“In the old Marigold Arena on Chicago’s North Side, the long, low calls would begin even before Edward Cholak entered the ring.
‘Moooose! Moooose!’ the crowd called, until Mr. Cholak, a giant of a man at 6 feet 4 inches and nearly 400 pounds, emerged, often with a real moose head propped on his shoulders.
He was known as ‘Moose’ Cholak throughout a professional wrestling career that spanned four decades and took him across America. He also worked for many years as an engineer for the City of Chicago.
Mr. Cholak, 72, of Chicago, died of complications from a stroke, Thursday, October 31st, in St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Center, in Hammond.
He was born and raised on Chicago’s Southeast Side, where his parents ran a tavern. Large and strong even as a youth, he was an all-city wrestler at Chicago Vocational High School, and he played football for a year at the University of Wisconsin before leaving to join the Navy during the Korean War. He received engineering training while in the service.
When he returned to Chicago in 1952, Mr. Cholak was recruited by wrestling promoter “Chief” Don Eagle to join the pro circuit.
Though a far cry from the outrageous antics that make up televised wrestling today, professional wrestling in those days was a show and the wrestlers knew they were the players.
‘The crowds wouldn’t come just to see somebody wrestle somebody else on the mat,’ said Mr. Cholak’s wife of 45 years, Arlene.
And in those early days, Mr. Cholak always guaranteed a good time, donning his moose head and giving his moose call before grappling with an opponent.
Though he was well known on the U.S. circuit and went to Japan several times to wrestle, the pay didn’t match his celebrity.
In the mid-1970s, Mr. Cholak joined the city’s Streets and Sanitation Department, for which he worked until 1996 overseeing crews involved in street projects.
Until the mid-1980s, Mr. Cholak continued to wrestle.
Toward the end of his career, he weighed more than 400 pounds and his knees gave him trouble. Still, he loved the life under the lights and hearing the crowd rumble his name.
‘Everybody called it out. He was very, very popular,’ his wife said.
Other survivors include a daughter, Kathleen, and a son, Steven.
A visitation will be held from 2 to 9 p.m. Sunday, in Elmwood Chapel, 11200 S. Ewing Ave., Chicago. A mass will be said at 10 a.m. Monday, in Annunciata Catholic Church, 11128 S. Ave. G, Chicago.
Notes: The article was written by Rudolph Bush, while the photograph comes from “Pro Wrestling Illustrated: The Year In Review”, from April, in 2003.
![Edge - WWE Magazine [November 2002]
“Will Edge become WWE’s next big movie star? I, the Informer, have heard that negotiations are underway with a major Hollywood Icon regarding a six-figure deal. Will the fans ever forgive this Icon?”
[Drop ToeHold says: What was this based off of, Edge’s appearance in that straight to DVD Highlander film??
Sorry, Edge — no Hollywood for you.]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/687deeb484dd2e035e244278255bd4e4/tumblr_mmcuk3xD3w1qzx70zo1_500.jpg)
![Nick Dinsmore & Doug Basham - Pro Wrestling Illustrated 500 [December 2002]
100 - Nick Dinsmore (6’, 226, 7, 182) “Mr. Wrestling” is one-half of The Lords Of The Ring with Rob Conway… Dinsmore and Conway won the OVW Southern tag title in December 2001, but lost the belts to Doug Basham and Dajama in February… Gained a measure of revenge by teaming with Conway and OVW owner Danny Davis to defeat Basham, Damaja, and Victoria in April… Considered the most talented wrestler in OVW… Has beaten Al Snow and almost beat Chris Benoit… Could be considered the Sting of OVW.
157 - Doug “Machine” Basham (6’2, 245, 9, NL) Former OVW champion is a bright prospect for WWE… The nephew of OVW owner Danny Davis… Made his debut as “All-American” Doug Basham… Disappeared for a while and reappeared in March 2001 as the masked Machine… Was forced to unmask after a loss to nemesis Nick Dinsmore… The leader of The Revolution, a heel clique determined to take over OVW… Basham was a shareholder in the company, but put his stock on the line to get Uncle Danny in the ring. Davis, Dinsmore, and Rob Conway beat Basham, Queen Victoria, and The Damaja… Was forced out of the promotion by Davis, only to return with a WWE developmental deal… Solid mat technician with an evil streak.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/b6c9e429a4b7cedaa317d005d63af7c0/tumblr_mmczj2aGHe1qzx70zo1_500.jpg)
![Edward “Moose” Cholak - Chicago Tribune [November 3rd, 2002]
“In the old Marigold Arena on Chicago’s North Side, the long, low calls would begin even before Edward Cholak entered the ring.
‘Moooose! Moooose!’ the crowd called, until Mr. Cholak, a giant of a man at 6 feet 4 inches and nearly 400 pounds, emerged, often with a real moose head propped on his shoulders.
He was known as ‘Moose’ Cholak throughout a professional wrestling career that spanned four decades and took him across America. He also worked for many years as an engineer for the City of Chicago.
Mr. Cholak, 72, of Chicago, died of complications from a stroke, Thursday, October 31st, in St. Margaret Mercy Healthcare Center, in Hammond.
He was born and raised on Chicago’s Southeast Side, where his parents ran a tavern. Large and strong even as a youth, he was an all-city wrestler at Chicago Vocational High School, and he played football for a year at the University of Wisconsin before leaving to join the Navy during the Korean War. He received engineering training while in the service.
When he returned to Chicago in 1952, Mr. Cholak was recruited by wrestling promoter “Chief” Don Eagle to join the pro circuit.
Though a far cry from the outrageous antics that make up televised wrestling today, professional wrestling in those days was a show and the wrestlers knew they were the players.
‘The crowds wouldn’t come just to see somebody wrestle somebody else on the mat,’ said Mr. Cholak’s wife of 45 years, Arlene.
And in those early days, Mr. Cholak always guaranteed a good time, donning his moose head and giving his moose call before grappling with an opponent.
Though he was well known on the U.S. circuit and went to Japan several times to wrestle, the pay didn’t match his celebrity.
In the mid-1970s, Mr. Cholak joined the city’s Streets and Sanitation Department, for which he worked until 1996 overseeing crews involved in street projects.
Until the mid-1980s, Mr. Cholak continued to wrestle.
Toward the end of his career, he weighed more than 400 pounds and his knees gave him trouble. Still, he loved the life under the lights and hearing the crowd rumble his name.
‘Everybody called it out. He was very, very popular,’ his wife said.
Other survivors include a daughter, Kathleen, and a son, Steven.
A visitation will be held from 2 to 9 p.m. Sunday, in Elmwood Chapel, 11200 S. Ewing Ave., Chicago. A mass will be said at 10 a.m. Monday, in Annunciata Catholic Church, 11128 S. Ave. G, Chicago.
Notes: The article was written by Rudolph Bush, while the photograph comes from “Pro Wrestling Illustrated: The Year In Review”, from April, in 2003.](http://24.media.tumblr.com/1cbcd07a6db0422e573ef1894b9c13d3/tumblr_mmcv33tDsZ1qzx70zo1_500.jpg)
![The Giant vs. Hulk Hogan - WCW Halloween Havoc [October 29th, 1995]
A nice Giant is holding an exhausted Hulk Hogan who has fallen asleep during his WCW World Heavyweight Championship reign.
That night, The Giant walked home with the belt, a new manager, and Lex Luger as a friend, who joined the Dungeon Of Doom only minutes after the title changed hands due to a disqualification caused by Jimmy Hart. “The Mouth Of The South” later revealed that he had a clause put in the contract that the belt could change hands in such a way.
Fortunately for the rest of the WCW roster, The Giant did not hold the Championship for very long.
[Drop ToeHold says: I love this period of Hulk Hogan’s career because it was so weird. Hogan was completely clean-shaven and started wearing the black tights with lightning bolts down the side that became his signature look in the nWo… but he was still the good guy Hogan during this entire time.
Also a good #WrestleFacts here — this was The Giant’s debut match in WCW.]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/5a7f88821cc8f28c3b367e6a6dbb9a79/tumblr_mmcxovOfsH1qzx70zo1_500.jpg)
![The Undertaker & Sara - WWE Unscripted [2003]
“I met Sara when I was doing an autograph session in San Diego. She lived in Orange County, and she brought two kids to an autograph session I was doing in San Diego. These kids were huge wrestling fans, and they had lost both of their parents in a car wreck.
As we were pulling up in the limousine, there was a huge line wrapped around the building. I saw her in line, and I turned to Jim Dotson, our security guy, who was with me, and said, ‘Look in this line. Who doesn’t fit? Who’s sticking out?” He goes, ‘The blonde with the black shirt.” Her hair was blonde, back then.
When she got up through the line with the kids, I kinda struck a conversation with her. One thing led to another, and we ended up going out, and found out that we had all these things in common. We’re both huge boxing fans, and we both love Ultimate Fighting Challenge, and wrestling.
I don’t want to say that Sara’s unladylike, but her interests are very male-oriented. It’s like having a buddy, and a wife. Football, anything physical like that, we sit and watch together; and she’s knowledgeable about all of it; you don’t have to sit there and explain things to her. In fact, we get into arguments about who knows more about boxing: me, or her, and she’ll tell you me that she’s forgotten more about boxing than I’ll ever know. She’s been a real turning point in my life.”
Related: Jim Dotson: The Secret Service of the Federation](http://25.media.tumblr.com/e1fb1ba2d68d914591f062702cd2e8b7/tumblr_mm99flOqnv1qzx70zo1_500.jpg)
![Last night, I wore this Kane mask to Raw and like a half hour in, the security person told me to take it off for the rest of the show or and then asked if the seat I was on was my seat? I was told not to put it back on or I would be moved (Raw is Generico?) Kane was wrestling in the main event also. He may not wear this same mask but still IT’S A WWE SHOW AND IT’S A KANE MASK. (I was probably scaring children anyway because I looked like a psycho but that’s not the point.)
[Drop Toehold says: Weird, weird story. I cannot imagine why the WWE higher ups would care about something like this since every now and then you’ll see a Hogan or Savage cosplayer in the crowd, so I’m assuming that it might have to do with the venue and full-faced masks. Hell, I know a guy that dresses as Gene Simmons (in full armor and 7-inch dragonscale platform boots at RAW shows in California, and he never gets shit for it!]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/bbb7492c726eec992fd8db90a8ce3702/tumblr_mlq2hbUFhl1qzx70zo1_500.jpg)
