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Mike Iles reflects on General Skandar Akbar

Mike Iles reflects on General Skandar Akbar

Posted: Aug 23rd 2010 By: mikeiles

I normally don't do a lot of the original writing here at Oklafan. I usually leave that for Burnham. Aside from an occasional show recap, I usually just find the tidbits you see in The Scoop. But after the recent passing of Skandar Akbar, I felt the need to express my fondness for The General.

I grew up watching Mid-South Wrestling (later the Universal Wrestling Federation) because they were on local TV. When my family got cable, I started watching World Class Championship Wrestling and the National Wrestling Alliance. I didn't like the World Wrestling Federation because they only showed "squash matches" and their wrestlers were a little too cartoony. Of course then WWF wrestlers were actually a Saturday morning cartoon, but I am veering off subject. Mid-South and World Class were my early favorites.

I remember guys in Mid-South like Bob Sweetan, Ted DiBiase, Hercules Hernandez, Steve Williams, The Rock-N-Roll Express, Buddy Landel, Jim Duggan, Butch Reed, and so many more. In WCCW, it was the Von Erichs, Chris Adams, Gino Hernandez, Jake Roberts, The Fabulous Freebirds, Iceman King Parsons, and the list could go on and on. But one manager stuck out the most to me in both of these feds, General Skandar Akbar.

Akbar called his stable Devastation, Inc. A motley group of bad guys. Guys like King Kong Bundy, The Super Destroyers, Kamala the Ugandan Giant, The Missing Link, and a lot more. He waged war on the Von Erichs. He waged war on Hacksaw Jim Duggan. He was one of the most hated individuals in wrestling. Watching wrestling back in those days, you cheered the good guys. Back then, it was rare you came across a wrestling fan that liked the bad guys. But Skandar Akbar intrigued me. Sure there were other managers like Gary Hart or Jim Cornette. But Akbar was the main guy in my book.

I attended a local wrestling show at a hotel in Tulsa and Akbar was on the card. The other guys I remember being on the card were Tom Jones and J. J. Mustang. I was excited to see one of the guys I grew up watching up close. I remember as he left the ringside area I said "Hey Akbar, your camel is double parked" and without hesitation he replied "Yeah, and George Bush is milking him". Simply awesome.

I got to meet Akbar on November 10, 2007 at the very last All American Championship Wrestling event, which was held at Farmer's Market in Oklahoma City. At the time, I was the commissioner of Impact Zone Wrestling, but I had promised AACW promoter Damien Strange that I would be at the show. When I walked into the locker room there was Akbar sitting on a chair. I blew right past all the other wrestlers in the locker room and made a beeline to Akbar. I introduced myself to him saying "Mr. Akbar it's a pleasure to meet you sir. You scared the crap out of me when I was a kid". He chuckled and asked why. I told him it was because he was able to throw fire. I sat down on the couch next to him and listened to his stories about his career. At one point he mentioned that he and Danny Hodge had sold out the local auditorium in a town in Arkansas just weeks earlier. I said "Well dang Ak, you and Danny have been feuding for 50 years. I think you have it down pat". He laughed and said "You're right Big Mike". That just made my whole day. He called me Big Mike.

On February 2, 2008 I had finished a show with IZW and headed over to Sooner World Class Wrestling's Underground Arena to pick up the results of their show for Oklafan and to say hello to some people. I walked in and saw Koko B. Ware and Kamala sitting backstage waiting to leave. I said hello and started looking around for someone that could get me the results. Kevin James Sanchez was helping me out when in walked Akbar. He said "Well there he is. Where ya been Big Mike?" Again, that made my day. He remembered our conversation we had a few months back. We talked again and I told him it was good seeing him again before I left.

I was very saddened to hear that Akbar had passed away. He died at the age of 75. He lived a full life. Although he never worked for Vince McMahon and the WWF or Ted Turner and WCW or ECW and he wasn't a part of the Monday Night Wars, he was one of the most revered managers pro wrestling has ever seen. He also touched so many lives in and around Oklahoma and Texas. He helped train former NWA Oklahoma Heavyweight Champions Spoiler 2000 and Slam Shady, former NWA Universal Tag Team Champions The Bounty Hunter and Bash, and NWA Oklahoma Tag Team Champion American Anarchy.

I have a picture of me and Akbar from the night I met him. He is growling and has the riding crop cocked back while I am grinning ear to ear. My wife jokes with me that he "should have had his head thing on" but I don't care. To me Skandar Akbar is always going to be the despised villain that could throw fire and scare me to death.

