Edward McDaniel (June 19, 1938 – April 18, 2002) was a Native American football player turned Professional Wrestler as Chief Wahoo McDaniel. He started his football career in the 1960s and would wrestle in the off-season, until he turned full-time by the end of the decade. He regularly competed in various National Wrestling Alliance territories, particularly in Texas, Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, as well as for the AWA, All Japan Pro Wrestling, the WWWF, New Japan Pro-Wrestling and various independent promotions. He made his PPV debut defeating Manny Fernandez in an Indian Strap Match at AWA SuperClash III. Among his in-ring achievements, he was a 1x AWA World Tag Team Champion
with The Crusher, a 5x NWA United States Heavyweight Champion, a 2x NWA American (World Class) Heavyweight Champion and a multiple-time NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion. He passed away from complications from diabetes and renal failure on April 18, 2002. He was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 2002.
"Indian Strap Tropes":
- Arch-Enemy: Greg Valentine
- Badass Native: He was part Choctaw- Chickasaw Native American.
- Bash Brothers: with Paul Jones, Jose Lothario, Rufus R. Jones, the Crusher, Dusty Rhodes, Mark Youngblood.
- Boring, but Practical: His Finishing Move, a chop to the skull. He once had a Squash Match in the AWA where his entire offense was chops. It worked.
- Collegiate American Football: At the University of Oklahoma.
- American Football: For the Houston Oilers, Denver Broncos, New York Jets and Miami Dolphins
- Everything Is Big in Texas: Born in Louisiana and later played football at the University of Oklahoma, but he was billed from Midland, TX, and was a huge name in the greater Houston area.
- Face–Heel Turn: In 1984 against Ricky Steamboat, aligning himself with Tully Blanchard and winning his fourth United States Heavyweight Title in the process.
- Red Baron: 'Chief'
- Ring Oldies: He started in the 1960s and competed until 1996.
- Spell My Name Without An S: His last name is sometimes misspelled as McDaniels.
- The Worf Effect: Lex Luger defeated him for the NWA Southern (Florida) Heavyweight Title a mere 19 days into his career.
