Mark Lewin Is A Wrestling God!

[Plexpara]

one of the greatest insane characters in wrestling ever.

[palmettoparrots]

AUGUST 22, 1980 (FRIDAY) – ATLANTA, GA – OMNI AUDITORIUM

(Paul Jones – Promoter / GCW)

> Stan Lane d. Mike Davis

> National Television Title One-Night Tournament: Terry Taylor (Winner)

> Georgia HW Title Match: Steve Keirn (c) d. Dennis Condrey

> Handicap Match: Lars Anderson d. the Assassins

> Kevin Sullivan d. the Great Mephisto

> Abdullah the Butcher d. Mark Lewin

> Mr. Wrestling #2 d. the Masked Superstar

> Loser Leaves/No DQ: Ole & Gene Anderson d. Dusty Rhodes & Andre the Giant

[biggootz]

Loved it when he would start barking. Don't think I ever heard him actually talk during an interview, just bark. Haven't been able to find any video of him barking though.

[pcolalongfellow]

WHen he would start barking and foaming at the mouth was the BEST!!! THe Maniac was AWESOME!!!!

[jerzeefranky3475]

I think the Mephisto is Robert Gibson's dad...I could be wrong...

[yardlet6]

@jerzeefranky3475 He is a cousin of Skandar Akbar. He was also one of the Infernos.

[DavidFullam]

Funny that Sullivan would later take all his mystic stuff from Mephisto and partner with Lewin.

[RSXemperor85]

Is anyone getting an Undertaker vibe from watching Lewin? Their characters seem very similar.

[mrpogo72]

is this really 79 this looks like him doin purple haze,either way t

his is awesome.

[jackbox1971]

Is that THE Zane Hickey?

[vanillacoker1]

True story- Zane Hickey was friends with my late grandfather. He even went with us to a Falcons-Saints game in 1985 or 1986. Good memories.

[moorewjr]

LOL

[GohModley]

Jesus is the God of wrestling and everything else you numbnuts. Get that shit straight now!

[tigerslap]

YOOTS! YOOTS!

[pmoholland]

started out as a face had bloody matches with the original sheik got a loser leave town match lewin vs sheik sheik ended up winning useing fireball in lewins eyes

[ZenPimps]

Mark Lewin was the man!!!

[puck30]

In the Omini? 1:36 LOL!

[puck30]

The Omini????4:06 LOL!

[maceomaceo11]

The fact Mark Lewin was the quentesential scientific wrestling babyface for almost twenty years made "Maniac" Mark Lewin even more effective.

[a8b8c8]

Man, those head stomps were VICIOUS!!! Jeez, he was already knocked out from those! Notice how he cant even get up....

[aberod11]

Mark Lewin is a nut! Awesome wrestler though.

[mtzlplex]

I followed Marks career for years, and some of the matches he had with Abdula the Butcher are classic. Oh, and as Markworth points out, there is no doubt he could rip your head off with ease.

[hcjc57]

I'm giving away my age a little bit, but I remember when Lewin worked as a face v. The Original Sheik and Handsome Johnny Barend in the late 60's. I wuz a wee lil' yungin back then!

[melbz1266]

@hcjc57 it just means your'e a veteran.

[miamiderek1]

Mark lewin, also known as the 'purple haze' under Kevin Sullivan.

[rpq66]

Mark Lewin is a bona-fide Hall of Famer. Whether as the "Maniac" or the "Purple Haze", he was top-notch all the way.

[RSXemperor]

Mark Lewin's character was the inspiration for Batista's Leviathan character in OVW.

[jobrohair]

@RSXemperor also inspired the undertaker character with the rolling of the eyes

[sweetcurmudgeon]

Ehhhhh... when it comes right down to drooling, lip-diddling, wild0eyed nuttiness, Mark Lewin hasn't got a thing on Glenn Dreck.

[simonmoves]

lewin should be in the wwe hall of fame--way ahead before most--he is a wrestling god

[steburton]

you gotta love how the manager woke up Lewin's opponent after the match.

[anthony1468]

Does anybody have the footage where Kevin Sullivan gets hanged by Dusty Rhodes & Mike Graham or where Kevin Sullivan throws ink in Dusty's sister's face?

[jesseroman3]

@anthony1468 I have it!

[maniacmarklewin52]

lewin needs to be in the hall of fame.ill give vince a call to get him in 2010. roots-roots -roots.

[TheSaintOfPain]

Mark Lewin... On of the very few that ever truly "had it" in wrestling. Just tremendous all around.

[atsandman]

Man this guys physique was ahead of his time, great ab control in the begining! like to more of this guy. Anyone know any noteworthy matches?

[Ironbulluk]

Jeez what is he doing with his eyes?

[Markworth]

Never seen this Lewin guy before, but wow. Pretty much spot on nut job routine. Incredible. The fact he looks like he could rip your head off with ease doesn't hurt, either.

[melbz1266]

lewin in the early 70's was one of the top wrestling stars.i bought some dvds and he was awesome inthe matches.he was big in detroit with the sheiks promotion.befrore he started this gimmick and stuck with it for the rest of his career.

[datrux]

never heard of Mark Lewin before this. how come he never went to the WWF? he's big, he's hilarious, did Vince not like him or something?

