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Rip Rogers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused withEddie Graham.
Rip Rogers
Rogers (front) and Brenda Britton (back), circa 1985
Birth nameMark Sciarra[1]
Born(1954-02-07)February 7, 1954(age 70)
Seymour, Indiana,U.S.[1]
Alma materIndiana Central College[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Disco Kid
Hercules Simard
Mark Skeara
Rip Rogers[1]
Billed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Billed weight215 lb (98 kg)[2]
Billed fromSeymour, Indiana
Lexington, Kentucky[2]
Debut1975[2]
Retired2010

Mark Sciarra(born February 7, 1954), better known by hisring nameRip Rogers,is an American retiredprofessional wrestler.[3][4]

Early life[edit]

Sciarra was born inSeymour, Indianaon February 7, 1954. He graduated fromSeymour High Schoolin 1972 and went on to attendIndiana Central College,graduating in 1976. Sicarra worked as a teacher for a year before deciding to become a professional wrestler.[1]

Professional wrestling career[edit]

Rip Rogers started wrestling in 1975.[2]He formed the "Convertible Blondes" withPez WhatleyandGary RoyalinAngelo Poffo'sInternational Championship Wrestling(ICW) and won the Tag Team Titles with Royal. As withThe Fabulous Freebirdsdefending regional NWA tag team championships with any two of the three members, the Convertible Blondes also used the so-called "Freebird Rule"to defend the ICW Tag Team Championship in this manner. He left the ICW following a dispute with Angelo Poffo's son Randy Poffo, better known by his ring nameRandy Savage.

In 1979, Rogers went to theNational Wrestling Alliance's Portland territory,Pacific Northwest Wrestling,where he was aligned withBuddy RoseandEd Wiskoski.He would also make trips to Vancouver'sAll-Star Wrestling.

In 1984, he went to the Mid-Atlantic territory,Jim Crockett Promotions,where he formed "TheHollywood Blonds"with Ted Oates and won the National Tag Team Titles. By early 1986, he was in the Memphis territory,Continental Wrestling Association,feuding withDutch Mantel.

In September 1986, "The Hustler," managed by his then-wife Brenda Britton,[5]joinedContinental Championship Wrestlingand immediately feuded with "The Exotic"Adrian Streetand Miss Linda, until leaving the Gulf Coast area in March 1987.

Rogers wrestled as a heel inBob Geigel's Central States promotion during most of 1987.

The Ripper spent most of 1988 and 1989 in Calgary Stampede Wrestling. Strangely given his history and reputation he was mainly a lower to mid card performer. Yet he always seemed to get a rise out of the crowd as an antagonizing heel. Rogers received a small push near the end of his run in Stampede (the territory shut up shop at the end of '89). When he teamed with longtime Stampede veteranKerry Brownas part of the Midnight Cowboys tag team. They had a running feud with popular International Tag Team Champs Bad Company, which includedBruce Hartand Flyin'Brian Pillman.

In 1989, he wrestled for theWorld Wrestling Council(WWC) inPuerto Ricoas one of their top heels with partner Abbuda Dein.

He was back in the NWA in time for it to be renamedWorld Championship Wrestling(WCW). He wrestled in WCW from 1991 to 1994 as ajobberand he lost several matches to Pillman. Rogers later substituted for Pillman, being the scapegoat in the ill-fated Yellow Dog angle. His biggest win was atBattlebowlin 1993 where he teamed withRoad Warrior Hawk(who attacked him prior to the match but later used him to his advantage during the finish) and defeatedDavey Boy SmithandKoleto qualify for the battle royal main event, though he was the first man eliminated in that 16-man bout. By late 1993, he had left WCW for theGlobal Wrestling Federationwhere he joined The Cartel, which includedScotty Anthony,Makhan SinghandCactus Jack.They were the top heels for several months and he created a lot of havoc while there.

After that run, he occasionally wrestled in theUnited States,wrestling for a time with a promotion inIndianapolisknown as Circle City Wrestling. He finally settled inOhio Valley Wrestling(OVW) in 1997. He teamed with Dave the Rave and formed the "Suicide Blondes" with Jason Lee. When he retired from active competition in 2000, he was named head trainer at OVW. At the age of 48, Rogers was hit by a car and sustained injuries which forced him to completely retire from in-ring competition; according to a 2011 story on OVW, the accident left him "with a stiff limp". Rogers currently runs an advanced wrestling class at OVW, where he teaches up and coming wrestlers.[3][6]

As head trainer for OVW, Rogers has been involved in training over thirty wrestlers who appeared inWWEorImpact Wrestling,notably includingJohn Cena,Brock Lesnar,Dave Bautista,Randy Orton,Bobby Lashley,Mark Henry,andThe Miz.[7]

Rogers was known for his berserk reaction after losing a match. Even after being cleanly pinned, Rogers would vociferously protest to the referee that his opponent had cheated. Usually, he would claim that his hair or trunks had been pulled by the other wrestler to score the victory. These claims would be accompanied by a frenzied voice and wild pantomimes of hair and trunk pulling. Rogers wrestled his last match on August 6, 2010, for Pro South Wrestling losing in a 6-man tag match in Alabama.

Boxing career[edit]

Rogers also fought in 3 professional boxing matches in 1996 at 41 years old. His record stands at 1 win, 1 loss, 1 draw, with 1 TKO. He was trained by longtime friend Bobby "Sweetpain" Duchi, a veteran professional boxer, kickboxer, and champion weightlifter.

Other media[edit]

Rogers made an appearance in the 1993 music video for "Human Wheels" by fellow Seymour nativeJohn Mellencamp.

Rogers has made some appearances onThe Pat McAfee Show,when it was part ofBarstool Sports.

Personal life[edit]

Sciarra is married.[8]

Championships and accomplishments[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdeBetty Lou Mitchell; Elizabeth Rebber (1901).Carbondale: A Pictorial History.G. Bradley Publ. p. 193.ISBN978-0-943963-20-4.
  2. ^abcdeDave Meltzer (1986).The Wrestling Observer's Who's who in Pro Wrestling.Wrestling Observer. p. 96.
  3. ^abMarshall, Anne (December 7, 2011)."Learning the ropes".Louisville Eccentric Observer.Archived fromthe originalon January 8, 2012.RetrievedDecember 12,2011.
  4. ^"DUCHI FIGHTS".Columbus Indiana Republic.October 1995.
  5. ^Oliver, Greg (October 22, 2007)."'HUSTLER' RIP ROGERS LEARNED HIS LESSONS WELL ".Slam Wrestling.
  6. ^James Dixon; Arnold Furious; Lee Maughan (2013).The Raw Files: 1995.Lulu.com. p. 20.ISBN978-1-291-47083-3.
  7. ^Caleb Hall (2018).The Book on Pro Wrestling: Lessons from Rip Rogers.Independently published.ISBN978-1-7238422-0-7.
  8. ^Adam Copeland (2004).Adam Copeland on Edge.Simon and Schuster. p. 98.ISBN978-0-7434-8347-6.
  9. ^Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000).Wrestling Title Histories(4th ed.). Archeus Communications.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
  10. ^"OVW Title Histories - OVW Heavyweight Championship".Ohio Valley Wrestling.Archived fromthe originalon 2010-01-17.Retrieved2009-07-05.
  11. ^"OVW Title Histories - OVW Southern Tag Team Championship".Ohio Valley Wrestling.Archived fromthe originalon 2010-01-17.Retrieved2009-07-05.

External links[edit]

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