R.I.W Wrestling Legend: Cowboy Bob Ellis

Posted on March 13, 2023 by bloodlinematt

Welcome back to another “R.I.W Wrestling Legends” update that is taking place here at the Rotten Ink Arena. As you can see, this update has a Texas theme as our subject for this update was a true legend and major draw in the Lone Star State and was also the man who created the legendary wrestling move the Bulldog! And this wrestler is Cowboy Bob Ellis, a true Icon of wrestling who was a fan favorite his whole long career who sadly does not get the coverage nor recognition he should. So if you are ready, grab yourself a beer and maybe a steak sandwich from the snack bar as its time to talk about this Texas wrestling icon that was one of the most popular Cowboys in wrestling for decades.

Cowboy Bob Ellis started his wrestling career in 1957 and was trained by Ed Lewis and Sandor Szabo and was a major star almost from the start and started wrestling for the NWA territories in the Texas area. He was known from the start as being the protégé of one of his trainers Ed “Strangler” Lewis and it help boost his statues on the cards as he was super skilled and was a great talent in the ring. And because of his popularity he was booked for many NWA territories like Stampede Wrestling, Central States Wrestling and even the AWA! And because the fans loved him, he was a major draw when his name was on the posters and they would come and pay to see him in action. Cowboy Ellis was a skilled wrestler who would wrestle a technical style and yet could also brawl with the best of them, and he looked liked an actor from the Western shows on TV and this made him popular with the ladies. During his time in wrestling, Cowboy Bob would win many titles and would be booked in big matches against the likes of such names as Buddy Rogers, Fritz Von Erich, Dick The Bruiser, Bob Geigel, Mighty Atlas, Angelo Poffo, The Sheik and Killer Kowalski to name a few. Ellis would create his own finishing maneuver that would be called the Bulldog, a move that is still used by many wrestlers to this day! Bob Ellis would even wrestle in World Wrestling Council out of Puerto Rico and like everywhere he wrestled, he was a draw for them. After a very long career that lasted decades Cowboy Bob Ellis would retire from in-ring action in 1982. All through his career, Ellis was respected and loved by fans, and as of this posting Cowboy Bob is still alive and is in his 90s! While never on the same level as a Ric Flair, Buddy Rogers, Hulk Hogan, Nick Bockwinkel or Bruno Sammartino, Cowboy Bob Ellis was a workhorse who was skilled in the ring and was dependable, was a draw, was loved by fans and did it all while wearing his cowboy boots.

The strangest thing about Cowboy Bob Ellis is that he very much is a true legend of Texas Wrestling and is also the man who invented the move the Bulldog so you would think his name would be used more often when fans and promoters talk about the legends of the sport and it’s a shame that Ellis is not even in the WWE Hall Of Fame yet as he should at least be apart of the Legacy inductions. Cowboy Bob Ellis was a great face that was ready for a fight and would be cheered by young and old as his skill and for many years was considered the best “Cowboy” in wrestling and was always looked at as one of the best wrestlers in general when on a card. The sad part about Cowboy Bob Ellis’s long and very successful career is that you can hardly find any real in-depth history of his in-ring career and oddly enough he does not even have a Wikipedia page, and that’s shocking as far less Legendary wrestlers do. Another thing that I think keeps Bob Ellis from being as big as he should be is that while he won titles in many federations he has never captured gold in any of the bigger ones like AWA, WWF and the major NWA ones. Plus while he was a nice guy in the world of wrestling, he later got involved in some shady stuff dealing with Horse Racing and this tarnished him in some fans eyes, as he was convicted of fixing races with others to collect money in bets. While in real life he may have done something very crooked and wrong, you still cant not take away from his in-ring work as a wrestler as he really was a icon who worked his ass off to put on some very great matches for the fans. I can remember the name Cowboy Bob Ellis from the years of watch and reading about wrestling, but this will be the first time I get to watch some of his matches and that really cool as I am looking forward to it.

We are now at the point of this review where we will be taking a look at the DVD set and review some of the matches on the discs like always between 4 to 8 of them. I want to thank Coliseum Of Wrestling & Boxing for having this set in stock and also want to thank Cowboy Bob Ellis for his hard work in the world of wrestling. I also want to remind you that I will only be breaking down randomly select matches from this set and will be breaking down the match and will be rating the matches on a 5 Star rating system. I also only choose from Single matches, as I want to break down his matches that showcase his style. Here is what the stars mean ½ Means a really terrible match, * Means a bad match, ** Means a below average match, **1/2 Means a good average entertaining match, *** Means a good match, **** Means a great match, ***** Means an epic match. So if you are ready lets step into the ring with Cowboy Bob Ellis.

