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Friday, September 17, 2010

Freak of the Week: The Missing Link

From the Daily Skew

"Bang your head!"  Remember that song by Quiet Riot?  It was the theme song for this week's freak, the Missing Link.  Everytime I hear that song I think of the Link.  Or Dewey Robertson.

My first memories of the link date back to the old World Class Championship Wrestling days.  As you can see from the picture, he was quite unique looking.  Green and blue face paint.  Crazy hair cut.  He would jump up and down in the ring like a kid who had forgotten his ADD medicine.  And of course there was that headbutt.  I can remember him climbing the top rope, grabbing his bushy black hair, and diving on top of his opponent head first.

One match that sticks out to me in World Class was a battle with the Junkyard Dog.  He also used the headbutt and the two went toe to toe or head to head in that battle.  I think it ended in a double disqualification.  Another match I remember was one he had against Kerry Von Erich.  If I remember right, that was the Link's first opponent who wasn't a squash.  Again, I think that one ended in some sort of split decision.

Link played the role of the heel, which seemed natural. He was a brute who didn't talk, instead letting the  sinister Skandar Akbar do his bidding.  Link teamed up with Freak of the Week alum Kamala from time to time.  They were two pegs in the Devastation Inc.  A group of, well, freaks who ran wild over the fed's baby faces.

The Missing Link character for the most part stayed in Texas.  I know he ventured off to the WWF sometime in 1985 or 86.  Other than squash matches, the only match I really remember with the Link was on Prime Time Wrestling (or Tuesday Night Titans) against Paul Orndorff.  Link was managed by Jimmy Hart, but Bobby Heenan had offered him money to take out Mr. Wonderful.  Orndorff won the match.  

In the WWF, Link mostly beat up on the jobbers like SD Jones and Lanny Poffo.  But he jobbed to the likes of Orndorff and Tito Santana.  So he was a lower midcard guy I suppose.  He didn't stay in New York long and returned to Texas, but eventually headed to Bill Watts' old UWF.

That's where they turned him into a babyface.  He and Dark Journey feuded with Missy Hyatt and John Tatum.  I remember Tatum beating the Link on one episode after the Link became distracted as Hyatt and Journey were engaged in a cat fight.  Link would eventually retire and died in 2007.  

Seems like a lot of wrestling "freaks" start off as heels and eventually become faces.  Kamala did it.  George Steele did too.  Kane, Vader, Great Khali have all followed in those foot steps too.

In closing, Link was one of those interesting characters from my childhood who definitely made wrestling even more memorable.  Bang your head!  


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