• Included in the Obituaries List.
• I was a big fan of championship wrestling back in the day; and I learned that one of my favorite wrestlers, Rip Hawk passed away last week.

Martin Winfree

December 27, 2012

I was a big fan of championship wrestling back in the day, when it was a mostly localized phenomenon; and I just learned that one of my favorite wrestlers, Rip Hawk passed away last week. His longtime partner Swede Hanson had died about 10 years earlier. They were unusual in the wrestling world in that they would have “feuds” with both “face” wrestlers like Johnny Weaver and George Becker, and also “heel” wrestlers like Aldo Bogni and Bronco Lubich. He was also the very first tag-team partner of Ric Flair. Rip “the Profile” Hawk had a rich life outside the ring as well.