 Kowalski in 1973 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Edward Władysław Spulnik (1926-10-13)October 13, 1926 Windsor, Ontario, Canada[5] |
| Died | August 30, 2008(2008-08-30) (aged 81) Everett, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Spouse | |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Polish Apollo Hercules Kowalski Killer Kowalski[1][2] The Masked Destroyer[2] The Masked Executioner[2] Tarzan Kowalski[1][2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 7 in (201 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 280 lb (127 kg)[3] |
| Trained by | Lou Thesz[4] |
| Debut | 1947[1][2] |
| Retired | March 14, 2008[1][2] |
Wladek Kowalski (bornEdward Władysław Spulnik; October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008) was a Canadianprofessional wrestler, known by hisring nameKiller Kowalski.[5]
Kowalski wrestled for numerouspromotions during his career, including theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) andWorld Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF, nowWWE), and was a knownheel. He held numerouschampionships including theWWWF World Tag Team Championship withBig John Studd billed as theExecutioners andmanaged byLou Albano.
After retiring in 1977, Kowalski started aprofessional wrestling school inMalden, Massachusetts and trained many professional wrestlers, including Studd,Triple H,Chyna,Eddie Edwards,Frankie Kazarian,Kofi Kingston,Damien Sandow,Fandango,Brittany Brown,April Hunter,John Kronus,Perry Saturn, andTommaso Ciampa.
Wladek Kowalski was born Edward Władysław Spulnik, the son ofPolish immigrants Antoni Spulnik and Maria Borowska; he, his older sister Wanda, and his younger brother Stanley were born and raised inWindsor, Ontario.[6] Years later, he told interviewers that he never expected to be a wrestler – by the age of 14, he was already 6 feet 4 inches (193 cm), and because he was thin for his height, he began working out at the localYMCA, but had no plan to go into athletics at that time.
When he entered college, his major waselectrical engineering. He worked part-time at theFord Motor Company plant inDetroit to help pay his way.[6]
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There are several stories of how Spulnik became a wrestler. The most common one is that while attending theUniversity of Detroit (some sources say Assumption College in Windsor), he heard that there was an opportunity to make good pay by wrestling. He was only being paid $50 a week at the Ford plant and was told he could make more as a wrestler.[7] Since he already had an athletic build, he decided to give wrestling a try and began attending a wrestling school.[6][8]
When he first wrestled professionally, he was known as "Tarzan Kowalski",[9] but was also called Hercules Kowalski, Killer Kowalski (this nickname is used as early as 1950) and even The Polish Apollo, according to newspaper reports from 1950 to 1951. During the Cold War his name was changed to Wladek Kowalski, which was supposed to sound more menacing.[10]
Kowalski wrestled from 1947 to 1977 in a number of organizations, including theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) andAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA) as aheel.
Kowalski's rise in the business came quickly. His first recorded match occurred on May 6, 1948, and by November 29 of the same year, Kowalski was facingNWA championOrville Brown in a heavyweight championship match. Kowalski stood out in his era for his larger-than-normal size, and for a faster-paced style in the ring. He wrestled as a demonstrative "heel," or villain, except when facing the even-more-hatedBuddy Rogers. In his matches with Rogers, Kowalski would adopt a more serious "babyface" approach. Outside of the ring, however, Kowalski was considered so friendly and polite that some wrestling promoters complained about the way he would "drop character" in public.
In December 1972, Kowalski became the first wrestler to pinAndré the Giant in North America, in what was billed as a "Battle of the Giants."[11] Photographs from theQuebec City match helped to establish André's reputation in American wrestling magazines, since they showed him towering over the better-known Kowalski. Kowalski had done much the same to boostGiant Baba's fame in Japan, with a televised 1963 match.
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On October 15, 1952, in a match inMontreal versusYukon Eric, Kowalski ripped off a part of Yukon Eric's ear while performing a knee drop.[5] In reality, Eric's ears were already badlycauliflowered due to years of abuse and the injury was an accident, but it fortified Kowalski as being a ruthless villain who gleefully maims his opponents. Kowalski attempted to visit his opponent in the hospital and began laughing along with Eric at how silly the bandages looked, with Kowalski recalling years later, "I swear, the first thing I thought of wasHumpty Dumpty on the wall. Yukon Eric looked at me, shook his head, and smiled. I started laughing and he laughed, too." When the incident was reported in the paper the next day, it stated that Kowalski showed up at the hospital and laughedat his victim rather thanwith him, furthering Kowalski's image as a heel.[12] The incident sparked a long-running series of grudge matches between the two wrestlers which took place throughout North America. By the time the feud had run out of steam several years later, Yukon Eric joked to Kowalski about the small size of an audience, "God, that's a lousy house. I might have to sacrifice another ear."[citation needed]
Kowalski also gained some notoriety inBoston for an incident in late June 1958 when he was wrestlingPat O'Connor. The guest referee was former boxing greatJack Dempsey, who suffered a kick to the diaphragm and had to be hospitalized. Dempsey did not blame Kowalski, and both said it was an accident, but this further cemented the Killer's reputation as a villain.[13]
In 1967, the top-rated Australian television talk show hostDon Lane irritated Kowalski during an apparently friendly interview and was attacked with the Kowalski claw hold.[14]
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Also in the late 1950s, Kowalski fought what was supposed to be a best two out of three match inFall River, Massachusetts against Mr. Moto. Just before the bell starting the first fall, Kowalski had his back turned to Moto while doing some stretches in his corner. Moto raced across the ring and hit Kowalski over the head with one of the clogs with which he had walked into the ring. Of course, the referee did not see this happen. The bell rang and a seemingly dazed Kowalski staggered around the ring and was quickly pinned by Moto. Kowalski was billed as the heavyweight champion at that time (at least in eastern Massachusetts) and, as such, was not supposed to lose the match. Just after the second fall started, Kowalski was hit in the right eye with a pea or bean shot by someone in the audience using a pea shooter. Semi-blinded and genuinely stunned, Kowalski staggered around the ring covering his eye with his right hand. Moto did not know what to do. Finally, he approached Kowalski, bumped into him and fell to the mat. Kowalski reached down, applied the claw hold and Moto was not only counted out, but deemed by the referee too hurt to continue. The two raced out of the ring to a chorus of boos from the audience and dodged various objects being thrown at them. As a side note, the two had arrived 45 minutes late for the match.The Fall River Herald News reported in its next day morning edition that these two "mortal enemies" were late because the car in which they had ridden together to the match had broken down on the way.
