Abdullah the Butcher

Lawrence Robert Shreve (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler. He has a reputation for being involved in some of the most violent and bloody hardcore wrestling matches of all time. Over his time in wrestling he was given the moniker of "Madman from Sudan".

One of Shreve's trademarks is a series of divot-like scars on his head that he has due to excessive use of blading during his career. The scars are so deep that, according to Mick Foley, Shreve is able to put gambling chips into them. An amateur martial artist, Shreve also has knowledge of judo and karate, often incorporating this knowledge in his wrestling matches through throws and chops.

Shreve was born on January 11, 1941, and raised in Windsor, Ontario, as part of a family of ten people in a deeply impoverished household. His mother was an African-American from Michigan, and his father was a member of the Native American Blackfoot tribe. He learned karate and judo as a youth and, teaching fellow children in the backyard, claims to have eventually earned the title of seventh-degree grandmaster.

Shreve caught the attention of Montreal promoter Jack Britton, and he soon made his professional wrestling debut at age 17 in 1958. He initially competed in numerous independent territories in Canada under various monikers such as Pussycat Pickens^{[citation needed]}, Kuroi Jujutsushi (the Black Wizard) and Zelis Amara. Ultimately, he created his gimmick of an evil Arabian sadist, and in a match against Gino Brito (Jack Britton's real-life son), the Abdullah the Butcher character first distinguished himself as one of the world's most feared rule breakers when he broke a chair over Brito's head and then beat him senseless with a chair leg.

Since his gimmick required him to speak no English (though it was his native tongue), he had a number of managers over the course of his long career, including Gary Hart, Paul Jones, Eddie Creatchman, Black Baron, The Grand Wizard, J. J. Dillon, Damien Kane, Larry Sharpe, Hugo Savinovich, Chicky Starr, Oliver Humperdink, Buddy Colt, George Cannon, Bearcat Wright, Big Bad John, Tony Montana, Gentleman Jim Holiday, and Rock Hunter. All were portrayed as "handlers" commissioned to control the Sudanese madman, while also doing most of the talking in promos and interviews. He has, however, spoken for himself in English-language promos while in Japan.

Due to his frequent traveling, Abdullah the Butcher usually served as more of a special attraction than as a consistent championship contender. Accordingly, Abdullah never did win a world heavyweight championship, though he would capture several regional titles during his career. He won his first major championship on October 23, 1967, when he teamed with Dr. Jerry Graham to defeat John & Carlos Tolos for the NWA's Canadian Tag Team Titles in Vancouver. A few years later, he ventured to the Montreal region, where he had three reigns as the IWA International Heavyweight Champion between 1969 and 1972, feuding against Ivan Koloff and Johnny Rougeau. He later served as one of the premier rule breakers in Calgary's Stampede territory, capturing the NWA Canadian Championship, as well as having six North American Heavyweight Title reigns during the early 1970s. On June 24, 1972, he defeated Ernie Ladd in Akron, Ohio, to capture his first of two NWF Heavyweight Championships. In 1972, he wrestled a few matches for World Wide Wrestling Federation. Also he worked for Stampede Wrestling from 1970 to 1974. During the mid-1970s, he frequently performed in Detroit, Michigan's Big-Time Wrestling territory, where he engaged in a rivalry against The Sheik. He teamed with Killer Tim Brooks to win the region's version of the NWA World Tag Team Titles before defeating Bobo Brazil on February 8, 1975, for the NWA United States Championship.

In addition to his successes in North America, Abdullah the Butcher performed in the Far East, Europe, the Caribbean, Australia, and Africa. On March 12, 1974, he traveled to New Zealand, where he captured the British Empire Commonwealth Title by defeating the nation's champion John da Silva. Abdullah also established himself as one of the premier attractions in Japan, where he competed as part of the round-robin tournament that ultimately crowned Giant Baba as All-Japan's inaugural PWF Heavyweight Champion in February 1973. On October 18, 1978, Abdullah won that same PWF belt when he defeated European former AWA champion Billy Robinson. On October 13, 1980, he also beat Jumbo Tsuruta to capture the NWA United National Heavyweight Title. He also feuded with Terry Funk in Japan, and Funk claims to have had one of his top three all-time greatest matches with Abdullah the Butcher.

He arrived in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) in 1986, where he defeated The Great Kabuki for the Texas Brass Knuckles Title and waged war against the equally wild Bruiser Brody. In Puerto Rico, he was declared the first WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion in July 1982 following three reigns as the Puerto Rican champion between 1978 and 1981. He was introduced in World Championship Wrestling in a giant, gift-wrapped box. This giant box was to be Sting's birthday gift from Cactus Jack. Sting unwrapped his gift and Abdullah attacked him, leading to both Abdullah and Cactus feuding with Sting after the incident. The feud culminated in a "Chamber of Horrors" match at Halloween Havoc 1991, in which Cactus accidentally electrocuted Abdullah in an electric chair, leading to a brief feud between the former allies. In 1993, Abdullah arrived in ECW, where he participated in a storyline with Kevin Sullivan, Terry Funk and Stan Hansen, and wrestled at Ultra Clash and Bloodfest. In October 1999, Abdullah took part in the ill-fated Heroes of Wrestling pay-per-view with a match against the One Man Gang. The match ended in a double count-out. In late 2002, Abdullah made a one-night appearance in Ring of Honor as Homicide's partner, facing the Carnage Crew in a bloody Bunkhouse Brawl at ROH's Night of the Butcher. On December 13, 2008, Shreve wrestled against Balls Mahoney in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, during the annual event WWC Lockout.