Edward Wiskoski
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Edward Wiskoski (born January 10, 1945) is a former American professional wrestler best known as Colonel DeBeers in the AWA (American Wrestling Association). Also wrestled as Dereck "The Mongoose" Draper (Florida) and Mega Maharishi (Portland). His nicknames included "Easy Ed" and "The Polish Prince."
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[edit] Before Wrestling
In an interview, Wiskoski said that he was the first in his Polish family to attend and graduate from college (Northwest Missouri State University). He also played briefly for the Cincinnati Bengals in the National Football League before training to become a wrestler, but added that his time in the league lasted about as long as "a fart in a hurricane.[1]" He says that he chose not to mention his NFL experience when wrestling, because of the negative connotations that go with being an "ex-" anything.
[edit] Career
After being trained by Harley Race and Lord Littlebrook, Wiskoski debuted in 1975. Wiskoski primarily wrestled in the Portland, Oregon area during his career. His team with "Playboy" Buddy Rose was famous across the West Coast, holding the Pacific Northwest Tag Team titles on multiple occasions, and the NWA World Tag Team titles (San Francisco version). Wiskoski was also the United States Heavyweight champion, and Pacific Northwest Heavyweight champion.
Held the Central States Heavyweight title in the early 1970s. Wrestled throughout Europe in the 1980s. Worked as a heel for Leroy McGuirk in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area in the early 1980s. He was known as "Easy" Ed Wiskoski and was managed by Skandor Akbar. They feuded with Tommy Gilbert and his son, Eddie Gilbert. Wrestled a few matches in the WWF in the early 1980s, managed by Fred Blassie.
During one of his many tours of the Pacific Northwest territory, where he eventually stayed upon retirement, Wiskoski took up the gimmick of Mega Maharishi Imed (I'm Ed). This character played upon potentially the hottest topic in the state of Oregon in the early to mid-80's, that of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh and his group of followers essentially raising their own city in Eastern Oregon, outside the town of Antelope, and ending with a bioterrorist attack on the small Oregon town of The Dalles, causing the sickening of about 750 people from salmonella poisoning, though no deaths.
Wiskowski played the role to the hilt, growing out his facial hair, donning red robes and a stocking cap, much like the Bhagwan himself. During this time he mostly managed the wrestler Kendo Nagasaki.
He was best known as Col. DeBeers in the AWA from 1985 until the organization stopped promoting in late 1990. His interviews and persona were based on an Apartheid colonel and played on the fragile race relations and political climate of South Africa at the time. This character was billed as being from South Africa and though it was never directly mentioned, his name was meant to link his status and wealth to the South Africa-based diamond mining and trading corporation, the DeBeers Group. (DeBeers also wrestled in Herb Abrams' UWF and various promotions across the West Coast.)
During his stint in the AWA he feuded with Scott Hall and "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka in 1986, Sgt. Slaughter in 1988, briefly with Derrick Dukes in 1989, and jobber Jake Milliman throughout 1990.
DeBeers feud with Snuka was notorious in that, even in an industry known for characters based on racial stereotypes, DeBeers overt racism was still shocking. DeBeers essentially refused to Snuka because he was not white. This led to a series of high-profile matches with Snuka.
DeBeers and Milliman competed in, quite possibly, one of the most infamous matches in the history of wrestling while in the AWA. In the company's dying months, the AWA created the Team Challenge Series (TCS) to try and attract more viewers. One of the matches in the TCS pitted DeBeers and Milliman in the Great American Turkey Hunt, a match where the object was to be the first to pull an uncooked turkey off of a pole tied to one corner of the ring. DeBeers was the first to grab the turkey, although the referee had been knocked out. Milliman pulled a fast one and stole the turkey from DeBeers just before the referee got back up, and was awarded the victory.
[edit] Retirement
Wiskoski and Rose currently run a wrestling school in Portland, OR. As of now, they've had one student receive a tryout from WWE (Caden Mathews, who wrestled Dave Finlay on an edition of Smackdown! that took place in Portland in May of 2006).
[edit] Profile
- Height: 6'4
- Weight: 270 lbs
- Birthday: January 10, 1945
- Hometown: St. Joseph, Missouri
- Billed From: South Africa
- Debut: 1975
- Previous identities: Colonel DeBeers, Dereck "The Mongoose" Draper, Mega Maharishi Imed, The Polish Prince
- Finishing and signature move(s): Front Piledriver
