Greece: 1980-1989
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1980
Greece
"1980 is what I would call probably the last great year for Greek pro wrestling. The PEK (Panhellenic Catch Union) organization that I mentioned earlier was now the main show in town and ran two simultaneous loops of stadium shows in 1980. PEK's president was a guy by the name of Pilarinos. 1980 started off with a series of cinema and theater halls shows from late April through early June, which featured names such as Hristofilopoulos, Kostoglakis, the masked Bestia, Karystinos, etc. And then the stadium shows started in June.
The first set of stadium shows run by PEK took place between June 8 and August 3. It was billed as "International Catch Festival" and consisted of 7 shows. All shows were held at Nikaia Municipal Stadium. The second loop of stadium shows was billed as "World Catch Festival" and was at Stavros Mavrothalassitis Stadium. A total of 9 shows between June 23 and September 1. That said, it's possible I may be missing some shows for both festivals. Apart from a couple of wrestlers, both festivals had their own separate rosters.
The international festival was built around Apostolos Souglakos and especially Giorgos Tromaras. As previously discussed both guys were now emerging as two of the top three Greek stars (the third one being Kostas Safakas). They were both popular as wrestlers, but their work outside of the ring also contributed to their fame. Souglakos had an extensive acting career from the early 1960s through the late 1990s, even being the featured star in several Greek movies. He wasn't the only Greek wrestler who did acting on the side, but he was the one who had the most success at it. Tromaras on the other hand gained notoriety as a strongman. When he was younger he had seen the wrestler/strongman Dimitris Karystinos and this had inspired him to become a wrestler/strongman himself. "Iron Head" Tromaras would often do impressive feats of strength that attracted crowds and television attention. Tromaras was the headlining star of the 1980 international festival, and Souglakos and Hristofilopoulos headlined the two shows Tromaras didn't. Among their opponents were the masked King Kong, Hunchback George Hamilton (yes, the 1965 hunchback gimmick made its return), the returning Nikolai Zakoff, Klaus Bezer* and someone called George Makai* (who I'm guessing was the George Makau from 1977).
PEK's other series of shows, the world festival, was all about two wrestlers - the Greek Kostas Safakas and the Brit Danny Lynch. Before we get to their feud though let's first mention the other names involved in the shows. There was a UK contingent of Johnny Kincaid, John Kowalski, Jack Cassidy and Hans Streiger. Mustafa Elkous* and Hans Muller* wrestled on the cards as well. At one point Rasputin (Frank Hoy) was advertised for a show too, but I wasn't able to confirm whether this show actually took place. In terms of Greek stars the veteran Karystinos was still in the top mix and the bodybuilder Kostoglakis was probably the number two guy behind Safakas. As mentioned, the main focus of these shows was Safakas vs. Lynch and their feud for the World Championship. In Athens Lynch was billed as Ivan Borienkoff, an evil bloodthirsty Russian, and presented as World Heavyweight champion. There had been talk of him coming in to put his title on the line against Safakas since the year prior, but it was made official in early March of 1980 that he would finally be coming to Athens in late June. What followed was three months of hype for this upcoming encounter.
...
The third show saw Safakas and Kostoglakis defeat Borienkoff and Kincaid in a tag team match and then came time for the big World Heavyweight Title match.
...
This concluded the stadium shows of 1980, but there were four more shows in December at an Athens sports arena. The big attraction for them was the Croatian-Canadian strongman/wrestler The Great Antonio. Danny "Ivan Borienkoff" Lynch made his return, Mammouth Siki wrestled on the shows too (under the name Bill Robinson) and there was also someone called Jackson*. Safakas and Karystinos were the Greek wrestlers who went against the foreigners." - Phil Lions
Greece
"1980 is what I would call probably the last great year for Greek pro wrestling. The PEK (Panhellenic Catch Union) organization that I mentioned earlier was now the main show in town and ran two simultaneous loops of stadium shows in 1980. PEK's president was a guy by the name of Pilarinos. 1980 started off with a series of cinema and theater halls shows from late April through early June, which featured names such as Hristofilopoulos, Kostoglakis, the masked Bestia, Karystinos, etc. And then the stadium shows started in June.
