Killer Kowalski
Encyclopedia
Władek "Killer" Kowalski (October 13, 1926 – August 30, 2008) was a Canadian professional wrestler
. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotion
s during his career, including the NWA
and WWF, and was a known heel
wrestler. He held numerous championships including the WWWF World Tag Team Championship with Big John Studd
billed as The Executioners and managed by Lou Albano
. After retiring in 1977, Kowalski started a professional wrestling school in Malden, Massachusetts
and trained many professional wrestlers, including Triple H
, Ron Zombie, Chyna, Former Ring of Honor
World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Edwards
and Kofi Kingston
. He was also a vegetarian.
immigrants Antoni Spulnik and Maria Borowska, he and his brother Stanley were raised in Windsor, Ontario
, Canada
. Years later, he would tell interviewers that he never expected to be a wrestler. By the age of fourteen, he was already 6 in 4 in (193.04 cm), and because he was thin for his height, he began working out at the local YMCA
, but he had no plan to go into athletics at that time. When he entered college, his major was electrical engineering. He worked part-time at the Ford plant in Detroit to help pay his way.
(NWA) and American Wrestling Association
(AWA) as a heel.
Kowalski's rise in the business came quickly. His first recorded match occurred on May 6, 1948, and by November 29 of the same year, Kowalski was facing NWA
champion Orville Brown
in a heavyweight championship match. Kowalski stood out in his era for his larger-than-normal size, and for a faster-paced style in the ring. He wrestled as a demonstrative "heel," or villain, except when facing the even-more-hated Buddy Rogers. In his matches with Rogers, Kowalski would adopt a more serious "babyface" approach. Out of the ring, however, Kowalski was considered so friendly and polite that some wrestling promoters complained about the way he would "drop character" in public.
versus Yukon Eric
, Kowalski ripped off a part of Yukon Eric's ear while performing a knee drop. In reality, Eric's ears were already badly cauliflowered
due to years of abuse and the injury was an accident, but it fortified Kowalski as being a ruthless villain who gleefully maims his opponents. Kowalski attempted to visit his opponent in the hospital and began laughing along with Eric at how silly the bandages looked, with Kowalski recalling years later, "I swear, the first thing I thought of was Humpty Dumpty
on the wall. Yukon Eric looked at me, shook his head, and smiled. I started laughing and he laughed, too.". When the incident was reported in the paper the next day, it stated that Kowalski showed up at the hospital and laughed at his victim rather than with him, furthering Kowalski's image as a heel. The incident sparked a long-running series of grudge matches between the two wrestlers which took place throughout North America. By the time the feud had run out of steam several years later, Yukon Eric joked to Kowalski about the small size of an audience, "Shit, that's a lousy house. I might have to sacrifice another ear."
Kowalski also gained some notoriety in Boston
for an incident in late June 1958 when he was wrestling Pat O'Connor
. The guest referee was former boxing great Jack Dempsey
, who suffered a kick to the diaphragm and had to be hospitalized. Dempsey did not blame Kowalski, and both said it was an accident, but this further cemented the Killer's reputation as a villain. In 1967, the top-rated Australian television talk show host Don Lane
irritated Kowalski during an apparently friendly interview and was attacked with the Kowalski claw hold.
Also in the late 1950s, Kowalski fought what was supposed to be a best two out of three match in Fall River, Massachusetts against Mr. Moto. Just before the bell starting the first fall, Kowalski had his back turned to Moto while doing some stretches in his corner. Moto raced across the ring and hit Kowalski over the head with one of the clogs with which he had walked into the ring. Of course, the referee did not see this happen. The bell rang and a seemingly dazed Kowalski staggered around the ring and was quickly pinned by Moto. Kowalski was billed as the heavyweight champion at that time (at least in eastern Massachusetts) and, as such, was not supposed to lose the match. Just after the second fall started, Kowalski was hit in the right eye with a pea or bean shot by someone in the audience using a pea shooter. Semi-blinded and genuinely stunned, Kowalski staggered around the ring covering his eye with his right hand. Moto did not know what to do. Finally, he approached Kowalski, bumped into him and fell to the mat. Kowalski reached down, applied the claw hold and Moto was not only counted out, but deemed by the referee too hurt to continue. The two raced out of the ring to a chorus of boos from the audience and dodged various objects being thrown at them. As a side note, the two had arrived 45 minutes late for the match. The Fall River Herald News reported in its next day morning edition that these two "mortal enemies" were late because the car in which they had ridden together to the match had broken down on the way.
