the first men to pin Lawler two consecutive weeks in a row at the Mid-South Coliseum. That same night, he took part in a 10-man tag team match with Dream Machine
Troy Graham
Troy Rolland Thompson , was an American professional wrestler known as Dream Machine and Troy Graham.-Career:...
, Porkchop Cash
Porkchop Cash
Bobby Cash is a semi-retired American professional wrestler. He competed primarily in promotions operated by the National Wrestling Alliance...
and The Grapplers (Grappler #1
Len Denton
Len Denton is a semi-retired professional wrestler, best known by his ring name The Grappler.While wrestling as The Grappler in Pacific Northwest Wrestling , his gimmick was a loaded boot, and later a loaded mask, which he had started wearing earlier in his career after losing a hair match and...
and Grappler #2
Tony Anthony
Darrell W. "Tony" Anthony is a semi-retired American professional wrestler best known as Dirty White Boy, who wrestled primarily for independent promotions in the Southeastern United States...
) against Steve Regal
Steve Regal
Steve Regal is a former professional wrestler, better known as "Mr. Electricity" Steve Regal, who competed in North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance and the American Wrestling Association during the early 1970s and 1980s.-Professional wrestling career:Born in Ft...
, Spike Huber, Mad Dog and The Rock 'n' Roll Express (Ricky Morton
Ricky Morton
Richard Wendell "Ricky" Morton is an American professional wrestler who has worked for such wrestling organizations as Jim Crockett Promotions, the American Wrestling Association, Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and Total Nonstop Action...
and Robert Gibson
Reuben Kane
Robert Gibson is a professional wrestler. He is famous as half of the tag team known as Rock 'N Roll Express, with Ricky Morton.-Early career:Cain started wrestling as Robert Gibson in 1977...
).
The Link-Lawler feud was immensely popular with wrestling fans at the time partly due to the connections with the ongoing rivalry between Lawler and Andy Kaufman. Jason "MonkeyBoy" Phillips, a disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
for WKQQ-100.1 FM
WKQQ
WKQQ is a radio station licensed to the city of Winchester, Kentucky, and serves the greater Lexington, Kentucky, area. The station is owned by Clear Channel Communications and licensed to Citicasters Licenses, L.P...
, has claimed that his all-time favourite match was between Man Mountain Link and Jerry Lawler at Louisville Gardens
Louisville Gardens
Louisville Gardens is a multi-purpose, 6,000 seat arena, in Louisville, Kentucky, that opened in 1905, as the Jefferson County Armory. It recently celebrated its 100th anniversary as city mayor Jerry Abramson's official "Family-Friendly New Years Eve" celebration location...
. On June 27, 1983, Link and Ken Patera
Ken Patera
Ken Patera is a former professional wrestler, Olympic weightlifter, and Strongman competitor.-Weightlifting/Strongman career:Patera is a former Olympic weightlifter and American powerlifter...
challenged Jerry Lawler to a tag team match at the Mid-South Coliseum in which Lawler would get a rematch with Kaufman if he managed to pin Patera in the match. Lawler's surprise tag team partner was eventually revealed to be longtime enemy Austin Idol
Austin Idol
Mike McCord is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name the "Universal Heartthrob" Austin Idol.-Professional wrestling career:McCord graduated from Robinson High School in Tampa, Florida...
with the two later going on to defeat Link and Patera in front of nearly 7,000 fans. On July 11, he and Duke Myers lost to The Rock 'n' Roll Express and on July 18 the two took part in a 10-man elimination match with Don Anderson, Tommy Gilbert, Spike Huber, Mad Dog, Sweet Daddy O, Tom Pritchard
Tom Pritchard
Thomas Leslie Pritchard, born at Kaupokonui, Taranaki, New Zealand on 10 March 1917, was a cricketer who played most of his first-class cricket in England....
, Ken Timbs
Ken Timbs
Ken Timbs was an American professional wrestler who, with longtime tag team partner Eric Embry, competed as one half of the Fabulous Blondes in several regional territories including Southwest Championship Wrestling and International World Class Championship Wrestling during the early...
and the eventual winner The Giant Rebel. The end of his first stint in the Memphis territory came a week later with his defeat by Stagger Lee
Stagger Lee
Lee Shelton was a black carriage driver and pimp convicted of murdering William "Billy" Lyons on Christmas Eve, 1895 in St. Louis, Missouri. The crime was immortalized in a popular song that has been recorded by numerous artists...
in a "loser leaves town" match.
