The Spoiler (wrestler)

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Template:Short description Script error: No such module "For". Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Canadian English Script error: No such module "Infobox".Template:Template otherScript error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". Donald Delbert Jardine[1] (24 March 1940 – 16 December 2006) was a Canadian professional wrestler best known for his masked gimmick as The Spoiler. Jardine was a major star in various wrestling promotions. He worked in the World Wrestling Federation, first in 1974 and again from 1984 to 1986. However Jardine had his greatest successes in the National Wrestling Alliance-affiliated territories of Florida, Georgia and Texas, from the early 1960s through the mid-1980s.

Professional wrestling career

Jardine began wrestling in 1955 at the age of 15. He made his Maple Leaf Gardens debut in 1959 as "Babyface" Don Jardine, a protégé of Whipper Billy Watson, and wrestled primarily in Toronto until 1961 and returned briefly in 1964. In 1964, Jardine wrestled NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz on television in St. Louis, but did not win the title. Jardine also wrestled as The Butcher in Los Angeles in 1964. While wrestling under the "Butcher" moniker, he teamed with both Mad Dog Vachon and Dutch Savage for a short time. He challenged Gene Kiniski for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in 1966. He became one of the top masked wrestlers in the Southern United States, particularly in Texas, where The Spoiler character was created by Fritz Von Erich in 1967.[2] He famously walked the top rope, a move he taught to Mark Calaway (the future Undertaker) in the mid-1980s while competing in World Class Championship Wrestling.[3]

He was unmasked in Texas in 1972 by Billy Red Lyons and Red Bastein and identified as Don Jardine; still, he continued to wrestle under the mask as "The Spoiler" in Texas and Oklahoma. The Spoiler also wrestled in All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling during the 1960s and 1970s. He became the Super Destroyer and was brought into the Carolinas by George Scott in 1973 and also used the "Super Destroyer" name during his stint in the AWA (1977–78). Jardine was one of the key workers, along with Johnny Valentine, who turned the Mid-Atlantic territory around and established hot singles wrestling programs in what had traditionally been a tag team territory. Jardine challenged Jack Brisco for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship as both Super Destroyer and The Spoiler, and wrestled Harley Race for the NWA heavyweight title in a main event in Houston, Texas, in 1979. He held the Georgia-based NWA National Heavyweight Championship and was briefly billed as NWA National Heavyweight Champion by the World Wrestling Federation after it bought out Georgia Championship Wrestling in July 1984.[4]

The Spoiler wrestled 75 matches for the World Wide Wrestling Federation in 1972 before leaving for other promotions. He returned to the WWF and had his first match back for a television taping in Poughkeepsie, New York, on 30 July 1984, defeating Jeff Lang, and wrestled for a few years until his last match in the WWF on 21 January 1986 in Los Angeles, California, defeating Billy Anderson. The Spoiler, along with Jake "The Snake" Roberts and 400-pound King Kong Bundy, joined forces with a newly emerging tag team, The Road Warriors, to form the original Legion of Doom.[3] The Spoiler once headlined against WWF Champion Pedro Morales in Madison Square Garden, wrestling maskless because, at that time, the arena had a rule barring masked wrestlers from performing.[5] The Spoiler appeared in a historic match against Mil Mascaras, the Mexican legend, marking the first time a wrestler (Mascaras) ever wore a mask into a ring in New York State.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". The Spoiler's matches against Chief Jay Strongbow and Sonny King were long-lasting feuds that enjoyed successful runs across the WWF circuit. His "Iron Claw" was the first maneuver to be "censored" on television by the WWF in a promotional move.

Jardine promoted some shows in Tampa, Florida, in 1993-94 and then retired from wrestling.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

Personal life

Jardine spent the later years of his life in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, Canada, with his wife and son, where he was the manager of a car wash business. Jardine was known to make clay sculptures and carved faces in the bark of cotton wood trees. He also volunteered for the Literacy Program, teaching young children to read.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

On 16 December 2006, Jardine died due to complications from a heart attack and leukemia in Red Deer, and was writing a novel based on his professional wrestling career at the time of his death.[3][4] He had also been battling pneumonia, and went into cardiac arrest followed by a coma he never recovered from. He was 66.[6]

Legacy

Scottish professional wrestler Drew McDonald wrestled in the United Kingdom as a masked Spoiler for Joint Promotions in 1987, losing two televised tag matches to Big Daddy after the second of which he was unmasked and identified as McDonald.[7]

Championships and accomplishments

Luchas de Apuestas record

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Winner (wager) Loser (wager) Location Event Date Notes
Bret Hart (hair) The Spoiler (mask) Toronto, Ontario WWF Toronto Template:Dts [22]
The Spoiler (mask) Reggie Parks (mask) Fayetteville, North Carolina MACW Fayetteville Template:Dts [23]
The Spoiler (mask) Reggie Parks (mask) Charleston, South Carolina MACW Charleston Template:Dts [23]
The Spoiler (mask) Reggie Parks (mask) Columbia, South Carolina MACW Columbia Template:Dts [23]
Fritz Von Erich (hair) The Spoiler (mask) Dallas, Texas WCCW Dallas Template:Dts [23]

Notes

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References

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  7. ↑ ITV Wrestling 1987, John Lister, retrieved December 7, 2023
  8. ↑ NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Title (Gulf Coast) history at Wrestling-Titles.com
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External links

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