Reginald Lisowski Reginald Lisowski ( July 11 , 1926 - October 22 , 2005 ) was an American professional wrestler , better known by his ring name , The Crusher . Wrestling career . Lisowski was born and raised in the Milwaukee suburb of South Milwaukee . Early on he was more interested in football , playing fullback for the South Milwaukee High School football team , but took up wrestling while stationed in Germany with the U . S . Army . Having developed a liking for the sport , he continued training with Ivan Racy and Buck Tassie at Milwaukee ' s Eagle ' s Club when he returned , eventually wrestling Marcel Buchet in his first recorded match late in 1949 . His early career included wrestling 3 to 4 nights per week at a Chicago armory , typically earning $ 5 a night . To support himself and to stay in shape Lisowski worked various blue collar jobs by day , from meat packing to being a bricklayer . Fred Kohler was the first promoter to put him on TV , and by 1954 he had developed a barrel - chested physique which would stick with him for most of his career . Decades before Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Sandman , Lisowski perfected the gimmick of the beer drinking tough guy . To further his career he bleached his dark hair blonde and started to get over as a strongman heel , famous for his bolo punch as well as a devastating full nelson . This eventually led to him winning the Chicago - area NWA World Tag Team Championship with partner Art Neilson . Lisowski continued to have tag team success throughout the remainder of the 1950s , often paired with his " brother " ( gimmick ) Stan Lisowski . By 1959 he was being billed as " Crusher " Lisowski , which legend has came from a promoter ' s off - hand comment that he " just crushes everybody . " Until January 1965 , Crusher was the most hated heel in the AWA . After meeting the legendary team of Larry Hennig & Harley Race for the first time , the fans adopted Crusher and his " cousin " Dick the Bruiser as full - fledged heroes in AWA territory . His bluster was legendary , as he would threaten to maul opponents in the ring and afterward " have a party , take all the dollies down Wisconsin Avenue and go dancing . " Besides his impressive physique , The Crusher ' s gimmick was to absorb a tremendous amount of punishment and still be able to make a comeback for the win . Over the next 30 years Crusher & Bruiser were tag partners off and on , and a natural combination due to their common background and brawling wrestling style . If Dick the Bruiser and Crusher felt they hadn ' t bloodied their opponents enough during a match , they would trade punches with each other afterwards . They won the AWA World Tag Team Championship 5 times , the WWA Tag Team Titles 6 times , and the NWA International Tag Titles among others . Crusher was successful as a solo wrestler , winning the AWA World Heavyweight Championship three times , the first time unifying it with the Omaha version of the World Heavyweight Championship on July 9 , 1963 in a match where he defeated Verne Gagne . He was skillful at cutting promos , as he would brag about his " 100 megaton biceps " and offer to pummel " da bum " he was facing in the ring with ease , and he often delighted in calling opponents " turkeynecks . " His most quotable and famous phrase though was : " How ' bout ' dat ? " When asked how he trained for a match , he ' d claim he ran along the waterfront in Milwaukee carrying a large beer barrel over either shoulder for strength , and that he ' d dance all night with Polish barmaids to increase his stamina . In 1964 garage rock band The Novas wrote a song dedicated to him called " The Crusher " which included the lyrics " Do the hammer lock , you turkeynecks ! " In 1974 he and Dick the Bruiser starred in the movie " The Wrestler , " where they beat up a posse of mobsters on the big screen . His career in wrestling almost ended in 1981 , when Jerry Blackwell botched a top rope move ( Blackwell weighed 450 pounds ) and landed on his right arm , causing nerve damage from his shoulder all the way to his wrist . Doctors told him he ' d never wrestle again , but Crusher did strength training for two years while he was unofficially " retired , " returning to the ring in 1983 . Seeing that the American Wrestling Association ( AWA ) promotion with which he had the most success over the years was crumbling , particularly when Hulk Hogan and many of the other top talent jumped ship to Vince McMahon ' s World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) , Crusher went to work for McMahon on a part - time basis . Officially Crusher ' s last match was for the WWF in 1988 , but Crusher still found himself involved in wrestling throughout the 1990s . World Championship Wrestling ( WCW ) elected him to their Hall of Fame in 1994 , and in 1998 he made an appearance alongside Maurice Vachon at WWF ' s Over the Edge PPV held in Milwaukee . Jerry ' The King ' Lawler attempted to run down the two as past their prime , and even tried to steal Vachon ' s artificial leg , but instead got whacked over the head and took a punch from Crusher , to the crowd ' s delight . As Lawler bailed , the two men who had once regarded each other as enemies shook hands . Lawler tried a second time to get the best of Crusher , but with a trademark cigar in his mouth , he still got the best of The King and sent him packing . In his later years , multiple surgeries on his hips and knee crippled him , as well as a non - cancerous tumor removed from his brain stem , leaving Crusher partially paralyzed . He died on October 22 , 2005 .