History Wrestling / BuddyRogers

Not to be confused with Charles "Buddy" Rogers, a screen actor of the 1920s and '30s.

* WrestlingDoesntPay: Eventually subverted, as he became on of television's first stars, but at first he (begrudgingly) kept his day job as a police officer for most of his four years as a pro before it happened.

* HypocriticalHumor: As an amateur wrestler, Rogers wasn't too fond to see the sport of professional wrestling transition from standard wrestling matches to fights that happened to have some grappling in them and really wanted a lot of the more blatant cheats such as [[ByTheHair hair pulling]] to be thrown out entirely.(This was the same Rogers who was perfectly fine with jumping his opponents from behind while and punching them in the back)

Herman Gustav Rohde Jr. (February 20, 1921 – June 26, 1992) was an American police officer turned {{professional wrestl|ing}}er from Camden, UsefulNotes/NewJersey who performed as [[StageNames Buddy Rogers]]. He debuted in 1939 and, after working the carnival circuit, first made his name in UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}. When television came along, he jumped to UsefulNotes/StLouis, where he became such a major name that he caused Sam Muchnick's outlaw[[note]] running in the same geographical area as, and in opposition to, an established promotion) [[/note]] body to merge with the existing Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance territory there. While he won various regional titles over his career, he is most famous for being the first wrestler to hold both the NWA World Heavyweight Title and the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-h.html WWWF (now WWE) World Heavyweight Title]]. In fact, it was a match he had with Wrestling/LouThesz that led to NWA Capitol Wrestling splitting from the NWA and renaming itself the WWWF. He retired from full-time competition in 1963 due to physical decline. He made a comeback in 1978 when he was in his 50s, ultimately retiring once and for all in 1982. He passed away on June 26, 1992 after having suffered a series of strokes. He was posthumously inducted into the Wrestling/WWEHallOfFame in 1994.

[[quoteright:245:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Buddy-Rogers4903674dk3_796.jpg]]

Herman Gustav Rohde Jr. (February 20, 1921 – June 26, 1992) was an American police officer turned {{professional wrestl|ing}}er from Camden, UsefulNotes/NewJersey as '''Buddy Rogers.''' He debuted in 1939 and, after working the carnival circuit, first made his name in UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}. When television came in, he jumped to UsefulNotes/StLouis, where he became such a major name that he caused Sam Muchnik's outlaw (runs in the same geographical area as an established promotion in opposition) to merge with the existing Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance territory there. While he won various regional titles over his career, he is most famous for being the first wrestler to hold both the NWA World Heavyweight Title and the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-h.html WWWF (now WWE) World Heavyweight Title]]. In fact, it was a match he had with Wrestling/LouThesz that led to NWA Capitol Wrestling splitting from the NWA and renaming itself the WWWF. He retired from full-time competition in 1963 due to physical decline. He made a comeback in 1978 when he was in his 50s, ultimately retiring once and for all in 1982. He passed away on June 26, 1992 after having suffered a series of strokes. He was posthumously inducted into the Wrestling/WWEHallOfFame in 1994.

* TalkShowWithFists: "Buddy Rogers' Corner," in early 1980s WWE.

* CatchPhrase: (with the most smug, shit-eating-est grin ever) "To a nicer guy, it couldn't have happened"

!! "These tropes fit the bill":

As usual, you can find the basics at [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddy_Rogers_(wrestler) The Other Wiki]].

'''Herman Rohde Jr.''' (1921-1992) was an American police officer turned {{professional wrestl|ing}}er from Camden, UsefulNotes/NewJersey as '''Buddy Rogers.''' He debuted in 1939 and, after working the carnival circuit, first made his name in UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}. When television came in, he jumped to UsefulNotes/StLouis, where he became such a major name that he caused Sam Muchnik's outlaw (runs in the same geographical area as an established promotion in opposition) to merge with the existing Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance territory there. While he won various regional titles over his career, he is most famous for being the first wrestler to hold both the NWA World Heavyweight Title and the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-h.html WWWF (now WWE) World Heavyweight Title]]. In fact, it was a match he had with Wrestling/LouThesz that led to NWA Capitol Wrestling splitting from the NWA and renaming itself the WWWF. He retired from full-time competition in 1963 due to physical decline. He made a comeback in 1978 when he was in his 50s, ultimately retiring once and for all in 1982. He passed away on June 26, 1992 after having suffered a series of strokes. He was posthumously inducted into the Wrestling/WWEHallOfFame in 1994.

!!! "These tropes fit the bill":

'''Herman Rohde Jr.''' (1921-1992) was an American police officer turned {{professional wrestl|ing}}er from Camden, UsefulNotes/NewJersey as '''Buddy Rogers.''' He debuted in 1939 and, after working the carnival circuit, first made his name in UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}. When television came in, he jumped to UsefulNotes/StLouis, where he became such a major name that he caused Sam Muchnik's outlaw (runs in the same geographical area as an established promotion in opposition) to merge with the existing Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance territory there. While he won various regional titles over his career, he is most famous for being the first wrestler to hold both the NWA World Heavyweight Title and the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-h.html WWWF (now WWE) World Heavyweight Title]]. In fact, it was a match he had with Wrestling/LouThesz that led to NWA Capitol Wrestling splitting from the NWA and renaming itself the WWWF. He retired from full-time competition in 1963 due to physical decline. He made a comeback in 1978 when he was in his 50s, ultimately retiring once and for all in 1982. He passed away on June 26, 1992 after having suffered a series of strokes.

