 Arion, circa 1979 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Spyridon Manousakis (1940-09-03)September 3, 1940 (age 85) Cairo, Egypt |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name | Spiros Arion |
| Billed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) |
| Billed weight | 285 lb (129 kg) |
| Trained by | Andre Bollet |
| Debut | 1961 |
| Retired | 1980 |
Spiros Arion (Greek:Σπύρος Αρίων) bornSpyridon Manousakis (Greek:Σπυρίδων Μανουσάκης) (born September 3, 1940) is anEgyptian-bornGreek formerprofessional wrestler who had an extensive and successful career, mainly in Australia and the United States. Known asThe Golden Greek andThe Iron Greek, he debuted in 1961 and retired in 1979.
Spiros Arion was born Spyridon Manousakis in September 1940 in the Egyptian capital,Cairo, toGreek parents, Stavros and Konstantina. He spent his early childhood in Egypt and migrated with his family in his teens toAthens, Greece. Here, he excelled inGreco-Roman wrestling. Charismatic and strong, he made an early mark on European mats, often billed as the son of his mentor, the veteran Greek wrestlerAndreas Lambrakis.
Arion was trained for professional wrestling by Frenchman Andre Bollet. He debuted in 1961 in Paris. For over four years, he wrestled around Europe before settling in Australia.[citation needed]
In July 1964, Arion arrived on the Australian wrestling scene, nicknamed "The Golden Greek", and quickly became afan favorite.[1][2] He joinedWorld Championship Wrestling and wrestled there until its end in 1978. He also wrestled in IWA Australia. In 1965, he won theIWA World Heavyweight Championship and IWA Tag Team Championship.[1]
Arion finished 1965 as IWA World Champion. He dropped the belt toKiller Kowalski, then regained it. In 1966, he defended it from the 400-poundKing Kong Czaja. He was a part of manyangles in IWA and WCW. In 1974, he was awarded the IWA Austra-Asian Heavyweight Championship and defended it against Bobby Shane.[citation needed]
In 1966, Arion went toAmerica and debuted in theWorld Wide Wrestling Federation. He quickly became a star, defeating top opponents includingDr. Bill Miller, Cowboy Rocky Fitzpatrick (Bob Orton Sr.),Gorilla Monsoon,Johnny Valentine,Crazy Luke Graham,Bull Ortega,The Sheik andGeorge Steele. His finishing move was often "the hotseat", later renamed "the Greek backbreaker". In his second match in the U.S., he teamed withTony Parisi to defeat Baron Mikel Scicluna andSmasher Sloan on Washington, DC television for theWWWF United States Tag Team Championship.[3] They were never defeated for the belts; in June 1967, Parisi gave his toArnold Skaaland, beginning Arion's second reign.[3][4][5] On 10 July 1967, they lost the title to The Sicilians (Lou Albano andTony Altomare).[3][6] He became a protégé ofWWWF World Heavyweight ChampionBruno Sammartino[1][7] and they both beat up The Sicilians, winning in two straight falls on 24 July to become the final U.S. Tag Team Champions.[3]
Sammartino and Arion teamed up to main event at Madison Square Garden, twice against Gorilla Monsoon andProfessor Toru Tanaka.Monsoon and Tanaka won the first match by disqualification; Arion and Sammartino won decisively in a Texas Death rematch, two falls to one.
Arion returned to the WWWF in 1974 and was instantly a fan favorite when he teamed withChief Jay Strongbow. Before they facedThe Valiant Brothers for the WWWF Tag Team Championship, there were signs they would not last. While Arion was struggling in a singles match with Killer Kowalski, Strongbow came to his aid, the outside interference costing him the match via disqualification. Arion was enraged after his first singles loss in the U.S.[citation needed] In their title match, he turned heel on Strongbow, soon takingFreddie Blassie as his manager.[1] Various acts intensified the fans' hatred of him, including ripping Strongbow's headdress to shreds and pinning him in numerous arenas.
Before viciously beating Sammartino's protégé,Larry Zbyszko, at Madison Square Garden, Arion explained the apparent mismatch as an opportunity for the rookie, who he called a "friend". Sammartino ran in at the end, after the pin, to prevent further harm.[citation needed] He had a three-bout series at Madison Square Garden against Sammartino, whose focus on his singles title Arion blamed for losing their tag title.[7]
In early 1976, Arion left the WWWF, and returned in late 1977. In 1978, he partnered with Blassie's newest turncoat, the once-popularVictor Rivera.Following a TV match in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, he was stabbed in the chest by a male spectator as he and Blassie were leaving the ring.[citation needed]
In 1979 Arion, billed as "The Iron Greek", arrived inJoint Promotions claiming a version of theMountevans Rules World Heavyweight Championship. The British wrestling press hyped him as the first foreign world champion to enter the country sinceLou Thesz in the 1950s.[8] He made televised defences of his championship against such opponents as Colin Joynson, Lee Bronson and Romany Riley[9] before losing it to Wayne Bridges at theRoyal Albert Hall and leaving the country. The title he introduced was contested for over a decade afterward in Joint Promotions andAll Star Wrestling, held by Bridges,Mighty John Quinn,Tony St. Clair andKendo Nagasaki before final champion Bridges retired with it in 1990.[10]
