Ray Stevens (wrestler)
American professional wrestler / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Carl Raymond Stevens[2] (September 5, 1935 – May 3, 1996), better known as Ray "the Crippler" Stevens or Ray "Blond Bomber" Stevens, was an American professional wrestler. Stevens was a wrestling superstar since the early years of the television era until his retirement during the early 1990s.
Ray Stevens | |
---|---|
Birth name | Carl Ray Stevens |
Born | (1935-09-05)September 5, 1935 Point Pleasant, West Virginia, U.S. |
Died | May 3, 1996(1996-05-03) (aged 60) Fremont, California, U.S. |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Ray Shire Ray Stevens |
Billed height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)[1] |
Billed weight | 235 lb (107 kg)[1] |
Billed from | New York City San Francisco[1] |
Trained by | Jim Henry Roy Shire Theresa Theis |
Debut | 1950[1] |
Retired | 1992[1] |
His performances and hard bumping style inspired generations of villain wrestlers who attempted to emulate his ability to provide high quality and heat-generating matches that continuously brought crowds of fans. He was also known for using two different finishing moves in his many victories: the "Bombs Away" knee drop (a diving knee drop from the top rope to the throat) and the piledriver. Stevens wrestled as both a singles performer and in tag team matches with a variety of partners.
In 2006, he was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame.