Don Jardine, who wrestled as The Spoiler, died December 16th of last year, age 66, complications of leukemia. He was Canadian by birth, passed away there.
He was one of the two "heels" who most made an impression on me as a youngster, the other being Buddy Colt. Both were soft-spoken and very menacing, not given to shouting or lots of gesticulation/facial contortion. Cold, cold men, scary wrestlers.
The Spoiler was lean and in great shape compared to many wrestlers, and his sense of balace was extraordinary. He was the first wrestler I ever saw walk the top ring rope in perfect balance, no swaying or hesitation, as if he was on the mat below. (I understand he taught The Undertaker this skill). He used an "Iron Claw" as a submission hold. Others used it as well, I remember Pak Song and The Sheik using "Iron Claw," and wrestlers relying on Germanic/Nazi images seemed to particularly specialize in the move: Siegfried Stanke or Fritz von Erich come to mind. (I may be having a memory lapse on these, if I am, forgive me).
Don Jardine wrote some poetry after his retirement; here's one of his poems:
Dreams
I dream of sun and mountain streams too soon
The ones that flow through my life at noon
They ripple their waves against my sands of time
As if this pleasure was as tasty as gushes of wine
Yes, my dreams sometimes take the low road of shame
But then I escape to a sanctuary of higher up fame
As the wind coils it's life around the unforgiving sea
Only then will I see the meaning of sky blue trees.
I hear the spirit tree of life making a silent scream
Exploring the murky clouds soul searching for my lost dream
When will the sky release it's last snow flake earth-bound
I realize my passionate awakening alarms my sleepless sound
Donald Jardine
Copyright ©2007 Donald Jardine
Donald Jardine, The Spoiler. Rest In Peace.
3 comments:
I remember Don Jardine when he wrestled as the Super Destroyer during the mid 1970's. At the time I was a teenager living in Richmond, Virginia. I saw him on tv and I also saw several of he's wrestling matches live at the Richmond Coliseum.
In particular I remember being at the match that was at the end of Super Destroyer vs. Masked Avenger feud.
Don Jardine won and the Avenger did unmasked. (He was Reggie Parks.)
I have a funny story about Don Jardine when he walked past me on his way to the ring while I was seating at ring side in the first row in the end chair during a different match. He was only about five feet away from me. I'll post it later this week.
Sandy Robert Garrett
I too remember him in Richmond, Va. Back in those days I loved Wrestling...would travel as to many matches as possible in the area. With some investigating, my brother and I figured-out the Spoiler was the Super Destroyer...the tattoo on his forearm gave it away. Most memorable match...in the Coliseum in Hampton, Va....against Jerry Briscoe. After a long battle...Jardine won..using the claw hold. Everyone was leaving, people were taking down the ring..and Briscoe was still there on the mat...face red..looking totally out of it. This was one match I think was real...one of my favorites!
Don Jardine was my favorite wrestler, bar none.
I became a fan during the winter of 1983 when he was wrestling for Georgia Championship Wrestling. He joined Paul Ellering's Legion of Doom stable, alongside Jake Roberts and The Road Warriors. As cool as that stable was to this thirteen year old, The Spoiler was the coolest of the cool.
I'll never forget going to see a GCW tour where The Spoiler took on Mr. R (Tommy Rich under a mask). At the conclusion of the match, Spoiler unmasked Rich, then tossed him out of the ring. A buddy and I were sitting three rows back; fantastic seats. As Rich gets tossed, my buddy snapped a picture. Rich rolls under the ring, gets counted out, and runs out with a towel around his head - playing the ostrich routine.
My buddy developed the film and sure enough, it's a beaut of a shot of Tommy Rich. Being naive kids, we sent the pic to WTBS, demanding Gordon Solie to suspend Rich for life.
Needless to say, we never heard back.
I know it was you, Tommy Rich. We had proof!
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