[princesstamika]

He'd probably already been there. By the time this was shot, he'd already been wrestling about 20 years.

[RayNDeere]

Lewin wrestled for Vince McMahon Sr. back in the 1960s. I remember him from Florida and from Detroit in the late 60s and early 70s

[princesstamika]

@RayNDeere Thanks. I had figured that.

[Ebone29]

Mark lewin...he used to slob during interviews. When I was little I thought he was crazy for real. Kevin Sullivan wanted to be like him.

[jammer6569]

Mark Lewin was AMAZING!!!!!!! YEETS!!!

[bettydaw1970]

2:35 worst piledriver ever

[anthony1468]

ugly piledriver

[juicemakesugar]

it's called a package piledriver dummy

[anthony1468]

you're not talking to me ,are you?

[cmxcat]

Oh, what Memories! I had a huge crush on all three Lewin brothers (Mark, Donn, and Tedd) in the late 50's, but haven't thought of it for so long; Thank you so much for sharing these beautiful videos!:)

[ALFAGOMMA]

I remember Mark Lewin wrestling in Australia in the late 60s and early 70s. He had already perfected his 'sleeper hold' then, and frequently used it against the bad guys.

[OrigLanceR]

Lewin was freakin' awesome

[PaBasser]

Maniac had a great finishing hold. He had some great battles in the Mid South as well. I watched a lot of this in the late 70's and early 80's while living in Louisiana.

[ninjapimp69]

I never liked Solie much.

[thegreatpampero]

Mark Lewin was THE MANIAC!

[bugmann44]

Kevin Sullivan, Mark Lewin aka the purple haze, bob roop and Luna Vachon, and woman

[cnhatton]

I think that's Frankie Cain, the Great Mephisto

[ironfistandpowerman]

Mark Lewin wow i know wrestlers but for the life of me i do not remember him time to study up hmm he may have slipped my mind i was awfully young when i started watching wrestling

[mamacornettesmoney]

When did you start watching? He wrestled from the late 50s through mid to late 80s that I know of. He spent a lot of time in Australia, New Zealand, Detroit and Hawaii. He was a top, classic style babyface as well as a maniacal, insane heel.

You may recall the Purple Haze who was one of Kevin Sullivan's weirdos in Florida and one of Gary Hart's men in WCCW (83-87 time frame). This is the same guy.

[REHJR2008]

cool. he was the purple haze also.

[Obelisk2290]

was tht Ed Farhat?

[mamacornettesmoney]

That's Frankie Cain (Great Mephisto). He is Scandor Ackbar's cousin and is the one who got him into the business. He was a wrestler, then a manager. He wrestled under a mask for years as one orf JC Dykes' legendary Infernos.

[Obelisk2290]

thanks for the info Lewin is so underrated

[sdh666]

Never has an abbreviation been more approprite: OMFG!

[pdm5150vh1]

austin idol foaming at the mouth was a great show

[saanzacs]

What the hell was Lewin doing?!?

[Fit4Life1967]

Just playing up his "Maniac" gimmick by acting like a total loon! He was great.

[jadams413]

Does anyone have the footage when Lewin slapped the sleeper on Austin Idol and Idol started foaming at the mouth. That was so awesome.

[willnchicago]

GCW was awesome. I watched this even before we got cable. A little adjustment to the knobs on the tv and tune the radio to get the audio signal. It was worth the wrath of the FCC to get to watch GCW though.

[Redzombie13]

PURPLE FUCKIN' HAZE!!!

[AllstarComedy]

The holy man Mark Lewin---The purple Haze staight from the sewers of singapore! I am Abugadien-----I gave kevin sullivan the bones in 1983 !

[Redzombie13]

that looks like the old omni arena in downtown atlanta!!!

[mcfrs]

Yes, it is the Omni.

[krushvelvet67]

Check out Gordan during the promo...LOL!!!!

[choshu7]

Obvious the Purple Haze spent time in the gym when the wrestlers in that day didn't indulge. Niice post! PEACE.

[MeAndMyRC]

Lewin was great! Loved him as 'The Purple Haze'

[mcfrs]

August 1980, Lewin and Abdullah the Butcher had a feud. Didn't last very long. They had a couple of gimmick matches.

[acidflower2]

I somehow missed the Maniac Mark Lewin/Abby feud. I do remember a feud between them in Georgia with Lewin as face & Gary Hart as Abby's manager. That must've been a few years before this...

[mcfrs]

It was the summer of 1976. Mark came to Georgia as a face,in the spring of '76. He feuded with the Spoiler in the spring, managed by Gary Hart. Mark feuded with Abby in the summer, from July to August. Their feud ended in a cage match in Atlanta, with Abby winning. Rock Hunter was his manager.

[samsdaddy0525]

I loved his gimmick. He put fear in my heart as a young wrestling fan.

[ScrapNfight]

damn, he was unbelievable. Didn't think the "crazy" routine was the best way to go for him, but he is a wrestling icon. I grew up watchin and gettin' off on this guy.

[3482diva]

What a great title. I'm Mark Lewin's daughter and I think its so cool that he still has fans.

[bonscott55]

great mephisto that's funny, mark lewin was a great crazy man.

[sking55]

What a GREAT post!!!- Thanks,Timq