Oliver Humperdink
Encyclopedia
John Sutton better known by his ring name Oliver Humperdink, was a professional wrestling
manager
who worked for Jim Crockett Promotions
, Florida Championship Wrestling
and the World Wrestling Federation
.
. He eventually landed a job as a sort of security guard for the American Wrestling Association
(AWA). In 1973, he met Paul Vachon
when he went to work at Grand Prix Wrestling
(GPW) in Montreal
. At GPW, Sutton worked as a manager
and an occasional wrestler. He also refereed for a time. Sutton began managing the Hollywood Blonds after they split with their manager, Johnny Rougeau.Don Jardine
came up with the "Sir Oliver Humperdink" name, which he thought would draw heat
from francophone fans in Quebec who hated anything English. Both Don Jardine
and Dale Hey
are credited with coming up with his new moniker.
In 1974, Humperdink went to Florida Championship Wrestling
and was put into an angle with Mike Graham and Kevin Sullivan
. Two years later, he began working with the Hollywood Blondes once again.
He worked for the National Wrestling Alliance
(NWA)'s Jim Crockett Promotions
in the 1980s where he managed Greg Valentine
, Paul Jones
and The One Man Gang
. He left the company in 1983 but returned five years later before the company folded. While still in the NWA, he formed a stable known as the "House of Humperdink". As a singles wrestler, he held the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship
and NWA Central States Television Championship
.
In 1987, the World Wrestling Federation
(WWF) approached Humperdink and offered him a job. As a part of the WWF, he managed Bam Bam Bigelow. That same year, he also began managing Paul Orndorff
during his feud
with Rick Rude. His gimmick was that of a face
, but Sutton did not like the gimmick off-screen. He managed the duo during the first ever Survivor Series
in a match that they lost when Bigelow was pinned by André the Giant
. Humperdink also managed Bigelow during WrestleMania IV
when he lost in the first round of a WWF Championship
tournament.
When he returned to the NWA in 1988, he managed The New Wild Samoans
(Solofa Fatu
, Samu
, and the Tonga Kid). He also returned to the side of Bigelow in his feud with Barry Windham
in a match at Starrcade
.
He worked for World Championship Wrestling
(WCW) in the early 1990s as "Big Daddy Dink", a biker-type gimmick. In WCW, he managed the Fabulous Freebirds
(Michael Hayes
and Jimmy Garvin
). Off-screen, Sutton hated his new gimmick and WCW's office politics. He retired in 1993.
in Key West
. He was equipped with a pace maker and made a full recovery. The Cauliflower Alley Club
helped pay for some of his medical expenses. Sutton returned to the hospital in 2008 after heart troubles complicated a case of pneumonia
. In early 2011, it was announced that Sutton was diagnosed with cancer of the bladder. He entered a hospice having refused chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
He went to the annual Cauliflower Alley Club conventions every year.
Sutton never married or had children.
Sutton died early on the morning of March 20, 2011, of complications from pneumonia at the age of 62.
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...
manager
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
who worked for Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
, Florida Championship Wrestling
Florida Championship Wrestling
Championship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
and the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
.
Career
In the early and mid 1960s, John Sutton began to get to know several wrestlers while working as an usher in Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
. He eventually landed a job as a sort of security guard for the American Wrestling Association
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...
(AWA). In 1973, he met Paul Vachon
Paul Vachon
Paul "Butcher" Vachon is a former professional wrestler. He is a member of the Vachon wrestling family.-Professional wrestling career:Paul Vachon grew up as one of thirteen children of Ferdinand Vachon, a Montreal police officer...
when he went to work at 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) in 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...
. At GPW, Sutton worked as a manager
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
and an occasional wrestler. He also refereed for a time. Sutton began managing the Hollywood Blonds after they split with their manager, Johnny Rougeau.Don Jardine
Don Jardine
Don Jardine was a Canadian professional wrestler best known for his masked gimmick as "The Spoiler".-Career:Jardine began wrestling in the mid-1950s,making his wrestling debut in 1955 at the age of 15...
came up with the "Sir Oliver Humperdink" name, which he thought would draw heat
Heat (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, heat refers to both crowd reaction and real-life animosity between those involved in the professional wrestling business. In terms of crowd reaction, heat is usually either cheers for a babyface or boos for a heel...
from francophone fans in Quebec who hated anything English. Both Don Jardine
Don Jardine
Don Jardine was a Canadian professional wrestler best known for his masked gimmick as "The Spoiler".-Career:Jardine began wrestling in the mid-1950s,making his wrestling debut in 1955 at the age of 15...
and Dale Hey
Dale Hey
Dale Hey is a retired professional wrestler better known as Buddy Roberts.-Professional wrestling career:Dale Hey grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. He started wrestling in 1965 as Dale Valentine, the "brother" of Johnny Valentine...
are credited with coming up with his new moniker.
