Jerry London (wrestler)

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Jerry London
Birth nameMurray Gerald Aitken
Born(1929-07-09)July 9, 1929[1]
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada[2]
DiedAugust 20, 1970(1970-08-20) (aged 41)
San Francisco, California, U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Jerry London
Jerry Aitken
Billed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Billed weight200 lb (91 kg)[2]

Jerry Linden (July 9, 1929 – 20 August 1970), or Jerry Atkins, better known by the ring name Jerry London, was a Canadian professional wrestler and former world champion, most notably holding the NWA World Middleweight Championship in 1966.

A journeyman wrestler, he wrestled throughout the world for various wrestling promotions:

NWA Tri-State.[2]

Linden committed suicide on August 20, 1970, hours after losing a bout at the

Golden Age of Wrestling" along with Yukon Eric, George Drake[3] and Skull Murphy.[4]

Early career

Born in

St. Paul, Minnesota
.

Capitol Wrestling Corporation

By the early-1960s, Linden had established himself as a talented technical wrestler in

masked wrestler The Black Terror in his television debut.[6] Linden also faced Larry Simon, Juan Sebastian, and Dick Steinborn in singles competition. On June 19, 1961, Linden and Angelo Savoldi took on Mark Lewin and Don Curtis in a Best 2-of-3 Falls match in Trenton, New Jersey.[7] That same month, Linden returned to his home country where he and Emile Duprée wrestled Lou Albano and Jack "The Neck" Vanski at the Halifax Forum.[8][9]

National Wrestling Alliance

Linden headed south the following year to work for

Mid-South territory
.

Linden traveled to

Tim Woods, Tito Carreon and Tim Geohagen. Linden also had a few singles matches against Boris Malenko, Joe McCarthy and Pedro Godoy.[13] Linden moved north to Georgia Championship Wrestling where, on April 3, Linden wrestled Stan Stasiak at the Atlanta Municipal Auditorium.[14]

Maple Leaf Wrestling

In early 1965, Linden returned to his native Canada where he enjoyed a near year-long run with

War Memorial Stadium.[17][15] Linden made his last appearance at the Maple Leaf Gardens two days later against Tiger Jeet Singh who defeated him via his "cobra" submission hold.[18]

Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre

After a brief visit to the NWA's Florida territory,[19] Linden headed south to Mexico's Empresa Mexicana de Lucha Libre (EMLL, "Mexican Wrestling Enterprise") promotion where he and Felipe Ham Lee feuded with Los Rebeldes (René Guajardo and Karloff Lagarde). Though his stay was short-lived, Linden excelled in the lucha libre-style of wrestling and arguably enjoyed greatest success. Linden defeated Guajardo in Mexico City for the NWA World Middleweight Championship on May 14, 1966.[20] He defended the championship for almost three weeks before dropping the belt back to Guajardo in Monterrey.[21][22][23] That fall, Linden headlined both of EMLL's 33rd Anniversary shows at Arena México. On the first show on September 9, 1966, Linden and Ham Lee faced René Guajardo and Karloff Lagarde in separate best two-out-of-three falls Lucha de Apuesta hair vs. hair matches. While Linden won his match against Lagarde, his partner was defeated by Guajardo. The second part, three weeks later on September 30, saw the winners of the Luchas de Apuestas bouts, Linden and Guajardo, face off in a final encounter. Linden lost the bout and was forced to have his head shaved bald after the match per lucha libre traditions.[24]

Jim Crockett Promotions

That summer, he appeared in bouts against

Greensboro Coliseum against The Missouri Mauler, Rudy Kay and Tiny Mills.[10] In late 1967, Linden entered the promotion's tag team division.[27] On December 9, 1967, Linden teamed with Rick Hunter against Tiny Mills and Steve Stanlee in a best two-out-of-three falls match in Lexington, North Carolina.[28] Hunter won the first fall with a victory roll pin but their opponents ended up scoring the other two.[29]

Later career

On December 20, 1967, Linden returned to NWA Tri-State where he wrestled

NWA: All-Star Wrestling and Portland Wrestling
.

