Johnny Walker



John "Johnny" Walker (born in Charleston, South Carolina), better known as Mr. Wrestling II, is considered by many to be the most accomplished masked babyface American professional wrestler. II was one of the most popular wrestlers in the Southeast, Mid Atlantic, Florida and Georgia territories in the mid 1970s to late 1980s. He was considered one of the greatest American wrestlers not to win a world title - mask or no mask.

Career
Bio Quotes provided by Georgia Wrestling History

Before the Mask
Johnny Walker's career began in 1956 working occasionally on cards in Hawaii where he grew up. Tony Morelli and Pat O’Connor were the wrestlers who trained Johnny. In 1958, Walker left the islands for his first time going to Toronto, which was a major culture shock. “When I got off the plane there for the first time, I almost turned around and got back on because it was so cold. I got off that airplane in a Hawaiian suit. I thought I was going to freeze to death. I was not a happy camper.” Johnny stayed in the area for a few months. Pat O’Connor was there, and so were Don Curtis, Lord Athol Layton, and Hard Boiled Haggerty (Don Stansauk).

In 1959 Johnny Walker and the Amazing Zuma won the WCWA Texas Tag Team Championship for Paul Beosch wrestling promotion. One day while Beosch is watching Johnny Walker train (see pic above) observing Walker's incredible physical flexibility. Those traits led Houston promoter Paul Boesch to dub Walker “Rubberman”. “One day he was watching me wrestle, and I was extremely flexible at the time. He liked the contortionist moves that I made with my nimble body.” The nickname remained with Walker until the early 1970's.

By the early 1960s, Johnny moved on to work as a heel in the new Northeast WWWF for Vince McMahon Sr who had broken away from the NWA along with Gene Kiniski, Don Leo Jonathan, and a young and cocky Bruno Sammartino. One day while they were training Walker taught Sammartino “a smaller guy can beat you if you’re not careful. Strength is not everything. You have to have good balance, coordination, timing, and leverage.”

The mid-1960s were also spent working for Nick Gulas, a supposed bad paying promoter. “I had a good deal with him. He gave me good guarantees and it worked out alright. I was on top and did well there. A lot of the guys I’ve spoken to say he wasn’t a man of his word, but he kept his word with me.”

Next in Tennessee, he had tagged teamed with Silento Rodriguez who was legally deaf – he and Walker had good chemistry anyways. “He just kind of followed suit to what I did. He watched me physically and just kept up with me.”

He also began working in Georgia during that time pairing often with Jim Wilson, former football All-American wrestling during his off-seasons from the Atlanta Falcons. “I took him down to the gym and kind of stretched him a little bit and showed him he didn’t know as much about wrestling as he thought he did.” Walker worked all across the U.S. and Canada during that decade, including stints in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Texas, Portland, and Calgary.

The mid-1960s to early-1970s were at great time for Walker, he topped several territories for most of those years, both as a single and with numerous tag partners. Although married he had no problem with the endless traveling and neither did his wife even though in those days wrestlers would literally wrestle 25 days a month. She had her own life as a master seamstress, she made custom jackets & robes for the country music stars of the 1960s such as Porter Wagner and George Jones, as well as Liberace and Broadway actors. These robes were all hand made and expensive. In the early-1970s she started making Mr Wrestling l & 2's robes, Ric Flair's, Paul Orndroff's, Austin Idols and many others. (In his retirement speech Ric Flair thanks her for all her hard work)

Wearing the Mask
In March, 1971 Walker went to wrestle for Eddie Graham in South Florida starting out as a baby face. However at 40 years of age and balding, he looked old and haggard compared to others his age, hence putting him in the mask. "Eddie brought me in as the Grappler," Walker recalled. "Graham knew my background and thought I would fit in well there."

At first, Walker didn’t like wearing a mask. "It was very difficult to work with," he remembered. "The first time I wore it, as soon as the match was over I ran back to the dressing room so I could rip it off. I was gasping for air. But I got used to it eventually, and I was very successful with it."

After a couple of months he started a program of matches against the "Original Grappler", he only wrestled as the Grappler for 5 months before unmasking to compete against Bobby Duncum for his Brass Knuckles Title. "If Duncum wants my mask off, says the Grappler. I'll take it off...if he puts up his brass knuckles title on the line." He lost the match after unmasking as Johnny Walker.

