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->''"Do the hammerlock\\
Yeah do the hammerlock\\
Yeah do the hammerlock you turkey necks\\
You do the hammerlock\\
You do the hammerlock\\
Everybody do it now raaayyyy"''
-->--'''The Novas''', "The Crusher"

Reginald Lisowski (July 11, 1926 – October 22, 2005) was an American {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er from UsefulNotes/{{Milwaukee}}, Wisconsin as The Crusher. He is best known for his work in the Midwest, particularly for [[Wrestling/AmericanWrestlingAssociation the AWA]], from the 1950s until he retired in the 1980s. He is especially known for his years of teaming with Wrestling/DickTheBruiser. He competed for various Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance territories, for Wrestling/AllJapanProWrestling, for Stampede, and even for Wrestling/{{WWE}} as [[CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown "Crusher Machine."]] He retired in 1988. Among his in-ring achievements, he was a 3x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/awa/awa-h.html AWA World Heavyweight Champion]], a 9x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/awa/awa-t.html AWA World Tag Team Champion]] and a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/japan/alljapan/int-t.html NWA International Tag Team Champion]]. He was inducted into the ''[[Wrestling/TheWrestlingObserverNewsletter Wrestling Observer Newsletter]]'' Hall of Fame in 1996.

The Crusher is notable for several innovations in professional wrestling. He was one of the first "tweeners," frequently brawling and using "bad guy" tactics as a fan favorite at a time when babyfaces were lauded for their scientific wrestling backgrounds. His bleached blonde hair, bodybuilder physique, and flamboyant interview style also became something of a prototype for future "superstars" and was built upon by wrestlers such as Wrestling/SuperstarBillyGraham, Wrestling/JesseVentura, and Wrestling/HulkHogan. Not the very least was his beer-swilling badass persona, brought into the modern era to mainstream audiences by Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin. Appropriately enough, Austin's famous "Austin 3:16" promo was delivered at the MECCA Arena,[[note]]now known as UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena[[/note]] the same building The Crusher sold out on a regular basis decades earlier.

Not to be confused with Jerry "The Crusher" Blackwell nor with the villain in the WesternAnimation/BugsBunny short "WesternAnimation/BunnyHugged".
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!!"READ THE CRUSHER'S TROPES, YOU TURKEYNECKS!":
* ArchEnemy: [[Wrestling/BobbyHeenan Bobby "The Brain" Heenan]], Wrestling/HarleyRace
* AsHimself: In the 1974 film ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070930/combined The Wrestler]]''.
* AudienceSurrogate: Especially in Milwaukee and Chicago which had large working-class Polish populations.
** Of particular note was his brief feud in Pittsburgh with Wrestling/BrunoSammartino. Even though Crusher was presented as the heel and Sammartino the hometown babyface, Pittsburgh had a large Polish population of its own that caused the fans' rooting interests to break down along ethnic lines.
* BashBrothers: with Dick the Bruiser, of course, Baron Von Raschke, Mad Dog Vachon
* {{Beergasm}}: Most likely the UrExample of this in pro wrestling. He would claim to train by running down Bradford Beach in Milwaukee while carrying a full beer keg. Then drink the keg and run home.
* BloodKnight: Him and Bruiser, if they felt like they didn't beat on their opponents enough in the ring, would take to beating each other after the match.
* CatchPhrase: "How 'bout dat?"
* CigarChomper: Regularly seen with cigars.
* ChubbyChaser: Would frequently mention his preference for doing the polka with bigger "dollies" as part of his training regimen. He once claimed he had to get rid of a girl because she dropped her weight down to 215 pounds.
* {{Expy}}: [[Wrestling/JimFullington The Sandman]] and Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin's badass beer-drinking brawler characters can be traced back to Bruiser and Crusher.
** The mean, rule-breaking wrestler, Crusher Hogan, whom ComicBook/SpiderMan faced in ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15, was most likely inspired by The Crusher.
* HeelFaceTurn: He and Bruiser got accepted by the AWA fans following a match against Wrestling/HarleyRace and Larry "The Ax" Hennig in 1965.
* ManlyMan: A beer swilling, cigar chomping, skirt chasing, hell raising, tough-as-nails SoB who calls himself [[NamesToRunAwayFrom The Crusher]]? You better believe he's manly!
* MegatonPunch: Would brag about having "100 megaton biceps" that he used for his devastating bolo punch.
* MundaneMadeAwesome: His bolo punch and stomach claw {{finishing move}}s.
* TheNicknamer: He and Dick the Bruiser gave Bobby Heenan the name "The Weasel", and would refer to the team of Harley Race and Larry "The Ax" Hennig as "The Dolly Sisters". Would refer to his opponents generically as "da bum."
** Wrestling/JerryBlackwell was often referred to as "Fat-well" by Crusher in the AWA. "With an oink-oink here, and an oink-oink there... And soon there ain't gonna be no more oink-oink!"
* NoIndoorVoice: It was rare if he didn't yell at the top of his lungs in a promo.
* OneSteveLimit: When Jerry "The Crusher" Blackwell came to the AWA, they naturally feuded over this.
** "Do he smoke cigars? Do he drink beer? Does he do da polka? HOW CAN HE CALL HIMSELF DA CRUSHER?!!!"
* PopularityPower: Once he and Bruiser got over, they ''never'' lost the crowd's support.
* RedBaron: "The Wrestler Who Made Milwaukee Famous"[[note]] Appropriately enough, that line is from "Schlitz, the Beer that Made Milwaukee Famous"[[/note]]
* RingOldies: He was active until he was 61 years old.
* TagTeam:
** With Dick the Bruiser.
* UnrelatedBrothers: With Stan Lisowski (real name Stan Holek).
** Unrelated Cousins: Also with Dick the Bruiser.
* WorkingClassHero: He lived it, working all kinds of blue-collar jobs on the side while getting his wrestling career going.