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REMEMBERING
BIG SWEDE HANSON
Fans of Mid-Atlantic Championship
Wrestling lost another one of our most memorable
performers as Robert Fort Hanson, known to us as Swede
Hanson, passed away on February 19, 2002 at the age of
68.
Big Swede was a stalwart for
Jim Crockett Promotions for decades, and it’s certain
that anyone who watched the promotion anywhere from the
early 1960’s through the early 1980’s has fond and
lasting recollections of Swede.
Undoubtedly, Swede will be
remembered by many fans of Jim Crockett Promotions in
large degree for his being part of one of professional
wrestling’s greatest tag teams with partner Rip “The
Profile” Hawk. The team of Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson
was one of wrestling’s most feared duos, and caused
considerable havoc in the sport for portions of three
decades. Hawk and Hanson dominated the tag team division
in what would later be called “Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wrestling” from the early portions of the
1960’s through to 1973, when a change in the direction
of the promotion and Swede’s health problems led to
the breakup of the duo in the Carolinas and Virginia.
Anyone who saw Swede and Rip
team will have undying memories of this tandem. The two
perfected the art of the quick tag, in fact, one would
literally get dizzy watching the two tag in and out in
seemingly one continual motion when they had a helpless
opponent trapped in their corner. Rip was the
“mouthpiece” of the team, and many times this tag
team also had a manager to do a lot of its talking. Big
Swede rarely said a word, but his actions in the ring
spoke volumes. While Hawk was sneaky and cagey, Swede
was solid as a rock and was without a doubt the “tough
guy” of this duo.
During the years of the Hawk-Hanson
tag team, Swede was far bigger physically than nearly
all of the wrestlers he encountered during that era.
With a crew cut and menacing scowl, Swede and his
tremendous size drew a sharp contrast to his “good
guy” opponents such as George Becker, Johnny Weaver,
Jerry Brisco, Abe Jacobs, Nelson Royal and Paul Jones.
Even during occasional “Battle of the Bullies”
matchups with fellow heels Gene and Ole Anderson, Swede
was by far the most imposing man in the ring.
Swede and Rip traded Crockett’s
tag team prize, the Atlantic Coast Tag Team Titles,
multiple times with their archrivals George Becker and
Johnny Weaver during the late 1960’s and early
1970’s. The battles between these four were truly
legendary, the classic battle of “good versus evil.”
However, Big Swede was never one that most fans of the
time could truly “hate.” Swede never ran his mouth,
nor because of his massive size did he have to resort to
the out and out sneaky tactics of his partner. If
anything, people didn’t care for Swede because he just
seemed just too big and strong for his opponents of that
time. But while Big Swede may not have been adored by
the masses during his run with Hawk, he was without a
doubt respected.
The year of 1973 brought
winds of change to Jim Crockett Promotions, and to the
career of Swede Hanson. Jim Crockett, Jr. and booker
George Scott decided to move the promotion away from its
reliance on tag team wrestling, instead concentrating on
bringing in established singles stars from other parts
of the country. This effectively ended Swede’s run as
a tag team star, and to remain in the promotion, Swede
had to quickly prove that he could “cut the mustard”
in a singles style.
As the year 1974 dawned,
Crockett’s promotion was now called “Mid-Atlantic
Championship Wrestling,” and Big Swede began the year
wrestling at or near the top of cards in singles matches
in his typical heel persona. However, in mid January,
Swede began teaming with the Super Destroyer, Don
Jardine, in what would be a career-changing move. In
February of 1974, the Super Destroyer made the mistake
of ordering Big Swede around during a television match
and when Swede wouldn’t follow the masked man’s
orders, Jardine slapped Swede in the middle of the ring
in front of all to see. Swede was infuriated, fired back
on the Super Destroyer, and a feud for the ages had
begun! Amazingly, after a decade as a heel, one slap had
turned Swede into the top “good guy” in the
Mid-Atlantic area!!
The feud with the Super Destroyer
spanned nearly six months, and may have been Swede’s
finest hour while in Crockett’s promotion. Hanson
showed everyone that he had what it took to be a star in
the single’s ranks at the highest level. Swede stood
toe to toe with Jardine in possibly the promotion’s
most violent and intense program ever. The sledgehammer
blows that Swede threw on Jardine rivaled those of heavy
hitter extraordinaire, Johnny Valentine. While the Super
Destroyer ultimately prevailed in this feud, this was a
war that had no real losers.
The rest of 1974 saw the promotion
come to realize that a program between the area’s top
“good guy” Swede Hanson and former partner Rip Hawk
was a “must.” Initially, the Rip versus Swede
matchups were within a tag team context, where Swede and
partner Tiger Conway, Jr. battled Mid-Atlantic Tag Team
Champions Rip Hawk and a very young Ric Flair. These tag
matches in reality turned into matches between Rip and
Swede, and the action between these two was intense! By
November and December of 1974, Swede and Rip finally
faced each other one on one, in single matches the
area’s fans could not wait to see! The promoters made
these matches even more special, by making the majority
of these contests non-sanctioned fence matches! Swede
dominated his former partner Hawk in this series of
emotional matches, which were some of Hawk’s last
matches ever for Jim Crockett Promotions. Interestingly
enough, Swede’s victories over Rip Hawk also marked
Hanson’s last main event program while in the
Mid-Atlantic area. Swede’s career was set to take
another turn as the calendar turned over to 1975.
The year of 1975 saw Jim Crockett
Promotions transition Swede into mid card status, a
position he would basically hold for his remainder of
time with the promotion. Swede was involved in no more
angles, but until he left the area in the middle of 1976
he won his share of matches and was the babyface who was
the big test for the star heels who were new to the
area. In 1975, Swede gave newcomers Blackjack Mulligan
and Angelo Mosca a real initiation into the Mid-Atlantic
Wrestling wars!! In the eyes of the promotion and its
fans, if a supposed big name could get over on the
Swede, he was then, and only then, legitimate!!
Hanson left the Mid-Atlantic
area for Texas in mid 1976, and while down there
actually teamed again with Rip Hawk and won championship
gold. Swede did not become a Mid-Atlantic regular again
until early 1978, when he returned as a heel and with a
new look that included frizzy hair and psychedelic
colored wrestling outfits! Swede was still a mid-carder
at best in 1978 and 1979, but formed some solid teams
with Gene Anderson and Sgt. Jacques Goulet during this
time frame. In fact, there were some terrific matches in
the late 1970’s where Swede would team with fellow
aging stars Gene Anderson and Brute Bernard and battle
fellow aging babyfaces Johnny Weaver and Abe Jacobs!
While these matches didn’t have the impact they did
ten years previously, Swede always gave supreme effort.
And as Swede got older lost more frequently, the
promotion was always quick to point out that he was a
legend and was still a man to be feared. There was never
a question that Jim Crockett Promotions and the
wrestlers in the promotion always held Swede in the
highest regard.
Swede had one final run in
the Mid-Atlantic area in the early 1980’s. Again,
Hanson was a heel who won his share of arena matches,
particularly in early tag matches on arena cards. Swede
formed good teams with Gene Lewis and Tenru in the early
80’s, though by this time Swede would not prevail on
television matches. Still, the Big Swede would give
anyone who he faced a real run for their money. During
this time period, Hanson was much better known by many
fans for two very successful stints he had in the WWF as
a main event performer.
For Mid-Atlantic Championship
Wrestling fans, Swede Hanson will forever be remembered
for being a rough and tough competitor who always strove
to give his absolute best in the ring. His career with
Jim Crockett Promotions spanned many years, and gave us
oh so many memories. While we mourn his passing,
Swede’s death will never be able to extinguish those
memories nor diminish his Mid-Atlantic legacy. Your many
fans will never forget you. Rest in peace, Big Swede. |
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