Best Of Cowboy Bob Ellis

Match 1: Cowboy Bob Ellis vs. Bob Geigel

From the start of the match Cowboy shows Geigel that he is here to fight and why they call him the Pride Of San Antonio Texas and he comes after him strong, but when Geigel gets a cheap shot to Cowboy’s kidney area the match quickly turns in his favor as the pair go back and fourth exchanging holds with Geigel trying to find ways to cheat as Geigel keeps going for kidney shots as well as aims for his neck with punches. But even with cheating Cowboy keeps the momentum in his favor, until Geigel knocks Cowboy out of the ring and delivers more cheap shots that just angers Cowboy who unleashes on him and once more takes full control over the match as the fans cheer him on. No matter what small attempts Geigel makes to turn the tide Cowboy cuts it off and keeps control, in the end Cowboy and Geigel fight to a time limit draw. This is a classic style match with two guys that knew how to entertain as well as work the fans into massive cheers. Geigel is a perfect chicken heel who does dirty moves, begs not to be beat up and has the fans hating him, well mostly the ladies as they love Cowboy and during the match stand at ringside to cheer him on as well as even wipe the sweat from him as he walks by! Cowboy Bob Ellis really impressed me with his old school style and I would also like to see more of Bob Geigel matches. Over all a very good match!

Grade: ***1/2

Match 2: Cowboy Bob Ellis vs. Bobby Heenan

The match starts with Cowboy Bob and Heenan fighting before the bell rings with Cowboy even wanting to bash him with a chair that the referee stops. Once in the ring, Heenan uses an object to hit Cowboy in the eyes given him a small advantage over his bigger opponent, and Heenan then keeps on attacking the eyes making Cowboy blind and swinging wildly at anything that is moving. Cowboy finally turns the momentum of the match when he rams Heenan’s crotch into the post buying him some time to try and get his site back, but Heenan cuts him off again and goes for the eyes several more times. Cowboy finally has had enough and just goes crazy on Heenan and finishes him off with a massive hit to the face, knocking him out and giving the Cowboy the three count. This match is more about the art of selling then pulling off moves as both guys do a great job with selling for each other with Heenan almost being over the top cartoonish in nature and Ellis selling that he cannot see for a bit will remind fans of how Shawn Michaels use to sell in the 90s. Cowboy is great and delivers a brawling style match, while Heenan might be the greatest Manager of all time, his wrestling in this match is not great as his punches look very weak and 98% of the match his him cheating and bumping around the ring. Over all, a very silly match that had the crowd yelling and screaming so it did its job as its clear fans live Cowboy Bob Ellis.

Grade: **1/2

Match 3: Cowboy Bob Ellis vs. Jimmy Ford

Jimmy Ford jumps Cowboy as he is getting into the ring and does not even have his entrance gear off and lands some massive hits to him in the corner. Cowboy has enough real quick and beats up Jimmy and puts him into a sleeper hold and puts him to sleep and wins the match in 27 seconds! Wow, this was a total squash match and Jimmy Ford is the biggest jobber we have ever seen in one of these reviews, as he looks like a total curtain jerker, and Cowboy Bob looks like a million dollars as he shrugs off being jumped as the bell rings and then destroys the guy attacking him. Barely a match but was entertaining if you like Cowboy Bob as you see him set a company record. Can’t give it any higher of a score and only reason I gave it two is cause it made Cowboy look good and put him in the history books for a fast win.

Grade: **

Match 4: Cowboy Bob Ellis vs. Tony Romano

The start of the match has Cowboy and Romano testing each other and not being two aggressive as they want to make sure that they do not underestimate each others skills, and at one point when the action starts to be pressed by Cowboy Romano goes on the run! But Cowboy tracks him down and takes it to Romano who is being out worked in the ring. After a small comeback from Tony Romano, Cowboy makes the comeback and places him into the sleeper hold and puts him to sleep for the win. This match is clearly Cowboy Bob facing a lower mid-carder for International Championship Wrestling and was pretty much a squash match with Tony at least being able to have some moves thrown in to not make him a total jobber. Cowboy wrestles his more brawling style in this match and is great like before, but one thing I did notice is that he does not get the big cheers like he normally does from the crowd and it makes me wonder if they were just sick of seeing him every week, or if it was just a bad crowd that night. Over all a good match that was quick and straight to the point of getting Cowboy Bob another win on TV.

