Pioneer Singles:
Buddy Rogers
"Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers was one of the biggest wrestling stars in the beginning of the television era. His performances inspired generations of professional wrestlers, such as "Nature Boy" Ric Flair (who used Buddy Rogers' nickname, as well as his look, his attitude, and his finishing hold, the figure four leglock). He was the first professional wrestler to hold the WWWF Championship and the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
The son of German immigrant parents, Rogers was a New Jersey police officer before being discovered by a local promoter and soon became a top wrestler using his real name around his hometown where he gained his first major win over Ed "Strangler" Lewis.
He continued his career in Houston, where he assumed the name "Buddy Rogers". Rogers would get his first major taste of gold during his tenure there, winning the Texas Heavyweight title four x, once from the great Lou Thesz, beginning a long feud both in and out of the ring. After leaving the Texas territory for Columbus, Ohio, the final pieces of his character were added. He bleached his hair and was given the moniker "Nature Boy" by promoter Jack Pfefer.
With the advent of television, Rogers' flashy look, great physique and bombastic personality instantly caught the ire of audiences. The first sign of Rogers' impact was his involvement in Sam Muchnick's opposition promotion in St. Louis, Missouri, a major wrestling market at the time. He was pitted against the well respected Lou Thesz as a draw. In the end, Muchnick's promotion was powerful enough with Buddy Rogers as its main star that the two promotions merged. Rogers continued control of the Midwest as a booker and wrestler, most notably in Chicago, frequently selling out the 11,000-seat arena. In the 1950s, Rogers expanded into Vince McMahon, Sr.'s Capitol Wrestling Corporation.
In 1961, the National Wrestling Alliance voted him NWA World Heavyweight Champion. On June 30, 1961, Pat O'Connor dropped the title to Rogers in front of 38,622 fans at Comiskey Park, a North American professional wrestling attendance record that lasted until the David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions in 1984.The ticket sales of $148,000 were a professional wrestling record for almost 20 years. The match, a two out of three falls match, was billed as the "Match of the Century" During the match, both men had gained a pinfall, when O'Connor missed a dropkick, hit his head, and Rogers pinned him to win the match.
Rogers was also co-holder of the U.S. Tag Team Championship, with frequent tag partner Handsome Johnny Barend. They won the belts in 1962 on Washington, D.C. television from Johnny Valentine and Arnold Skaaland (Skaaland subbing for the missing Ellis, but the belts were still up). Rogers and Barend defeated Valentine & Ellis in a title rematch at Madison Square Garden, and went on to defend the belts until Spring, 1963, when they lost the titles on Washington,DC television to Killer Buddy Austin & The Great Scott (even though one of the falls was on a disqualification and they technically should not have passed). Rogers and Barend split briefly and feuded, but reunited in Summer 1963 to defeat Bruno Sammartino & Bobo Brazil in Madison Square Garden 2 falls to 1.
During the brief Rogers-Barend feud, Rogers teamed up regularly with a masked wrestler, The Shadow (veteran wrestler Clyde Steeves). Prior to the title reign with Barend, he was frequently a tag partner with Bob Orton.
Northeast promoters, led by McMahon and Toots Mondt, withdrew their membership from the NWA and formed the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), as Thesz was not a strong draw in the area. Promoter Willie Gilzenberg, and first WWWF "President" appeared on Washington, DC TV in April 1963; noted that "a match" had taken place in Canada, that it was non-title, and returned the belt to Buddy Rogers, effectively making him the first WWWF title holder. Rogers' reign was cut short by a mild heart attack that greatly hindered his endurance. He quickly dropped the title to Bruno Sammartino on May 17 of that year, in a match that lasted a mere 48 seconds. By the end of the year, he was retired and only wrestled an occasional show for The Sheik's promotion in Detroit and Montreal.
In 1978, Rogers returned to wrestling as a babyface in Florida although he was in his late 50s. He later moved up to Jim Crockett Promotions in the Carolinas as a heel manager managing wrestlers like Jimmy Snuka, Ken Patera, Gene Anderson, and Big John Studd. His most notable moment during his run in the Carolinas was his feud with the new "Nature Boy", Ric Flair before Rogers put over the younger Nature Boy on July 9, 1978. After his time in Mid-Atlantic, he moved back into WWF where he was a babyface manager and part-time wrestler who also hosted the interview segment "Rogers' Corner."
Titles:
AWA Eastern States Heavyweight Championship
AWA World Heavyweight Championship (Ohio version) (3 x)
MWA Ohio Tag Team Championship (4 x with Great Scott and Juan Sebastian)
World Heavyweight Championship (Montreal version) (3 x)
NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Northeast version) (2 x with
Johnny Valentine and Johnny Barend)
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Chicago version)
NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship
NWA World Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) - with Ronnie
Etchison
NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Amarillo version)
NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship
Texas Heavyweight Championship (4 x)
Texas Tag Team Championship - with Otto Kuss
WWWF United States Tag Team Championship (2 x with Johnny Valentine and
Johnny Barend)
WWWF World Heavyweight Championship (1 time, inaugural)
Maryland Eastern Heavyweight Championship (3 x)
World Heavyweight Championship (Jack Pfeffer version) (5 x)
