http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2009/03/21/8836536.html
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Abdullah the Butcher is saying goodbye to Canadian wrestling fans, leaving a trail of blood in his path.
Born Larry Shreeve in Windsor, the Canadian Abdullah will return to Montreal on April 4 (Centre Notre Dame-du-Rosaire, 955 Villeray Est, show starts at 7:30 p.m.) in his "retirement" match, when he’ll face Hannibal.
Abdullah hopes to do the same later in the year in Calgary, where he long ago had a series of bloodbaths against Archie "The Stomper" Gouldie.
At 73, Abdullah should be thinking about playing cribbage, gardening … relaxing a bit. Instead, he’s on his retirement tour, with an assortment of kitchen utensils bloodying a string of opponents along the way.
"One day, a fan threw a fork at me, so I started stabbing my opponent with it. I’ve been using it ever since," says the Butcher. "I bring one with me now. It’s inscribed ‘Mr. Butcher.’
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"I started hardcore wrestling. I want to give people something different every night they’re asking: ‘What’s he going to do next?’ "
Already a member of the Canadian Wrestling Hall of Fame, Abdullah should be in the WWE Hall of Fame, even though he didn’t work for Vince McMahon’s company.
"I never kissed a promoter’s ass," says the Butcher. "Vince McMahon can’t control Abdullah the Butcher … with everyone else, he controls their name. There have been letters written, petitions … it’s politics."
After some 48 years in the wrestling business, Abdullah has no regrets.
"I need a hip, but I’m not going to have it done," he says. "I go to the doctor and I’m good for another 3-4 months.
"I never took bumps. With wrestling today, you might as well go to the circus. That’s how these guys get hurt, they’ll jump off buildings."
And he’s not really a Butcher.
"In the ring, I’m a businessman," he says. "But outside, I’m a gentleman."
For more information on the Montreal card, check out wrestlingsupershow.com
