| Buddy Wolfe | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Leslie Charles Wolff |
| Born | (1941-04-11)April 11, 1941 Blue Earth, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | July 11, 2017(2017-07-11) (aged 76) Hackensack, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Children | 2 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Buddy Wolff Spoiler #2 |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Billed weight | 260 lb (118 kg) |
| Trained by | Verne Gagne |
| Debut | 1968 |
| Retired | 1988 |
Leslie Charles Wolff[1] (April 11, 1941 – July 11, 2017) was anAmerican football player andprofessional wrestler, known by hisring name"Beautiful" Buddy Wolfe, who competed in North American regional promotions including theAmerican Wrestling Association,National Wrestling Alliance and theWorld Wide Wrestling Federation during the 1970s and 80s.
Wolff found his greatest success as the tag team partner ofDon Jardine wrestling as the second incarnation of The Spoilers in theTri-State territory. He was one of several men to team with Jardine as Spoiler #2, twice winning theNWA United States Tag Team Championship during the early 1970s.[2]
Wolff later formed a tag team with"Luscious" Larry Heinimi, who together were considered one of the top"heel" tag teams in theMidwest United States during the mid-1970s.[3]
Trained by wrestlerVerne Gagne, Wolff was one of several students to debut during the early 1970s includingRicky "The Dragon" Steamboat,"Nature Boy" Ric Flair andPacific Northwest Wrestling mainstay"Playboy" Buddy Rose,[4] whom he would become a mentor to during his early career.[5] In one of his earliest matches, he lost to his future brother-in-lawMaurice "Mad Dog" Vachon inFargo, North Dakota on December 20, 1970.[6]
He spent his first years inMid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling feuding with fellow Minnesota State alumniOle andLars Anderson. Wolff dominated his feud with Ole Anderson and, to further the storyline, a real-life incident in which Ole Anderson broke his nose while the two attended college was often referenced by Anderson who frequently claimed that Wolff was trying to end his wrestling career.[7]
During mid-1971, Wolff wrestled in the Dallas-area for promoterJack Adkisson. On July 20, he andBronko Lubich foughtNick Kozak andJohnny Valentine to a draw atThe Sportatorium. Later single matches againstBobby Shane and Johnny Valentine also resulted in draws. He scored one of his earliest victories when he defeatedThe Great Scott on August 10, however this was followed by a defeat in an 8-man tag team match with Bronko Lubich,Toru Tanaka andSkandor Akbar losing to Nick Kozak & Johnny Valentine,Rey Mendoza andJose Lothario on August 17. He continued feuding with Kozak and Valentine, fighting to a draw with Kozak on August 31 and defeating Valentine on September 7. The following week, he lost toWahoo McDaniel in a best 2-of-3 pinfalls match. On September 21, he teamed with Toru Tanaka andThunderbolt Patterson in a 6-man tag team match losing to Johnny Valentine, Jose Lothario andFritz von Erich. He faced Paterson and Valentine in a three-way elimination match with Valentine defeating pinning Patterson and himself on September 28. Although theDallas Morning News reported that this match was the first"3-man free-for-all wrestling match" held in Dallas, this statement in inaccurate.
On October 5, he teamed with Lubich, Patterson, Tanaka andGeorge Hultz in a 10-man tag team match losing to Kozak, Valentine, Jose Lothario,Sabu Singh and Bobby Burns. He defeated Burns in a singles match later that night. In another best 2-of-3 falls match, he teamed with Wahoo McDaniel and lost to Thunderbolt Patterson and Toru Tanaka on October 26. In the following weeks, he faced Toru Tanaka, Patterson andJoe Dusek. He fought his last match in the promotion fighting former tag team partner Bronko Lubich on December 14, 1971.[8]
In late 1972, Wolff began competing in the World Wide Wrestling Federation. He defeatedBlackjack Slade in his debut match atMadison Square Garden on October 16, 1972. He defeatedEl Olympico but lost toChief Jay Strongbow andTony Garea during the next few weeks. He also faced his old trainer Verne Gagne at Madison Square Garden on November 27. The next month, he defeatedSonny King but lost toVictor Rivera via disqualification on December 29.[9]
The following year, he faced then WWWF World Heavyweight ChampionPedro Morales at theWestchester Civic Center inWhite Plains, New York on January 24, 1973. He would be the first of several major opponents to challenge Morales for the title that year.[10] Three days later, substituting forProf. Toru Tanaka, he facedChief Jay Strongbow atSunnyside Gardens inQueens, New York. Later that day, he teamed withMoondog Mayne andKing Curtis in a 6-man tag team match against Pedro Morales, Chief Jay Strongbow andGorilla Monsoon inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania on January 27.
On February 10, he would score his first victory defeatingMike Conrad and would face Pedro Morales in several matches during the year. Teaming with Prof. Toru Tanaka &Mr. Fuji losing to Pedro Morales, Gorilla Monsoon andBobo Brazil at theBaltimore Civic Center inBaltimore, Maryland on February 20 and again faced Morales in a singles match at theZembo Mosque inHarrisburg, Pennsylvania on February 23. During the match, Wolfe sustained a serious head wound after hitting one of the turnbuckles and the referee stopped the match.
He would also faceMil Máscaras andLee Wong during the next several weeks before losing to Pedro Morales in a Texas Death match on March 16 and, the following night, teamed with Moondog Mayne and Toru Tanaka in a 6-man tag team match against Gorilla Monsoon, Sonny King and El Olympico. On March 26, he lost toAndré the Giant in his debut match atMadison Square Garden on March 26[11] and to Pedro Morales inNew London, Connecticut on April 13.
