Tom Zenk in the Pacific North West - Portland wrestling

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

Bigger, stronger, having fun

From last week - It was late January 1986. After four months in Portland, Tom Zenk was the federation's top babyface, he was still undefeated and he held the NWA's two major Northwest titles. He was over with the fans, he had warded off Billy Jack Haynes and had unfinished business with Oliver and Jaggers that would see him through the Spring....

The Zenk-Jaggers feud reached fever pitch on January 21, 1986 when Jaggers and Oliver double teamed Zenk, 'beating him unconscious' after Zenk's capture of the NWA Heavyweight title.

The feud was given further heat two days later, when Zenk and Doring lost the PNW tag team title to Jaggers and Oliver in Salem, January 23, 1986,

Throughout January, February and early March 1986, Zenk defended his PNW heavyweight title in matches across the North West. He was guaranteed constant work and was developing valuable ring experience -

"This is is definitely a great place to gain experience. There is a lot of great talent here in this territory and a lot of wrestling, six or seven nights a week and that's also a great opportunity for me" (Wrestling Ringside, No 19, May 1986).

TOM ZENK WINS PNW HEAVYWEIGHT CROWN
(from Northwest Wrestling News and Views, 1/30/86)

Tom's schedule involved 12 days on and 2 days off each fortnight. Matches took him to small local gyms in high schools, cold and draughty armories, county fairgrounds with the lingering smell of livestock - and every weekend, back to the converted 'sports arena' in north Portland, for the Saturday night taping of "Portland Wrestling."

The thing that Zenk liked most about working in the PNW - apart from the mountains, the promoter and the neighborly community - was that no venue was more than 2 hours from the apartment in Milwaukee, Oregon, that he shared with his girlfriend and their dog 'Mad Max.

Four times a week, Zenk washed and breakfasted around 9.30 a.m. before leaving the apartment to pick up Doring. From Doring's place they headed off to Lake Oswego to work out.

In the gym, Zenk and Doring pushed each other through a two and a half hour work-out. They were soon the heaviest in their careers and the strongest in their lives.

Sam Bowie and Clyde 'the Glide' Drexler (from the Portland Trailblazers) worked out in the same gym and were awed by Zenk and Doring's size. Bowie, Clyde the Glide and Michael Thompson (another of the Trailblazers) were all fans of Portland Wrestling.

Other wrestlers working in PNW during Zenk's tour included 'faces' Billy Jack Haynes, Ricky Vaughn, Brady Boone, Steve Pardi, Terry Bradshaw, Jerry "Hercules" Samson, Jimmy Snuka's "cousin" Cocoa Samoa and Billy Two Eagles. 'Heels' included - Jaggers, Rip Oliver, "Mean" Mike Miller, Ed Moretti, Mega Mahareshee (Ed Wiskowski) and Karl Steiner.

Weighing in at 230 pounds, Tom could have been considered small in the company of some of these men --

"You have to be strong and maintain yourself just to get in the ring. Look at Bobby Jaggers; he's 280 pounds. Look how muscular Ricky Vaughn is: the man is super strong. Not everyone has a great body, but these guys are big, and you have to move that amount of weight when it comes down on top of you. It's hard to get the wind knocked out of you and get back and fight a man that size. That's why I rely on speed and agility so much."(Wrestling Ringside, No 19, May 1986)

Matches were the best of three falls and could last up to an hour. To manage this, a wrestler had to have stamina, and intelligence, as well as size.

"You have to be in real good physical condition to get in the ring because you go in there for 15 to 60 minutes. There are holds and counter-holds. You've got to be thinking at the same time."

Tom Zenk wins the PNW Heavyweight title
January 21, 1986

After the Gym session, Zenk returned to his apartment to relax and listen to music. Then it was time to hit the road. Most cards started around 8 pm - but Don Owen was happy so long as they arrived in time for their scheduled match. Since they were generally main-eventing, that was nearly always the last match of the night.

Medford was the farthest they traveled. PNW program-notes warned that cards were subject to change through "injury, illness, the hazards of travel or the act of God." On their trips to venues in the snow, Owen warned them to look out for 'black ice' on the mountain roads. They drove everywhere in Zenk's Buick Park Avenue with the tires studded when the weather was bad. Ed 'Moondog' Moretti, a member of the 'Clan' (with whom Zenk and Doring were feuding) sometimes rode along. The Buick had a good stereo and amp. Music was The Doors, Grassroots, Paul Revere and the Raiders, Beatles, Stones, and Gary Lewis and the Playboys. They ate on the road and most nights they were home by midnight.

Not far from Zenk's apartment was the infamous Bomber Motel - rent-by-the-month apartments - and the heart of Portland's night life. Many of the wrestlers started out their tours renting there. The motel drive was U-shaped and girls showed up with beer, circling through the drive looking to party with the boys after the weekend shows.

* * *

The Pacific North West was providing Zenk with a good living, in a family based promotion, in a friendly community, in a spectacular part of the country. The only bad spot had been Billy Jack - but, by February, Billy had left the promotion as Don Owen anticipated.

Yet by March, Zenk was heading for Montreal - "the greatest mistake of my wrestling career."

The International Wrestling Alliance (IWA) based in Montreal was looking for new talent to help fend off WWF who were promoting heavily in Quebec. Rick Martel had a part share in the IWA with Gino Brito and Dino Bravo. He rang Zenk, promising $1,000 a week against the $700 he was earning in Portland - and a promise of occasional tag partnerships with Martel and Bravo.

On March 9 , 1986, in anticipation of his move to Canada, Zenk dropped the singles title to Jaggers in Findley, Washington. They stretchered him out courtesy of “Rip’s Carry Out Service.” That way, Don was leaving the door open for Zenk to return – in case Martel swerved him.


Tom Zenk, Portland, early 1986 - ring jacket supplied by Martel.	The Can-Am try-out, Canada and Japan 1986

In Montreal, the bigger pay day and the tag opportunities Martel promised never eventuated - but by the time Zenk realized this, it was already too late and too expensive to go back.

His departure from Portland hadn't been acrimonious. When he gave Don his five weeks notice, Owen had offered an extra $1,000 to stay. Don accepted the inevitable with one regret - "Tom, we never got you beat!" They were disappointed and their feelings hurt - but the Owens always acted with great generosity.

It was something Zenk tried to repay in a small way later, when he returned Portland in February 1988 to support Don Owen on the night Billy Jack Haynes' opened his rival Oregon Wrestling Federation.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Next - Tom Zenk in International Wrestling Alliance (IWA).

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