Billy Two Rivers
Encyclopedia
Billy Two Rivers born May 5, 1935, is a retired Canadian
professional wrestler
. He began wrestling professionally in 1953 and competed until 1977. During his career, he wrestled in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada. After retiring from wrestling, he became a leader of the Mohawk nation
on the Kahnawake reservation. He played a major role in blockading the Honoré Mercier Bridge
during the 1990 Oka Crisis
. He has also appeared in several movies.
, a former World Heavyweight Champion in the Boston
-based American Wrestling Association. When Don Eagle, also from Kahnawake, returned to the reservation to take a break from wrestling, he met Two Rivers and agreed to take him to Columbus, Ohio
for training. The training lasted for two years, during which time Two Rivers increased his weight to 205 pounds while learning how to wrestle.
Two Rivers made his professional debut in February 1953 in Detroit, Michigan
. He spent the next several years competing in the United States, first in Ohio
and then throughout the Atlantic Coast
. He competed against such wrestlers as "Wild Bull" Curry
and Larry Hamilton
. He also formed a tag team
with Don Eagle from 1956 to 1959. As a team, they faced a wide variety of opponents, including Ray Stevens
, Boris Malenko
, and Fritz Von Erich
. From 1957 to 1959, he competed primarily in North Carolina
. In addition to Don Eagle, Two Rivers teamed with such wrestlers as Antonino Rocca
and Red Bastien
. It was with George Becker, however, that Two Rivers held his first championship belt. On April 6, 1959, they won the Southern version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship
by defeating Alberto and Enrique Torres
. They held the title for three months before dropping them to the team of Mr. Moto
and Duke Keomuka
. After losing the championship, Two Rivers considered moving to Calgary
, Alberta
to work for Stampede Wrestling
. He met Ray Napolitano, a wrestler from the United Kingdom, however, who told him to consider competing overseas. Two Rivers flipped a coin
to decide where to move; ultimately, he chose the United Kingdom, where he began competing in October 1959.
heritage. He wore a feathered headdress
, had a Mohawk hairstyle
, and performed a war dance
during some of his matches. He has stated that he was a "journeyman" wrestler rather than a major star, and that people wanted to see him because he was "an attraction". He was successful, however, and his time in the United Kingdom, where Paul LeDuc
has stated that Two Rivers was "treated like a God", helped him become an "international star".
Two Rivers returned to the United States in September 1965 and resumed wrestling in North Carolina. After six months, which included teaming with Karl Gotch
to defeat the Blond Bombers (Rip Hawk
and Swede Hanson
), Two Rivers left the territory to compete in Japan. He competed there until at least May 13, 1966, after which point there is no record of him wrestling again until 1971.
and Quebec
, often as part of a tag team with Johnny War Eagle. The following year, he returned to the United Kingdom, where he stayed to wrestle until late in 1974. At that point, he wrestled several matches in Germany before returning to Canada. He made the decision to return because his family asked him to spend more time at home. Competing for the Montreal
-based Grand Prix Wrestling
(GPW), he held the GPW Tag Team Championship while teaming with Jean War Eagle in 1974. He remained in Canada, facing such wrestlers as Sailor White
, The Sheik
, and Kurt Von Hess
, for the rest of his career. His final title victory came on August 3, 1976, when he defeated Serge Dumont to win the Canadian International Heavyweight Championship
. He retired in 1977, and has stated that one the best parts of his career was "ending [his] career healthy".
, chief
, and councillor
. In 1990, Two Rivers helped lead the Mohawk nation during the Oka Crisis
. A golf course in the village of Oka, Quebec
planned to expand onto land claimed by the Mohawk as traditional land. The Mohawk people objected to the plan to cut down a sacred grove of pines and build on top of their burial grounds. During the dispute, the First Nations group blockaded a bridge, and a member of the Sûreté du Québec
was killed.
He has appeared in several movies, including Pocahontas: The Legend
., Black Robe
, and Taking Lives
, He appeared in the 1973 documentary The Wrestling Queen. He has also appeared in the made-for-television movies Red Earth, White Earth and Northern Passage.
Two Rivers is the father of British fashion designer Wayne Hemingway
.
