Freddy Krueger like you’ve never seen him before!
Freddy Krueger was a HUGE pop culture icon of the ’80s. And considering how popular pro wrestling was in the Reagan years, it’s not all that surprising that the two would overlap at some point.
What’s a bit more surprising, though, is the fact that “Freddy Krueger” has REMAINED a pro wrestling staple for the last 40 years. Indeed, there have been MULTIPLE “Freddy Krueger” gimmicks used by pro wrestling promotions over the last four decades … and somehow, none of them got sued into oblivion by New Line Cinema for brazen copyright infringement.
With WrestleMania week in full swing, what better time to revisit some of the Springwood Slasher’s most notorious pro wrestling bouts? Yeah, it’s time to lay the smack down (with a razor-fingered glove, of course!)
Freddy Krueger vs. Leatherface!
This bout comes to us from the Japanese promotion W*ING (Wrestling International New Generations, if you wanted the full name.) The match went down circa 1993, giving us the Elm Street/TCM crossover we’ve always dreamt of … kinda. As soon as the onscreen captions call him “Fredy Cruguar,” you know you’re in store for a spectacle. Sure enough, Leatherface brings a REAL chainsaw to the ring, but that’s no match for Freddy and his barbed-wire-wrapped baseball bat. Naturally, it’s only a matter of time until these two maniacs are pummeling each other senseless with steel chairs and humongous wooden beams. Keeping with tradition, a table is introduced and both wrestlers take turns trying to shatter each others’ spines on the furniture. If you’re curious, the guy “playing” Leatherface is ’80s WWF star Corporal Kirchner, while the guy playing “Freddy” is Southern wrestling hero Doug Gilbert (who’ll be showing up a few more times in this article.) Oh, and did I mention that this thing takes place inside a baseball stadium?
Leatherface and Freddy Krueger vs. Kamala and George Hines
Believe or not, in the ’90s there was ANOTHER Japanese promotion replete with their own knockoff, unauthorized versions of Freddy and Leatherface. In this International Wrestling Association tag team throwdown, the slasher icons unite to battle “Kamala” (a make-believe cannibal from Uganda) and, uh, some relatively normal looking bald guy named George. It’s a pretty bizarre match in concept and in execution, it’s even weirder. For starters, all four men have to work their way around a bunch of fan-tossed ribbons during the early goings, then Fred tries to “stab” George with his razor glove — which, for obvious safety reasons, is sans any actual razors. If you thought Jason did a number on Fred, just wait until you see what Kamala (all 400 pounds of him!) does to Krueger in THIS match. Too bad Nancy never thought of giving him a body splash off the top rope in any of the Elm Street flicks …
Freddy Krueger and The Headhunters vs. Sal Bellomo and The Super Destroyers
Yes, Fred K even managed to make an appearance in the highly influential Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion back in ’93. We even get current WWE manager extraordinaire Paul Heyman doing the commentary duties on this “six-man tag,” which also includes two identically-clad bald dudes in excess of 300 pounds each, two OTHER identically-clad dudes wearing S&M psycho murderer outfits and another hairy guy in a hulu skirt and a Sgt. Pepper uniform, for whatever reason. Come to think of it, Freddy might be the most reasonably dressed person in the entire contest. And how often do you get to say something like that?
Freddy Krueger vs. Buddy Landel
We’re going all the way back to 1989 for this Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) clash. I guess the interesting thing here is that Freddy is actually playing the GOOD GUY in the equation, opposite “Nature Boy” Landel (who tries to get out of the bout by claiming he has a sudden, onset “headache,” of all things.) There’s surreal, and then there’s hearing a TV studio full of children CHANTING for Freddy to triumph over the forces of evil. It’s a pretty funny match, since “Freddy” tries to pantomime to the referee that his opponent is cheating like a no good scoundrel on multiple occasions. There’s not much “wrestling” on display here, but that’s sorta the point. The best part is when Freddy breaks out his finishing hold — the old Fritz Von Erich “Iron Claw” submission. And in case you needed any more incentive to watch this match, the grand finale includes a run-in by none other than JASON VORHEES!
Freddy Krueger vs. Big Boss Man
We’re heading back to IWA for our final match, which took place in the early 2000s. In fact, I’m pretty sure this one went down around the same time “Freddy vs. Jason” was making the rounds, so it’s definitely anything but coincidental timing here. His opponent is the late Big Boss Man, a legendary grappler from Cobb County, Georgia, who was a big name in both the WWF and WCW in the ’80s and ’90s. I’d venture to guess that Boss Man has AT LEAST 50 or 60 pounds on Freddy, plus a night stick on his person. Will that be enough to put Krueger on dream street? Well, I wont’ spoil it for you (although the fact that the match only lasts about three minutes is kind of a built-in spoiler, I guess.)
