Len Denton
| Len Denton | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Edward Lynn Denton |
| Born |
August 25, 1958 Dallas, Texas |
| Residence | Portland, Oregon |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) |
Len Denton The Grappler Masked Grappler II Dirty White Boy II |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) |
| Billed weight | 260 lb (120 kg) |
| Billed from | Parts Unknown |
| Debut | March 20, 1978 |
Len Denton (born August 25, 1958) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler, best known by his ring name The Grappler.
Len Denton worked early in his career under a few different monikers and wrestled all over the territories across North America. His first real push came in the Southern territories first capturing titles in the Mid-South promotion. In Memphis with a young Jim Cornette as his manager he was teamed with Tony Anthony as the Dirty White Boys. When the Dirty White Boys lost their hair in a hair vs. hair match Denton and Anthony donned masks and became Grapplers 1 and 2. Denton was Grappler #2. The donning of the mask actually made fans believe they were seeing a brand new team in the area. They achieved some success with this new gimmick, winning the AWA Southern Tag Titles and feuding with the Fabulous Ones. The Grapplers would eventually leave Memphis and travel to the Central States area winning tag team gold there as well.
At this point in their careers Anthony and Denton split up, with Anthony wrestling as The Dirty White Boy, and Denton taking the Grappler gimmick to Texas before eventually moving on to the Pacific Northwest. While Denton was wrestling there in the early 1990s, a local jobber named Bobby Blair assumed the "Dirty White Boy" moniker, though he had no connection to Anthony.
The Grappler has an extensive history in the Pacific Northwest as wrestler, booker, promoter, trainer and most recently (after neck surgery) a manager. The Grappler is one of the last remaining wrestlers from the NWA Pacific Northwest (Portland Wrestling) days.
Jake "The Snake" Roberts claims that in a Mid-South Wrestling bout, Jake "The Snake" Roberts put Denton in a front facelock and during the move Jake tripped on Denton's foot, falling backwards, causing Denton to fall on his head. As a result, Roberts claims to have invented the professional wrestling move known as the DDT. Jake Roberts has been highly criticized for this story and many of the wrestlers in attendance and the promoter Bill Watts question its accuracy.
During the late 1990s, Denton worked for World Championship Wrestling under his real name. Of note is his title match against the undefeated WCW United States Champion Bill Goldberg on the May 11, 1998 edition of Monday Nitro. Play-by-play announcer Mike Tenay described Denton as "a very accomplished veteran grappler."
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