His next series of matches were against Mr. Wrestling who was wrestling with a knee brace as a heel. The matches involved $500 which Mr. Wrestling lost to Johnny Walker. They then had a series of matches with Mr Wrestling failing to win back his $500. Finally Mr. Wrestling put up his Mask vs Walker's Hair and the $500. Walker in fact lost this match, the $500 and his hair.

In January 1972 Walker and Mr. Wrestling tagged together for the first time in Florida with Walker again a heel. "we were like two peas from the same pod in the ring together" stated Walker. They wrestled a series of matches over the next 10 months as partners off and on.

Atlanta's Promotion War
After Ray Gunkel's sudden death following a match in August 1972, a promotional war in Atlanta started during that November. Almost everyone working for the Atlanta NWA's booking office, Georgia Championship Wrestling, the local promoters left the N.W.A. and went to work for Gunkel's widow, Ann, in her new All-South Wrestling Alliance except for Bob Armstrong.

(See Dave Meltzer's book Tributes 2: Remembering Some of the World's Greatest Wrestlers page 182).
 * Gunkel's widow was a young beautiful ex-professional model who had her husband's controlling interest in the Atlanta office. Ann having learned the business from her husband, was determined to run things. Her husbands partners Lester Welch and his son Buddy Fuller were pro wrestlers as was her husband so they and promoter (ex-wrestler)Paul Jones were not pleased to have her trying to run the show. Days before the Thanksgiving day show these men closed the Altanta booking office she had shares in, denying Ann Gunkel her husband's shares of the company. These men then reopened the Atlanta office the same day without her.


 * The Atlanta N.W.A. office staff and workers however were loyal to Ray & Ann Gunkel and retaliated. The next day the NWA's Atlanta booking office woke up to an Atlanta Journal headline story, all their office staff, wrestlers, and the rest of the local promoters except Fred Ward had left the N.W.A. en masse and joined Ann Gunkel's outlaw All-South Wrestling Alliance. Gunkel then booked a competing show for Thanksgiving day in a Atlanta suburb. Only Bob Armstrong and Rock Hunter who had missed the walk out meeting showed up for Fred Ward's N.W.A. Nov 22 1972 Wednesday night NWA wrestling show in Columbus Ga. Ann Gunkel's outlaw All South Wrestling Alliance lasted just 2 yrs before being bought out by Jim Barnett an Aussie promoter who bought into Georiga Championship Wrestling.

The Birth of Mr. Wrestling II
Because of the promotions war, N.W.A. Atlanta promoter Paul Jones needed to rebuild his booking office. The Thanksgiving day matches that were the back bone of the company getting through the winter months was in deep trouble, without matches Thanksgiving evening the N.W.A Atlanta booking office of Paul Jones may have never recovered.

With assistance from promoters Eddie Graham, Fred Ward and Jerry Jarrett, among others, wrestlers were sent in from all over the South to save Georgia Championship Wrestling and get the promotion back on its feet. Johnny Walker, who was nearing the end of his run in Florida was one of them, along with Eddie Graham and others from Graham's, Ward's and Jarret's areas. (Fred Ward's help was so desperately needed he was given 20% of the Atlanta booking office and a NWA vice presidency)

Leo Garibaldi, a former Atlanta Booker, returned to Atlanta to help Jones. He wanted to bring Tim Woods back, who, as Mr. Wrestling, had had a great run there earlier. However, Woods was already working for Graham, topping his cards in Florida, so was unavailable.

Graham did agree to bring in Woods occasionally, but not for the rebuilding process. Instead Graham/Garibaldi came up with Plan B: Graham, remembering how well Walker and Woods worked together in Florida, they decided to create a second Mr. Wrestling. Enter Johnny Walker. "Leo asked me to come here and take the mask to become Mr. Wrestling #2," reported Walker, later.

January 1973 was the first appearance of Mr. Wrestling 1 and 2 in Promoters Paul Jones Georgia Championship Wrestling. Mr Wrestling announced in the ring that as he had commitments in Florida that would not allow him to return to Atlanta full time to battle the legion of heels in the area. However he had found a wrestler that would fulfill the ideals of Mr Wrestling and continue fighting the war against the heels as he would, he then introduced Wrestling 2 to the packed house.

