 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Robert Michael Roop (1942-07-22)July 22, 1942 (age 83)[1] Blacksburg, Virginia, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Southern Illinois University |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | All-American Bob Roop The Enforcer The Gladiator Maya Singh Maha Singh Star Warrior |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (185 cm) |
| Billed weight | 270 lb (123 kg) |
| Billed from | Blacksburg, Virginia |
| Debut | 1969 |
| Retired | 1987 |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Army |
Robert Michael Roop[2] (born July 22, 1942) is an American retiredamateur wrestler andprofessional wrestler whose career spanned high school, college, theUnited States Army, amateur and professional wrestling. He was an American heavyweightGreco-Roman wrestler at the1968 Summer Olympics.
Robert Roop began wrestling in the eighth grade inEast Lansing,Michigan.[3] In High School, Roop was varsity heavyweight as a freshman, with an inauspicious 0-22-1 record. With the guidance of coach Joe Dibello, his record improved in ensuing years, with a 27-0-0 record his senior year, in which he also won the State Championship.
He enteredMichigan State University on a football scholarship.[3] After a year and a half, he left school to join theArmy.[3] He received paratrooper training, and signed on to become a Special Forces medic. He competed on the All-Army wrestling team and, later, the All-Services wrestling team. There was one other heavyweight on the All-Services team, Jim Raschke, who had won a bronze medal as the U.S. Greco-Roman Heavyweight at the World Games prior to entering the Army. Raschke went on to become pro wrestler Baron Von Raschke, one of the top talents in the profession.
After his three-year stint in the service, Roop enteredSouthern Illinois University, and continued amateur wrestling. He attended from 1965 through 1969, majoring in political science,[3] and was a collegiate wrestling standout with a win–loss record of 66-18, including a 16–3 record during his senior year.
While in college he won four NationalAmateur Athletic Union All-American rankings, earned by placing in the top four spots in the national tournament, and an NAAU Championship as a light-heavyweight. During his last year of college, his coach at Southern Illinois convinced him to train down to a lighter weight of 220 pounds.
Roop was 25 years old, 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighed 270 pounds (120 kg) entering the Games inMexico City in 1968.[3] The team was coached by legendary wrestling coachHenry Wittenberg. Roop finished in seventh place.
Roop began his professional career in 1969 after hearing about the pro career of former amateur Larry Heiniemi, better known asLars Anderson.[3] Heiniemi's tales of global travel and financial success appealed to Roop who began working forEddie Graham, the promoter ofChampionship Wrestling from Florida and who trained Roop.[3] Working as an arrogant villain and flaunting his genuine amateur wrestling credentials, Roop challenged for theNWA World Heavyweight Championship on five occasions.[4]
In 1976, Bob Roop needed knee surgery after aggravating an injury received during his amateur career. A scenario was created attributing his knee injury to promoter/wrestler Eddie Graham. The move which supposedly caused the injury, the figure-four, was banned as a crippling hold. While Roop was supposedly recovering, a new wrestler, The Gladiator, appeared on the Florida wrestling scene. The masked Gladiator used the shoulderbreaker, Roop's signature finishing move, and crowds shouted Roop's name when he appeared in the ring. During a Gladiator match on theChampionship Wrestling from Florida TV program, Eddie andMike Graham ran in on the match and removed the mask. The Gladiator was revealed as Roop. This incident is listed as number 24 in the CWF's "The Twenty-Five Greatest Angles In CWF History". After the unmasking, the figure-four was reinstated. This angle was used in 1977 inRoy Shire'sSan Francisco NWA territory as Roop was "injured" by Kevin Sullivan and then a masked wrestler named The Star Warrior showed up around the same time Roop was injured; later, Sullivan unmasked Star Warrior, who was Roop.
Roop also wrestled and sporadically commentated for a time inMid-South Wrestling, and he is often incorrectly credited for being the man who created the reversal to the figure four leg lock, the hold that "injured" him in Florida. "Cowboy" Bob Ellis used the maneuver against Buddy Rogers back in the early 1960s.[citation needed]
In the 1980s, Roop wrestled inAngelo Poffo'sInternational Championship Wrestling (ICW) promotion out of Lexington, Kentucky.[5] The promotion at the time featured such future wrestling superstars as'The Macho Man' Randy Savage,[6]'The Genius' Lanny Poffo,[7]"Cowboy" Bob Orton Jr.[8] andRonnie 'Hands of Stone' Garvin.[8]
Roop later became part of the Army of Darkness stable in 1982 which includedKevin Sullivan,Purple Haze,Luna Vachon andLock,Kharma/Molokai andFallen Angel. Roop adopted the ring name Mayha Singh, shaving off the hair and beard on half his head and putting face paint on the shaved side.[4]
Roop retired from wrestling in 1988 due to a neck injury suffered in a car crash.[3] At the time he also handledbooking duties and trained wrestlers at a school inDavie, Florida.[4] An early student of his was Lawrence Pfohl, the futureLex Luger,[4] who Roop broke into the business before turned over training duties toHiro Matsuda. Looking back on his career in 2000, Roop stated "I had a hell of a lot of fun doing it, and it was quite an education."[4]
Since retirement, Roop has lived in Michigan and worked as aBoy Scouts troop leader.[3][4]
On July 15, 2006, Bob Roop was inducted into theGeorge Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. The ceremony was held at the International Wrestling Institute and Museum then inNewton, Iowa (now inWaterloo, Iowa).[9]
Roop made a cameo appearance in the 1978Sylvester Stallone movieParadise Alley.[10]
Roop was married twice and has three sons.[4]
,Internet Wrestling Database