Grade: **1/2

Match 5: Cowboy Bob Ellis vs. Wildman Watson

It’s the battle of Texas as these two Lone Star State wrestlers square off in the ring with them at first exchanging hits, but Cowboy Bob ends up getting the upper hand first as he out wrestles Wildman who ends up showing Cowboy that he as well as some skill, and even sneaks in some cheating moves like biting Cowboy’s hand. Once Cowboy gets a chance to collect himself he takes back over the match and once more out wrestles the Wildman by getting him in all types of holds and does so fast and flawless. Wildman gets frustrated and starts attacking Cowboy’s eyes with his fingers causing him major pain, but by cheating and making Cowboy mad becomes Wildman’s undoing as Cowboy finishes him off with the bulldog and the three count for the win. A good match that mixed hard hitting and technical styles and pitted two Texas wrestlers against each other that worked well in the ring. While it was very clear that Cowboy Bob was the more skilled of the two, Wildman did a good job of putting up a fight and looking like a threat. I also liked that Wildman would cheat every chance he could and all it ended up doing was making Cowboy mad and making Wildman’s beating worse. While this was clearly just a match that pitted a popular veteran against an enhancement talent but the work the two did made it feel bigger than that. A good match that told a story and the fans loved to cheer for Cowboy Bob as he was on that night.

Grade: ***

After watching this DVD, I can say that I am a fan of Cowboy Bob Ellis now as he was a classic career long fan favorite who was skilled in both technical moves as well as could brawl like a slugger and when on could chain his moves together and they looked smooth and flawless. It’s crazy that he never got a good run in the WWF in the 70’s as I think he could have been a big star for them and could have had some great matches against their talent. And I would say if you like old school wrestling way before the Sports Entertainment fully took over, you should go to YouTube and watch some of his matches and see if you agree that he should be in the WWE Hall Of Fame via the Legacy. Well the this update is winding down and Rotten Ink Arena is closing up for the night so before we go I should let you know that our next update will take us to The Rotten Ink Ranch as it’s time for another Wild West Roundup so that means we will be talking a classic western film released by Alpha Video as well as enjoying a big bowl of chili. The film we will be talking about is the 1943 film The Law Rides Again that stars Ken Maynard and let’s be honest keeps up the western theme we have had this month! So as we exit the doors I want to say read a comic or three, watch a wrestling match or two and as always support your local wrestlers. See you next update for some chili and classic movie talk.

Horror Host Icon: Gorgon The Gruesome

Posted on August 24, 2021 by bloodlinematt

How many of you readers and friends have a great memory of staying up late watching your local Horror Host on TV as the movie scared you and the host segments delighted you with humor or creepy flare? Here in Dayton, Ohio I grew up with the likes of Dr. Creep on Channel 22, A. Ghastlee Ghoul on DATV and The Creeper on MVCC, all local icons of Horror Hosting who have all been covered here on Horror Host Icon updates and all three are in the Official Horror Host Hall Of Fame! And for the people of Fort Worth, Texas during the 50’s-70’s the Host that was must watch TV was Gorgon The Gruesome and his show Nightmare. He was a true icon of local television and spread his horrors for generations of monster movie lovers. Texas has had a long history of great Hosts that include names like Professor Cerberus, Professor Anton Griffin, J.R. Ghul, Miss Jami Deadly, Peter Lorre Jr. and Dr. Zekow, to name a few, and while they are all fantastic, none are as iconic as Gorgon with the only Texas based host that is his equal being Joe Bob Briggs. So sit back, turn off all the lights as it’s with great honor that I bring to you Horror Host Icon: Gorgon The Gruesome!

Gorgon is a ghoul who lives in a massive creepy castle that is complete with cobwebs and spooky storms outside. And with no humor and no laughs (besides his own) Gorgon loved bringing viewers his shows over the decades, as he truly loved to scare the wits out of them and educate them not only about the film being shown but mostly in fright. Gorgon was a well-dressed ghoul who wore a white button up shirt as well as a long black cape. He had black circles around his eye and a mole under his left eye. Gorgon was well spoken and would make the viewers hang onto every word as he would speak of the spooky stuff that chilled their blood and sent shivers down their spines. Gorgon would also famously be holding his candelabra to light the darkness of his castle as well as add to the eerie mood of the show. Gorgon would make his first appearance 1957 hosting the Shock Package on his show “Nightmare” and became a true icon of late night viewing. While Gorgon is no longer on the airwaves of Texas, his memories still haunt all those in the Lone Star State who watched his Nightmares! He is also very powerful and has supernatural powers that can both amaze and as well as kill you stone dead!

