Soul Man
Rocky Johnson and Tony Atlas vs The Wild Samoans, 15 November 1983, WWF Championship Wrestling (WWF)
I liked Tony better - the V-shaped torso, the dancing pecs, the twinkling eyes! Tony also had the longer ring career, but Rocky had the more distinguished career, transitioning from boxing to pro wrestling and becoming part of a pro-wrestling dynasty. I was surprised, upon hearing the news that Rocky Johnson died last week, that he and Atlas were tag team partners for just short of a year, from the summer of 1983 to the summer of 1984. For some reason I imagined they had had a much longer run.
Rocky had gravitas, something the buoyant Tony lacked. Rocky's rage looked realer, and he sold pain, injury, and defeat like a tragic hero. He got the closeups after a match, Tony while posing before a match. (He and Tony won this match against the Samoans - one of many - but by disqualification, so the winners exited the ring looking more miserable than the losers.) Born and beginning his ring career in Canada, Rocky hit full stride in the National Wrestling Alliance, the first black man to hold the Southern, Texas, Georgia, and Florida heavyweight titles. Later, he and Tony were the first black tag team world champions at WWF.
On Thursday, Tony eulogized his former partner on Twitter:
Rocky had gravitas, something the buoyant Tony lacked. Rocky's rage looked realer, and he sold pain, injury, and defeat like a tragic hero. He got the closeups after a match, Tony while posing before a match. (He and Tony won this match against the Samoans - one of many - but by disqualification, so the winners exited the ring looking more miserable than the losers.) Born and beginning his ring career in Canada, Rocky hit full stride in the National Wrestling Alliance, the first black man to hold the Southern, Texas, Georgia, and Florida heavyweight titles. Later, he and Tony were the first black tag team world champions at WWF.
On Thursday, Tony eulogized his former partner on Twitter:
Comments
Post a Comment