Tiger Jeet Singh

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Jagjit Singh Hans
Statistics
Ring name(s)	Tiger Jeet Singh
Billed height	190 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Billed weight	120 kg (265 lb)
Born	1944 Ludhiana, Punjab
Resides	Toronto, Canada
Billed from	Punjab, India
Debut	1965

Jagjit Singh Hans (born 1944 in Ludhiana, Punjab, India) is a semi-retired professional wrestler, known better by his ring name Tiger Jeet Singh. He wrestled as a crazed heel, coming to the ring with a sword in his mouth (and using it to taunt fans and attack wrestlers). Singh has become the most successful Indian pro wrestler in history.

Tiger Jeet Singh wrestled (mostly as a freelancer) in Japan for 22 years. He was the first pro wrestler in Japan to defeat sumo wrestler Wajima. He is very popular in Japan; he explains, “If I slap some Japanese lady or man, they won’t wash themselves for weeks. Because they’ll say, ‘Tiger slapped me there.’ This is the respect they have for me."

Singh is also the father of former WWF wrestler Tiger Ali Singh.

1 Early career
2 Japan
3 South Africa
4 Later career
5 Today
6 In wrestling
7 Championships and accomplishments
8 External links

[edit] Early career

His father was a major in the Indian army. In 1965, at the age of 21, he emigrated to Toronto, arriving with $6 in his pocket. Soon after, Hans drifted into professional wrestling, eventually signing with Frank Tunney, a Toronto wrestling promoter. Tunney introduced him to Fred Atkins, a trainer and conditioning coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who dubbed Hans "Tiger" after witnessing his ferocious, no-holds-barred style of fighting. The name and his volatility proved immensely popular among wrestling fans.

Tiger made his Maple Leaf Gardens debut in 1965, wrestling as a heel. His first main event in Toronto was a tag match late that year, teaming with Professor Hiro to take on the team of Johnny Powers and Sweet Daddy Siki. He began teaming with Fred Atkins in 1966. They beecame the top team in Toronto by defeating Whipper Billy Watson and Bulldog Brower for the international tag title in July 1966. Singh and Atkins wrestled at or near the top of the card through 1966 and 1967.

He also in the U.S. wrestling circuits, grappling with opponents like Sweet Daddy Siki, André the Giant, Hans Schmidt, Whipper Billy Watson and "Bulldog" Dick Brower. Retired wrestler Ron Doner, who often teamed with Schmidt, remembers the Tiger as a fan favorite because of his magnetism in the ring. "He created much more excitement than most other wrestlers would," says Doner.

He defeated Johnny Valentine for the Toronto version of the U.S. title, and wrestled Gene Kiniski for the NWA title in the summer of 1967 and, in the fall, twice challenged Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF title. With Wild Bull Curry, again defeated Watson and Brower to win the international tag title in 1968. Turned babyface late in 1968.

In February 1971, wrestled The Sheik in the main event of the first wrestling show in Maple Leaf Gardens history to attract a sell-out crowd of over 18,000 (there had been sell-outs before, but more seats had since been crammed into the Gardens to allow a capacity crowd of 18,000). Wrestled The Sheik 12 times at the Gardens from 1971-1974.

During the 1970s, Tiger became one of Canada's top-billed and most recognizable wrestlers, earning up to $80,000 a year, usually wrestling at Maple Leaf Gardens. But he was not satisified, especially when he realized how much money he could make in Japan.

[edit] Japan

He made a name for himself in Japan while visiting the country in 1972. He got into a brawl with the bodyguards of Antonio Inoki's wife in a shopping centre, after he slapped Inoki's wife in the face; the resulting publicity propelled Tiger into the limelight. He immediately began wrestling in New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1973, and would feud with Inoki as a result of the shopping centre incident; Inoki would avenge his wife by breaking Singh's arm in a 1974 match, but Tiger defeated Inoki to win the NWF world title in 1975, only to lose it back to Inoki three months later.

He defeated Seiji Sakaguchi in 1976 to win the NWF Asian title and remained champion until making a jump to All-Japan Pro Wrestling in mid-1981. He wrestled in the main event of the joint New Japan-All Japan card in Tokyo in 1978, teaming with Abdullah the Butcher to take on the Japanese dream team of Inoki & Giant Baba; he would continue to team with Abdullah frequently.

Singh defeated El Canek to win the UWA World Heavyweight Championship in Mexico in 1980, and lost the title to Inoki a couple months later. He would soon regain it, but then dropped it back to Canek in 1981. Back in Toronto, he had one final match for Frank Tunney against Sheik in 1977, when he subbed for a no-show Dusty Rhodes. Singh Defeated Ric Flair in Toronto in 1979, as well as unsuccessfully challenging Nick Bockwinkel for the AWA title at the Gardens.

Singh continued to wrestle in Japan in the 1980s and 1990s, and would make occasional appearances on indie shows in the Toronto area. In 1990, he teamed with Inoki to defeat Big Van Vader & Animal Hamaguchi in the main event of Inoki's 30th anniversary show in Yokohama.

[edit] South Africa

Singh wrestled and promoted wrestling supercards in South Africa during the 80s, starting the Anglo Asian Wrestling Federation. His main rival as a promoter was Sammy Cohen, as both fought over territories and were drawing very well.

[edit] Later career

Singh ventured to FMW in 1992, and had an intense and bloody feud with Atsushi Onita. Singh would team with a young Sabu, and even be accompanied to the ring by him during his stay in FMW. Singh also wrestled in the main event of the first Heisei Ishingun card in Tokyo in 1994, losing to Shiro Koshinaka with Inoki as referee.

Singh was a prominent participant in the now legendary IWA-Japan 1995 King of the Death Matches Tournament. In the opening contest of the quarter-finals round, he would force Mr. Gannosuke into submission, while Gannosuke was inside a bed of thumbtacks. He would advance to the semi-finals, where he would be defeated by Terry Funk, after Cactus Jack miscalculated an attack with Singh's signature sword on Funk and hit Singh instead. In the finals, which featured Cactus Jack and Terry Funk in an exploding death match, Singh interfered briefly and unintentionally attacked Cactus Jack.

In January 1997, his son Mick (known as Tiger Jeet Singh Jr. or Tiger Ali Singh) joined the WWF, but would have an unsuccessful run and later retire as a result of an injury sustained after being released from the WWF.

[edit] Today

Singh now spends his time doing charitable works in both Canada and India, wrestling on occasion, and is trying to start up his own Indian based promotion World Wrestling Mania.

Tiger is a prominent member of Metro Toronto's Sikh community, and spends three months a year fighting in Asia.