VIEW FROM THE RISING SUN
by Masanori Horie

The Deep Scars Told Something

Masa and Abdullah
Masa with Abdullah the Butcher, after the Big Japan Korakuen Hall show, 1/2/99

Happy Birthday, Abdullah the Butcher!!! He has his XXth birthday in Japan on Monday, January 11th, 1999 (though some sites inform that his birthday is January 1st, they are incorrect). It is said that he was born in 1936; actually, he showed me his I.D. card, which had 1/11/41 as his birthday. I don't care if he cheated me or not, because he never does look 63 nor 58, and he will be always the one and only original Abdullah the Butcher, who is one of the greatest wrestlers and a teacher to me. I have so much respect for him that I can never call him "Abby."

Abdullah the Butcher, real name Larry Paul Shreve ("Shreeve" is incorrect), is a Canadian. His mother and his little brother (a big wrestling fan who collects wrestling stuff) still live in Windsor, Ontario, though he is infamous as the "madman from the Sudan."

He debuted on Great Kojika's Big Japan Pro-Wrestling show at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 2nd, 1999. He, as usual, carved up opponents' foreheads with foreign objects (ball point pen, fork, etc.) after getting his own forehead carved up, and then he beat his opponent with a flying elbow drop. Of course, he ran through the frightened crowd and even came into the stands. He really loves to entertain us like wrestlers used to in the good old days. But, he will never be out of control … I was really impressed to see him suddenly stop in front of a handicapped fan in a wheelchair and shake hands with him, while still brawling outside of the ring. He is one of the warmest-hearted men I've ever seen in my life.

Abdullah has drawn huge money for the Japanese offices, especially for Giant Baba's All Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he teamed with The Sheik (Abdullah & Sheik were managed by J.J. Dillon in '77), Bobo Brazil, Kintaro Oki (Kim ILL), Rufus R. Jones, Ray Candy, Killer Tor Kamata, Mark Lewin, TNT (a.k.a. Savio Vega), and Giant Kimala I & II. He had bloody feuds with Baba, Jumbo Tsuruta, The Destroyer (Dick Beyer), the "Funk Family" (Dory & Terry Funk, Dick Slater, Ted DiBiase), and The Sheik, whom he mentioned to me was his best tag team partner ever.

Abdullah frontAbdullah sideAbdullah back
Abdullah after the Chiba Port Arena show, 1/5/99


Abdullah the Butcher has worked for these Japanese offices since the '70s:

Nippon (Japan) Pro. from 8/21/70 to 5/15/72 (three tours)
Giant Baba's All Japan Pro. from 12/2/72 to 4/30/81 (27 tours)
Antonio Inoki's New Japan Pro. from 5/8/81 to 2/6/85 (11 tours)
All Japan Pro. from 11/21/87 to 3/2/96 (36 tours)
Tokyo Pro. from 4/20/96 to 12/7/96 (seven tours)
Tenryu's WAR from 5/5/97 - 1/14/98 (seven tours)
Great Kojika's Big Japan Pro. from 1/2/99 -


While I was growing up, watching and attending wrestling and seeing Dory & Terry Funk as my heroes in the '70s, I really hated Abdullah & Sheik to death, because they always used a lot of different kinds of foreign objects to take my Funks to the blood bath. One day, I found out his true personality, and he became not only one of my most favorite wrestlers but also my teacher about a view of life. As people who have met him in person mention, he is a really down-to-earth and intelligent man about everything. Okay, a lot of wrestlers and officemen describe him as "money hungry," "stingy," or "someone who loves to instigate quarrels among his co-workers." In my opinion, they are just jealous. The deep, deep scars all over his head tell us of his tough 40-year history as a black wrestler, and he got big success and gave big influence to a lot of wrestlers, including Mick Foley (Cactus Jack/Mankind/Dude Love).

