Tom Zenk in the Pacific North West - Portland wrestling

''PORTLAND DAYS' - TOM ZENK IN THE PACIFIC NORTH WEST October 1985 - April 1986

'Fighting for spots'

From October to December 1985 Don Owen and Tom Zenk worked to promote Zenk as the top baby face in the PNW.

Zenk remained undefeated through the remainder of 1986, despite a 'bounty' and various attempts to 'cripple' him by PNW's top heels led by Bobby Jaggers.

Match by match, heat was generated for the ultimate show-down between Zenk and Jaggers, in a title match scheduled for January 1986.

In the PNW, wrestlers were paid a share of the house, so there was always an incentive to move to a promotion that drew bigger houses and bigger paydays. Houses had been building as the feud developed between Jaggers and Zenk. Now Billy-Jack and 'cousin' Brady Boone returned to Portland to 'partner' Zenk in tag team action against Jaggers and the recently returned Rip Oliver.

The returning Billy-Jack told Zenk "I'm the Hulk Hogan of the Northwest - that's how over I am." Billy considered himself the 'natural' main event of the PNW - despite the top spot being currently filled by Tommy Zenk.

Haynes brought Brady Boone (Dean Peters) along to tag with him against Jaggers and Oliver. His plan was for Zenk to partner him in tag matches to ease him into the currrent angles.

Zenk should then quietly return to preliminaries.

Tommy Zenk drop kicks Rip Oliver while Billy Jack and Bobby Jaggers hang on the ropes

The bottom line, however, was that top spot meant getting paid the largest share of the house. And Zenk had no intention of yielding.

On the other hand, Haynes had 'nomadic tendencies to test the patience of even his biggest fans" not to mention the 'loyalty' of promoters (Inside Wrestling, October 1986). In particular, he had a reputation with the Owens for sudden departures even in the middle of a massive push.

Haynes was soon claiming he and Rip Oliver had taken over the booking as part of their deal with the promoters.

Probably Don Owen had decided to string Haynes along, knowing he wouldn't stay long beyond Christmas.

Haynes liked to bogart matches and interviews - here with
the 'brass knucks' Oliver used to 'ambush' him.

Well Don, I guess we've seen the brass knucks......!

Through December, Haynes main-evented matches against Jaggers and Oliver - but it was clear that the fans weren't buying Haynes over Zenk. Meanwhile Don Owen continued pushing Zenk, while pacifying Haynes with headline status. To pull this off, throughout December, the official program, Northwest Wrestling News and Views, ceased to differentiate 'Main Events' and 'Premliminary' matches in its "Schedule of Events".

"Wrestling is about fighting for spots" - Haynes slides back down the card -

"the crowd support simply wasn't there." Eventually Haynes disappeared

"on tour to Japan."

Early January 1986 saw Haynes back tagging with Zenk in an effort to shore up Billy's sagging popularity. By late January, Zenk was headlining as both PNW Heavyweight Champion and PNW Tag Champion (with Scott Doring) while Haynes was back working preliminaries. By late February, Haynes had departed on a sudden tour of Japan.

Zenk and Doring go to interview seconds after winning the PNW Tag Team Championships - but Haynes gets there before them - and he's juicing like crazy .......

Zenk's own choice of tag partner was former high school friend Scott Doring, one-time Mr. Teenage America. Doring had been two years ahead of Zenk in college in Robbinsdale and one of Zenk's inspirations for becoming a bodybuilder.Scott had beaten Lee Haney (5 times Mr. Olympia) back in 1980 when Doring took 2nd place in the Mr. USA contest.

Doring and Zenk had both gone though Verne Gagne's training camp together with Doring going on to work as Rick Steiner's first partner in Montreal in summer 1984.

Doring was staying with his mother's family in Portland and picking up work with PNW when Zenk met him again in late1985.

Their title spell began on December 14, 1985 when Zenk and Doring defeated Mike Miller and Moondog Moretti for the PNW tag team title.

Subsequently, onJanuary 21, 1986, the scenario that Owen had set in motion back in October, reached a climax at the sold out "SuperStar Extravaganza III", Portland Memorial Coliseum.

One of the wrestlers recalls that "the people there really seemed to pack the big arena. They promoted it as an "Extravaganza" - bigger than life as they knew it in the bowling alley! " The card was headlined by Ric Flair and Dusty Rhodes (program below) but for many in the audience "Zenk v. Jaggers was way more memorable. Ric Flair was watching the match from behind the curtain. The other guys (Dusty,T.A., etc) were just putting in time."

Once again, the finish wasn't clean. Immediately after Zenk's victory, Jaggers and Rip Oliver double-teamed the new champion, 'beating him unconscious.' The Zenk-Jaggers feud had now reached its full pitch. "People in the audience were screaming and crying when Zenk was carried out by stretcher. Jaggers and Oliver wanted to get heat on themselves because hot heels draw money. And peoplewant to see the baby faces really kick ass on heels they hate so badly."

"Don Owen presents ...." - souvenir program for the January 21, 1986 SuperStar Extravaganza III

go to program and feature article on Tom Zenk

It was late January 1986. After four months in Portland, Tom Zenk had risen to the top of the PNW. He was the federation's top babyface, he was undefeated and held the NWA's two major Northwest titles. He was over with the crowd, he was doing his job of selling tickets, and he had unfinished business with Oliver and Jaggers that would see him through the Spring. He had fended off Billy Jack Haynes and was tagging with his best friend and training partner Scott Doring. His girlfriend was in town and they had found an apartment in Milwaukee, OR about half a mile from town. Tom Zenk was having fun.....

Part 4 - 'BIGGER, STRONGER, HAVING FUN' - " Four times a week Zenk would pick up Doring and head off to Lake Oswego to work out in the gym. Sam Bowie and Clyde the Glide Drexler (from the Portland Trailblazers) worked out in the same gym and were awed by the size the two men had achieved. Zenk and Doring were the heaviest in

their careers and the strongest in their lives. And they were having more fun that Zenk would find again in the business....."

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

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