The first set of stadium shows run by PEK took place between June 8 and August 3. It was billed as "International Catch Festival" and consisted of 7 shows. All shows were held at Nikaia Municipal Stadium. The second loop of stadium shows was billed as "World Catch Festival" and was at Stavros Mavrothalassitis Stadium. A total of 9 shows between June 23 and September 1. That said, it's possible I may be missing some shows for both festivals. Apart from a couple of wrestlers, both festivals had their own separate rosters.
The international festival was built around Apostolos Souglakos and especially Giorgos Tromaras. As previously discussed both guys were now emerging as two of the top three Greek stars (the third one being Kostas Safakas). They were both popular as wrestlers, but their work outside of the ring also contributed to their fame. Souglakos had an extensive acting career from the early 1960s through the late 1990s, even being the featured star in several Greek movies. He wasn't the only Greek wrestler who did acting on the side, but he was the one who had the most success at it. Tromaras on the other hand gained notoriety as a strongman. When he was younger he had seen the wrestler/strongman Dimitris Karystinos and this had inspired him to become a wrestler/strongman himself. "Iron Head" Tromaras would often do impressive feats of strength that attracted crowds and television attention. Tromaras was the headlining star of the 1980 international festival, and Souglakos and Hristofilopoulos headlined the two shows Tromaras didn't. Among their opponents were the masked King Kong, Hunchback George Hamilton (yes, the 1965 hunchback gimmick made its return), the returning Nikolai Zakoff, Klaus Bezer* and someone called George Makai* (who I'm guessing was the George Makau from 1977).
PEK's other series of shows, the world festival, was all about two wrestlers - the Greek Kostas Safakas and the Brit Danny Lynch. Before we get to their feud though let's first mention the other names involved in the shows. There was a UK contingent of Johnny Kincaid, John Kowalski, Jack Cassidy and Hans Streiger. Mustafa Elkous* and Hans Muller* wrestled on the cards as well. At one point Rasputin (Frank Hoy) was advertised for a show too, but I wasn't able to confirm whether this show actually took place. In terms of Greek stars the veteran Karystinos was still in the top mix and the bodybuilder Kostoglakis was probably the number two guy behind Safakas. As mentioned, the main focus of these shows was Safakas vs. Lynch and their feud for the World Championship. In Athens Lynch was billed as Ivan Borienkoff, an evil bloodthirsty Russian, and presented as World Heavyweight champion. There had been talk of him coming in to put his title on the line against Safakas since the year prior, but it was made official in early March of 1980 that he would finally be coming to Athens in late June. What followed was three months of hype for this upcoming encounter.
...
The third show saw Safakas and Kostoglakis defeat Borienkoff and Kincaid in a tag team match and then came time for the big World Heavyweight Title match.
...
This concluded the stadium shows of 1980, but there were four more shows in December at an Athens sports arena. The big attraction for them was the Croatian-Canadian strongman/wrestler The Great Antonio. Danny "Ivan Borienkoff" Lynch made his return, Mammouth Siki wrestled on the shows too (under the name Bill Robinson) and there was also someone called Jackson*. Safakas and Karystinos were the Greek wrestlers who went against the foreigners." - Phil Lions
JUNE 1980
JUNE 8, 1980 (SUNDAY)
International Catch Festival
Promotion: Panhellenic Catch Union (PEK)
Promoter: Pilarinos
Nikaia Municipal Stadium, Athens, Greece
1 - Apostolos Souglakos Vs. Hunchback George Hamilton,
Result Unknown
Notes:
This is the first show of the Nikaia stadium run of shows.
JUNE 23, 1980 (MONDAY)
World Catch Festival
Promotion: Panhellenic Catch Union (PEK)
Promoter: Pilarinos
Stavros Mavrothalassitis Stadium, Athens, Greece
Attendance: 10,000
1 - Ivan Borienkoff def Yannis Dourvetakis
2 - Kostas Safakas def. John Kowalski
Notes:
This is the first show of the Stavros stadium run of shows.
