Wrestling Hall of Fame – Buddy Rogers (Part 2)
Buddy Rogers became the first WWE Champion and inspired millions of fans around the world with his elite fighting skills. During his stay at different wrestling promotions, Buddy Rogers won different championships including the NWA Championship and the United States Tag Team Championship by dethroning many established champions.
Buddy Rogers lost the WWE Championship gold quite soon when Bruno Sammartino defeated him in less than a minute in the Madison square Garden in front of thousands of fans. That was a swift defeat and Buddy Rogers claimed that he suffered a heart stroke before the match. However, Bruno Sammartino went on to say that Buddy Rogers is trying to cover up his defeat. It was indeed a shock for the wrestling fans, as no one ever believed that Buddy Rogers could lose in such a short period of time.
Buddy Rogers vanished from the wrestling scene shortly after his defeat. He returned briefly as a wrestling promoter for different wrestlers but he disappeared again. It seemed that Buddy Rogers had taken his loss far too seriously, and he was not ready to face the crowd. But then Buddy Rogers appeared in North Carolina in 1979 to face a new wrestler Ric Flair, also known as the Nature Boy. Buddy Rogers was the original Nature Boy and Ric Flair was copying his style, and his wrestling finisher called the figure four leg lock.
During this time, Buddy Rogers managed different wrestlers and wrestled in the ring at the same time. Buddy Rogers managed some of the greatest wrestlers of all time such as the Big John Studd and Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka. That was the time when he fought with Ric Flair in the battle of the Nature Boys. The legendary Hall of Famer, Ric Flair admitted to the fact that he has actually followed Buddy Rogers and has copied many of his moves.
During that epic match, Ric Flair defeated Buddy Rogers by applying the famous figure four leg lock. That was the same leg lock which was invented by Buddy Rogers and was copied by different wrestlers around the world. The passion of Buddy Rogers for the wrestling business always made him return to the ring in one way or another. Buddy Rogers was back in the ring in 1980’s and as he hosted the Rogers’ Corner. However Buddy Rogers stayed firmly on the side of Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka and helped him to become a great wrestler.
Buddy Rogers’s desire to fight in the ring never died out as he often paired up with Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka for tag team matches. But his old age was making his bones weaker everyday and he was not same Buddy Rogers he used to be. During a match when Buddy Rogers was a tag team partner of Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka, he fought with Albano & Ray Stevens, and got his hip broken in the ring. That was a huge blow to that great wrestler and he left the wrestling ring. Many wrestling fans thought that they have seen the last of this great wrestler and they would never see him again in action in the ring but they were wrong as Buddy Rogers’s desire to fight kept him going.
To the surprise of everyone Buddy Rogers returned to the ring in 1992 and challenged Buddy Landel in a wrestling match. This match never took place due to various reasons. By that time Buddy Rogers was 71 years old but his spirit was still young. Buddy Rogers died of complications from a heart attack and left the wrestling fans in a shock.
It was the night before Wrestle Mania in 1994 when the legendary wrestler and the then WWE Champion, Bret “The Hit Man” Hart inducted Buddy Rogers in the Hall of Fame. The induction in the Hall of Fame cemented the legacy of one of the greatest wrestlers and sports entertainers of all time in history.
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