Tank Morgan

**Paul William McManus** (April 18, 1933 – August 15, 1991), better known by his ring name **Tank Morgan**, was an American professional wrestler.

## Professional wrestling career

He began competing as early as 1959, competing under the name Paul McManus. He would then work for various NWA territories, Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW), and Big Time Wrestling in Edmonton, primarily as a jobber under the name Frank Morgan. In November 1965, he entered the American Wrestling Association (AWA) as Bob Morgan, continuing to put over other stars until departuring from the company in July 1966.

As Tank Morgan, McManus would enter the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in October 1966. During this tenure, he would face many big names including Arnold Skaaland, Gino Brito, Bobo Brazil (in a bid for the United States Heavyweight Title), and United States Tag Team Champions Antonio Pugliese and Spiros Arion. He would also form dastardly alliances with the likes of fellow heels Smasher Sloan, Gorilla Monsoon, Baron Mikel Scicluna, and Crazy Luke Graham.

On December 12, 1966, Morgan added a highlight to his career as he faced Bruno Sammartino in a two-out-of-three-falls bout for the WWWF Championship inside Madison Square Garden. Tank scored one fall, while Sammartino scored two, thus he would retain the title. He continued to challenge in rematches for the championship, as well as the United States Tag Titles, before leaving the company by July 1967.

He would then tour for the NWA and kept up in their Hawaii territory, where he participated in a series of matchups involving Jim Hady. This was followed by Morgan going through other promotions including Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP), Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), Championship Wrestling From Florida (CWFF), Houston Wrestling, and the International Wrestling Enterprise (IWE) in Japan, where he challenged for the TWWA World Tag Team Championship with different partners.

While competing for NWA Western States in May 1969, he adopted the identity of the masked Super Inferno. Inferno competed in matches against members of the Funk family, including Dory Funk Sr., Dory Funk Jr., and Terry Funk, in two-out-of-three-falls and title matches. This run also included a partnership with Alvaro Velasco, who competed as Inferno X. On October 6, 1969, Super Inferno was unmasked by Gory Guerrero and El Santo.

On November 12, 1973, Tank Morgan won his first and only championship, the NWA Tri-State North American Heavyweight Championship, by defeating Dewey Robertson in the finals of a tournament. Throughout his reign, Morgan traded victories with Dr. X, and faced the likes of Danny Hodge, Dan Kroffat, Dale Lewis, Ken Mantell, and Rip Tyler. On February 11, 1974, Morgan lost the title to Rip Tyler, and he was unsuccessful in recapturing the title in various rematches. His last documented match took place on February 28, where he competed in a 7-man battle royal and retired thereafter.

## Death

On August 15, 1991, McManus was walking his dog in front of the Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada, while heading to an athletic club to work out. However, a car pulled up beside him and shot McManus in the head in front of the school. His body was found by a police officer, and was taken to the University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at the age of 58. He was believed to have been a victim of mistaken identity. McManus was buried where his cats Scooty and Tonto had been laid to rest; he was said to have regularly visited the cemetery, usually travelling four hours on bicycle from the east side of the valley, often during the scorching heat of summer.