In December 1972, Kowalski became the first wrestler to pin André the Giant
in North America, in what was billed as a "Battle of the Giants." Photographs from the Quebec City
match helped to establish André's reputation in American wrestling magazines, since they showed him towering over the better-known Kowalski. Kowalski had done much the same to boost Giant Baba's fame in Japan, with a televised 1963 match.
in the World Wide Wrestling Federation
in the 1960s and 1970s. On May 11, 1976, Kowalski won the WWWF World Tag Team Championship with Big John Studd
. Both men wore black masks and tights and called themselves "The Executioners". However, they were stripped of the championship, following the interference of a third Executioner during a title defense against Chief Jay Strongbow and Billy White Wolf
. The Executioners lost a match for the vacant title on December 6 to Strongbow and White Wolf and never regained the championship.
. Due to his health, he ceased to be involved with it in 2003, and the school subsequently moved to North Andover, Massachusetts
. Among the alumni of this school are Triple H
, Chyna, Perry Saturn, John Kronus
, and Brittany Brown
. Kowalski also trained Big John Studd
, Damien Kane
, Killer Kowalski Jr, Ron Zombie, Chris Nowinski, A-Train, April Hunter
, Ace Andrews, Frankie Kazarian
, Nikki Roxx
and Kenny Dykstra. Kowalski continued to wrestle on independent shows into the early 1980s, and worked only sparingly after that. His last match took place in 1993, when Kowalski was 66 years old.
He also made numerous post-retirement television appearances, including Late Night with David Letterman
in 1982, and was featured in a comic role in Michael Burlingame's surrealist
film To a Random in 1986. "Lost in the B-Zone," a music video
for Birdsongs of the Mesozoic
, which was derived from this film, also prominently featured Kowalski.
On June 14, 2007, Kowalski was inducted into The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame
.
He became a vegetarian in the late 1960s and claimed to be the only one in professional wrestling. He would not drink milk or alcohol, and he did not smoke. He would not even drive with wrestlers who smoked, which limited his traveling options. He was a popular speaker in the local Boston Vegetarian Society and Boston area vegetarian restaurants, where he discussed both wrestling and his vegetarian values, and appeared on Malden's cable TV station, MATV, where he also shared anecdotes about vegetarian values and his more humorous wrestling experiences and observations.
, that Kowalski had to go to a rehabilitation center in Everett, Massachusetts
, where he was recovering from a knee injury. It seemed he was getting better, until he suffered a heart attack on August 8, 2008. According to Slam! Sports, the Quincy Patriot Ledger, and other sources, Kowalski's family was apprised that he would not recover. When Kowalski was taken off life support on August 18, subsequent news reports erroneously stated that he had died. Just before he passed, he was living in Sydney, NSW Australia, before returning to Boston which was the location of his death. Kowalski died on August 30, 2008.
1Defeated Duke Keomuka
and Danny Hodge in a handicap match to win the title.
2Wrestled under the name of the Masked Destroyer when winning this title.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
. Kowalski wrestled for numerous promotion
Professional wrestling promotion
A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling. Promotion also describes a role which entails management, advertising and logistics of running a wrestling event...
s during his career, including the NWA
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
and WWF, and was a known heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
wrestler. He held numerous championships including the WWWF World Tag Team Championship with Big John Studd
Big John Studd
John William Minton was an American professional wrestler and actor who was born and raised in Butler, Pennsylvania, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd.-Career:...
billed as The Executioners and managed by Lou Albano
Lou Albano
Louis Vincent "Captain Lou" Albano was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969, then he became a manager, until 1995....
