Anyone can read what you share. . [2][14] Blassie also managed Muhammad Ali in his boxer vs. wrestler match in 1976 against Antonio Inoki. Blassie retired from active wrestling in 1974, due to a California law that prohibited anyone over 55 from getting a wrestling license. Blassie was a regular on the WWWF's "All-Star Wrestling" and "Championship Wrestling" weekly TV shows that were videotaped at small arenas in Pennsylvania and aired throughout the Northeast. [21] His book, Listen You Pencil Neck Geeks, was released on May 13, 2003. Between matches, he gave loud and boastful interviews, making him a favorite of talk shows and reportedly influencing a fellow egomaniac then known as Cassius Clay. In 1964, Dick the Bruiser defeated Blassie to become champion, and Blassie headed east to work for the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). The Rock for the WWF Title)", "TJR Retro: WWE Royal Rumble 2000 Review (The Rock wins Rumble, Triple H vs. Cactus Jack)", "Freddie Blassie - Dick Van Dyke Show - 1962", "My Breakfast with Blassie: An appreciation", NWA North American Heavyweight Title (Hawaii version) history, NWA Southern Heavyweight Title (Florida) history, NWA World Tag Team Title (Florida) history, NWA International Tag Team Title (Georgia) history, NWA Southern Heavyweight Title (Georgia) history, NWA World Tag Team Title (Georgia) history, "NWA Hall of Fame Class for 2011 announced", WWA International Television Tag Team Title history, NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Title history, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Inductees, 1853 Shepherd Circle SW, Blassie's Atlanta home (1960), 1950 Campbellton Road SW, Blassies Atlanta home (1966), WWE Hall of Fame Profile of Freddie Blassie, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Freddie_Blassie&oldid=1142698000, NWA World Tag Team Champions (Florida version), Professional wrestling managers and valets, United States Navy personnel of World War II, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using infobox military person with embed, Articles with disputed statements from February 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, The Mysterious Medics (Mysterious Medic #1 and Mysterious Medic #2), This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 22:16. Notable Title Wins Include: NWA Southern Heavyweight title (14); WWA (Los Angeles) World Heavyweight title (4); WWA World Tag Team title (2 times w/Mr. 10 Wrestling Book Must Reads and 5 You Dont Want To Waste Your Time On, Classy" Freddie Blassie The Legends of Wrestling, The Night Bruno Sammartino Saved Freddie Blassies Life, The Time WWE Hall of Famer DR. JERRY GRAHAM Kidnapped His Mothers Dead Body, Freddie Blassie, Lou Albano, and "The Fossil Jostle" Atrocity in 85, Roddy Piper: From The Streets to the Big Time, Bruno Sammartino and Buddy Rogers The 1963 WWWF Title Screwjob, Disclaimer, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Disclosure. Linda Lautrec and Andy Kaufman loosely scripted the film over several months late at night on the telephone. Those colorful interviews helped make him a celebrity in the newly expanding medium of television. Frederick Kenneth Blassie (February 8, 1918 - June 2, 2003), better known as "Classy" Freddie Blassie, was an American professional wrestling villain and manager born in St. Louis, Missouri. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Three injured in shooting outside Bronx funeral home, Canadian teacher with size-Z prosthetic breasts placed on paid leave, What's next for Buster Murdaugh after dad's murder conviction, life sentence, US home prices just did something they haven't done since 2012, How a retired detective snared his seventh 'Torso Killer' confession, It's insane that NYers can use but not buy pepper spray for self-defense: Change this now, Celeb-loved jewelry brand Dorsey drops dazzling new styles, White Lotus actor jokes about being hit on following shows success, Is this the couple behind the Worst Art Job Listing Ever?, Undertaker transforms coffin into barbecue grill, Kellyanne Conway and George Conway to divorce. Why FREDDIE BLASSIE Was So Great f/ WRESTLINGBIOS - YouTube DAVE KNOWS that Classy Freddie Blassie is a Pro Wrestling legend. By the 1970s, Blassie had relocated to the East Coast where he successfully pursued his mat career. In it, Blassie is picked up at the Washington, D.C., airport by a limo full of young women, escorted around the nation's capital, gives his opinions and confronts tourists. He started a second career as a manager in the WWWF. Hed adopt a bleach-blond look, start biting his opponents in the ring, and would often be seen filing down his teeth to better sink his teeth in his opponent. [7] Later, he received regular work wrestling at local carnivals. He returned to AJPW again in 1973, but the following year in 1974, he jumped to New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) for his final tour of Japan. Between matches, he gave loud and boastful interviews, making (Use code PWS for a nice surprise). After Sheik lost the belt to Blassie's former managed wrestler Hulk Hogan, Blassie managed Sheik in various rematches around the country throughout the first half of 1984, culminating into another major televised rematch on December 28, 1984, once again in Madison Square Garden. Freddie had been estranged from his children for the majority of their lives. Blassie later challenged Morales for the WWWF Championship, but came up short. He briefly turned face in 1989, making an appearance on Prime Time Wrestling angry with Bobby Heenan over money Heenan hadn't paid him back. His matches with Freddie Blassie were legendary. In 1964, Blassie once again captured the WWA World title for the third time (again from Carpentier), but upon losing to Dick The Bruiser in April, he headed to the newly minted World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). By the mid-1970s, Freddie Blassie was in his 50s and began to settle into a role as a manager in WWE, though he would still occasionally wrestle a match. He also reportedly excelled as a boxer. His career began in earnest after his service in the United States Navy during World War II. [4] In 1998, Blassie was the winner at the fourth annual Cauliflower Alley Club East Coast Banquet. were too short. "That's why he was 'Classy' Freddie Blassie." You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world. "Classy" Freddie Blassie lead an interesting life as one of . Blassie was more than willing to let the talented Bearcat Wright take the gold and make history. Funeral services will be held at noon Friday at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church in Scarsdale, N.Y. Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular. [6] Afterwards he became a manager in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) and its subsequent incarnation the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). After regaining the WWA Championship from Rikidzan on July 25, 1962, Blassie lost the title two days later to the "Masked Destroyer" Dick Beyer. Freddie accomplished that goal and did so in grand style, as only he could. While there, he feuded with Soulman Rocky Johnson, The Sheik, and "The Golden Greek" John Tolos. Blassie was a regular on the WWWF's "All-Star Wrestling" and "Championship Wrestling" weekly TV shows that were videotaped at small arenas in Pennsylvania and aired throughout the Northeast. Feb 27. Blassie originally wrestled "I want you to get four Orange Juliuses for me, the girls, and you.". Now is [8] He married a girl in California while on shore leave. Zach Eflin And Wife On Yacht Wallpaper. After the war, Blassie returned to the Midwest and continued wrestling professionally. When meeting someone, he would ask where they were from, and no matter their response, he would reply with, "Oh, that's God's country!". [8] They received acclaim on the Dr. Demento Radio Show, and the latter song was featured on several albums, including Dr. Demento's 20th anniversary collection, The Very Best of Dr. Demento, and Dr. Demento Presents the Greatest Novelty CDs of All Time. One that stands out was his rivalry with Bruno Sammartino in the early 1960s. According to Dave Meltzer, "legitimately there were three [deaths] in Japan from elderly men watching a match with Togo in Japan, and it became this myth that [Freddie Blassie] exaggerated.". 500,000+ HD Wallpapers & Freddie Blassie Wallpaper 100% Free to Use High Quality Wallpapers Personalise for all Screen & Devices. Freddie Blassies income source is mostly from being a successful Actor. But for nearly 40 years, Fred Blassie was an in-ring talent who ruled the West Coast, a multi-time World Champion, and one of the most feared villains in pro wrestling history. He joined the Navy at the start of World War II and started wrestling initially under the name of Sailor Fred Blassie while stationed at Port Hueneme. He has written several wrestling biographies including Freddie Blassies The Legends of Wrestling, Ric Flairs To Be The Man, "Superstar" Billy Grahams Tangled Ropes,and the unreleased biography of The Iron Sheik which, despite being chockful of stories that would be sure to make your jaw drop, will never see the light of day. One poll ranked him as the most hated wrestler in the United States. During his time on the West Coast, he was a frequent guest and/or interruption on a local show hosted by Regis Philben, and Blassies appearances thanks to his massive appeal as a wrestling draw helped push Philben into a national celebrity. Hed continue being a heel, managing a number of bad guys like George The Animal Steele, Hercules, and Blackjack Mulligan. the late 1960s, he moved to the East Coast and the World-Wide Wrestling [15] Blassie led Shiek to the WWF World Heavyweight Championship over Bob Backlund on December 26, 1983, in Madison Square Garden. Credited with bringing a young Hulk Hogan into the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) in late 1979. The nastier he was in the ring, the more popular he became to fans on the other side of the ropes. *Blassie also told Greenberg that women used to come up to him on the street and gawk at him because he was Gods gift to women! . ", In this particular story, Blassie won a match by count-out in Roosevelt Stadium when he kicked Sammartino in the breadbasket while the referee was distracted. Freddie Blassie, 85, died of heart failure on June 2, 2003. Blassie continued to manage Sheik and Volkoff even after they lost the tag team titles. You can check out an almost unlimited array of WWE content on theWWE NetworkandPeacock. In this match Hogan was once again victorious. The closest I ever saw him to loosing the mask was against Cowboy Bob Ellis, I believe in the mid 60's. I can still remember old Dick Lane calling the action. That year, Blassie was forced to retire from in-ring competition, as a California by-law forbade wrestling licenses for anyone upon reaching 55 years old. Blassie would continue to make his titles make history in 1963, he lost to Bearcat Wright, making Wright the first African-American to hold a World title in the United States. Occasionally, he would get too close to the action and get beaten up himself, much to the crowd's delight. He grabs his balls!" He continued to outrage crowds by distracting referees so that his men could cheat and by getting in his own cheap shots when the refs weren't looking. [9] While recuperating in 1966, he worked as a car salesman and married a second time to a woman whose name Blassie later claimed not to remember. [9][6], On June 2, 2003, Blassie died of heart and kidney failure at the age of 85. Fred Blassie was born and raised in the St. Louis, Missouri, area. For the first installment, we look at one of the most iconic villains in pro wrestling history as both a wrestler and a manager in Classy Freddie Blassie. He had been in poor health for quite a while, and it was as if he wanted to wait to get his story out before he passed on. Born Fred Blassman in St. Louis, Blassie played baseball and football in high school. [4] He is regarded as one of the greatest wrestling heels, or villains, of all time.
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