ANATOMY OF A FEUD: ROOP VERSUS KEIRN

The New York Yankees vs. The Boston Red Sox. Willie Nelson vs. The Internal Revenue Service. Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier. David Lee Roth vs. Van Halen. Rivalry, defined by Merriam-Webster as "competition, conflict, emulation, strife, striving, tug-of-war, warfare." The state of Florida had seen its share of great wrestling feuds and rivalries over the years, from Eddie Graham and The Great Malenko, to The Briscos versus Funks. But a feud that stormed CWF rings during the blazin' Florida summer of 1976 thrilled fans with some classic matches and featured a crafty veteran with Olympic credentials matched up against a young star who had never risen above mid-card status. This was the feud that shocked fans with a sensationalistic angle, and the feud that “made” Steve Keirn into a main event superstar. This is the anatomy of a feud: Bob Roop versus Steve Keirn. 

Bob Roop made his pro wrestling debut in 1969, after a stellar thirteen-year amateur wrestling career that included a trip to Mexico City’s 1968 Olympics. Roop, an athletic, clean-cut babyface, quickly climbed the ladder, appearing in semi-main events within weeks of his debut. Roop, however, stunned CWF wrestling fans in 1974 when he turned heel and became a charter member of Gary Hart’s “army.” The turn proved to be successful, as Roop defeated Cowboy Bill Watts and captured the Florida heavyweight championship, and it also propelled Roop into main events throughout the state. Roop was a former Florida tag team champion, Florida TV champion, Florida Brass Knuckles champion, and Southern tag team champion, having won the last title just months after his debut.  

Steve Keirn debuted four years after Roop in the second half of 1973, wrestling prelims in Florida, facing such talents as Bob Griffin and The Mighty Yankee. A local Tampa Bay product who was a childhood friend of Mike Graham, Keirn ventured to territories such as Georgia, Gulf Coast, and the Mid-Atlantic region, achieving some success when he and Tiger Conway, Jr. captured the NWA World tag straps from Ole and Gene Anderson. Upon returning to CWF in the spring of 1976, he quickly aligned himself with another up-and-coming young wrestler, Bob Backlund. Though he had showed tremendous promise throughout his career, Keirn had never received anything more than a mid-level push.  

Col. Richard P. Keirn was a retired Air Force pilot who was one of only two Americans held as a prisoner of war in both World War II and the Vietnam War. During WWII, he was only twenty years old when his plane was shot down over Germany in 1944 and spent a year in a POW camp. He was the command pilot of an F-4 fighter jet on a combat mission over Hanoi when he was shot down on July 24, 1965, and spent seven years and seven months as a prisoner of the North Vietnamese, until his release on Feb. 12, 1973. Col. Keirn earned dozens of medals including a Silver Star, a Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster, a Distinguished Flying Cross with two Oak Leafs, a Bronze Star with three Oak Leafs, Prisoner of War Medal with Bronze Star, and five Purple Hearts. He retired from the military on June 30, 1976 after thirty-three years, seven months, and twenty-one days of duty. 

Since January of 1976, Roop had been part of a triad-alliance between himself and Bob Orton, Sr. and Jr. Roop had been a co-holder of the Florida tag titles with both Ortons at one time or another, until Steve Keirn and Bob Backlund defeated Roop and Senior for the straps. “Sr. and Jr. were like night and day,” remembered Bob Roop, now retired from wrestling and living in Michigan. “Senior was a veteran who looked at us like children and likely resented being paired with a couple of newbies like Junior and me. Senior was sort of on the periphery, but Bobby and I, for a year or so, we had a really good tag team thing going. We would discuss high spots and finishes for much of the time we drove to and from towns and were able to come up with finishes that had us getting beat but left us with more heat than we had going in. Bobby was like Ray Stevens- he started out being a great hand. I guess Senior had been one of the best during his prime, but those years were long gone when we were together.”  More...