 Muraco in 1988 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1949-09-10)September 10, 1949 (age 76) Sunset Beach,Hawaii, U.S. |
Spouse | Sharon Muraco |
| Children | 3 |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Aka Oni Don Muraco[1][2] Don Morrow[1] Dr. X ”The Rock” Don Muraco The Magnificent Muraco[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 275 lb (125 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | Sunset Beach, Hawaii[3] |
| Trained by | Tom Andrews[4] Steve Bolus[4] Bulldog Bob Brown[4] Mr. Fuji[4] Dean Ho[4] Lonnie Mayne[4] Bud Ratelle[4] |
| Debut | 1970[4] |
| Retired | 2005 |
Don Muraco (born September 10, 1949) is an American retiredprofessional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with theWorld Wrestling Federation from 1981 to 1988, where he held theWWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship ontwo occasions and was crowned the inaugural winner of theKing of the Ring tournament in1985. He was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fameclass of 2004 and theProfessional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2014.[2][3][4]
Muraco was born on September 10, 1949 inSunset Beach, inOʻahu, Hawaii and is ofNative Hawaiian heritage.[1][2] A Hawaii state amateur wrestling champion for thePunahou School inHonolulu in 1967,[5] Muraco chose professional wrestling overfootball. He spent the first year of his career learning the ropes inVancouver,Portland,Florida andLos Angeles before getting his first big break, forVerne Gagne'sAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA).[6] Wrestling as aface, he oftentag teamed withJimmy Snuka, against wrestlers such asLarry Hennig,Ivan Koloff andDusty Rhodes.[7] In 1973, tired of life inMinneapolis, he left the AWA for Roy Shire'sSan FranciscoNWA territory.[6]
In 1974, Muraco moved toChampionship Wrestling from Florida (CWF). He was frequently compared to theNWA World ChampionJack Brisco, whom he physically resembled.[6] In a match between the two on May 28, 1974, Muraco reversed Brisco's finishing move, thefigure four leglock. Though Muraco lost the match by disqualification, this feat made him a star.[8]
After brief stints inTexas andGeorgia, Muraco returned to California in 1975 and won his first singles title, theNWA Americas Heavyweight Championship. He then won the San Francisco version of theNWA World Tag Team Championship with Masked Invader #1. In San Francisco, Muraco learned to work as aheel.[9]
From 1977 through 1981, Muraco shuttled several more times between Florida, San Francisco and his native Hawaii. In Florida, he was involved in two high-profileangles. In 1979, a masked villain called "The Magnificent M" appeared in the territory. Though it came as little surprise when he was eventually unmasked as Muraco, his bald head shocked the audience.[10] Then, in 1980, hefeuded withBarry Windham, in which the bigger and more experienced Muracopiledrove the rookie on the concrete floor.[9] Windham eventually got his revenge, in the process becoming a credible wrestler in the eyes of the fans.[11]
Muraco debuted in theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) in Allentown, Pennsylvania defeating Steve King on February 24, 1981. Managed byThe Grand Wizard, he captured theWWF Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship on June 20, 1981, fromPedro Morales; he lost it to Morales on November 23 in a Texas Death match, capping a bloody feud.[12] That year, Muraco wrestled thenWWF Heavyweight ChampionBob Backlund several times, including a 60-minute draw on October 24.[13] He split 1982 betweenMid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (where he partnered withRoddy Piper for a time),Georgia Championship Wrestling (where he also wrestled under a mask as Dr. X) andNew Japan Pro-Wrestling (where he wrestled in the annualMSG League tournament), before returning to the WWF that fall.[14]
Now managed byCaptain Lou Albano, Muraco regained the Intercontinental title from Morales on January 22, 1983.[2] That year, Muraco feuded with Albano's former protégé,Jimmy Snuka. The feud culminated on October 17, in asteel cage match atMadison Square Garden. Snuka lost the match, but afterward dragged Muraco back into the ring and hit his finisher, theSuperfly Splash, from the top of the 15-foot cage.[15][16] In the crowd at the Garden for this match was future WWE Hall of FamerMick Foley,the Sandman,Tommy Dreamer, andBubba Ray Dudley.[17]
During his two Intercontinental title reigns, Muraco had bloody feuds withBob Backlund,Tony Atlas andRocky Johnson. He portrayed an arrogant villain who angrily demanded respect, while engaging in disrespectful behavior himself; in one match, he brought asubmarine sandwich to the ring and ate it while dominating his outmatched opponent. Later, he would preface his matches by dedicating his impending finishing move, the piledriver, to either the heel commentator or whomever he was feuding with at the time. Audiences regularly mocked Muraco and his Hawaiian origins with derisive chants of "beach bum". On February 11, 1984, Muraco lost the Intercontinental title toTito Santana.[18] After a series of unsuccessful rematches, Muraco took a hiatus from WWF in August 1984. He went to NWA Polynesian for a short stint, and also wrestled in Japan.
