John Quinn (wrestler)
John Quinn | |
---|---|
Born | Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | October 15, 1941
Family | Pat Quinn (cousin) |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | The Butcher Danny Dubois John Clay John Quinn Mighty John Quinn The Kentucky Butcher Little John Marcel LeMay The Masked Spoiler The Stomper Virgil the Kentucky Butcher |
Billed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
Billed weight | 290 lb (130 kg) |
Billed from | Kentucky (as The Kentucky Butcher) |
Trained by | Al Spittles |
Debut | 1961 |
Retired | 1988 |
John Arthur Quinn (October 15, 1941 – April 22, 2019) was a Canadian
In addition to his appearances in the WWWF, Quinn performed under his birth name for North American regional promotions including NWA All-Star Wrestling, Pacific Northwest Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling from the early 1960s to early 1970s. During his later career, he also appeared in European and Japanese organizations from the 1970s until the late 1980s. A popular "heel" in Great Britain during this time, he held the British World Heavyweight Championship a record four times between 1980 and 1986.[1][2]
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1961–1967)
A native of Hamilton, Ontario, Quinn was brought in as a sparring partner for Whipper Billy Watson's wrestling camp. Impressed by Quinn, he was invited by Watson to join his tour in Ontario during the summer.[3] Later training under Al Spittles, he eventually made his debut in 1961 wrestling for promoter Larry Kasaboski in northern Ontario. For the next few years, he wrestled under numerous ring names as he toured Canada and the United States including Marcel LeMay, Danny Dubois, Jack Clay and The Masked Spoiler.
In early 1965, Quinn began wrestling in the World Wide Wrestling Federation as Virgil the Kentucky Butcher defeating
Later that year, he returned to Ontario and teamed with Wes Hutchins as the Masked Yankees in
Winning the vacant NWA International Tag Team Championship on January 9, their eventual defeat by Billy Watson and Bulldog Brower in Toronto, Ontario on July 10 was one of the highest drawing matches of the year with 7,500 in attendance.[6]
World Wide Wrestling Federation (1967–1969)
Returning to the WWWF full-time in December 1967, he defeated Arnold Skaaland and
Facing
In early-April, Quinn again faced Bruno Sammartino in several rematches and defeated the world champion by countout in
After defeating Tony Altimore at Moose Hall in
Losing matches to
Defeating Ricky Sexton in Lawrence, Massachusetts on June 10, he faced Crybaby" George Cannon and Victor Rivera whom he fought to a time limit draw at the National Arena on June 13. Later that night, he teamed with Bull Ramos and Hans Mortier to defeat Rivera, Earl Maynard and Arnold Skaaland.
Returning to the Boston Garden on June 15, he and Monsoon fought to a no-contest against Sammartino and Rivera and, later that week, teamed with
Teaming with Bull Ramos, he also lost to Victor Rivera & Earl Maynard in
On August 15, with Bull Ramos and George "the Animal" Steele, he lost to Earl Maynard, Victor Rivera and Bruno Sammartino at the National Arena. During the next two days, he lost back-to-back matches against Sammartino in Asbury Park, New Jersey and Bobo Brazil at Madison Square Garden on August 17. He and Gorilla Monsoon also lost to Bruno Sammartino and Victor Rivera on August 27.
While in Pittsburgh on September 13, Quinn defeated
After yet another failed attempt to defeat Sammartino on October 3, he and Bull Ramos fought Bruno Sammartino and Batman to a time limit draw the following night in Wheeling, West Virginia. Teaming with Baron Mikel Scicluna and Gorilla Monsoon against Haystacks Calhoun & Victor Rivera in early October, he also lost to the Battman via disqualification on October 18. He and Bull Ramos also lost to Bobo Brazil and Ernie Lassiter at Madison Square Garden on October 21 and, the following month, he and Chuck Adcock lost to The Sicilians on November 11.
