Billy Robinson

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Billy Robinson
Billy Robinson (1976)

Billy Robinson (1976)
Data
Ring name Billy Robinson
height 180
Fighting weight 110
birth September 18, 1938
Manchester , Lancashire , United Kingdom
death March 3, 2014
Little Rock , Arkansas , United States
Trained by Billy Riley
debut 1955
retirement 1992

Billy Robinson (born September 18, 1938 in Manchester , Lancashire , United Kingdom - † March 3, 2014 in Little Rock , Arkansas , United States ) was a British wrestler , wrestler , author and trainer.

Life

Robinson originally wanted to be a boxer, like his father was. But after an accident in his parents' grocery store, he was injured in the eye and could not get a boxer license. So he had to reorient himself. British wrestling had now fallen for him. His father initially insisted on training in wrestling. In 1957 he was British champion and in 1958 also European light heavyweight champion . After a year of ring training, his father introduced him to his wrestling coach, Billy Riley . In the notorious "Snake Pit" in Wigan , he then learned the British wrestling style, the catch-as-catch-can . He trained under very harsh conditions for eight years until he was allowed to celebrate his debut as a wrestler in 1955.

In the UK, he ran for Joint Promotions which hosted more than 40 events per week across the UK and dominated the UK market. In addition, there was a longer stay in India, where he competed against Tiger Singh, among others . In 1965 he was allowed to win the European title and in 1967 the British doctorate title. He held both titles until 1970. They were declared vacant after he moved to the United States in 1970. His most famous fights were against the Japanese Kendo Nagasaki .

In the United States he competed for Verne Gagnes American Wrestling Association (AWA). He held the AWA British Empire Heavyweight Championship three times and the AWA World Tag Team Championship twice. He also got one of the lead roles in The Wrestler (1974), which was produced by Gagne. In Canada he wrestled for Lutte International and received the Canadian Championship in a fight against Dino Bravo . In 1982 he competed against WWWF champion Bob Backlund . The match ended in a draw after the 60 minute time limit was exceeded.

During this time he also wrestled in Japan, where he was allowed to compete against Antonio Inoki , among others . Together with Karl Gotch he was one of the wrestlers who brought the European style to Japan and were thus indirectly responsible for the establishment of the Universal Wrestling Federation . Robinson himself was considered a co-founder and representative of the Shoot Style , which he demonstrated in a match against Nick Bockwinkel on May 8, 1992 for UWF International . This was also one of his last matches, as he retired from active wrestling in 1992. Robinson was so popular in Japan that he got his own manga series with Robin Mask .

Shortly before his retirement he began to work as a trainer, first in England, where he trained Marty Jones and Johnny Saint , then in Japan, where he shot wrestlers El Signo , Kazushi Sakuraba , Yoji Anjo and James Maritato at the UWF Snake Pit -Style introduced. He then returned to the United States, where he managed a grocery store in Las Vegas and later worked as security in a casino. Despite a number of injuries sustained in the course of his career, he was still active as a coach, both with Scientific Wrestling and with the mixed martial arts organization Westside MMA. There he trained UFC fighters Josh Barnett , Megumi Fuji and Shayna Baszler, among others .

In 2012 his autobiography Physical Chess: My Life in Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling was published . Co-authored by Jake Shannon , the founder of Scientific Wrestling, where Robinson had been a trainer since 2007.

Billy Robinson passed away on March 3, 2014 at the age of 75.

Achievements and honors

Wrestling

  • British National Wrestling Championship (1 ×)
  • European Open Light Heavyweight Wrestling Championship (1 ×)

Professional wrestling

Filmography

Works

  • Physical Chess: My Life in Catch-As-Catch-Can Wrestling . With Jack Shannon. ECW Press 2012. ISBN 978-1770410626

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Simply The Best? In: Wrestling Heritage. Retrieved December 21, 2017 .
  2. ↑ a b c d Billy Robinson - obituary . May 7, 2014, ISSN  0307-1235 ( online [accessed December 21, 2017]).
  3. ^ British Heavyweight Title. In: Wrestling-titles.com. Accessed December 21, 2017 .
  4. ^ Joint Promotions - European Heavyweight Title. In: Wrestling-titles.com. Accessed December 21, 2017 .
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Billy Robinson . In: Online World of Wrestling . ( Online [accessed December 21, 2017]).
  6. ↑ RIP Billy Robinson 1938-2014 . In: Bloody Elbow . ( Online [accessed December 21, 2017]).
  7. ↑ http://www.prowrestlinghistory.com/supercards/japan/alljapan/miscaj.html#hvywt
  8. ^ Lawler, McMahon, Road Warriors among PWHF Class of 2011 . In: Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum . November 26, 2010. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  9. ^ PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year . Archived from the original on December 16, 2008. Retrieved November 9, 2008.
  10. ↑ http://www.puroresufan.com/njpw/results/notes/050202.html
  11. ^ Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame (1948–1990) . Puroresu Dojo.
  12. ^ Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame . Retrieved November 9, 2008.
personal data
SURNAME Robinson, Billy
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British wrestler, wrestler, writer and trainer
DATE OF BIRTH September 18, 1938
PLACE OF BIRTH Manchester , Lancashire , UK
DATE OF DEATH March 3, 2014
Place of death Little Rock , Arkansas , United States