19 Facts About Bert Assirati

Bert Assirati was known for displaying various feats of strength, including setting a British record in 1938 by lying on his back, and pulling over at arm's length a 200-pound barbell.

At 240 pounds, Assirati was one of the heaviest men to perform the iron cross.

Bert Assirati was born in Holborn, London to British-born parents of Italian descent and raised in Clerkenwell.

At the age of seventeen, Bert Assirati formed part of the acrobatic stage duo Mello and Nello.

At the age of twenty, Bert Assirati began his career as a professional wrestler, but continued to train as a weight-lifter.

Bert Assirati trained for his career in wrestling under Atholl Oakeley.

Bert Assirati is said to have taken pleasure in injuring his opponents, and often refused to play along with the predetermined nature of professional wrestling.

Bert Assirati stated that Lou Thesz was one of the wrestlers afraid to face him.

In one version of the story, Bert Assirati challenged Thesz to a match, but Thesz refused.

Bert Assirati won his first major championship while competing in the British Wrestling Association.

Bert Assirati had claimed to be the British Heavyweight Champion but did not win the title officially until 27 January 1945.

Bert Assirati later dropped this title to Martinson but continued to hold the British Heavyweight Championship.

In 1950, Bert Assirati left the British Wrestling Association to wrestle in India.

Bert Assirati returned to Europe and won back the European Heavyweight Championship in 1952 after Assirati was chosen to wrestle the long time AWA World Heavyweight Champion Maurice Tillet, The French Angel who was known as Unstoppable, and had won for a span of 19 consecutive months.

Bert Assirati was stripped of the title in 1958 by Joint Promotions, the governing body, although the British Wrestling Federation continued to recognize him as their champion.

In 1960 Bert Assirati sustained an injury and the BWF stripped him of the title as well.

Disgusted with the choice of successor, Bert Assirati began a campaign of harassment against the new champion at shows until Crabtree retired for six years in 1966.

Later in his life, Bert Assirati worked as doorman at the Ebbisham Halls in Epsom, Surrey, especially on the dance nights when many of the top acts of the sixties were playing there.

Bert Assirati used to enjoy showing a party trick of placing a metal drink cap between each of the fingers on both hands and completely crush them all at once.