Cage's Comments: This entry was by request. There have been may wrestlers who carried the name "Nature Boy" but Buddy Rogers was the true origional.

"Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers was one of the most inventive, skilled, hated, impersonated, and respected champions ever. He was one of the biggest superstars of wrestling's "Golden Era" during the 1950's and 1960's. Rogers won numerous championships including two World titles, and continued to be a major force throughout the 1970's and into the 1980's as a manager.

He was born Herman Rohde, and used that name during his first years in the sport. But it was when he dyed his hair blond and changed his name to "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers (after the film star) that the muscular, and now experienced, Rohde's career really took off.

Whether he competed in tag teams, or especially as a singles wrestler, Buddy Rogers was among the most hated villians of his day. Perhaps THE most hated. But there was no denying he was also among the most talented. After winning numerous regional titles, Rogers captured his first World Heavyweight championship on June 30, 1961 by defeating Pat O' Conner in Chicago for the NWA title.

Rogers was wrestling's biggest draw for promoters during his two years as champion, and he defended the NWA World title five nights a week, taking on the best of his era. But on January 24, 1963 he lost a controversial match to Lou Thesz in Toronto, Ontario. The match was a 2-out-of-3 falls match, and Thesz won the third and deciding fall by disqualification. He was awarded the title, but several northeastern promoters disputed the loss. They formed a new organization named the World Wide Wrestling Federation and named Buddy Rogers as the first WWWF champion. Rogers proudly defended the new title for nearly six months before being defeated by a young and powerful Bruno Sammartino. Rogers was the first (and for thirty years, the only) man to wear both the NWA and WWF World title belts during his career. Ironically, the second man to have held both championships also called himself "The Nature Boy" -- Ric Flair.

Flair had idolized Rogers during his days as a young wrestling fan, and tried to emulate him in every way once he became a wrestler himself. In 1979, Rogers showed up in the Mid Atlantic region, where Flair was the top heel, and challenged him to a "Battle Of The Nature Boys". It was also a battle of the figure-four leglock, a move which they both mastered. The youthful Flair ended up coming out on top of this bitter feud with his childhood hero, but we had not heard the last of Buddy Rogers. After the feud with Flair, Rogers returned to the Mid Atlantic, this time as a manager... and his old heel personality was back too. Rogers was a master of infuriating the fans, and he managed the hated Jimmy Snuka and Gene Anderson (among others) to many championships. Even though he was no longer the main-event wrestler, his managerial role still allowed him to be the center of controversy.

Snuka eventually left for the WWF, and Rogers once again dropped out of sight. But a year or so after his former protege had entered the WWF and established himself as the top villian, Rogers was hired by the WWF to do an interview segment called "Rogers' Corner". It was during one of the segments that Rogers interviewed Jimmy Snuka, and his hated manager Capt. Lou Albano. Rogers informed his ex-student that Albano had hoodwinked Snuka into signing an unfair contract, and that he had the proof that Albano had been ripping Snuka off ever since he'd left Buddy to enter the WWF. After several weeks of Albano holding an unhappy Snuka to the contract, Rogers found a "legal loophole" that allowed Snuka to be free of Capt. Lou forever. Rogers began managing Snuka again, and helped turn him from the Federation's most hated to the most loved almost overnight. Even after all of the years, Rogers still made things happen in the sport.

When he finally retired from wrestling for good (just prior to the rise of Hulkamania) he took a job as a Playboy Casino manager, but still remained in contact with the sport he loved so much. He was actually preparing for a comeback to the ring at the age of 70 to face wrestling's third "Nature Boy", Buddy Landell, at an upcoming Tri-State Wrestling Alliance (ECW's predecessor) show when he died on June 26, 1992 of a heart attack. The legacy of Buddy Rogers, both as the first WWWF champion as well as the first "Nature Boy", will live forever.