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The Man Behind the Mask: The Spoiler aka Don Jardine.

Posted: Sep 10th 2024 By: Robert Segedy - RingTheDamnBell.Wordpress.com

I have always been intrigued by Masked Men in the ring. One of my earliest memories was seeing the great Killer Kowalski being banned from WWWF wrestling for excessive brutality. The next week an all too familiar figure appeared wearing a purple mask and tights. The ring announcers were acting positively mystified by the appearance of the masked man even though he was all too recognizable as being Kowalski. His overall appearance and manner in the ring literally screamed that the man was indeed the Killer, but the ring announcers were dumbfounded over the man’s true identity. At the time being a masked wrestler was an easily used ruse with a wrestler sometimes appearing twice a night on the same card. Such is the nature of wrestling.

One of the more well remembered masked men was Donald Delbert Jardine, born March 24, 1940, and he eventually died on December 16, 2006, at the age of 66 from complications stemming from a heart attack and leukemia. Making his wrestling debut at the age of 15, Jardine made his debut at the Maple Leaf Gardens as “Babyface” Don Jardine. He wrestled primarily in Toronto until 1961 and briefly returned in 1964. Jardine wrestled the NWA World Heavyweight Champion Lou Thesz on St. Louis television, but he did not win. He also challenged Gene Kiniski for the NWA World Heavyweight title in 1966.

Under the management of Playboy Gary Hart in Texas, he adopted the mask and the name of “The Spoiler.” While wrestling in World Class Championship Wrestling, he encountered an individual named Mark Calloway who he taught how to walk the top rope; Calloway would find much success later as The Undertaker in the WWE. When Calloway would make his way to the top rope and walk the ropes, it was a tribute to the wrestling skills of The Spoiler. The Spoiler was a big man, 6 ft 4 in, weighing in at 293 pounds but he had the agility of a cat; he was known for his acrobatic style and his ability to absorb as well as dish out punishment.

He was unmasked in Texas in 1972 by Billy Red Lyons and Red Bastein but continued to wrestle under the mask as “The Spoiler” in Texas and Oklahoma. He also wrestled in All Japan Pro Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling during the 60’s and the 70’s. He became the “Super Destroyer” while in the Carolinas and used the moniker “Super Destroyer” name during a stint in the AWA from 1977-1978. Jardine challenged Jack Brisco for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship as both “The Super Destroyer” and “Spoiler.” He wrestled Harley Race for the NWA Heavyweight title in Houston, Texas in 1979. He held the Georgia Based NWA National Heavyweight Championship by the WWF after it had purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1984.

The Spoiler wrestled 75 matches for the WWF in 1974 before he left for other territories. Jardine was one of the original members of the Legion of Doom stable with teammates Jake “the Snake” Roberts, 400-pound King Kong Bundy, alongside The Road Warriors.

Championships and Accomplishments

Central States Wrestling:

NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Championship Wrestling from Florida

NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida Version) (1 time)

Georgia Championship Wrestling

NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship (3 times)

NWA National Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

NWA Big Time Wrestling

NWA American Heavyweight Championship (4 times)

NWA American Tag Team Championship (6 times) with Gary Hart (3 times), Smasher Sloan (2 times), and Maniac Mark Lewin (2 times)

NWA Television Championship (2 times)

NWA Texas Tag Team Championship (1 time) with Mark Lewin

NWA Television Championship (3 times)


Gary Hart remarked “He (Jardine) was a big, agile guy who could do leapfrogs, flying head scissors, dropkicks, and wrestle his butt off to boot. He was a legit guy and never would wrestle less than forty minutes because he had that Lou Thesz mentality.”

The Spoiler was certainly one of a kind and I encourage fans that aren’t familiar with his style to look up his many matches on You Tube.