Johnny Powers (born Dennis Waters) is a retired Canadian professional wrestler, known by his legally changed ring name Johnny Powers. He competed in several North American and International promotions including Maple Leaf Wrestling, National Wrestling Federation, International Wrestling Association and the World Wide Wrestling Federation feuding with then WWWF World Heavyweight Champion Bruno Sammartino during the early 1960s.

Career

Professional wrestling

Dennis Waters, was born in Hamilton, Ontario, and attended McMaster University in Hamilton. He left university to become a featured performer in the sports entertainment world of professional wrestling both as an international wrestling champion and as an executive producer of internationally syndicated wrestling television series for over twenty years. Powers had over 5007 professional wrestling matches in a 20 year active career - from a 1964 record setting title match as a 21 year old in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, against WWF Champion Bruno Sammartino to his sports retirement as undefeated International Wrestling Association (IWA) Champion in Lagos, Nigeria, in 1982. He was North American Champion seven times and World Champion three times. JP was honored in Yokohama, Japan, before a sellout crowd on September 30, 1991, that was televised nationally, as one of 18 greatest fighters to have appeared in Japanese rings, along with Mohammed Ali, Kobayashi (Sumo), Willem Rusca (1972 Summer Olympics judo gold), Lou Thesz, and Antonio Inoki (martial arts/wrestler).

Sports event promoter and TV producer

As a sports event promoter and television producer since 1967, he has presented over 3500 live wrestling and sports events from Singapore to New York to Trinidad. He co-founded the National Wrestling Federation (NWF). He sold the NWF to Japanese interests in 1973. Powers was the first major international syndicator of television wrestling with programs in over 27 countries. He has produced over 300 hours of sports television shows. He was President of National Sports TV for 6 years, which had the largest film and videotape library of wrestling in the world in the 60s and 70s. JP, as a "marquee" performer was the only wrestling superstar to have a show named after him with Championship Wrestling with Johnny Powers that ran for 6 years from 1967 to 1973.

Sports merchandiser

As a sports merchandiser, JP was physical fitness adviser on a National Sports Advisory Council in Canada, with Bobby Hull, NHL Superstar, and Otto and Maria Jelinek, World's Pair Figure Skating Champions. At the age of 22, as a principal in Pro Management Inc, a sports celebrity management firm, he developed and took sports fitness equipment nationally on a major retail store promotion campaign all the while actively competing internationally as Canadian Heavyweight Champion. He was inducted into the Canadian Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003.

Corporate finance and other business ventures

He has been involved in the hospitality business through family owned suite and boutique hotels since 1981. Since 1982, he has been involved in corporate restructuring, project financing, merger and acquisition activities in media, advertising, hospitality and investment real estate fields.

Current projects

As managing director of Corporate Finance Group International Inc. and as a private investor, he is currently focused on the broadband communications sector, taking advantage of his background in corporate finance and as a "program content provider". He is chairman of Vision Resource Group, Inc (www.visionresourcegroup.com), a resource vehicle, through which the group intends to develop its broadband interests. He is President and Chief Creative Officer of Vision Media Technologies, Inc., an integrated media and entertainment company engaged in the development, production and marketing of television, pay-per-view programming, live events and the licensing and sale of branded consumer products. He heads up a creative team for combat and MMA sports called 1Fight (www.1Fight.tv) and an online social community related to world wide sports and fitness audience called 1FightLife (www.1FightLife.com). He has created a Tribal Vision initiative whose goals is to enhance the indigenous global community through media and education.

JP, as an executive producer, has a television special and film under development. Since 2000, he has been active in a non-profit youth development program with the ancient Greek Olympic sport of pankration as its activity platform.

Movie Projects

• The Man They Could Not Kill (Pre-Production poster)

History and achievements

1958-1960

Johnny Powers at 15 starts training under the tutelage of tough Canadian Light Heavyweight Wrestling Champion Jack Wentworth, an amateur and pro wrestling champion who fought all the grappling greats from 1935 to 1953 in over 15 countries. Wentworth's Hamilton, Ontario, Canada gym turned out more international wrestling stars and tough guys (over 60) than possibly any other city in the world.

He had his first pro match in 1960 in Detroit at 17 while attending university.