In 1974, Humperdink went to Florida Championship Wrestling
Florida Championship Wrestling
Championship Wrestling from Florida was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as Florida Championship Wrestling...
and was put into an angle with Mike Graham and Kevin Sullivan
Kevin Sullivan (wrestler)
Kevin Francis Sullivan is an American professional wrestler and booker, perhaps best known for his role in WCW as "The Taskmaster" and his leading of the "Dungeon of Doom".-Early career:...
. Two years later, he began working with the Hollywood Blondes once again.
He worked for the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
(NWA)'s Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
in the 1980s where he managed Greg Valentine
Greg Valentine
John Wisniski, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.-Training:...
, Paul Jones
Paul Jones (wrestler)
Paul Jones is a retired professional wrestler and manager. He had success in the National Wrestling Alliance 's Mid-Atlantic region, including an NWA World Tag Team title reign with Ricky Steamboat.-Career:...
and The One Man Gang
George Gray (wrestler)
George Gray is an American professional wrestler best known as One Man Gang and Akeem "the African Dream".-Early years:...
. He left the company in 1983 but returned five years later before the company folded. While still in the NWA, he formed a stable known as the "House of Humperdink". As a singles wrestler, he held the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship
NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida, USA and is now the major title in NWA Florida. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by CWF and lasted until 1987 when the company was purchased by Jim Crockett...
and NWA Central States Television Championship
NWA Central States Television Championship
The NWA Central States Television Championship was the secondary singles chamoionship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1977 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988. -Title History:-See also:...
.
In 1987, the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...
(WWF) approached Humperdink and offered him a job. As a part of the WWF, he managed Bam Bam Bigelow. That same year, he also began managing Paul Orndorff
Paul Orndorff
Paul Parlette Orndorff, Jr. is a retired American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling as "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff...
during his feud
Feud (professional wrestling)
A professional wrestling feud is a staged rivalry between multiple wrestlers or alliances of wrestlers. They are integrated into ongoing storylines, particularly in events which are televised...
with Rick Rude. His gimmick was that of a face
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
, but Sutton did not like the gimmick off-screen. He managed the duo during the first ever Survivor Series
Survivor Series (1987)
Survivor Series was the first Survivor Series pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on Thanksgiving Day, November 26, 1987 and was held at the Richfield Coliseum in Richfield, Ohio....
in a match that they lost when Bigelow was pinned by André the Giant
André the Giant
André René Roussimoff , best known as André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. His best remembered acting role was that of Fezzik, the giant in the film The Princess Bride...
. Humperdink also managed Bigelow during WrestleMania IV
WrestleMania IV
WrestleMania IV was the fourth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on March 27, 1988 at the Trump Plaza in Atlantic City, New Jersey....
when he lost in the first round of a WWF Championship
WWE Championship
The WWE Championship is a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in WWE. It is the world title of the Raw brand and one of two in WWE, complementing the World Heavyweight Championship of the SmackDown brand. It was established under the then WWWF in 1963...
tournament.
When he returned to the NWA in 1988, he managed The New Wild Samoans
The Headshrinkers
The Headshrinkers were a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation that consisted of Fatu and Samu. They previously competed under the name The New Wild Samoans in the National Wrestling Alliance , and as The Samoan Swat Team in World Championship Wrestling , World Class...
(Solofa Fatu
Solofa Fatu
Solofa F. Fatu, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Rikishi.-The Samoan Swat Team:...
, Samu
Samula Anoa'i
Samula Anoa'i is a professional wrestler best known as one half of The Headshrinkers/Samoan Swat Team under the name Samu. His father is Afa Anoa'i who trained Samula for his professional wrestling debut....
, and the Tonga Kid). He also returned to the side of Bigelow in his feud with Barry Windham
Barry Windham
Barry Clinton Windham is an American semi-retired professional wrestler and the son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan. He is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling ....
in a match at Starrcade
Starrcade (1988)
Starrcade '88 was the sixth annual Starrcade professional wrestling pay-per-view event produced under the National Wrestling Alliance banner. It was the first Starrcade event produced by World Championship Wrestling , and it took place on December 26, 1988 from the Norfolk Scope in Norfolk, Virginia...
.
He worked for World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...
(WCW) in the early 1990s as "Big Daddy Dink", a biker-type gimmick. In WCW, he managed the Fabulous Freebirds
Fabulous Freebirds
The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team that attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed under the Freebirds name.-History:The Fabulous...
