The Crusher

Wrestler: The Crusher
Real Name: Reginal J. Lisowski
Birthday: July 11, 1926
Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Marital Status:
Height & Weight: - 260 lbs
Trained by:
Debut: 1953
Previous Gimmicks: Reggie Lisowski
Crusher Lisowski
Crusher Machine

Finishing Move: The Full Nelson
The Stomach Claw
The Bolo Punch
Favorite Moves:
Notable Feuds: Ray Stevens
Blackjack Lanza
Larry Henning
Nick Bockwinkel
Bobby Heenan
Jesse " The Body" Ventura
Fritz Von Erich
Verne Gagne

Titles Held:

NWA (Chicago) World Tag Team titles w/Art Neilson defeating Bill Melby & Jack Witzig (February 13, 1954);
NWA (Georgia) World Tag Team titles w/Art Neilson [Defending Chicago version in Georgia] (May 1954);
NWA (Chicago) World Tag Team titles w/Stan Lisowski defeating ????? & ????? (March 1956);
NWA (Chicago) World Tag Team titles w/Stan Lisowski defeating ????? & ????? (December 1955);
NWA (Chicago) World Tag Team titles w/Stan Lisowski defeating Nicoli Volkoff & Boris Volkoff (June 29, 1957);
NWA (Georgia) World Tag Team titles w/Stan Lisowski [Defending Chicago version in Georgia] (November 1957);
NWA Canadian Open Tag Team titles w/Stan Lisowski defeating Billy Watson & Yukon Eric (March 20, 1958);
NWA Canadian Open Tag Team titles w/Stan Lisowski defeating Yukon Erich & Dara Singh (August 7, 1958);
NWA (Minneapolis) World Tag Team titles w/Stan Lisowski by winning a Tournament (November 1958);
NWA (Minneapolis) World Tag Team titles w/Stan Lisowski defeating Herb Freeman & Seymour Freeman (January 22, 1959);
NWA (Omaha) World Heavyweight title defeating Verne Gagne (February 15, 1963);
AWA World Heavyweight title defeating Verne Gagne (July 9, 1963);
AWA World Tag Team titles w/Dick The Bruiser defeating Ivan Kalmikoff & Karol Kalmikoff (August 20, 1963);
AWA World Heavyweight title defeating Verne Gagne (November 16, 1963);
AWA World Tag Team titles w/Dick The Bruiser defeating Verne Gagne & Moose Evans (February 23, 1964);
AWA World Tag Team titles w/Verne Gagne defeating Larry Hennig & Harley Race (July 24, 1965);
AWA World Heavyweight title defeating Maurice "Mad Dog" Vachon (August 21, 1965);
AWA World Tag Team titles w/Dick The Bruiser defeating Larry Hennig & Harley Race (May 28, 1966);
WWA (Indianapolis) World Tag Team titles w/Dick The Bruiser defeating Angelo Poffo & Chris Markoff (January 21, 1967);
WWA (Indianapolis) World Tag Team titles w/Dick The Bruiser defeating Angelo Poffo & Chris Markoff (July 15, 1967);
WWA (Indianapolis) World Tag Team titles w/Dick The Bruiser defeating Mitsu Arakawa & Dr. Moto (December 28, 1968);
AWA World Tag Team titles w/Dick The Bruiser defeating Mitsu Arakawa & Dr. Moto (December 28, 1968);
NWA (Japan) International Tag Team titles w/Dick The Bruiser defeating Giant Baba & Antonio Inoki (August 11, 1969);
AWA World Tag Team titles w/Red Bastien [Replaces Hercules Cortez after he Dies] (August 1971);
WWA (Indianapolis) World Tag Team titles w/Dick The Bruiser defeating Blackjack Lanza & Blackjack Mulligan (December 9, 1972);
AWA World Tag Team titles w/Billy Robinson defeating Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens (July 21, 1974);
AWA World Tag Team titles w/Dick The Bruiser defeating Nick Bockwinkel & Ray Stevens (August 16, 1975);
WWA (Indianapolis) World Tag Team titles w/Dick The Bruiser defeating Jacques Goulet & Zarinoff LeBeouf (September 20, 1975);
WWA (Indianapolis) World Tag Team titles w/Dick The Bruiser defeating Ox Baker & Chuck O'Connor (May 1, 1976);
AWA World Tag Team titles w/Baron Von Raschke defeating The Sheiks (Jerry Blackwell & Ken Patera) (May 6, 1984);
World Championship Wrestling Hall of Fame Inductee (May 22, 1994);
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Halls of Fame Induction (2005)

Career Highlights:

Reggie Lisowski was a former weightlifter who became a cult idol and the top draw in most of the AWA territory..
Reggie Lisowski was best known as the tag team partner of his cousin Dick the Bruiser -- a popular team everywhere they worked..
August 14, 1970 - AWA Comiskey Park: The Vachon Brothers defeated The Crusher & Dick The Bruiser in a Steel Cage Match!
June 25, 1976 - AWA Chicago Stadium: The Crusher and Dick the Bruiser defeated Blackjack Lanza and Bobby Duncum..
September 28, 1985 - AWA SuperClash: The Koloffs & Krusher Khruschev beat The Crusher & The Bruiser & Baron Von Raschke..
October 23, 1986: Hulk Hogan & The Crusher defeated King Kong Bundy & Big John Studd..
October 22, 2005: Reggie "The Crusher" Lisowski passed away at the age of 79..
November 11, 2005--Wisconsin Organized Wrestling: Bobby Heenan did a Q&A and told stories about The Crusher..
~~~At the end of the show, all the wrestlers came out to the ring and did a beer toast to the song "Roll out the Barrel"..
December 9, 2005--Great Lake Wrestling: Mad Dog Vachon spoke about Crusher, saying that at the age of 75, he could still bench 350!
~~~~The show was scheduled as a tribute to The Crusher, but his family would not approve of it...


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Tom Zak wrote: The Crusher was one of the most exciting wresters I ever saw in my life. My brother and I used to go to the Chicago Amphitheater all the time in the 60's and 70's. We saw Crusher and Bruiser wrestle Henning and Race (the Dolly Sisters as Crusher would call them)."We're gonna beat these two bums and then go down Halsted street and dance the Polka with all the girls and drink beer."

Me and the Bruser train by running up and down Halsted St. with a barrel of beer on our backs."

Some of the best matches were against Nick Bockwinckle and Ray Stevens along with their manager Bobby 'The Brain' Heenan. The crowd in the Amphitheater used to chant 'We want blood. We want blood' and Heenan used to say in interviews that we were humanoids, 8-5 lifers.

credit: onlineworldofwrestling.com