Hans Mortier

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Hans Mortier
Ring name(s) Hans Mortier
Billed height 5'11"[1]
Billed weight 250 lbs[1]
Born January 28, 1924
Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands
Died December 15, 2010
Billed from Nuremberg, Germany[1]
Debut 1946

Jacob "Jaap" Grobbe (January 28, 1924 – December 15, 2010), better known as Hans Mortier, was a Dutch professional wrestler best known for his stint in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) and his feud with WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino in the 1960s.

Professional wrestling career

Before becoming a professional wrestler, Grobbe worked as a professional body builder.[1] His first wrestling match was in Tacoma in 1946 against Abe Yourist.[citation needed] He later wrestled out of Columbus, Ohio, in the late 1940s and early 1950s using under the ring name Al Haft.[citation needed] Grobbe went around the world fighting in New Zealand, Australia as the Great Zorro, South Africa, and France.[citation needed] He at one time held the European Championship.[1] By the early 1960s, Grobbe returned to the United States.

In 1963, Grobbe signed a contract with the World Wide Wrestling Federation where was managed by Wild Red Berry.[1] He feuded with Bruno Sammartino for Samamrtino's WWWF Championship.[1] The feud would go through areas like Boston Gardens, Madison Square Garden, and Philadelphia Spectrum. In 1964 he also teamed up with his storyline brother Max, played first by Gil Voiney and later by Jack Berry.[1] Their feud included a Texas Death match in Philadelphia.[1]

In summer 1963, after the Sammartino matches, he lost a Madison Square Garden match in less than a minute to former champion Buddy Rogers. Rogers stunned Mortier with a dropkick from behind, before the bell, and clamped on the figure-4 legvine for the submission.

Mortier returned to the WWWF in the mid-1960s, and upsetted Bobo Brazil in less than a minute in Madison Square Garden with "the guillotene" (full nelson) submission. He again faced Sammartino for the title, ultimately losing. Mortier had excellent matches against Ed Carpentier—often a "draw"—being pinned by Carpentier in Madison Square Garden on his second and final exit from the WWWF.

Personal life

After World War II, Grobbe went overseas to the United States to be stationed at a United States Military base.[citation needed] There he learned several languages, including English, French, German, Dutch, and Afrikaans.[citation needed] He also became a police officer for six months in Tacoma, Washington.[citation needed]

Mortier died on December 15, 2010, in the Netherlands due to natural causes.[citation needed]

In wrestling

  • Signature moves
  • Managers
    • Wild Red Berry[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 Shields, Brian and Kevin Sullivan (2009). WWE Encyclopedia. DK/BradyGAMES. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-7566-4190-0. 

External links

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