Rest in peace General.

 

Tags: Mike Iles, Skandar Akbar, C. M. Burnham. MSW, UWF, WCCW, NWA, WWF, Bob Sweetan, Ted DiBiase, Hercules Hernandez, Steve Williams, Rock-N-Roll Express, Buddy Landel, Jim Duggan, Butch Reed, Von Erichs, Chris Adams, Gino Hernandez, Jake Roberts, Fabulous Fre

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1

Spotlight in History

  • 1984 The Fantastics (Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton) def. The Long Riders (Bill Irwin & Scott Irwin) for the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
  • 2005 Big Van Vader def. Aaron Neil for the IZW Heavyweight Title
  • 2005 Carnage def. John O'Malley for the IZW Hardcore Title
  • 2005 Ryan Davidson became the MSWA Mid-South Cruiserweight Champion
  • 2005 The Lone Shining Star def. Tyler Bateman for the MSWA Tri-State Title
  • 2005 Michael Faith def. Outlaw for the MSWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title
  • 2005 The Real Impact Players (Aaron Neil & Se7en) def. The Red Dirt Outlaws (Devon Monroe & Kevin James) for the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Titles
  • 2011 Fuel def. Jonathan Cross for the UWE Heavyweight Title
  • 2022 Justin Lee def. Koko for the WFC Hometown Heroes Title
  • 2022 Dutch Hagen def. Wesley Crane for the WFC Heavyweight Title
  • 2023 Tunnel Vision (Derek James & Logan Knight) became the BPW Oklahoma Tag Team Champions
  • 2023 Luke Richmond def. Brandon Groom for the BPW Oklahoma Title
  • 2023 Trench Blythe def. El Gallardo for the BPW Lion Heart Title
  • 2023 The Stage Dive Mafia (Rook Tyler & Axel Savage) def. Native Law (Sheriff Schultz & Nashoba) for the NCWO Tag Team Titles

