A much-beloved figure backstage, Arnold Skaaland has been involved in virtually every aspect of the wrestling business, from grappling to managing to promoting.
As a wrestler, Skaaland was fearless, taking on much larger men, and always giving them a fight. In 1967, he and Spiros Arion won the old WWE United States tag team championship.
But another generation of fans remembers Skaaland as a manager, regularly accompanying Bruno Sammartino to the ring during his championship run, then performing the same task for Bob Bachlund after he won the title. Skaaland’s most controversial moment occurred in 1983, when he threw in the towel for Backlund after the Iron Sheik trapped the titlist in the camel clutch – ending the clean-living kingpin’s long reign.