JULY 1980
JULY 14, 1980 (MONDAY)
World Catch Festival
Promotion: Panhellenic Catch Union (PEK)
Promoter: Pilarinos
Stavros Mavrothalassitis Stadium, Athens, Greece
1 - World Heavyweight Championship
Kostas Safakas def. Ivan Borienkoff
NEW CHAMPION
["This was presented as a big deal and cemented Safakas as the top Greek star. Borienkoff then got a couple more wins under his belt (one over Karystinos and a handicap one over Pefanis and Veloudos) and this lead to a rematch with Safakas." - Phil Lions]
AUGUST 1980
AUGUST 4, 1980 (MONDAY)
World Catch Festival
Promotion: Panhellenic Catch Union (PEK)
Promoter: Pilarinos
Stavros Mavrothalassitis Stadium, Athens, Greece
1 - Rematch - World Heavyweight Championship
Kostas Safakas (c) Vs. Ivan Borienkoff,
No Contest
AUGUST 13, 1980 (MONDAY)
International Catch Festival
Promotion: Panhellenic Catch Union (PEK)
Promoter: Pilarinos
Nikaia Municipal Stadium, Athens, Greece
1 - Giorgos Tromaras vs. Nikolai Zakoff,
Result Unknown
Notes:
This is the last show of the Nikaia stadium run of shows.
SEPTEMBER 1980
SEPTEMBER 1, 1980 (MONDAY)
World Catch Festival
Promotion: Panhellenic Catch Union (PEK)
Promoter: Pilarinos
Stavros Mavrothalassitis Stadium, Athens, Greece
Attendance: 11,500
1 - Dimitris Karystinos vs. Ioannis Kostoglakis,
Result Uknown
2 - Cage Match - World Heavyweight Championship
Kostas Safakas (c) def. Ivan Borienkoff
Notes:
This is the last show of the Stavros stadium run of shows.
1981
Greece
"PEK's "World Catch Festival" returned in 1981 and took place between June 22 and July 20 at Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium. I have a record of 6 shows, but there could have been more. Ivan Borienkoff (Danny Lynch), Klondyke Jack, John Harris, Ray Regan* and Mustafa Elkous* were the foreigners on the shows. Safakas was the main Greek star, but veterans like Bouranis, Hristofilopoulos and Dourvetakis were in the mix as well. Safakas' main rival was Klondyke Jack.
...
Apart from the festival there were a few theater hall shows throughout the year." - Phil Lions
Greece
"PEK's "World Catch Festival" returned in 1981 and took place between June 22 and July 20 at Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium. I have a record of 6 shows, but there could have been more. Ivan Borienkoff (Danny Lynch), Klondyke Jack, John Harris, Ray Regan* and Mustafa Elkous* were the foreigners on the shows. Safakas was the main Greek star, but veterans like Bouranis, Hristofilopoulos and Dourvetakis were in the mix as well. Safakas' main rival was Klondyke Jack.
...
Apart from the festival there were a few theater hall shows throughout the year." - Phil Lions
JUNE 1981
JUNE 22, 1981 (MONDAY)
World Catch Festival
Promotion: Panhellenic Catch Union (PEK)
Promoter: Pilarinos
Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, Athens, Greece
1 - Kostas Safakas def. John Harris
Notes:
This is the first of the run of stadium shows.
JULY 1981
JULY 6, 1981 (MONDAY)
World Catch Festival
Promotion: Panhellenic Catch Union (PEK)
Promoter: Pilarinos
Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, Athens, Greece
1 - Handicap Match
Ivan Borienkoff vs. Giorgos Pefanis & Nikolai Sagia,
Result Unknown,
2 - Giorgos Bouranis vs. Black Demon,
Result Unknown
3 - Cage Match
Kostas Safakas Vs. Klondyke Jack,
Result Unknown
JULY 13, 1981 (MONDAY)
World Catch Festival
Promotion: Panhellenic Catch Union (PEK)
Promoter: Pilarinos
Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, Athens, Greece
1 - Kostas Safakas Vs. Ivan Borienkoff,
Result Unknown
JULY 20, 1981 (MONDAY)
World Catch Festival
Promotion: Panhellenic Catch Union (PEK)
Promoter: Pilarinos
Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, Athens, Greece
1 - Ivan Borienkoff Vs. Panagiotis Hristofilopoulos,
Result Unnknown
Notes:
This is the last of the run of stadium shows.
