Oliver Humperdink
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| Oliver Humperdink | |
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| Ring name(s) | Red Sutton[1] The Big Kahuna[1] Sir Oliver Humperdink[1] Rooster Humperdink[1] Big Daddy Dink[1] |
| Born | January 16, 1949 [1] Minneapolis, Minnesota[1] |
| Resides | Minneapolis, Minnesota[2] |
| Debut | 1965 (Involved in business)[1] Springof1973(Official)[2] 1981[1] |
| Retired | 1993[2] |
John Sutton[2] (born January 16, 1949), better known by his ring name Oliver Humperdink, is a former professional wrestling manager who worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, Florida Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation.[1]
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[edit] Career
In the early and mid 1960s, John Sutton began to get to know several wrestlers while working as an usher in Minneapolis, Minnesota.[2] He eventually landed a job as a sort of security guard for the American Wrestling Association (AWA).[2] In 1973, he met Paul Vachon when he went to work at Grand Prix Wrestling (GPW) in Montreal.[2] At GPW, Sutton worked as a manager and an occasional wrestler.[2] He also refereed for a time.[2] Sutton began managing the Hollywood Blonds after they split with their manager, Johnny Rougeau.[2]Don Jardine came up with the "Sir Oliver Humperdink" name,[2] which he thought would draw heat from francophone fans in Quebec who hated anything English.[2] Both Don Jardine and Dale Hey are credited with coming up with his new moniker.[2]
In 1974, Humperdink went to Florida Championship Wrestling and was put into an angle with Mike Graham and Kevin Sullivan.[2] Two years later, he began working with the Hollywood Blondes once again.[2]
He worked for the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s Jim Crockett Promotions in the 1980s where he managed Greg Valentine, Paul Jones and The One Man Gang.[2] He left the company in 1983 but returned five years later before the company folded.[2] While still in the NWA, he formed a stable known as the "House of Humperdink".[1][2] As a singles wrestler, he held the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship and NWA Central States Television Championship.
In 1987, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) approached Humperdink and offered him a job.[2] As a part of the WWF, he managed Bam Bam Bigelow.[2] That same year, he also began managing Paul Orndorff during his feud with Rick Rude.[2] His gimmick was that of a face, but Sutton did not like the gimmick off-screen.[2] He managed the duo during the first ever Survivor Series in a match that they lost when Bigelow was pinned by André the Giant.[2] Humperdink also managed Bigelow during WrestleMania IV when he lost in the first round of a WWF Championship tournament.[2]
When he returned to the NWA in 1988, he managed The New Wild Samoans (Solofa Fatu, Samu, and the Tonga Kid).[2] He also returned to the side of Bigelow in his feud with Barry Windham in a match at Starrcade.[2]
He worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the early 1990s as "Big Daddy Dink", a biker-type gimmick.[2] In WCW, he managed the Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin).[2] Off-screen, Sutton hated his new gimmick and WCW's office politics.[2] He retired in 1993.[2]
[edit] Personal life
In the 1960s, Sutton was in a car crash and nearly died when he hit a snow bank.[2] After recovering from the incident, his health deteriorated.[2] In 2001, he went through surgery to replace his aortic valve in Key West.[2] He was equipped with a pace maker and made a full recovery.[2] The Cauliflower Alley Club helped pay for some of his medical expenses.[2] Sutton returned to the hospital in 2008 after heart troubles complicated a case of pneumonia.[2]
He goes to the annual Cauliflower Alley Club conventions every year.[2]
Sutton has never married nor had children.[2]
[edit] In wrestling
- Wrestlers managed
-
- Bam Bam Bigelow[1][2]
- Paul Orndorff[1][2]
- Ivan Koloff[2][3]
- One Man Gang[2][3]
- Dale Valentine[2]
- Jerry Brown[2]
- Bruiser Brody[2][3]
- Superstar Billy Graham[2]
- "Bad Bad" Leroy Brown[2][3]
- Kevin Sullivan[2][3]
- Dick Slater
- Paul Jones[2][3]
- Jos LeDuc[2][3]
- "Maniac" Matt Bourne[2][3]
- Lord Humongous[1] (Jeff Van Camp[2] or Sid Vicious)[3]
- Greg Valentine[2][3]
- Ox Baker[2]
- Hercules Hernandez[2][3]
- Kareem Muhammad[2][3]
- Abdullah the Butcher[2][3]
- The Nightmare[1][2][3]
- Gene Anderson[2][3]
- The Great Muta[2][3]
- Tag teams managed
-
- The Funk Brothers (Dory Funk, Jr. and Terry Funk)[2]
- The New Wild Samoans (Fatu, Samu, Tonga Kid)[2]
- Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin, Michael Hayes, and Badstreet),[2] with Diamond Dallas Page and Little Richard Marley
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
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- Other honoree (2005)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Oliver Humperdink profile". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/o/oliver-humperdink.html. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn Matt Mackinder (January 17, 2008). "Sir Oliver Humperdink recalls career of yesteryear". SLAM! Wrestling. http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2007/05/12/4175841.html. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p "House of Humperdink". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/h/house-of-humperdink.html. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
