 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Don Heaton (1931-04-29)April 29, 1931 Hurricane, Utah, U.S. |
| Died | October 13, 2018(2018-10-13) (aged 87) Langley, British Columbia, Canada |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Don Leo Jonathan The Mormon Giant Sonny Jonathan[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 285–340 lb (129–154 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Trained by | Brother Jonathan |
| Debut | 1949 |
| Retired | 1980 |
Don Heaton (April 29, 1931 – October 13, 2018), also known asDon Leo Jonathan, was an American-Canadianprofessional wrestler.[2]
Jonathan, nicknamed "The Mormon Giant" was a second generation star (his father was former wrestler Brother Jonathan)[1] who made his professional wrestling debut afterWorld War II.[1] Over the course of his career, he competed around the world, making stops in Europe, South Africa, Australia and Japan; he wrestled more often, however, in the United States and Canada. His first championship wins occurred inMontreal withCanadian Athletic Promotions, where he twice capturedtheir World Heavyweight title in 1955.
Elsewhere in Canada, Jonathan found more success competing inToronto'sNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliateMaple Leaf Wrestling (where he first teamed withGene Kiniski to win the Canadian Open Tag Team title, in 1959) and inWinnipeg, where he wrestled for NWA memberAlex Turk Promotions (twice winning their International Tag Team title) and for theAmerican Wrestling Association. Jonathan also got a taste of World heavyweight gold again when he won the AWA-affiliatedOmaha territory's version of the World title three times in 1961.
Canada eventually became home to Jonathan in the early 1960s as he settled in theVancouver suburb ofLangley. Making Vancouver his home base, he competed frequently forNWA All Star Wrestling, winning five Pacific Coast Heavyweight titles between 1970 and 1977, the NWA World Tag Team title (withDominic DeNucci) in 1966, and a record 18 Canadian Tag Team titles between 1964 and 1978, as well as challenging for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against such titleholders as Kiniski,Dory Funk, Jr. andJack Brisco; he also engaged in feuds with Kiniski andDutch Savage in All Star, as well as teaming with them. On May 31, 1972, in what was billed as the "match of the century," Jonathan defeated Le Géant Jean Ferré (André the Giant) by disqualification.[2] On September 7, 1972, in a match which was billed as the "Battle of the Giants" Jonathan had a rematch against André, this time losing by disqualification. In 1973 he wrestled in the WWWF and fought Pedro Morales for the championship as a heel.[3] Late in his career, he appeared as one of the wrestlers in the 1978Sylvester Stallone movieParadise Alley.
Jonathan teamed with André the Giant andRoddy Piper to defeatThe Sheepherders andBuddy Rose in Vancouver on March 10, 1980,[4] His final match was a loss toOtto Wanz in Graz, Austria on July 12, 1980[5] before retiring from the ring that year.
On November 5, 2005, he appeared at an event inSurrey, British Columbia, presented by Top Ranked Wrestling (prior to its purchase byNWA: Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling) to be honored in a special ceremony for his contributions to the sport. On May 20, 2006, he was inducted into theProfessional Wrestling Hall of Fame inAmsterdam, New York.
Jonathan was born inHurricane, Utah and raised as aMormon. His father was professional wrestler Jonathan DeLaun Heaton, a man known for bringing a pet rattlesnake, named Cold Chills, into the ring and reciting Bible verses as he wrestled, earning the nickname “The Salt Lake Rattlesnake.”[1] He played high school football and learned martial arts.[6] Before entering the world of professional wrestling, Jonathan was a sailor in theUnited States Navy.[1][6]
He lived inVancouver, British Columbia since 1963.[1][2] He was married to a woman named Rose.[1] After retiring from professional wrestling, he pursued a career in underwater inventions and exploration.[6] He survived bladder cancer.[1]
In July 2016, Jonathan was named part of aclass action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE.[7] A month before his death, US District JudgeVanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed the lawsuit.[8]
Jonathan entered a hospital in Langley at the end of August 2018 and died there on October 13, aged 87.[9]
12.7.1980