Two Rivers' name has entered popular culture in many forms. A British racing horse shares Two Rivers' name and was christened after him. The British band The Dogs D'Amour also named a song after Two Rivers on its In the Dynamite Jet Saloon
album in 1988. Two Rivers plays a large role in Pulitzer Prize
-winner Paul Muldoon
's poem "My Father and I and Billy Two Rivers". The poem discusses watching Two Rivers in a wrestling match and compares the pre-determined outcome to the Boston Tea Party
.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
. He began wrestling professionally in 1953 and competed until 1977. During his career, he wrestled in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada. After retiring from wrestling, he became a leader of the Mohawk nation
Mohawk nation
Mohawk are the most easterly tribe of the Iroquois confederation. They call themselves Kanien'gehaga, people of the place of the flint...
on the Kahnawake reservation. He played a major role in blockading the Honoré Mercier Bridge
Honoré Mercier Bridge
The Honoré Mercier Bridge in Quebec, Canada, connects the Montreal borough of LaSalle on the Island of Montreal with the Mohawk reserve of Kahnawake and the suburb of Châteauguay on the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River. It is the most direct southerly route from the island of Montreal toward...
during the 1990 Oka Crisis
Oka Crisis
The Oka Crisis was a land dispute between a group of Mohawk people and the town of Oka, Quebec, Canada which began on July 11, 1990 and lasted until September 26, 1990. At least one person died as a result...
. He has also appeared in several movies.
1950s
Two Rivers was trained by Don EagleDon Eagle
Carl Donald Bell , better known by his ring name Chief Don Eagle, was a Mohawk Native American professional wrestler during the 1950s and 1960s. Originally from Kahnawake, Quebec, Eagle became an AWA Boston World Champion.- Career :Don Eagle began his boxing career in 1945, after a brief time...
, a former World Heavyweight Champion in the Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
-based American Wrestling Association. When Don Eagle, also from Kahnawake, returned to the reservation to take a break from wrestling, he met Two Rivers and agreed to take him to Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
for training. The training lasted for two years, during which time Two Rivers increased his weight to 205 pounds while learning how to wrestle.
Two Rivers made his professional debut in February 1953 in Detroit, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. He spent the next several years competing in the United States, first in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and then throughout the Atlantic Coast
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
. He competed against such wrestlers as "Wild Bull" Curry
Bull Curry
Fred Thomas Koury, Sr. was an American of Lebanese decent who was best known as a professional wrestler under the name ”Wild Bull” Curry. Bull Curry is recognized as one of the originators of the hardcore style predating even legends such as The Sheik and Abdullah the Butcher...
and Larry Hamilton
Larry Hamilton
Larry "Rocky" Hamilton , known by his ringname The Missouri Mauler, was an American professional wrestler who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance as well as Florida Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions, becoming a mainstay of the latter promotion throughout the 1960s.One of...
. He also formed a tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...
with Don Eagle from 1956 to 1959. As a team, they faced a wide variety of opponents, including Ray Stevens
Ray Stevens (wrestler)
Carl Ray Stevens , better known as Ray "The Crippler" Stevens or Ray "Blond Bomber" Stevens, was an American professional wrestler. Stevens was a wrestling superstar since the early years of the television era until he retired during the early 1990s...
, Boris Malenko
Boris Malenko
Lawrence J. Simon better known by his ring name Boris Malenko, was an American professional wrestler who wrestled for the American Wrestling Association and National Wrestling Alliance in the 1960s and 1970s...
, and Fritz Von Erich
Fritz Von Erich
Jack Barton Adkisson was an American professional wrestler under the ring name Fritz Von Erich, better known today as a wrestling promoter and the patriarch of the Von Erich family...
. From 1957 to 1959, he competed primarily in North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
. In addition to Don Eagle, Two Rivers teamed with such wrestlers as Antonino Rocca
Antonino Rocca
Antonino Rocca was an Italian-born Argentine professional wrestler. Rocca was a popular face and in some cities with both Italian-American and especially Hispanic audiences, his following was exceptionally large and loyal.He had a love for opera and was apparently described as having an excellent...
and Red Bastien
Red Bastien
Rolland Bastein is a former professional wrestler, better known as Red Bastien.-Professional wrestling career:He took part in football and swimming in high school and broke in on Midwest carnivals, fighting local toughs and learning wrestling the hard way. Turning professional, he began in...
. It was with George Becker, however, that Two Rivers held his first championship belt. On April 6, 1959, they won the Southern version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship
NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version)
The NWA Southern Tag Team Championship was the Mid-Atlantic territory version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship and was defended between 1953 until 1968 when it became the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship...
by defeating Alberto and Enrique Torres
Enrique Torres
Enrique Torres was a Mexican-American professional wrestler, the oldest three Torres brothers in wrestling, and a major star in the late 1940s and 1950s.-Personal Background:...
. They held the title for three months before dropping them to the team of Mr. Moto
Tor Kamata
McRonald Kamaka was an American/Canadian professional wrestler known by the ring name Tor Kamata. He won several Heavyweight and Tag Team championships, including one World Tag Team title. He was a classic "bad guy" wrestler...
and Duke Keomuka
Hisao Tanaka
Hisao "Martin" Tanaka was a professional wrestler. He is the father of wrestler Pat Tanaka and referee Jimmy Tanaka.-Career:In the 1950s, Duke Keomuka formed a very successful tag team with Hiro Matsuda...
