Freddie Blassie Height 5'10" Weight 220 lbs Hometown St. Louis Signature Move Stomach Claw Career Highlights 1994 WWE Hall of Fame Inductee Freddie Blassie: Bio "Classy" Freddie Blassie is one of the most memorable Superstars to ever set foot inside the squared circle. * Blassie also told Greenberg that women used to come up to him on the street and gawk at him because he was God's gift to women! As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. For Freddie Blassie, there was no question why he took on a villian's persona - he loved it. His eagerness to learn from 1935 to 1942 led to many of the circuits top stars sharing knowledge with Blassie, and when he returned home to the U.S. in 1946, he was determined to make an honest run as a professional wrestler. Im not implying that Bruno would ever have any dealings with the mafia on his own. Blassie unsuccessfully campaigned along with the other managers to manage "Macho Man" Randy Savage when Savage first entered the WWF in June 1985. [6] On July 7, Blassie successfully defended his title against the former NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz. [22] In the demonstration of the dance, Blassie picked up Rob Petrie and twirled him over his head. Replying to. In 1973, knee problems largely forced Blassie to stop wrestling personally, though he occasionally donned the tights to tag-team with one of his heels, as he did in Madison Square Garden in June 1974, teaming with the hulking Nikolai Volkoff to face then-champ Bruno Sammartino and Chief Jay Strongbow in a tag team match (Blassie was forced to submit for the final fall by a Bruno bearhug, and the fans almost tore the Garden's roof off). The film My Breakfast With Blassie, which came out in 1983, was a spoof of My Dinner With Andre. The camera followed Blassie and Kaufman as they ate and discussed life at a local restaurant that looked like a Dennys. . Blassie would show Greenberg dozens of notebooks with "beautiful cursive handwriting." . Blassie, well-known for exaggerating a story or two, stated that when he was wrestling Rikidozan in Japan, 100 Japanese wrestling fans dropped dead of heart attacks because the matches were so gory. Freddie never held a true world title but he was still one of the greatest of the 50s through the 60s". Freddie Blassie's net worth You hit a guy in the neck. 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. Most recently, he co-authored the 2016 edition of the WWE Encyclopedia of Sports Entertainment. Blassie later challenged Morales for the WWWF Championship, but came up short. In 1973, knee problems largely forced Blassie to stop wrestling personally, though he occasionally donned the tights to tag-team with one of his heels, as he did in Madison Square Garden in June 1974, teaming with the hulking Nikolai Volkoff to face then-champ Bruno Sammartino and Chief Jay Strongbow in a tag team match (Blassie was forced to submit for the final fall by a Bruno bearhug, and the fans almost tore the Garden's roof off). Discover Freddie Blassie's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. He bleached his hair and quickly became a The rematches were held at Madison Square Garden in New York, with Sammartino winning out. 500,000+ HD Wallpapers & Freddie Blassie Wallpaper 100% Free to Use High Quality Wallpapers Personalise for all Screen & Devices. "Classy" Freddie Blassie lead an interesting life as one of . Occasionally, he would get too close to the action and get beaten up himself, much to the crowd's delight. [3], One of Blassie's most famous proteges was The Iron Sheik. Hed also regularly tag with Gorilla Monsoon, another wrestler better known for his non-wrestling roles. Born Fred Blassman in St. Louis, Blassie played baseball and football in high school. My wife joined Toastmasters International in October of last year. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Blassies father was a heavy alcoholic and was abusive towards his beloved mother. World Wrestling Entertainment WWE)). His parents, Anna (ne Sind) and Jacob Blassman, were German immigrants who arrived in the United States prior to World War I.[3]. 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 parents repeatedly separated, only to reconcile. book. One poll ranked him as the most hated wrestler in the United Frederick Kenneth Blassman [2] (February 8, 1918 - June 2, 2003) was an American professional wrestler and manager, known by the ring name " Classy " Freddie Blassie. Even more important than that, Blassie would make a change that would make him an icon. After four decades, trainer Ed Moger gets his first Triple Crown starter, An exclusive look at details of Chip Kellys two-year contract extension from UCLA, His shoe game is pretty tight. Why Dodgers hope Miguel Rojas play matches his swag, Rats in the laundry? Real Name: Fred Blassie. The Real Housewives of Atlanta The Bachelor Sister Wives 90 Day Fiance Wife Swap The Amazing Race Australia Married at First Sight The Real Housewives of Dallas My 600-lb Life Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. While writingThe Legends of Wrestling, Greenberg got to know Freddie Blassie quite well and mentioned in his appearance on The Genius Cast that Blassie really opened up to him. Still claiming to be the West Coast Champion, entered into a feud with Bruno Sammartino to unify the titles. Blassie also wanted to clarify through his final memoir that he was an absentee father as he was on the road for most of his sons life growing up. G&K did not respond to calls for comment. [2] He sporadically returned to make brief appearances following his retirement in 1986, mostly in produced video packages hyping the "new generation" of wrestling. He grabs his balls!" He was 85. By 1968, WWA rejoined the NWA, becoming NWA Hollywood, but in 1971, Blassie returned to WWWF and challenged new WWWF World Champion Pedro Morales, to no avail. [8] He worked for Jack Pfefer, who he claimed would only employ people who looked like sideshow freaks at his shows, and whose wrestlers included Tor Johnson, who made movies with director Ed Wood, and Lillian Ellison, the Fabulous Moolah. At the age of 13, after Jacob had beaten Anna again, Frederick threatened his father with a baseball bat; instead he lived with his aunt for six months until his mother asked him to return home. After handing over ME duties to Alex Richards, he remains a frequent contributor to the site. Blassie worked for the World Wrestling Federation, now known as World Wrestling Entertainment, which presented him with its lifetime achievement award in 1996. This resulted in a weak relationship between the two. Some NFL teams dont make the grade, players say, New era of football begins at Mater Dei under coach Frank McManus. Around 1980, he adopted a new moniker: "Ayatollah Blassie. He, Albano, and "The Grand Wizard of Wrestling" (Ernie Roth) formed the WWWF's "Evil Trinity" of heel managers. 