Walker was an immediate hit with the Georgia fans as Mr. Wrestling II, Walker developed a fiery interview style and rough as needed wrestling style, which were exactly the opposite of Mr. Wrestling's soft spoken humble speech & wrestling style. Walker also wrestled several times that year on Paul Jones cards as both Johnny Walker and Mr. Wrestling II exposing his trademark rubber man back shiver so that fans in the know knew who he really was.

Mr Wrestling (Tim Woods) was brought back from Florida into Atlanta regularly to wrestle against Harley Race, and Jack Brisco as No. 1 contender to the N.W.A. Heavyweight Title. Traditionally the No.1 contender was the Georgia Heavyweight Champion, more times then not this was Mr Wrestling 2.

This eventually caused Wrestling 2 to resent Wrestling 1's being being brought back from Florida and favored as the the No.1 contender to the N.W.A. World Heavyweight Title. Wrestling 2 became very vocal as to being left out of the No.1 contenders spot stating that he was as good or better wrestler then Wrestling 1 and as Georgia Heavyweight Champion the No.1 contenders spot was rightfully his.

Around Jan 74 this issue led to a series of matches between the two men, friendly at first but becoming increasingly contentious to the point that 1 match became a Mr Wrestling 1's Hair vs. Mr. Wrestling 2's mask. This was the first of only 2 times in Walker's time as Wrestling 2 that he wrestled as a heel.

As Wrestling 1 (Tim Woods) had already unmasked several times in the Mid America and Florida territory so he did the honors as Walker loaded his mask and knocked Mr Wrestling out winning the match on Feb 10 requiring Tim Wood's head to be shaved.

Wrestling 2 from then on received the majority of No.1 contender matches as was his due. He and No.1 had a famous tv studio meeting where No.2 literally laid a hatchet down on the announcer Ed Carpal's podium and declared the feud as over thus reuniting the pair to continue their war against the hated Assassins.

Wrestling 1 & 2 became such a hot draw against the Assassins that the 2 teams headlined many a sell out throughout the Mid Atlantic, Georgia, Florida & Southeastern territories. The 2 teams also headlined 8 out of 12 monthly cards at the Omni for almost 3 years straight which in the mid 70's was unprecedented.

Legacy
Walker dominated Georgia Championship Wrestling, as Mr. Wrestling II during his tenure, he won the first of 10 Georgia Heavyweight Titles on March 2, 1973 but his legacy is surprisingly overlooked and underrated during today's WWE dominion over the sport. Walker far surpassed the popularity of Mr. Wrestling (Tim Woods) throughout the Carolina s', Georgia, Florida and the Deep South regions in his 15 years as Mr. Wrestling II.

Former President Jimmy Carter (a fellow Georgian) called II his favorite wrestler (as well as his mother's favorite). There is an urban legend that is undocumented, but claims that II was invited to a party by then-President Carter, but (naturally) Secret Service would not let a man wearing a mask in to any affair with the President. It is said he had the Secret Service relay his regards to the President, but refused to unmask.

Another legend which was actually a fact was that Wrestling 2 never traveled with out his wrestling mask on, he also had a special Mask just for eating. He was also 1 of the few Wrestlers allowed to show up during the taping of tv wrestling shows and because of tight driving schedules allowed to schedule his tv matches as he saw fit.

If there wasn't time for a match he would do a promo, a run in or whatever he had time for and then continue on his way. He would literally drive from the Altanta N.W.A. GCW tv taping on Sat morning, to Macon for another tv taping, to Fred Wards Columbus Championship Wrestling tv taping all on Sat morning plus then continue on to wherever he was wrestling live that day.

Johnny Walkers wrestling career lasted an astounding 32 years, remember these were the days of wrestling 25 days a month and sometimes 2 to 4 times a day. Astoundingly all the traveling was by car and in 50's 60's, 70's & 80's this was almost always on secondary roads involving thousands of miles of dangerous driving a week.

Walker wrestled in almost every major territory in the U.S., Canada, plus many times in Japan. He retired to Hawaii and at this time (Dec 2009) is alive but having health issues, ( recovery from a stroke ). When he was healthy he returned regularly to Columbus Ga. for reunions with his loyal fans, Columbus/Macon fans were always the most rapid supporters of both Wrestling 1 and 2.

Finishing maneuver

 * Running knee lift & pin

Trained or mentored wrestlers

 * Magnum TA
 * Rick Rude
 * Tony Atlas
 * Hercules Hernandez

Notable Feuds

 * The Assassin
 * The Spoiler
 * The Masked Superstar
 * Jack Brisco
 * Buddy Colt
 * Magnum TA
 * Jimmy Garvin
 * Tim Woods
 * Minnesota Wrecking Crew
 * Larry Zbyszko
 * The Road Warriors

As Johnny (Rubberman) Walker

 * NWA Mid-America World Tag Team Champion w/ Len Rossi (9/68 - 11/13/68)
 * NWA Southern Tag Team Champion w/ Ken Lucas (2/02/69 - 2/69)
 * NWA Southern Tag Team Champion (2) w/ Ken Lucas (3/13/69 - 69)
 * NWA Southern Tag Team Champion (3) w/ Bob Ramstead (4/28/69 - 5/19/69)
 * NWA Mid-America World Tag Team Champion (2) w/ Len Rossi (69)
 * NWA Southern Tag Team Champion (4) w/ Sundown Kid (6/09/69 - 6/16/69)
 * NWA Mid-America World Tag Team Champion (3) w/ Bearcat Brown (6/21/69 - 6/28/69)
 * NWA Mid-America World Tag Team Champion (4) w/ Bearcat Brown (7/09/69 - 69)
 * NWA Southern Tag Team Champion (5) w/ Dennis Hall (8/11/69 - 10/06/69)
 * NWA Southern Tag Team Champion (6) w/ Dennis Hall (1/19/70 - 70)
 * NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Champion (3/70 - 70)
 * NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Champion(2) (7/28/70 - 11/25/70)
 * NWA Southern Tag Team Champion (7) w/ Tojo Yamamoto (8/24/70 - 9/07/70)
 * NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight Champion (9/21/70 - ??)
 * NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Champion (3/23/71 - 4/14/71)
 * NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Champion (3) (72)
 * NWA Florida Tag Team Champion w/ Boris Malenko (6/24/72 - 6/29/72

As Mr. Wrestling ll

 * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion (1/73 - 5/18/73)
 * NWA Georgia Southeastern Tag Team Champion w/ Bill Dromo (4/73 - 4/25/73)
 * NWA Georgia Tag Team Champion w/ Bob Orton Jr (6/09/73 - 8/73)
 * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion (2) (8/31/73 - 11/73)
 * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion (3) (1/11/74 - 7/05/74)
 * NWA Georgia Tag Team Champion (2) w/ Tim Woods (8/02/74 - 8/16/74)
 * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion (4) (8/30/74 - 9/13/74)
 * NWA Georgia Tag Team Champion (3) w/ Mr. Wrestling I (9/06/74 - 9/20/74)
 * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion (5) (10/03/75 - 11/27/75)
 * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion (6) (10/26/76 - 11/25/76)
 * NWA Georgia Tag Team Champion (4) w/ Mr. Wrestling I (1/14/77 - 2/25/77)
 * NWA World Tag Team Champion w/ Mr. Wrestling I (77)
 * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion (7) (7/22/77 - 9/77)
 * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion (8) (78 - 2/06/78)
 * NWA Georgia Tag Team Champion (5) w/ Tony Atlas (2/78 - 3/78)
 * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion (9) (10/16/78 - 1/06/79)
 * NWA Tri-State/Mid-South North American Heavyweight Champion (2/16/79 - 9/05/79)
 * NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champion (10) (1/12/80 - 3/29/80)
 * NWA Georgia Tag Team Champion (6) w/ Mr. Wrestling I (9/19/80 - 10/10/80)
 * NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion (12/81 - 3/82)
 * NWA Florida Heavyweight Champion (2) (4/82 - 5/82)
 * Mid-South Mississippi Heavyweight Champion (11/27/82 - 8/83)
 * Mid-South Tag Team Champion w/ Tiger Conway Jr (3/12/83 - 4/13/83)
 * Mid-South Tag Team Champion (2) w/ Magnum TA (12/25/83 - 3/12/84)
 * Mid-South North American Heavyweight Champion(2) (3/12/84 - 5/13/84)
 * NWA Southeastern Continental Heavyweight Champion (8/84 - 11/84)
 * NWA Alabama Heavyweight Champion (4/27/87 - 6/14/87)