.
Roy's Last Wrestling Show
The 1981 Battle Royal
Photos by Nito Gomez
.
Nito Gomez is a wrestling fan who went to the Cow Palace on January 24, 1981 for what turned out to be Roy's last wrestling show. At the time, no one realized that they were participating in such a monumental event in Northern California wrestling history -- the last breath of one of the most successful wrestling promotions in the United States. Nito contacted me after seeing this web site and offered to send me a few photos of that historical Battle Royal.
I added some comments identifying some of the wrestlers in the Battle Royal made by Max "tamalie" Levy who I met on the Kayfabe Memories Message Board.
The Cow Palace sign on Geneva Avenue advertises the $30,000 18-Man Battle Royal. It marks the end of an era in California wrestling. Many years would pass before wrestling returned to the Cow Palace -- and fans have never returned in the numbers that Roy and the great wrestlers we saw attracted on a monthly basis.
.
.
The last wrestling show began that night with the 18-Man, $30,000 Battle Royal. Someone is already going over the top rope early in the action. Can you identify all eighteen participants?
From Max "tamalie" Levy: It appears that the person being eliminated is Mike Graham because of the similar outfit and hair style in the photo further down of Mike and Dusty Rhodes heading to ringside. The person eliminating him, wearing the light green tights with the darker green stripes on the legs and the green patches at the knee, is without any shadow of a doubt Bugsy McGraw. Bugsy wore those tights in many promotions in the early 1980s and was in Florida during this time period. (Bugsy McGraw was Mike Davis, who also wrestled in this territory in the early 1970s as The Mighty Brutus.)
.
.
.
There is not a lot of room to move with eighteen wrestlers in the ring.
From Max "tamalie" Levy: Bugsy McGraw is tied up in a corner to the far left with someone wearing overalls who is apparently doing a hillbilly gimmick. I am only guessing, but I'd say that this wrestler is T. John Thibedaux who did a Cajun hillbilly gimmick in the late 1970s and early 1980s. T. John mostly came into promotions for one shots or quick tours around the loop, never staying any place for more than a couple of weeks. He did a lot of Battle Royals in this role. The idea was to turn him into a new Haystacks Calhoun, but he never caught on and was essentially out of wrestling by 1983.
The lanky wrestler in light blue tights and white cowboy boots with red trim is definitely a young Barry Windham.
.
.
.
During the final moments of the final Battle Royal, Dusty Rhodes prevents Dory Funk Jr. from interfering as Pat Patterson prepares to eliminate Terry Funk from the ring. Rhodes and Funk Jr. are fighting on top of the Press Table.
.
.
.
The winner! Pat Patterson hoists his trophy high in the air as he is proclaimed the winner and Dusty Rhodes enters the rng congratulates him. A disappointed Dick Slater, (right) the last man eliminated from the Battle Royal, looks on. The ring announcer in the white jacket is Allan Bolte, who wrote many of the stories in my programs. My brother Erik gave the program publishing empire to Allan after crowds began to shrink and he became interested in other things. Allan continued publishing the programs until the end.
.
.
After Pat Patterson won the Battle Royal, he returned later in the evening for the main event against Harley Race.
.
.
Mike Graham and Dusty Rhodes walking to the ring for their match against the Funk Brothers.
.
.
Terry Funk and Dory Funk, Jr.
.
.
Return to Battle Royal page
Copyright 2003, 2006 Viktor Berry • All Rights Reserved
.Illustrated History of Professional Wrestling in Northern California Promoter Roy Shire NWA Ray Stevens, Peter Maivia, Pat Patterson, Hank Renner, Big Time Wrestling, Miki Garcia