1963-1965

Johnny Powers at 20 formally turned pro in Detroit as Lord Anthony Lansdowne and wrestled a rugged and charismatic performer, US Champion Larry Chene many times, who then mentored Powers. Powers was blessed with exceptionally quick reflexes. A successful wrestler over the long haul has strength, stamina and quick reflexes. Powers build the muscle mass and combined this power base with a fanatics conditioning regime, a wicked punch and cat like reflexes to create a dangerous competitive gladiator style.

Powers dyed his hair blond and wrestled as Johnny Powers, the Golden Adonis, in North East US and Canada in 1964.

Johnny Powers wrestled 6 times for the WWF World Champion title with Bruno Sammartino in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia setting attendance records.

Powers turned heel and was managed by Bobby Davis, who once managed Buddy Rogers, a NWA Champion. Rogers, as a main event performer, was very powerful, along with Gorgeous George, in turning around the cyclical wrestling business in the late 50's and early 60's. He created the fast paced, high flying bleached blonde arrogant strut out style of today.

Powers modeled some of his individualistic combat ring style after Lou Thesz's strong wrestling basics, Johnny Valentine's punch mouth toughness and Buddy Rogers dramatic fast moving, high flying show stopping pace. Powers relentless obsessive training in many martial arts disciplines especially tae kwon do and the street survival skills taught by tough street fighters was aided and abetted by Powers own natural frenetic wildness.

Powers fought Whipper Billy Watson many times across Canada and was main event for 2 years in Canada's own Madison Square Gardens, the Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. This tough steel town prodigy fought and beat them all on his way up the food chain to headline against the toughest at the top in Sammartino, Watson, Wigan, England trained hooker Karl Gotch and Johnny Valentine.

Powers fought NWA World Champions Lou Thesz outdoors in Hamilton ballpark and St Louis Kiel Auditorium and Gene Kiniski in Toronto ballpark and The Hamilton Forum in hard fought battles.

Powers was tutored as a wrestling promoter and television producer by international old school wrestler, booker and classic promoter Pedro Martínez who was the best and most powerful and feared wrestling promoter of his era from the late 50's to the middle 70's. Martinez had been trained by Toots Mondt, a truly tough fighter. Mondt is acknowledged as the all time greatest professional wrestling booker and promoter. Mondt is known as the creative genius and partner behind the McMahon family's WWWF, WWF and now World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotions. Martinez coached and mentored Powers for 20 years from the age of 22 in the art of creative event marketing of pro wrestling. Martinez predicted the now resurgence of mixed martial arts (mma) tough fight style coming back into popularity world wide as early as 1982. He felt the fans would tire of the current " trash talking soap opera" which did not have enough real competitive wrestling moves and was turning off real and hard core wrestling fans. Martinez felt the cycle would return to a serious competitive base with a mix of fast paced styles to keep the modern fans interested.

1968

Pedro Martínez and partner and President Johnny Powers co found National Sports TV on an existing "Wrestling from Buffalo Auditorium" library of black and white films. This library had been funded by one of pro wrestling first big money sponsors Dow beer, in an industry first negotiated by Pedro Martínez. Filming and airing for free the main events was a possible business destroying move. It could have killed the box office side of the business in an era when sports were not supported by television revenue or other revenue, only live gate receipts. This first time risky move paid off big time for Martinez and changed the industry forever. Other sports such as baseball, football, basketball, auto racing, golf followed this formula precedent set by Martinez. Wrestling set many sports industry precedents. In the 50s when $100,000 per year was big money for major league baseball stars, wrestling champs Lewis and Thesz were making over $250,000 per year. Golf did not get to that level until the mid 60s with International Management Group's (IMG) Mark McCormick's founder and his handling as business agent Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Jack Nicklaus.

Powers and Martinez's library films featured wrestling cards that included some of the greatest main events of the time when main events were not televised in order to protect the live box office gate receipts. These wrestling classics featured great matches with Lou Thesz, Gorgeous George, Antonio Rocca, the Canadian cult classic match of Gene Kiniski vs Whipper Billy Watson with Boxing Champion Rocky Marciano as guest referee, Yukon Eric, the tough Tolos Brothers and many others. The Pedro Martínez "Buffalo territory" consisted of 3 north east key states, Western New York, Cleveland Ohio area and some of Pennsylvania

Powers bought 50% ownership of the live event and television production business and was the key talent booker and matchmaker in the most successful pro wrestling territory in the world at that time. This wrestling territory with its strong collection of wrestling clubs in numerous cities and towns constantly attracted the largest talent pool of top fighters of that time. The football stars, like Ladd, made more money with their purses from wrestling off season than from their full NFL football season salaries.