. After losing the championship, Two Rivers considered moving to Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
to work for Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
. He met Ray Napolitano, a wrestler from the United Kingdom, however, who told him to consider competing overseas. Two Rivers flipped a coin
Coin flipping
Coin flipping or coin tossing or heads or tails is the practice of throwing a coin in the air to choose between two alternatives, sometimes to resolve a dispute between two parties...
to decide where to move; ultimately, he chose the United Kingdom, where he began competing in October 1959.
1960s
Wrestling in England and Scotland, Two Rivers gained fame due to his First NationsFirst Nations
First Nations is a term that collectively refers to various Aboriginal peoples in Canada who are neither Inuit nor Métis. There are currently over 630 recognised First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. The...
heritage. He wore a feathered headdress
War bonnet
Feathered war bonnets were worn by honored Plains Indian men, sometimes into battle, but most often for ceremonial occasions, and were seen as items of great spiritual and magical importance...
, had a Mohawk hairstyle
Mohawk hairstyle
The mohawk is a hairstyle in which, in the most common variety, both sides of the head are shaven, leaving a strip of noticeably longer hair...
, and performed a war dance
War dance
A war dance is a dance involving mock combat, usually in reference to tribal warrior societies where such dances were performed as a ritual connected with endemic warfare....
during some of his matches. He has stated that he was a "journeyman" wrestler rather than a major star, and that people wanted to see him because he was "an attraction". He was successful, however, and his time in the United Kingdom, where Paul LeDuc
Paul LeDuc (wrestler)
Paul LeDuc is a former Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for teaming with his kayfabe brother Jos LeDuc.-Career:LeDuc began wrestling professionally in 1957 at age 18. He began his training in Montreal, Quebec and later moved to Mexico for further instruction. He talked a friend,...
has stated that Two Rivers was "treated like a God", helped him become an "international star".
Two Rivers returned to the United States in September 1965 and resumed wrestling in North Carolina. After six months, which included teaming with Karl Gotch
Karl Istaz
Karl Istaz was a professional wrestler and trainer born in Antwerp, Belgium, best known by his ring name Karl Gotch. The German suplex is named after Gotch....
to defeat the Blond Bombers (Rip Hawk
Rip Hawk
Harvey Maurice Evers is a retired American professional wrestler best known by his ring name, Rip Hawk. He began his wrestling career in the Mid-Western United States before joining Jim Crockett Promotions in the early 1960s. In the company, he teamed with fellow wrestler Swede Hanson as the...
and Swede Hanson
Swede Hanson (wrestler)
Robert Fort Hanson was an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Swede Hanson. He spent much of his career wrestling as part of a tag team with Rip Hawk...
), Two Rivers left the territory to compete in Japan. He competed there until at least May 13, 1966, after which point there is no record of him wrestling again until 1971.
1970s
In 1971 and 1972, Two Rivers competed in several matches in OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, often as part of a tag team with Johnny War Eagle. The following year, he returned to the United Kingdom, where he stayed to wrestle until late in 1974. At that point, he wrestled several matches in Germany before returning to Canada. He made the decision to return because his family asked him to spend more time at home. Competing for the Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
-based Grand Prix Wrestling
Grand prix wrestling
Grand Prix Wrestling is a wrestling promotion run and owned by Emile Duprée. Grand Prix Wrestling has currently stopped touring due to heavy traveling costs...
(GPW), he held the GPW Tag Team Championship while teaming with Jean War Eagle in 1974. He remained in Canada, facing such wrestlers as Sailor White
Ed White (wrestler)
Edward J. "Ed" White was a Canadian professional wrestler, best known as Moondog King of the Moondogs when he joined the World Wrestling Federation in the early 1980s. White won 48 championships in Canada and around the globe...
, The Sheik
Ed Farhat
Edward George Farhat was an American professional wrestler best known as by his ring name The Sheik...
, and Kurt Von Hess
Bill Terry (wrestler)
Bill Terry was a Canadian professional wrestler, known by his ring name Kurt Von Hess, who competed in North American and international promotions during the 1970s and '80s, including International Wrestling Enterprise, Maple Leaf Wrestling and Stampede Wrestling...
, for the rest of his career. His final title victory came on August 3, 1976, when he defeated Serge Dumont to win the Canadian International Heavyweight Championship
Canadian International Heavyweight Championship
The Canadian International Heavyweight Championship was the top singles title in the Montreal-based wrestling promotion Lutte Internationale . It was a continuation of the Montreal Athletic Commission's old International Heavyweight Championship, which became inactive after the Commission's...
