The Great Bolo
Encyclopedia
- This article is about the Original Great Bolo, for the second incarnation see Tom Renesto.
The Great Bolo was the ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
of professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
Al Lovelock, who wore a mask
Wrestling mask
A Wrestling mask is a fabric based mask that some professional wrestlers wear as part of their in-ring persona or gimmick. Professional wrestlers have been using masks as far back as 1915 and they are still widely used today, especially in Lucha Libre in Mexico.-History:In 1915 a North American...
when he wrestled as the Great Bolo. Lovelock was active in the 1950s and 1960s and was primarily known for his work in the Carolinas, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, and Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Lovelock was the first to use the name "the Great Bolo" but would later allow Tom Renesto to use the name as well.
Professional wrestling career
Al Lovelock began wrestling in the late 1940s under his real name. In 1950 he worked for Dory FunkDory Funk
Dorrance Wilhelm "Dory" Funk was a professional wrestler. He is the father of wrestlers Dory Funk, Jr. and Terry Funk.-Career:...
's "NWA Western States" territory, teaming with Danny McShain. The duo reached the finals of a tournament to crown new NWA Texas Tag Team Champions but lost to Rito Romero
Rito Romero
Rito Romero Loza was a successful luchador who wrestled in Mexico and in the NWA territories of Texas and Los Angeles. He appeared in several films in his native country along with a number of other luchadors...
and Miguel Guzmán
Black Guzmán
Miguel Wenceslao Guzmán Huerta was a Mexican professional wrestler, or Luchador as they are known in Spanish, who worked under the ring name Miguel Guzmán and Black Guzmán, a nickname he had earned due to his dark skin.Guzmán was the brother of Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta, better known as the wrestling...
. In 1953 Lovelock had travelled to Hawaii and worked for NWA Hawaii, winning the promotions main title, the NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship
NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and is defended in the US state of Hawaii. The title, which is still currently defended, began in1935...
from Ben Sharpe on February 14, 1954. Three months later Lovelock vacated the title and left the promotion.
While working in Hawaii Lovelock had also begun working for the Los Angeles NWA territory as "The Great Bolo", a masked villain
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...
. Together with Tom Rice they held the International Television Tag Team Championship, which they won from Wilbur Snyder
Wilbur Snyder
Wilbur Snyder was an American football player and professional wrestler.-Wrestling career:Snyder's wrestling debut occurred during the 1953 offseason. He was trained by Sandor Szabo and Warren Bockwinkel in Southern California. In 1954, Snyder retired from football completely to pursue a full-time...
and Sandor Szabo. Bolo and Rice would hold the International Tag Team title one more time in 1955. After working in the Los Angeles area for a couple of years the Great Bolo moved on to Texas, returning to Dory Funk's Western States territory. Bolo would beat Dory Funk himself for the Amarillo version of the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship
NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Amarillo version)
The Amarillo version of the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship was a top singles title in the National Wrestling Alliance's Amarillo, Texas territory, NWA Western States Sports...
on February 7, 1957. A week later he defeated Funk for the NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship
NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship defended in the Amarillo, Texas territory of the National Wrestling Alliance.-Title history:...
as well becoming a doubles champion. His double title reign only last two weeks before Dory Funk won both titles back. Bolo would go on to win the promotion's Southwest Tag Team Championship three times, each with a different partner: Dizzy Davis, Art Nelson and Tokyo Joe. In 1958 Tokyo Joe left the promotion forcing Bolo to team up with Kurt Von Poppenheim to lose the tag team titles to Ricky Romero and Dory Funk.
From Texas Bolo moved on to the Gulf region of the South Eastern United States working for the local promotions NWA Gulf Coast
Continental Championship Wrestling
Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based out of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1974 until 1988 and Dothan, Alabama from 1978 to 1990, managed by Ron Fuller. When Fuller sold the promotion to David Woods, it changed name to the Continental Wrestling Federation...
and NWA Mid-America. On April 20, 1960 Bolo and partner Joe McCarthy won the NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship
NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship
The NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship was the main tag team championship in Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling or NWA Gulf Coast. The Gulf Coast tag team championship is the successor for GCCW's version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship that was promoted in the Tennessee, Alabama, Florida...
and the NWA Mid-America Southern Tag Team Championship
AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship from its inception through 1977, when it was renamed the AWA Southern...
