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| Larry Zbyszko | |
|---|---|
 Zbyszko in 2016 | |
| Birth name | Lawrence Whistler |
| Born | (1951-12-05)December 5, 1951 (age 73) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Spouse(s) | Kathleen Gagne |
| Children | 4 |
| Family | Verne Gagne (father-in-law) Greg Gagne (brother-in-law) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Larry Zbyszko |
| Billed height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 233 lb (106 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.[1] |
| Trained by | Bruno Sammartino Geeto Mongol |
| Debut | 1971 |
| Retired | 2015 |
Lawrence Whistler (born December 5, 1951), better known by thering nameLarry Zbyszko, is an American retiredprofessional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for hisfeud with his mentor,Bruno Sammartino, during the early 1980s as well as his work as a wrestler and color commentator forWorld Championship Wrestling. Among other accolades, he is a two-timeworld champion havingtwice held theAWA World Heavyweight Championship. Zbyszko was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame on March 28, 2015, by Sammartino.
Whistler trained under Bruno Sammartino after cutting his collegiate wrestling career atPenn State University short. He debuted in 1973 as thebabyface "Larry Zbyszko", with his name a tribute to 1920sPolish American wrestlerStanislaus Zbyszko. He initially wrestled in thePittsburgh area in 1972, appearing on the local wrestling programStudio Wrestling, before receivingbookings in Vancouver withNWA All-Star Wrestling in 1973. He spent three years in theWorld Wide Wrestling Federation before traveling to California in 1975.
Zbyszko was one of the attractions in the 1976 Latin America Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight championship, held inGuatemala City, under José Azzari promotions. Three days after the end of the tournament (Mil Máscaras won the title, defeatingJosé Azzari in the final), an earthquake destroyed much of that Central American nation.
Zbyszko returned to the WWWF in 1976[1] and formed atag team withTony Garea, with whom he won the WWWF World Tag Team Championships on November 21, 1978, inAllentown, Pennsylvania. Their reign lasted until March 6, 1979, when they were defeated by the Valiant brothers in Allentown.
Zbyszko feuded withBugsy McGraw,Abdullah the Butcher andSuperstar Billy Graham in addition to wrestlingKiller Kowalski andBaron Mikel Scicluna. In 1978 he summarized his mat-based ringwork with the statement, "I just believe in science over brawn."
At the end of the decade, Zbyszko became frustrated with his inability to shed his label asBruno Sammartino's protégé. He challenged Sammartino to an exhibition match, claiming this was the only way he could step out of Sammartino's shadow. Sammartino eventually agreed to the match after Zbyszko threatened to retire if he was not granted the match. The trainer and pupil faced one another inAllentown on January 22, 1980, with Sammartino dominating the early stages of the match. After Sammartino threw him out of the ring, an irate Zbyszko seized a wooden chair and struck Sammartino, leaving him in apool of blood in the middle of the ring and instantlyturning Zbyszko into a reviledheel.
Zbyszko was struck with an iron pole following a match withIvan Putski, and was stabbed in thebuttock following a match withPedro Morales in theWashington Avenue Armory inAlbany, New York.[citation needed] After turning against Sammartino, Zbyszko was approached by the WWWF's "Unholy Trio" of managers (Fred Blassie,The Grand Wizard, and"Captain" Lou Albano), but he decided to continue wrestling without a manager. Sammartino and Zbyszko fought one another repeatedly in a lengthyfeud that stretched throughout 1980. In the course of the feud, Zbyszko began referring to himself as "The New Living Legend" (a reference to Sammartino, who was often addressed as "The Living Legend"). The feud culminated in asteel cage match atShowdown at Shea[1] atShea Stadium inFlushing, New York on August 9, 1980, that saw Sammartino defeat Zbyszko in front of an audience of 36,295.
Zbyszko left the WWF in spring 1981. In mid-1981, he toured Japan withAll Japan Pro Wrestling.
