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Bruiser BrodyTerritory days is an era of professional wrestling which often gets overlooked. While most of the fans will have endless opinions about The Attitude Era or the PG Era, Territory Days gets minimal credit for the way it shaped up the wrestling business. For the ones who have no idea what is being referred to, it was a time period in professional wrestling where the United States was divided into territories.A promoter in one territory did not have the right to promote shows in another territory, which in turn restricted the rise of a national promotion. Vince McMahon, however, broke all the rules and gave rise to WWE to end the ‘territory system’. Before McMahon did this, there were some notable names during this era which stood out. These wrestlers later went out of the limelight, but they played big roles during the territory days.
#5 Abdullah the Butcher
Violence and Blood in wrestling wouldn’t have been the same without Abdullah the Butcher. The guy had some of the bloodiest matches during the Territory Days and most of them had a great storyline backup as well. Carlos Colon Sr. and Ric Flair were some of Abdullah’s greatest rivals.
Abdullah’s gimmick was feared all across the territories due to the sheer violence. He still has scars all over his head from his wrestling days and has stories for each of them. He was able to get jobs in promotions like ECW and WCW after the territory days, but he did not get the stardom he once had and slowly faded away.
#4 Tully Blanchard
Tully Blanchard came back into the limelight recently after the death of Dusty Rhodes. He was one of Dusty’s most fierce rivals and the storyline these two had with Baby Doll was simply awesome. Apart from the Dusty feud, Tully locked horns with Magnum TA and Carlos Colon Sr. in notable feuds. But the career turning point for Tully Blanchard came when he joined the Four Horsemen.
He was one of the original members of Four Horsemen and went on to have a lot of memorable matches under the banner. Once the National promotions started poking up, Blanchard’s career went downhill and his relevance dropped. His daughter is currently following his footsteps and could soon find herself in WWE.
#3 Carlos Colon Sr.
Carlos Colon Sr. is one of the legendary names in Puerto Rican wrestling scene. The modern day fans might know him as the father of Carlito, but beyond that, Colon was instrumental for the Puerto Rico territory. He was a promoter and a wrestler during the time and his refusal to work in any other territory was notable.
Colon did eventually work for some Eastern American territories and in Canada, but most of his career was spent in Puerto Rico. Once the Territory system faded, Colon failed to adapt to the change and was restricted to his home region. The controversy surrounding the death of Bruiser Brody did not help him as well. Speaking of which, Bruiser Brody deserves a place in the list.
#2 Bruiser Brody
If someone asks you about the best brawlers in the wrestling business, then Bruiser Brody’s name deserves to be in the discussion. He changed the face of brawling in wrestling and got recognition for the same. Brody wrestled across many territories throughout his career and was known to be a pain in the rear end for the bookers.
Brody was destined to be a bigger name in the business if he had survived into the next time frame, but unfortunately for him, his life came to an abrupt end. Brody was stabbed to death in the locker room during a show in Puerto Rico. Jose Huertas Gonzalez, who was accused of stabbing Brody was acquitted on all counts citing self-defense.
#1 Magnum TA
The real life Terry Allen started his career back in 1977. Pacific Northwest, Florida, and Mid-South territories were his initial challenges and Allen passed all of them with flying colors. Feuds with big names like Ric Flair, Tully Blanchard, and some others helped Allen rise up the ranks.
He was pushed by almost all the territories and there were plans to make him the NWA Champion as well. But his luck turned upside down in 1986 when the Porsche he drove lost control. He was driving in the rain and after losing control, Allen crashed into a telephone pole. He was forced to retire from professional wrestling due to the accident and if it wasn’t for the accident, Allen would have had a bigger place in the history books.
