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Patera Was One Of A Kind Wrestler

Posted: Dec 25th 2010 By: CMBurnham

Ken Patera didn't hesitate when asked to name the highlight of his 16-year pro wrestling career.

"It was the first time I wrestled Bruno Sammartino in Madison Square Garden," said Patera, referring to a January 1977 bout against the legendary World Wrestling Entertainment champion.

Patera then laughed and said, "It all went downhill after that."

Well, not exactly.

Patera parlayed his success as an Olympic weightlifter to become one of the industry's top stars throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Unlike other noted strongmen-turned-wrestlers like Mark Henry and Bill Kazmeier, Patera had the charisma, athleticism and interview skills to become a headliner in every territory he worked.

"I wasn't just a big muscular guy," said the 6-1 Patera, who became one of the world's top super-heavyweights (275 pounds-plus) in international weightlifting competitions. "I played everything in high school. When I was through with weightlifting, I didn't have any doubt that I could be a pro wrestler. It was kind of like a natural transition."

Having watched Pacific Northwest Wrestling as a youngster in Portland, Ore., Patera's interest was piqued after his 1961 high school graduation when he met performers at a local gym. One of those grapplers was "Sheik" Adnan Al-Kaissy, who would actually become one of Patera's most famed opponents before later becoming his manager.

Working under the name Billy White Wolf as a WWE tag-team champion with "Chief" Jay Strongbow, Al-Kaissy had his neck "broken" by Patera in 1977 to cement the latter's status as a vicious heel. The storyline also helped elevate Patera's swinging neck-breaker into becoming one of wrestling's most devastating finishing maneuvers. Patera would apply a full nelson, lift his opponent into the air and begin to spin.

But when he first befriended Al-Kaissy, Patera wasn't ready to swing into the ring.
"He said, 'I just got back from Japan. They're looking for big, white American guys. You can make $1,000 a week over there if you want me to train you,'" said Patera, who was attending junior college at the time. "I said, 'Billy, I'm going to school. I want to go the Olympic games, lift weights and throw the shot put.'"

Patera did all that. After competing in track and field at Brigham Young University, Patera would become the most accomplished weightlifter in U.S. history. Patera became the first America to successfully execute a clean-and-jerk of 500 pounds.

While still competing in weightlifting, Patera's brother Jack introduced him to American Wrestling Association champion and owner Verne Gagne. Gagne helped Ken Patera land a job in Minneapolis that provided a sponsorship and allowed him to keep his amateur status. At the time, this was a must to remain eligible for the 1972 Olympics.

But after a knee injury derailed his hopes of winning a gold medal in Munich, Patera decided it was time to use his strength in a different venue.

"I had gotten disenchanted and told the other guys on my (Olympic) team that it was my last meet," Patera said. "They said, 'Get your knee fixed. Four years from now is not very long. You can come back (for the 1976 Olympics) and set all the world records and win gold medals.' I said, 'I'm $24,000 in debt and I have an opportunity to go into pro wrestling out of Minnesota.' That's what I did."

Along the way, Patera helped another future superstar break into the business. Recognized from a recent weightlifting appearance on ABC's "Wide World of Sports,'' Patera was approached by Ric Flair when the latter was working the door at a Minneapolis bar. The two became roommates and trained under Gagne along with four other noted wrestlers: Greg Gagne (Verne's son), Jim Brunzell, Bob Bruggers and Khosrow Vaziri aka "The Iron Sheik.''
"Ric kept wanting me to get him a meeting with Verne but didn't want to go alone," Patera said. "We all finally piled in a car one day and I introduced him. Ric told Verne that he knew Greg and Jimmy (Brunzell). Verne didn't want to train a sixth guy but he eventually did."

Ironically, Flair would become arguably the greatest performer in wrestling history but he never worked as an AWA headliner or for Gagne again after leaving the territory in 1974. Patera would later become an AWA tag-team champion with "Crusher" Jerry Blackwell, adding yet another title to the belts he already had won performing in the WWE, Georgia and the Mid-Atlantic region.

Patera jumped from the AWA to WWE in 1984 when Vince McMahon was nationally expanding his Northeast-based territory. Managed by Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Patera received a strong push and even helped "Big" John Studd cut Andre the Giant's hair in a major WWE storyline.

Patera's career, though, was derailed when he and fellow wrestler Masa Saito were both sentenced to two years in prison for their participation in a wild late-night brawl that left several police officers injured.

Upon his 1987 return, WWE turned Patera's prison release into a storyline. But the baby-face push Patera was receiving ended after he tore a biceps muscle. Patera was then primarily booked to lose to newer talent that WWE wanted to elevate.

Patera said he had no problem being used in such a role before his 1988 WWE release.
"Over the years, I saw guys who weren't nothing -- and I mean nothing -- who wouldn't do a job for some up-and-coming superstar because they were afraid it might hurt their reputation," Patera said. "Who cares? Nobody remembers this stuff from week to week. I was never going lose sleep over doing a job. I took it as a badge of honor.

"I was not going to be in the business much longer anyway. I had three or four nagging injuries and I was 45 years old. I'd been playing games all my life between amateur athletics and pro wrestling. It was time to grow up and get a job."

Patera did return to the AWA for one final run before entering semi-retirement and pursuing other business interests. Now 67, he owns a company in Woodbury, Minn. that sells replacement parts for industrial screening machines.

Patera's last business connection to pro wrestling ended in 2001. Patera had promoted family-friendly cards in Minnesota under the All-Star Wrestling Alliance banner. Patera, though, folded his tent because the risqu? product being presented by WWE at the time made it difficult to find show venues.

"I couldn't book a high school or church," he said. "All I could do was sports bars because WWE TV shows were so raunchy that the others wouldn't touch me with a 10-foot pole."
While he has faded from today's grappling scene, Patera and his legacy aren't forgotten. He will be one of the featured performers showcased at the WrestleReunion weekend January 28-30 in Los Angeles. The convention-style event includes top independent wrestling and autograph opportunities with stars from yesterday and today like Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Mil Mascaras, Roddy Piper and Val Venis.

For more information, visit www.wrestlereunion.com.