Mr. Wrestling II

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Mr. Wrestling II
Statistics
Ring name(s)	Johnny "Rubberman" Walker The Grappler Mr. Wrestling II
Billed height	5 ft 11 in
Billed weight	240 lb
Born	Charleston, South Carolina
Resides	Honolulu, Hawaii
Trained by	Tony Morelli Pat O'Connor
Debut	1956
Retired	1987

John "Johnny" Walker (born in Charleston, South Carolina), better known as Mr. Wrestling II, was an accomplished American professional wrestler. II was one of the most popular wrestlers in the Florida and Georgia territories in the 1970s and early 1980s. He was considered one of the greatest American wrestlers not to win a world title - mask or no mask.

1 Career
2 Championships and accomplishments
3 External links

[edit] Career

Wrestling II's career began in 1956 working occasionally on cards in Hawaii where Johnny grew up. Tony Morelli and Pat O’Connor were the wrestlers who trained Johnny. In 1958, Walker left the islands for his first time going to Toronto, which was a major culture shock. “When I got off the plane there for the first time, I almost turned around and got back on because it was so cold. I got off that airplane in a Hawaiian suit. I thought I was going to freeze to death. I was not a happy camper.” Johnny stayed in the area for a few months. Pat O’Connor was there, and so were Don Curtis, “Lord Athol Layton, and Hard Boiled Haggerty (Don Stansauk).
By 1960, Johnny moved on to work as a heel in the new Northeast WWWF for Vince McMahon Sr who had broken away from the NWA along with Gene Kiniski, Don Leo Jonathan, and a young and cocky Bruno Sammartino. One day while they were training Walker taught Sammartino “a smaller guy can beat you if you’re not careful. Strength is not everything. You have to have good balance, coordination, timing, and leverage.” These traits had led Houston promoter Paul Boesch to dub Walker “Rubberman” . “One day he was watching me wrestle, and I was extremely flexible at the time. He liked the contortionist moves that I made with my nimble body.” The nickname remained with him for many years .
The 1960s were also spent working for Nick Gulas, a supposed bad paying promoter. “I had a good deal with him. He gave me good guarantees and it worked out alright. I was on top and did well there. A lot of the guys I’ve spoken to say he wasn’t a man of his word, but he kept his word with me.” Next in Tennessee, he had tagged teamed with Silento Rodriguez who was legally deaf – he and Walker had good chemistry anyways. “He just kind of followed suit to what I did. He watched me physically and just kept up with me.”
He also began working in Georgia during the 1960s pairing often with Jim Wilson, former football All-American wrestling during his off-seasons from the Atlanta Falcons. “I took him down to the gym and kind of stretched him a little bit and showed him he didn’t know as much about wrestling as he thought he did.” Walker worked all across the U.S. & Canada during that decade, including stints in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Texas, Portland, and Calgary.

In 1972 Walker went to wrestle for Eddie Graham in south Florida. "Eddie brought me in as the Grappler," Walker recalled. "Graham knew my background and thought I would fit in well there." At first, Walker didn’t like wearing a mask. "It was very difficult to work with," he remembered. "The first time I wore it, as soon as the match was over I ran back to the dressing room so I could rip it off. I was gasping for air. But I got used to it eventually, and I was very successful with it." After Ray Gunkel's sudden death following a match in 1972, a promotional war in Atlanta occurred. Almost everyone working for the Atlanta booking office went to work for Gunkel's widow, Ann, in her new All-South Wrestling Alliance. Because of that, Atlanta promoter Paul Jones needed to rebuild his booking office. With assistance from Eddie Graham and Jerry Jarrett, among others, wrestlers were sent in until the promotion could get back on its feet. Johnny Walker, who was nearing the end of the Grappler gimmick in Florida for Graham was one of them. Leo Garibaldi, a former Atlanta booker, returned to Atlanta to help Jones. He wanted to bring Tim Woods back, who, as Mr. Wrestling, had had a great run there earlier. However, Woods was already working for Graham, topping his cards in Florida, so was unavailable. Graham did agree to bring in Woods occasionally, but not for the rebuilding process. Instead Graham/Garibaldi came up with Plan B: create a second Mr. Wrestling. Enter Johnny Walker. "Leo asked me to come here and take the mask to become Mr. Wrestling #2," reported Walker, later.

Walker dominated Georgia Championship Wrestling during his tenure, but his legacy is surprisingly overlooked and underrated during today's WWE dominion over the sport. Former President Jimmy Carter (a fellow Georgian) called II his favorite wrestler (as well as his mother's favorite). There is an urban legend that is undocumented, but claims that II was invited to a party by then-President Carter, but (naturally) Secret Service would not let a man wearing a mask in to any affair with the President. It is said he had the Secret Service relay his regards to the President, but refused to unmask.