Mark Lewin
Later that year, Link left the United States for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling in Calgary, Alberta and accompanied the promotion on its first-ever Caribbean tour in Antigua and Montserrat in the West Indies where he wrestled Bret Hart, "Dr. D" David Schultz, Gama Singh and JR Foley. He also joined the NWA on a major tour of New Zealand in 1983. He was among the many foreign wrestlers to appear on the country's long-running wrestling programme "On the Mat" and whose opponents included Lars Anderson, Mark Lewin, Curt Kummala and Steve Rickard. He initially arrived as a "heel" wrestler, offering $1000 to anyone who could bodyslam him and challenged local wrestlers to handicap matches, but later "turned face" to feud with the Mongols, Zar &amp; Gor. One of his most memorable matches from this period was a 6-man tag team match with Ricky Rickard and Mark Lewin against Butcher Branigan, Jos LeDuc &amp; "Brutal" Bob Miller. While in New Zealand, the 24-year-old Link and then NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair celebrated their birthdays together, Flair's 34th birthday being three days before his, along with Steve Rickard. Link also worked in Tonga, Samoa and Hawaii for Lia Maivia during his New Zealand tour. The King of Tonga, Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, was in attendance during one of his matches. Years later, Link became the first wrestler to appear in New Zealand cartoonist Jason Conlan's "On The Mat" comic strip for "Pro Wrestling Illustrated". He was also interviewed by Kiwi Pro Wrestling, one of New Zealand's three major wrestling companies, which was later posted on their website.