Athletes - Larry Zbyszko

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	Athletes - Larry Zbyszko

Lawrence (Larry) Whistler (born December 5, 1953 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American golfer and semi-retired professional wrestler, better known by his stage name, Larry Zbyszko (sometimes spelled Zbysko in the 1970s and 1980s). Best known for his wrestling and commentary work at World Championship Wrestling throughout the 1990s, he currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is the on-screen Director of Authority.

Career

Whistler's family moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was twelve, and he became a wrestling fan. He went on to become a successful amateur wrestler in grade school and high school and was a collegiate wrestler at Pennsylvania State University. At the age of sixteen, Whistler sought out fellow Pittsburgh resident Bruno Sammartino, a professional wrestler, and asked him to train him, Sammartino accepted but on the condition that he gets his an education first.

Early career and the World Wide Wrestling Federation

Whistler trained under Sammartino and debuted in 1973 as the babyface Larry Zbyszko, with his name a tribute to 1920s Polish American wrestler Stanislaus Zbyszko. He initially wrestled in the Pittsburgh area before receiving bookings in Vancouver. He spent three years in the World Wide Wrestling Federation before travelling to California in 1975.

Zbyszko returned to the WWWF in 1976 and formed a tag team with Tony Garea, with whom he won the WWWF World Tag Team Championships on November 21, 1978 in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Their reign lasted until March 6, 1979, when they were defeated by the Valiant brothers in Allentown.

Zbyszko feuded with Bugsy McGraw, Abdullah the Butcher and "Superstar" Billy Graham in addition to wrestling Killer Kowalski and Baron Mikel Scicluna. In 1978 he summarised his mat-based ringwork with the statement, "I just believe in science over brawn".

At the end of the decade, Zbyszko became frustrated with his inability to shed his label as Bruno Sammartino's protégé. He challenged Sammartino to an exhibition match, claiming this was the only way he could step out of Sammartino's shadow. Sammartino eventually agreed to the match after Zbyszko threatened to retire if he was not granted the match. The trainer and pupil faced on another in Allentown on January 22, 1980, with Sammartino dominating the early stages of the match. After Sammartino threw him out of the ring, an irate Zbyszko seized a wooden chair and struck Sammartino, leaving him leaving in a pool of blood in the middle of the ring and instantly turning Zbyszko into a reviled heel. So despised was Zbyszko by partisan Sammartino fans in the northeast that his car was repeatedly damaged and taxis in which he was travelling were overturned by fans. Zbyszko was struck with an iron pole following a match with Ivan Putski, and was stabbed in the buttock following a match with Pedro Morales in the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany, New York. Sammartino and Zbyszko fought one another repeatedly in a lengthy feud that stretched throughout 1980. In the course of the feud, Zbyszko began referring to himself as "The New Living Legend" (a reference to Sammartino, who was often addressed as "The Living Legend"). The feud culminated in a steel cage match at Showdown at Shea at Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York on August 9, 1980 that saw Sammartino defeat Zbyszko in front of an audience of 36,295.

National Wrestling Alliance

Zbyszko left the WWWF in 1981 and feuded with Bruno's son David on the independent circuit. He eventually joined the Georgia-based National Wrestling Alliance affiliate Jim Crockett Promotions, where he began claiming to have retired Bruno Sammartino (Sammartino had retired from full-time competition in 1981). Zbyszko initially feuded with Tim Woods and Paul Orndorff, whom he was unable to defeat for the NWA National Heavyweight Championship. After Killer Tim Brooks defeated Orndorff for the title on March 20, 1983, Zybszko immediately offered him $25,000 for the title, which Brooks accepted. His reign lasted until April 30 of that year, when NWA President Bob Geigel stripped Zbyszko of the title due to the manner in which he had acquired it. A tournament was held for the vacant title, which Zbyszko entered. He defeated Mr. Wrestling II in the tournament final on May 6, 1983 in Atlanta, Georgia to regain the title. His second reign lasted until September 25, 1983, when he lost to Brett Wayne in Atlanta.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Larry Zbyszko ]

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Athletes - Larry Zbyszko

Career

Early career and the World Wide Wrestling Federation

National Wrestling Alliance

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