JerryvonKramer Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 I would like to map out who came out of which dojos in the 70s and 80s. More recent stars are not the focus of this thread, so if you want to discuss their training, make another one for it. If the worker was not active until after the 1980s, he doesn't count for the purposes of this topic. Sean Waltman counts (pre-1990 pro debut), but Perry Saturn (1990 pro debut) does not. This is just a starting point, in time I want to make this as complete as possible. Where wrestlers completed their training in more than one school, I've listed them as graduates of both. Stu Hart (The Dungeon) Abdullah the Butcher Archie Gouldie Bad News Allen Billy Graham Billy Jack Haynes Bret Hart Brian Pillman Chris Benoit Dan Kroffat Davey Boy Smith Greg Valentine Hiroshi Hase Jim Neidhart Jos LeDuc Jushin Thunder Liger Owen Hart NJPW Dojo (Karl Gotch / Antonio Inoki / Tatsumi Fujinami / Kotetsu Yamamoto/ Yoshiaki Fujiwara) Akira Maeda Black Cat Chris Benoit Fumihiro Niikura George Takano (The Cobra) Gran Hamada Hiro Saito Hirokazu Hata Junji Hirata Jushin Thunder Liger Kazuo Yamazaki Killer Khan Kuniaki Kobayashi Naoki Sano Nobuhiko Takada Norio Honaga Riki Choshu Ryuma Go Shinichi Nakano Shinji Sasazaki Shinya Hashimoto Shunji Kosugi Shunji Nakano Tatsutoshi Goto Tiger Mask (Satoru Sayama) Yoshiaki Fujiwara Yoshiaki Yatsu Dory and Terry Funk (Double Cross Ranch) Genichiro Tenryu Jumbo Tsuruta Mitsuharu Misawa Stan Hansen Steve Keirn Ted DiBiase Hiro Matsuda (& Eddie Graham, Florida) B. Brian Blair Bob Orton Jr. Fidel Sierra Hercules Hernández Hulk Hogan Joe Malenko Keiji Muto (The Great Muta) Lex Luger Man Mountain Kong Mighty Inoue Mike George Mike Graham Osamu Nishimura Paul Orndorff Ron Simmons Scott Casey Scott Hall Steve Keirn Boris Malenko ("The Professor") Al Pérez Barry Horowitz Bill Eadie (Masked Superstar / Demolition Ax) Bob Orton Jr. Buddy Landel Chris Champion Dean Malenko Fred Ottman (Tugboat) Joe Malenko Johnny B. Badd Man Mountain Kong Mark Starr Mike Graham Norman Smiley Paul Diamond Rusty Brooks Sean Waltman Verne Gange's Wrestling School (Verne Gagne / Brad Rheingans / Billy Robinson) Baron Von Raschke Bill Irwin Blackjack Mulligan Bob Backlund Bob Brown Brad Rheingans Brian Knobbs Buddy Rose Butch Malone Chris Taylor Curt Hennig Dennis Stamp Dick the Bruiser Gene Anderson, George Eakin Greg Gagne Iron Sheik Jerry Saggs Jim Brunzell Jimmy Valiant Ken Patera Lars Anderson Ole Anderson Ric Flair Ricky Steamboat Scott Norton Sgt Slaughter Tony Halme Vader Larry Sharpe 911 Balls Mahoney Bam Bam Bigelow Chris Candido Kevin Von Erich King Kong Bundy Raven Tony Atlas Virgil Giant Baba (AJPW Dojo) Arashi Atsushi Onita Hiroshi Wajima John Tenta Jun Akiyama Masanobu Fuchi Motoshi Okuma Samson Kutsuwada Satoru Asako Takashi Ishikawa Toshiaki Kawada Yoshihiro Takayama Eddie Sharkey Barry Darsow Bob Backlund Jesse Ventura John Nord Madusa Road Warrior Hawk Road Warrior Animal Rick Rude Rick Steiner Tom Zenk This is a start. Much more to come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Kotetsu Yamamoto trained many of those New Japan wrestlers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Log Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 I know Killer Kowalski trained HHH. Does he have any other notable trainees? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anotherspammer Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 I think Perry Saturn also trained with Kowalski (although I'm not sure if he debuted early enough for this thread). Edit: Saturn was named in the very first post as not debuting early enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steenalized Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Quite a few, though not the caliber of greats like some of the guys listed here. Tensai, Saturn and Kronus, Eddie Edwards, seemingly anyone who came from Boston in the 2000s. Edit: But I don't think anyone early enough to qualify for this thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victory Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 You can add Steamboat, Patera, Slaughter and Chris Taylor to the Verne Gagne camp. Jerry Sags and Brian Knobbs also went there, but were trained by Brad Rheingans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteF3 Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Wrestlingdata.com has a good collection of trainers and trainees, though it of course has its own blind spots and caveats. The only pre-'90s people who stand out as being trained by Kowalski are John Studd, SD Jones, and Misty Blue Simmes. Though there are probably others. Stan Lane is notable for being the only wrestler trained by Ric Flair. (I guess David could say the same, but he doesn't count here. In more ways than one.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteF3 Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 One other point of potential confusion is that guys going to the same "camp" may have received training from other guys. Billy Robinson was a trainer at Verne's camp, as was Rheingans as mentioned, supposedly some of Stu's kids were doing Dungeon training, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSR Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 If you are including Liger for Stu Hart, you can add Hiroshi Hase for him too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GSR Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 The only pre-'90s people who stand out as being trained by Kowalski are John Studd, SD Jones, and Misty Blue Simmes. Though there are probably others. Mike Shaw (Makhan Singh/Norman/Bastion Booger) is another who was trained by him. I initially thought he was a Stu Hart guy to add to the list, but apparently was Kowalski trained. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Boricua Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Don't forget Eddie Sharkey. He trained Rick Rude, the Road Warriors, Barry Darsow, Bob Backlund, Jesse Ventura, Madusa, Rick Steiner, Tom Zenk and John Nord among others (although some of them were in conjuction with Brad Rheingans). Maybe Rehingans should also be listed, he has guys like Vader and Bradshaw as trainees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Didn't DeNucci train Mick Foley and several other guys at the same time? I think Shane Douglas was one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dylan Waco Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 DeNucci trained Foley, Douglas, Hilderbrand and Cody Michaels, I believe all in the same class Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timbo Slice Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Did Kawada ever go to Stu when he was in Canada? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted July 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Thanks for help and suggestions all. Denucci's guys are too late really. Kotetsu Yamamoto trained many of those New Japan wrestlers. Added to trainer list. You can add Steamboat, Patera, Slaughter and Chris Taylor to the Verne Gagne camp. Jerry Sags and Brian Knobbs also went there, but were trained by Brad Rheingans. Added, I'll add Rheingans as a trainer for Verne's school. And Billy Robinson. If you are including Liger for Stu Hart, you can add Hiroshi Hase for him too. Added. Don't forget Eddie Sharkey. He trained Rick Rude, the Road Warriors, Barry Darsow, Bob Backlund, Jesse Ventura, Madusa, Rick Steiner, Tom Zenk and John Nord among others (although some of them were in conjuction with Brad Rheingans). Maybe Rehingans should also be listed, he has guys like Vader and Bradshaw as trainees. Excellent call. I knew I was forgetting at least one big one. Brad R is being added to Verne's school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Farmer Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Stu did not train Abby, Bad News, Davey Boy, Hase or Liger. The Japanese boys all worked Stampede for seasoning. Liger was already a Junior star before coming to North America. Abby was trained by Burt Ruby & Gino Brito. Bad News was trained in NJPW dojo. Davey Boy was trained in England and wrestled for years before coming to NA. Funks did not train Tenryu or Misawa. They were both Japanese young boys. In fact every Japanese boy on the list were trained in a Japanese dojo except Jumbo Tsuruta due to a misunderstanding. When he arrived the Funks assumed he was trained so booked him in a match days after arriving. So he has his 1st match with little to no training. Kevin Von Erich was trained by Paul Perschmann (Buddy Rose) and had his first match with him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Davey Boy Smith was trained in Ted Betley's gym. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JerryvonKramer Posted July 16, 2014 Author Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 I did get the vague suspicion that Stu was getting a lot of credit for guys he didn't train. However, conflicting reports on the board now (e.g. Hase). Can anyone explain? Why do people think these guys were Stu's guys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 Hase and the other Japanese workers had additional training in Calgary under Mr. Hito and Kazuo Sakurada. It wasn't their initial training, so it's up to you whether you include it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ohtani's jacket Posted July 16, 2014 Report Share Posted July 16, 2014 BTW, you should add Choshu as a trainer for New Japan and Hashimoto as a Calgary trainee. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cm funk Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 Abby definitely shouldn't count as Dungeon trained. He started in the late 50's in Montreal and I don't believe he went to Stampede before the late 60's/early 70's Why wouldn't you include the Denucci guys? Foley and Douglas trained and debuted in the early 80's. If you're counting Waltman for Boris Malenko (and he was actually trained by Joe mostly I believe)..... Add Manny Fernandez to the Funks You should add Jose Lothario: Gino Hernandez, Tully Blanchard, Shawn Michaels OTTH, and I'm sure a number of other guy who started in Southwest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Dog Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 Yeah, Foley was a pretty active part of World Class in it's dying days and was doing jobs in the WWF during 1986. Douglas was in the UWF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Chief Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 Did Stu actually train anybody besides maybe his kids? I always thought that was a kayfabe thing. For example, guys that maybe already had some experience went up there and Stu stretched them. Stretched = training. I was never under the impression that he was teaching guys how to bump or anything like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bix Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 Did Stu actually train anybody besides maybe his kids? I always thought that was a kayfabe thing. For example, guys that maybe already had some experience went up there and Stu stretched them. Stretched = training. I was never under the impression that he was teaching guys how to bump or anything like that. Stu didn't even train a lot of his kids how to work. Frank Butcher trained Bruce (and some other guys in the territory at the time like Rick Martel), Hito and Sakurada trained Bret, and I think Owen's formal training came from some of his older brothers. Not sure about Keith. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eduardo Posted July 17, 2014 Report Share Posted July 17, 2014 How much of the actual training at the The Shawn Michaels Wrestling Academy was done by Rudy Boy Gonzalez? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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