Portland Wrestling 4/8/89 Welcome to the Breakfast Club Brian Adams v Nord the Barbarian Strap Match ~ Video

 

One of the most iconic moments in the later days of Portland Wrestling. The Oregon Boxing and Wrestling Commission had banned all blood, and lots of other things, in wrestling, and the Booker (The Grappler) was open to ideas about new ways to wow the crowd. John Nord (The Barbarian) suggested the cereal and milk, and it seemed like as good an idea as any, so they went for it! They didn't tell Don Owen beforehand, so his anger in the interview after was probably genuine. He was very concerned with how much it would cost to clean the mat. Nord was known for hitting hard, and Brian was COVERED in black and blue bruises after the matches that night. Being the weird wrestling girl at school meant that on Monday everyone wanted to talk to me about it because it was such a big deal.

Portland Wrestling Program - July 17, 1984 - Matt Borne v Buddy Rose

1988 KPTV MDA Telethon Breaks with Steve Doll and Top Gun- YouTube Video

 

Candy Jones - Portland Wrestling Fan! - Photos and Story

Candy Jones and I were Portland Sports Arena fans around the same time.  She's even got some photos that prove we were probably standing very close together on a certain night! 😊  She shared some of those great photos on the Fans of Portland Wrestling Group on Facebook recently, and I asked if I could share them here too.  Hopefully, we can get her to share more of her amazing collection in the future.  

If you have photos or stories and want to share, email me at Sunyday76@aol.com! 

Scott Peterson on his way into the arena.

Steve Doll headed to the ring!  Candy usually sat ringside! (This is me being jealous!)

Steve Doll standing by the ring.

Scott Peterson (Candy's favorite!)

Scott Peterson, Steve Doll, and Top Gun in the ring at the Portland Auto Show.

Brian Adams and Scott Peterson standing by the locker rooms.

This is my photo from that same night!  

Candy in the hospital at 13 with two surprise visitors.

The nurse saw her wrestling T-shirt and photos and made a call that got Steve and Top Gun to come visit.  Candy says that Steve recognized her and said, "Oh my goodness, Candy, I didn't realize it was you, sweetheart."  Steve was always so great with the fans!

Candy and Art Barr at the Sports Arena.

Portland Wrestling Program - February 5, 1980 - Hair Match! Buddy Rose v ?

Apparently, King Parsons lost his hair on this one!

Thanks to Curtis, @RetroGamingHippie3720 on YouTube, for sharing 

this awesome program! 

 

OWF 5/14/88 - Brian Adams v Blackstudd Williams + "Mean" Mike Miller Interview

Fun video from the second week of Oregon Wrestling Federation matches. 

OWF.

 

1988 Was A Great B-Day!

In 1988, my mom wrote a letter to Steve Doll asking him to come to my birthday. Yes, she did that! I don't know what she wrote in the letter, and she doesn't remember, but whatever it was must have touched his heart.
I remember sitting in the house with my friends, wondering why we weren't outside, but my mom insisted that we sit inside and watch a movie. She made sure I was sitting by the front door, and I noticed when a little yellow '77 Mustang pulled up in front of the house. I immediately recognized it as Steve's car. A blonde gal got out and was walking up to the door, and I said, "Someone is here, and she has a car like Steve Doll." My mom said that it was for me, and I should go talk to her. Huh? When I opened the door, she handed me a manila envelope and said, "I'm sorry that Steve couldn't make it. He had a charity event today." My mom came over and told her that I didn't know anything about what was going on. She introduced herself as Steve's wife and said that she had brought some birthday gifts for me from Steve, and that he wished he could be there. 😇 She also said that there would be two front row tickets for me at the ticket window that night at the Sports Arena. (My first time ever sitting ringside!) And, to make sure that I went by the autograph table so that he could tell me "Happy Birthday" in person. My mom thanked her, and she went on her way.
To say that I was in shock was an understatement. I just stood there by the front door staring at the envelope and watching Steve's car drive away! What just happened!!??!! I opened up the envelope to find these three photos and a signed boot bandana.
Steve wasn't just nice. He went out of his way to be kind. Not just to me. I witnessed his kindness on many occasions. It's part of why he'll always have a place in my heart.