. After retiring in 1977, Kowalski started a professional wrestling school in Malden, Massachusetts
Malden, Massachusetts
Malden is a suburban city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 59,450 at the 2010 census. In 2009 Malden was ranked as the "Best Place to Raise Your Kids" in Massachusetts by Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine.-History:...
and trained many professional wrestlers, including Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
, Ron Zombie, Chyna, Former Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor
Ring of Honor ' is an American professional wrestling promotion, founded in 2002 by Rob Feinstein and Gabe Sapolsky. From 2004 to 2011, the promotion was under the ownership of Cary Silkin before being sold to the Sinclair Broadcast Group in May 2011...
World Heavyweight Champion Eddie Edwards
Eddie Edwards (wrestler)
Eddie Edwards is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for wrestling with Ring of Honor , where he is a former ROH World Champion. He also had previous reigns as a former ROH World Tag Team Champion with his partner Davey Richards as The American Wolves and as the inaugural ROH World...
and Kofi Kingston
Kofi Kingston
Kofi Nahaje Sarkodie-Mensah , is a Ghanaian American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Kofi Kingston. He is currently signed to WWE and works on its Raw brand where he is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions with Evan Bourne as Air Boom...
. He was also a vegetarian.
Early life
The man later known as "Killer Kowalski" (he legally changed his name in 1963) was born Edward Władysław Spulnik on October 13, 1926. The son of PolishPoland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
immigrants Antoni Spulnik and Maria Borowska, he and his brother Stanley were raised in Windsor, Ontario
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Years later, he would tell interviewers that he never expected to be a wrestler. By the age of fourteen, he was already 6 in 4 in (193.04 cm), and because he was thin for his height, he began working out at the local YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
, but he had no plan to go into athletics at that time. When he entered college, his major was electrical engineering. He worked part-time at the Ford plant in Detroit to help pay his way.
Professional wrestling career
There are several stories of how he became a wrestler. The most common one is that while attending the University of Detroit (some sources say Assumption College in nearby Windsor, Ontario), he heard that there was an opportunity to make good pay by wrestling. He was only being paid $50 a week at the plant and was told he could make more as a wrestler. Since he already had an athletic build, he decided to give wrestling a try and began attending a wrestling school. When he first wrestled professionally, he was known as Tarzan Kowalski, but was also called Hercules Kowalski, Killer Kowalski (this nickname is used as early as 1950) and even The Polish Apollo, according to newspaper reports from 1950–51. During the Cold War, his name was changed to Wladek Kowalski, which was supposed to sound more menacing. Kowalski wrestled from 1947 to 1977 in a number of organizations, including the National Wrestling AllianceNational Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
(NWA) and American Wrestling Association
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
(AWA) as a heel.
Kowalski's rise in the business came quickly. His first recorded match occurred on May 6, 1948, and by November 29 of the same year, Kowalski was facing NWA
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
champion Orville Brown
Orville Brown
Orville Brown was a professional wrestler. Born in Sharon, Kansas, Brown was a former NWA Champion, and was recognized as the first NWA champion in 1948. Brown's pro-wrestling career ended on November 1, 1949, when he suffered severe injuries in an automobile accident.-Biography: Orville Brown was...
in a heavyweight championship match. Kowalski stood out in his era for his larger-than-normal size, and for a faster-paced style in the ring. He wrestled as a demonstrative "heel," or villain, except when facing the even-more-hated Buddy Rogers. In his matches with Rogers, Kowalski would adopt a more serious "babyface" approach. Out of the ring, however, Kowalski was considered so friendly and polite that some wrestling promoters complained about the way he would "drop character" in public.
Incidents
In a 1954 match in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
versus Yukon Eric
Eric Holmback
Eric Holmback was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Yukon Eric.Holmback spent the majority of his career in Southern Ontario, Canada, where he won the NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Championship on two occasions with Whipper Billy Watson in 1955 and 1961 and the Montreal...