Through Link made a one-time "Halloween" appearance for a 6-man tag team match with The Moondogs
The Moondogs
The Moondogs are a Northern Irish rock band formed in 1979, and consisting of Gerry McCandless, Austin Barrett and Jackie Hamilton. The band has had a career spanning three albums, four singles, and two television programmes to date.-Singles:-Albums:...
(Rex & Spot), fighting to a no-contest in a "falls count anywhere" match with Jerry Lawler, Austin Idol and Dutch Mantel
Dutch Mantel
Wayne Keown is an American professional wrestler, and author better known by his ring name, Dutch Mantel or Dutch Mantell. He currently is semi-retired but still makes occasional wrestling appearances. He was previously with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling as a writer behind the scenes...
, he spent the next few months wrestling in NWA Central States under the name M.E.B. (Man Eating Beast). In early 1984, under the management of Sheik Abdullah The Great, he feuded with Art Crews
Art Crews
Art Crews is a retired American professional wrestler who competed in North American regional promotions including the National Wrestling Alliance, particularly the Central States, Mid-South and Pacific Northwest territories, during the 1980s....
over the NWA Central States Television Championship
NWA Central States Television Championship
The NWA Central States Television Championship was the secondary singles chamoionship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1977 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988. -Title History:-See also:...
. After a brief absence, he returned on June 14 and easily defeated Mike Pagal. Following the match, Link and Sheik Abdullah attacked Art Crews and stole the TV belt. Link briefly held on to the title but Crews managed to regain it at a house show soon afterwards. He managed to win the TV championship in an official match before losing the title back to Crews that same year. While in the territory, Link also won the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship
NWA Central States Tag Team Championship
The 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...
with "Triple 6" Jim Star defeating 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...
& "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 :...
.
That summer, Link returned to Memphis where he resumed his feud with Jerry Lawler. In July 1985, he was awarded the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship
NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title defended in the US states of Tennessee and Alabama.The title began in 1957 and lasted first 1980 when it was first abandoned when Jerry Jarrett took over the Mid-American titles from Nick Gulas...
and lost the title to Lawler at the Mid-South Coliseum that same month. On July 22, he lost to Jerry Oski, Tojo Yamamoto
Tojo Yamamoto
Harold Watanabe was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Tojo Yamamoto. He was born in Hawaii.-In-ring career:...
and Jerry Jarrett in a 6-man tag team match with The Spoiler
Don Jardine
Don Jardine was a Canadian professional wrestler best known for his masked gimmick as "The Spoiler".-Career:Jardine began wrestling in the mid-1950s,making his wrestling debut in 1955 at the age of 15...
and Jerry Bryant. He and Bryant lost a tag team match to Yamamoto and Jarrett via disqualification the following week. In August, Link faced off in singles competition against Tracy Smothers
Tracy Smothers
Tracy Smothers is an American professional wrestler.-Early career:Tracy started his career in the Memphis promotion on Saturday morning TV. Steve Armstrong and Tracy Smothers started teaming as The Southern Boys in Florida Championship Wrestling in 1987 where they feuded with The New Breed...
and Yamamoto. Link would have a few more stints in Memphis over the next two years. On September 20, 1986, he was enlisted by Larry Sharpe
Larry Sharpe
Larry Weil is an American retired professional wrestler, manager and trainer better known under his ring name, "Pretty Boy" Larry Sharpe. He currently runs the Monster Factory professional wrestling school...
in a tag team match against former student Bam Bam Bigelow and Jerry Lawler. Bigelow had turned against his former manager, becoming a "babyface" in the process, and teamed with Lawler on his last night in the territory. His final CWA appearance was a tag team match with Larry Wright against Ric McCord & John Paul at the Mid-South Coliseum on October 13, 1986.
Transition to the independent circuit
As the traditional NWA territory system began to decline during the mid-to late 1980s, Link's wrestling appearances grew more sporadic as Vince McMahonVince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
and the World Wrestling Federation began its national expansion. In October 1986, he and female wrestler Debbie Combs were among the celebrities who attended the 6th-annual WaxWorks/Videoworks trade show in Owensboro, Kentucky
Owensboro, Kentucky
Owensboro is the fourth largest city by population in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the county seat of Daviess County. It is located on U.S. Route 60 about southeast of Evansville, Indiana, and is the principal city of the Owensboro, Kentucky, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's...
