In 1991, Portland Wrestling formed a partnership with Uncle Milt's Pizza in Vancouver, WA.
Over the next couple of years, many great events happened there, even title changes
and spectacular matches. Not sure why exactly. My thoughts would be that they were trying to
establish a home location outside of Oregon in case the wrestling commission shut down the ability to have wrestling entirely. Or, they were considering selling the Sports Arena?
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.
They left Portland on January 27, 1990, to join the USWA.
They are the tag champions in the USWA.
Steve Doll will return to Portland on June 9, 1990, without Rex King.
C- Brian Adams, The Grappler, Al Madril, Equalizer
C- The Geusers
I- Johnathon Holiday, Southern Rockers (Steve Doll & Rex King), The Geuse Patrol (Betelgeuse & Big Juice)
M- Scotty the Body v Ricky Santana
I- Rip Oliver, Larry Oliver
I- Scotty the Body (New TV Champion)
M- Moondog Moretti v Bill Francis
FG- Equalizer, Geuse Patrol, Grappler, Brian Adams
T- Nord the Barbarian
M- Curtis Thompson v The Spoiler
I- Tony Borne
I- Brian Adams, The Grappler, The Equalizer
M- 8-Man Tag
Southern Rockers (Steve Doll & Rex King), The Geuse Patrol (Betelgeuse & Big Juice) v The Grappler, Brian Adams, The Equalizer, Al Madril
I- Southern Rockers (Steve Doll & Rex King), The Geuse Patrol (Betelgeuse & Big Juice), Bill Prescot
My Portland Wrestling VHS collection was digitized by Rich Patterson.
Thanks Rich! He has an external hard drive with over 500 hours of Portland
Wrestling available for sale. For more info, email: portlandwrestlingvideo@yahoo.com
Fans of Portland Wrestling group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/90520880828
I- Roddy Piper, "Golden Boy" Mike Golden, The Grappler, The Assassin
M- The Southern Rockers (Steve Doll & Scott Peterson) v
The Grappler and Al Madril
Another year, 1991, of Portland Wrestlers volunteering their time for the MDA Telethon.
If you called in and pledged at least $15, you could talk to the wrestler of your choice. I called in, and guess who I wanted to talk to? Steve Doll, of course. I waited about 30 minutes to talk to him. When I finally did, I was so excited! When I told him who I was, he laughed and said, "You waited half an hour to talk to me on the phone? Aren't you coming to the arena tonight?" I said, "Sure, but I've never talked to you on the phone before!" That made him laugh. I told him that I appreciated that he was always willing to give his time to help good causes. He said he was always happy to help in any way he could, thanked me for the donation, and said he'd see me tonight.
It was a short conversation, but I got to talk to him on the phone!!!😀
Just a quick snippet from one of the TV breaks from the MDA Telethon in 1992. Portland Wrestlers were involved in this every year. These guys did charity events every weekend and worked tirelessly to raise money to help those in need. Truly good human beings.
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 very special place in my heart.
My front row ticket!
This photo was taken ringside, which wasn't something that happened often at the Sports Arena. There was no time to stop for photos or autographs between matches. When I came across this photo, I was confused. I turned it over, and it was marked 6-4-88. I had completely forgotten that Scott Peterson, among other wrestlers, came over to wish me a happy birthday, and I asked if my friend Michelle, who absolutely loved Scott, could get a picture. He was happy to. I'm so glad I have all of these photos and ephemera, or I would never remember anything!!