, Kowalski ripped off a part of Yukon Eric's ear while performing a knee drop. In reality, Eric's ears were already badly cauliflowered
Cauliflower ear
Cauliflower ear is a condition that occurs when the external portion of the ear suffers a blow, blood clot or other collection of fluid under the perichondrium...
due to years of abuse and the injury was an accident, but it fortified Kowalski as being a ruthless villain who gleefully maims his opponents. Kowalski attempted to visit his opponent in the hospital and began laughing along with Eric at how silly the bandages looked, with Kowalski recalling years later, "I swear, the first thing I thought of was Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty is a character in an English language nursery rhyme, probably originally a riddle and one of the best known in the English-speaking world. He is typically portrayed as an egg and has appeared or been referred to in a large number of works of literature and popular culture...
on the wall. Yukon Eric looked at me, shook his head, and smiled. I started laughing and he laughed, too.". When the incident was reported in the paper the next day, it stated that Kowalski showed up at the hospital and laughed at his victim rather than with him, furthering Kowalski's image as a heel. The incident sparked a long-running series of grudge matches between the two wrestlers which took place throughout North America. By the time the feud had run out of steam several years later, Yukon Eric joked to Kowalski about the small size of an audience, "Shit, that's a lousy house. I might have to sacrifice another ear."
Kowalski also gained some notoriety in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
for an incident in late June 1958 when he was wrestling Pat O'Connor
Pat O'Connor (wrestler)
Patrick John "Pat" O'Connor , was a professional wrestler from New Zealand. O'Connor was regarded as one of the premier workers of his era...
. The guest referee was former boxing great Jack Dempsey
Jack Dempsey
William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey was an American boxer who held the world heavyweight title from 1919 to 1926. Dempsey's aggressive style and exceptional punching power made him one of the most popular boxers in history. Many of his fights set financial and attendance records, including the first...
, who suffered a kick to the diaphragm and had to be hospitalized. Dempsey did not blame Kowalski, and both said it was an accident, but this further cemented the Killer's reputation as a villain. In 1967, the top-rated Australian television talk show host Don Lane
Don Lane
Don Lane , born Morton Donald Isaacson, was an American-born talk show host and singer. Don Lane is best known for hosting The Don Lane Show, which was aired on The Nine Network in Australia from 1975 to 1983....
irritated Kowalski during an apparently friendly interview and was attacked with the Kowalski claw hold.
Also in the late 1950s, Kowalski fought what was supposed to be a best two out of three match in Fall River, Massachusetts against Mr. Moto. Just before the bell starting the first fall, Kowalski had his back turned to Moto while doing some stretches in his corner. Moto raced across the ring and hit Kowalski over the head with one of the clogs with which he had walked into the ring. Of course, the referee did not see this happen. The bell rang and a seemingly dazed Kowalski staggered around the ring and was quickly pinned by Moto. Kowalski was billed as the heavyweight champion at that time (at least in eastern Massachusetts) and, as such, was not supposed to lose the match. Just after the second fall started, Kowalski was hit in the right eye with a pea or bean shot by someone in the audience using a pea shooter. Semi-blinded and genuinely stunned, Kowalski staggered around the ring covering his eye with his right hand. Moto did not know what to do. Finally, he approached Kowalski, bumped into him and fell to the mat. Kowalski reached down, applied the claw hold and Moto was not only counted out, but deemed by the referee too hurt to continue. The two raced out of the ring to a chorus of boos from the audience and dodged various objects being thrown at them. As a side note, the two had arrived 45 minutes late for the match. The Fall River Herald News reported in its next day morning edition that these two "mortal enemies" were late because the car in which they had ridden together to the match had broken down on the way.
In December 1972, Kowalski became the first wrestler to pin André the Giant
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...
in North America, in what was billed as a "Battle of the Giants." Photographs from the Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
match helped to establish André's reputation in American wrestling magazines, since they showed him towering over the better-known Kowalski. Kowalski had done much the same to boost Giant Baba's fame in Japan, with a televised 1963 match.
World Wide Wrestling Federation
Kowalski became the main antagonist of Bruno SammartinoBruno Sammartino
Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino is an Italian-American former professional wrestler, best known for being the longest-running champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation , holding the title across two reigns for over 11 years in total, as well as the longest single WWE Championship reign...
in the World Wide Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
in the 1960s and 1970s. On May 11, 1976, Kowalski won the WWWF World Tag Team Championship with Big John Studd
Big John Studd
John William Minton was an American professional wrestler and actor who was born and raised in Butler, Pennsylvania, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd.-Career:...
. Both men wore black masks and tights and called themselves "The Executioners". However, they were stripped of the championship, following the interference of a third Executioner during a title defense against Chief Jay Strongbow and Billy White Wolf
Adnan Al-Kaissie
Adnan Bin Abdulkareem Ahmed Alkaissy El Farthie , better known professionally as Adnan Al-Kaissie, is a former iraqi professional wrestler and a manager best known as Sheik Adnan Al-Kaissy, Billy White Wolf, or General Adnan...
. The Executioners lost a match for the vacant title on December 6 to Strongbow and White Wolf and never regained the championship.
Retirement and training
After his WWWF retirement in 1977, Kowalski started a professional wrestling school in Malden, MassachusettsMalden, Massachusetts
Malden is a suburban city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 59,450 at the 2010 census. In 2009 Malden was ranked as the "Best Place to Raise Your Kids" in Massachusetts by Bloomberg Businessweek Magazine.-History:...
. Due to his health, he ceased to be involved with it in 2003, and the school subsequently moved to North Andover, Massachusetts
North Andover, Massachusetts
North Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. North Andover is the home of Merrimack College, a private, Catholic four-year institution ....
. Among the alumni of this school are Triple H
Triple H
Paul Michael Levesque is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling authority figure, WWE Executive Vice President of Talent and actor, better known by his ring name Triple H, an abbreviation of the ring name, Hunter Hearst Helmsley...
, Chyna, Perry Saturn, John Kronus
John Kronus
George B. Caiazzo was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, John Kronus and later "Kronus". Caiazzo worked for Extreme Championship Wrestling, the United States Wrestling Association and Xtreme Pro Wrestling...
, and Brittany Brown
Brittany Brown
Brittany Brown is a female professional wrestler, former promoter and current trainer. She competed in the Ladies Professional Wrestling Association, The Fabulous Moolah's Ladies International Wrestling Association, as well as in Killer Kowalski's International Wrestling Federation, National...
. Kowalski also trained Big John Studd
Big John Studd
John William Minton was an American professional wrestler and actor who was born and raised in Butler, Pennsylvania, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd.-Career:...
, Damien Kane
Damien Kane
Damien Kane is an American former professional wrestler and manager. He is perhaps best known for his stint in Extreme Championship Wrestling.-Early years:...
, Killer Kowalski Jr, Ron Zombie, Chris Nowinski, A-Train, April Hunter
April Hunter
April Hunter is an American professional wrestler, professional wrestling valet and fitness and glamour model. She has appeared in many publications, from MuscleMag International to Playboy Magazine and even has her own comic book series, Code Red by Pickle Press.-World Championship Wrestling :In...
, Ace Andrews, Frankie Kazarian
Frankie Kazarian
Frank B. Gerdelman is an Armenian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Frankie Kazarian or simply Kazarian. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
, Nikki Roxx
Nicole Raczynski
Nicole Raczynski is an American professional wrestler, best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Roxxi...
and Kenny Dykstra. Kowalski continued to wrestle on independent shows into the early 1980s, and worked only sparingly after that. His last match took place in 1993, when Kowalski was 66 years old.
He also made numerous post-retirement television appearances, including Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman
Late Night with David Letterman is a nightly hour-long comedy talk show on NBC that was created and hosted by David Letterman. It premiered in 1982 as the first incarnation of the Late Night franchise and went off the air in 1993, after Letterman left NBC and moved to Late Show on CBS. Late Night...
in 1982, and was featured in a comic role in Michael Burlingame's surrealist
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
film To a Random in 1986. "Lost in the B-Zone," a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for Birdsongs of the Mesozoic
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic
Birdsongs of the Mesozoic is a musical group founded in Boston, Massachusetts in 1980.The music of Birdsongs of the Mesozoic is almost entirely instrumental, and incorporates many different musical elements; critic Rick Anderson writes, "Very few bands have ever managed to straddle the worlds of...
, which was derived from this film, also prominently featured Kowalski.
On June 14, 2007, Kowalski was inducted into The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame
National Polish-American Hall of Fame
The National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame and Museum was founded February 30, 1973 to honor and recognize outstanding American athletes, both amateur and professional, of Polish descent....
.
Personal life
Kowalski married for the first time to Theresa Ferrioli on June 19, 2006. He had known her since 1998, and she was surprised when he proposed, since he had been known as a life-long bachelor.He became a vegetarian in the late 1960s and claimed to be the only one in professional wrestling. He would not drink milk or alcohol, and he did not smoke. He would not even drive with wrestlers who smoked, which limited his traveling options. He was a popular speaker in the local Boston Vegetarian Society and Boston area vegetarian restaurants, where he discussed both wrestling and his vegetarian values, and appeared on Malden's cable TV station, MATV, where he also shared anecdotes about vegetarian values and his more humorous wrestling experiences and observations.
Death
Kowalski began experiencing escalating health problems in the time leading up to his death. The Sun received the report on Kowalski from his friend, another wrestling legend, Bruno SammartinoBruno Sammartino
Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino is an Italian-American former professional wrestler, best known for being the longest-running champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation , holding the title across two reigns for over 11 years in total, as well as the longest single WWE Championship reign...
, that Kowalski had to go to a rehabilitation center in Everett, Massachusetts
Everett, Massachusetts
Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, near Boston. The population was 41,667 at the 2010 census.Everett is the last city in the United States with a bicameral legislature, which is composed of a seven-member Board of Aldermen and an 18-member Common Council...
, where he was recovering from a knee injury. It seemed he was getting better, until he suffered a heart attack on August 8, 2008. According to Slam! Sports, the Quincy Patriot Ledger, and other sources, Kowalski's family was apprised that he would not recover. When Kowalski was taken off life support on August 18, subsequent news reports erroneously stated that he had died. Just before he passed, he was living in Sydney, NSW Australia, before returning to Boston which was the location of his death. Kowalski died on August 30, 2008.
In wrestling
- Finishing Moves
- Diving knee drop
- Kowalski Claw (Vice grip applied to either the opponent's stomach or head)
- Signature Moves
- DropkickDropkickA dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as he or she jumps so that when the feet connect with the opponent one foot is raised higher than...
- Piledriver
- Dropkick
Championships and accomplishments
- Atlantic Athletic Commission
- AAC World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Cauliflower Alley ClubCauliflower Alley ClubThe Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America....
- Iron Mike Mazurki Award (2002)
- Central States Wrestling
- NWA Central States Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Central States Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship a professional wrestling championship that currently serves as the main title for the National Wrestling Alliance promotion, NWA Midwest. For most of its existence, however, the title was defended in the NWA affiliate Central States Wrestling from...
(1 time) - NWA Central States Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Central States Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Central States Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team championship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1979 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988...
(1 time) - with Bulldog Austin - NWA Iowa Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Ripper Daniels
- NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (1 time)
- International Wrestling Federation
- IWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- IWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Johnny ValiantJohn L. Sullivan (wrestler)John L. Sullivan is a retired professional wrestler better known as Johnny Valiant. He competed in the World Wide Wrestling Federation , which became the World Wrestling Federation during his time with the promotion. He won the World Tag Team Championship two times...
- Montreal Athletic Commission
- MAC World/International Heavyweight Championship (12 times)
- NWA Mid-Pacific PromotionsNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Hawaii version)NWA Hawaii United States ChampionshipThe NWA Pacific International Heavyweight Championship was the primary singles championship of Mid-Pacific Promotions, the NWA territory based in Hawaii. The title was originally the Hawaiian version of the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship that was defended in Hawaii. It existed from 1962...
(1 time)
- NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Hawaii version)
- NWA All-Star Wrestling
- NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (2 times) - with Ox Anderson (1) and Gene KiniskiGene KiniskiEugene Nicholas "Gene" Kiniski was a Canadian professional wrestler and the father of wrestlers Nick Kiniski and Kelly Kiniski. "Canada's Greatest Athlete" as he billed himself for promotional purposes was born outside of Edmonton, Alberta...
(1)
- NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version) (2 times) - with Ox Anderson (1) and Gene Kiniski
- NWA Hollywood WrestlingNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA Americas Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Americas Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship was the top singles championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Los Angeles territory, known officially as NWA Hollywood Wrestling, from 1968 until the promotion closed in 1982. The title was first established in 1967 as a secondary championship in...
(1 time) - NWA Americas Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Americas Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Americas Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hollywood Wrestling based out of Los Angeles, California....