In early to mid-1982, Zbyszko appeared with theInternational Wrestling Federation, where he facedBruno Sammartino Jr. in a series of matches. In October 1982, he made another tour of Japan with All Japan Pro Wrestling.
In March 1983, Zbyszko joined theGeorgia Championship Wrestling territory of theNational Wrestling Alliance, where he began claiming to have retired Bruno Sammartino (Sammartino had retired from full-time competition in 1981). Zbyszko initially feuded withTim Woods andPaul Orndorff, whom he was unable to defeat for theNWA National Heavyweight Championship. AfterKiller Tim Brooks defeated Orndorff for the title on March 20, 1983, Zbyszko immediately offered him US$25,000 for the title, which Brooks accepted. His reign lasted until April 30 of that year, when NWA PresidentBob Geigel stripped Zbyszko of the title due to the manner in which he had acquired it. A tournament was held for the vacant title, which Zbyszko entered. He defeatedMr. Wrestling II in the tournament final on May 6, 1983, inAtlanta, Georgia to regain the title. His second reign lasted until September 25, 1983, when he lost toBrett Wayne in Atlanta. He continued to wrestle in Georgia until April 1984.
In March 1984, Zbyszko joined theMinneapolis, Minnesota-basedAmerican Wrestling Association. He was awarded the newly createdAWA America's Championship in January 1985 and engaged in a lengthy feud withSgt. Slaughter, who defeated him for the title on June 21, 1985, inChicago, Illinois. Throughout the feud, Zbyszko drew the ire of fans by fleeing the ring and stalling for minutes at a time whenever Slaughter gained an advantage (in an April 2004 interview, Zbyszko claimed that the longest he ever stalled for was sixteen minutes).
Zbyszko feuded withNick Bockwinkel throughout 1986, losing to him in aTexas death match atRage in a Cage on April 28, 1986. In the course of the feud, he also vied with Bockwinkel's allyRay Stevens andboxerScott LeDoux. Zybszko lost to LeDoux in aboxing match atWrestleRock '86 on April 20, 1986, and fought him to a double count out atBattle by the Bay on June 28, 1986.
On May 2, 1987, Zbyszko helpedCurt Hennig defeatNick Bockwinkel for theAWA World Heavyweight Championship by handing him a roll ofdimes to knock Bockwinkel out with. He wassuspended "for life" by the AWA as a result of an assault on Bockwinkel during Bockwinkel's rematch with Hennig in July 1987. As Bockwinkel retired shortly after the incident, Zbyszko began claiming to have retired both Bockwinkel and Bruno Sammartino.
In November 1987, Zbyszko joinedJim Crockett Promotions, where he wasmanaged byBaby Doll. He began feuding withBarry Windham, and on January 24, 1988, inUniondale, New York he defeated Windham for theNWA Western States Heritage Championship. After Baby Doll left Zbyszko he gained a new manager inGary Hart, who placed him in a tag team withAl Perez. Perez and Zbyszko feuded withKendall Windham andDustin Rhodes.
It was also during this time that Hart was asking for NWA World Title shots for both Zbyszko and Perez. It was claimed by Hart and even announcerJim Ross that Zbyszko and Perez both had the ability to beat Flair for the title, but neither received title shots and the NWA quickly dropped the overtures. Crockett Promotions was under new ownership and both Zbyszko and Perez were essentially left without an angle. Zbyszko signed with the AWA in January 1989 and the NWA Western States Heritage Championship, which Zbyszko still held at that point, was subsequently retired.
Zbyszko took part in an eighteen-manbattle royal inSaint Paul, Minnesota on February 7, 1989, to fill the vacantAWA World Heavyweight Championship. By stalling and avoiding confrontations with other wrestlers, Zbyszko was able to remain in the match until only two men remained: himself andTom Zenk. The two men fought for several minutes. When Zenk went for a pin, referee Gary DeRusha inexplicably entered the ring to make the count. Zbyszko kicked out and the two continued in what now appeared to be a conventional wrestling match. DeRusha ended up taking a bump and was unable to make the three count when Zenk covered Zbyszko for the pin. As DeRusha slowly recovered, Zenk continued to dominate the match. As he attempted aflying body press, however, Zbyszko managed to catch him in mid-air and deliver afallaway slam, throwing him over the top rope and to the ground below. Zbyszko was thus the new AWA World Heavyweight Champion.
Early in his title reign, Zbyszko would feud withWahoo McDaniel andSgt. Slaughter. He would face Greg Gagne on June 23, 1989, atWar in the Windy City, andDavid Sammartino, who he defeated at theTri-State Winter Challenge on January 27, 1990. He then began feuding withMr. Saito, who defeated him for the AWA World Heavyweight Championship on February 10, 1990, at Super Fight In Tokyo Dome during a tour of Japan. Zbyszko regained the title atSuperClash 4 on April 8, 1990, in Saint Paul and successfully defended it againstThe Trooper,Brad Rheingans, andNikita Koloff (who he defeated on May 5, 1990, at Twin Wars '90) toward the end of his reign. He was stripped of the title after leaving the AWA forWorld Championship Wrestling on December 12, 1990, and the AWA declared bankruptcy in 1991, making Zbyszko the last man to reign as AWA World Heavyweight Champion.
In December 1990, Zbyszko returned to the NWA. Zbyszko initially teamed withTerrence Taylor, a member ofThe York Foundation, but was not recruited to thestable. Zbyszko was paired withArn Anderson as theEnforcers in the late summer of 1991. AfterScott Steiner, one-half of theWCW World Tag Team Champions, was injured, the titles were vacated on July 18, 1991, and placed on the line in an eight-man tag team tournament. The tournament finals were held on September 5, 1991, atClash of the Champions XVI: Fall Brawl and pitted the Enforcers againstRick Steiner andBill Kazmeier. At the outset of the event, the Enforcers struck Kazmeier with a weight during aweightlifting demonstration, injuring hisribs. This enabled them to defeat Steiner and Kazmeier for the titles in the main event.
AtHalloween Havoc, The Enforcers began feuding withBarry Windham andDustin Rhodes, and broke Windham's hand by slamming the door of his car on his hand. Following this act, Zbyszko gave himself thesobriquet the "Cruncher". Windham was replaced byRicky Steamboat, and atClash of the Champions XVII on November 19, 1991, inSavannah, Georgia, the Enforcers lost the titles to Steamboat and Rhodes.
In December 1991, the Enforcers joinedPaul E. Dangerously'sDangerous Alliance, which also includedRick Rude,"Stunning" Steve Austin,Bobby Eaton andMadusa. They feuded with Ricky Steamboat, Dustin Rhodes, Barry Windham,Nikita Koloff,Sting and theWCW World Heavyweight ChampionRon Simmons. On May 17, 1992, atWrestleWar 1992: WarGames, the Dangerous Alliance lost aWarGames match to their rivals after Zbyszko accidentally hit Eaton in the arm with the turnbuckle that he had dismantled, forcing Eaton to submit as a result of the pain. As a result of his blunder, Zbyszko was fired from the stable by Dangerously, turning him into aface for the first time since 1980. He briefly feuded with Austin and Eaton before retiring from full-time competition to become acolor commentator. One of his first appearances as a commentator occurred atStarrcade alongside ofMissy Hyatt. As a commentator, Zbyszko began referring to himself simply as "The Living Legend", as many WCW fans were unfamiliar with his feud with Bruno Sammartino. He also hosted an interview segment, "Larry Z's Legends" on WCW television which only lasted a few weeks.
In March 1994, Zbyszko began hostingWCW Pro, alongsideDusty Rhodes and Gordon Solie. Shortly thereafter,Lord Steven Regal began harassing Zbyszko, prompting him to return to the ring. On May 2, 1994, in Atlanta, Zbyszko defeated Regal for theWCW World Television Championship. He held the title until June 23, 1994, when Regal regained the belt inCharleston, South Carolina.
In 1996, Zbyszko was promoted to theWCW Monday Nitro broadcast team, where he announced during the first hour withTony Schiavone. In 1997, he was antagonized byNew World Order (nWo) memberScott Hall, but Hall opted not to face Zbyszko. Zbyszko remained in the broadcast booth for most of 1997, occasionally refereeing matches involving Hall and the nWo. On October 13, 1997, Zbyszko got involved in a WCW Tag Team Championship match between the Steiner Brothers and Scott Hall and Syxx (subbing for an injuredKevin Nash) and counted the ensuing fall for the Steiner Brothers who became the champions. This reign was official despite Zbyszko not being an official referee, a role he previously played inScott Hall's match againstLex Luger atHalloween Havoc (1997). On December 28, 1997, atStarrCade 1997, Zbyszko returned to the ring for a match against Bischoff for control ofWCW Monday Nitro withBret Hart acting as special referee. Hart ensured that the nWo did not interfere, and Zbyszko won the match, regaining control ofNitro for WCW. He continued to feud with Hall and hislackey,Louie Spicolli, culminating in a match between Zbyszko and Hall atSouled Out 1998 on January 24, 1998. Zbyszko won the match by disqualification after Dusty Rhodes betrayed him, joining the nWo.
Zbyszko went back to commentating, becoming part of the mainThunder announce team in April along with Mike Tenay, leavingNitro. On December 6, 1999, when he facedCurt Hennig in aretirement match onNitro and lost by disqualification. He returned in January 2000 as a member of the Old Age Outlaws withTerry Funk, Arn Anderson andPaul Orndorff to feud with the revived nWo, then returned to commentary in February until he was released from his WCW contract in late 2000 just before WCW was bought by the WWF.
After being released fromWorld Championship Wrestling Zbyszko was rumored to be the replacement for Jerry Lawler as the commentator forMonday Night Raw in early 2001 afterLawler quit the company. Zbyszko did an interview with Live Audio Wrestling saying he wanted the job. These rumors never materialized asPaul Heyman would go on to become the color commentator forMonday Night Raw untilJerry Lawler returned to the company later that year.
In 2001 Zbyszko wrestled several matches for Dusty Rhodes'sTurnbuckle Championship Wrestling promotion.
In late 2001, Zbyszko requested thatWorld Wrestling Entertainment cease referring toChris Jericho as "The Living Legend", claiming that this infringed upon hiscommon law trademark. After WWF refused to comply, with chairmanVince McMahon personally addressing Jericho as "The Living Legend" during a televised broadcast, Zbyszko launched alawsuit against WWF. In addition, he challenged McMahon to ashoot fight during a 2002World Wrestling All-Starspay-per-view which never happened.
In 2002, Zbyszko had a short feud withChris Harris in theNashville, Tennessee-based USA Championship Wrestling promotion. On March 2, 2002, Zbyszko defeated Harris for the USA North American Heavyweight Championship. He held the title until March 30, 2002, when Harris regained the belt at theTojo Yamamoto Memorial Show. On August 27, 2005, atWrestleReunion inValley Forge, Pennsylvania, Zbyszko facedDiamond Dallas Page, with the provision that he would receive five minutes alone in the ring with the sixty-nine-year-old Bruno Sammartino if he won. Page knocked Zbyszko out with his signatureDiamond Cutter, however, then pulled Zbyszko on top of him, thus giving him the win by pinfall. Sammartino then entered the ring and began throttling the still-prone Zbyszko until he was dragged away.
Zbyszko debuted inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling on January 15, 2003, and delivered aspeech in which he exhorted the roster to respect tradition. This sparked a feud withA.J. Styles, who was not receptive to Zbyszko's requests. On January 29, 2003, Zbyszko faced Styles in a ten-minute-long match with the stipulation that, should Styles be unable to pin him twice in that time, he would become Styles'smanager. Styles was only able to pin Zbyszko once, and Zbyszko managed him for a short time beforebookerVince Russo cancelled theangle and Zbyszko left the promotion. He returned for one night on August 6, 2003, losing toKid Kash following interference fromAbyss.
Zbyszko made a full-time return to TNA on June 23, 2004, assistingRon Killings in his feud withJeff Jarrett. On July 14, 2004, Killings, Zbyszko,Dusty Rhodes,Konnan andB.G. James defeated Jarrett,Ken Shamrock and "The Elite Guard" (Shawn Hernandez,Chad Collyer andOnyx) in a "ten-man guitar on a pole match".
Along withHarley Race andTerry Funk, Zbyszko was appointed to a body known as the Championship Committee. The Committee would watch matches onTNA Impact!, most of which had a ten-minute time limit, and determine a winner in the eventuality of a draw. As on practise few professional wrestling matches end in a draw, the Committee was gradually phased out.
In February 2005, Zbyszko joinedPlanet Jarrett, Jarrett's dominantheelstable. He disappeared several weeks later.
On June 19, 2005, atSlammiversary, the returning Zbyszko was namedDirector of Authority, replacing Dusty Rhodes. His first act as DOA was to give Jeff Jarrett's place in theKing of the Mountain match later that night toRaven. AtSacrifice on August 14, Zbyszko responded to Jarrett's request for a shot at theNWA World Heavyweight Championship by informing him that he would receive a title shot if he won his tag team match that night, but would be banned from receiving a title shot for a year if he lost the match. As Jarrett's partner,Rhino, won the match, neither stipulation was applicable.
Zbyszko remained neutral for several months, but in October 2005 he became exasperated with Raven, who continually accused him of robbing the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and refusing to grant him a rematch. AtGenesis on November 13, Zbyszko told Raven to resign from TNA or have his life "made hell". After Raven refused to resign, Zbyszko forced him to wrestleP.J. Polaco. Much to Zbyszko's chagrin, Raven defeated Polaco. Nevertheless, Zbyszko continued his personal crusade against Raven, and to that end booked him into aRaven's House of Fun Match, again with an unknown opponent, for the December 3 episode ofImpact!. The opponent turned out to be the entireDiamonds in the rough stable (Simon Diamond,Elix Skipper, andDavid Young). Despite interference fromCassidy Riley on Raven's behalf, he was pinned and lost the match.
Raven went on to defeat his former tag team partnerChris K. atTurning Point. AtFinal Resolution on January 15, 2006, Raven was scheduled to face a mystery opponent, with the stipulation that he would receive a shot at the NWA World Heavyweight Championship if he was victorious, but would be fired if he was defeated. Raven lost to the returningSean Waltman after Zbyszko, who refereed the match after the original referee was knocked unconscious, distracted Raven so that Waltman could deliver anX Factor and then counted to three despite Raven placing his foot on a ring rope. Following the match, Zbyszko ordered the TNA security to escort Raven from "my arena", then mocked Raven until he was confronted byJackie Gayda about an undisclosed issue.
AtLockdown on April 23, 2006, the debutingChristy Hemme handed commentatorMike Tenay an envelope containing a message from "TNA management" stating that Zbyszko had been placed on probation due to his conduct, while Raven had been reinstated. Raven then entered the arena and approached the ring, causing Zbyszko to evade him until he was removed by security guards. AtVictory Road on July 16, 2006, Zbyszko lost to Raven in ahair versus hair match. On the October 5 edition ofiMPACT he booked a match where the man who was pinned would be fired. He interfered in the match after he hitEric Young with a golf club.Jim Cornette booked a match atBound for Glory between him and Young where the loser would be fired. He would then go on to lose the match to Eric Young at Bound for Glory, and he was fired a week later.
Zbyszko returned to the independent circuit and claimed theAWA Superstars of Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship inAWA Superstars of Wrestling. Zbyszko started rallying for what he claimed was rightfully his since mid-2007. The situation heated up immediately after the then AWA Superstars of Wrestling board of directors strippedMasato Tanaka of the World's title. Zbyszko, through his newly named "representative" Mister Saint Laurent and legal representation, started filing documentation, to the new AWA Superstars of Wrestling Management Team, proving he had never lost the title in 1991 whenVerne Gagne's American Wrestling Association entered into bankruptcy. After considerable deliberation and review of the bankruptcy file from the early 1990s, the AWA agreed with Zbyszko that he did indeed never actually lose the title. Accordingly, Zbyszko was once again the recognized AWA Superstars of Wrestling World Heavyweight Championship. He lost the title to Brian Logan. Logan defeated Larry Zbyszko and Ricky Landell in a three-way match on April 18, 2008, at a Mountaineer Wrestling Association event in Fayetteville, West Virginia.
On March 22, 2008, Larry was inducted into the XWF Hall of Fame by its creator Jack Blaze at their "XWF March Madness 2008" event. XWF was later renamed LPW (Legends Pro Wrestling) where Larry is still honored in their Hall of Fame- Class 2008.
Four Territories of the AWA Superstars of Wrestling have broken away from AWA Superstars of Wrestling, however, and joined with Championship Wrestling of Tennessee to create the American Wrestling Affiliates. Brian Logan took his championship reign and belt with him[2] and Zbyszko is once again recognized as the AWA Superstars World Heavyweight Champion as AWA Superstars of Wrestling retroactively refused to recognize the title change. He dropped the title to Ricky Landell on October 11.
In 2009,Full Impact Pro hired Zbyszko as the executive director of the FIP Championship committee.
Zbyszko competed at the ROH show on January 29 as a part of Wrestle Reunion 4 where he defeatedScotty 2 Hotty.[3]
In March 2010 Zbyszko started appearing at live events for theWFX in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Shortly after his debut, he was named the interim commissioner of the promotion, and makes regular appearances. He competed in one match for the promotion thus far, teaming withJessie Godderz, to compete againstBushwacker Luke andEugene Dinsmore.
Zbyszko defeatedPalmer Canon for the All Out Mayhem Heavyweight Championship on November 20, 2010, in South Portland, Maine.In late March 2011, it was noted that Chris Jericho was very critical of Zbyszko and his announcing capabilities during his tenure in WCW in his latest book. When this was brought to his attention, Larry proceeded to challenge Jericho to say it to his face and questioned his manhood in a popular internet video. Zbyszko stated in another video that the reason for Jericho's disrespect was because he could not use the phrase "The Living Legend" in the WWE because it has been used and trademarked by Zbyszko. On March 17, 2012, In Caribou, Maine Zbyszko defeated Ryan Michaels in a lumberjack match to retain the All Out Mayhem Heavyweight Championship. He would lose the title a month later toGino Martino in Gray, Maine.
His last match was on April 25, 2015, teaming with CPA which they lost to Beefcake Charlie and Damian Gibbs at Pro Wrestling Syndicate in Rahway, New Jersey.
Whistler married Kathleen Gagne (Daughter of AWA co-founderVerne Gagne and sister of wrestlerGreg Gagne) in 1988. They have four sons: Tim, Michael, John and Robert, the former of whom is also aprofessional wrestler, and performs under the ring name Tim Zbyszko.[4]
Zbyszko's autobiography,Adventures In Larryland, was released on June 1, 2008.
Zbyszko has appeared as a playable character inWCW/nWo Revenge,WWE 2K16 (asDLC) andWWE 2K17 as a member ofThe Enforcers withArn Anderson, and inWWE 2K18 without Anderson.
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