Wrestling Legends of Yesteryear: Eddie Sharkey

Eddie Shyman, the son of a Polish immigrant, grew up idolizing wrestling. In the late 1950's, Shyman was introduced to legendary wrestler, Boris Malenko. Malenko saw potential in the young man and agreed to train him. Eddie began working the carnival circuit, where he changed his name to Eddie Sharkey. In 1961, Eddie began working for Verne Gagne's AWA. By the early 1970's, Sharkey had shifted his focus from in-ring activity to training.

Early trainees:

Verne Gagne noticed that Eddie Sharkey was like a sponge, absorbing wrestling knowledge from just about everyone he met. Gagne saw the potential that Sharkey had to assist in training the AWA talent. One of the first men that was assigned to Sharkey was a former college wrestling stand-out named Bob Backlund. Sharkey was able to mold a pro wrestler by using the amateur experiences as a base. Sharkey's almost uncanny ability to evaluate a man's potential and use that to sculpt a future star has helped him remain successful for over 30 years.

Gagne also presented Sharkey with a former navy seaman named Jesse Ventura. Ventura had great strength and a good ring presence. Sharkey had observed "Superstar" Billy Graham in the ring and decided to mold Ventura to be an AWA version of Graham. The look and attitude worked.

Sharkey began to argue with Gagne about money. As documented in both the History of the AWA and the Heroes of World Class, Gagne was notorious for stiffing his workers. Sharkey finally got fed up with being short-changed and walked away from the AWA. He and wife, Princess Little Cloud, enjoyed domestic life in Minneapolis with their children.

Back to the training: