Billy Robinson
| Billy Robinson | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Billy Robinson |
| Born | September 18, 1938 Manchester, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom |
| Died | March 3, 2014 (aged 75) Little Rock, Arkansas, United States |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Billy Robinson |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Billed weight | 240 lb (110 kg) |
| Trained by | Billy Riley |
| Debut | 1955 |
| Retired | 1992 |
Billy Robinson (September 18, 1938 – March 3, 2014) was a British professional wrestler, author and catch wrestling instructor. Robinson was well known in Japan where he trained mixed martial arts fighters in catch wrestling. Robinson was one of the few wrestlers who was successful in several continents (Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania), winning titles in promotions nearly everywhere he wrestled.
Robinson began his amateur wrestling career in Britain. He was the British National Wrestling Champion in 1957, and in 1958 he was the European Open Wrestling Champion in the light heavyweight class, beating an Olympic bronze medal winner in the finals. Billy Robinson also attended the fabled "Snake Pit" started by legendary trainer Billy Riley. The Snake Pit was one of the most respected catch wrestling training schools in all of the world. Legends such as Karl Gotch had trained in catch wrestling in the Snake Pit with Riley. Robinson had to survive bare minimum amenities (luxuries such as a toilet were not provided at the Snake Pit), a very rough training environment (Riley was very impatient with those who showed even the slightest bit of weakness on the mat) and rigorous conditioning. Robinson stayed at the Snake Pit for eight years.
As a professional wrestler, Robinson was an undefeated double-crown British and European Heavyweight Champion for Joint Promotions. He defeated older fellow Snake Pit wrestler Billy Joyce for the European title on 12 June 1965 and then beat Joyce again for the British title on 18 January 1967, vacating both titles in 1970 when he went off to America. He also had a high-profile feud with legendary masked wrestler Kendo Nagasaki. In 1978, Robinson made a brief homecoming tour of the UK including a televised win over Lee Bronson.
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