There appears to be a trend that recent Cauliflower Alley Club honorees who receive the annual Lifetime Achievement Award have followed.   Jim Ross, the 2009 recipient, and Mick Foley, the 2010 CAC selection, both spoke eloquently when interviewed about their accomplishments in the wrestling industry, as well as their passions that lie elsewhere, those beyond the confines of the ring.   Both men graciously accepted the accolades, yet their eyes remained focused ahead.   Plans for the future, the goals yet to reach… their motors want to propel them forward, and their glance at the rear view mirror shows them a look at their admiring friends and peers, who remain inspired by their positive example.

It’s time to add another name to that list of forward-thinking award winners: Wendi Richter.  Upon her selection as the second woman to be chosen for the Lifetime Achievement Award (Penny Banner being the first), Richter echoed the sentiments of the preceding recipients by asking, “Can you only receive this award ONCE?!?”

For someone who continues to set new goals in life, and quips, “I’m only half done,” when looking back on her accomplishments to date, Wendi Richter will never be confused with someone who wonders, “What if?”    More likely, she will be overheard asking, “What’s next?”

The physical aspects required to master the mat game came naturally to Richter, a self-professed farm girl who was bitten by the wrestling bug in her teenage years.  While attending the local wrestling bouts with a friend, she was surprised to discover a women’s match on the card, a battle between The Fabulous Moolah and Vivian St. John.   At the time, Richter was attending business school, “…and I didn’t like it,”  Richter said.  “I couldn’t picture myself behind a desk.  I didn’t like the idea of being cooped up in an office; it seemed very boring to me. But I knew that if I had the proper training, I could wrestle and beat either one of those women.”

It wasn’t long before Richter was on her way to begin that training in South Carolina at the very same Fabulous Moolah’s wrestling school.    Richter was determined to improve, using her high school sports background as a cross-country, volleyball and track athlete in the 440 relay and discus as a solid base.   “I was always competitive,” Richter said.  After having shown quarter horses at rodeos and horse shows and done barrel racing, her arduous training sessions in wrestling camp were preparing Wendi for the next time she would appear before a live crowd.  “I was drawn to hearing those thousands of people cheering; it was so exciting.”

Richter’s pro wrestling debut came on Christmas night, 1979.  “It was a ten girl battle royal… and I got dumped fairly early!  I was very nervous that night,” Richter said.  Soon she was making tours of a variety of territories, including for the CAC’s own Executive Vice-President, Karl Lauer, out in California.  “I wasn’t out west too often, though.  I mainly worked on the East coast, St. Louis, Minneapolis, and parts of Canada.  The New York market was my favorite territory.  I loved to go shopping there!”    During the early years of Richter’s career, she faced some of her favorite opponents.  “I loved working with Joyce Grable; we were tag team champions in the early 80′s… and Judy Martin, who’s also getting an award this year.  She’s a tremendous wrestler.  I leaned a lot from them, as well as Leilani Kai, Princess Victoria, and Velvet McIntyre,” Richter said.

Wendi recalls her first trip to Japan as an eye-opening exercise in culture shock.  “I went with hardly any notice; I was sent in place of Joyce Grable who was having her appendix taken out.  I was only nineteen, and went to Japan like a babe in the woods.  My first match, the girl I wrestled knocked the breath out of me six times.  Scrappy (McGowan) was the referee and kept asking if I was all right.  I could only answer, ‘MFFFTT,” Richter laughs.  “After that I decided no more Goody-Two-Shoes!  I turned into the Tasmanian Devil.  I decided to learn their style, and bring it back to America. I was a rough babyface after that.”

In 1984, Wendi Richter’s profile in the wrestling business grew leaps and bounds, due to her involvement in the World Wrestling Federation’s “Brawl to Settle It All” shown on MTV.   Richter trained under the tutelage of Cyndi Lauper, the pop music star who managed opposite her arch-rival, Captain Lou Albano, who represented Fabulous Moolah as the World Women’s champion.   “I couldn’t believe it; this was a dream come true for me,” Richter remembers.  “At that time, my favorite song was Cyndi’s ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’… and I found her to be such a nice person, not at all like what I expected a rock star to be.”

Richter emerged victorious, ending Moolah’s stranglehold on the women’s title after nearly three decades.  With the World Wrestling Federation expanding to nationwide tours and abroad, the Richter and Lauper combo exemplified the “Rock and Wrestling Connection” that has come to define that mid-80s time period. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time…and was the best person to get that spot,” Richter said.  “I was very fortunate that I was chosen.”   Wendi went on to appear at the first WrestleMania super show on March 31, 1985, regaining the belt she had subsequently lost earlier in the year to Leilani Kai in the semi-main event.

Not wanting to focus on negative points over her career, Richter does look back to her big run for New York with an eye toward the tension between Fabulous Moolah and herself.  “I think there were hard feelings with her, due to the fact I was getting more and more attention back then,” Richter said.   These strained relations, along with monetary issues, eventually built to a point where the Women’s title belt was taken from Wendi and she left the World Wrestling Federation in late 1985.  “I think that things should have been handled differently,” Richter said.  “But when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”

For the next several years, Richter maintained an active wrestling schedule for a variety of promotions.  “At one time I held three women’s world titles at once.  There was the AWA title, and I worked a lot with Madusa Miceli.  I was also the Caribbean champion for Carlos Colon in Puerto Rico, and I also defended the NWF World title.  I booked my dates well in advance, so I could handle the schedule my way; as an independent contractor, I liked that,” Richter said.

By 1990, Richter was looking to the next stage in her life.  “That’s when I started college, while I was still wrestling.  It was yet another challenge I liked. I always knew that no matter what I did, I wanted to take the core curriculum,” Richter said.  Over a period of several years, during which time Wendi wound up getting on the Dean’s list, she earned a Associates of Science degree in Physical Therapy, and went on to her Master’s in Occupational Therapy.

“I like to joke with people that after years of putting people into hospitals, now I help them get OUT,” Richter said of her new line of work.  “I help people that have had strokes or cardiac issues… chronic heart failure, or maybe they’re recovering from a knee or hip replacement.  Some of them aren’t able to walk or feed themselves…or their goal is to play golf again, or just be safe and independent in their own homes.  I can come right their into home and be their personal trainer.  Whatever their goal is, it is so rewarding to watch them be able to realize it.  I really enjoy being able to work one on one with people.  And I am amazed that I make five times the money I did when I was wrestling.  Plus I get to be home every night, sleep in my own bed, and I get to have my animals: horses, goats, dogs and cats… I love my job, and my farm.”

Wendi Richter is ready to write a new chapter in her life.  “I am now a part of the Citrus County (Florida) Sheriff’s Posse,” Richter said.  “I am a new recruit, and it’s a volunteer group where both you and your own horse have to pass an obstacle course to be accepted.  I got my Tennessee walking horse a year ago; she is absolutely beautiful… and she passed without flaw.  I am so proud of her… she’s the love of my life!   This group is used to protect trails and help search for missing persons or weapons and evidence.  I have a goal to become the platoon leader, to be at the top of the Sheriff’s Posse.  I have the determination to make it happen!”

Based on these accomplishments and notable stories, the Cauliflower Alley has done it again; they have found a suitable candidate for the Lifetime Achievement Award that may have already achieved enough for an average wrestler’s lifetime, yet continues to strive for excellence in all aspects of life.  “The Lord has really blessed me,” Wendi Richter said.  “I’m in good shape with no diseases… I am of strong body and mind, and I still have so much to do.  My life’s exciting!  Wrestling was very good to me, but it’s just a drop in the bucket.”

By Eric Chmiel

Over the years, some of the greatest champions in the history of pro wrestling have been honored by the Cauliflower Alley Club.  With just a quick scan of the names—Lou Thesz, Harley Race, Nick Bockwinkel, Jack Brisco, Terry Funk, Verne Gagne—you begin to realize just how difficult a task it is each year for the club to find other men and women who truly deserve to be included on such a stellar roster.   But this year, the CAC has found someone who is more than worthy to add his name to the above list of legends: Rick Steamboat, who is being honored with the 2012 Men’s Wrestling award at the annual CAC banquet in Las Vegas this April.  Without a doubt, he’ll fit right in with the other all-time greats the CAC has recognized before him.

On his career path to this honor, Steamboat has found success in wrestling at nearly every turn.  In fact, he displayed that “certain something” which set him apart from the pack back when he was just a teenager, even before he was involved in the pro wrestling business.  As an amateur high school wrestling star in Florida during the early 1970’s, Steamboat once found himself in a match vs. Mike Gossett, who wrestling fans would know as Mike Graham, son of the legendary Florida promoter Eddie Graham.

“I wrestled Mike Gossett in the finals of the district,” recalls Steamboat, who today resides in North Carolina.  “He was a senior and I was a sophomore, but I was able to stay with him.  In the front row was Eddie Graham, cheering his son on. Back then, I was a fan of Florida Championship Wrestling, so I knew who Eddie was.  He had bandages all over his head, because he’d been having a series of Russian chain matches at the time with Boris Malenko.  I put two and two together and figured out that Mike Gossett must have been Eddie’s son.  In between periods, I remember Eddie standing up and yelling to Mike, ‘You go get him, Mike!’ and all that kind of stuff.”

The match went three periods and Gossett wound up winning by just a point.  But even in a losing effort, Steamboat, then still called by his real name of Richard Blood, unknowingly made quite an impression on the Florida promoter.  A couple years later, when Steamboat’s high school sweetheart was training in Minnesota to become a flight attendant for Northwest Airlines, she happened to room with Donna Gagne, the daughter of AWA promoter Verne Gagne.  The two aspiring flight attendants became friends, and one evening they found themselves having dinner at the Gagne residence.  During the meal, Steamboat’s girlfriend mentioned having a boyfriend back in Florida named Richard Blood.  Verne’s ears perked up, because he remembered being told by Eddie Graham about a kid named Richard Blood who made an impressive showing during a high school wrestling match against his son.

“The old-time promoters used to get together and talk,” relays Steamboat.  “Eddie Graham had said something to Verne about this kid named Blood who was doing well as an amateur in high school down in Florida.  Well, there aren’t too many folks named Blood out there, so that’s how Verne remembered my name.  So he had me send up a bio and some pictures.  He wrote back and told me to come on up to Minnesota to take part in a camp he was having that fall.”

Steamboat showed up at the camp and on the first day, a Friday, he began training with 15 other aspiring wrestlers. The camp was so tough that by the following Monday, there were only four guys left.  One of them was Steamboat.  The other three were the late Scott Irwin, who went on to stardom with his brother Bill as the tag team “The Long Riders;” Jan Nelson, a massive former powerlifter who worked as a journeyman in the ‘70’s; and Buck Zumhofe, who made a name for himself around the midwest and other spots in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s.   Steamboat wound up completing the 10-week camp and, after briefly putting in some time in Gagne’s AWA promotion out of Minnesota, he found himself in his home state of Florida, working for Eddie Graham, the very same man who indirectly got him into the business by remarking on his amateur skills to Gagne.  Up to this point, Steamboat had been using his real name in the ring, but Graham decided that would no longer do.  He changed the young grappler’s moniker to Ricky Steamboat, in honor of the great Hawaiian star Sammy Steamboat, who had previously been a big name in the Sunshine State.  Steamboat was now being billed as Sammy’s nephew, and it helped him gain acceptance with the fans.  “When they’d announce me before, there would be a few claps,” chuckles Steamboat, “but when people thought I was Sammy Steamboat’s nephew, I found out what it was like when the fans actually start caring about you!” Soon enough, Steamboat was finding success teaming up with Florida favorites like Steve Keirn and, interestingly, his old high school mat rival Mike Graham.

After a year or so in Florida, Steamboat did 13 months working in the Georgia Championship Wrestling promotion out of Atlanta for booker Tom Renesto, who later was replaced by Ole Anderson.  In 1977, when it was time for the up-and-coming babyface to move on to a new territory, his trainer Gagne booked Steamboat to go up to Calgary for Stu Hart.  But after asking around, Steamboat found that business wasn’t that great in Calgary at the time, so he asked Anderson to try to find him another gig someplace else.  Anderson made some calls and found a spot for Steamboat working for Jim Crockett’s Mid-Atlantic promotion in the Carolinas.  It was there that Steamboat got his first real break in the business.  As it turned out, it was the only break he’d ever need to become a superstar.  Steamboat defeated Ric Flair for the Mid-Atlantic television title, which at the time was considered a tremendous upset since Flair was the top heel in the territory and Steamboat was virtually unknown to fans in the area.

Today, Steamboat credits Flair with making his big break happen in the Mid-Atlantic territory. “That was all because of Ric Flair.  It really started my career rolling.  He was the one who went to the office and told Jim Crockett he wanted to do something with this young kid who had just come to the Carolinas.  At the time, both Paul Jones and Wahoo McDaniel wanted to do something with Flair, because Flair was the number one heel down there at the time.  But Flair wanted to work with me.  I have to give my thanks to him for that.”

As a result of his feud with Flair, Steamboat was immediately catapulted to main event status.  Within months, he was one of the hottest babyfaces in the country, drawing strong houses against Flair wherever they worked.  After their lengthy rivalry ended, Steamboat faced a “who’s who” of top heels in the final years of the ‘70’s, from Baron Von Raschke to Blackjack Mulligan to Roddy Piper to Greg Valentine.  He always did exceptional business with each of them.  While working for the Crocketts, title victories in singles competition became the norm for Steamboat, and he seemed to have a belt around his waist almost constantly.  He racked up two Mid-Atlantic titles and two Mid-Atlantic television titles.  He also scored a trio of United States title victories back when that belt was widely regarded as the second-to-top title in the old National Wrestling Alliance, behind only the NWA World title (a belt for which he was always considered a top contender).  All the while, Steamboat was building himself a reputation as one of the best in-ring workers in the entire world who, night after night, delivered the highest quality match on the card.  This was especially true whenever he was matched against the other great in-ring performers of the day, such as Flair, Valentine or Jimmy Snuka.  He also became one of the great babyfaces, combining good looks, a ripped physique and a charismatic charm that won fans over everywhere, including on his numerous tours of Japan.

But it wasn’t just the singles division where Steamboat excelled.  Besides winning the local Mid-Atlantic tag team belts four separate times with partners that included Paul Jones and Dino Bravo, Steamboat also came to dominate the World tag team division.  He teamed up with the late Jay Youngblood to form a high-flying duo that tore off a record five NWA World tag team title wins and set the Carolinas on fire.  Although the team had classic feuds with duos like Jack and Jerry Brisco, Greg Valentine and Ray Stevens, and Ray Stevens and Jimmy Snuka, undoubtedly their finest moment was an epic battle with the team of Sgt Slaughter and Don Kernodle that raged throughout the territory in 1982-83.  Kernodle had previously been used largely as enhancement talent in the Carolinas, but he struck up a friendship with Slaughter, who wanted to use him as his tag team partner.  As Steamboat remembers it, “Kernodle was a good guy with a good personality, and a hard worker.  But he was a middle card guy who was always doing jobs on TV to put the main event guys over.  Sarge went to Jim Crockett with the idea that he’d take Kernodle under his wing like he was recruiting him, Marine-style, and would put him through a kind of basic training.  Then, eventually the two of them would team up and come after me and Jay for the World tag team championship.  At first, Jim Crockett thought it would never work because Kernodle had always been a job guy.  But me and Jay liked the idea, we liked Don, and we both had a lot of respect for Sarge.  So we told Crockett, ‘Let’s do the storyline, and you can leave it up to Jay and me to get Don over.’ The next thing you know, we were doing great business against them.”

The culmination of the Steamboat/Youngblood vs. Slaughter/Kernodle feud was a cage match on March 12, 1983 in Greensboro, NC.  “Sgt. Slaughter brought an attorney on TV,” Steamboat recalls, “and they made me and Jay sign a contract stating that if we do not win this cage match, we can never wrestle together as a tag team again. When we went into Greensboro and ended up winning that night, we did phenomenal business.”  Actually, the phrase “phenomenal business” may be an understatement.  The Steamboat/Youngblood vs. Slaughter/Kernodle cage match was an overwhelming blow-away success, filling the Greensboro Coliseum with 16,000 fans and turning away many thousands more.  The match did so well that it literally changed the course of pro wrestling history.  It was this epic battle that inspired Jim Crockett to develop the concept of a “super show” that would come back to Greensboro again on Thanksgiving night of 1983, with several different ongoing angles culminating at the event, much as the Steamboat/Youngblood vs. Slaughter/Kernodle feud had culminated earlier that spring.  Crockett called his creation “Starrcade,” and he again was able to sell out in Greensboro with it, along with doing strong business on closed circuit TV in several other cities around the territory.  The Starrcade concept was soon turned into an annual affair that became the lynchpin of the Carolinas wrestling calendar, always with Steamboat in a starring role.  It was such a strong idea, in fact, that Vince McMahon copied the concept, creating his own super show called “Wrestlemania.”  Of course, Wrestlemania today remains the Super Bowl of pro wrestling and stands as the biggest event in the business each year.

After eight years with the Crocketts, Steamboat got an offer to join the then-expanding WWE promotion.  It was a great chance for Steamboat to move his career to the next level, so of course he jumped at the opportunity.  In 1985, he arrived in WWE amid much fanfare, and he did not disappoint.  Now working with a new nickname as Ricky “The Dragon” Steamboat, he quickly established himself as one of the best in-ring performers in the company.  It was the very same charisma and athleticism that had won over the fans in the Mid-Atlantic territory that soon made him the second most popular wrestler in the company, behind only the merchandising juggernaut that was Hulk Hogan.  In some quarters, among the more hardcore devotees of WWE, Steamboat’s fan following even rivaled that of Hogan.  In 1985 and 1986, Steamboat had big money feuds with the top heels of the day, including Jake “The Snake” Roberts (whose ever-present python “Damien” was countered by Steamboat with his own menagerie that, at various times, included a giant monitor lizard and a small South American crocodile), Don “Magnificent” Muraco (a natural foe for Steamboat since both were billed as being from Hawaii, although in truth Steamboat actually is from Florida) and Randy “Macho Man” Savage.

By 1987, Wrestlemania had grown to the point where WWE booked the event into the enormous Pontiac Silverdome outside of Detroit, MI.  It was a gamble for WWE to plan an event in such a large venue, but it paid off.  An announced crowd of 93,000 fans packed the stadium, setting the record for the highest attendance ever at a pro wrestling show.  The card had several major matches, including Adrian Adonis putting his hair at stake vs. Roddy Piper, Honky Tonk Man vs. Jake Roberts, and of course the “Match of the Century” pitting Hulk Hogan vs. Andre the Giant for Hogan’s WWE title.  But the match that wound up stealing the show featured Steamboat winning the WWE Intercontinental title from Randy Savage in a thrilling see-saw battle that is still remembered today as one of the greatest matches of all-time.  Weeks earlier, the set-up for the bout involved Savage injuring Steamboat’s throat, so the crowd was heated for the match even before it began.  But once Steamboat and Savage took to the ring, they put on a wild, action-packed masterpiece of a match that blew the roof off the place.  Once again, a Steamboat match played a pivotal role in determining the course of wrestling history, as the unusually large number of false finishes used in this bout (over 20 of them in just under 17 minutes) served to become the road map followed by subsequent generations of pro wrestlers when building their own matches for maximum emotional impact.  In fact, most main event matches today feature a number of false finishes as a matter of course, in order to add drama to the bout.  You can thank Steamboat and Savage for that.

Steamboat still marvels at the influence his match with Savage has had on the business, even to this day. “It’s funny,” he muses, “that even the guys will still bring this match up to me.  Randy and I didn’t know it then—though I realize it now—but that match changed the blue print for how to build a match, with all the false finishes.  I think we had 21 false finishes.  But we had no idea it would endure for so long as one of Wrestlemania’s all-time great matches.  I never expected that kind of achievement.”  Although they had no idea they were about to put on an historic match, the two men did take to the ring that day aiming to have the best match on the card.  “We actually went out there with the intention of stealing the show,” says Steamboat.  “The big match was supposed to be Andre and Hogan, but Andre had a bad back from carrying 500 pounds all those years, and Hogan wasn’t as mobile as Randy and me.  They were going to work the whole match around a bearhug, which would be pretty uneventful, building to the moment when Hogan would get Andre up and slam him.  Well, knowing this, Randy and I worked our match full steam ahead, with me trying to exact revenge on him by taking his title.  That’s why I tried to pin his shoulders every chance I could get.  So with the false finishes and everything else, we had the idea to steal the show, and that’s what we did.”

Steamboat wrestled on and off throughout the remainder of 1987 and throughout 1988, sometimes taking long hiatuses to spend time with his family, which in the summer of 1987 saw a new addition: a son named Richard Jr.  In 1989, Steamboat ended his tenure with WWE and soon went back to the place where he had first become a star: the old Jim Crockett NWA promotion in the Carolinas.  However, during Steamboat’s years with WWE, Crockett’s company had changed so much that it was almost unrecognizable from its previous form.  The promotion had gone national, being seen each Saturday night on WTBS out of Atlanta, the town which had now become the headquarters for the front office.  And, the Crockett family sold out to media magnate Ted Turner, who changed the name of the company to World Championship Wrestling.  So when Steamboat made his return, he found himself on a national stage that now rivaled that of WWE.  Taking the bull by the horns, he quickly re-established his dominance as the top babyface in the company, re-igniting his rivalry with his old foe Ric Flair, who was then, just as when Steamboat had left, still the NWA World champion.  But it wouldn’t be long before Steamboat took that title away from Flair, finally becoming a World singles champion in his own right.  The two men came together for an astounding trio of hour-long televised bouts during the spring of ’89 that saw Steamboat win the NWA title from Flair on a pay-per-view event in Chicago, retain it on a free Clash of the Champions TV special in New Orleans, and lose it back to Flair on a pay-per-view event in Nashville.  All three of these matches are regarded as all-time classics by fans and historians alike, and all three rank among the greatest in-ring performances of the 1980’s.

“The entire nation had a chance to see us coast-to-coast in those matches,” Steamboat says of his 1989 bouts with The Nature Boy.  “But Flair and I had had a pretty good history of working together prior to that time.  I have to say, Flair was the most consistent guy, the most consistent heel that I ever worked with throughout all my years in the business.  He always gave me his best every time we worked.  I’d say we really pushed each other.  When it came right down to it, it was a personal pride between the two of us.”

Steamboat finished his tenure with World Championship Wrestling by working a feud with Lex Luger.  By all accounts, Steamboat led Luger to the best matches of the muscle-bound star’s career in that series.  Though he left WCW before 1989 had come to a close, Steamboat would continue to have success throughout the next two years, venturing to Japan for several big matches before briefly re-emerging in WWE in 1991.  He then returned to WCW later in 1991, and would stay there for the next three years.  During that time, he racked up even more championship glory, teaming with both Dustin Rhodes and Shane Douglas to win a pair of WCW World tag team titles, winning the WCW World television title twice (once from Steve Austin and once from Paul Orndorff) and also once again capturing the United States title (from Austin).  As was always the norm in previous years, a gold belt continued to be a fixture around Steamboat’s waist.

After his final WCW stint ended, Steamboat went into retirement and had very little to do with the wrestling industry for the next decade.  But although he wasn’t directly involved in the business, his influence was still being felt in the ring.  Each time a big pay-per-view main event in WCW or WWE culminated with a series of false finishes that came one after another at break-neck speed, it was impossible not to think back to Steamboat’s Wrestlemania bout with Savage.  Then, in 2004, Steamboat unexpectedly returned to the ring, but now in a non-wrestling capacity, working some main events as a referee for the TNA company.  Later, he appeared with the groundbreaking Ring of Honor independent promotion, where he feuded with Mick Foley.  Steamboat and Foley often managed opposing wrestlers against each other and would cut some of the best promos around during their time working together, but since both were in retirement, they never did face off one-on-one in an actual match.  Even so, they created so much excitement with their work that it seemed only a matter of time before Steamboat would land a new spot back in the big leagues.