The festival may have continued in August 1981, but it's not clear.
AUGUST 1981
AUGUST 3, 1981 (MONDAY)
Grigoris Lambrakis Stadium, Athens, Greece
Attendance: 5,000
1 - Apostolos Souglakos def. Bordok
Notes:
Bordok was a masked wrestler.
[Based on the photo used in the press Bordok may have been Zarak aka Bat-Men (David Smith-Larsen from Britain)]
AUGUST 9, 1981 (SUNDAY)
Grigoris Lambrakis Stadium, Athens, Greece
1 - Apostolos Souglakos Vs. Murat (of Turkey),
Result Unknown
Notes:
Murat's photo in the Greek press is actually a photo of Bugsy McGraw.
[Given that Bugsy was wrestling in Memphis at the time this can't have been him]
1982
Greece
"1982 is when wrestling coverage in the Greek press, or at least in the newspaper I'm using for my research, became almost non-existent. I don't think it was a case of there being no shows, but rather a case of the press no longer being interested in covering wrestling and most of the shows being held in smaller buildings. At least that's my best guess anyway. For 1982 I only know of four shows - one in Patras and three stadium shows in Athens." - Phil Lions
Greece
"1982 is when wrestling coverage in the Greek press, or at least in the newspaper I'm using for my research, became almost non-existent. I don't think it was a case of there being no shows, but rather a case of the press no longer being interested in covering wrestling and most of the shows being held in smaller buildings. At least that's my best guess anyway. For 1982 I only know of four shows - one in Patras and three stadium shows in Athens." - Phil Lions
AUGUST 1982
AUGUST 9, 1982 (MONDAY)
Grigoris Lambrakis Stadium, Athens, Greece
Attendance: 5,000
1 - Apostolos Souglakos def. Tony Tsibini
["The other two stadium shows were also in August, but at Nikaia Municipal Stadium. On those shows Tromaras took on Ibraim Hamout* and the masked King Kong. Mustafa Elkous* (now called Mustafa Erkous) was on the shows too. Later on in the year a story ran in the newspaper saying PEK has proclaimed Souglakos as the most popular Greek wrestler and he was now sporting some sort of championship belt. Looking at a photo of it the belt seems to say "All Nations Heavyweight champion"." - Phil Lions]
1983-1984
Greece
"I have very little information about wrestling in Athens in 1983 and 1984. I know Souglakos wrestled Ibraim Hamout at least twice in 1983 at a sports arena, and there were at least a couple of basketball arena shows (one in 1983 with Tromaras and Asimakis, and one in 1984 with Asimakis vs. a masked wrestler on top). There was also talk of Souglakos leaving wrestling, which I think he may have for a while in order to focus more on acting." - Phil Lions
Greece
"I have very little information about wrestling in Athens in 1983 and 1984. I know Souglakos wrestled Ibraim Hamout at least twice in 1983 at a sports arena, and there were at least a couple of basketball arena shows (one in 1983 with Tromaras and Asimakis, and one in 1984 with Asimakis vs. a masked wrestler on top). There was also talk of Souglakos leaving wrestling, which I think he may have for a while in order to focus more on acting." - Phil Lions
1985
JULY 1985
JULY 17, 1985 (WEDNESDAY)
Nikaia Municipal Stadium, Athens, Greece
Attendance: 5,000
1 - Giorgos Tromaras Vs. Jim Dalmas,
Result Unknown
[There was at least one other show held at this stadium during 1985]
1986
Greece
"Compared to the previous few years 1986 was quite interesting because there was once again a catch festival, which took place between July 9 and August 6. There were seven shows in Athens, held at Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium and Neapoli Nikea Municipal Stadium, but there were also three shows in Thessaloniki on back-to-back days. The headliner for all of the shows was Giorgos Tromaras and this was a noteworthy catch festival for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it was the last extended run of open-air stadium shows in Greece that I know of. And secondly, Tromaras had a special guest manager in his corner - the legendary Greek wrestler Andreas Lambrakis made his first wrestling appearances in Greece after being away for 21 years. Among Tromaras' foreign foes for the festival were Jan Loran* (previously known as Jan Lame), Von Erich* and John Dallas*. His main rival though was the returning Nikolai Zakoff and the two had several bloody bouts over the course of the festival.