. He retired in 1977, and has stated that one the best parts of his career was "ending [his] career healthy".
After wrestling
After retiring from wrestling, Two Rivers became involved in the governance of the Kahnawake reservation, serving as an elderElder (administrative title)
The term Elder is used in several different countries and organizations to indicate a position of authority...
, chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
, and councillor
Councillor
A councillor or councilor is a member of a local government council, such as a city council.Often in the United States, the title is councilman or councilwoman.-United Kingdom:...
. In 1990, Two Rivers helped lead the Mohawk nation during the Oka Crisis
Oka Crisis
The Oka Crisis was a land dispute between a group of Mohawk people and the town of Oka, Quebec, Canada which began on July 11, 1990 and lasted until September 26, 1990. At least one person died as a result...
. A golf course in the village of Oka, Quebec
Oka, Quebec
-References:...
planned to expand onto land claimed by the Mohawk as traditional land. The Mohawk people objected to the plan to cut down a sacred grove of pines and build on top of their burial grounds. During the dispute, the First Nations group blockaded a bridge, and a member of the Sûreté du Québec
Sûreté du Québec
Sûreté du Québec or SQ is the provincial police force for the Canadian province of Québec...
was killed.
He has appeared in several movies, including Pocahontas: The Legend
Pocahontas: The Legend
Pocahontas: The Legend is a 1999 drama film that fictionalizes the young life of the historical figure of Chief Powhatan's daughter Pocahontas and her relationship with Captain John Smith. This film was directed by Danièle J. Suissa and stars Sandrine Holt as the titular heroine...
., Black Robe
Black Robe (film)
Black Robe is a 1991 film directed by Bruce Beresford. The screenplay was written by Northern Irish-Canadian author Brian Moore, who adapted it from his novel of the same name....
, and Taking Lives
Taking Lives (film)
Taking Lives is a 2004 psychological thriller film starring Angelina Jolie and Ethan Hawke. The film was marketed with the tagline "He would kill to be you."...
, He appeared in the 1973 documentary The Wrestling Queen. He has also appeared in the made-for-television movies Red Earth, White Earth and Northern Passage.
Two Rivers is the father of British fashion designer Wayne Hemingway
Wayne Hemingway
Wayne Andrew Hemingway, MBE is an English fashion designer and co-founder of Red or Dead. He is also chairman of the South Coast Design Forum, and chair of Building For Life .Hemingway is the son of Canadian Mohawk chief and former wrestler Billy Two Rivers...
.
Two Rivers' name has entered popular culture in many forms. A British racing horse shares Two Rivers' name and was christened after him. The British band The Dogs D'Amour also named a song after Two Rivers on its In the Dynamite Jet Saloon
In the Dynamite Jet Saloon
In The Dynamite Jet Saloon is rock band The Dogs D'Amour's second studio album, released in 1988. The album is the first featuring what is considered the "classic" line-up of the band....
album in 1988. Two Rivers plays a large role in Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winner Paul Muldoon
Paul Muldoon
Paul Muldoon is an Irish poet. He has published over thirty collections and won a Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and the T. S. Eliot Prize. He held the post of Oxford Professor of Poetry from 1999 - 2004. At Princeton University he is both the Howard G. B. Clark ’21 Professor in the Humanities and...
's poem "My Father and I and Billy Two Rivers". The poem discusses watching Two Rivers in a wrestling match and compares the pre-determined outcome to the Boston Tea Party
Boston Tea Party
The Boston Tea Party was a direct action by colonists in Boston, a town in the British colony of Massachusetts, against the British government and the monopolistic East India Company that controlled all the tea imported into the colonies...
.
In wrestling
- Signature moves
- Tomahawk chop
Championships and accomplishments
- Grand Prix WrestlingGrand prix wrestlingGrand Prix Wrestling is a wrestling promotion run and owned by Emile Duprée. Grand Prix Wrestling has currently stopped touring due to heavy traveling costs...
- GPW Tag Team Championship (1 time)
- Lutte Internationale
- Canadian International Heavyweight ChampionshipCanadian International Heavyweight ChampionshipThe Canadian International Heavyweight Championship was the top singles title in the Montreal-based wrestling promotion Lutte Internationale . It was a continuation of the Montreal Athletic Commission's old International Heavyweight Championship, which became inactive after the Commission's...
(1 time)
- Canadian International Heavyweight Championship
- Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
- NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version)NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version)The NWA Southern Tag Team Championship was the Mid-Atlantic territory version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship and was defended between 1953 until 1968 when it became the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship...
(1 time)
- NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version)