Chris Markoff

One of the heels that drew the most heat in the Dallas territory in the '60s was Chris Markoff. He was very loud and knew how to work a crowd.

Markoff debuted on 11-13-67 teaming with Mike Paidousis against Waldo Von Erich and Joe Blanchard in Fort Worth. He was introduced as being from Yugoslavia. Markoff then yelled into the microphone that he was not from Yugoslavia, he was from Russia. That was always instant heat during the Cold War era. He proceeded to attack Blanchard and Von Erich from behind. The match was a double countout.

During a match with Pepe Gomez, Markoff continuously jumped off the top onto Gomez until Nick Kozak made the save. Chris had tremendous heat during the post-match interview. The noise in the building was as loud as I had ever heard it.

Markoff wrestled nearly everyone who came through the territory during his eight months there. Matches with the Kozaks, Spoilers, Billy Red Lyons, Fritz Von Erich, and Buddy Moreno were all good. His main singles program was with Nick Kozak.

I saw Markoff wrestle in person on 2-12-68. He defeated Danny Plechas in the opener and then won a battle royal. There was a $500 bounty for Spoiler #1's mask in the battle royal. Spoiler #2 picked up #1 and put him over the top rope onto the floor. #1 was eliminated which ruined everyone else's chances of winning $500. Ernie Ladd and Markoff pounded on #2 with Ladd throwing #2 out. Markoff threw out Ladd after sneaking up behind him thus winning the battle royal. I was sitting on the front row when Markoff walked by me after the match. As he passed, I booed him loudly and Markoff just looked at me and laughed. I was disappointed that he was not upset about getting booed.

Markoff went on to Florida and other territories after leaving Texas. The last time I saw him wrestle was on TBS during Georgia Championship Wrestling.

Skandor Akbar

One of the wrestlers who passed through Texas before becoming famous was Skandor Akbar. He made his debut in the Dallas territory in November of 1966 and stayed until February of 1967.

Akbar had matches against Ken Hollis, Ronnie Etchison, Benny Matta, and Chief Little Eagle during his stay. Being a preliminary wrestler, he never had an interview on television. The only main event match he had was when he teamed with Waldo Von Erich against Al Costello and Karl Von Brauner. The first fall of the match was shown on Dallas TV. Akbar was pinned by Von Brauner after being hit in the head by Gary Hart with Costello's boomerang.

I saw Akbar in a three way match on 12-26-66 in Fort Worth during the Cowtown Tournament. His opponents were Benny Matta and Ronnie Etchison. Akbar held Etchison in a full nelson and Benny Matta dropkicked Etchison who was pinned by Akbar. Afterwards, Akbar got up and celebrated. He was promptly dropkicked and pinned by Matta.

Akbar went to several territories and came back to Dallas as the manager of Devastation Inc. He was one of the best managers in wrestling history. Akbar did great interviews for someone who did none on his first tour in Dallas. It was obvious they he worked very hard at it.

I meet Akbar, his wife, Killer Karl Kox, and Tim Brooks at a wrestling convention at Arlington in 2003. They were all very nice and a pleasure to talk to.

Spoiler #2




A wrestler that was part of Gary Hart's stable in the late '60s was the Spoiler #2. He was brought in as a tag team partner for Spoiler #1. Spoiler #2 was a big part of the scene in the Dallas territory in 1968.

The Spoilers had their first tag match on Fort Worth TV against Ernie Ladd and Big Bad John on 2-5-68. The match was won by the Spoilers in two straight falls. #1 won the first fall with the claw and #2 won the second with an upside down bearhug. John lost both falls because Ladd was being pushed as a top babyface. The American Tag Team Championship was next for the Spoilers, winning it from Fritz Von Erich and Billy Red Lyons. Nick and Jerry Kozak, Von Erich and Grizzly Smith and Red Lyons and Buddy Moreno also worked programs with the Spoilers.

Spoiler #2 was unmasked on Dallas TV by Nick and Jerry Kozak during a battle royal. I first thought he was Dick the Bruiser because they looked so much alike. Nick Kozak then said it was Smasher Sloan. I had read about Smasher Sloan in the wrestling magazines that were based on the East Coast. The thing that stood out about him was that he rarely won a match. Sloan came to Texas and was winning a lot of matches and I did not understand how he got so much better.

In November of 1968, Sloan turned on Gary Hart and became a face. He had matches with Don Jardine, the unmasked Spoiler #1. He also teamed with the other faces against the men managed by Hart.

Even though he was not as talented as Don Jardine, he was entertaining as his role as the Spoiler #2.

The Spoiler




One of the biggest monster heels to come through the Dallas territory was the Spoiler. He made his debut in Fort Worth on 8-7-67. For the next twenty years, he influenced the success of the Dallas territory as much as any wrestler. His feud with Fritz Von Erich established Fritz as the top baby face for years to come.

Gary Hart, the Spoiler's manager, said the Spoiler had a big surprise for the people. This was hyped by Hart on Fort Worth TV for three weeks. During a match where Spoiler wrestled Paul DeMarco, the surprise was revealed. Hart pulled out a glove that Spoiler put on his right hand. The matched continued to give people time to wonder what the surprise would be. Spoiler then applied the head claw like Fritz Von Erich used to DeMarco, who juiced heavily. The Spoiler’s version of the claw was called the "Hart's Krusher." The camera even did a close up on DeMarco's head for extra emphasis. The psychology behind this angle was great. As I have said before, this is what today’s wrestling is missing.

There was later a "claw vs claw" challenge between Fritz and the Spoiler on Fort Worth TV. Billy Red Lyons was in Fritz's corner and Hart was in the Spoiler's corner. Spoiler applied his claw to Fritz first who fought his way out of it after a big struggle. Fritz then applied his claw and was getting the best of it when Hart interfered and broke it up. On an interview afterwards, Fritz said that the Spoiler had a strong grip but the glove was wet causing it to draw up and apply more pressure.

In my opinion, the feud between Fritz and Spoiler was the best one of that era. It continued for several years with the American title going back and forth between them. The American tag titles were also involved in this feud. The Spoiler was unmasked during this time to be revealed as Don Jardine. The mask did go back on later because Jardine did not have the impact that he did with the mask.

The Spoiler went on to be one of the biggest stars in wrestling history working in many different territories. His quickness and agility for a big man was really unique.