. Finding work outside the U.S., he made a return appearance to Canada where, using the name Squasher Link, he lost to Gerry Morrow in Edmonton, Alberta on April 4, 1987. With the close of NWA Central States in 1988, as well as the dissolution of the old CWA Memphis territory the following year, Link returned to North Carolina where he spent the next few years as a trainer and working with local promoters. He also started competing under his real name "The Beastmaster" Rick Link and made appearances for independent promotions up and down the Eastern seaboard.
By the mid-1990s, Link had gained a new generation of fans through "hardcore"-wrestling style
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...
matches against 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...
, the Iron Sheik, Buddy Landel
Buddy Landel
William Ansor is a professional wrestler better knownas "Nature Boy" Buddy Landel.-Career:Buddy Landel started his career in 1979 as a young talented athlete in ICW. He left high school even though he had received letters of intent to play baseball and football at the University of Tennessee...
, Chuck Coates, Jimmy Valiant
Jimmy Valiant
James Harold Fanning is a former professional wrestler and author better known as Jimmy Valiant.-Personal life:...
and Wahoo McDaniel
Wahoo McDaniel
Edward "Wahoo" McDaniel was a Choctaw-Chickasaw Native American who achieved fame as a professional American football player and later as a professional wrestler.-Early life:...
. He eventually headlined countless regional promotions performing in a series of thumbtack death matches and had memorable bouts against Major DeBeers
Edward Wiskoski
Edward Wiskoski is a former American professional wrestler best known as Colonel DeBeers in the AWA . He also wrestled as Derek "The Mongoose" Draper and Mega Maharishi...
, "Dirty White Boy" Tony Anthony
Tony Anthony
Darrell W. "Tony" Anthony is a semi-retired American professional wrestler best known as Dirty White Boy, who wrestled primarily for independent promotions in the Southeastern United States...
, Justin Feeche and his student King Konga. Among the promotions he was involved with included Alternative Championship Wrestling and Chris Plano's New Dimension Wrestling. On July 17, 1998, Link headlined a CCW supercard with Buddy Landel, Tully Blanchard
Tully Blanchard
Tully Arthur Blanchard is a semi-retired second generation American professional wrestler. He is best known as an original member of the Four Horsemen....
, "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...
, the Iron Sheik, "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas
Tony Atlas
Anthony White better known by his ring name "Tony Atlas" is an American bodybuilder, powerlifter, and professional wrestler who has held multiple titles and championships in each sport. He is also known by his bodybuilding title, "Mr...
, One Man Gang and Abdullah the Butcher at the Motor Sport Park in Concord, North Carolina
Concord, North Carolina
Concord is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. According to Census 2010, the city has a current population of 79,066. It is the largest city in Cabarrus County and is the county seat. In terms of population, the city of Concord is the second largest city in the Charlotte Metropolitan Area...
. He and Abdullah wrestled in a "hardcore" match on the undercard for Link's Brass Knuckles title. His opponent used a fork
Fork
As a piece of cutlery or kitchenware, a fork is a tool consisting of a handle with several narrow tines on one end. The fork, as an eating utensil, has been a feature primarily of the West, whereas in East Asia chopsticks have been more prevalent...
against him during the match which eventually ended in a no-contest.
Though he lost the title to "Raging Bull" Manny Fernandez
Manny Fernandez (wrestler)
Emanuel "Manny" Fernandez is an American professional wrestler currently wrestling for different independent promotions. He is best known by the his ring name "The Raging Bull" Manny Fernandez.-Professional wrestling career:...
in Thomasville, North Carolina
Thomasville, North Carolina
Thomasville is a city in Davidson County in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The population was 21,354 at the 2010 census. The city is notable for its furniture industry as are its neighbors of High Point and Lexington. This Piedmont Triad community was established in 1852 and hosts the state's...
on December 3, 1998, Link won it back in Burlington
Burlington, North Carolina
Burlington is a city in Alamance and Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Alamance County, in which most of the city is located. The population was 49,963 at the 2010...
on December 12. Two weeks later, he and Fernandez wrestled to a double countout on an Eastern States Wrestling show at the International Agri-Center in Hamburg, New York
Hamburg, New York
Hamburg, New York may refer to the following locationsIn Erie County, New York:*Hamburg , New York*Hamburg , New York In Greene County, New York*Hamburg , New York...