* HollywoodHeartAttack, WorfHadTheFlu and AllPartOfTheShow: Part of his infamous 48-second title loss to the sport's then-newest superstar, Bruno Sammartino. According to most accounts, Rogers – just 42 years old – had suffered a heart attack not long before his scheduled match against Sammartino, and was booked to lose the title. Depending on who one finds most believable, the heart attack was either legit (and he agreed to drop the title so he could recover), he was indeed sick but – insisting that he be allowed to hold onto the title until he recovered to go on tour as "champion" – was made by bookers to wrestle and drop the title as planned, or he was healthy all along and simply refused to cooperate with (the elder) Vince [=McMahon=] in dropping the title to a wrestler they found more charismatic and had more drawing power. Indeed, Sammartino – who, by the time of his death in 2018, had been the last surviving key figure involved in that match (and was in good health until his last months) – often said the latter explanation is the one, and with few to no surviving accurate records (no taped footage of the match itself, no existing paper records and strict maintenance of {{Kayfabe}} abounding in that era) there's little evidence to dispute him.

* HollywoodHeartAttack, WorfHadTheFlu and AllPartOfTheShow: Part of his infamous 48-second title loss to the sport's then-newest superstar, Bruno Sammartino. According to most accounts, Rogers – just 42 years old – had suffered a heart attack not long before his scheduled match against Sammartino, and was booked to lose the title. Depending on who one finds most believable, the heart attack was either legit (and he agreed to drop the title so he could recover), he was indeed sick but – insisting that he be allowed to hold onto the title until he recovered to go on tour as "champion" – was made by bookers to wrestle and drop the title as planned, or he was healthy all along and simply refused to cooperate with (the elder) Vince [=McMahon=] in dropping the title to a wrestler they found more charismatic and had more drawing power. Indeed, Sammartino – one of the few, if not only key figures involved in that match to still be living, much less in good health – has often said the latter explanation is the one, and with few to no surviving accurate records (no taped footage of the match itself, no existing paper records and strict maintenance of {{Kayfabe}} abounding in that era) there's little evidence to dispute him.

'''Herman Rohde Jr.''' (1921-1992) was an American police officer turned {{professional wrestl|ing}}er from Camden, UsefulNotes/NewJersey as '''Buddy Rogers.''' He debuted in 1939 and, after working the carnival circuit, first made his name in UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}. When television came in, he jumped to UsefulNotes/StLouis, where he became such a major name that he caused Sam Muchnik's outlaw (runs in the same geographical area as an established promotion in opposition) to merge with the existing Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance territory there. While he won various regional titles over his career, he is most famous for being the first wrestler to hold both the NWA World Heavyweight Title and the [[http://www,wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-h.html WWWF (now WWE) World Heavyweight Title]]. In fact, it was a match he had with Wrestling/LouThesz that led to NWA Capitol Wrestling splitting from the NWA and renaming itself the WWWF. He retired from full-time competition in 1963 due to physical decline. He made a comeback in 1978 when he was in his 50s, ultimately retiring once and for all in 1982. He passed away on June 26, 1992 after having suffered a series of strokes.

* BlondesAreEvil: Par for the course for a Nature Boy, Buddy Rogers spent most of his career as a bleach blonde JerkAss.

-->-- '''"The Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers''' after defeating Pat [=O'Connor=] for the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/nwa/world/nwa-h.html NWA World Heavyweight Title]]

[[quoteright:245:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Buddy-Rogers4903674dk3_796.jpg]]

'''Herman Rohde Jr.''' (1921-1992) was an American police officer turned {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er from Camden, UsefulNotes/NewJersey as '''Buddy Rogers.''' He debuted in 1939 and, after working the carnival circuit, first made his name in UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}. When television came in, he jumped to UsefulNotes/StLouis, where he became such a major name that he caused Sam Muchnik's outlaw (runs in the same geographical area as an established promotion in opposition) to merge with the existing Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance territory there. While he won various regional titles over his career, he is most famous for being the first wrestler to hold both the NWA World Heavyweight Title and the [[http://www,wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-h.html WWWF (now WWE) World Heavyweight Title]]. In fact, it was a match he had with Wrestling/LouThesz that led to NWA Capitol Wrestling splitting from the NWA and renaming itself the WWWF. He retired from full-time competition in 1963 due to physical decline. He made a comeback in 1978 when he was in his 50s, ultimately retiring once and for all in 1982. He passed away on June 26, 1992 after having suffered a series of strokes.

'''Herman Rohde Jr.''' (1921-1992) was an American {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er from Camden, UsefulNotes/NewJersey as '''Buddy Rogers.''' He debuted in 1939 and, after working the carnival circuit, first made his name in UsefulNotes/{{Houston}}. When television came in, he jumped to UsefulNotes/StLouis, where he became such a major name that he caused Sam Muchnik's outlaw (runs in the same geographical area as an established promotion in opposition) to merge with the existing Wrestling/NationalWrestlingAlliance territory there. While he won various regional titles over his career, he is most famous for being the first wrestler to hold both the NWA World Heavyweight Title and the [[http://www,wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-h.html WWWF (now WWE) World Heavyweight Title]]. In fact, it was a match he had with Wrestling/LouThesz that led to NWA Capitol Wrestling splitting from the NWA and renaming itself the WWWF. He retired from full-time competition in 1963 due to physical decline. He made a comeback in 1978 when he was in his 50s, ultimately retiring once and for all in 1982. He passed away on June 26, 1992 after having suffered a series of strokes.

* DirtyCoward: How some perceived his explanations about his health, just prior to his legendary WWWF championship loss to Bruno Sammartino.

* MarriedToTheJob: Wrestling day in and day out, his whole life, from the YMCA in Canada to his turning pro.

* WorthyOpponent: In the 1980s Rogers claimed to have done more for pro wrestling than anyone else had in the last 25-30 years on a televised interview. Then he backspaced and said anyone else but besides Wrestling/LouThesz.