Death

Linden spent the last year of his career wrestling for

Golden Age of Wrestling" along with Yukon Eric, George Drake[3] and Skull Murphy.[4][34][35]

Championships and accomplishments

Luchas de Apuestas record

See also: Luchas de Apuestas
Winner (wager) Loser (wager) Location Event Date Notes
Jerry London (hair) Karloff Lagarde (hair) Mexico City EMLL 33rd Anniversary Show September 9, 1966 [36][37]
René Guajardo (hair) Jerry London (hair) Mexico City EMLL 33rd Anniversary Show September 30, 1966 [36][37]

References

  1. ^ "Jerry London". profightdb.com. The Internet Wrestling Database.
  2. ^ a b c "Jerry London". Oklafan.com. The Oklahoma Wrestling Fan's Resource Center.
  3. ^
    Canadian Online Explorer. SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original
    on May 31, 2016.
  4. ^ a b Oliver, Greg (May 2001). "SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Skull Murphy". Canadian Online Explorer. SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on June 9, 2001.
  5. ^ Luce, Don. "North Bay Wrestling Results – 1956". Legacyofwrestling.com.
  6. ^ a b "Bouts listed for mat show". The Bridgeport Telegram. June 14, 1961.
  7. ^ "Results: 1961". NYProWrestling.com. November 15, 2015.
  8. ^ "Nova Scotia Results: 1960–1974". Newscott.com.[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ Nevada, Vance (June 30, 2005). "Emile Dupre". Canadian Online Explorer. SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015.
  10. ^ a b Cawthon, Graham. "Greensboro Coliseum". TheHistoryofWWE.com.
  11. ^ Johnson, Mike; Buck Woodward; Ryan Martinez (May 3, 2011). "5/3 This day in history: The Hart legacy is born (literally), Von Erich Parade of Champions, Hogan Vs. Mutoh, Horsemen Vs. Steiners, Diva fingered in escort expose and more". PWInsider.com. Pro Wrestling Insider.
  12. ^ "1962". GCCWhistory.com.
  13. ^ Tanabe, Hisaharu (May 21, 2009). "[results] Florida 1964/01". Wrestling-titles.com. Puroresu Dojo.
  14. ^ Tate, Rich (April 3, 2008). "GEORGIA WRESTLING NEWS, NOTES, AND NOSTALGIA: 04/03/2008". WrestlingFigs.com.
  15. ^ a b Cawthon, Graham. "1965". TheHistoryofWWE.com.
  16. ^ "1965 Tournament". MapleLeafWrestling.com. Oshawa Wrestling History. Archived from the original on 2016-12-18.
  17. ^ Luce, Don (April 30, 2006). "Buffalo – 1965". SteelBeltWrestling.com.
  18. ^ Hornbaker, Tim. "Toronto Wrestling Results – 1965". Legacyofwrestling.com.
  19. Ocala Star-Banner
    . January 17, 1966.
  20. ^ a b Centinela, Teddy (June 10, 2015). "En un día como hoy... 1966: Fallece don Jesús Lomelín... Jerry London a cuatro años de su trágico fin". Súper Luchas (in Spanish).
  21. ^ a b "NWA World Middleweight Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
  22. ^
    ISBN 0-9698161-5-4
    .
  23. ^ Hoops, Brian (July 1, 2015). "On this day in pro wrestling history (July 1): Ric Flair stripped of WCW title, Von Erichs win WCCW tag titles". F4Wonline.com. Wrestling Observer/Figure Four Weekly.
  24. ^ "The Importance of Lucha Libre in September (Part One)". VoicesofWrestling.com. October 8, 2014.
  25. ^ Kerby, Carl. "1967 Match History". Reasons for Hope.
  26. ^ Cline, Mike (June 2, 2016). "Great cards from long ago". Mike Cline's Mid-Atlantic Grapplin' Greats.
  27. ^ Dennis, Paul (2004). "Regional Territories: MACW #21 Page #2". KayfabeMemories.com.
  28. ^ Cline, Mike (March 16, 2014). "The JCP sensational sixties". Mike Cline's Mid-Atlantic Grappin' Greats.
  29. ^ "Hawk And Hanson Beat Texans In Mat Thriller". The Dispatch. December 11, 1967.
  30. ^ a b Baker, David (September 11, 2009). "Jerry Brisco". Mid-Atlantic Gateway. David Baker's Mid-Atlantic Superstar Results.
  31. ^ "JWA Sumo Hall". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
  32. ^ "April 10, 1968: Lady Wrestlers in a Tag Team Thriller". 50thStateBigTimeWrestling.com.
  33. ISBN 0786417544
    .
  34. ^ Will, Gary. "Dead Wrestler's List". Professional Wrestling Online Museum.
  35. ^ Teal, Scott (2011). "wRESTle In Peace: 1891–1999". 1wrestlinglegends.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-16. Retrieved 2017-04-09.
  36. ^ a b "Historia de Los Aniversarios del CMLL". The Gladiatores Magazine (in Spanish). September 2, 2010. Retrieved September 28, 2012.
  37. ^ a b "Historia de Los Aniversarios" (in Spanish). Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved September 28, 2012.

External links

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