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Bios

Col. DeBeers

Nickname: The South African Mercenary

Height: 6' 3"

Weight: 255 lbs

From: Johannesburg, South Africa

Birthday: Jan 10th

Pro Debut: 1972

Aliases: Derek Draper, Ed Wiskoski, Major DeBeers, Bret Wayne, John Ewing, Wolf Wiskoski, Mega Maharishi, Masked Ox, Ed Kowalski, The Convict

Feds Worked For: AWA, MSW, NWA, WCW, All Japan Pro Wrestling (Japan), American Pro Wrestling (SC), Big Time Wrestling (CA), Catch Wrestling Association (Germany), Central States Wrestling (IA/KS/MO), Championship Wrestling from Florida (FL), Championship Wrestling USA (OR), Continental Wrestling Association (TN), Extreme Canadian Championship Wrestling (Canada), Georgia Championship Wrestling (GA), Gimmicks Only Underground Grappling Entertainment (NC), Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (NC/SC), National Wrestling Federation (PA), NWA Big Time Wrestling (CA), NWA Hollywood (CA), NWA Mid-America (AL/KY), Pacific Northwest Wrestling (OR), Southern Championship Wrestling (NC/SC), St. Louis Wrestling Club (MO), Universal Wrestling Federation (CA/ND/NV/NY/SC), Vancouver All-Star Wrestling (Canada), Windy City Pro Wrestling (IL), World Championship Wrestling (Australia), World Wrestling Alliance (KS/MO)

Finisher: Front Face Piledriver

Signature Moves: State of the Emergency (Spike DDT), Heart Punch

Career Highlights: -Austra-Asian Tag Team Champion (w/ Larry O'Day)
-CWUSA Television Champion (5x)
-NWA Central States Champion
-NWA (Florida) Southern Champion
-NWA Pacific Northwest Champion (2x)
-NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Champion (6x; 4 w/ Buddy Rose, 1 each with Kendo Nagasaki and John Rambo)
-NWA Pacific Northwest Television Champion
-NWA (San Francisco) World Tag Team Champion (3x; 2 w/ Buddy Rose, 1 w/ Roddy Piper)
-NWA (San Francisco) United States Champion
-TSW Tag Team Champion (w/ Mike George)
-WCW North American Champion

Affiliates: Buddy Rose, Roddy Piper, Mike George, Kendo Nagasaki, Skandar Akbar, Paul E. Dangerously, Dallas Page, Tim Brooks, Dallas Page, The Diamond Exchange

Notable Feuds: Jimmy Snuka, Derrick Dukes, Tommy Gilbert, Eddie Gilbert, Ricky Morton, Sgt. Slaughter, Jake Milliman, Bobby Jaggers, Jerry Oates, Billy Two Eagles, Buddy Rose, Mike George, Axel Dieter, Bob Dellaserra, Steve Doll, Bill White, Curt Hennig, B. Brian Blair, Skip Young, Akio Sato, Omar Atlas, Don Running Bear, Scott Hall

Other Facts: -Real name was Edward Wiskoski
-Played briefly for the Cincinnati Bengals in the National Football League before training to become a wrestler, but added that his time in the league lasted about as long as "a fart in a hurricane." He says that he chose not to mention his NFL experience when wrestling, because of the negative connotations that go with being an "ex-" anything.
-Trained for pro wrestling by Ron Etchison, Harley Race and Lord Littlebrook. While training with Littlebrook, he primarily was in class with other midgets as well as future female wrestling standout Kay Noble.
-As Derek Draper, he used the nickname "The Mongoose"
-As Ed Wiskoski, he used the nicknames "Easy" or "The Polish Prince" and was billed from New York City or Buffalo, NY
-As Bret Wayne and John Ewing, he used the nickname "Cowboy"
-Competed for a time as The Convict. He is not to be confused with the Convict that competed in Oklahoma in the early 21st century
-While wrestling for Herb Abrams' UWF, he wore an eye patch over his left eye.
-DeBeers and Buddy Rose were honored for their wrestling careers by the Cauliflower Alley Club in 2004
-Former member of The Diamond Exchange
-Former member of The Clan
-With Buddy Rose, he opened a wrestling school in Portland, OR after retiring from in-ring competition.
-Ranked # 67 in the 1991 PWI 500
-Ranked # 138 in the 1992 PWI 500
-Ranked # 96 in the 1993 PWI 500
-Ranked # 221 in the 1994 PWI 500
-Ranked # 356 in the 1995 PWI 500 (as Major DeBeers)
-Ranked # 354 in the 1996 PWI 500 (as Major DeBeers)
-Ranked # 313 in the 1997 PWI 500 (as Major DeBeers)
-Ranked # 291 in the 1998 PWI 500 (as Major DeBeers)
-Ranked # 261 in the 1999 PWI 500 (as Major DeBeers)
-Ranked # 273 in the 2000 PWI 500 (as Major DeBeers)
-Ranked # 264 in the 2001 PWI 500 (as Major DeBeers)
-Ranked # 409 in the 2003 PWI 500 (as Major DeBeers)
-Ranked # 452 in the 2004 PWI 500 (as Major DeBeers)
-Passed away Jan. 23, 2025 at the age of 80 after a brief illness