Abdullah's Back: There Will Be Blood
Abdullah the Butcher is saying goodbye to Canadian wrestling fans, leaving a trail of blood in his path.
Born Larry Shreeve in Windsor, the Canadian Abdullah will return to Montreal on April 4 (Centre Notre Dame-du-Rosaire, 955 Villeray Est, show starts at 7:30 p.m.) in his "retirement" match, when he'll face Hannibal.
Abdullah hopes to do the same later in the year in Calgary, where he long ago had a series of bloodbaths against Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie.
At 73, Abdullah should be thinking about playing cribbage, gardening ... relaxing a bit. Instead, he's on his retirement tour, with an assortment of kitchen utensils bloodying a string of opponents along the way.
"One day, a fan threw a fork at me, so I started stabbing my opponent with it. I've been using it ever since," says the Butcher. "I bring one with me now. It's inscribed 'Mr. Butcher.'
"I started hardcore wrestling. I want to give people something different every night they're asking: 'What's he going to do next?' "
Already a member of the Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame, Abdullah should be in the WWE Hall of Fame, even though he didn't work for Vince McMahon's company.
"I never kissed a promoter's ass," says the Butcher. "Vince McMahon can't control Abdullah the Butcher ... with everyone else, he controls their name. There have been letters written, petitions ... it's politics."
After some 48 years in the wrestling business, Abdullah has no regrets.
"I need a hip, but I'm not going to have it done," he says. "I go to the doctor and I'm good for another 3-4 months.
"I never took bumps. With wrestling today, you might as well go to the circus. That's how these guys get hurt, they'll jump off buildings."
And he's not really a Butcher.
"In the ring, I'm a businessman," he says. "But outside, I'm a gentleman."
For more information on the Montreal card, check out wrestlingsupershow.com