Kowalski became the main antagonist ofBruno Sammartino in theWorld Wide Wrestling Federation in the 1960s and 1970s. Kowalski formed a tag team with fellow heelGorilla Monsoon and tookRed Berry as his manager; Monsoon and Kowalski held theWWWF United States Tag Team Championship, winning the belts in two straight falls fromSkull Murphy andBrute Bernard onWashington, D.C. television, and later losing to The Tolos Brothers in two straight falls inTeaneck, New Jersey in December 1963. On May 11, 1976, Kowalski won theWWF World Tag Team Championship withBig John Studd.[15] Both men wore black masks and tights and called themselves "The Executioners". However, they were stripped of the championship, following the interference of a third Executioner during a title defense againstChief Jay Strongbow andBilly White Wolf. The Executioners lost a match for the vacant title on December 6 to Strongbow and White Wolf and never regained the championship.[15]
After his WWWF retirement in 1977,[10] Kowalski started aprofessional wrestling school inMalden, Massachusetts.[5] Due to his health, he ceased to be involved with it in 2003, and the school subsequently moved toNorth Andover.[16] Among the alumni of this school areTriple H,[1][5]Chyna,[1][5]Perry Saturn,[1][5]John Kronus,[4]Brittany Brown,Big John Studd,[4]Damien Kane,Christopher Nowinski,[1]Matt Bloom,[1][5]April Hunter,R. J. Brewer,Kazarian,Nicole Raczynski,Kenny Dykstra,Tommaso Ciampa,Damien Sandow andFandango.
Kowalski returned to wrestling on independent shows in 1982, and worked only sparingly after that. In 1992 he foughtJohn Tolos to a no-contest forFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in Japan. His last match took place in 1993, when Kowalski was 66 years old losing toBaron Von Raschke at theMaccabiah Mania fundraiser show in Livingston, New Jersey. Kowalski would remain a fixture on the Northeast independent wrestling scene taking autograph and personal appearances. His last appearance was on March 14, 2008, forTop Rope Promotions at an event inNorth Adams, Massachusetts, where he came to the ring and put the claw on local wrestler "Gorgeous" Gino Giovanni and was declared the winner of the segment.[citation needed]
He also made numerous post-retirement television appearances, includingLate Night with David Letterman in 1982, and was featured in a comic role inMichael Burlingame'ssurrealist filmTo a Random in 1986. "Lost in the B-Zone", amusic video forBirdsongs of the Mesozoic which was derived from this film, also prominently featured Kowalski.[citation needed]
On June 11, 2007, Kowalski was inducted into theNational Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame.[17]
Kowalski married Theresa Ferrioli on June 19, 2006.[18][19]
He became avegetarian after being influenced bymiddle-distance runnersRoger Bannister andJohn Landy in 1953.[20] Kowalski did not eat meat, dairy or eggs.[21][20] He has been described as an "outspoken vegetarian" andvegan.[22][23] In the 1960s, Kowalski claimed to be the onlyvegetarian professional wrestler.[21] One of his favoriterestaurants to go to was theKowloon Restaurant inSaugus, Massachusetts, where a signed picture of him can be found on their walls.[24] Kowalski did not drink alcohol or smoke.[25]
He took interest in photography and had a book published in 2001.[25]
Kowalski began experiencing escalating health problems in the time leading up to his death.[19]The Sun received the report on Kowalski from his friend, wrestling legendBruno Sammartino, that Kowalski had to go to a rehabilitation center inEverett, Massachusetts, where he was recovering from a knee injury.[26] It seemed he was getting better, until he suffered a heart attack on August 8, 2008. According to Slam! Sports, theQuincy Patriot Ledger, and other sources, Kowalski's family was apprised that he would not recover. When Kowalski was taken off life support on August 18, subsequent news reports erroneously stated that he had died. Kowalski died on August 30, 2008.[6] He was survived by his wife and family.
18.12.1972
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Interview with Killer Kowalski, onPrime Time by George Dorunda (1989) |
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