Powers sold television wrestling shows and films to Japan, Mexico, the Armed Forces Network and eventually to 27 countries creating the first and largest international professional wrestling television distribution network. Martinez and Powers owned the largest professional wrestling library in the world at that time with acquisition of most of the other key US wrestling territories television libraries.

Powers also, as executive producer and on air commentator, promoted and produced over 300 new hours of televised wrestling.

Early 1970s

Powers co founded the National Wrestling Federation which got world wide media exposure. Powers sold the NWF federation 3 years later in 1973 to the New Japan Pro Wrestling Company. This sale of a US style promotion to the Japanese was instrumental in Japan's wrestling icon Antonio Inoki's rise to super stardom. Inoki's tough fight style against Powers, Ali and other world class Olympic fighters created the " shoot " style that evolved into Pride, K1, Pancrase, Shooto and other MMA promotions.

Powers held the first barbed wire top rope wrapped match and paid a record athletic commission fine for insisting on doing it his way. He, after watching a Barnum and Bailey circus, produced and promoted the only 3 rings at a time Cleveland Stadium Super Card with 50 global stars. Powers' copyrighted "Wrestling Super Bowl" was the first of its kind in 1972. This was the start of the Super Cards to follow. Powers created many other first time match making unique profitable fight card events.

Powers was the NWF World Heavyweight Champion and was the "marquee" star of internationally shown "Championship Wrestling with Johnny Powers " for a high rating successful 6 year run. He was the only wrestler then and since to have a television show named after him.

Powers was defeated by Antonio Inoki for the NWF World Heavyweight Championship December 10 in Tokyo. Powers and Inoki had over 20 legendary all out and still talked about battles all over Japan from Okinawa in the south to northern Sapporo over the next 7 years. Inoki went on defend this NWF World Title against World Boxing Champion Mohammed Ali, Willem Rusca (judo gold metal Olympic Champion), and other World class martial arts and combat champions from many disciplines. These 1973 classics internationally shown and publicized Johnny Powers and Antonio Inoki "strong style" matches in Los Angeles and throughout Japan were the start of "shoot style" and MMA fights world wide.

Mid 1970s

Powers double-teamed the 6 foot 9 Super Bowl football star and Hall of Fame pro wrestler and one of America's greatest black athletes Ernie "The Cat" Ladd in Cleveland, Ohio. The Powers and Ox Baker attack on Ladd in downtown black crowd dominated Cleveland Arena triggered the worst riot in pro wrestling's history. Powers risky controversial move also helped create some of the biggest all time box office revenues in that era. As Ladd says "I never felt a crowd go off like that. It was scary".

Johnny Powers became well-known in Japan after being brought in by Antonio Inoki. Powers had fought Inoki in 1967 in Japan when both were 24 years old. They fought a series of cross Japan main events with Powers. receiving the keys to Sendai and many other cities. The then US Champion Johnny Valentine, one of wrestling's great and all time tough fighters, also headlined and taught Powers his in-your-face hard hitting never back off style. Lou Thesz in his 1995 autobiography called "Hooker" said Valentine " had almost no wrestling ability, but he didn't need any, because he rose to the top on toughness and pure guts. Once you got past the hookers and the serious shooters, Johnny Valentine was probably the one man in professional wrestling you least wanted to mess with. The fans could sense his toughness, too, and they always turned out in droves to see him".

Powers, 5 time North American Open champion, defended his title in the New Japan promotion.

Johnny Powers became the top World Champion foreign superstar in Japan. Powers was known as "The Iron Man" for his tough fight style. Powers remains a wrestling icon in Japan and Asia today.

Powers and Pat Patterson fought as NWF North American Tag Team Champions in California and Japan. In the Los Angeles title match, the boxing great Joe Louis was referee.

Powers fought 3 main events in Toronto Maple Leaf Gardens against The Original Sheik, Eddie Farhat, who ruled Toronto for 7 years.