Sure enough, in 2005, WWE came calling once again.  Steamboat returned to the company as a road agent that year.  Since a new generation of WWE wrestlers had come to have a high level of respect for Steamboat’s body of work, he was the perfect man to be put in charge of running the company’s live events.  “I was doing what Chief Jay Strongbow always did for Vince over the years,” he says.  “I’d oversee the live events, make sure everyone was there at the building, make sure to get everyone out there in the right order and on time, and at the end of the night I’d send in my report on how the matches went, telling the office who and what got over.  I did that for about four or five years.”  In 2009, Steamboat was inducted into the WWE Hall Fame, and deservedly so.  Very few men before or since have accumulated so many great performances and had such an impact on the direction of pro wrestling history.  But with someone as dynamic and talented as Steamboat in the fold again, the temptation for WWE to involve him in an on-air role proved too great to resist.  So when Steamboat was announced as a Hall of Fame inductee during an edition of WWE’s flagship national television program, Monday Night Raw, he was attacked by top heel Chris Jericho and had to be saved by other Hall of Famers, including his own former foes like Roddy Piper and Jimmy Snuka.  Surprisingly, this incident eventually led to Steamboat actually returning to the ring against Jericho.  In a 2010 match on RAW, Steamboat’s performance vs. Jericho was so strong that the fans began chanting “You’ve still got it” at him.  It was an incredible tribute, because at the time Steamboat had not had a wrestling match since 1994—some 16 years earlier!  And yet, he was still able to hang with the gifted Jericho, who himself is a high level performer in the ring.

Steamboat has since taken part in a few other matches and also has done some angles on WWE TV.  But his main job these days is working as a trainer at WWE’s Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) subsidiary, where the company sends its up-and-coming talent to learn the business and, hopefully, eventually make it to the big roster.  In a job like this, where one must groom and advise young workers trying to improve their skills, it’s hard to think of anyone more qualified than Steamboat, given the incredibly high standard he set for himself—and achieved—as a performer. “I got hired by John Laurinaitis, who used to wrestle as Johnny Ace, to be a trainer,” Steamboat says of the man who now runs WWE’s training program.  “What I do is, I go down to FCW, which is run by Steve Keirn, Tom Pritchard, Norman Smiley and Joey Mercury, and I go down there and help teach young rookies the business.  I get in depth with them about the psychology of it.  You know, when and why you do something in the ring, and how to tell a story.  Not to mention, I still take some bumps.  That’s my role now.  I fly down to Tampa on Monday and fly back on Friday.  We’ve got about 50 or 60 guys down there now, and about 10 divas.  They’re all waiting for a slot to open up.”  In addition, for some time Steamboat’s son Richard Jr. has been training as a WWE hopeful in the FCW promotion, striving to someday emulate his father by making it to WWE TV.  “He’s been down there for about three years now,” the proud papa says, “but he’s really just one of the guys.”

For his two decades of excellence as a wrestler, the multitude of great memories he’s given millions of pro wrestling fans, and the selfless devotion to the business that he continues to show today, the Cauliflower Alley Club is proud to honor Ricky Steamboat this year in Las Vegas.  Indisputably, it’s an honor he richly deserves.

We will have a complete bio in the coming days on this outstanding superstar.

The Board of Directors of the CAC would like to congratulate Ricky on receiving this award.

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“Nothing could keep this old soldier away,” boomed the Sarge, “especially since I’ve got a very special and pleasant duty to perform.”

Presentation of CAC’s top honor is the main event of the awards banquet on Wednesday, April 18, the capstone of our three days in “The Ring of Friendship”.  It’s traditional for all previous winners of the honor in attendance to mount the stage to welcome the current year’s winner into their midst.  They’ll be led this time by Sgt. Slaughter, who will deliver introductory remarks in his inimitable style and formally present the Iron Mike award to the 2012 honoree.

The CAC is now accepting donations to help Terry out for this trip. If you would like to donate funds to this worthy cause please send your check or money order to:

Cauliflower Alley Club
383 Highway 00
Rolla, MO  65401

Make your payment out to:
Cauliflower Alley Club Benevolent Fund
In The Memo section write Terry Leavitt. Jr.
You will receive a letter thanking you for your contribution to the CAC. Which can be used for tax purposes.

Drawing By Mouth Donated to CAC From Terry Leavitt Jr. To Be Auctioned Off At This Years Reunion. CLICK ON IMAGE TO SEE LARGER IMAGE.

Click On Image For Larger View

Lets make this trip for Terry a very special time!

“I was in the theater, watching The Wedding Singer, and the scene with Billy Idol on the airplane… and there he was on screen,” said Frankie Kazarian.  “I pointed and said, ‘Hey, that’s Mr. Outrageous Al Burke’… and people looked at me with no idea what I was talking about.”

Well, perhaps the name of Al Burke doesn’t immediately come to mind, even if the face rings a bell, but more about Kazarian’s powers of recall will be revealed later.   That recognizable face is a marketable one; it has taken Burke to the bank time and time again.   Whether it’s his popular scene in The Wedding Singer, on the back of a Harley-Davidson, singing in Spanish for Corona Beer, on Japanese television speaking Japanese for Skainar AL commercials, or as an alien life form in the Star Trek Enterprise TV series,  Al Burke’s expressive features show off his multi-dimensional talents as he nearly leaps through the screen with his performances.

It is Burke’s most defining role; however, that truly captures the attention of young and old alike.  As a longtime volunteer and regular visitor to children’s wards in hospitals, brightening the days of youngsters in need of a boost, Burke stands tall as a champion for charitable causes.   His selfless dedication has earned him the distinction of being the 2012 recipient of the Cauliflower Alley Club’s Jason Sanderson Humanitarian Award.   The smile on Sanderson’s face beamed through the phone lines when describing how positive a reaction Burke received from CAC board members following his nomination.  “”Al definitely exemplifies the qualities that are admired among award recipients.  I can see why this fellow deserves this honor; he’s a good natured person…and continues to give back to the business,” Sanderson said.

At first glance, the perception one gets of Burke is that professional wrestling should be his outlet for employment, if it was not already the case.  CAC Executive Vice-President Karl Lauer heaps effusive praises on to “Mr. Outrageous” for cultivating the fierce look.  “Al Burke looks physical and athletic, keeps himself in good condition… at about 230-240 pounds with that Fu Manchu mustache, he stands out and looks like a wrestler,” Lauer said.  “Al stayed in shape and didn’t have to hide his body with a lot of clothing…I preferred to use guys with a physique that presented themselves as professional athletes.”

Lauer was introduced to Burke through a recommendation from Professor Toru Tanaka, who was helping to find talent to augment Lauer’s cards while he promoted throughout California in the later part of the 1980′s.  “Tanaka was one of my top guys, and asked if I could use Al for a couple of shots,” Lauer recalls.  “He worked out wonderfully, and wound up becoming a regular worker on many of my shows, fitting in as many dates as he could around his other commitments.”

Long before the West Coast got to see just how outrageous Al Burke’s career path could be, though, it’s important to start in the Midwest, where so often before, tales of greatness begin rather modestly.

“I started in the Minneapolis area where I trained by Dan Rgnonti from Eddie Sharkey’s school; he was Rigs of the Terminators,” Burke said.  “Dan helped walk me through my first match under the hood as a ninja, which was a popular character in the Midwest at the time. So many of the great workers came through that Midwestern circuit back then, into the 1980s.   At the time, there weren’t a lot of wrestling schools back then and upon graduation you really learned about  the business by getting in a car and driving to the towns, gathering knowledge from the veterans riding with you.  Guys today don’t get the benefit of traveling to different territories and getting the experience of road trips.  It’s too bad, but today the workers have a different mindset.” I might have been pushed into the ring a little sooner than I should have been, but I was tabbed as a natural for wrestling; I was a two-time city boxing champion in the Golden Gloves, and had studied tae kwon do for five years. So I did have a lot of related ring experience.”

Booked in a match against Rgnonti, Burke remembers, “He called for me to give him a sidekick, and so I did… I really BLASTED him!  Man, was I green as grass back then!  He was like, ‘what a crowbar I’m in here with’… but we got through it.”

Time marches on, as did Al Burke.  Basing himself out of Green Bay, he began a multi-year stint working at television tapings for the World Wrestling Federation.  “Tom Stone was booking the local talent for TV at the time, and I coordinated a bunch of the Minnesota guys, where I’d get between 10 to 20 of them first for a two or three days of tapings,” said Burke.  “I remember the first television I was on, I got to face Hacksaw Jim Duggan, a real baptism into jobbing.  But I got paid well, with my expenses,  trans and lodging paid for.  My first year in the business, I was able to pay off my schooling.   I wasn’t the biggest, tallest or strongest, but I was trying to make a life for myself and pay the bills… so I went for it.”

Burke looks back at the five years he worked with the WWF and their stars fondly.  “I experienced things that most could never say they did,” Burke said. “I got to work with guys like Big John Studd, Andre the Giant, the Big Bossman plus many others… what an honor it was to be able to be in there with them.”   Burke made a number of friends traveling up and down those highways, and easily recalls his favorites.

“I really loved the trips I made with Little Tokyo, who just passed away recently… and Cowboy Cottrell, Karate Kid, all of Littlebrook’s guys.  Paul Orndorff was another guy… then there was Curt Hennig, Ricky Rude and Sherri Martel… with so many of us being from Minnesota, we had a common bond. Woody Farmer and Jerry Monti were other west coast promotions I worked for; in fact I bought one of my rings from Jerry… an old AWA wood ring with the big old 2 inch thick ropes that I shipped up to Alaska.” . With wrestling fast becoming a nationally-touring business for the largest organizations, Burke morphed into his “Mr. Outrageous” persona and subsequently moved his base of operations from the Midwest to California, where he garnered plenty of publicity through savvy business acumen and a desire to deliver the goods in the entertainment aspects of his wrestling role. “Outrageousness” was an epidemic, as Burke’s infectious personality burst forth in excess.    Media outlets ate up what Burke was serving, and he parlayed it into Hollywood acting roles as he supplemented his in-ring dates.   It was during this time that his association with Karl Lauer blossomed into not only wrestling bookings, but opportunities in front of the camera.

Lauer recalls asking Burke to take part in a motion picture that he had been given the title of Associate Producer.  “It was called Atomic Blue, and the main character had three people portraying different aspects; one for the speaking role, the stunt work and Al’s portion which was to handle the wrestling,” Lauer said.  Burke recalls it slightly differently, naming it under its Spanish language equivalent.  “Azul Atomico was a film that Karl thought I would be perfect for as the lead character. It involved me taking a backdrop onto concrete as my initiation,” Burke says incredulously.  “Eventually, more work started coming in.”

Starting his now third decade in and around the Silver Screen, Burke’s body of work casts quite the impressive profile.  A running tally as of a short time ago has totaled at more than 50 commercials and movies and 53 music videos, with a steady stream of activity keeping his dance card filled.  “I’ve been used in print advertising, TV shows…a bunch of cool stuff,” Burke said.  “I haven’t had to get a real job in a long time!  I’ve even gotten to do some work with the GLOW girls, where I get to beat up a bunch of Los Angeles radio station DJ’s; basically just a bunch of fun, crazy stuff…it’s a heck of a good life.”

Filming for a Sprite Commercial

Sometimes, however, the work can be beneficial to the actor without the end result even seeing the light of day.  “I shot a commercial at Universal Studios once, with a crew of about 30 people.  I was dressed as a British captain with a cannon set on deck of a ship… and I was paid for my day’s work, although the ad never saw the airwaves,” Burke said.  “Commercial work pays the best as you get paid the most for the first airing, then somewhat less after each successive broadcast.”  Even the film work from the 90s, such as the famous Wedding Singer scene still brings in royalty checks.  “It’s usually now under 100 dollars, but I still get four every year,” Burke said.

One royalty check afforded Burke the chance at pulling a classic rib.  “I attended one CAC reunion and got to present Karl Lauer with a framed copy of one of my royalty checks from Mad About You,” Burke said.  “It was appropriate because Karl likes to remind people about how he started me in film work.”  Comically, the check was issued in the amount of one cent!

It might be attributed in part to Burke’s good fortune that he now looks for ways to give back, to the wrestling community and toward charitable organizations.   Karl Lauer recalls Burke’s earliest volunteerism:

“Frequently we’d get calls at the wrestling office from groups like Make-A-Wish Foundation or City of Hope, requesting some wrestlers to come visit terminally ill children,” Lauer said.  “A common crew of Mr. Outrageous, Professor Tanaka, Mando Guerrero, Buddha Khan and the masked Bossman (Lauer) would do their part to bring a bright spot to what might otherwise be a child’s dreary day in the hospital.”

“Al never turned down a request, not even one time.  He would always make time, even if he had to leave his day job,” Lauer said.   “Al is the most generous man with his time that I’ve ever known.  He loves to be with the children, posing for pictures and signing autographs…playing around with the youngsters and letting them wear his title belts.”

“Those hospital visits, sometimes kids who are dying perk up for the day when a wrestler visits.  I remember one visit in particular, where a kid got out of bed for the first time in a long while… it lifts their spirits, and mine,” Burke said.   “I think those kind of moments show what kind of power being a pro wrestler has.  A lot of people look up to us.  What does it take to answer their questions and bring them into our world for a while?  Not much…I think it’s a big part of our job.  I think the time I spend with fans, especially the young kids, is worth more than any money I could give… I get so much out of it myself.   I love talking to the kids, shaking hands.  And the Championship belts I bring, I don’t wear them to show off, I want the kids to wear them…you should see their eyes twinkle.  You can really make a good impression.  They think they’re almost magical…worth more than gold.”

“I hope wrestlers realize the power they have.  You really make their day… so make the effort.  Keep trying to make that difference in their lives.”

Another noble effort, indicative of why Burke was selected for the Humanitarian Award, was his commitment to entertaining the military personnel at numerous bases around the country, and the world.  “My first show was set up at Ellsworth Air Force base; I wound up doing between 300 to 400 shows all over the world,”  Burke said.   Alaska Wrestling Alliance, the group which Burke is a co-owner, is the only promotion in the state, and has done much to boost the morale of soldiers serving far and wide.  “Some of our wrestlers are in the military…that makes them some of the best damn babyfaces ever,” Burke said.  “One of our guys is being deployed to Afghanistan, and we’re going to lose his wrestling services for the next year during his tour.”

AWA Light Heavyweight Champion Wolfgang Danger and AWA Alaska and USA Champion Mr.Outrageous.

Alaska Wrestling Alliance is a venture with families as their focus. “We run shows where nobody gets offended, that’s helped make us successful, because that’s the kind of show the military wants.  We also visit mess halls and schools on base,” Burke said.   It’s a labor of love, and Burke’s core principles make for a strong foundation.  “We had done training camps, and discovered that a lot of guys didn’t want to travel…they were never going to make it.  But when Nick Danger and I re-opened a camp in Alaska with hopes to open a school on the military base in Alaska, and I became a trainer for the GI’s…it was great.   I’d be happy just to train the military guys!”  Conditions make the Alaska Wrestling Alliance events rewarding when they see people come out in even the roughest of weather.  “We do shows in Anchorage where the temperature can be actually 40 below and colder, WITHOUT the wind chill and we are planning to also work on the military base in Fairbanks where it is even colder,” Burke says.

Al Burke is viewed as a trainer for more than just the in-ring aspects of the sport.  His sage advice is revealed in day-to-day discussions with young talent, and summarized eloquently at CAC reunions, where Burke tailors seminars to give those wrestlers who can benefit from a wily veteran’s perspective on how to rise to the next level.   Self-marketing and forward thinking have a great deal to do with the seminar’s makeup.

“Having my job means the work is never a steady gig, but then you learn not to spend money you don’t have…never count on it,”  Burke said.  “You simply have to treat it like a business, be a professional.  It is true in both wrestling and Hollywood.   For example, would a smart wrestler looking to get booked, call that promoter when he’s drunk?  Not if he wants the booking!  But I know it’s happened!    The same is true with promotional photos… When I was coordinating talent, I collected 8 by10s of guys I thought might be useful to promoters… and some guys would give me poorly scanned photocopies with hand written scribble and think it would lead somewhere!  Remember: promote yourself properly; when I put a press package together I want my best foot forward…you get rewarded back that much more for the extra effort.”

“From Dan Rgnonti, I learned to check my ego at the door, realizing I’d lose in wrestling more than I’d win.  You have to learn to do what the promoters need for the job, and do it with a smile… or else find another job,” Burke concluded.  “And always keep an open mind.”

So goes the tale of Mr. Outrageous.  It remains to be seen just how many of tomorrow’s rising stars have yet to be a few steps closer to their own levels of success from heeding his advice, but thus far, Al Burke is able to point to one shining example of his own generous nature and positive attitude.

“A few years back at a CAC reunion, I went up to congratulate Frankie Kazarian, who was receiving an award (Future Legend),” Burke recalls.  “And Frankie told me that it wasn’t the first time we had met; that it was years before he even entered the business.”

The occasion was in the 1990s; a card at Twenty-Nine Palms Marine Base, where Mr. Outrageous was on the lineup.   Kazarian picks up the story from here:

“I was eleven years old at the time, and I can remember that The Warlord was part of the card as well.  It was the very first time I had the chance to meet a wrestler.  During an intermission, I ran across Mr. Outrageous, who was getting warmed up,”  Kazarian said.  “I was pretty intimidated, but I took a deep breath and gingerly approached him.”

What Kazarian found was a personable, talkative Al Burke behind the Outrage.  “Al was really cool to me, and we chatted for a little while.  I mentioned to him that I was an Ultimate Warrior fan at the time.  Al shared with me that he’d wrestled him before and was one of the stiffest guys he’d been in the ring with.  At that time, I didn’t even know what Stiff meant,” Kaz concluded. “But years later, that very subject came up in the locker room after I got in the business; I was able to say I heard that same opinion years earlier… from Al Burke!”

As Kazarian and Burke reconnected at that CAC reunion, it was to Burke’s surprise that their chance encounter in Kazarian’s youth was one of the positive experiences that helped convince young Kaz to get involved in the wrestling industry.  “I remember Al as being kind enough to take the time to be nice to a young fan, and it stuck with me,” said Kazarian.   “You know, I never classified the wrestlers as superstars or ‘job guys’… I gave respect to all of the wrestlers equally.  To me there were wrestlers with losing records, but they were guys who could pull out a victory at any point!  In my eyes, if you were in the same ring you had that equality.  I wish I could look back with that childlike innocence today. I found Al to be just as pleasant meeting him again in Vegas… I’m glad he’s still around.”

As for Burke’s stunned reaction?  “Well, there aren’t too many times that Mr. Outrageous is speechless,” Burke said.  “You never really know who you’ll impact, or how.  And if or when you do find out… it’s very rewarding.  To me, this is how you can best use your celebrity. That mystique your status as a wrestler gives you can be used for good.”

“I want to instill in the young wrestlers how important it is to give of your time – - to go to hospitals and do charitable work.  It can be something like setting up cots in a homeless shelter, or helping serve them a meal,” Burke said.  “So little of your time is required, but it helps out so much.   I want to do it the rest of my life, and get others involved.  Reaching out and finding ways to give back is important.”

Hardly an outrageous perspective.   Join your fellow CAC members in celebrating with Al Burke on his 2012 Jason Sanderson Humanitarian Award this  April!

You can view some of the Japanese Commercials Burke has been a part of by clicking on the following links:
http://www.eisai.jp/health-care/ad-gallery/skainar-al/02_index.html
http://www.eisai.jp/health-care/ad-gallery/skainar-al/01_index.html#to_top

Previous CAC Future Legend Winners; Oliver John, Cheerleader Melissa & Kyle Sebastian

Nominations for the 2012 Future Legend award are now open and we want to hear from you!

The Future Legend Award was introduced in 2000 in order to recognize active wrestlers whose skills and early career achievements are indicative of a promising career.  Previous winners of this award include Kurt Angle, Chris Benoit and Frankie Kazarian among others.  The 2011 winner was Canadian up and comer Kyle Sebastian.

“Being recognized by the Cauliflower Alley Club has been one of the biggest honors of my career,” says Sebastian.  “It is a very humbling experience to receive an endorsement from such an esteemed group of legends, and is one that I’ll never forget.”

It has been encouraging to see the number of active wrestlers and rising stars in our industry at the annual reunion in Las Vegas in recent years.  Many turn out each year in the spirit of wrestling tradition to learn from the legends and pay respect to those who have paved the road for current and future generations of ring athletes.

Do you know a rising star who embodies the respect upon which ourt industry was built?  Who among our membership is poied to become a future superstar?

Eligible nominees for this honor must be a member in good standing of the Cauliflower Alley Club at the time of nomination, must have attended at least one CAC reunion, and may have wrestled on one of the annual shows held in conjunction with the CAC reunion.  Nominations are accepted from all members in good standing with the club.  To nominate a candidate, please include the following:
•If submitted electronically, a resume detailing the nominee’s wrestling career to date (primary trainer, any other training classes/camps attended, promotions worked for, titles held, major league tryouts) photographs and links to online videos of nominee working matches against a variety of opponents and at least one link to a video of nominee performing an interview or promo
•If submitted in hard copy, FIVE copies of each of the above items must be submitted
•Supplemental items supporting the candidate’s case for consideration may be submitted, such as letters of recommendation from trainers, promoters, CAC members or past CAC Future Legend Honorees
•Confirmation that the nominee has been contacted and has agreed to attend the next Reunion if they are selected to be on the ballot.
•The nominator should inform the nominee that he or she will not know whether or not they are receiving the award until it is presented at the Reunion.
•The nominator will provide all contact information of  the nominee.

The deadline for the 2012 awards nomination in this category is January 10, 2012 and should be submitted directly to Morgan Dollar, by e-mail at morgan@caulifloweralleyclub.org, or by postal mail to 745 Bethania Rural Hall Rd. Rural Hall, NC 27045.

The Future Legend Award offers young wrestlers more than just an opportunity to be acknowledged at the annual awards banquet.  In addition, the award winner receives an opportunity to further develop professionally through a paid scholarship at Harley Race’s annual wrestling camp held each fall.

“Since winning the award, it kickstarted an incredible year for me, ” says Sebastian. “It has been great to see Canadian promotions and the mainstream media really take an active interest both in myself and the Club.  It’s escalated my stock on the independents and given me more headline opportunities.”

Some names have already been submitted for the 2012 ballot including Minnesota’s Ann Brookstone , Georgia’s Kyle Matthews, Alaska’s,Wolfgang Danger,  Minnesota’s, Sammy “The Bulldog” Savard, Arkansas’s Matt Riviera along with Aaron Bolo, Adam Pearce and Glenn Ulrich. You can read more on the nominees on the CAC website as well as upcoming issues of The Ear.

Do you know someone deserving of this prestigious honor?  Submit their name and nomination package for consideration now.  We are eager to work with you to recognize the next generation of pro wrestling superstars.  Operators (well, Morgan Dollar) is standing by.

To view the list of 2012 CAC Future Legend Nominees CLICK HERE

- The Future Legend Committee is comprised of folks actively involved in the industry in both Canada and the United States with a view of wrestling on a worldwide scale.