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Wrestling mourns passing of Gary Hart
Published March 24, 2008
Another wrestling legend has passed.
“Playboy” Gary Hart, a longtime manager, promoter and booker within the world of professional wrestling, passed away March 16 at the age of 66.
While Hart was an influential man behind the scenes, most wrestling fans remember the bald-headed evil-doer as the manager of a host of World Class Championship Wrestling bad guys such as Gino Hernandez and the Great Kabuki.
During his decades of serves to the business, Hart also guided the careers of the Great Muta, Bruiser Brody, Terry Funk, the One Man Gang, Chris Adams, Dusty Rhodes and others.
Hart’s microphone work was beyond compare and his ability to get the fans riled up with the simplest of phrases made him the top of the heel managers at a time that Mr. Fuji, Bobby Heenan and “Classy” Freddie Blassie were still manning ringside.
While Hart hadn’t been seen on television in many years, he was still a presence. He appeared on both the WWE DVD release “The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Championship Wrestling” and the independent DVD release “Heroes of World Class: The Story of the Von Erichs and The Rise and Fall of World Class Championship Wrestling.”
I’ve seen both and both offer their share of great features. If you want to see Hart at his best, check out the Heroes disc. His emotion in discussing the loss of the Von Erich boys and his former ward Hernandez is true and you can see just how painful it is today to talk about those losses as it was 20 years ago.
Hart was truly a unique individual and it’s a shame they don’t make more men like him. Pro wrestling needs more great speakers whose words, not their actions, can make an angle move.
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Unless something earth shattering occurs tonight, the WrestleMania XXIV card is set for this Sunday. Remember, the annual pay-per-view airs Sunday beginning at 6, not 7.
This weekend’s matches include the BunnyMania Lumberjack Match: Candice and Maria vs. “The Glamazon” Beth Pheonix and Melina, Finlay vs. JBL in a Belfast Brawl, a 24-man Battle Royal in which the winner will challenge for the ECW title, Batista vs. Umaga, the Money in the Bank Ladder Match featuring John Morrison, C.M. Punk, Carlito, Shelton Benjamin, Mr. Kennedy, MVP and Chris Jericho in which the winner gets a shot at one of the WWE world titles, Ric Flair vs. Shawn Michaels in which if Flair loses he must retire from wrestling, Floyd Mayweather vs. Big Show, Edge vs. The Undertaker for the WWE World Heavyweight Title, and John Cena vs. Triple H vs. Randy Orton for the WWE World Title.
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The WWE on Tuesday announced its latest member of the WWE Hall of Fame’s Class of 2008.
Former wrestler and Florida promoter Eddie Graham is slated to be inducted Saturday during the company’s official ceremonies.
He joins Ric Flair, Rocky Johnson, High Chief Peter Maivia, Jack and Gerald Brisco and Mae Young as this year’s inductees.
Graham, who worked alongside his brothers Jerry and Eddie, was a force in the ring as a tag team wrestler and as a solo performer. He held numerous titles in Florida and up the East Coast and was even a champion in Texas during his early years as he teamed with Johnny Valentine.
After an injury in 1968 slowed his in-ring career, Graham became a promoter in Florida and oversaw the career of greats such as Rhodes, the Briscos, Dory Funk Jr. and others. He even served as president of the NWA for two years and helped organize a WWE vs. NWA title match featuring Harley Race and Graham’s youngest brother, “Superstar” Billy Graham.
Graham stayed active in the business until his death in 1985.
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Well, this is the second to last Powerbombs and Press Slams column and I’ve nearly run out of things to say.
It’s funny. Every day I get people coming up to me and asking why is the column coming to an end and others saying, “I always bought the paper on Monday just because of your column.” That makes me feel great because it shows me that I was able to reach a part of the community that was happy to say they loved pro wrestling.
I just want to remind everyone that pro wrestling won’t be leaving the News-Herald. The column will just be re-tooled and re-launched with a new name and a new direction. Maybe I’ll even celebrate with a contest (right after I make up for the lost prizes from the last contest).
But I’ve still got one Powerbombs and Press Slams to go, so let’s focus on that for the time being.
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That’s it for now. Enjoy this week’s programming and, as always, STAY TUNED!!
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