Larry Zbyszko

Lawrence Whistler (born December 5, 1951), better known by the ring name Larry Zbyszko, is an American retired professional wrestler.

He initially wrestled in the Pittsburgh area in 1972, appearing on the local wrestling program Studio Wrestling, before receiving bookings in Vancouver with NWA All-Star Wrestling in 1973.

He debuted in 1973 as the babyface "Larry Zbyszko", with his name a tribute to 1920s Polish American wrestler Stanislaus Zbyszko.

He spent three years in the World Wide Wrestling Federation before traveling to California in 1975.

Zbyszko was one of the attractions in the 1976 Latin America Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight championship, held in Guatemala City, under José Azzari promotions.

Three days after the end of the tournament (Mil Máscaras won the title, defeating José Azzari in the final), an earthquake destroyed much of that Central American nation.

Zbyszko returned to the WWWF in 1976 and formed a tag team with Tony Garea, with whom he won the WWWF World Tag Team Championships on November 21, 1978 in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

In 1978 he summarized his mat-based ringwork with the statement, "I just believe in science over brawn."

At the end of the decade, Zbyszko became frustrated with his inability to shed his label as Bruno Sammartino's protégé.

He challenged Sammartino to an exhibition match, claiming this was the only way he could step out of Sammartino's shadow.

Sammartino eventually agreed to the match after Zbyszko threatened to retire if he was not granted the match.

Their reign lasted until March 6, 1979, when they were defeated by the Valiant brothers in Allentown.

Zbyszko feuded with Bugsy McGraw, Abdullah the Butcher and Superstar Billy Graham in addition to wrestling Killer Kowalski and Baron Mikel Scicluna.

He is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, during the early 1980s as well as his work as a wrestler and color commentator for World Championship Wrestling.

Among other accolades, he is a two-time world champion having twice held the AWA World Heavyweight Championship.

The trainer and pupil faced one another in Allentown on January 22, 1980, with Sammartino dominating the early stages of the match.

After Sammartino threw him out of the ring, an irate Zbyszko seized a wooden chair and struck Sammartino, leaving him in a pool of blood in the middle of the ring and instantly turning Zbyszko into a reviled heel.

Zbyszko was struck with an iron pole following a match with Ivan Putski, and was stabbed in the buttock following a match with Pedro Morales in the Washington Avenue Armory in Albany, New York.

After turning against Sammartino, Zbyszko was approached by the WWWF's "Unholy Trio" of managers (Fred Blassie, The Grand Wizard, and "Captain" Lou Albano), but he decided to continue wrestling without a manager.

Sammartino and Zbyszko fought one another repeatedly in a lengthy feud that stretched throughout 1980.

In the course of the feud, Zbyszko began referring to himself as "The New Living Legend" (a reference to Sammartino, who was often addressed as "The Living Legend").

The feud culminated in a steel cage match at Showdown at Shea at Shea Stadium in Flushing, New York on August 9, 1980 that saw Sammartino defeat Zbyszko in front of an audience of 36,295.

Zbyszko left the WWF in spring 1981.

In mid-1981, he toured Japan with All Japan Pro Wrestling.

In early to mid-1982, Zbyszko appeared with the International Wrestling Federation, where he faced Bruno Sammartino Jr. in a series of matches.

In October 1982, he made another tour of Japan with All Japan Pro Wrestling.

In March 1983, Zbyszko joined the Georgia Championship Wrestling territory of the National Wrestling Alliance, where he began claiming to have retired Bruno Sammartino (Sammartino had retired from full-time competition in 1981).

Zbyszko initially feuded with Tim Woods and Paul Orndorff, whom he was unable to defeat for the NWA National Heavyweight Championship.

After Killer Tim Brooks defeated Orndorff for the title on March 20, 1983, Zybszko immediately offered him US$25,000 for the title, which Brooks accepted.

His reign lasted until April 30 of that year, when NWA President Bob Geigel stripped Zbyszko of the title due to the manner in which he had acquired it.

A tournament was held for the vacant title, which Zbyszko entered.

He defeated Mr. Wrestling II in the tournament final on May 6, 1983 in Atlanta, Georgia to regain the title.

His second reign lasted until September 25, 1983, when he lost to Brett Wayne in Atlanta.

He continued to wrestle in Georgia until April 1984.

In March 1984, Zbyszko joined the Minneapolis, Minnesota-based American Wrestling Association.

He was awarded the newly created AWA America's Championship in January 1985 and engaged in a lengthy feud with Sgt. Slaughter, who defeated him for the title on June 21, 1985 in Chicago, Illinois.

Zbyszko feuded with Nick Bockwinkel throughout 1986, losing to him in a Texas death match at Rage in a Cage on April 28, 1986.

Throughout the feud, Zbyszko drew the ire of fans by fleeing the ring and stalling for minutes at a time whenever Slaughter gained an advantage (in an April 2004 interview, Zbyszko claimed that the longest he ever stalled for was sixteen minutes).

Zbyszko was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame on March 28, 2015 by Sammartino.

Whistler trained under Bruno Sammartino after cutting his collegiate wrestling career at Penn State University short.