Muraco returned to the WWF in 1985, managed byMr. Fuji. After not wrestling on the card of the firstWrestleMania, Muraco headlined three consecutiveMadison Square Garden cards against WWF World Heavyweight ChampionHulk Hogan, climaxing in a bloody steel cage match on June 21, which Hogan won. On July 8, Muraco won thefirstKing of the Ring tournament when he pinnedThe Iron Sheik in the Final. Before defeating the Sheik, Muraco had defeated theJunkyard Dog,Les Thornton and Pedro Morales to reach the Final.[19]
In addition to feuding withRicky Steamboat for much of the remainder of the year which included hanging Steamboat from the top rope with Steamboat's own karate belt on an episode ofWWF Championship Wrestling, Fuji and Muraco debutedFuji Vice, a series of skits parodyingMiami Vice, onTuesday Night Titans (Fuji General, a parody of theABC soapGeneral Hospital, followed soon after). In 1986, Muraco allied withAdrian Adonis andBob Orton Jr. in their feud with Roddy Piper. This led to Orton and Muraco becoming a regular tag team. On March 29, 1987, they lost to theCan-Am Connection (Tom Zenk andRick Martel) in the opening match ofWrestlemania III in front of a reported 93,173 fans at thePontiac Silverdome.[20] In July 1987, a falling out between Muraco and Orton led to a feud between them and a face turn for Muraco. Muraco won almost every match in the feud, on TV and at house shows, until Orton left the WWF that year.
In a TV taping aired in November 1987, Muraco solidified his face status by savingSuperstar Billy Graham from a three-on-one beating byButch Reed,One Man Gang andSlick, and taking Graham as his new manager. Muraco adopted Graham'stie-dye attire and changed his nickname from "Magnificent Muraco" to "The Rock" (although announcer Gorilla Monsoon continued to refer to Muraco by his previous nickname). Muraco replaced Graham on the team led by his former rivalHulk Hogan at thefirst Survivor Series,[21] and had a good showing at thefirst Royal Rumble, where he eliminated three wrestlers (tied for second most with"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan) and was one of the final four competitors.[22] He later reached the quarterfinals of the WWF World Heavyweight Championship tournament atWrestleMania IV.[23] In his final months with the WWF, he feuded withGreg Valentine and lost toDino Bravo at theinaugural SummerSlam.[24] Muraco had his last match in the WWF against Barry Horowitz in October 1988 on a tour of Italy, but was then fired.
After leaving the WWF, Muraco split his time betweenStampede Wrestling (where he defeatedMakhan Singh to win the North American Heavyweight title), the AWA (where he wrestledAWA World Heavyweight ChampionLarry Zbyszko to a double disqualification),All Japan Pro Wrestling, and Herb Abrams'UWF (where he feuded withCactus Jack).
Muraco made his first appearance in Stampede on December 3, 1988, defeating Vokhan Singh (Gary Albright) at a television taping in Calgary.[25] He was immediately thrust into the North American title picture, and after two unsuccessful attempts in the coming days he defeated Makhan Singh to win the championship on December 9, 1988. For the remainder of the month he successfully defended the title, and while champion then traveled to the American Wrestling Association where he defeatedColonel DeBeers on December 26 in Manitoba.[26]
He opened 1989 by traveling to All Japan, and in his first match on January 2 in Korakuen Hall in Tokyo was placed in a battle royal with Davey Boy Smith,John Tenta, Dynamite Kid,Giant Baba, and others. Muraco would team withGoro Tsurumi,Leo Burke, andBrian Adams during theAJPW Giant Series 1989 tour.[27] He then returned to North America, wrestlingLarry Zybysko to a double disqualification at an AWA TV taping in Milwaukee on January 20, 1989.[28]
Returning to Stampede, he faced Davey Boy Smith on March 24, 1989, and was defeated for the North American championship. Following an unsuccessful attempt to regain the title the following day, Muraco returned to All Japan in May 1989 to participate in theAJPW Super Power Series 1989 tag-team tour, which saw him partner withMitch Snow,Dick Slater, andDan Spivey. He also defeatedIsamu Teranishi,Isao Takagi,Goro Tsurumi, andMotoshi Okuma in singles competition.
