Colonel DeBeers
Colonel DeBeers | |
---|---|
Polish Prince The General[2] | |
Billed height | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)[3] |
Billed weight | 275 lb (125 kg)[3] |
Billed from | Buffalo, New York (as Ed Wiskowski) Johannesburg, South Africa (as Colonel DeBeers)[1] |
Debut | 1972 |
Retired | 2005 |
Edward Wiskoski (born January 10, 1945) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the American Wrestling Association under the ring name Colonel DeBeers from 1985 to 1990.[1]
Early life
Wiskoski was the first member of his family to graduate from college, attending Northwest Missouri State University.
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1972–1985)
After being trained by Harley Race and Lord Littlebrook, Wiskoski debuted in 1972. Wiskoski primarily wrestled in the Portland, Oregon area during his career. His teaming with "Playboy" Buddy Rose was famous across the West Coast, holding the Pacific Northwest Tag Team titles on multiple occasions, and the NWA World Tag Team titles (San Francisco version).[1] Wiskoski was also the United States Heavyweight champion and Pacific Northwest Heavyweight champion.[1]
He held the
During one of his many tours of the Pacific Northwest territory (where he eventually retired), Wiskoski took up the gimmick of Mega Maharishi Imed (the last name being pronounced 'Ahmed', the joke being that it is 'I'm Ed').
American Wrestling Association (1985–1991)
Wiskoski was best known as Colonel DeBeers in the
During his stint in the AWA he feuded with "Big" Scott Hall[1] and "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka[1] in 1986, Sgt. Slaughter in 1988, briefly with Derrick Dukes in 1989, and jobber Jake Milliman throughout 1990. DeBeers feud with Snuka was notorious in that, even in an industry known for characters based on racial stereotypes, DeBeers's overt racism was still shocking. DeBeers essentially refused to wrestle Snuka because he was not white. After a series of standoffs between the two, the feud was magnified after an injury angle where DeBeers interfered in a match with Snuka, throwing him off the top rope to the floor and delivering several piledrivers on the floor, resulting in a bloody and battered Snuka being wheeled off on a stretcher. This led to a series of high-profile matches with Snuka.
DeBeers and Milliman competed in, quite possibly, one of the most infamous matches in the history of wrestling while in the AWA. In the company's dying months, the AWA created the
Later career (1991–2005)
While in
On January 29, 2005, DeBeers wrestled his last match at WrestleReunion teaming with his former tag partner Buddy Rose and Bob Orton Jr. as they lost to Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka and Jimmy Valiant in Tampa Bay, Florida.[6]
Retirement
Wiskoski and Rose ran a wrestling school in Portland, Oregon
Wiskoski is currently retired in Arizona.
Championships and accomplishments
- Big Time Wrestling (San Francisco)
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Central States Wrestling
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- NWA Tri-State
- 1 time) – with Mike George[1]
- Pacific Northwest Wrestling / Championship Wrestling USA
- 5 times)[1]
- NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[1]
- NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (5 times) – with Buddy Rose (3), Kendo Nagasaki (1) and John Rambo (1)[1]
- NWA Pacific Northwest Television Championship (1 time)[1]
- Ring Around The Northwest Newsletter
- World Championship Wrestling (Australia)
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z "Colonel DeBeers profile". OWOW. Archived from the original on June 18, 2009. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
- ^ "Battle of The Breakfast Cereal, 1989". March 16, 2019.
- ^ a b c American Wrestling Assiciation (August 27, 1988). "DDP introduce Col DeBeers in his stable; Todd Becker Vs Col DeBeers /w DDP & Tonya". AWA.
- ^ "DDP's profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved July 31, 2009.
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Col. DeBeers' Aryan Nations Church!!". YouTube.
- ^ Ward, Marshall (July 12, 2009). "Tales of Buddy Rose, courtesy Easy Ed Wiskoski". SlamWrestling.net. Retrieved October 15, 2022.
- ^ a b Rodgers, Mike (2004). "Regional Territories: PNW #16 Page #2". KayfabeMemories.com.
External links
- Ed Wiskoski at IMDb
- Colonel DeBeers's profile at Cagematch.net , Internet Wrestling Database