Bill Camfield was the man behind Gorgon The Gruesome, and he was a beloved TV personality in the Fort Worth area and beyond. William Joseph Camfield was born on June 27, 1929 in Mineral Wells, Texas to parents Joseph and Nina Camfield and lived in the area where he was born until 1935 as he and his mother moved to Fort Worth after the passing of his father who was a coal miner. He graduated from High School in 1947 and got a job working as a writer for Leonard’s Department Store doing ads, and later worked on writing and starring on a show called “Hometown Harmony” that was produced by Leonard’s who would go on to promote Bill to the job of Radio-TV Director for the store and would go on to develop many shows over those years including “Man About Music”, “Meet The Candidate”, “Let’s Go Shopping” and “Billboard”. But it was in 1954 that his career really started when he took a job at KFJZ-TV Channel 11 as a jack of all trades as he not only created original programming he also wrote advertising copy as well as commercials and he would star in many of them. His first most loved role was the voice of Hoover The Hound, a dog puppet that was the costar of the show “Million Dollar Matinee” hosted by I believe Ann Harper. He then would become Gorgon The Gruesome for the show Nightmare in 1957 and would play the character off and on for many decades. And his most popular character and show he created was “Slam Bang Theater,” a kids show that started in 1959 that would aired Three Stooges shorts as well as cartoons and he played the lovable host Icky Twerp that would become a true icon for kids of the time as the show would run until 1972 and would even go on to influence such actors and comedians as Mike White, Gary Panter and Bill Paxton! Playing Icky would also lead him into starring as Wyatt Earp in the film “The Outlaws Is Coming” along side the Three Stooges in 1965. In 1972 Bill would leave the Fort Worth area for awhile and take a job in Denver Colorado for a short time only to return of Fort Worth and work for KDAF-TV Channel 33, and in 1985 he even brought back the iconic Icky Twerp on a show called “Icky Twerp’s Summer Reunion” that had him and his real son performing skits and hosting summer themed films. But sadly Bill Camfield passed away in 1991 after battling brain cancer, and while gone, his legacy of entertainment lives on forever with those who grew up watching him and for those who discover him thanks to things like YouTube and The Horror Host Hall Of Fame.

Nightmare started in September 1957 on Channel 11 in Fort Worth, Texas when they got the “Shock” Movie package from Screen Gems that featured many of Universals classic Horror and Thriller films from the 1930’s and 1940’s. And with this they hired Bill Camfield to play the shows host Gorgon The Gruesome, and the show would run until 1959 as a weekly Saturday late evening show that started at 8:00pm and would show a double feature of films. And starting in 1959 over the years Nightmare would return for Halloween specials that would have Gorgon hosting single and sometimes triple features of fright and became something that viewers of Fort Worth would look forward to every season. And every time the show aired it was must see TV and Monster Kids young and old were glued to the horrors of the small screen and wanted to see what Gorgon had in store for them in his castle. But like all good things, Gorgon and Nightmare would come to a full end in 1976 with the last of the Halloween Specials. And while Nightmares ongoing show only lasted about three years and the Halloween Specials were not an every year thing, the impact Nightmare made on viewers is long lasting and it as well as it’s host Gorgon are a true part of Texas TV History and will forever be a show that is chatted about by fans of the past and those who newly discover it.

Gorgon The Gruesome is a classic Horror Host that I first learned about thanks to the Internet and sites like E-Gor’s Chamber Of TV Horror Hosts and his look always caught my attention not to even mention when reading memories from his past viewers hyped me up as he was a none jokey host and had a spooky edge to him, and this made me want to see footage of his show! And sometime later, thanks to YouTube and Compilation DVDs, I was able to see some of his work, and I must say he is really good at what he did and delivered some good chilling creepy moments as he brought the fears of the night film into your living room. It’s crazy to me that Gorgon The Gruesome is not talked about as often as he should be when the topic of the true icons of Horror Hosting is brought up as I feel he is that good and should be considered a true icon of the genre. It’s a shame that not more footage has been uncovered of Gorgon and his show Nightmare as the world needs to see it and remember just how amazing his style was. And man his laugh is great and reminds me of classic horror from the 60’s!

Horror Hound Weekend on March 23, 2013 in Cincinnati at 10am that Horror Host Hall Of Fame began to induct the 2013 class that included the one and only Gorgon The Gruesome! The turnout for the Hall Of Fame seemed to be very happy to see him take his place among the icons that came before him in the Hall Of Fame. In his class he was joined by the likes of Sivad, Commander USA, Shock Armstrong, Chuck Acri, Svengoolie and I, Zombi to name a few. And as you can see, he is joined by some amazing hosts and it was fantastic to be there to not only watch Commander USA and Sivad get inducted but also Gorgon.

So as you can see, Gorgon The Gruesome really is a truly iconic Horror Host who had a great style of hosting the spooky films of the night. I think what made him so amazing is that he did not go for the cheap laughs nor did he relay on repeated gimmicks. So let’s get ready to talk about the two fan reproduction episodes I have in my collection. I would like to thank a Horror Host Tape Trader for having these episodes and trading them to me. I also would like to remind you that I will not be giving these episodes a star rating and I will be writing about the host segments and the film’s plot is taken from our friends at IMDB. So if you are ready lets see what this Nightmares has in store for us!

Nightmare: Pit and the Pendulum
Starring – Vincent Price & Barbara Steele Not Rated 1961

Host: Gorgon comes walking down stone stairs and sends away his hunchback helper as he claims he can pick up the fear of the viewers! He then takes us on a tour of where they damned once stood and then takes us inside a cell and a woman is chained to a table with a blade hanging above her, he tells us this use to be so normal back in time for those who have done bad as this is justice. We join Gorgon again as he talks about the night’s film and the pendulum blade starts to swing as the woman tries to escape her chains and save her life. When we join Gorgon next he is speaking to us about the fear that is building in us as the blade is getting closer to the woman he takes us to a commercial break. Once we join Gorgon again as he watches the blade get closer to the young woman, and he is loving her fear and sends us back to the movie. Gorgon and his hunchback friend are watching as the blade is so close now and Gorgon talks very poetic about her upcoming death before sending us to the movie with a sinister laugh. The last segment has Gorgon talking about the blade and we hear a scream and then see it covered with blood as he laughs and the episode ends.

Movie: Francis Barnard goes to Spain, when he hears his sister Elizabeth has died. Her husband Nicholas Medina, the son of the most brutal torturer of the Spanish Inquisition, tells him she has died of a blood disease, but Francis finds this hard to believe. After some investigating he finds out that it was extreme fear that was fatal to his sister and that she may have been buried alive! Strange things then start to happen in the Medina castle.

Note From Matt: This is one of the better Fan Reproductions I have ever seen as the print of the movie fits the age of the footage and the cuts in and out look really good! So in other words great work to who ever did this episode, as well I should note Gorgon’s segments are in color!

Nightmare: Spooks Run Wild
Starring – East Side Kids & Bela Lugosi Not Rated 1941

Host: We join Gorgon in his as he enters his dungeon lab and a man with a knife sneaks up on him and stabs him in the back and as his body hits the floor another Gorgon appears and as well gets stabbed and then another appears and with the clap of his hands the man disappears and dies in pain as Gorgon talks about his powers and says tonight they will show a more funny look at horror and sends us to the film. We then get a few Nightmare logo we will be back before we finally see Gorgan again who this time gives us a tour of monsters trophy room as they are his what’s dear to him! He shows us Mad Ghoul, Frankenstein’s Monster, Dracula’s Daughter and Wolfman’s Coffin, Rou Morgue torture items, The Mummy and the park bench that where Werewolf of London killed a man on…he is filled with joy as he sends us back to the movie. The final time we see Gorgon he wishes us well and says he will be ending Nightmare for awhile and gives a few secrets away that his monsters are not real, that is until Frankenstein’s Monster goes on a rampage on set and Gorgon ends his first TV run with a evil laugh!

Movie: The boys are sent to a mountain camp. Stranded in a small rural town, they hear about a “monster killer” roaming the countryside. At night, they sneak out. Peewee is shot by a grave-digger, and they are forced to seek aid at an old mansion. The owner of the mansion insists that the boys spend the night. After seeing PeeWee walk around the house in a trance, the boys decide that the man turned him into a zombie. They gang up on him and tie him up. The nurse at the boy’s camp sets out to find the missing boys with Von Grosch, who has come to rid the town of the killer- or has he?

Note From Matt: this is a pretty good fan reproduction and showcases classic black and white footage and is cut together pretty well.

Gorgon The Gruesome is Texas’s most ionic and important Horror Host of all time in my opinion and is truly one of the all time greats in the art of hosting. Not many Horror Hosts play it frightful and that’s really what sets Gorgon apart from others. One day I hope more footage of Gorgon is found as I would love to see more of his work and style! Well let’s leave Nightmare behind and with our next update let’s go back to the world of Marvel Horror and take a look at The Living Mummy! So until next time, read a comic or three, watch a Horror Movie or two and as always support your local Horror Host. See you next update for our first in our countdown to Halloween updates that shows Marvel used to know how to do Horror!