How Will You Be Remembered? #7: Abdullah The Butcher

[Chicago1989]

I'm back once again with another edition of "How Will You Be Remembered?"

These "How Will You Be Remembered" threads are about looking back at the careers of random legendary wrestlers and giving you guys the opportunity to say what will you remember the most about that legend, sort of like a testimonial. Was it their contributions to the wrestling business?, Their greatest matches?, Their legacy in wrestling?....anything. I'll also give a short recap of the career of that certain legend as well.

For this seventh edition of this thread, we're looking back at the bloody, brutal 5-decade career of Abdullah The Butcher.

Going back all the way to 1958, Abdullah started his wrestling career in Canada at the age of 17. He worked in numerous territories in Canada, eventually becoming Abdullah The Butcher, after establishing himself as no-nonsense "Arabian Sadist" in the north.

After years of traveling and becoming an infamous psychopath, Abdullah won numerous championships in the NWA, IWA, and NWF while becoming a special attraction. He feuded with The Sheik in the 70's, becoming of one his most classic rivalries. He continued his carnage in many different countries, winning championships, and making an unforgettable impact in Japan in the 80's. He competed in tournaments and also feuded with Terry Funk. He traveled to Puerto Rico, where he battled legends such as Bruiser Brody, Carlos Colón, and Carlito in '04.

Abdullah then debuted for WCW in the early 90's, feuding with Sting and Cactus Jack and also competing in the "Chamber of Horrors" match at Halloween Havoc 1991. He also debuted for ECW in 1993 and ROH in 2002, competing with Homicide at "Night of the Butcher". He continually wrestled in Puerto Rico and Japan in later years, creating a legacy that lasted for about 50 years around the world, destroying people, and still making occasional appearances to this day without ever having to work for WWE or TNA.

After years and years of traveling and becoming a "wrestling-horror" icon, what will you look back on the most about Abdullah The Butcher?

 

[mulkeymania]

i can just remember that it seems like in every single match he was in he bled--maybe not the case but i wouldnt be shocked if he did--never pretty matches to watch but always brutal--and those divots in the forehead always freaked me out when i was a kid.

 

[Burchermania]

Won't be long before we see the Madman from Sudan take Havoc in TNA afterall TNA is a resurrection of WCW I see Abby going after Hogan and Sting one more time!

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I never really saw him wrestle (if what he does can be considered wrestling), but I remember watching a shoot interview with him and he is an incredibly polite, well spoken guy and sounds pretty smart. That totally surprised me as I was not expecting him to be like that at all.

Also, in one of Mick Foley's books, he mentions that Abby would scare people in casinos by inserting gambling chips into the huge scars on his forehead....sick!

I also remember reading that he bled almost every match, especially when he got older, fatter and less mobile, and used a fork as his weapon of choice. To be honest, I have never had the urge to watch him fight, I cannot imagine his matches will be particularly entertaining.

 

[mikeyboy]

I will always remember reading wrestling magazines in the 70's and they would do articles on his matches with the original Shiek,there was one article in particular titled "Hammer vs Tongs" the pictures were brutal and bloody , they made huge impression on me as a kid , i read that thing when i was around 9 years old and still remember that article ,after that i always got excited when he appeared in the NWA , he never seemed to stay around for long but you never forgot about him.

 

[realoldskoolfan]

the man was a legend. now is he a HOF caliber legend, no. he was great for territories to bring in for a few months, cause some havoc and then be on his way. he usually played the "hired assassin" type brought in by the top heel manager of whatever territory to help in the fight against top face of area. now around the 80s, he usually got paired up with Bruiser Brody or Cactus Jack because they were kinda doing the same schtik. look, this guy was ECW before there was an ECW. the fork was his weapon of choice, and yea he couldn't move around, but thats not what he was. he was a monster brought in to destroy guys, bleed alot, have a blowoff cage match and then leave your territory. hes considered a wrestling icon/god in Puerto Rico if i'm not mistaken he was crazy over down there.