He again faced Morales on April 21, during which time the match was again stopped by the referee due to a serious wound being sustained. He andFrank Valois faced André the Giant in a handicap match inAugusta, Maine on April 26 as well as facing Gorilla Monsoon and"Classie" Freddie Blassie before leaving the promotion in late April 1973.[12]
Later that year, he and Lars Anderson (under the name "Luscious" Larry Heinimi) began teaming together and billed as "cousins" although this waskayfabe. While in the Midwest, they were one of the top tag teams in theWorld Wrestling Association.[3] They also had successful runs in theAmerican Wrestling Association and in theTri-State territory. For a brief time in the mid-1970s, he and Anderson owned and operated a chain of "shirt shacks" sellingtie-dye shirts.[7]
Wolff also traveled to Japan along with Ric Flair,Skandor Akbar and The Outlaws (Dick Murdoch &Dusty Rhodes) and toured withIsao Yoshihara'sInternational Wrestling Enterprise promotion from June 18 to July 15, 1973.[13] The next year, he made an appearance for Verne Gagne'sAmerican Wrestling Association fightingGreg Gagne to a time limit draw atComiskey Park inChicago, Illinois on September 7, 1974.[14]
After Anderson lost a retirement match toBilly Robinson forcing him to leave the AWA, Wolff announced he had found a new tag team partnerKim Duk. He and Kim Duk had a brief but memorable run as a tag team, however they were ultimately unsuccessful in winning theAWA World Tag Team Championship and split up soon after.[7] In one of their last appearances as a team, they lost toGreg Gagne &Jim Brunzell at theOmaha Civic Auditorium on August 19, 1975.
In October, while inNWA Texas, he scored victories overRed Bastien,Abe Jacobs andBruiser Blackwell before fighting to a draw against NWA Texas Heavyweight ChampionAl Madril inDallas, Texas on October 28. The next night, he andJohn Tolos lost a tag team match toAndré the Giant andJose Lothario inSan Antonio.[15] On November 3, he defeated Al Madril for theNWA Texas Heavyweight Championship. He successfully defended the title againstTony Atlas and in rematches with Al Madrill before he losing to John Tolos later that month.[16]
In June 1976, he was a wrestlingsparring partner forMuhammad Ali and later faced him in an exhibition match at an AWA event inChicago. At the time, Ali was preparing for his match against Japanese wrestlerAntonio Inoki.[17] He was also a sparring partner forKenny Jay.[7] The next month he lost toMoose Cholak atComiskey Park inChicago, Illinois on August 27, 1976.[18] Later that year, he traveled to Japan where he facedAbdullah the Butcher in a rare meeting.[19]
While inNWA Florida, he teamed withSuperstar Billy Graham andSteve Strong against Rhodes,Jack andJerry Brisco atNorth Dade Jr. College inMiami on January 12, 1977.[20] He also defeatedSteve Keirn in a tournament final to win the vacant NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship in March before losing it to Dusty Rhodes three months later. The following year, he andKiller Karl Kox feuded with Rhodes andWahoo McDaniel inFlorida Championship Wrestling facing them in several tag team matches. Teaming with Ric Flair andOx Baker, Wolfe lost to André the Giant andDick the Bruiser in a three-on-two handicap match inSt. Louis, Missouri on March 17, 1978.[21]
He defeated Lars Anderson for the WWL Heavyweight Championship inJoplin, Missouri on January 18, 1983.[22] After this point, Wolff began to slow down making brief appearances in various regional territories. He teamed withKen Timbs againstTojo Yamamoto &Johnny Wilhoit at theMid-South Coliseum inMemphis, Tennessee on July 16, 1984.[23]
He eventually returned to the AWA where he spent the last years of his career. At the supercardBrawl in St. Paul, Wolff foughtBuck Zumhofe to a time limit draw atSt. Paul Civic Center inSt. Paul, Minnesota on December 25, 1986.[24] The following year atSuperClash II, withDoug Somers &"Mr. Magnificent" Kevin Kelly, Wolff lost toRay Stevens andThe Midnight Rockers (Shawn Michaels &Marty Jannetty) in a 6-man tag team match at theCow Palace inSan Francisco, California on May 2, 1987.[25][26]
Wolff played football in high school and college, later attendingSt. Cloud State College, prior to becoming a formerdefensive end for theNorfolk Neptunes. He was voted Rookie of the Year during his first year in theContinental Football League but left the organization in 1968 to pursue a career in professional wrestling.[7]
He was also the husband ofVivian Vachon, a popularFrench-Canadian female wrestler and member of the famousVachon wrestling family, to whom he was married from 1976 to 1979.[27] He also had two daughters, Lisa and Ann, from his first marriage.[28]
Following his retirement, he eventually moved toHackensack, Minnesota and formed a company, Banner Saver Pro 2000, which manufactures special custombrackets to keep banners from falling off signs in strong winds. He came up with the idea while watching the2002 Winter Olympics and saw some of the banners being blown off signs.[7]
In 2003, he made a public appearance with the Vachon brothers at the 2003Cauliflower Alley Club Banquet & Reunion inLas Vegas, Nevada from April 4–6, 2003.[7][29] At the event, he gave a speech.[5]
On July 11, 2017, Wolff's daughter Lisa Wolff Clausen posted on her Facebook page that Wolfe had died.[28] Minnesota historian and decades-long friend George Schire afterwards stated that Wolfe had been battling dementia in recent years.[28] His brain will be donated to Boston University.[28]
