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"Pretty Boy" Pretty Good On ESPN Classic

Posted: May 13th 2009 By: CMBurnham

What's interesting about Pretty Boy Doug Somers is he actually started setting up the wrestling ring at age 9 at the Minneapolis Auditorium.

Almost 50 years later, he is doing more than gathering plywood and removing turnbuckles. He is in the ring, doing what he loves, competing again.

''My dad took me to my first wrestling match when I was 9 at the old Minneapolis Auditorium,'' Somers said, ``and that's what I wanted to do.

``So I saw this guy setting up the ring. It was Joel Snyder, an old-time referee and former amateur wrestler. I asked if I could set up the ring, and I started doing that and slowly worked my way in.''

Somers watched intently the work of some of the greats. He also taught himself how to bounce off the ropes, use the turnbuckle, hit the mat. It was a good time and a good experience for the youngster.

Years later, Somers got his initial in-ring training from Hall of Famer Harley Race. That's a coupe, leading to his debut in 1971.

''Harley Race, the first one who got me going,'' Somers said. ``Then I branched out to every organization. I took something with me from every territory.''

In the early years, Somers learned from a Who's Who of talent including Billy Robinson, Verne Gagne, Dory Funk, Jr., Karl Gotch, Bob Roop and Tony Garea.

''You had great wrestlers like Johnny Valentine, Gorgeous George, Buddy Rogers, Bruno Sammartino, Fritz Von Erich, Wilbur Snyder,'' Somers said. ``They were great athletes, and we learned from them. That was an era of great training. The wrestlers today don't have those types of wrestlers to learn from.''

Somers received national exposure when he teamed with Playboy Buddy Rose, managed by WWE Hall of Famer Sherri Martel, when sports cable channel ESPN broadcast AWA Wrestling in the mid to late 1980s.

Today, you can see those shows on ESPN Classic at midnights Mondays through Fridays.

''I've seen them,'' Somers said. ``It's good to see it. We really set the bar back then.''

The Pretty Boy and the Playboy with Sherri made a big mark in pro wrestling.

``We did some fabulous work on ESPN. Verne Gagne was the owner of the AWA, and it was national sports attention for the AWA from the Showboat in Las Vegas. There were no limits of what we could do and how we could do it.''

Somers and Rose with Martel had a very successful run against the Midnight Rockers (Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels) for the AWA tag team titles.

''We had cage matches with the Rockers in 22 states, and it was done the right way,'' Somers said. ``We did things that will never be duplicated by any organization or wrestlers. Nobody's ever come close to our cage matches.

``We were selling out shows for two years. It was a tremendous experience and a great time in our lives.''

The feud culminated with a bloody cage match at the Brawl in St. Paul on Christmas Day 1986, with Michaels and Jannetty winning the titles.

''ESPN was the first national network to allow that much blood to be seen on TV,'' Somers said. ``It was never blocked or blacked out.''

Somers praised Michaels who became a top singles superstar in WWE.

''It is a great compliment to help him get to where he is,'' Somers said. ``He was a great learner, a great worker, a quick learner. All the knowledge we threw at them [Michaels and Jannetty]. We took them under our wings.

``Shawn is a great athlete, a good man, a good father and a good friend.''

Somers, who lives in the suburbs of Atlanta, retired from wrestling when his young daughter died. He also has three sons, one serving in Afghanistan with the U.S. Marines. Another is a U.S. Army Ranger, special forces.

''We're regular people,'' Somers said. ``I like to golf and bowl and relax. We just do a different job. You have to make a lot of sacrifices as a professional athlete, and the hardest part is traveling, being away from family.''

Somers recalls spending 17 days straight on the road wrestling. He returned home for two days and then another 14 days driving and flying for more matches -- sometimes two shows in different towns in one day.

''We would travel thousands of miles a year,'' Somers said. ``The traveling takes a toll on you.''

During his time in the AWA, the roster included Jimmy Superfly Snuka, Nick Bockwinkel, Larry Zbyszko, Curt Hennig, Col. DeBeers, Scott Hall, Wahoo McDaniel.

''The show we had. The talent we had,'' Somers said. ``We were so hot back then.''

Prior, Somers wrestled throughout the world including Amarillo, Texas -- Funk territory.

''Terry Funk, he's wild and crazy. He just looked at me and said, `You're a pretty boy,''' Somers recalls. ``So he took me to the beauty shop, had my hair done in curlers. We got this long robe, and that's how I became Pretty Boy Doug Somers.''

Somers wrestled plenty in the Southeast (Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas) while his childhood friend Rose made a name for himself in the opposite direction in the Pacific Northwest.

''Buddy and I grew up together in Minneapolis,'' Somers said. ``When I was hauling the ring, I asked him why you hitch-hiking to see a wrestling show. Just call me and we can go.''

Interesting, they never really discussed tagging.

''It was a freak accident,'' Somers said. ``We always come home to Minneapolis for Christmas to see our families. I called the AWA on the 15th of December to see about any work, and Buddy was home to see his family and called, too.

``One thing led to another, and Ray Stevens and Wahoo McDaniel in the AWA office said it was a natural to put us together. I knew Ray for 20 years prior, and I wrestled both Wahoo and Ray. I respect them and their opinion.

``It was the right time and the right place. Buddy with his body, blonde hair and me. We never tried to outdo each other. We worked together. That's why we did so well. It was fun, and it was good. It was a marriage, a good marriage.''

Somers and Rose with Martel beat Curt Hennig and Scott Hall for the AWA tag team titles in May 1986.

''Curt was a great athlete, a natural athlete,'' Somers said. ``We grew up together. Curt was always going to shows to see his dad, and I was always working the shows.''

Somers made friends with Bockwinkel and Snuka, lifetime friends. He teamed with Soldat Ustinov against Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee. In singles action, Johnny Valiant managed him. He did well in singles and tag team action.

Through it all, Somers also had a great relationship with Rose, who recently died from natural causes.

''Years ago, we went on our first tour of the Orient with [Dick] Murdoch and [Dusty] Rhodes,'' Somers said, ``but we didn't think about tagging.

``Seventeen years later, we ran into each other during Christmas, when he was going back to the Pacific Northwest and I was going to go back to Mid-Atlantic, but once we tagged in the AWA, I never went back.''

Somers added: ``Being in a tag team can be difficult, but it was a perfect marriage for us. We never had a conflict, and we both did well. It was a perfect combination, a natural.

``With Sherri, we took it all right in stride. She came into the AWA with Buddy.

``We knew what we had to do. We were in the main event, and that means we were responsible for the livelihood of 30 other guys. Being in the main event was the big match and effected the pay for everyone. The main event is what draws the people. We drew well in the main event, and we never had a bad payday.

``There's stress and a lot of travel, but we got along with everybody.''

Somers' boys never had a desire to wrestle. They saw the grueling effects it had on their dad's body.

''It's lonely on the road so much, and you get injured, and you hurt,'' Somers said. ``Forty-five years I was in it, and I made a lot of sacrifices, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.''

Somers returned to the gym five months ago. Feeling good, he is wrestling again for anyone hiring.

''I'm 58,'' Somers said. ``I can still do it. Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, I'm also looking to go back to the Midwest. I'd like to go to the the Great Northwest, Toronto, Quebec and any European tours.

``I love it.''