(1 time) - with Kinji Shibuya
- NWA Americas Heavyweight Championship
- NWA San FranciscoNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Championship (San Francisco version) (1 time)
- NWA Pacific Coast Tag Team Championship (San Francisco version) (1 time) - with Hans Herman
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI Tag Team of the Year (1976) - with Big John StuddBig John StuddJohn William Minton was an American professional wrestler and actor who was born and raised in Butler, Pennsylvania, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd.-Career:...
- PWI Stanley Weston Award (2010)
- PWI Tag Team of the Year (1976) - with Big John Studd
- Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum
- (Class of 2003)
- Southwest Sports, Inc. / Big Time WrestlingWorld Class Championship WrestlingWorld Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
- NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Texas version) (1 time)
- NWA Texas Tag Team ChampionshipWCWA Texas Tag Team ChampionshipThe WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship was the secondary tag team championship in World Class Championship Wrestling, originally known as the NWA Texas Tag-Team title until 1981 where they were abandoned. The titles were brought back in 1987 as the WCWA Texas Tag-Team titles but once the WCWA joined...
(1 time)1
- Stampede WrestlingStampede WrestlingStampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
- NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship (Calgary version)NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship (Calgary version)The Calgary version of the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship was established in 1946, and became the top championship in Stampede Wrestling when that promotion opened in 1948; it held that status until 1972, when the title was vacated and later abandoned after the last champion, Dave Ruhl, was...
(2 times) - NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) (2 times) - with Jim Wright2
- NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship (Calgary version)
- United States Wrestling Federation
- USWF Tag Team Championship - with Ox Baker
- World Championship Wrestling (Australia)
- IWA World Heavyweight ChampionshipIWA World Heavyweight Championship (WCW Australia)The IWA World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in the Australian World Championship Wrestling promotion from its founding in 1964 until 1971....
(5 times) - IWA World Tag Team ChampionshipIWA World Tag Team Championship (WCW Australia)The IWA World Tag Team Championship was the top tag team professional wrestling title in the Australian World Championship Wrestling promotion from 1966 through 1971....
(4 times) - with Skull Murphy (2), Bill Miller (1), and Mark LewinMark Lewin-Career:Mark Lewin broke into wrestling in the early '50s and had great early success in a matinee-idol babyface tag team with Don Curtis, headlining in major territories like New York and Chicago. The team's brief heel turn was a shock to its many fans...
(1)
- IWA World Heavyweight Championship
- World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestling FederationWorld Wrestling EntertainmentWorld Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
- WWWF United States Tag Team ChampionshipWWWF United States Tag Team ChampionshipThe WWWF United States Tag Team Championship was a major tag team title in the World Wide Wrestling Federation from 1963 until 1967. Originally, the WWF was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance operating out of the Northeast and was called the Capitol Wrestling Corporation...
(1 time) - with Gorilla MonsoonGorilla MonsoonRobert James "Gino" Marella , better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play announcer, and booker... - WWWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Big John StuddBig John StuddJohn William Minton was an American professional wrestler and actor who was born and raised in Butler, Pennsylvania, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd.-Career:...
- WWF Hall of FameWWE Hall of FameThe WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame for professional wrestlers maintained by WWE. It was officially created on the February 1, 1993 episode of the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night Raw television program...
(Class of 1996)
- WWWF United States Tag Team Championship
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of FameWrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of FameThe Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to the sport. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Meltzer, editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter. The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame is not...
(Class of 1996)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame
1Defeated Duke Keomuka
Hisao Tanaka
Hisao "Martin" Tanaka was a professional wrestler. He is the father of wrestler Pat Tanaka and referee Jimmy Tanaka.-Career:In the 1950s, Duke Keomuka formed a very successful tag team with Hiro Matsuda...
and Danny Hodge in a handicap match to win the title.
2Wrestled under the name of the Masked Destroyer when winning this title.
External links
- Killer Kowalski's website
- WWE Hall of Fame profile of Killer Kowalski
- SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Killer Kowalski
- Interview with Killer Kowalski
- WWE reports death of Killer Kowalski
- Killer Kowalski passes away
- Killer Kowalski dead
- The passing of Killer Kowalski
- Killer Kowalski's photography book