Don Jardine

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Don Jardine
Statistics
Ring name(s) Super Destroyer
Sonny Cooper
The Butcher
The Spoiler
Don Jardine
Height 6 ft 4 in
Weight 270 lb
Born 24 March 1940
Moncton, New Brunswick
Died December 16, 2006[1]
Wetaskiwin, Alberta
Billed from Parts Unknown (as The Spoiler)
Trained by Whipper Billy Watson
Debut 1955
Retired 1994

Don Jardine (24 March 1940 in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada – 16 December 2006 in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada) [1]) was a Canadian professional wrestler best known for his masked gimmick as "The Spoiler".

Contents

[edit] Career

Jardine began wrestling in the mid-1950s, making his wrestling debut in 1955 at the age of 15. He made his Maple Leaf Gardens debut in 1959 as "Babyface" Don Jardine, a protege of Whipper Billy Watson and wrestled preliminarily in Toronto (where he also wrestled as Sonny Cooper) until 1961 and returned briefly in 1964. In 1964, Jardine wrestled NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz on TV in St. Louis, but did not win the title.

Jardine also wrestled as The Butcher in Los Angeles in 1964. Whilst wrestling under "The Butcher" monicker, he teamed with both Mad Dog Vachon and Dutch Savage for a short time. He challenged Gene Kiniski for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1966. He became one of the top masked wrestlers in the Southern United States, particularly in Texas, where The Spoiler was created by Fritz Von Erich in 1967. He famously walked the top rope like the The Undertaker would do in the 1990s, a move he actually taught Mark Calaway in the days at World Class Championship Wrestling in the mid-1980s.[1]

He was unmasked in Texas in 1972 by Billy "Red" Lyons and Red Bastein and identified as Dan Jardine, still, he continued to wrestle under the mask as "The Spoiler" in Texas and Oklahoma. The Spoiler also wrestled in All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro Wrestling during the 1960s and 1970s. He became the Super Destroyer and was brought into the Carolinas by George Scott in 1973 and also used the "Super Destroyer" name during his stint in the AWA (1977-78). Jardine was one of the key guys, along with Johnny Valentine, who turned the Mid-Atlantic territory around and established hot singles wrestling programs in what had traditionally been a tag team territory. Jardine challenged Jack Brisco for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship as both the Super Destroyer and The Spoiler, and wrestled Harley Race for the NWA Heavyweight title in a main event in Houston, Texas in 1979. He held the Georgia-based NWA National Heavyweight Championship and was briefly billed as NWA National Heavyweight Champion by the World Wrestling Federation after it bought out Georgia Championship Wrestling in July 1984.[2]

The Spoiler, along with Jake "The Snake" Roberts and the 400-pound "King Kong" Bundy, joined forces with an upcoming tag team, the Road Warriors, to form the original "Legion of Doom".[1]

The Spoiler once headlined against WWF Champion Pedro Morales in Madison Square Garden, wrestling maskless as there was a rule in Madison Square Garden at the time which barred masked wrestlers. The Spoiler appeared in a historic match against Mil Mascaras, the Mexican legend, marking the first time a wrestler (Mascaras) ever wore a mask into a ring in New York State.

The Spoiler's matches against Chief Jay Strongbow and Sonny King were long-lasting feuds that enjoyed successful runs across the WWF circuit. His "Iron Claw" was the first maneuver to be censored from the TV screen by the WWF promotion in a 'reverse psych' move to sell tickets.

Jardine promoted some shows in Tampa, Florida in 1993-94 and then retired from wrestling. He spent the later years of his life in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada with his wife and son, where he was the manager of a car wash business. Jardine was known to make clay sculptures and carved faces in the bark of cotton wood trees. He also volunteered for the Literacy Program, teaching young children to read.

Jardine died due to complications from a heart attack and leukemia.[1][2]

He was writing a novel based on his many wrestling experiences over the years around the time of his death.

[edit] In wrestling

  • Finishing Moves
  • Signature Moves

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

  • Atlantic Grand Prix Wrestling
    • AGPW North American Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Nikita Kalmikoff
  • International Wrestling Alliance
    • IWA Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Mario Milano (1) and Waldo Von Erich (2)

1The Mississippi Heavyweight Championship that Jardine won was a state championship that was defended only within the state of Mississippi at the time. Despite being defended in an NWA affiliated promotion, it was not an NWA title itself. It should not be confused with the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Championship that was created in 1999 and has been defended in NWA Mississippi and NWA Battlezone Championship Wrestling, where it is currently defended.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Brady, Hicks. "2006: The year in wrestling", PWI Presents: 2007 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts, Kappa Publications, p. 29. 2007 Edition. Retrieved on 2007-07-11. (English) 
  2. ^ a b Spoiler succumbs to leukemia (2006-17-12).

[edit] External links