Although he and Gorilla Monsoon defeated WWWF World Champion Bruno Sammartino & Battman in Pittsburgh on November 15, he lost in a 6-man tag team match with Gorilla Monsoon and Baron Mikel Scicluna to Haystacks Calhoun,
On November 26, he and Baron Mikel Scicluna faced The Sicilians (Lou Albano & Tony Altimore) at the Expo Building in Portland, Maine. Losing to Spiros Arion in Trenton on December 2, he also faced Joe Adcock, Haystack Calhoun and Victor Rivera later that year[8] before his final WWWF appearance losing to Bruno Sammartino at a television taping in Philadelphia on January 11, 1969.[9]
World Class Championship Wrestling (1969)
Moving on to
Georgia Championship Wrestling (1969)
Two days later, under the name Little John, made his debut in
On April 11, they teamed with
Defeating Dale Lewis and Skandor Akbar and Los Toros (Cisco Grimaldo & Roberto Pico) during the next several weeks, he also faced Joe Turco and Assassin #2 in single matches. Although he and Smith defeated The Assassins on May 2, they were unable to defeat them in a title match the following week. Fighting to a lime limit draw against The Professional & The Spoiler on May 16, The Kentuckyians again lost to The Assassins on May 23, however, they defeated Tony Nero & Tom Bradley and Mitsu & Sugi Sito later that month.
On June 3, after defeating Tony Nero in a singles match at the Macon Coliseum in Macon, Georgia, he and Smith defeated Tony Nero & The Professional at the same event. Three days later however, he and Smith lost to Tom Bradley & the Assassins in a 6-man tag team match with Leo Garibaldi.
Teaming with Corsica Jean, Bill Dromo and Tim Geohagen during the next few weeks, he also briefly feuded with Skandor Akbar in late-June. Teaming with Bill Dromo,
The following night, he and Smith lost to The Super Assassins. Feuding with The Super Assassins (Super Assassin #1 & Super Assassin #2) and their manager Super Manager during the next two months, although twice defeating them by disqualification in late-July, they lost to them several times during the next few weeks. After losing to The Super Assassins on August 15, Quinn left the area.[11]
National Wrestling Alliance affiliates (1970–1977)
By early 1970, after a stint as The Butcher for promoter
In May, he made his Toronto debut with
In early 1972, Quinn toured
Returning to Vancouver, Quinn teamed with Bob Brown once again to challenge his former tag team partner Dutch Savage & Steven Little Bear for the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship, later defeating them in
Several months later, he would team with Gerry Romano to defeat
He later reappeared in Stampede Wrestling to defeat
During 1976, he and
During the next two years, he and Don Leo Jonathan would feud over the titles with Quinn winning the Canadian Tag Team title once more with Kurt Von Hess before losing the title to Don Leo Jonathan & Dutch Savage on January 17, 1977.
International Wrestling Enterprise (1977)
In 1977, Quinn began competing for the
Great Britain and later career (1977–1988)
In late 1977, Quinn faced NWA World Heavyweight Champion Harley Race in Calgary, Alberta on July 8, 1977.[14]
Returning to Vancouver, he briefly regained the NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship before losing the title to
In what was considered a major upset, Quinn would later go on to win the British version of the World Heavyweight Championship defeating Wayne Bridges in
Quinn defeated numerous British wrestlers including World Heavy Middleweight Champion
When Wayne Bridges also left for All Star Wrestling in 1983, he and Quinn would resume their feud over the British World Heavyweight title which would also involve Tony St. Clair whom Quinn eventually defeated for the title in
The following month, Quinn would also tour Japan taking part in several interpromotional matches with
After defeating
Quinn was working for
However, due in part to business disagreements with British promoters, as well as the upcoming loss of the ITV show in December 1988, Quinn returned to British Columbia in 1988 where he rejoined the similarly-named
Retirement
In the years after his retirement, Quinn worked in a variety of jobs ranging from a labourer, taxi driver, and truck driver to hotel and restaurant ownership. At one point, Quinn was in ill health however he would eventually recover.[16]
Remaining uninvolved in professional wrestling for almost 20 years, Quinn made an appearance at Twister's Gym at the Abbotsford Agri-fair hosted by Top Ranked Wrestling in July 2005. During the event, a tribute show was held in Quinn's honor and he was presented a plaque by the organizers.[21]
Personal life
Quinn was the cousin of Pat Quinn, former head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Quinn died in Vancouver at the age of 77 due to complications from a stroke after a surgery on April 22, 2019.[22]
Championships and accomplishments
- International Wrestling Enterprise
- Kurt Von Hess[23]
- Joint Promotions
- World Heavyweight Championship (4 times)[24]
- NWA All Star Wrestling
- NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship (9 times) - with Bob Brown (4 times), Dutch Savage (1 time), Gerry Romano (1 time), Kinji Shibuya (1 time), Kurt Von Hess (1 time) and Don Leo Jonathan (1 time)[25]
- NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship (2 times)[26]
- NWA Tri-State
- NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (1 times)[27]
- NWA Mid-South North American Championship (1 times)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him # 192 of the 400 best singles wrestlers of the PWI's WWE Top 400 in 2003
- Stampede Wrestling
- Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[29]
- Superstar Championship Wrestling
References
- ^ Will, Gary. "Canadian Pro Wrestling Page of Fame: "Big" John Quinn". GaryWill.com. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014.
- )
- ^ a b "Wrestling Interviews: "Big" John Quinn". DutchSavage.com. August 2006.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "WWWF: 1965". Graham Cawthon's History of the WWE. Archived from the original on 2009-04-22.
- ^ Will, Gary. "1965 Results: Debuts for Singh, Powers, Calhoun". Gary Will's Toronto Wrestling History. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014.
- ^ Will, Gary. "Top drawing matches, year-by-year, 1929-1974". Gary Will's Toronto Wrestling History. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "WWWF: 1967". Graham Cawthon's History of the WWE. Archived from the original on 2007-11-02.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "WWWF: 1968". Graham Cawthon's History of the WWE. Archived from the original on 2007-11-02.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "WWWF: 1969". Graham Cawthon's History of the WWE. Archived from the original on 2007-11-02.
- ^ Dananay, John (2006). "World Class Championship Wrestling: 1991-94". World Class Memories. Archived from the original on 2009-01-05.
- ^ "Who's Who: Little John (John Quinn)". GeorgiaWrestlingHistory.com. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03.
- ^ Will, Gary. "1971 Results: Whipper Billy Watson's final year". Gary Will's Toronto Wrestling History. Archived from the original on December 27, 2014.
- ISBN 0-9736719-8-X
- ^ a b "Records of NWA World Heavyweight championship Matches: 1976-76". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "International Wrestling Enterprise". ProWrestlingHistory.com. Archived from the original on 2008-01-04.
- ^ ISBN 0-297-84419-9
- ^ "Results from the Royal Albert Hall and Wembley Arena Spectaculars". BritishWrestlingArchive.co.uk. 2003. Archived from the original on 2012-07-02.
- ^ Lister, John (2002). "The History of British Wrestling". Puroresu Dojo.
- ^ "1984 Results". BritishWrestlingArchive.co.uk. 2003. Archived from the original on 2008-09-05.
- ^ Cawthon, Graham. "WWF: 1984". Graham Cawthon's History of the WWE. Archived from the original on 2007-12-04.
- ^ Johns, Fred (August 4, 2005). "SLAM! Wrestling: In celebration of John Quinn". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on September 4, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "John QUINN Obituary (2019) - the Hamilton Spectator".
- ^ "I.W.A. World Tag Team Title (IWE)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "World Heavyweight Title (UK)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "N.W.A. Canadian Tag Team Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "N.W.A. Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "North American Heavyweight Title (Mid-South)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "Stampede International Tag Team Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003. Archived from the original on 2008-05-05.
- ^ "North American Heavyweight Title (Calgary Stampede)". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "S.C.W. Western States Heavyweight Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
- ^ "S.C.W. Western States Team Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.