On August 24, 1972, Amarillo held one of its most famous wrestling cards. The show was headlined by Dory Funk, Jr. defending the NWA title against Fritz Von Erich. Dick Murdock and Bobby Duncum defended their Western States Tag Team titles against Lord Alfred Hayes and Rikki Starr. Terry Funk defended his Brass Knuckles title against Moose Morowski. And, Cyclone Negro fought in a Death match against the wildest man in professional wrestling: The Sheik! The matches were even moved outdoors to Memorial stadium to accommodate the demand for tickets. The Negro vs. Sheik match was an out of control donnybrook. After 8 minutes of pure mayhem, the two collided in the center of the ring. Neither could rise to answer the 10 count. The first to his feet would be the winner...and your winner was...Cyclone Negro! With five straight death match victories to his credit, Cyclone Negro would receive his shot at the crown. His next opponent was Dory Funk, Sr.

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On August 31, 1972, Cyclone Negro and Dory Funk, Sr. headlined the card at the Sports Arena to determine the king of the Texas Death Match. The heat for this match had been generating for six weeks. Lou Thesz was brought in as a special referee. What a way to end the summer! Could Cyclone keep his streak alive and pull off a huge upset against the man who basically invented the match? The Sports Arena was packed and filled with anticipation as the match began.

The match was brutal. The blood flowed freely . Both men scored pins only to see their opponent answer the bell before the 10 count. 10 minutes elapsed...then 20...30 minutes passed....still no winner...45 minutes gone by...plenty of blood and lots of action inside and out of the ring, but still no decision. Cyclone jumped off the top rope and hit Funk with a knee drop, receiving a $500 fine in the process, but was still unable to secure a win. Then it happened... Both men came off the ropes attempting body blocks. A violent mid-ring collision occurred. Both men were flat on their backs. Lou Thesz began the 10 count. Neither Funk nor Negro were able to rise. The race was on. The first man to his feet would be declared the king of the Texas Death Match. Both men started to move. The crowd was on its feet imploring Funk to get up. Thesz watched as the tension mounted. Dory was to one knee. Cyclone made it one knee. Over 48 minutes had passed. The two men struggled almost simultaneously to their feet. Thesz counted to 10. Who stood first? Who beat the count? Dory Sr. claimed he had. Thesz saw Negro stand first. Your winner...CYCLONE NEGRO!!!

Despite Dory’s protests, Thesz would not reverse his decision. It was official. Cyclone Negro was the new king of the Texas Death match. Dory was furious. He attacked the still dazed Negro and subjected himself to fine by jumping off the top rope on to his victorious foe. Negro was taken from ringside on a stretcher to waiting ambulance.

The match and the booking leading up to it was brilliant. By putting Cyclone Negro over in Texas Death Match, Dory Sr. created the top heel in the territory for years to come. Cyclone would go on to challenge the Funks in world title matches, Russian chain matches, and even boxing matches, always to packed houses. On occasion, Cyclone would make a brief face turn and team with the Funks against a team of mutual enemies. The turns were always short lived, with Cyclone often betraying the Funks in the middle of a match, creating even more heat.

All right you Apter magazine collectors, I’m sure you want to know about the article which appears in the September 1972 issue of The Wrestler detailing a 1 hour, 44 minute death match between Funk and Negro in which 27 falls were counted. I hope this doesn’t shock or outrage any of you, but the article is a work. The pictures are real and may be from a match between Dory and Cyclone fought in Amarillo on June 1, 1972. To meet the September publishing deadline, the article and photos had to be written and taken prior to August 31, the actual date of the Amarillo match. It is interesting to think that the article had already hit the stands when Dory and Cyclone had their big match. And, I wonder if it had any effect on them.

So there you have it. Cyclone Negro was once the king of the Texas Death Match. If there are any subjects involving Amarillo wrestling which you would like to see covered in the future, leave a post on the message board in the Amarillo topic.

NEXT MONTH:

A look at Dennis Stamp (from Beyond the Mat) and his run in Amarillo.