Yes sounds like King Curtis reputation was warranted everywhere. He was definitely the number one villain wrestler here in New Zealand during the 1970s. His favourite finishing move was the Hawaiian Splash off the ropes on to his prone opponent to finish the match.
Another story outside the wrestling ring occurred with him and another wrestler not Identified happened in a well known Christchurch bar. A local bikie gang, and there were quite a few of them walked in one afternoon and immediately spotted the well known wrestlers having a drink at the bar. They immediately set about to tease these wrestlers relentlessly until after their drinks they decided to leave. The wrestlers then followed them outside and proceeded to clean the place up. Apparently it was a sight to see.
There's nothing original in the world. Apparently his nickname was Rosie. Must have taken a brave soul to tell him.
Britain had it's own original King Curtis , there at the start. He was a main player and went over to South Africa like Billy Riley for extra experience.
Now Updated
A Splash of Royalty
'Da Bull' was somewhat hamstrung in Britain because if he wrestled there as he did everywhere else (Stateside, N.Z. Aust. Singapore etc.) he would have been disqualified in the first round, every time. For instance, the 'splash' he used in other countries usually was launched from the top turnbuckle, a definite no-no at home, therefore a standing splash took away from his performance, as did the subtraction of the bucket of blood he would often lose (and cause to his opponent) as well as his hair curling interviews and opinions of wrestlers and fans alike, something British fans would have found jaw dropping, as our promoters didn't like giving the microphone to wrestlers apart from the odd challenge from a main event guy to set up a match or rematch. So ergo, Britain never really saw the real Curtis Iaukea.
On the other hand you had George Drake going over our guys as if he was Lou Thesz or Ed Carpentier. I could never figure that out!
It's a year since robert558 posted this story of the wrestlers taking on the bikers and it looks like responses were minimal, which we don't like here on Heritage. Thanks Robert and your mention of the Hawaiian Splash.
Well I remember watching him here in Britain when he came over in the 1960s, 66 or 67. Yes, he did the splash and was disqualified by the referee. It looked just like what Big Daddy did years later to literally squash his opponents.
Should Daddy have been disqualified?
The answer could have changed the future of wrestling.😀