Last month I was in Maple Valley shooting hoops with my big brother Michael. He mentioned to me that my grandfather Barer(who passed away four years before I was born) enjoyed watching wrestling and his favorite wrestler was Abdullah The Butcher.
I mentioned to Mike that Abby was still wrestling. Mike didn't think it was possible.
Well I did a little research. Larry Shreeve aka Abdullah The Butcher broke into the wrestling business as a teenager in the late 50's. By the mid 60's he was a big star especially in Vancouver B.C. territory. And yes it is the same Abdullah that still wrestles in Japan and on the indy scene in U.S.
The Butcher also owns a restaurant in Atlanta called Abdullah's House Of Ribs and Chinese Food
The Abdullah character has been one of the most successful and enduring gimmicks in the history of wrestling. With his greatest success coming in Japan.
I found this clip on you tube. It interesting to observe the difference between the mad man from the Sudan character and the soft spoken man who plays the part.
Also as someone who has an appreciation of wrestling history it's remarkable to here him talk about wrestling Lou Thez in Vancouver in the early to mid 60's while they show footage of Abby wrestling Hulk Hogan In Japan circa 1982.
Hey, thats Abdullah The Butcher!
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