Exploring the legacy of Ernie Roth, the gay wrestling manager in the WWF Hall of Fame
WWE – where his charge would headline venues like Madison Square Garden in New York City against the WWWF World Heavyweight Champion, the legendary Bruno Sammartino.Roth was well-liked by the then-owner of the WWWF, Vince McMahon Sr, who saw his talent and used him without The Sheik in 1971.
In 1973, McMahon was looking for new managers and offered promotional control of several WWWF Massachusetts venues, including the Boston Garden, to Roth and his business and real-life partner, wrestler “Beautiful” Bobby Harnon.
Remembering Ernie Roth (Grand Wizard/Abdullah Farouk) who we lost on this day in 1983 pic.twitter.com/mnZWotMsfe— Nostalgic Dave Dynasty (@TheDaveDynasty) October 12, 2022Roth would change his look slightly, donning a turban instead of his fez and adding colourful scarves, becoming “The Grand Wizard of Wrestling”.
The name was Roth, a Jew as well as gay, taking a stab at the Ku Klux Klan and their own Grand Wizards. He eventually became one of the “Three Wise Men of the East”, a trio of heel managers that included former wrestlers Lou Albano and Classy Freddie Blassie.Roth’s first major success in that role was on December 1, 1973, when he lead Stan Stasiak to victory over Pedro Morales and the WWWF Championship.
