Wrestling Legends – Baron Mikel Scicluna
Baron Mikel Scicluna was only well respected in normal life as there was nothing honourable when this beast used to enter the wrestling ring. Known for his deception and cheating tactics, Baron Mikel Scicluna was one of the most famous wrestlers during the 1960’s and 1970’s. This 6 feet 3 inch tall wrestler came from the Isle of Malta and entered the ring for the first time with a shade of blue colour over his shoulder. This was to tell the world that Baron Mikel Scicluna considered himself a royal who should be treated with prestige, honour and respect. But once in the ring, Baron Mikel Scicluna fought with the power and brutality of a beast.
Though Baron Mikel Scicluna was born in Malta, he spent most of his fighting career in Canada where he trained and wrestled for years. But it was in 1965 when he chose to join the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and came to U.S. It was not merely the fighting techniques which brought huge and unprecedented success to Baron Mikel Scicluna, but it was his ability to hide multiple objects so that he could use them against his opponents to his advantage. The most famous of these objects was a roll of coins which he used to inflict pain and punishment with on his opponents. Fans loved it when referees failed to find different objects in his body suit. Later on, Baron Mikel Scicluna would surprise everyone by taking them out.
Despite his cheating tactics, Baron Mikel Scicluna used his extraordinary power to win multiple titles during his professional wrestling career. It was only in 1966 when he won the United States Tag Team Championship by pairing with Smasher Sloan. Their tag team defeated everyone in the world of professional wresting to win the top prize. But this was not the only success which Baron Mikel Scicluna received during his career. He won the prestigious World Tag Team Championship by pairing with another Hall of Famer George “The Animal” Steele. It seemed for some months that the power of this tag team will be unstoppable and no one will be able to stand against this dominating and deceptive beast that had many moves in his arsenal to beat his opponent.
But then Baron Mikel Scicluna made an important decision as he decided to try his luck in singles matches in professional wrestling. He fought with some great WWE champions like Sammartino and Pedro Morales and challenged their WWE reigns. Though Baron Mikel Scicluna was unfortunate and could not capture the gold when he fought the champions but there came a time when he nearly dethroned both of them and gave them a fight of their life time.
He then challenged another wrestling legend called the “Gorilla Monsoon” and challenged him on the night when the famous boxer “Muhammad Ali” made his way to the wrestling ring. It was always said Baron Mikel Scicluna may never win the singles wrestling championship gold but he will always give the champions a fight of their life time. His ability to mix his great fighting tactics with his deceptive manoeuvres made him a dangerous opponent in the wrestling ring. He became an opponent who could turn the tables and threaten the very established wrestlers in the ring.
Slowly and gradually Baron Mikel Scicluna started making less appearances in the wrestling ring as the age factor restricted his fighting ability in more than one ways. This great wrestler and master deceiver retired from the world of professional wrestling in 1984. Call it a coincidence of history or the meeting of the legends that the same Gorilla Monsoon who fought Baron Mikel Scicluna years before inducted him in the WWE Hall of Fame. Many famous wrestlers tried to copy the art of deception after observing Baron Mikel Scicluna in the ring but perhaps there was no one who could do it better than the baron from the great Isle of Malta.
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