Carl Raymond Stevens (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.
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.
Early life
Stevens was born on September 5, 1935, in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, and was raised by an aunt in Columbus, Ohio.
Professional wrestling career
Early career
Stevens began his four-decade-long career in 1950 at the age of 15, working for Al Haft. One of Stevens's mentors was the "Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers, a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion. Throughout most of his working years, Stevens worked as a villain, though he occasionally turned into a face. His most famous finishing move was the "Bombs Away" knee drop which involved Ray "the Blond Bomber" jumping off the top turnbuckle and landing with his knee on the throat of his opponent. Stevens's initial foray into main event wrestling involved his matches with one of the 1950s most colorful heels, Gorgeous George. It was a result of his work with George, that Stevens became a main event star. At this stage of his career, Ray Stevens was 17 years old.
Stevens further developed his skills in tag team matches. He initially went into a partnership with Don Fargo as Ray and Don Stevens. In addition, on August 6, 1959, Stevens teamed up with "Professor" Roy Shire as "brother" Ray Shire to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship from Dick the Bruiser and Angelo Poffo. The Shire Brothers were involved in many famous angles until Roy moved on to become the promoter of Big Time Wrestling wrestling programs in San Francisco's Cow Palace. One angle, which took place in Indianapolis on October 1, 1960, involved a "match" between boxer Archie Moore, a former World Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion, and the Shire Brothers. This match did not show Ray and Roy having any significant advantage over Moore. For one thing, the Shire Brothers were required to wear boxing gloves and follow the rules of boxing when they went against professional boxer Moore. Both Ray and Roy were "knocked out" in a matter of minutes. This match did not settle the argument as to who is the superior athlete, the professional boxer or the professional wrestler. A positive outcome of this "match" was the fans, who attended this event in large numbers, having the pleasure of seeing the long-awaited comeuppance of the arrogant and rule-breaking Shire Brothers.
By the end of the 1950s, Ray Stevens was ready to move on to the next stage of his wrestling career, which took place in the city of San Francisco and throughout Northern California.
Big Time Wrestling: the San Francisco years
Stevens, reverting to his real name, started out in San Francisco for Big Time Wrestling on March 4, 1961, where he was involved in an angle with Pepper Gomez and captured the NWA United States Championship nine times and the NWA World Tag Team Championship three times. During his first televised interview on the Bay Area's KTVU Channel Two weekly Friday night wrestling show promoting his upcoming match at the Cow Palace, Stevens, speaking with a low pitched growl from the side of his mouth in the manner of a movie tough, shocked the fans when he said San Francisco was a terrible place to live. He also referred to those who watched the wrestling programs as "hillbillies" and "pencil neck geeks." The insults thrown at the inhabitants of San Francisco caused a bit of a stir at the time which helped to further enhance Stevens's box office draw.