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. Blassie, whose late hubby [inset] was known for his gravel-voiced put-down pencil-neck geek, claims to have suffered excruciating pain in the January 2011 tumble, which broke her right wrist, and permanent scarring from a cut eyebrow. By this time, Blassie has acquired a cult following, leading to appearances in several feature films. [8], In 1975, Blassie recorded voiceovers for the songs "Blassie, King of Men" and "Pencil Neck Geek", which were performed by Johnny Legend, featuring Billy Zoom on guitar, Jay Phillips on guitar, Lon Osgood on bass and Steve Clark on drums. [10] He had main event-level feuds against stars such as The Destroyer. He achieved the rank of Petty Officer (Second Class) before he was discharged. Freddie never held a true world title but he was still one of the greatest of the 50s through the 60s". PWSTees.com Your favorite Pro Wrestling Stories, on a tee! [5], Blassie was born Frederick Kenneth Blassman in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1918. If you're not from the midwest you're not allowed to have an opinion on this. For example, in the 1970s, he took on Cowboy Bill Watts, whod become a promoter and booker for Mid-South Wrestling and WCW. In March of 1962, Blassie lost the WWA World title to Rikidozan, and for the next four months, Blassie competed in Japan, determined to regain his title from the Japanese wrestling innovator. By 1952, Blassie was getting disillusioned by the East Coast and headed for California, although he did still work for various NWA territories in the South, particularly Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW). [7] When Philbin had a late-night weekend talk show in San Diego, Blassie would routinely show up to yell at the audience, throw furniture, and threaten Philbin; the confrontations were wholly kayfabe and both of them were friends when the cameras weren't rolling. Download 100+ Free Freddie Blassie Wallpaper Images & 500,000+ Wallpapers for Free. "Bruno always had a huge entourage hanging around him," Greenberg wrote in "Classy" Freddie Blassie The Legends of Wrestling. Federation (WWWF, later the World Wresting Federation (WWF) and now [7] As the wrestlers became familiar with him, they began teaching him holds. Classy Freddie Blassie knew how to get heat and anger fans. He won the WWA World Heavyweight Wrestling Championship from French star Edouard Carpentier at the L.A. Sports Arena in 1961. Fred Blassie was born and raised in the St. Louis, Missouri, area. Because of his close relationship with Vince McMahon, Sr. and his family, Blassie remained on the WWF payroll until the day he died. Blassie also mastered the television interview, boasting his superiority over other wrestlers he liked to call ''pencil-neck geeks.'' His career began in earnest after In this series, we will look at some of pro wrestlings greatest and most well-known managers and/or valets, but explore their prior career as an in-ring professional wrestler. [21] His final words on WWE television were "D-Von, get the table! One poll ranked him as the most hated wrestler in the United States. A fierce competitor in the ring known for unorthodox methods and a penchant for bloodletting, Blassie was verbose and boastful. Despite Blassie not actually holding any titles to unify, his feud with Sammartino saw Bruno become a national hero, but in the process, Blassie became lifelong friends with another WWWF employee, Gorilla Monsoon. From there, he moved on to become a regular writer, contributor, and reporter for WWE. After managing Sheik through a brief feud with Andre the Giant, he also became the manager of Nikolai Volkoff, with Sheik and Volkoff later becoming a tag team. It was in the latter that he decided to embrace his villainous side, bleaching his hair blonde like Gorgeous George. Back in the dressing room, Blassie realized he was in the wrong one. He is a writer and editor-in-chief here on the site, a podcast producer, the chief graphic designer of the cover art for the sites articles, the former host of The Genius Cast with Lanny Poffo, and an elementary school teacher and assistant principal who enjoys playing guitar and spending time with his lively daughters! [10] He was so hated there that uniformed police officers were regularly brought in to protect him as he made his way to and from the ring. Freddie Blassies origins are worth knowing about, especially because they involve much earlier days of the pro wrestling world -- as in, within the first half of the 20th century. The "Shakespeare of WWE" made an appearance on our podcast The Genius Cast in 2018, and he certainly had a few good stories up his sleeves! American professional wrestler and manager, Worldwide Wrestling Associates (19601968), World Wide Wrestling Federation (1964; 1971). 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. Blassie came into the WWWF with his own world title belt, claiming to be the Pacific World Champion, and was coming to Sammartino's "back yard" to unify the world title. Between matches, he gave loud and boastful interviews, making Lanny stated that though Freddie Blassie never knew how to save his money well, he always had enough since he was never a drinker and saved a lot of money in that regard. [8] He married a girl in California while on shore leave. "Classy" Freddie Blassie appeared in a live-action segment of the cartoon "Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling." Freddie Blassie decided to stop being a fixture of wrestling in 1986 but was no stranger to making the odd guest appearance. . 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. [7] Later, he received regular work wrestling at local carnivals. . The suit, filed in federal court in White Plains, accuses the supermarket chain of negligence and recklessness and seeks more than $1 million in damages from corporate parent A&P and mat supplier G&K Services.
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