, both held by Bobby and Don Fields. A week later Bolo and McCarthy lost the titles back to the Fields brothers and split up. After this Lovelock began working with Tom Renesto who had been Lovelock's manager in Los Angeles. Renesto took the name "the Mighty Bolo" and the two became a tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
known as "the Bolos".
When Lovelock moved to another territory he gave Renesto permission to work as the Great Bolo in the area since he was booked to work in Texas. In those days it was not uncommon for several people to use the same gimmick in various territories, often leading to confusing records on who wrestled where, Renesto worked as the Great Bolo in the Carolinas, mainly for 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:...
(JCP) while Lovelock worked all over the country. Renesto made "The Missouri Mauler" Larry Hamilton
Larry Hamilton
Larry "Rocky" Hamilton , known by his ringname The Missouri Mauler, was an American professional wrestler who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance as well as Florida Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions, becoming a mainstay of the latter promotion throughout the 1960s.One of...
his tag-team partner giving him the "Mighty Bolo" name. Renesto was so popular as the Great Bolo that Al Lovelock sued 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:...
to get a part of the profits that his creation had earned. Later on Hamilton's brother Jody Hamilton
Jody Hamilton
Joseph "Jody" Hamilton is an American retired professional wrestler and current wrestling promoter and trainer. In his active days Hamiltion was best known as known as one half of the tag team The Assassins where he was called "Assassin #1"...
started to team with Renesto as The Assassins, but the Bolo name was so popular in JCP that the two worked as the Great Bolo and the Mighty Bolo for a while to capitalize on the popularity of the Bolo gimmick.
Lovelock would go on to recruit Pepper Martin to work alongside him as "the Mighty Bolo" forming another Bolos team, the team would work together until Lovelock retired in the late 1960s. After his retirement Lovelock discovered and trained Gary Fletcher aka Man Mountain Mike
Man Mountain Mike
Gary Fletcher, best known by his ring name Man Mountain Mike, was an American professional wrestler who wrestled mostly on the west coast.-Career:Fletcher was discovered by Al Lovelock, who wrestled as The Great Bolo...
for a professional wrestling career.
Championships and accomplishments
- Gulf Coast Championship WrestlingContinental Championship WrestlingContinental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based out of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1974 until 1988 and Dothan, Alabama from 1978 to 1990, managed by Ron Fuller. When Fuller sold the promotion to David Woods, it changed name to the Continental Wrestling Federation...
- NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Gulf Coast Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship was the main tag team championship in Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling or NWA Gulf Coast. The Gulf Coast tag team championship is the successor for GCCW's version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship that was promoted in the Tennessee, Alabama, Florida...
(1 time)
- NWA Mid-AmericaContinental 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...
- NWA Mid-America Southern Tag Team ChampionshipAWA Southern Tag Team ChampionshipThe AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship from its inception through 1977, when it was renamed the AWA Southern...
(2 times) - Joe McCarthy
- NWA Mid-Pacific PromotionsNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA Hawaii Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Hawaii Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and is defended in the US state of Hawaii. The title, which is still currently defended, began in1935...
(1 time)
- NWA Western StatesNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Amarillo version)NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Amarillo version)The Amarillo version of the NWA North American Heavyweight Championship was a top singles title in the National Wrestling Alliance's Amarillo, Texas territory, NWA Western States Sports...
(1 time) - NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Southwest Junior Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship defended in the Amarillo, Texas territory of the National Wrestling Alliance.-Title history:...
(1 time) - NWA. Southwest Tag Team Championship (Amarillo version) (3 times) - with Dizzy Davies (1), Art Nelson (1), Tokyo Joe (1)
- World Wrestling Association (Los Angeles)
- WWA International Television Tag Team ChampionshipWWA International Television Tag Team ChampionshipThe WWA International Television Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Los Angeles-based World Wrestling Association from the promotion's formation in 1954 until 1964 when it was unified with the WWA World Tag Team Championship. -Title history:...
(2 times) - with Tom Rice