 

Steve Doll Workout Montage 1988 - You Tube Video

This incredible workout montage was aired on Portland

Wrestling in 1988.  The majority of the workouts are filmed at Portland's 

famous Loprenzi's Gym.

Steve Doll Clips! Almost 3 Hours of Steve Doll! - You Tube Video

My wrestling VHS tapes were recently digitized by Rich Patterson.  Thanks Rich!

He sells a hard drive of over 500 hours of Portland Wrestling. portlandwrestlingvideo@yahoo.com

One of the tapes he found was a compilation that I made back in the tape 

trading days of the late 90s.  It is almost 3 hours of Steve Doll clips.

There is the infamous workout music video, a World Class match, and 

lots of Portland matches and interviews.  They aren't necessarily in order.

Steve Doll Debuts In Portland Wrestling - June 13, 1987

June 13, 1987. Steve Doll debuts in Portland Wrestling. This was the only photo available at the merch table. I was already a big fan. I'd seen Steve on World Class some months before. We'd just gotten cable on a day when I was home sick from school. I was flipping around the amazing number of 36 channels, and came across World Class on ESPN. My previous favorite wrestler was Steve Simpson, and I heard his name, so I stayed to watch. I saw Steve wrestle for the first time, and suddenly I had a new favorite! I was conveniently sick every Wednesday so I could watch at 1pm, until we got a VCR and I could record it. We went to the Sports Arena on the kids' free night that was closest to my birthday. When we got there, I got my program and looked inside and saw the little graphic that said, "We welcome newcomer Steve Doll!". I was so excited! My favorite wrestler, here!! I got the chance to talk to him and get his autograph. He told me that it was the first autograph he signed in Portland! I excitedly told him that he was my favorite wrestler and I had been watching him on World Class. He was all smiles and seemed really excited to be there.

Halloween 1989! We Won The Costume Contest at the Sports Arena!

Halloween 1989! My friend and I dressed as the Beach Boys (Avalanche and Buddy Rose). Mom made us some big board shorts, and we got some beach-themed t-shirts, stuffed them with pillows, and took a giant beach ball to the ring with us! We thought we were so funny! It was the first time I got to step inside the ring, and that was a REAL thrill! The contest was chosen by crowd noise, so when it came to our turn, I was really hamming it up and trying to get the crowd to cheer for us. Don Coss had to stop me! 😂 Buddy Rose walked by us on the way to the crow's nest and said he thought the costumes were great! We won tickets for next Saturday night.

 

Steve Doll v Playboy Buddy Rose 2/3 Falls 6/11/1988 - You Tube Videos

Steve did a great job of selling the hurt leg from fall to fall in this match!

Great setup for a feud with Buddy and Al Madril. 

Photos from an autograph session earlier that day!

11/21/1987 TV Trophy Over The Top Battle Royal - You Tube Video

The brand new television trophy is being determined by an over-the-top battle royal.

Art Barr would have turned 59 today!

 

Art Barr would have been 59 today.

Art and I at the Frank Bonnema Memorial 2-16-1988

Betelgeuse in the Tillamook Armory 1989

Big Juice and Little Juice

Steve Doll & Betelgeuse at the 20th Anniversary of Sandy Barr's Flea Market

That's my pop, dammit!!!

Betegeuse and Steve Doll v The Great Scotts (Scotty the Body & Scott Peterson)

Steve Doll & Betelgeuse are bringing Roddy Piper to the Crow's Nest so that 
Don Owen can present him with a birthday cake.

Who is the Midnight Soldier? - Photos from 1989.

Brian Adams lost a Loser Leaves Town match and reappeared some weeks later as 

The Midnight Soldier.  It was pretty easy to tell it was him.  Not too many people are as

big as Brian Adams!  I also recognized the mask because he was wearing it while passing out 

candy at his apartment the previous Halloween! 

I recently saw a photo of Rip Oliver in the WWF as the Super Ninja, and he

is wearing the exact same mask!  Do you think there was

more than one?  (See photo at the bottom.)

WWF Super Ninja (Rip Oliver) 1988