We had known each other for many years in Tennessee, but I don't think he'd ever been my manager before. Sam had a mind for the business and was always thinking of what he was going to do next. He had good ideas and knew how to draw money. Sam also liked to party a lot and not much could slow him down. He was a real character."

The Superstars made their Miami Beach debut on September 3 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. In the third match of the night, They faced Tony Charles and Rick Gibson. Charles, originally from Wales and billed as The British Isles Champion, was a vastly underrated wrestler who could work a good match of just about anyone. Gibson was another very good worker who was entering into the peak of his career. The debut of The Superstars proved to be exciting, and in a wild match, Bass nailed Charles with his cowboy boot, enabling one of the Superstars to cover him for the three count. Charles and Gibson, incensed at the loss, demanded a rematch for September 10 at The Miami Beach Convention Center. The Superstars once again escaped with a victory, and once again Bass' boot played a part in the outcome.

Sam Bass was incessant about his confidence in The Masked Superstars. "There are some high-steppin' dudes like Rocky Johnson and Mike George who have got to thinkin' they're pretty hot stuff. We don't think so. Ricky Gibson heard we was headin' east, so he skipped out of the (Florida) Panhandle and came here. We'll be especially proud to beat boys like Gibson and Mike Graham."

Ricky Gibson wasn't finished with The Superstars or Bass, and called in his old friend and tag team partner, Jimmy Golden. Gibson and Golden had been a successful combination wrestling for the Knoxville promotion, winning the Southeastern Tag Team Championship in June of 1975. The teams were to meet on September 13, and the stage was set for St. Petersburg's Bayfront Auditorium. After a close match, Bass once again got involved. But, the referee caught Sam, and The Superstars were disqualified. These two teams would meet three days later at Tampa's Fort Homer W. Hesterly Armory on September 16, as well as the following night in Miami Beach on September 17, with The Masked Superstars winning both encounters.

"We had wrestled Gibson and Golden in Tennessee and Kentucky many times," recalled Don Greene. "We knew them real well and they knew us, that's why our matches were always good. Both Ricky and Jimmy were real good wrestlers who had spent most of their careers in Tennessee just like we had. Jimmy was a tall, lanky guy that had come from a wrestling family and knew the business."

However, Gibson and Golden claimed that there were more than just two Masked Superstars during an interview with Gordon Solie on CWF. "When we wrestled them at the Bayfront Arena, they had to carry one of those masked dudes out of the ring. That man was hurt, and he was hurt bad. Still, Bass had a replacement for him just a few days later," explained Golden. "It had to be a replacement," Gibson added, "because there's no way that man is walking again this soon!"

Sam Bass offered a simple explanation. "Now, I'm not saying that one of my Superstars couldn't get hurt. That's a risk you run every time you get in the ring. What I am saying is that it would take a better team than Gibson and Golden to put one of my athletes out of commission." When questioned about the fact that one of his Superstars had been injured and carried from the Bayfront Arena and that there might be a third Superstar, Sam offered this excuse. "A simple precaution. The man twisted his ankle and we didn't want to take any chances. I might have ten men under contract-that's my business, and none of yours!"

But, as Florida wrestling fans would notice, there were more than two men wearing the Superstar mask. "Jerry wanted to get out on his own," remembered Don Greene, "so Tommy Gilbert came down from Tennessee. That's why the switch was made. Jerry's done very well for himself as a wrestler. We also had one of the Von Brauners wearing the mask for a bit."

The Superstars had proven themselves as the number one contenders to the Florida Tag Titles, and would receive their shot on the next Miami Beach card. Cyclon and Omar (Atlas) Negro had recently become the Florida Tag team Champions for the second time by virtue of a victory over Jim Dillon and Roger Kirby. The Negros were a quick and powerful team who worked well together, and a match with The Superstars promised to be a thrilling encounter. In Miami Beach, on September 24, Bass' involvement backfired and cost his men the Tag Titles when they were disqualified for outside interference.

Cyclon and Omar Negro demanded a rematch with Bass' men. On October 1 in Miami Beach, in a no disqualification non-title Florida Tag Titles match, The Masked Superstars defeated The Negros. It was a wild match that saw all four men battle in and out of the ring. The finish came when Omar Negro was smacked in the head with Bass' now infamous boot and quickly covered for the three count. The Superstars stomped on a bloody Omar, until Cyclon made the save and cleared the ring.

The month of October saw The Masked Superstars oppose several quality teams. They would escape with a win over Florida wrestling legend Eddie Graham and Mike Graham at the Miami Beach Convention Center on October 8. They received another Florida Tag Title opportunity in Tampa on October 14, this time losing to The Negro Brothers. The next night on Miami Beach, October 15, The Superstars defeated Billy Robinson and Tony Charles. They would also face Robinson and Charles in West Palm Beach on October 20, wrestling to a draw. These two teams would meet for a third time in Tampa on October 21, this time with Robinson and Charles winning via disqualification. Jimmy Golden and Rick Gibson would defeat The Superstars in Miami Beach on October 22. The Grahams would team with Jimmy Golden to conquer The Superstars and Sam Bass on October 29, also in Miami Beach.

Sam Bass, by this point, had proven to be a major thorn in the side of Eddie Graham. After an altercation on Championship Wrestling From Florida, Graham demanded a match with Bass for Miami Beach on November 5, and the stipulation was put forth that if the Grahams could defeat The Superstars, Eddie would get five minutes in the ring with Bass. The Grahams were victorious and Eddie would batter Bass until he fled from the ring.

"Eddie was from the old school, just like I was, so I always liked working with him," recalled Don Greene. "He was a very good wrestler and a man who made very few mistakes in his life. Mike was also a very good wrestler and a nice kid. He had been around wrestling his entire life and grown up in the business, so he knew what to do in the ring."

In a televised match on Championship wrestling From Florida that aired on November 22, Eddie and Mike Graham squared off against The Masked Superstars one last time. As Eddie battled one of The Superstars, Mike tied the other one up in the ropes and yanked his mask off, revealing one half of the Teutonic terrors of tag team wrestling, Karl Von Steiger. Von Steiger, flustered and red-faced, freed himself from the ropes and quickly fled the area. Mike Graham stood in the center of the ring and faced Gordon Solie, proudly holding the mask high in the air. Von Steiger would later do an interview vowing revenge on Mike for unmasking him. This signaled the end of The Masked Superstars and Sam Bass in Florida.

"I was a Superstar until the end," remembered Don Greene. "Lawler, Gilbert, and Von Brauner had all left earlier. After Von Steiger was unmasked on television, Sam and I headed back to Tennessee. That was the last time I wrestled in Florida."

Karl Von Steiger continued to wrestle in Florida, working a program with Mike Graham over the United States Junior Heavyweight Championship. In Miami Beach on December 10, the same night that Terry Funk would capture the N.W.A. World Championship from Jack Brisco, Graham defeated Von Steiger by disqualification. Von Steiger spent the next few months in Florida, eventually packing his bags and exiting the state at the end of March.

Sam Bass returned to Tennessee and continued to manage Jerry Lawler, whose career had begun to skyrocket. On Monday, July 26, 1976, after being in the corner of Lawler at The Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Fred W. "Sam" Bass got behind the wheel of his automobile, accompanied by Frankie Hester and Pepe (Reuben Rodriguez) Lopez, who were competing in the territory as The Masked Dominoes. The three men were headed to Nashville, when just outside of Jackson, Tennessee, their car struck a vehicle that had smacked into a concrete bridge on Interstate 40. Within seconds they were hit by a tractor-trailer rig, which caused the car Bass was driving to veer off the road and explode into flames. In a horrible tragedy that is still discussed amongst Tennessee fans to this day, all three wrestlers were killed.

"I had rode to Memphis that night with Sam," recalled Don Greene of that fateful night. "I didn't leave with him after the show because my father had come to the card and we were involved in the furniture business at the time. If I hadn't gone with my father, I might not be here today. I know J. C. Dykes, who was a friend of mine, was also supposed to make the trip with Sam, but didn't go with him and ended up traveling in another car. I quit the business not long after Sam's car accident. I had traveled for so many years and hundreds of thousands of miles without ever getting into an accident. So, I decided the time was right and gave the promoter my two weeks notice."

Don Greene retired from the ring in 1977 after a long and successful career. Shortly thereafter, he went to work for the Sheriff’s Department in Nashville, Tennessee, working with the late Saul Weingeroff. Now retired from the Sheriff’s Dept., Don, at seventy-three years old, still keeps busy as Director Of Security for a Ramada Inn in Nashville.

NEXT MONTH:

Bob Roop and The Ortons, and the mystery of The Gladiator!