The Duke of Dorchester
Encyclopedia
Pete Doherty is a retired American
professional wrestler known by his ring name
The Duke of Dorchester.
Sr. in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). At the time, McMahon's territory consisted of only the Northeast states, and Doherty wrestled all over in small and large venues. Doherty wrestled under the name, "The Duke of Dorchester" paying homage to his hometown of Dorchester, Massachusetts
. The Duke was generally relegated to undercard status either wrestling against the stars of his era or against other undercard "jobbers". The Duke had a short lived run as a masked wrestler named The Golden Terror and was managed by Captain Lou Albano.
The Duke was known in the ring for his long blond hair, missing teeth and wild mannerisms. The Duke's constant in ring banter and screaming could be heard in the last row of the arena. His signature "move" was getting stuck in a full nelson and then placing his legs on the top rope in order for his opponent to have to break the hold. The end result was that the opponent would release and The Duke would land on his head.
In 1985, The Duke appeared on the premier of the WWF's Saturday Night's Main Event. The Duke lost a match to the Junkyard Dog
. In 1987, The Duke had a short feud with King Kong Bundy
. In addition to feuding with Bundy, The Duke had several grudge matches against the likes of S.D. Jones, Lanny Poffo
and Scott Casey
. In fact, his feud with Jones came about due to him getting a fluke win after a losing streak the announcers alleged had crossed the 300 mark.
In the late 1980s, Doherty tried his hand at broadcasting, announcing several WWF event in Boston as a heel
commentator. The Duke's biggest win came over Haku. The Duke retired from wrestling in 1997 making occasional appearances at local events including the WWF's final event at the old Boston Garden
.
In April 2010, Doherty was inducted into the New England Wrestling Hall of Fame.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional wrestler known by his ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
The Duke of Dorchester.
Professional wrestling career
Doherty began his career in the 1970s, wrestling for Vince McMahonVince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy "Vince" McMahon is an American professional wrestling promoter, announcer, commentator, film producer, actor and former occasional professional wrestler. McMahon is the current Chairman, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Committee of professional wrestling promotion WWE...
Sr. in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). At the time, McMahon's territory consisted of only the Northeast states, and Doherty wrestled all over in small and large venues. Doherty wrestled under the name, "The Duke of Dorchester" paying homage to his hometown of Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...
. The Duke was generally relegated to undercard status either wrestling against the stars of his era or against other undercard "jobbers". The Duke had a short lived run as a masked wrestler named The Golden Terror and was managed by Captain Lou Albano.
The Duke was known in the ring for his long blond hair, missing teeth and wild mannerisms. The Duke's constant in ring banter and screaming could be heard in the last row of the arena. His signature "move" was getting stuck in a full nelson and then placing his legs on the top rope in order for his opponent to have to break the hold. The end result was that the opponent would release and The Duke would land on his head.
In 1985, The Duke appeared on the premier of the WWF's Saturday Night's Main Event. The Duke lost a match to the Junkyard Dog
Junkyard Dog
Sylvester Ritter was an American professional wrestler and professional football player, best known for his work in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as The Junkyard Dog...
. In 1987, The Duke had a short feud with King Kong Bundy
King Kong Bundy
Christopher Alan "Chris" Pallies is an American professional wrestler, stand-up comedian and actor, better known by his ring name, King Kong Bundy.-Personal:...
. In addition to feuding with Bundy, The Duke had several grudge matches against the likes of S.D. Jones, Lanny Poffo
Lanny Poffo
Lanny Mark Poffo , better known by his ring name "Leaping" Lanny is an American professional wrestler. Poffo was born in Calgary, Canada, to Angelo Poffo, an Italian American Catholic, and Judy, a Jewish American. He is also the brother of wrestling legend "Macho Man" Randy Savage...
and Scott Casey
Scott Casey
Scott Casey is a retired American professional wrestler who is probably best known for his stint in the World Wrestling Federation between 1987 and 1990. His brother, Steve, was also a wrestler who appeared in the National Wrestling Alliance in the late 1980s and for the Global Wrestling...
. In fact, his feud with Jones came about due to him getting a fluke win after a losing streak the announcers alleged had crossed the 300 mark.
In the late 1980s, Doherty tried his hand at broadcasting, announcing several WWF event in Boston as a heel
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
commentator. The Duke's biggest win came over Haku. The Duke retired from wrestling in 1997 making occasional appearances at local events including the WWF's final event at the old Boston Garden
Boston Garden
The Boston Garden was an arena in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Designed by boxing promoter Tex Rickard, who also built the third iteration of New York's Madison Square Garden, it opened on November 17, 1928 as "Boston Madison Square Garden" and outlived its original namesake by some 30 years...
.
In April 2010, Doherty was inducted into the New England Wrestling Hall of Fame.