. At the end of the month, he and Fernandez joined forces in Link's feud with The Dream Warriors defeating them in a tag team match in Thomasville on December 26, 1998. The following year, on May 15, 1999, Link successfully defended the NDW Brass Knuckles Championship against Fernandez at the Break The Barrier
Break The Barrier
Break The Barrier was a professional wrestling supercard held at Viking Hall, better known as the ECW Arena, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 15, 1999. The event was organized by the founders of Scoopswrestling.com, Al Isaacs, Remy Arteaga and Barbi Bistrowitz, and brought together some of the...
supercard at Philadelphia's Viking Hall. In August 2002, he and Willie Clay became the head instructors at New Dimension Wrestling's new indoor wrestling school in Concord.
He was also a regular in Southern Championship Wrestling
Southern Championship Wrestling
Southern Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Southeastern United States, especially in eastern and central North Carolina, from November 1994 to November 2004, when it was run by Greg Mosorjak...
, which helped produce future WWE superstars Shane Helms, Joey Matthews, Shannon Moore
Shannon Moore
Shannon Moore is an American professional wrestler, who is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . He is best known for his work with World Championship Wrestling between 1999 and 2001 and with World Wrestling Entertainment for several years in the 2000s.Moore befriended Matt and Jeff Hardy...
and the Hardy Boyz
Hardy Boyz
The Hardy Boyz are a professional wrestling tag team, consisting of real-life brothers Matt and Jeff Hardy...
, where he was part of manager Count Grog
Count Grog
Greg Mosorjak , better known as Count Grog, is an American professional wrestling manager, referee, ring announcer, commentator, promoter, and booker...
's "heel" stable The Brotherhood with Major DeBeers, Boris Dragoff, Manny Fernandez, KC Thunder and Frank Parker. A one-time holder of both the SCW North Carolina Heavyweight and Brass Knuckles Championship Trophy, Link was among the wrestlers who appearred at the final SCW show, a joint interpromotional supercard with Travis Bradshaw's Vanguard Championship Wrestling, held in Bedford, Virginia
Bedford, Virginia
Bedford is an independent city located within the confines of Bedford County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It serves as the county seat of Bedford County. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 6,222. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Bedford with surrounding Bedford...
on October 30, 2004.
Reunion appearances with NWA stars
Since the early-2000s, Link also made appearances with old NWA veterans of the Carolinas in various independent promotions such as Willie Clay's Carolina Championship Wrestling and World Class Extreme Wrestling. On October 14, 2006, he and Ivan Koloff headlined Carolina Wrestling Entertainment's "Revolution Rumble" supercard at the Ray Street Gym in Graham, North CarolinaGraham, North Carolina
Graham is a city in Alamance County, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area. The current population estimate is 14,533...
wrestling in a Russian chain match. As the self-proclaimed "World's Brass Knuckle Champion", he beat "The Cowboy" Cletus Bass "to a bloody mess" during their match at a CWE show on March 24, 2007, while CWE Revolution Champion Aaron Devil watched from ringside. The match had been put together at the last minute by CWE Commissioner Richie Blaisdell as a punishment for Bass for "sticking his nose in his business". Link and Willie Watts represented CWE at the 3-day 2007 NWA Wrestling Legends Fanfest at the Hilton University Place Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
from August 10–12, 2007.
Recent years
In the last several years, Link has been wrestling for Alternative Championship Wrestling and Gimmicks Only Underground Grappling Entertainment (GOUGE). On February 2, 2008, Link defeated Scrap Yard Dog & Dick Foley in a handicap match at Alternative Championship Wrestling's Night of Legends in Seagrove, North CarolinaSeagrove, North Carolina
Seagrove is a town in Randolph County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 246 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from a railroad official...
. Link won the match when Baby Doll
Nickla Roberts
Nickla Ann Roberts is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and valet, better known by her ring name, "The Perfect 10" Baby Doll...