Powers with Pedro Martínez acquired control of the International Wrestling Association (IWA) in 1975 and Powers later bought out the Martinez interest for 100% ownership in 1976. The IWA television show was the first wrestling promotion to advance the innovation of "Big Network" style video shooting techniques. This was leading edge programming for its time and started the rest of the wrestling territories to play catch-up.

IWA superstar champions included Mil Mascaras, Ernie Ladd, Bulldog Brower, Lou Thesz, Johnny Powers and other international stars. Mascaras was the first Mexican star in wrestling history to be featured so hugely in the United States. Mascaras is a Mexican, Japan and worldwide icon.

1982

Powers retired undefeated as 6 time IWA World Heavyweight Champion after a title bout Dick "Bulldog" Brower in Lagos Nigeria. He returned a year later for a series of matches as IWA World Champion in the Caribbean and the U.S. against The Iron Sheik (WWF World Champion), The Original Sheik (US Champion) and other superstars with his purse proceeds donated to charity.

Powers fighting career included 5,007 fights in 27 countries.

1991

Johnny Powers was inducted into the elite " One of the 18 Greatest Fighters in Japan Ring History " before 18,000 cheering fans in a sold out Yokohama , Japan arena along with Mohammed Ali, Lou Thesz, Olympic Judo gold medalist Willem Rusca, India's super star wrestler Tiger Jeet Singh and other international fight greats.

2000-2008

Powers sponsored the Canadian Pankration Team and was strength coach to the World Pankration Championships in Lamia, Greece where they won 8 gold metals and the overall World title. Pankration, which means "with all force" , was Alexander the Great's military fight style of training that helped the Greek king conquer the known world. This fight style is claimed to be "the mother" of all fight styles which include boxing, wrestling and all martial arts.

Powers was inducted into the Canadian Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2003 with other icons Whipper Billy Watson, Gene Kiniski, and 17 others.

In 2006, Johnny Powers, at the age of 62, was honored with the title of "Soke" (father of a fight art), for his development of a unique shoot/hooker/street fight mixed fighting style developed over 24 years of fighting fighters with many diverse styles in over 20 countries. His career in the fighting business spans a total of 48 years. From the age of 15 he was trained and mentored by some of the greatest wrestlers, grapplers, martial art fighters and dangerous tough guys. He continues to train other fighters internationally. Soke Powers combined the best of many fight forms he trained in world wide to create this fight style as he followed his " warrior vision quest ". He is working on a Celtic fighting arts style through 1FightAcademy.com (coming soon).

Finishing and Signature Moves

• The Powerlock: A figure-four leglock variation with ankle hook. Standing offer of $25,000 to break this move.
• Neck Crusher: An elbow strike to the throat.

Ring Nicknames

On top of his traditional Ring Names, Johnny Powers acquired Nicknames, usually from fans or the media in articles. In his early career, he got the name The Blonde Bomber from his blonde hair at the time. While wresting in Japan, the media gave him the name The Iron Man from his 'don't-back-down' style. Then after a series of taped fist matches, he was given the nick of The Brass Knuckles Champ. He may have had more but these are the ones that stood out the most.

References

• Powers gives MMA a try.
• Buffalo Courier Express, Buffalo, NY, Friday November 8, 1970, "Wrestling Films are Big Business"
• Democrat and Chronicle, Rochester, NY, Tuesday March 30, 1971, "Just Don't Make Fun of Wrestling Pro Powers", author Mandi Harris
• The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio, Sunday August 8, 1971, "11,794 See Arena Wrestling Card"
• Ring Wrestling (magazine),July 1972, "Powers: Portrait in Determination", author Jaqueline Napolitano
• The Sun, Port O' Spain, Trinidad, June 15, 1981, "Powers' Day"
• The Straits Times, Singapore, January 29, 1982, "International Pro Wrestling Battle Texas Style"
• The Malay Mail, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday January 30, 1982, "International Professional Wrestling"
• New Nigerian, Lagos, Nigeria, Monday August 2, 1982, "Bulldog Brower beaten"
• Daily Times, Trinidad, Tuesday, August 3, 1982, "Johnny Powers, debut"

External links

• SLAM! Wrestling Canadian Hall of Fame: Johnny Powers
• Canadian Pro Wrestling Page of Fame: Johnny Powers
• Profile at Online World of Wrestling