Stay tuned to theLast Word on Pro Wrestlingfor more on this and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. [3], Blassie's famous "pencil-neck geek" catchphrase originated early in his career while describing a fellow carnival performer who appeared in a geek show. The Legends of Wrestling - "Classy" Freddie Blassie Who Is Freddie Blassie's Wife? However, Blassie wanted nothing to do with him because he too had a massive drinking problem and felt that it would "hit too close to home." 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. 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Federation (WWWF, later the World Wresting Federation (WWF) and now 2018 Remaster of Andy Kaufman on The Late Show w/ David Letterman w/ "Classy" Fred Blassie on February 23rd, 1983.More remastered Andy Kaufman - https://goo.. Blassie later challenged Morales for the WWWF Championship, but came up short. Fans might recall his interviews with local announcer Dick Lane in which he would proclaim his vast superiority over a number of lesser opponents, branding them all pencil-neck geeks. Those colorful interviews helped make him a celebrity in the newly expanding medium of television. switched to professional wrestling. He started a second career as a manager in the WWWF. My Breakfast with Blassie (1983) - IMDb Frederick Kenneth Blassie (Classy Freddy Blassie, The Vampire, Sailor Fred Blassie, The Hollywood Fashion Plate, The Fashion Plate of Professional Wrestling), Miyako Morozumi (30 September1968 - 2 June2003)( his death), ? [22], Filmed in 1982, My Breakfast with Blassie featured Andy Kaufman and Freddie Blassie eating at a Sambo's in Los Angeles. Blassie originally wrestled mainly in the Southeast and West Coast, winning many titles in both. Blassie would turn heel during this period, developing a lot of the characteristics that hed become known for. [22] In the demonstration of the dance, Blassie picked up Rob Petrie and twirled him over his head. Classy Freddie Blassie was pro wrestling's 'Fashion Plate' One poll ranked him as the most hated wrestler in the United Head on over to theLWOS Boardsto engage in conversation with fellow fans! In 1960, he became a regular with World Wrestling Associates (WWA) in Los Angeles, a move that would cement his legacy in pro wrestling, long before he became a manager. Blassie, Murray wrote, has dedicated his life to wrapping up as much hate as one man can safely carry in a lifetime. Those colorful interviews helped make him a celebrity in the newly expanding medium of television. Following a stint in the California wrestling scene, Freddie Blassie headed southeast to the Georgia territories in the 1950s, where he would enjoy a whopping 17 reigns with the big title of the region, the NWA Georgia Southern Heavyweight Championship between 1954 and 1960. He won the World Wrestling Association world heavyweight championship from the Frenchman douard Carpentier at the Los Angeles Sports Arena in 1961. [2] He sporadically returned to make brief appearances following his retirement in 1986, mostly in produced video packages hyping the "new generation" of wrestling. [8] They received acclaim on the Dr. Demento Radio Show, and the latter song was featured on several albums, including Dr. Demento's 20th anniversary collection, The Very Best of Dr. Demento, and Dr. Demento Presents the Greatest Novelty CDs of All Time. Freddie Blassie was one of the most hated heels of his time. Death Funeral services will be held at noon Friday at Hitchcock Presbyterian Church in Scarsdale, N.Y. Despite being a 7-year pro before his duty in World War II, Blassie was still a journeyman. Around 1980, he adopted a new moniker: "Ayatollah Blassie. "No. The widow of pro-wrestling villain "Classy" Freddie Blassie got thrown for a fall by a supermarket floor mat. Blassie held various regional titles, Walton said, including the WWA World Title on five separate occasions, the Americas Heavyweight Title nine times and tag team belts with various partners over the years. [spoken to the WWF wrestlers during Invasion 2001] Gentleman, there [9][6], On June 2, 2003, Blassie died of heart and kidney failure at the age of 85. Hed also engage in big title feuds with serious GOATs like Japans Rikidozan and Americas Lou Thesz, both of whom are considered among the most influential wrestlers of all time. Blassie. Blassie's interference at Wrestlemania 2 cost Volkoff his match with Kirchner, when the cane was grabbed by Kirchner instead of Volkoff. While writingThe Legends of Wrestling, Greenberg got to know Freddie Blassie quite well and mentioned in his appearance on The Genius Cast that Blassie really opened up to him. Backstage, Jilly Rizzo club owner, Frank Sinatra's bodyguard, and . He retired from competition in the late 1970s to manage a new generation of gladiators such as Hulk Hogan. Blassie was a regular on the WWWF's "All-Star Wrestling" and "Championship Wrestling" weekly TV shows that were videotaped at small arenas in Pennsylvania and aired throughout the Northeast. Freddie Blassie Wrestlers Database CAGEMATCH - The Internet Fred Blassie was born and raised in the St. Louis, Missouri, area. A wildly popular villain in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, he later managed other wrestlers, including then-bad guy Hulk Hogan and the ever-evil Iron Sheik. Returning to the WWA, Blassie began feuding with the likes of Bobo Brazil, Mil Mascaras, and others, as well as teaming with another known violent savage, Mad Dog Vachon. He returned to AJPW again in 1973, but the following year in 1974, he jumped to New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) for his final tour of Japan. ", to a monstrous applause. One poll ranked him as the most hated wrestler in the United States. The Dudleyz get the tables with "Classy" Freddie Blassie's help: Raw By 1968, WWA rejoined the NWA, becoming NWA Hollywood, but in 1971, Blassie returned to WWWF and challenged new WWWF World Champion Pedro Morales, to no avail. Freddie had been estranged from his children for the majority of their