Abdullah, as a madman from the Sudan, is never supposed to be able to speak English. But when the Cauliflower Alley Club honored him along with Dory Funk Jr., Lou Thesz, Freddie Blassie, Killer Kowalski, Danny Hodge, Harley Race, Tully Blanchard, and Gordon Solie at the NWA's 50th Anniversary show at the Cherry Hill Hilton in New Jersey on 10/24/98, he had a microphone and spoke to the fans. He said, "Well, I'm not used to talking, but I can talk."

He lives in Locust Grove, near Atlanta, Georgia, and runs "Abdullah the Butcher's House Of Ribs & Chinese Food" at 2387 Fairburn Rd. S.W., Atlanta, GA 30331-5242, (404) 629-2332. I visited there in September 1997. The restaurant has VERY good food. When you visit there, please take a look at the collection of wrestlers' portraits which I presented to him.

When the man steps into the squared circle, where he expresses wrestling as the "dirty business," he will transfigure into the wild, vicious, sadistic, bloody madman from the Sudan with fearsome foreign objects. He keeps telling me, "Wrestling is the dirty business," but I will be saved when I meet people like him in wrestling. He deserves to receive many more honors, but he doesn't care at all; he loves to relax and drink Canadian whiskey at his friend's night club in Roppongi, Tokyo, after the shows. He doesn't have to flatter any sugar papas or mamas. He is the man who strides through the Tokyo streets by himself, and he has kept walking with great strides in his business.

Abdullah's faceAbdullah's head
HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BUTCHER LATELY?


Abdullah the Butcher's single title matches in Japan:

[NWA International Heavyweight title matches]

9/17/70 Taito Ward Gym, Tokyo
Giant Baba (2-1) Abdullah the Butcher
(1)Baba (12:15 DQ) Butcher
(2)Butcher (1:50) Baba
(3)Baba (3:23) Butcher

1/13/88 Kagoshima Prefectural Gym
Jumbo Tsuruta (13:25 double countout) Abdullah the Butcher

9/9/88 Chiba Park Gym
Jumbo Tsuruta (14:43 DQ) Abdullah the Butcher

[PWF Heavyweight title matches]

12/6/72 Yonezawa City Gym, Yamagata
Giant Baba (2-1) Abdullah the Butcher
(1)Baba (10:07 DQ) Butcher
(2)Butcher (1:05) Baba
(3)Baba (2:31) Butcher

6/14 /73 Kawasaki City Gym, Kanagawa
Giant Baba (2-1) Abdullah the Butcher
(1)Butcher (4:57) Baba
(2)Baba (8:59) Butcher
(3)Baba (4:40 DQ) Butcher

7/26/73 Tokyo Gym
Giant Baba (2-1) Abdullah the Butcher
(1)Baba (3:35) Butcher
(2)Butcher (4:05) Baba
(3)Baba (6:15) Butcher

5/16/74 Osaka Gym
Giant Baba (2-1) Abdullah the Butcher
(1)Baba (8:59) Butcher
(2)Butcher (14:12) Baba
(3)Baba (6:15) Butcher

9/25/74 Yokohama Bunka Gym, Kanagawa
Giant Baba (1-1) Abdullah the Butcher
(1)Butcher (4:15) Baba
(2)Baba (6:22) Butcher
(3)5:02 DDQ

10/5/74 Nichdai Kodo, Tokyo
Giant Baba (2-1) Abdullah the Butcher
(1)Butcher (7:42) Baba
(2)Baba (4:49 stopped by doctor) Butcher
(3)Butcher quit

10/24/76 Neyagawa City Gym, Osaka
Giant Baba (2-1) Abdullah the Butcher
(1)Butcher (5:55) Baba
(2)Baba (4:27) Butcher
(3)Baba (2:03) Butcher

10/18/78 Tochigi Prefectural Gym, Utsunomiya
Abdullah the Butcher (2-1) Bill Robinson
(1)Robinson (8:16) Butcher
(2)Butcher (6:15) Robinson
(3)Butcher (3:08 referee's stop) Robinson
**Butcher became the fourth champion**

