60 Facts About Abe Jacobs

Abner Robert Jacobs was a New Zealand professional wrestler.

Abe Jacobs was one of the first men to follow fellow New Zealander Pat O'Connor to the United States where, like O'Connor, Jacobs became a major star in the National Wrestling Alliance during the "Golden Age of Wrestling".

Abe Jacobs was an established journeyman wrestler, touring Europe and Japan on several occasions, travelling around the world four times and wrestling over 8,000 matches in his 30-year career.

Abe Jacobs spent the final years of his career in the Carolinas where he became a mainstay for Jim Crockett's NWA Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling during the 1970s and early-1980s.

Flair's victory over an established veteran such as Abe Jacobs was a critical step in his early career and is partially credited for helping Flair become a major star in the Mid-Atlantic territory.

Abe Jacobs is credited for creating the "Kiwi Leg Roll", a modified amateur submission hold, which was especially popular among fans and to date has never been duplicated.

Abner Robert Abe Jacobs was born on 18 April 1928, on the isolated Chatham Islands in New Zealand, where he was raised.

Abe Jacobs's father managed a cattle station with 6,000 head of sheep and a few thousand cattle.

Abe Jacobs had a very rural upbringing working on the station and regularly travelled long distances by horseback; he once rode 85 miles in a two-day ride.

At the age of 13, Abe Jacobs broke his first horse and herded 1200 head of sheep on a three-day trip to be shipped to the mainland, and began training sheep dogs.

Abe Jacobs attended a local elementary school and completed high school via a correspondence course.

Abe Jacobs saw his first automobile as a young man in Christchurch and his first television set while competing in Hawaii years later.

Abe Jacobs was once able to hear a match between Gorgeous George and George Temple being broadcast in San Diego for 20 minutes before the signal faded.

Abe Jacobs began weightlifting which, in addition to working on his family's ranch, would give him a distinct strength advantage when he started his amateur wrestling career as a teenager.

Abe Jacobs was invited to an Easter Camp, where amateur wrestlers had the opportunity to train with the 1952 light heavyweight Olympic Champion, but was forced to leave by the head of the wrestling association for his weightlifting.

Abe Jacobs later won the New Zealand Championship and held the title until 1953 when he was defeated by John da Silva in Wellington.

Abe Jacobs tried out for the 1956 Olympics but lost to another wrestler by one point.

Abe Jacobs was assisted by Al Costello, whom he trained with as an amateur, and future tag team partner Don Curtis.

Abe Jacobs made his professional debut against his trainer, the Zebra Kid, in Hastings in 1958; substituting for George McKay, their match served as the main event.

Abe Jacobs took on the promotion's top "heel" NWA United States Heavyweight Champion "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers that same year which saw Haystacks Calhoun interfere in the match.

Abe Jacobs met Buddy Rogers on eight occasions during his career, the majority for the United States Championship, and at least once for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.

On 23 February 1959, Jacobs made his debut at its home arena at Madison Square Garden in New York City appearing on the undercard against kayfabe Nazi sympathizer Karl Von Hess defeating him via disqualification.

Abe Jacobs later scored victories over Kenny Ackles, Johnny Valentine, The Sheik, "Wild" Bull Curry and Dr Jerry Graham.

In January 1960, Abe Jacobs faced Bruno Sammartino who later became the promotion's top star for over a decade.

Shortly afterwards, Abe Jacobs began touring in other parts of the United States and in Canada where he won the NWA North American Championship in North Bay.

Abe Jacobs wrestled in Detroit and Chicago and, while in the latter city, he took part in the first Comiskey Park show wrestling "Rubberman" Johnny Walker in front of 36,000 fans.

Abe Jacobs's first run in the territory lasted a year and a half during which time he wrestled Swede Hanson and teamed with George Becker and Haystack Calhoun.

Abe Jacobs teamed with The Flying Scotts in 6-man tag team matches.

Abe Jacobs eventually left the Mid-Atlantic area for the West Coast to team with Haystack Calhoun in the fall of 1962.

Abe Jacobs challenged several NWA World Heavyweight Champions during the mid-to-late 1960s.

Abe Jacobs again faced Thesz in Richmond on 5 November 1965.

In 1966, Abe Jacobs travelled to Japan where he wrestled as the masked wrestler Red Pimpernel.

