Known as one of the most brutal or "hardcore" professional wrestlers of all-time, the scars in his forehead are said to have occurred during frequent blading. According to Mick Foley, Shreve used to put gambling chips into the deep divots in his head to entertain (or scare) people at casinos. An amateur martial artist, Shreve also knows a minimal amount of judo and karate. He often included the majority of this judo and karate knowledge in his professional wrestling matches. This knowledge was mainly displayed by him using judo "style" throws, and karate "chops".
Despite wrestling folklore, Abdullah the Butcher does not truly hail from the arid desert of the Sudan, as he grew up in Canada as part of a family of ten in a deeply poor household. He managed to learn karate and judo as a youth, teaching fellow children in the backyard and eventually earning the title of seventh-degree grandmaster. Standing 6’1†and weighing a robust 360 pounds, Shreeve was eventually spotted by Montreal promoter Jack Britton, and he soon made his professional ring debut at age 17 in 1958. He initially competed in numerous independent territories north of the border while performing under such various monikers as Pussycat Pikens, Kuroi Jujutsushi (The Black Wizard) and Zeras Amala. However, he ultimately created his legendary gimmick of an evil Arabian sadist; and in a match against Gino Brito (Jack Britton’s real-life son), Abdullah the Butcher first distinguished himself as one of the world’s most feared rulebreakers when he broke a chair over his opponent’s head and then proceeded to beat him senseless with the leg.
Such acts of violence were only the beginning for the terrifying Abdullah the Butcher, whose menacing figure, excessive violence, and complete disregard for the safety of himself or his opponents quickly established his well-deserved reputation for ruthless brutality. Abdullah’s matches almost always degenerated into bloodbaths, and he was infamous for stabbing his opponent’s wounds with his trademark fork (or any other foreign weapon that he could get his hands on at the moment). In addition to his insanely hardcore style, Abdullah the Butcher was revolutionary in that he would never stay in any one territory for too long so as to maintain the novelty and incredible notoriety of his character. By constantly roaming from region to region, Abdullah positioned his reputation as the most violent wrestler in the world. Consequently, he was often brought into a territory as a hired gun to destroy a popular fan favorite, and his appearances usually sparked local interest since he was always such a huge drawing card. As a result, Abdullah thus engaged in crimson-soaked carnages against some of the sport’s greatest legends, including The Original Sheik, Buddy Rogers, Giant Baba, Bobo Brazil, Bruiser Brody, Carlos Colón, Dusty Rhodes, André the Giant, Harley Race, Terry Funk, and “The Mongolian Stomper†Archie Gouldie, among others. Moreover, since his gimmick required that he speak no English (even though it was his native tongue in actuality), he possessed an extraordinary number of managers over the course of his long career, including Gary Hart, Paul Jones, Eddie Creatchman, Black Baron, the Grand Wizard, J.J. Dillon, Damien Kane, Larry Sharpe, Oliver Humperdink, George Cannon, Bearcat Wright, Big Bad John,Gentleman Jim Holiday,and Rock Hunter, who were all portrayed as “handlers†commissioned to control the Sudanese madman while doing most of the talking in interviews. Furthermore, Abdullah would often bloody his opponents with foreign objects that he concealed in his pants. He frequently used a fork as his trademark weapon.
As a result of his frequent traveling, Abdullah the Butcher usually served as more of a special hardcore attraction than as a consistent championship contender. Accordingly, Abdullah never did win the World Heavyweight Championship, though he would nevertheless capture a myriad of regional titles during his legendary career. He won his first major championship on October 23, 1967 when he teamed with Dr. Jerry Graham to defeat John & Carlos Tolos for the NWACanadian Tag Team Titles in Vancouver. A few years later, he ventured to the Montreal region, where he secured three reigns as the IWA International Heavyweight Champion between 1969-72 while feuding against Ivan Koloff and Johnny Rougeau. He later served as one of the premier rulebreakers in Calgary’s Stampede territory, capturing the NWA Canadian Championship as well as six North American Heavyweight Titles during the early 1970’s while battling the likes of Archie Gouldie, Jerry Christy, and Sweet Daddy Siki. Before long, Abdullah the Butcher was also established as a well-known villain in the U.S.; and on June 24, 1972, he defeated Ernie Ladd in Akron, Ohio to capture the first of two eventual NWF World Heavyweight Titles. During the mid-1970’s, he also frequently performed in Detroit, Michigan’s Big-Time Wrestling territory, where he engaged in a classic rivalry against local legend, the Sheik. Moreover, he also teamed with “Killer†Tim Brooks to win the region’s version of the NWA World Tag Team Titles before he then defeated Bobo Brazil on February 8, 1975 for the NWA United States Championship.
In addition to his successes in North America, Abdullah the Butcher would also become a true international superstar while performing in the Far East, Europe, the Caribbean, Australia, Africa, and practically everywhere else across the globe. On March 12, 1974, he traveled all the way to New Zealand, where he captured the prestigious British Empire Commonwealth Title by defeating the nation’s legendary champion John DaSilva. Furthermore, Abdullah would also establish himself among the premier attractions in Japan, where he competed as part of the round-robin tournament that ultimately crowned Giant Baba as All-Japan’s inaugural PWF Heavyweight Champion in February 1973. On October 18, 1978, Abdullah himself won the prestigious PWF belt when he defeated European legend and former AWA champion Billy Robinson; and then on October 13, 1980, he also beat Jumbo Tsuruta to capture the NWA United National Heavyweight Title. His feud with Terry Funk is still considered one of the hottest feuds in Japan, and Funk claims to have a personal top 3 all time greatest match with Abdullah the Butcher. He and Harley Race were forbidden by law to face each other in Japan due to an incident where they battled outside the arena, into the street and stopped traffic. Shreve is almost always paired with a manager (most notably "Playboy" Gary Hart in Texas, Georgia, and Florida, and Hugo Savinovich in Puerto Rico) and never speaks in U.S. territories. He has spoken in Japanese interviews, where promos aren't as important to get a wrestler over. He arrived in World Class in 1986, where he subsequently defeated the Great Kabuki for the Texas Brass Knuckles Title while waging war against the equally wild Bruiser Brody. However, perhaps Abby’s most memorable encounters occurred in Puerto Rico, where he was billed as the very first WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion in July 1982 following three reigns as the Puerto Rican Champion between 1978-81. His violent battles against Carlos Colón and Hercules Ayala are legendary; and he still remains one of the area’s top attractions, as he recently defeated Carly Colón for his fifth Universal Title on January 3, 2004.
He was introduced in World Championship Wrestling in a giant, gift-wrapped box. [2] This giant box was to be Sting's birthday gift from Cactus Jack. [2] Sting unwrapped his gift and it turned out to be Shreve, leading to both feuding with Sting after the incident, culminating in a "Chamber of Horrors" match at Halloween Havoc 1991, in which Cactus accidentally "electrocuted" Abdullah in an electric chair. Afterwards, he had a brief feud with his old ally, Cactus Jack, in 1992. In 1993, Abdullah arrived to ECW, where he have a storyline with Kevin Sullivan, Terry Funk and Stan Hansen, wrestled in Ultra Clash and Bloodfest. His entrance music (Japan) is Pink Floyd's instrumental track "One of These Days" from their 1971 album Meddle.
Abdullah’s reputation as the most sadistic and bloodthirsty hardcore wrestler in history has established a legacy far greater than any single championship ever could. In addition, his dietary habits have also become the stuff of legend, as he has been known to eat announcers' ties, whole raw fish, and he once even bit the head off a live chicken before a traumatized crowd. Moreover, his unpredictable, ultra-violent style is largely responsible for inspiring a future generation of wrestling madmen, including “Maniac†Mark Lewin, Kevin Sullivan, Cactus Jack, Kamala, and Sabu, among others; and he still continues to compete on the independent circuit after a career that has now spanned five decades.
Abdullah worked in nearly every major wrestling promotion in the world, except WWE, but never stayed in one place for very long. He has also taken part of Juggalo Championshit Wrestling owned by the Insane Clown Posse. Even at his age, he still makes wrestling appearances and still works matches as brutal as he did in his youth accompanied by his signature fork.
Besides wrestling, Shreve owns two restaurants in southwest Atlanta called "Abdullah the Butcher's House of Ribs and Chinese Food." [3] Shreve is often onhand to meet fans and sign autographs, and the restaurant has become something of a local attraction. Shreve and his restaurant make a cameo appearance in the music video for the song "Damn!" by Atlanta recording artists Youngbloodz. Shreve's restaurant was also referenced in the 2006 Film "ATL" during a scene where the character Ant (played by Evan Ross) and two friends argue over local BBQ. The 2007 WWC's Anniversary show was dedicated to the Butcher's legacy and contributions to WWC.
Abdullah often bloodied his opponents with foreign objects that he concealed in his pants. He is considered to be a true wrestling legend, and has wrestled in a total of almost five decades.