11/17/78 Higashi-osaka, Osaka
Abdullah the Butcher (1-1) Giant Baba
(1)Baba (4:38) Butcher
(2)Butcher (3:28) Baba
(3)7:05 DDQ

2/10/79 International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, USA
Giant Baba (2-1) Abdullah the Butcher
(1)Baba (8:52) Butcher
(2)Butcher (3:06) Baba
(3)Baba (7:11) Butcher
**Baba became the fifth champion**

8/31/79 Osaka Gym
Giant Baba (1-1) Abdullah the Butcher
(1)Baba (7:08) Butcher
(2)Butcher (2:55) Baba
(3)5:18 double countout

[NWA World Heavyweight title match]

11/8/79 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
Harley Race (5:08 double countout) Abdullah the Butcher

[United National Heavyweight title matches]

10/13/80 Aichi Prefectural Gym, Nagoya
Abdullah the Butcher (2-1) Jumbo Tsuruta
(1)Tsuruta (7:05) Butcher
(2)Butcher (2:42) Tsuruta
(3)Butcher (4:50) Tsuruta
**Butcher became the 18th champion**

11/1/80 Yokohama Bunka Gym, Kanagawa
Abdullah the Butcher (1-1) Terry Funk
(1)Terry (7:50) Butcher
(2)Butcher (7:10) Terry
(3)3:35 DDQ

11/4/80 Matsumoto, Nagano
Abdullah the Butcher (1-1) Jumbo Tsuruta
(1)Butcher (5:05) Tsuruta
(2)Tsuruta (6:20) Butcher
(3)4:43 double countout

1/3/81 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
Abdullah the Butcher (10:10 double countout) The Sheik

1/22/81 Nirasaki, Yamanashi
Jumbo Tsuruta (2-1) Abdullah the Butcher
(1)7:47 double countout
(2)Tsuruta (3:33) Butcher
**Tsuruta became the 19th champion**

[United States Heavyweight title matches]

5/13/74 Hachioji, Tokyo
The Destroyer (Dick Beyer) (12:07 DQ) Abdullah the Butcher

10/10/74 Expo '70 Carnival Forum, Osaka
The Destroyer (2-1) Abdullah the Butcher
(1)Butcher (2:33) Destroyer
(2)Destroyer (4:35) Butcher
(3)Destroyer (5:49 DQ) Butcher

10/12/75 Expo '70 Carnival Forum, Osaka
Abdullah the Butcher (15:54) The Destroyer
**Butcher became the new champion**

10/30/75 Kuramae Kokugikan (Sumo Hall), Tokyo
Abdullah the Butcher (2-1) Jumbo Tsuruta
(1)Butcher (3:49) Tsuruta
(2)Tsuruta (5:06) Butcher
(3)Butcher (3:47) Tsuruta

12/3/75 Kiryu City Gym, Gumma
The Destroyer (2-1) Abdullah the Butcher
(1)Destroyer (5:58) Butcher
(2)Butcher (5:23) Destroyer
(3)Destroyer (2:50) Butcher
**Destroyer became the new champion**

10/10/76 Expo '70 Carnival Forum, Osaka
The Destroyer (11:15 no contest) Abdullah the Butcher

10/28/76 Kuramae Kokugikan (Sumo Hall), Tokyo
The Destroyer (10:57 DQ) Abdullah the Butcher

[Champion Carnival single tournament]

5/8/76 Sapporo Nakajima Sports Center, Hokkaido
Abdullah the Butcher (9:53 DQ) Giant Baba
Butcher won the fourth Champion Carnival

4/6/79 Akita Prefectural Gym, Akita
Abdullah the Butcher (13:14 double countout) Jumbo Tsuruta
Butcher (2:11) Tsuruta
Butcher won the seventh Champion Carnival

Abdullah and Masa again
Abdullah and Masa, 1/5/99

(NOTE: Abdullah the Butcher beat Shadow WX to win Big Japan's Death Match Heavyweight Title at Acros Fukuoka Hall in Fukuoka City on Sunday, January 10th.)

You may contact Masanori at masa_h@mail.goo.ne.jp

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