Happy Birthday, Johnny Powers

From Larry Stoy: Johnny Powers (Dennis Waters) was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on this day in 1943. He began his pro wrestl...

From Larry Stoy:

Johnny Powers (Dennis Waters) was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, on this day in 1943. He began his pro wrestling career at the age of 17 after receiving training from Canadian Light Heavyweight Champion Jack Wentworth, plus additional coaching from two legendary wrestling figures Johnny Valentine and Lou Thesz. Powers would later have high profile matches against both Valentine and Thesz that highlighted his career.

His first real foray in the business came when he was 20 and wrestled in Detroit as “Lord” Anthony Lansdowne. His next stop would be in the northeastern United States where he was known as Johnny Powers. This began a two year stretch that saw Powers battle WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino in the Pittsburgh area. He also had a program with former NWA World Champion “Whipper” Billy Watson that stretched across Canada. Powers would later have title matches against Thesz for NWA World Championship, as well as title matches with the AWA kingpin, Verne Gagne, establishing him as a force to be reckoned with by any and all top names in wrestling.

Powers then settled into the Cleveland area and helped to co-found a new organization called the National Wrestling Federation, which he later sold the New Japan Pro Wrestling group. Powers was the most popular wrestler in the NWF and also had seven reigns as the company’s North American Champion, as well as three stints as the World Champion as recognized by the organization. He had some the toughest feuds ever against wrestlers such as Valentine, the Sheik, Ernie Ladd, and Abdullah the Butcher. The most infamous match of his career took place in Cleveland when he turned on Ladd with help from Ox Baker, which is still remembered today as the Cleveland Riot.

He also gained experience as a promoter and television producer, selling many shows to Japan, Mexico, the Armed Forces, and later on had another twenty-seven countries on his client list. Another mentor for Powers during his life was well known promoter Pedro Martinez. Powers’ prowess for the business side of wrestling would see his company own the world’s largest library of wrestling at the time, producing 300 new hours per week of televised action.

Another highlight of his promotional gems was the three-ring Super Bowl of Wrestling in Cleveland in 1972. This event featured over fifty top national wrestling stars and was held at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium. Powers got the idea after going to a performance of the Barnum & Bailey Circus. Powers and Martinez would team together in 1975 to purchase control of the International Wrestling Association, and the year after Powers bought out Martinez for complete control of the group.

Powers remained active in the business until retiring in 1982. He would later be honored in Yokohama, Japan, in 1991 in a televised ceremony that also included such luminaries as Thesz, Karl Gotch, Muhammad Ali, and Billy Robinson. In 2003, Powers was inducted into the Canadian Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.

He has also had a very successful life outside of pro wrestling that actually began when he was only 22 years old. At that tender age, he was part of the Pro Management, Inc., that specialized in sports celebrity management firm. He would help develop a campaign that would result in a boom in the sale of sports fitness equipment. Johnny is also currently the CEO for Chief Creative Resource Group, Inc. This company is an integrated media and entertainment group.