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Sunday, December 5, 2010

The Passing of a King

From the Bleacher Report.com
Another old school wrestler has gone to the great ring in the sky.  King Curtis Iaukea died earlier today.

My generation will remember him from his time as Kamala's short lived manager in the WWF back in the 80's.  At that time, he was simply known as "The Wizard" and wore a long black cloak.  I remember he wasn't on TV very long.  I'm not sure why that is.  There was a WWF Magazine article featuring him.  I think it was actually an interview.  I do recall his few appearances having a deep booming voice.  He sounded a little crazy in the promos he cut.  I guess when you're hanging out with Kamala and Sika you have to be a little unorthodox.  

He was also, as you can see from this picture, the Master of the Dungeon of Doom.  That's the ill fated group that was determined to rid the world of Hulkamania.  It didn't work.  He was the man behind Kevin Sullivan and all his minions like Kamala, Zodiac, and the Shark.  I don't remember him being too involved with the angle, other than cutting some vignettes where he sat in a that giant chair and bellowed commands to Sullivan.  Years later, a wrestler by the name of Prince Iaukea came along in WCW.  No relation to Curtis, but the name was given to the Prince as a tribute to the legend.

Until I did a little research on him, I didn't know a whole lot about Curtis.  I knew from looking at him he was obviously a wrestler in his early days.  He had the "Dusty Rhodes forehead" going with all the scars.

Curtis wrestled all over the world and in the NWA, AWA, and WWWF (World Wide Wrestling Federation).  In the 1970's, he and Baron Mikel Scicluna held the tag team champions in the WWWF.  Curtis held various other titles, both single and tag team, in the territories he wrestled.

And one final fact, this one a fun fact: Iaukea appeared in the 3 Stooges film: The Three Stooges Go Around the World in a Daze.

Rest in Peace, King Curtis.

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