Abe Jacobs returned to Japan three or four times and, as a "heel" wrestler, was a frequent opponent of Antonio Inoki.

Abe Jacobs spent time in most of Southeast Asia, Australasia, South America, and Europe.

Abe Jacobs usually weighed around 250 pounds during his career, but had increased to around 270 pounds for his tour.

The promoter, Bull Heffer, was upset upon seeing Abe Jacobs and had believed he lied about his weight.

Abe Jacobs, then wrestling with a "heel" cowboy in-ring persona, secretly put weights in his pockets and cowboy boots in order to pass the weight requirements.

Abe Jacobs drew particular ire from South African wrestling fans when, shortly before his upcoming match with the South African Champion, he confessed in a newspaper interview he did not even know the name of his opponent.

Once in Nova Scotia, Abe Jacobs was challenged by a disruptive wrestling fan who had been harassing wrestlers and the crowd alike.

Abe Jacobs was easily able to put the man in a submission hold during their match and made the fan apologise to the crowd before releasing the hold.

Abe Jacobs travelled to Australia where he wrestled for World Championship Wrestling.

One of the reasons Abe Jacobs was able to eventually immigrate to the United States was because he was wrestling at a "World Championship" level.

For much of the 1960s and early 1970s, Abe Jacobs headlined shows for Jim Crockett's NWA Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.

One of his most favourite tag team partners during this period was Luther Lindsay who, similar to Abe Jacobs, was once billed as the "Coloured Heavyweight Champion".

In May 1974, Abe Jacobs was the first opponent of "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair during his first run in the territory, defeating him at the Charlotte Coliseum, and wrestled tag team matches against Flair and Rip Hawk with a number of different partners.

In Georgia, Abe Jacobs feuded with another young wrestler, Randy Savage, during the summer of 1977.

Abe Jacobs was brought to Maple Leaf Wrestling by Toronto promoter Frank Tunney where, on 22 October 1978, he fought British wrestler Geoff Portz to a lime-limit draw at the Maple Leaf Gardens.

Abe Jacobs spent the rest of the year wrestling for promoter Paul Jones in Georgia Championship Wrestling where he took on such foes as The Masked Superstar and "Iron" Mike Sharpe, and teamed with Ted Oates and George Welles.

Abe Jacobs briefly came out of retirement for the first nine months of 1983 and wrestled a number of opponents including "Wild" Bill White, Ken Timbs, Masa Fuchi, Ricky Harris, Kelly Kiniski, The Magic Dragon, and John Bonello.

Abe Jacobs later began spending time between Charlotte and New Zealand where he bought a sheep and cattle ranch in the Chatham Islands.

Abe Jacobs has been involved in a number of local charity events, especially charity golf tournaments, organised by retired NFL players Roman Gabriel and Brad Johnson.

Abe Jacobs was recognised by the internet wrestling community in the early 21st century.

In January 2004, arranged via George South, Abe Jacobs was interviewed by MidAtlanticGateway.

Abe Jacobs talked about the end of the television era and the dominance of World Wrestling Entertainment in professional wrestling.

In February 2008, Abe Jacobs was among the Mid-Atlantic territorial wrestlers and wrestling personalities who attended the funeral of Johnny Weaver including Ivan Koloff, Sandy Scott, Wally and Don Kernodle, Rene Goulet, Nikita Koloff, Tony Romano, Bill White, Jim Nelson, Belle Starr, Jim Holiday, Rick McCord, George South, Mike Weddle, Penny Banner, wrestling broadcasters Bob Caudle and Rich Landrum, referees Tommy Young and Stu Schwartz, and a promoter Jackie Crockett.

Abe Jacobs had been in attendance for the funeral of Mr Wrestling several years earlier, and quoted in The Post and Courier upon the deaths of George Becker, Sailor Art Thomas, Bronco Lubich and Sandy Scott.

Bob Leonard wrote in a later editorial that Abe Jacobs "proved to be a vibrant speaker, and a personable addition to the great social atmosphere of the event".

Abe Jacobs died on 21 August 2023, at the age of 95.

The Kiwi Leg Roll, or simply the Kiwi Roll, is a professional wrestling submission hold which was created by Abe Jacobs and used as his finisher throughout his career.

Abe Jacobs never revealed how to perform the Kiwi Leg Roll despite being asked by dozens of wrestlers, claiming in later interviews that he had forgotten how, and to date it has rarely been duplicated.