Difference between revisions 115499497 and 115499498 on dewiki

{{Infobox professional wrestler
|name        = Larry Zbyszko
|image       = Bobby Heenan and Larry Zbyszko.jpg
|caption     = Zbyszko (right) with [[Bobby Heenan]] in 2005.
|names       = '''Larry Zbyszko'''
|height      = {{height|ft=5|in=9}}<ref name=Encyclopedia/>
|weight      = {{convert|233|lb|kg|abbr=on}}<ref name=Encyclopedia/>
|birth_date  = {{Birth date and age|1951|12|5}}
|birth_place = [[Chicago|Chicago, Illinois]]
|death_date  =
|death_date  =
|death_place =
|resides     = [[Avalon Park, Florida]]
|billed      = [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]]<ref name=Encyclopedia/>
|trainer     = [[Bruno Sammartino]]<br />[[Newton Tattrie]]
|debut       = 1973
|retired     =
}}
'''Lawrence "Larry" Whistler''' (born December 5, 1951) is a [[Professional wrestling|professional wrestler]], better known by his [[ring name]], '''Larry Zbyszko'''. Zbyszko is perhaps best known for his feud with his mentor, wrestling legend [[Bruno Sammartino]] during the early 1980s.

Zbyszko's ring name has in the past been misspelled '''Zbysko''' or '''Zybysko'''. The correct spelling of the name, Zbyszko, is derived from the name of Polish wrestler [[Stanislaus Zbyszko]].

==Wrestling career==
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===Early career and World Wide Wrestling Federation (1973–1981)===
Whistler trained under Bruno Sammartino and debuted in 1973 as the [[Face (professional wrestling)|babyface]] "Larry Zbyszko", with his name a tribute to 1920s [[Polish American]] wrestler [[Stanislaus Zbyszko]]. He initially wrestled in the Pittsburgh area, appearing on the local wrestling program [[Studio Wrestling]], before receiving [[List of professional wrestling terms#B|bookings]] in [[Vancouver]]. He spent three years in th(contracted; show full) in the [[Nashville, Tennessee]]-based USA Championship Wrestling promotion. On March 2, 2002, Zbyszko defeated Harris for the USA North American Heavyweight Championship. He held the title until March 30, 2002 when Harris regained the belt at the ''[[Tojo Yamamoto]] Memorial Show''. On August 27, 2005 at [[WrestleReunion]] in [[Valley Forge, Pennsylvania]], Zbyszko faced [[Diamond Dallas Page]], with the provision that he would receive five minutes alone in the ring with the sixty-nine
  -year  -old Bruno Sammartino if he won. Page knocked Zbyszko out with his signature [[Cutter (professional wrestling)|Diamond Cutter]], however, then pulled Zbyszko on top of him, thus giving him the win by pinfall. Sammartino then entered the ring and began throttling the still-prone Zbyszko until he was dragged away.

===Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003–2006)===
(contracted; show full)
**[[PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year]] (1980)
**[[PWI Rookie of the Year]] (1974)
**[[PWI Tag Team of the Year]] (1991) <small>with [[Arn Anderson]]</small>
**PWI ranked him #'''38''' of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the [[Pro Wrestling Illustrated|PWI 500]] in 1991<ref>{{cite web|url=http://theturnbucklepost.com/information/pwi-500-annual-listings/pwi-500-1991/|accessdate=
2012-08-26-2012|title=PWI 500 1991|publisher=The Turnbuckle Post}}</ref>
**PWI ranked him #'''105''' of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "[[Pro Wrestling Illustrated|PWI Years]]" in 2003<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.willywrestlefest.fr/Ressources/PWI/PWI500_PWI_Years_2003.htm|title=PWI 500 of the PWI Years|accessdate=2012-08-26|publisher=Willy Wrestlefest}}</ref>

*'''Southern Championship Wrestling'''
(contracted; show full)
* [http://inyourheadonline.com/viewnews.php?autoid=443 Apr 13 2006 Audio Interview with Larry Zbyszko]
* [http://inyourheadonline.com/viewnews.php?autoid=744 Oct 05 2006 Audio Interview with Larry Zbyszko]
*[http://inyourheadonline.com/viewnews.php?autoid=1533 Jun 05 2008 Audio Interview with Larry Zbyszko]

{{WCW World Television Championship}}
{{World Tag Team Championship (WWE)}}


{{Authority control|VIAF=106735314}}
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{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
| NAME              = Zbyszko, Larry
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Whistler, Lawrence
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = American professional wrestler
| DATE OF BIRTH     = December 5, 1951
| PLACE OF BIRTH    = [[Chicago|Chicago, Illinois]]
| DATE OF DEATH     =
| PLACE OF DEATH    =
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zbyszko, Larry}}
[[Category:1951 births]]
[[Category:American color commentators]]
[[Category:American judoka]]
[[Category:American professional wrestlers]]
[[Category:American sport wrestlers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Chicago, Illinois]]
[[Category:People from St. Johns County, Florida]]
[[Category:Professional wrestling announcers]]
[[Category:Professional wrestling executives]]
[[Category:Professional wrestling managers and valets]]
[[Category:Professional wrestling trainers]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Pennsylvania]]

[[es:Larry Zbyszko]]
[[ja:ラリー・ズビスコ]]
[[pl:Larry Zbyszko]]
[[pt:Larry Zbyszko]]