(Michael Hayes
Michael Hayes (wrestler)
Michael Seitz is a retired American professional wrestler and former musician. Seitz is best known for leading The Fabulous Freebirds under the ring name Michael "P.S." Hayes and for his role as the announcer Dok Hendrix in the World Wrestling Federation...
and Jimmy Garvin
Jimmy Garvin
James Williams is a retired American professional wrestler. He is best known by his ring name "Gorgeous" Jimmy "Jam" Garvin and as a member of the legendary Fabulous Freebirds....
). Off-screen, Sutton hated his new gimmick and WCW's office politics. He retired in 1993.
Personal life
In the 1960s, Sutton was in a car crash and nearly died when he hit a snow bank. After recovering from the incident, his health deteriorated. In 2001, he went through surgery to replace his aortic valveAortic valve
The aortic valve is one of the valves of the heart. It is normally tricuspid , although in 1% of the population it is found to be congenitally bicuspid . It lies between the left ventricle and the aorta....
in Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
. He was equipped with a pace maker and made a full recovery. The Cauliflower Alley Club
Cauliflower Alley Club
The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America....
helped pay for some of his medical expenses. Sutton returned to the hospital in 2008 after heart troubles complicated a case of pneumonia
Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
. In early 2011, it was announced that Sutton was diagnosed with cancer of the bladder. He entered a hospice having refused chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
He went to the annual Cauliflower Alley Club conventions every year.
Sutton never married or had children.
Sutton died early on the morning of March 20, 2011, of complications from pneumonia at the age of 62.
Tag teams managed
- The Funk Brothers (Dory Funk, Jr.Dory Funk, Jr.Dory Ernest Funk Jr. known professionally as Dory Funk, Jr. is a professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. He is the son of Dory Funk Sr. and brother of Terry Funk. He is credited with the invention of the Texas cloverleaf submission hold and runs the Funking Conservatory, a professional...
and Terry FunkTerry FunkTerrence "Terry" Funk is an American professional wrestler and actor known chiefly for the hardcore wrestling style he adopted in the latter part of his career that inspired many younger wrestlers, including Mick Foley...
) - The New Wild SamoansThe HeadshrinkersThe Headshrinkers were a professional wrestling tag team in the World Wrestling Federation that consisted of Fatu and Samu. They previously competed under the name The New Wild Samoans in the National Wrestling Alliance , and as The Samoan Swat Team in World Championship Wrestling , World Class...
(FatuSolofa FatuSolofa F. Fatu, Jr. is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ring name Rikishi.-The Samoan Swat Team:...
, SamuSamula Anoa'iSamula Anoa'i is a professional wrestler best known as one half of The Headshrinkers/Samoan Swat Team under the name Samu. His father is Afa Anoa'i who trained Samula for his professional wrestling debut....
, Tonga Kid) - Fabulous FreebirdsFabulous FreebirdsThe Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team that attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed under the Freebirds name.-History:The Fabulous...
(Jimmy GarvinJimmy GarvinJames Williams is a retired American professional wrestler. He is best known by his ring name "Gorgeous" Jimmy "Jam" Garvin and as a member of the legendary Fabulous Freebirds....
, Michael HayesMichael Hayes (wrestler)Michael Seitz is a retired American professional wrestler and former musician. Seitz is best known for leading The Fabulous Freebirds under the ring name Michael "P.S." Hayes and for his role as the announcer Dok Hendrix in the World Wrestling Federation...
, and Badstreet), with Diamond Dallas PageDiamond Dallas PageDallas Page , better known by his ring name "Diamond" Dallas Page , is an American retired professional wrestler, fitness instructor and actor...
and Little Richard MarleyWilliam Boulware, Jr.William Boulware, Jr., better known as Rocky King, was a professional wrestler in Jim Crockett Promotions and World Championship Wrestling.-Professional wrestling career:...
Championships and accomplishments
- Cauliflower Alley ClubCauliflower Alley ClubThe Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America....
- Other honoree (2005)
- Central States WrestlingHeart of America Sports AttractionsHeart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa...
- NWA Central States Television ChampionshipNWA Central States Television ChampionshipThe NWA Central States Television Championship was the secondary singles chamoionship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1977 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988. -Title History:-See also:...
(1 time)
- NWA Central States Television Championship
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- NWA Florida Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Florida Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida, USA and is now the major title in NWA Florida. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by CWF and lasted until 1987 when the company was purchased by Jim Crockett...
(1 time)
- NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- Manager of the Year Award (1984)