Week of Sun 10-18 to Sat: 10-24

  • 10-18 2009 Carnage def. Spoiler 2000 for the NWA-OK Oklahoma Heavyweight Title
  • 10-18 2019 Tego def. Prince Mahalli for the ASP Inter-County Title
  • 10-18 2019 Will Allday def. J. D. Griffey for the TexPro Heavyweight Title
  • 10-18 2024 Luther Zay Diamond def. Brandon Warhawk for the MajCW Flawless Title
  • 10-18 2024 Nashoba became the MajCW Wetumka Indian Community Centre Champion
  • 10-18 2024 Auzzy def. Kari Wright for the TexPro Dynasty Title
  • 10-18 2024 The Strays (Barrett Brown & Izzy James) def. K. O. A. (Caine Carter & Devion Black) for the TexPro Tag Team Titles
  • 10-19 1976 Karl Kox & Ken Patera became the TSW United States Tag Team Champions
  • 10-19 2013 Tyson Jaymes def. Brock Landers for the SWCW All-American Title
  • 10-19 2013 The K. C. Wolves (Graham Bell & Luke Langley) def. Nasty Swag (Ace Archuleta & Robert Lee) for the UWE Tag Team Titles
  • 10-19 2013 Jon Cross def. Anarchy [2nd] for the UWE Heavyweight Title
  • 10-19 2014 Jon Cross def. Robert Lee for the WFC Hometown Heroes Title
  • 10-19 2019 Luke Langley became the WFC Hometown Heroes Champion
  • 10-19 2024 Anarchy [2nd] def. Damien Morte for the EPW Internet Television Title
  • 10-19 2024 E-Bone def. Trench Blythe for the EPW International Title
  • 10-20 1969 Danny Hodge def. Chuck Karbo for the TSW North American Title
  • 10-20 1971 Bill Watts became the TSW North American Champion
  • 10-20 1986 Crusher Yurkov def. Steve Simpson for the WCCW Television Title
  • 10-20 2001 The Texas Outlaws (Beau Dalton & Butch Dalton) def. The VIP Crew (Rocco Valentino & Vinnie Valentino) for the OPW Oklahoma Tag Team Titles
  • 10-20 2001 Amanda St. George became the OPW Oklahoma Womens Champion
  • 10-20 2001 Big Daddy Moore became the OPW Oklahoma Hardcore Champion
  • 10-20 2007 Chris Fury became the SECW Light Heavyweight Champion
  • 10-20 2007 Impact, Inc. (John Zorthos & Bernie Donderwitz) def. Team Shenanigans (Tyler Bateman & Kenny Campbell) for the IZW Tag Team Titles
  • 10-20 2007 Tyson Armstrong became the SECW Heavyweight Champion
  • 10-20 2007 The Texas Outlaws (Bobby Burns & Dan Wilder) became the SECW Tag Team Champions
  • 10-20 2012 Kevin James Sanchez def. Austin Tacious for the SWCW All-American Title
  • 10-20 2012 The Static Knights (X-Statik & Keith Knight) def. Dynamic Storm (Justin Dynamic & Daemon Storm) for the UWE Tag Team Titles
  • 10-20 2018 Fuel def. Alex Royal for the UWE Heavyweight Title
  • 10-20 2018 Galaxy Cruzers (Paul Puertorico & Steven Cruze) became the UWE Tag Team Champions
  • 10-20 2018 Dusty Gold became the UWE Apex Champion
  • 10-20 2018 Anarchy [2nd] def. Dusty Gold for the UWE Apex Title
  • 10-21 1969 Fritz Von Erich became the WCCW American Heavyweight Champion
  • 10-21 1985 King Parsons def. John Tatum for the WCCW Television Title
  • 10-21 2005 Mitch Carter def. Kenny Campbell for the SRPW X Division Title
  • 10-21 2006 J. T. LaMotta def. John O'Malley for the IZW Cruiserweight Title
  • 10-21 2017 MVP def. Damon Windsor for the IWR Heavyweight Title
  • 10-21 2017 Spirit Squad (Kenny [1st] & Mikey [1st]) def. Excellence Personified (Duke Swellington & Dustin Heritage) for the ComPro Tag Team Titles
  • 10-21 2022 Tego def. Mr. Wobble for the TexPro Texas Title
  • 10-21 2023 Wolf of War def. Martin Justice for the EPW International Title
  • 10-21 2023 Johnny Dynamite def. Johnny Lightning for the WFC Prime Title
  • 10-21 2023 Native Law (Sheriff Schultz & Nashoba) def. K. O. A. (Caine Carter & Devion Black) for the NCWO Tag Team Titles
  • 10-21 2023 Malik Mayfield def. Clayton Bloodstone for the NCWO Choctaw Nation Title
  • 10-21 2023 Dominik Whiteheart def. Luke Richmond for the NCWO United States Title
  • 10-22 1984 The Fantastics (Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton) def. The Long Riders (Bill Irwin & Scott Irwin) for the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
  • 10-22 2005 Big Van Vader def. Aaron Neil for the IZW Heavyweight Title
  • 10-22 2005 Carnage def. John O'Malley for the IZW Hardcore Title
  • 10-22 2005 Ryan Davidson became the MSWA Mid-South Cruiserweight Champion
  • 10-22 2005 The Lone Shining Star def. Tyler Bateman for the MSWA Tri-State Title
  • 10-22 2005 Michael Faith def. Outlaw for the MSWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title
