#George steel tor johnson full
#George steel tor johnson pro

Wrestling alongside strongmen with statuesque bodies and dandies with bleached hair, the hirsute Steele was hard to miss. That led him to the wrestling rings of Detroit, where he started his career as a masked man known as “The Student.” His unique talent eventually caught the eye of wrestler Bruno Sammartino, who convinced Steele to drop the mask and take on a unhinged, wild man persona that would define his career for decades. George 'The Animal' Steele vs.George Steele, Born William James Myers in 1937, the future WWE Hall of Fame member started out with a football career in mind like so many other wrestlers, but saw his career cut short due to knee problems. WWE extends its condolences to Steele's family, friends and fans. Long after his in-ring retirement and WWE Hall of Fame induction, George 'The Animal' Steele's name still evoked terror for one generation of WWE fans and warm smiles for another. His transformation was remarkable, as one of the most hated men in the sport became one of its most loveable figures. After The Iron Sheik & Nikolai Volkoff abandoned him during a match, Steele fell back under the tutelage of the then-beloved Albano. In 1985, however, Steele was embraced by the WWE Universe and changed the course of his career. His classic main events with Sammartino, Pedro Morales and Bob Backlund saw him come close to winning the WWE Championship on many occasions.

For nearly 20 years, Steele was a reviled villain, managed by the likes of fellow Hall of Famers The Grand Wizard, 'Classy' Freddie Blassie, Capt.

Steele's first WWE appearances took place in 1967, when he came to WWE and immediately began a heated rivalry with WWE Champion Bruno Sammartino.

It was during his teaching stint that he began moonlighting in sports-entertainment, working in the Detroit-area promotions. Prior to breaking into sports-entertainment, Steele received his Master's Degree from Central Michigan University and became a high school teacher and wrestling coach in the Detroit area. Yet, despite his green tongue, hairy torso and insatiable appetite for turnbuckle pads, 'The Animal' was a very well-educated man. Steele was one of the wildest and most unpredictable Superstars in sports-entertainment history. WWE is saddened to learn that WWE Hall of Famer William James Myers, known to fans as George 'The Animal' Steele has passed away at the age of 79. In 1994, Steele played Tor Johnson in Tim Burton's film, Ed Wood. Steele retired in 1988, having never won a championship, though he made sporadic appearances of varying length in WWE and other wrestling promotions until 2010. Steele took part in the famous match between Savage and Ricky 'The Dragon' Steamboat at Wrestlemania 3, interfering (to stop Savage from cheating) to help Steamboat win the match, though Steele later said he would have preferred to be wrestling a match in front of such a large crowd near his hometown.

#George steel tor johnson pro

Steele did his best to keep his wrestling career a secret from his students, though this was easier in the 60s and 70s, when pro wrestling was a territorial business, and before became a worldwide television personality with a cartoon character based on him.ĭuring Wrestling's golden age of the 1980s, which is the period from when most wrestling fans today recognize him, Steele was a popular 'babyface,' wrestling's terminology for a good guy, and most notably feuded with 'Macho Man' Randy Savage over the affection of Savage's manager, Miss Elizabeth. However, in his personal life, Steele had a masters degree and worked as a high school teacher coach in Michigan.

#George steel tor johnson full

Steele's 'heel,' or bad guy, character was an insanely strong wild man with the brains of an animal, a bald head but a full back of hair, a green-colored tongue, a penchant for biting both turnbuckles and opponents, and, eventually, a lack of ability to speak in more than two syllables at a time. Steel was recruited to the World Wide Wrestling Federation, which would eventually become WWE, by Bruno Samartino, with whom he feuded in the ring, along with other wrestling greats of the era. Steele's career as a pro wrestler began in 1967 and lasted until 1988. Steele, whose real name was William James Myers, died at of kidney failure while in hospice care. Legendary pro wrestler, actor, and school teacher George 'The Animal' Steele passed away yesterday, the world has learned.