Buddy rogers wrestler

When professional wrestling fans hear the name "Nature Boy," one wrestler comes to mind - Ric Flair. However, Flair isn't the only Buddy rogers wrestler Boy in wrestling history, and he wasn't the first. While Flair was the most successful, he owes his nickname and much of his wrestling gimmick to the original Nature Boy, Buddy Rogers.

Skip to main content. Watch every Premium Live Event and get unlimited access to WWE's premium content - available to you anywhere, anytime, on any device. Sign up for Peacock to watch. Buddy Rogers was never demure in broadcasting his attributes. This was Rogers' style throughout his sports-entertainment career, a manner that grated on his fellow Superstars behind the scenes as much as it did on the spectators. But the inaugural WWE Champion seemed to care little about how he was perceived.

Buddy rogers wrestler

His performances influenced future professional wrestlers, including "Nature Boy" Ric Flair , who used Rogers's nickname, as well as his look, attitude and finishing hold, the figure-four leglock. He is one of three men in history to have held both championships, along with Ric Flair and AJ Styles. Rogers was the son of Herman Gustav Rohde Sr. He served in the U. Navy during World War II. Rogers also excelled in football, boxing, track and swimming, winning the YMCA's three-mile swimming championship in Rogers joined the Dale Brothers Circus as a wrestler at age He later worked at a shipyard, and became a police officer. Rogers visited the offices of professional wrestling promoters Ray and Frank Hanley, who gave him his first match on July 4, , against Moe Brazen, which he won. He continued his career in Houston , where he assumed the name Buddy Rogers. Rogers would get his first title during his tenure there, winning the NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship four times, once from Lou Thesz , beginning a long feud between them both in and out of the ring.

Rogers continued control buddy rogers wrestler the Midwest as a booker and professional wrestler, most notably in Chicagofrequently selling out the 11,seat arena. The tickets were printed with Rogers—Sammartino on them.

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When professional wrestling fans hear the name "Nature Boy," one wrestler comes to mind - Ric Flair. However, Flair isn't the only Nature Boy in wrestling history, and he wasn't the first. While Flair was the most successful, he owes his nickname and much of his wrestling gimmick to the original Nature Boy, Buddy Rogers. Ric Flair was a time world champion according to WWE , although he won more than that when all his world titles are taken into account. However, that doesn't discount Rogers, who himself was a time world champion.

Buddy rogers wrestler

Rogers is one of the seminal figures of the era that drew in so many parts of the United States not to mention his work in Montreal, Quebec. POST Wrestling: First off, what were some of the broad differences tackling a singular subject such as Buddy Rogers compared to some of your other books detailing the history of the NWA, the territorial system, etc.? My NWA book, and Death of the Territories , were vast projects centering on dozens of regional promotions and personalities, and it always felt like there was an infinite amount of stories to share. But once I got going, and started to apply fresh research techniques, it only opened up new avenues for information and made the book that much better. Altogether, though, writing a biography is a completely different beast than studying the history of an organization or era, and I really enjoy working on them. POST: What stood out with Rogers that made him such a captivating subject and did you find that history had not accurately reflected his legacy? Hornbaker: Buddy Rogers was a legend in and out of the wrestling ring. His innovative ring style, personality, and incredible charisma put him on another level from his contemporaries, and he made an impact in every territory he appeared. For me, it was fascinating to learn how he became such a pioneering figure, and the roads he took from Camden, New Jersey to the biggest arenas across North America. At one point early in his career, he was compared to both Gorgeous George and Gene Stanlee, who both were massively successful at the time.

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He later worked at a shipyard, and became a police officer. Landell moved on to the Global Wrestling Federation in , and it was there that he was going to wrestle a year-old Buddy Rogers. In the end, Muchnick's promotion was powerful enough with Rogers as its main star that the two promotions merged. A lot of that started with Rogers. He also wrestled in the Al Haft promotion out of Columbus, Ohio in the s and through In the early s, Rogers returned to WWE. Weight lbs. Wrestling Observer Figure Four Online. The match had to be kept short for fear of Rogers having a major heart attack and dying in the ring. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Superstar Stats Buddy Rogers. Just like Rogers, Flair bleached his hair blonde, wore colorful robes, strutted in the ring , and used the Figure Four as a finisher.

Ric Flair was not the first wrestler to use the moniker of Nature Boy. The NWA feared that Buddy Rogers was going to refuse to lay down in his match with Lou Thesz, so they set up several fail-safes, just in case. Thesz was a legit shooter, and a real good one at that, so if Rogers refused to lose, Thesz would make him lose.

Bob Orton Jr. Valentine fought valiantly, but was worn down by Rogers and Barend. Tools Tools. Archived from the original on September 26, Lou Thesz, Rogers's long-time colleague and frequent opponent, described Rogers's early impact in his memoir, Hooker :. History of Wrestling. Go to Flow. The year-old Rogers was set to face off against another impostor "Nature Boy," Buddy Landell, in Philadelphia, but the match never happened. Bobo Brazil Dory Funk, Sr. A lot of that started with Rogers. After putting over Sammartino, his health problems forced Rogers to wrestle in only a limited number of short singles matches that lasted a minute or two. Flair went on to say that Harley Race once said, "Flair took Rogers stuff to a whole new level. He was also very skilled at drawing heat during interviews, with a smug "to a nicer guy, it couldn't have happened" being his catchphrase of sorts whenever he was victorious. He would continue to make sporadic appearances in the WWF until , right before the beginning of the Rock 'n' Wrestling era.