When I last left you, Black Angus and I had gone to Emporia, Kansas to wrestle against Omar Atlas. We had been in a conflict of sorts with him just a month before in this small town southwest of Kansas City. Omar had tried to jump Angus from behind for what he considered rough treatment to his friend, Terry Martin, from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Omar had made it to the ring but was stopped by both Angus and myself. We left him in a bloody mess on the auditorium floor. A few fans tried to help out Omar but were met by the local police, who were having their hands full trying to contain the crowd. We demanded a match against this little coward because we wanted to show him a lesson in wrestling skills. We were masters at our trade, and having somebody interrupt us while we were at work on an opponent was not very appealing to us.

We went to the local TV station and were on an afternoon show called Dialing for Dollars, and, after the show ended, the switchboard lit up. People around the area couldn't understand my statements about Omar. They all thought he was a law-abiding family man who attended church three or four times a week ... just to keep in practice. I told them the truth, that he was a coward, a thief, and one of the lowest forms of life that existed on the planet.

We went to the auditorium later that day after a small meal (BARF) at a local Coney Island. The amazing part of the dinner thing is that I could get my car's oil changed while we were eating in the same building. I was used to better cuisine at better dining facilities.

The opening match and the one that followed were, in fact, very good contests. The semi-main event had Chati Yokouchi & Yasu Fuji against Bob Geigel & Bobby Whitlock. It was a match where they threw out every rule in the book trying to outdo each other. After 20 minutes, Geigel eventually got himself disqualified for unnecessary roughness. My comments about the outcome to the reporter from the newspaper attending were ... "Geigel got exactly what he deserved."

The main event bell rang, and we started out to the ring. We had to practically fight our way to the ring. People just didn't like us, and I couldn't understand why; after all, we were gentlemen. Omar came out, and fans came streaming towards him in an effort to shake his hand or get an autograph. He was well liked in the Midwest area.

Moody, the referee, called for the match to start, and Omar jumped Angus from behind again while I was giving him last-minute strategy on how to beat this little man in the fewest of moves. He even took liberties with me, pulling my tam almost over my face and hitting me below the belt line.

Of course, the fans thought this was the best thing since sliced bread. But, then again, this was Kansas, and they just didn't know any better. If there was anything that wrestling fans didn't understand, it was Angus and myself. The average fan thought that we were the worst example of humanity there was.

We recovered from the Pearl Harbor attack of Omar and proceeded to teach him a lesson about life in the wrestling ring. Angus was a master of the side salto and the belly-to-belly suplex. He was also a master at throwing the huge European uppercuts that you see Dory Funk use. He stole that move from us.

At any rate, Angus was giving us a thrill by beating the snot out of Omar, when, from out of the rear of the building, came Pat O'Connor to ringside. He wasn't even scheduled to be in the area; I guess he was there because of his friend Omar. Pat took one look at me and started out towards me. Angus dropped Omar in a heap in the middle of the ring and jumped into Pat's face on the outside of the ring. They argued for what seemed like a half-hour, with nothing being resolved. Just because Pat was a former World Champion, that didn't give him the right to treat us like yesterday's garbage.

Omar, in the meantime, had recovered enough to challenge Angus again and got the winning fall by using his famous airplane spin and a body press. I jumped into the ring and smacked Omar with my briefcase, opening his head once again and laying him flat on his back. O'Connor got into the ring and threw a haymaker at me, knocking me on my backside. Angus got up and grabbed Pat, and the end result was Pat being laid out in the middle of the ring, and then he grabbed Omar and did the same to him.

Angus grabbed me from the mat and hauled me back to the dressing room, where I was given medical assistance. We might have lost the battle with Omar, but we won the war. Pat O'Connor would be another opponent to deal with in the future.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers