| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Elkin James (1933-06-16)June 16, 1933 Montgomery, Texas, U.S.[1] |
| Died | December 31, 2024(2024-12-31) (aged 91) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Mr. Irresistible Reggie Siki Sweet Daddy Siki |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 245 lb (111 kg)[1] |
| Trained by | Sandor Szabo Ray Ortega[2] |
| Debut | 1955 |
| Retired | 1987 |
Elkin James (June 16, 1933 – December 31, 2024) was an American-Canadianprofessional wrestler and singer, best known asSweet Daddy Siki.
Siki started wrestling in 1955 inArtesia, New Mexico.[3] He also did some training inLos Angeles with Sandor Szabo and Ray Ortega.[3] He said he weighed about 180 pounds when he started, but within three years weighed in at 230.[3]
He moved to Toronto in 1961 because it was a central location from which to travel across North America.[3] He lived there for the rest of his life, and used Toronto as a base for his country & western band and his work as a karaoke DJ at The Duke onQueen Street East.[3] Siki was a top draw in Canada in the 1960s and 1970s. He fought inStampede Wrestling for years, travelled with Bearman McKigney's circuit and was a mainstay of the eastern scene.[3] Siki is best known for his headbutt or "coco butt" and his "neckbreaker" maneuver.[4] At his peak, Siki was a main card attraction atMaple Leaf Gardens and drew fans by the busloads.[4] He had made his Maple Leaf Gardens debut in 1962 and wrestled there until 1980.[5] In his peak at Maple Leaf Gardens, he earned up to $3,000 a bout and received bundles of mail from fans around the world.[4] In the 1970s, Siki wrestled two well-known radio & television hosts in Toronto: CHUM radio's Terry Steele and CITY-TV'sGene Taylor.[5] He used an airplane spin as a finisher in both matches.[5]
Siki was brought into CWA Memphis on March 25, 1985, by Tux Newman for 3 weeks. He first wrestled a handicap match and then wrestled Mike Sharpe the two following weeks.
Siki later hosted karaoke Saturday afternoons at The Duke bar at Queen and Leslie Streets in Toronto. Along the way, he accrued six major wrestling belts, including the Austra-Asian championship, the North American championship (three times), the Texas championship and the tag-team heavyweight crown.[4] Siki suffered many injuries throughout his career. He suffered from two broken ribs, had his hands broken twice, his ankle and leg broken, and half his face paralyzed.[4] In the 1980s, he wrestled across the Maritimes and in small Northern Ontario towns.[4] Siki wrote his own theme song entitled "I Am So Proud of What I See".[4]Siki also released an album on vinyl.
During this time, he also started to teach the craft at Sully's Toronto Youth Athletic Club on Sundays.[4] He continued to wrestle into the 1990s. He was also affiliated with a Toronto wrestling school through the 1980s and to the mid-1990s, initially in partnership with Johnny Powers.[5] Besides Canada, Siki has wrestled across the United States, and in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Trinidad.[3] The second album byThe Henrys,Chasing Grace,[6] contains a song titled 'Sweet Daddy Siki'. Toronto based Pork Belly Futures featured him in their second album with the song "Sweet Daddy" Siki made an appearance on WWE Smackdown on September 13, 2011, for Edge Appreciation Night, along with several other WWE Legends and former superstars.
Siki resided in Toronto. He died from complications of dementia in Toronto, on December 31, 2024, at the age of 91.[7][8][9]
1This title should not be confused with the NWA Eastern States Heavyweight Championship that was defended inMid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling in the early to mid-1970s. This title would go on to be renamed theNWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship.
{{cite web}}:Cite uses generic title (help)
,Internet Wrestling Database