  • 10-22 2005 The Real Impact Players (Aaron Neil & Se7en) def. The Red Dirt Outlaws (Devon Monroe & Kevin James) for the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Titles
  • 10-22 2011 Fuel def. Jonathan Cross for the UWE Heavyweight Title
  • 10-22 2022 Justin Lee def. Koko for the WFC Hometown Heroes Title
  • 10-22 2022 Dutch Hagen def. Wesley Crane for the WFC Heavyweight Title
  • 10-22 2023 Tunnel Vision (Derek James & Logan Knight) became the BPW Oklahoma Tag Team Champions
  • 10-22 2023 Luke Richmond def. Brandon Groom for the BPW Oklahoma Title
  • 10-22 2023 Trench Blythe def. El Gallardo for the BPW Lion Heart Title
  • 10-22 2023 The Stage Dive Mafia (Rook Tyler & Axel Savage) def. Native Law (Sheriff Schultz & Nashoba) for the NCWO Tag Team Titles
  • 10-23 1965 Lee Fields & Bobby Fields became the TSW Louisiana Tag Team Champions
  • 10-23 1967 Spoiler #1 & Gary Hart def. Brute Bernard & Mike Paidousis for the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
  • 10-23 1968 Manuel Perez & Pepe Perez def. The Blue Demons (Blue Demon #1 & Blue Demon #2) for the TSW Louisiana Tag Team Titles
  • 10-23 1988 Jerry Lawler def. Kerry Von Erich for the WCCW World Title
  • 10-23 2003 Payton Scott def. Chris Matthews for the ACW Heavyweight Title
  • 10-23 2005 Matt Garza & Mr. Brown def. Brandon Bishop & John Zorthos for the ACW Tag Team Titles
  • 10-23 2005 Pretty Young Things (Cade Sydal & Mitch Carter) def. Matt Garza & Mr. Brown for the ACW Tag Team Titles
  • 10-23 2011 Javi Hernandez became the UWF06 Heavyweight Champion
  • 10-23 2015 Vinny Pacheco def. Buster Cherry for the MSWA Oklahoma Title
  • 10-23 2015 The Creepsters (Buster Cherry & Mr. Barnes) became the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Champions
  • 10-23 2021 Richie Adams def. Tommy Dean for the WFC Prime Title
  • 10-23 2021 Toxic Masculinity (Johnny Lightning & Johnny Dynamite) def. The Space Age Cowboys (Paul Puertorico & Jason Jones) for the WFC Tag Team Titles
  • 10-23 2021 Luke Langley def. Alex Royal for the WFC Heavyweight Title
  • 10-24 1983 Jimmy Garvin def. Chris Adams for the WCCW Television Title
  • 10-24 1998 The VIP Crew (Rocco Valentino & Vinnie Valentino) def. The Texas Outlaws (Dan Wilder & Bernard Funk) for the OPW Oklahoma Tag Team Titles
  • 10-24 2004 Se7en def. John O'Malley for the ACW Hardcore Title
  • 10-24 2009 Xavior became the SWCW Cruiserweight Champion
  • 10-24 2009 Dawn of Extreme (Ty Thunder & Crucifer) def. Texas, Inc. (Tim Rockwell & Bernard Funk) for the ComPro Tag Team Titles
  • 10-24 2009 The South Side Soul Assassins (Tyson Jaymes & 3rd Rail) def. The Good Ol' Boys (Bud Barnes & Moonshine) for the SWCW Tag Team Titles
  • 10-24 2009 The Good Ol' Boys (Bud Barnes & Moonshine) became the SWCW Tag Team Champions
  • 10-24 2009 Rated N (Crisstopher Crow & Shane Sanchez) def. The Good Ol' Boys (Bud Barnes & Moonshine) for the SWCW Tag Team Titles
  • 10-24 2020 Sam Stackhouse def. Alex Royal for the WFC Heavyweight Title
  • 10-24 2021 Ryan the Ripper def. Drake Gallows for the EPW Internet Television Title
  • 10-24 2025 Merc def. Riker for the BUW This Is Wrestling Title
10-22
  • Tom Jones Oct 22nd Today!
  • Porkchop Cash Oct 22nd Today!
  • George Knight Oct 22nd Today!
  • Red Eagle Oct 23rd
  • Bobby Lambert Oct 24th
  • Ray Durán Oct 24th
  • Daniel Powers Oct 24th
  • Bill Dundee Oct 24th
  • Paige Turner Oct 25th
  • Double D Oct 25th
  • Phil Shark Oct 25th
  • Sheriff Schultz Oct 25th
  • Halo Oct 26th
  • Eddie Williams Oct 26th
  • Anthony Wayne Oct 26th
  • Troy Graham Oct 26th
  • Miss Linda Oct 27th
  • Doberman [2nd] Oct 27th
  • AWOL Oct 27th
  • Jake Boulder Oct 28th
  • Mike Sharpe, Jr. Oct 28th
  • Chris Smith Oct 28th
  • MVP Oct 28th
  • D. J. Hall Oct 29th
  • Mischief Oct 29th
  • Paul Orndorff Oct 29th
  • George Wells Oct 30th
  • Brandon Bishop Oct 30th
  • Jesse Beeler Oct 30th
  • Debbie Combs Oct 30th
  • Danny McShain Oct 30th
  • Jayson Boss Oct 31st
  • Big Daddy Moore Nov 1st
  • Dutch Hagen Nov 1st
  • Bugsy McGraw Nov 1st
  • Mike Davis [2nd] Nov 2nd
  • Stephen Nitro Nov 3rd
  • Rob Barnes Nov 3rd
  • Kenny Silva Nov 3rd
  • Dylan Michaels Nov 3rd
  • Michael La Noy Nov 3rd
  • Korstia Korchenko Nov 3rd
  • Jimmie Deen Nov 4th
  • Assassin 1 Nov 4th
  • Max Leon Nov 4th

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