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Accomplishments: Buddy Rogers is considered one of the greatest wrestlers of all time. He was the first ever WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation) World Heavyweight Champion, he held the NWA World Heavyweight Title, and accomplished many things along the way. Buddy was the son of German immigrant parents. He worked as a New Jersey police officer until discovered by a local promoter. Rogers, who wrestled under his real name of Herman Rhode Jr., became a top wrestler very quickly. Buddy's first major win, was against Ed "Strangler" Lewis. Buddy got his name in Houston, there he won the Texas Heavyweight Title on four separate occasions. One of the times, he defeated another great wrestler, Lou Thesz. After wrestling in Houston, Buddy went on to Columbus, Ohio, where he received the nickname, "Nature Boy". In 1961, Buddy rogers went to the National Wrestling Alliance, where he would defeat Pat O'Connor in front of 38,622 fans at Chicago's Comiskey Park, to become the NWA World Heavyweight Champion. After his victory, he grabbed the microphone and said "to a nicer guy, it couldn't happen". Buddy ended up losing the NWA World Title to Lou Thesz on January 24, 1963 in a single fall match, which was out of the ordinary, since most title matches were always two out of three falls. Vincent J. McMahon, who is the father of current WWE Owner, Vincent K. McMahon, saw this and cried foul. They insisted that the NWA Title could only change hands in a match that was indeed two out of three falls, and declared the result of that match, invalid. The WWE then held a tournament which Buddy Rogers won, to become the first every World Wide Wrestling Federation Champion (the title which is still active today, as the WWE Title). Buddy only got to enjoy the title for a short time though. He was defeated by Bruno Sammartino with a bearhug, in 48 seconds in Madison Square Garden. Shortly before the match, Buddy suffered a heart attack, which made him very weak, and easily defeated. In 1978, Buddy showed up in Florida. He worked as a babyface for a while there, and then became a heel manager. He also feuded with Ric Flair. They did battle several times, and Flair finally defeated Rogers on July 9, 1978. There, Ric Flair finally got to proclaim, "to be the man, you have to beat the man". After his time in the Mid-Atlantic, Rogers went back to WWF, where he became a babyface manager, and also hosted an interview segment called "Rogers' Corner". Buddy was teaming with Jimmy Snuka in a feud against Capt. Lou Albano, and Ray Stevens. In this feud Rogers broke his hip, and retired for good from the sport of professional wrestling. Buddy was actually supposed to wrestle Buddy Landell, who also used the "Nature Boy" nickname. This match was supposed to take place in early 1992, but the company went out of business before the match could happen. Later in that same very year, Buddy suffered a severe broken arm, and three strokes, two on the same day. He was put on life support, and died not too long later, on June 26, 1992. Buddy Rogers was a man who truly changed the sport of professional wrestling. He was known for his blonde hair, his tan, and his cockiness. He was one of the highest drawing wrestlers, and a man who helped evolve professional wrestling into what it is today. He also invented an array of moves, like the Figure Four Leg Lock. Buddy Rogers was a legend in professional wrestling, and will also be looked at as one of the best ever. Written by: Matt Lytle |
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