Frankie Cain obit

Frankie Cain a.k.a. The Great Mephisto dies

 

He was not on the list.

When it comes to individuals regarded as having great minds for the wrestling business, the man known as Frankie Cain usually pops up among them.

Cain, real name Jimmy Ault, has died, with historian and author Scott Teal sharing the news on Monday.

It’s a day we all knew was coming, but in some ways, we never thought it actually would. Frankie Cain passed away this morning at 5:22 a.m.

Frankie was a top talent in the professional wrestling business, and he put hundreds of thousands of dollars into the coffers of wrestling promoters. He wrestled under many names, including Schoolboy Martin (as a boxer), Jimmy Martin, Frankie Cain, The Infernos, Mr. Smith, and finally, the Great Mephisto (both wearing a mask and without).

Ask anyone who plied their trade in the squared circle during the ’50s and ’60s who they consider to be the top minds in the wrestling business, invariably the name Frankie Cain will appear at the top of the list.

I will be writing and posting a full obituary on Frankie later this morning, and I will post the link when it’s online.

With more than 57 years of being involved in the pro wrestling business, and having met hundreds of wrestlers from around the world, I count none of them as dear or as important to me as my friend Frankie Cain. We talked regularly, and the thing I will miss the most is how he ended every conversation … “I love you, pal!”

God bless you, Frankie. Thank you for your friendship.

Cain was believed to be 93 years old, although there were questions regarding his own knowledge of his age in his books.

He was on the streets at a young age in Columbus, Ohio, and fell into the carnival-like world of professional wrestling after attending his first show in 1938.

It’s another link to an era that is almost completely detached, as Cain had firsthand connections with Ed “Strangler” Lewis, John Pesek, Lou Thesz, Buddy Rogers, and Al Haft.

At a young age, he helped start the Toehold Club, where impoverished youth would gather and practice wrestling holds, and it was an entrée into the industry where he would spend most of his life. He also began hanging around the office of Columbus promoter Al Haft and fell into his circle.

Cain’s career is remembered for two specific versions: as a member of the masked Infernos, and later, as the Great Mephisto.

The Infernos consisted of Cain and partner Rocky Smith, with future names involved after Cain left the group. Cain and Smith started teaming around 1965 in Tennessee and were joined by manager J.C. Dykes. Cain was known for having a loaded boot for the easy heat, and the two had great success as the characters. They won tag titles in multiple regions of the country in Florida, Amarillo (where they beat Terry & Dory Funk Jr for the belts), Mid-Atlantic, and Georgia. They feuded with Lee & Bobby Fields, who wore masks as a fake version of the Infernos in 1968.

Cain left the team one year later and Rocky Smith’s brother, Curtis, replaced him. Multiple wrestlers were part of the Infernos, including Karl Von Brauner and Mike McManus, along with knockoffs, including The Blue Infernos in Memphis, The Super Infernos in Georgia, and The Infernos in Smoky Mountain Wrestling.

While an incomplete record, Cagematch lists Cain’s first match under the name as “Mephisto” on March 13, 1969, in Chattanooga, and appears to add “The Great” in 1970, and the name most synonymous with Cain. As Mephisto, he formed a short-lived team with Canadian wrestler Bobby Hart as Mephisto & Dante (which were names previously used by Louie Papineau & Red Steiner in Tennessee) with manager Saul Weingeroff.

On November 18, 1969, he wrestled as El Diablo and challenged Dory Funk Jr. for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in Macon, Georgia.

As the Great Mephisto, he transformed into a Middle Eastern heel, drawing comparisons to The Sheik (Ed Farhat) and wrestling without a mask. He had success in several territories, with Championship Wrestling from Florida among them.

Cain was paired with his wife as his valet, Shelina, and feuded with Boris Malenko and Ron Fuller in 1972. In May 1972, he lost a “Loser Leaves Town for 90 Days” match to Fuller, allowing Cain to go to California and wrestle for Roy Shire.

Cain had a big program with Pat Patterson, beating the area star for the San Francisco version of the United States title on February 17, 1973, and working programs with Ray Stevens, Rocky Johnson, and Pepper Gomez. He lost the title back to Patterson on April 28 in a “No Disqualification, No Blood Stoppage” match at the Cow Palace.

Legend has it that Cain came to blows with Shire and got the best of the promoter, which sealed his fate with the territory and didn’t return.

He returned to Florida in the summer and won its version of the heavyweight title from Tim Woods and dropped it to Paul Jones.

In 1975, he toured Australia and then got involved with booking in Mississippi for George Culkin. Culkin had broken away from Leroy McGuirk and formed International Championship Wrestling in 1977 with Cain as the booker. It was a pivotal period for Cain, who gave many future stars their first major breaks.

Cain first spotted a sixteen-year-old Terry Gordy wrestling in Memphis and brought him into the territory, paired him with another young upstart named Michael Seitz a.k.a. Michael Hayes, and started the Freebirds.

He had taken care of both of us before he put us together. So you could say, no Frankie Cain…no Terry Gordy… no Michael Hayes…no Freebirds. – Michael Hayes (SLAM Wrestling)

Cain is also credited with coming up with the Percy Pringle III persona for Bill Moody, assigning Rip Rogers his name, and being able to see money and talent in different wrestlers and create something from scratch.

Cain toured All Japan Pro Wrestling for the Real World Tag League in 1980 with The Sheik, finishing with zero points. His final years saw him enjoy runs in Texas, Florida, Knoxville, and Georgia.

In past years, he put out a pair of books with Scott Teal of Crowbar Press with an interview-style format rather than narrative.