Gust Karras

As I sit and think back to September of 1972, I have to give credit to Gust Karras. It was during the week of September 22 that Gust began his 40th year in the wrestling industry in St. Joseph, Missouri.

To kick off his first week of the new season, he gave away tickets to the television broadcast on Saturday night … for FREE! Then, he did the worst thing he could have ever done to me.

Angus and Roger Kirby were the North American tag team champions and had beaten every team that Gust could gather together. They had all tried to dethrone the magnificent pair of giants that I had put together with my superior training.

Men the caliber of Bob Geigel & Pat O'Connor, The Viking & The Masked Superstar, Les Thornton & Bobby Whitlock, Ted & Jerry Oates, and Ronnie Etchison & Juan Sebastian had come forward the past 10 super cards that we were involved in tag team action. They just couldn't get the job done and beat the greatest team in the Midwest.

Tonight, we would face Danny Littlebear and Omar Atlas. These two men were the biggest crybabies that Gust had on his roster. We had beaten Omar and some of his tag partners in prior matches. Littlebear was the same type of opponent that would get his butt beaten and go to Gust afterwards and complain of outside interjections by me or some other lame excuse and Gust would give him another chance against us, just to please him.

The opener on this card had the rookie of the year from the AWA, Billy Howard, facing Bobby Whitlock. Their bout was a 15-minute draw that left no doubt in anyone's mind as to the better wrestler---Billy Howard. Both men shook hands and raised each others hand afterwards in appreciation.

The second bout would have been a main event on any card in the Heart of America region---Chati Yokouchi against Les Thornton. Les had the dubious talents to be one of the top athletes in the business, but his temper got the best of him when Chati threw a Karate chop and missed his throat and hit him in the side of the head. This infuriated Thornton to the point he began to throw punches to the head and body of Yokouchi and one of his big European uppercuts missed its mark and hit referee Frankie Diamond. Les was disqualified on the spot.

The third match was Bob Geigel teaming up with an old nemesis, The Viking, to face Yasu Fuji and the Masked Destroyer (Stan Pulaski). The bell had not even rung, and Geigel and the Viking were at each other's throats. They argued about who would be starting the match and who should stand on the ring apron. As far as I was concerned, Geigel could get into a fight in a one-room apartment with the door locked and be alone; he was a scrapper from the word go. The bout ended with Geigel and the Viking fighting with each other outside the ring over a missed move. They were counted out and fought all the way back to the dressing room.

The main event was the tag match that nearly blew the roof off the old city auditorium---Littlebear and Atlas against Angus and Kirby. I led my champions to the ring with the splendor and arrogance that my reputation had given me. I was bedecked in a beautiful pair of bright green slacks with a yellow silk sport coat and a purple shirt with a flowering necktie. I was topped off with a green and black Campbell tam and, of course, I carried my briefcase.

The two out of three-fall match started with Angus and Danny Littlebear. They were not strangers in the ring, as they had fought many battles in singles competition for the Central States title. Littlebear had a vicious tomahawk chop that he could cut you to pieces with and was giving Angus a pretty rough way to go when I had Angus tag out and bring the smaller Kirby into action.

Roger began using the great amateur moves that won him many titles while he was in high school and college. He hiplocked and threw Littlebear into the ropes and then took him down in a viselike leg and calf lock. Then, he figure-foured the legs and had Danny screaming out for the fans' help. One fan carried a small drum, like a tom tom, to the matches when Littlebear wrestled, and he began to beat on the small drum.

Boom, Boom, Boom… Suddenly, as if the spirits above were helping him, he broke out of the leglock and began to chop Roger until he had Kirby's chest bleeding. Littlebear tossed Kirby into the ropes and gave one final chop to the head and covered Roger with a body press. One, two, three.... and the fall was over. We nearly had a riot on our hands as Angus and I hit the ring and began to kick the living heck out of Littlebear and Atlas, who had come in to help out.

The referee Richard "Rabbit Ears" Moody called for the second fall to begin after a one-minute rest period and right away the beat-up Indian wanted to let Omar Atlas start the match. Of course, being the nice guy I was, I reminded old Rabbit Ears of who ended the first fall and he restored order and resemblance to the ring. Kirby and Littlebear hooked up and fought with all their energy to the four corners of the ring until Angus could tag in.

Omar Atlas had tagged but as usual Moody couldn't see the tag and denied him access. Angus and Kirby began a rampage with Littlebear and had opened up his forehead by throwing him into the second row of ringside chairs. They continued to beat on him and threw him back into the ring where Angus gave him a lesson in suplexes. After 6 he posted Danny to the mat and gained the fall.

Littlebear started the third fall and, still bleeding from a huge gash, fought valiantly until he got over near the corner where he could tag in Omar Atlas. Mr. Excitement, as Kansas City Announcer Bill Kersten called him, jumped over the top rope after tagging and took on both Angus and Kirby for nearly five minutes of nonstop action that even got me a few punches from the little man from South America.

Angus grabbed referee Moody and showed him that Littlebear was trying to get into the ring and made sure that Moody's back was turned. Kirby grabbed Atlas by the back of his arms from behind and brought him near the edge of the ring and I raised my briefcase and Atlas got it right in the forehead.

He dropped him to the mat and pinned him for the three count. We retained our North American Championship belts with a little bit of dignity and skull drudgery on my part. We had to fight our way back to the dressing room with the aid of a riot squad of police men brought in by Gust Karras. Six people were arrested but Gust dropped charges against them.

We won the battle but the war was still on as both Atlas and Littlebear … true to their nature … went to the wrestling office the next morning and asked for and got a rematch with me handcuffed to Pat O'Connor the following week.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers