That summer, a friend of mine went to the East Coast, visiting relatives in New York, the Carolinas and Georgia. This was very exciting to him and his brother because they were going to get to see all the stars from the Apter magazines, the guys in the big league. When they returned, they were quite boastful about who they had seen. We went to a Don Owen show that summer and halfway through the second match, my friend whispered to me, 'our guys are better.' Now, if they were better is up to debate, wrestlers come and go from one territory to the next, but when they were in the Northwest, they sure performed, and part of that credit has to go to Don Owen.  

A plethora of wrestlers who would go on to stardom either started or had their careers resurrected in the Northwest. To name all of them would require a complete article in itself with one name right after the other. Some of the noteworthy ones, but by no means all of them, would be Gorgeous George, Nick Bockwinkel, Jimmy Snuka, Roddy Piper, and Sergeant Slaughter. In the case of George and Piper, Owen saw something in them at a time when not many other promoters had any interest. One has to believe that the man had a keen eye for guys with charisma and showmanship.    

But make no mistake, the PNW was not about the show, it was not billed as sports-entertainment, the name on the marquee said wrestling, and Don Owen, the good lord willing and the creek don't rise, promoted wrestling. In my years as a fan I can never remember really having my intelligence insulted, things in this promotion just seemed to be somehow... believable. And because of the integrity of his product, there were many like me who were more then willing to go along for the journey, to sweat and bleed with Dutch Savage, and to rejoice in our hero's triumphs.  

My love for the man's product started at the tail end of my grade school years, and lasted deep into adulthood. In middle school it was easy to be a fan, what else does a thirteen or a fourteen year old have to do at eleven PM on a Saturday night? In high school, it got a little tougher, on more of these nights then I care to remember, I would either beg out of dates with a steady, or get them home earlier then necessary to watch the latest adventures, the newest angles, the culmination of a hot feud that would begin at eleven PM? This is how powerful the pull of the man's promotion was, that a young adolescent, would forgo the mysteries and pleasures of the fairer sex to watch one of those shows. 

Some of my favorite Don Owen memories :  

Agreeing to let a guy out the crowd, (former U of Oregon footballer, Mike Popovich, wrestle Buddy Rose, 'usually I wouldn't do this but I hate you so much," (Rose) "that I am going to let this guy wrestle you."     

"In this corner, the Latin Lover who hates kids." 

"One of the twin towers, bruise boys, I can't tell 'em apart, Ron or Don Harris."    

After being called a bald-headed old coot, by Al Madril, "well, who asked you?"    

"I can't afford anymore of these loser leaves town matches because I have to fly in wrestlers from back east." 

"In this corner, and he thinks I should retire, and maybe I should, 238 pounds from Los Angeles, Al Madril."    

"In this corner, a TV star from back East, The Crush,"    

"In this corner, sensational wrestler, the Beetlejuice."    

Rest in Peace Don, you will always be remembered with fondness, thank you for the memories.

NEXT MONTH:

Battles with the commission leads to the genius of The Grappler.