Donald Edward Gaston, better known as Don Carson (November 20, 1934 – March 16, 2013) was a professional wrestler and wrestling manager. Carson was known for his raspy voice and his loaded glove known as "Peanut Butter".
Career
Little is known of Carson's early life. He was already wrestling for Georgia Championship Wrestling by 1963. He was billed as "Ted Blassie", which was based on Freddie Blassie and was billed as the "Pacific Coast" champion in August 1964 while wrestling in the northeastern United States. There, he feuded with Frank Scarpa and teamed up with Gypsy Joe Gonsalves and Bull Montana.
He captured the AAC World Heavyweight Championship on August 27, 1964 and made his Portland, Maine debut on September 5, 1964. Carson headed to Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling in 1965, capturing the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Title, the NWA United States Junior Heavyweight Championship, the NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship and the NWA Gulf Coast Louisiana Heavyweight Championship. Carson had a long feud with Bobby Fields while in the territory, meeting him in singles title and tag title matches. Don Carson usually teamed up Ron Carson against Fields and his partners Lee Fields and Ken Lucas. Don and Ron left the territory in July 1967 and headed to NWA Mid-America, where they won the NWA Mid-America World Tag Team Titles.
Don Carson and The Red Shadow
Don later started teaming with The Red Shadow after Ron Carson left the territory in December 1967. Don and The Red Shadow feuded with the team of Corsica Joe and Herb Welch and later Herb's nephew, Buddy Fuller teamed up with Sam Steamboat to feud with Don and The Red Shadow. The feud later reached its peak when Fuller and Steamboat beat Carson and The Red Shadow in a No Disqualification match with Herb Welch as the referee. Don and The Red shadow entered into a feud with Dennis Hall and former Carson enemy, Ken Lucas. The teams traded the NWA Mid-America Southern Tag Team Championship back and forth until Hall and Lucas defeated Don and The Red Shadow for the belts on May 27, 1968, with Jackie Fargo as the special ref. The two teams then met in a Texas death match on June 11, 1968, which Don and The Red Shadow won. Don and The Red Shadow then continued feuding with Jackie Fargo after. Fargo would team with Corsica Joe, Roughhouse Fargo and later Lou Thesz. Fargo and Thesz met Don and The Red Shadow in a tag title match on August 12, 1968, where Fargo and Thesz would have to leave town if they lost. Fargo and Thesz won but Don and The Red Shadow won following week in a match where the tag titles were on the line against The Red Shadow's mask. What followed was unclear as Don and The Red Shadow lost the tag titles on August 24 to Dennis Hall and Ken Lucas then lost them again to uncle and nephew duo of Buddy Fuller and Lester Welch on September 9. Fuller and Welch beat Carson and The Red Shadow in a Texas death match on September 16. Don and the Red Shadow then fought in two different no disqualification matches within 3 days of each other against The Mighty Yankees #1 and #2 and Dennis Hall and Ken Lucas. Hall and Lucas defeated Don and The Red Shadow in a rematch, which ended up one of the last matches of the Carson and Shadow team as The Red Shadow left the territory.
Los Angeles and Freddie Blassie
Carson found a new partner in Len Rossi in February 1969. The team won the NWA Mid-America World Tag Team Championship on March 13, 1969, before being defeated by Dante and The Great Mephisto on May 14, 1969. Carson headed to NWA Hollywood Wrestling in October 1969 in what turned out to be the biggest run of his career. Carson won the Americas Six Man Tag Team Trophy with Karl Von Brock and Great Kojika on November 3, 1969, by defeating Black Hawk, Pepper Martin and El Medico in a match that was later held up due to controversy. Carson and Mil Mascaras feuded in late 1969 with Mil beating him in a two out of three falls cage match on Nomvember 6, 1969 then beating him in a two out of three falls no disqualification match on December 5, 1969. Carson also feuded with El Medico during this time period. Carson and Great Kojika defeated El Medico and Pepe Lopez for the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship on December 11, 1969, and defeated him in an NWA Pacific Coast Heavyweight Title match on December 6, 1969.