Following an eleven-month sabbatical, Muraco returned to action in New Zealand for a joint World Wrestling Federation /Arena Wrestling Alliance promotion that saw him face and defeatHaku on three separate nights, the first coming on April 7, 1990, in Christchurch, Canterbury.[29] On June 9, 1990, he appeared in the Tri-State Wrestling Alliance'sTWA Summer Sizzler event, where he was defeated by his old partner, "Cowboy" Bob Orton.[30]
On December 6, 1990, he made his debut for Herb Abram's growing Universal Wrestling Federation, defeatingTerry Cooley on theUWF Fury Hour. Muraco would defeatCactus Jack, The Intern (Johnny Rich), andChris Michaels before suffering his first loss of his UWF run on January 12, 1991, when he was defeated bySteve Williams at a house show in West Islip, NY. This was Muraco's only UWF defeat, and he ended his tenure with a double-disqualification loss withTerry Gordy in the quarter finals for the UWF Sportschannel Television title on May 10, 1991.[31]
Following a lengthy sabbatical, Muraco returned to action in the new Eastern Championship Wrestling promotion, which would eventually become ECW. His first match was a double disqualification loss withKing Kaluha on June 23, 1992, in Philadelphia, PA. Three months later Muraco defeated ECW Heavyweight Champion Jimmy Snuka at a card on September 30, 1992, in Philadelphia. Muraco successfully defended the ECW championship againstNikolai Volkoff, as well as Snuka in a rematch, while at the same time also venturing that November into the Universal Wrestling Superstars promotion in New York City.[32] Muraco was defeated for the ECW championship on November 16, 1992, by Mr. Sandman (The Sandman).[27]
Muraco then toured Australia with theWrestling in Australia promotion in March 1993, losing to The Junkyard Dog in multiple encounters and being defeated by Jake Roberts for the vacated AWF title.[33] He returned to Eastern Championship Wrestling a month later, joining then-bookerEddie Gilbert'sHot Stuff International and forming a tag-team with former rival Jimmy Snuka. On April 3, 1993, he defeated The Sandman to regain the ECW Heavyweight Championship.[34] Muraco successfully retained the title againstTommy Cairo,The Metal Maniac, as well as The Sandman in a rematch.
While still ECW Champion, Muraco made an appearance atWorld Championship Wrestling on May 23, 1993, where he teamed withDick Murdoch and Jimmy Snuka againstWahoo McDaniel,Jim Brunzell andBlackjack Mulligan atSlamboree 1993: A Legends' Reunion.[35] He then returned to touring with Eastern Championship Wrestling and was finally defeated for the ECW title by another former rival in Tito Santana on October 1, 1993.[36]
Muraco joinedWrestle Association-R and made his debut on August 25, 1994, defeatingTakashi Ishikawa in Tokyo, Japan. He would frequently team withKendo Nagasaki on thisWAR Revolutionary Ignition '94 tour. He returned later in the fall to participate in theWAR WAR-ISM tour, defeatingMasanobu Kurisu on November 2, 1994. He again teamed with Nagasaki, but also facedHiromichi Fuyuki andNobukazu Hirai in singles matches. Muraco had thirteen matches with the promotion, culminating in a tag loss (with Ai Oni) toAnimal Hamaguchi andRyuma Go on December 4, at WAR Mega Power inSumo Hall.[37]
Muraco then appeared in the All-Star Wrestling Federation, defeatingGreg Valentine at events in May 1995.
After retiring from the ring in 1995, Muraco returned to Hawaii. In 2003, he co-founded Hawai'i Championship Wrestling with local TV producer Linda Bade, which ran from 2003 to 2008. He was the storyline commissioner of Hawai'i Championship Wrestling until 2006. He also worked as alongshoreman.[38] On May 22, 1998, he returned to wrestling for one night where he lost toThe Honky Tonk Man at Northern Wrestling States Wrestler Alliance. He also returned to wrestling in Hawaii where he defeated the Kodiak Bear at Hawaiian Islands Wrestling Federation on January 9, 1999.
In 2004, Muraco was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fameclass of 2004 byMick Foley, who, likeTommy Dreamer,Bubba Ray Dudley andD-Von Dudley, credits the 1983 steel cage match between Muraco and Snuka atMadison Square Garden (which he attended) as his inspiration for becoming a wrestler.[39] He managed his son, Joe, inWXW. On August 27, 2005, he teamed with Joe to defeat another father and son team,Bob andBrad Armstrong, atWrestleReunion 2.[40] In 2007, Muraco inducted his former manager, Mr. Fuji, into theWWE Hall of Fameclass of 2007.
As of 2019, Muraco resides in Hawaii with his wife Sharon.[41] He has three children, one of whom, Joe, followed in his footsteps as a professional wrestler.[40]
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