, Foley's valet, turned against him and joined with Link and his manager Count Grog. At the GOUGE supercard "March Mayhem" in Youngsville, North Carolina
Youngsville, North Carolina
Youngsville is a town in Franklin County, North Carolina, United States.The population was 651 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Youngsville is located at ....
, Count Grog allowed Stevie Charles and Nicky Richards to manage Link for one night only against Eskimo Joe later that night. In exchange, Charles agreed to appear at GOUGE's second anniversary show in Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh, North Carolina
Raleigh is the capital and the second largest city in the state of North Carolina as well as the seat of Wake County. Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's 2010 population was 403,892, over an area of , making Raleigh...
in a "gimmick" of Grog's choosing which was revealed to be dressing up in drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
. Link later defeated Eskimo Joe after Link hit his opponent with a fireball.
One year later, on January 31, 2009, Link was among the many independent wrestlers who performed at the 7th-annual Seagrove Supershow, co-promoted by ACW and GOUGE, which included George South
George South
George South is a professional wrestler who has appeared as a preliminary wrestler in World Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation.-Professional wrestling career:...
, Malia Hosaka, Brandi Wine, Scrap Yard Dog, Ric Converse, Lumbee Warrior, Rob Killjoy, Semour Snott, Count Grog, Cowboy Willie Watts, Leroy Green and Otto Schwanz. The event, called "A Night with the King", was headlined by his old Memphis arch-rival Jerry "The King" Lawler and held at the local Seagrove Elementary School as a fundraiser for the Randolph County Knockouts. Two weeks later, Link (with Count Grog) beat Scapyard Dog in a dog collar match at the GOUGE vs. ACW Legends Super Show in Seagrove. The show was also held as a memorial to ACW promoter Jerry McNeil. On April 4, he and Major DeBeers wrestled Dick Foley & Mudd Face (Scotty Matthews) at GOUGE's "Final Countdown". This was the last pro wrestling show held at Kings Barcade before being torn down later that year.
In wrestling
- 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...
- Jimmy HartJimmy HartJames "Jimmy" Ray Hart is a professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician currently signed with WWE. He is best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling under his nickname "The Mouth of the South." He has managed many professional...
- Sheik Abdullah
- Jim CornetteJim CornetteJames Mark "Jim" Cornette is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. As a manager, he has worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and World Wrestling Federation and from 1991 to 1995, was the owner of Smoky Mountain Wrestling...
- Downtown Bruno
- Brandi Wine
- Count GrogCount GrogGreg Mosorjak , better known as Count Grog, is an American professional wrestling manager, referee, ring announcer, commentator, promoter, and booker...
- Michael P. Humperdink
- Jimmy Hart
Championships and accomplishments
- Alternative Championship Wrestling
- ACW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- Atlantic Coast Championship Wrestling
- ACCW World Tag Team Championship (1 time)
- NWA Mid-America / Continental Wrestling Association / Championship Wrestling AssociationContinental Wrestling AssociationThe 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...
- AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- NWA Mid-America Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Mid-America Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title defended in the US states of Tennessee and Alabama.The title began in 1957 and lasted first 1980 when it was first abandoned when Jerry Jarrett took over the Mid-American titles from Nick Gulas...
(1 time)
- Eastern Wrestling Association
- EWA Rookie of the Year (1975)
- International Wrestling Association
- IWA Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Jack Daniels
- NWA Central States
- NWA Central States Television ChampionshipNWA Central States Television ChampionshipThe NWA Central States Television Championship was the secondary singles chamoionship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1977 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988. -Title History:-See also:...
(1 time) - 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 Jim Starr
- NWA Central States Television Championship
- New Dimension Wrestling
- NDW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NDW Brass Knuckles Championship (2 times)
- NDW Wrestler of the Year (1997)
- NDW Wrestler of the Year (1998)
- Southern Championship WrestlingSouthern Championship WrestlingSouthern Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that held events in the Southeastern United States, especially in eastern and central North Carolina, from November 1994 to November 2004, when it was run by Greg Mosorjak...
- SCW North Carolina Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- SCW Brass Knuckles Championship Trophy (1 time)
- Other promotions
- ACWN heavyweight Championship (3 times)
- CCW Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time)
- IWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time)
- NOW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- SCWN Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- UWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Abdullah the Butcher
- 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 # 430 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1999
- PWI ranked him # 341 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1997