Rick Link obit

RICK LINK PASSES AWAY

 

He was not on the list.

PWInsider.com is saddened to report the passing of  Rick Link, who had a long career working a number of different areas, including Memphis.  Link was 66 years old.

Link, a North Carolina native, was a fixture of professional wrestling across the United States and abroad, working a number of National Wrestling Alliance territories in the 1970s and 1980s, competing under several ring names, most notably Man Mountain Link, Sir Richard Linkton (where he presented him as British) and M.E.B. (Man Eating Beast).  

Originally training under Johnny Hunter, Link debuted just a day after he turned 16 years old in 1975.  Before that, he was a lifelong fan who oversaw an official Ron Garvin Fan Club.

In Memphis as Man Mountain Link, he challenged Jerry Lawler for the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship and became entangled in Lawler's feud with Andy Kaufman, being managed by Jimmy Hart.  In that time period, he was the first to pin Lawler two weeks in a row in Memphis.  In NWA Central States, he was pushed as The Man Eating Beast (MEB) and captured the territory's TV Championship.  He also had a run with the Central States Tag Team Championship with Jim Star.

In New Zealand, Link was a regular part on their weekly series On The Mat, presented as an undefeated monster.    He made appearances for Georgia Championship Wrestling, Stampede Wrestling in Canada, in Hawaii for Lia Maivia, for Jim Crockett Promotions and lots of international destinations.

Later in his career, he was a regular fixture for the North Carolina independent scene, where he was billed as the World Brass Knuckles Champion and used the nickname The Beastmaster, facing names like Jimmy Valiant, Abdullah the Butcher, Wahoo McDaniel, Ricky Morton, Dirty White Boy and more, performing for promotions such as New Dimension Wrestling and Southern Championship Wrestling.  He later ran the TNT Training Center in NC as well.

He wrestled throughout Canada and the United States for the National Wrestling Alliance during the 1970s and 1980s under a number of ring names, most notably, as M.E.B. (Man Eating Beast) in NWA Central States and as Man Mountain Link in the Continental Wrestling Association where he was among the "monster heels" who challenged AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Jerry "The King" Lawler and was involved in the ongoing feud between Lawler and Andy Kaufman. Other promotions Link competed in included Georgia Championship Wrestling, International Championship Wrestling, the International Wrestling Association, Jim Crockett Promotions, and Stampede Wrestling. He was also part of the NWA's 1983 visit to New Zealand, frequently appearing on the country's long-running wrestling programme On the Mat, and remained undefeated throughout the tour.