In late August and early September Souglakos headlined a couple of smaller stadium shows himself, taking on other Greek wrestlers. These were his first matches that I know of since 1983." - Phil Lions
Greece
"Compared to the previous few years 1986 was quite interesting because there was once again a catch festival, which took place between July 9 and August 6. There were seven shows in Athens, held at Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium and Neapoli Nikea Municipal Stadium, but there were also three shows in Thessaloniki on back-to-back days. The headliner for all of the shows was Giorgos Tromaras and this was a noteworthy catch festival for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it was the last extended run of open-air stadium shows in Greece that I know of. And secondly, Tromaras had a special guest manager in his corner - the legendary Greek wrestler Andreas Lambrakis made his first wrestling appearances in Greece after being away for 21 years. Among Tromaras' foreign foes for the festival were Jan Loran* (previously known as Jan Lame), Von Erich* and John Dallas*. His main rival though was the returning Nikolai Zakoff and the two had several bloody bouts over the course of the festival.
In late August and early September Souglakos headlined a couple of smaller stadium shows himself, taking on other Greek wrestlers. These were his first matches that I know of since 1983." - Phil Lions
1987
Greece
"It seems like PEK was running regular theater hall events in Athens in 1987. At one point during the summer they were even running two shows per week. On the cards were names such as Souglakos, Karystinos, Bouranis, Hristofilopoulos, the masked Monster, Pagonis, Papadakos, etc. Tromaras was still around as well." - Phil Lions
Greece
"It seems like PEK was running regular theater hall events in Athens in 1987. At one point during the summer they were even running two shows per week. On the cards were names such as Souglakos, Karystinos, Bouranis, Hristofilopoulos, the masked Monster, Pagonis, Papadakos, etc. Tromaras was still around as well." - Phil Lions
1988
Greece
"In August 1988 there was a stadium show in Gytheio, which was headlined by Kostas Pagonis and Pit Papadakos taking on the masked team of Monster and Red Demon. Then on September 12 there was show at Stavros Mavrothalassitis Stadium in Athens, which was headlined by Kostas Safakas in his first match that I know of since 1981. The Turk Hassanulou*, Karystinos, Tsikrikas, Hristofilopoulos, Siotis and others were also on the card." - Phil Lions
1989
Greece
"The only show in 1989 that I know of took place on September 11 at the stadium that had hosted the most wrestling shows throughout the years - Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium. It was the final wrestling event there that I know of and it was headlined by Souglakos. The show was taped for the satellite channel SKY, making it only one of two Greek shows that I know of that were taped for television. In general Greek pro wrestling was a live event business and was never a regular fixture on TV. It's worth pointing out earlier in the year Souglakos, who had a bit of a boxing background, had been challenging the undefeated World champion Mike Tyson to fight him in a boxing match, saying Tyson is scared of him. As ridiculous as that challenge may sound it seems like it got Souglakos some publicity in Greece as I came across a number of articles about it." - Phil Lions
Greece
"The only show in 1989 that I know of took place on September 11 at the stadium that had hosted the most wrestling shows throughout the years - Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium. It was the final wrestling event there that I know of and it was headlined by Souglakos. The show was taped for the satellite channel SKY, making it only one of two Greek shows that I know of that were taped for television. In general Greek pro wrestling was a live event business and was never a regular fixture on TV. It's worth pointing out earlier in the year Souglakos, who had a bit of a boxing background, had been challenging the undefeated World champion Mike Tyson to fight him in a boxing match, saying Tyson is scared of him. As ridiculous as that challenge may sound it seems like it got Souglakos some publicity in Greece as I came across a number of articles about it." - Phil Lions
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
All research has been completed by the Professional Wrestling Historical Society or by a trusted contributor.
Information came from contemporary newspapers unless otherwise stated.
Results from Greece: 1980-1989.
Updated: July 7, 2019.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
All research has been completed by the Professional Wrestling Historical Society or by a trusted contributor.
Information came from contemporary newspapers unless otherwise stated.
Results from Greece: 1980-1989.
Updated: July 7, 2019.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
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