lives. Freddie Blassie | Pro Wrestling | Fandom Using his newfound skills, Blassie became a wrestler starting in the carnival circuit, debuting in 1935 but taking a break in the 1940s to fight in World War II. [15] Blassie led Shiek to the WWF World Heavyweight Championship over Bob Backlund on December 26, 1983, in Madison Square Garden. It was a wonderful look back at "old-school" wrestling as told by one of the masters, both as a wrestler and as a talker. Linda's dual role (as director and actress) was scripted as an irritating fan who requests Andy's autograph after he washes his hands. He felt this was his chance to tell his life story before moving on. He hated his father for it. Blassie began portraying himself as a villain, and it worked. Freddie Blassies origins are worth knowing about, especially because they involve much earlier days of the pro wrestling world -- as in, within the first half of the 20th century. They had no connecting hallways, so he was stuck with a bunch of these people, kayfabing his gimmick as Bruno was being hauled in on a stretcher. the late 1960s, he moved to the East Coast and the World-Wide Wrestling Freddie Blassie Also known as Fred Blassie, Fred McDaniel Overview Career Career highlights Titles Matches Match Statistics Matchguide Feuds Promos Tournaments Tag Teams & Stables Entourage Awards Books Wrestling Games Movies Commentary Career Ratings Comments Matches Displaying items 1 to 100 of total 1631 items that match the search parameters. 1 One of the great legends of pro wrestling albeit one whose in-ring career predated the 1980s Golden Era wrestling boom Classy Freddie Blassie was a successful heel who wrestled all over. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. So when I saw this book I had to get it and read it. During these runs, hed take part in a couple of title feuds for the WWE Championship, challenging Bruno Sammartino in the 1960s and Pedro Morales in the 1970s, not to mention coming after Bobo Brazils US Heavyweight Title. Freddie Blassie, 85, died of heart failure on June 2, 2003. The Rock for the WWF Title)", "TJR Retro: WWE Royal Rumble 2000 Review (The Rock wins Rumble, Triple H vs. Cactus Jack)", "Freddie Blassie - Dick Van Dyke Show - 1962", "My Breakfast with Blassie: An appreciation", NWA North American Heavyweight Title (Hawaii version) history, NWA Southern Heavyweight Title (Florida) history, NWA World Tag Team Title (Florida) history, NWA International Tag Team Title (Georgia) history, NWA Southern Heavyweight Title (Georgia) history, NWA World Tag Team Title (Georgia) history, "NWA Hall of Fame Class for 2011 announced", WWA International Television Tag Team Title history, NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Title history, Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Inductees, 1853 Shepherd Circle SW, Blassie's Atlanta home (1960), 1950 Campbellton Road SW, Blassies Atlanta home (1966), WWE Hall of Fame Profile of Freddie Blassie, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Freddie_Blassie&oldid=1142698000, NWA World Tag Team Champions (Florida version), Professional wrestling managers and valets, United States Navy personnel of World War II, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using infobox military person with embed, Articles with disputed statements from February 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, The Mysterious Medics (Mysterious Medic #1 and Mysterious Medic #2), This page was last edited on 3 March 2023, at 22:16. (bad guys) got better pay. After being pounded by a longer-limbed opponent, he switched to professional wrestling. Blassie came into the WWWF with his own world title belt, claiming to be the Pacific World Champion, and was coming to Sammartino's "back yard" to unify the world title. He heard Blassie say that and whipped out a gun saying, "Ill kill that sonuvabitch! Heres a look at Classy Freddie Blassies wrestling career, long before he decided to take on clients and become one of the most iconic managers of the 1970s and 1980s. His heels were always a bit more exotic and meaner than most. Between matches, he gave loud and boastful interviews, making him a favorite of talk shows and reportedly influencing a fellow egomaniac then known as Cassius Clay. After regaining the WWA Championship from Rikidzan on July 25, 1962, Blassie lost the title two days later to the "Masked Destroyer" Dick Beyer. The suit, filed in federal court in White Plains, accuses the supermarket chain of negligence and recklessness and seeks more than $1 million in damages from corporate parent A&P and mat supplier G&K Services. He continued to outrage crowds by distracting referees so that his men could cheat and by getting in his own cheap shots when the refs weren't looking. Occasionally, he would get too close to the action and get beaten up himself, much to the crowd's delight. In order to impress a girl, he entered a carnival show match in a shoot fight and won. Let me take care of him in the ring.". The Genius Cast with Lanny Poffo (2018-19), HOMAGE.com Our favorite in retro wrestling attire! [3], Blassie returned to WWA in 1968 just as promoter Mike LeBell decided to rejoin the NWA. He began wrestling professionally in 1935 and it was soon after that he came up with his famous pencil neck geek insult. [6] His knees were also in terrible condition, which also contributed to his retirement. In the 1950s, Fred Blassie was hands down the most hated wrestler in the southeastern territory. Blassie did not just fade away after he left the ring. According to Dave Meltzer, "legitimately there were three [deaths] in Japan from elderly men watching a match with Togo in Japan, and it became this myth that [Freddie Blassie] exaggerated.". Classy car for a class act | WWE Blassie also wanted to clarify through his final memoir that he was an absentee father as he was on the road for most of his sons life growing up. By the mid-1970s, Freddie Blassie was in his 50s and began to settle into a role as a manager in WWE, though he would still occasionally wrestle a match.