Bert Assirati

Early life

Assirati was born in Holborn, London to British-born parents of Italian descent and raised in Clerkenwell.

Career

Assirati began weight-training at the age of twelve. At the age of seventeen, Assirati formed part of the acrobatic stage duo Mello and Nello. Travelling to every port they could reach, the pair performed a variety of hand-balancing acts. At the age of twenty, Assirati began his career as a professional wrestler, but continued to train as a weight-lifter. At his highest weight, he was one of the strongest men in the world, and could still perform such acrobatic maneuvers as the iron cross and a one-arm hand stand. After winning matches, Assirati would perform a standing back flip.

Assirati was known as a vicious competitor. He is said to have taken pleasure in injuring his opponents, and often refused to play along with the predetermined nature of professional wrestling. Many promoters were reluctant to book him, because of his reputation for double-crossing his opponents, and many wrestlers were said to be afraid to wrestle him. Assirati stated that Lou Thesz was one of the wrestlers afraid to face him. In one version of the story, Assirati challenged Thesz to a match, but Thesz refused.

Assirati won his first major championship while competing in the British Wrestling Association (BWA). He had claimed to be the British Heavyweight Champion but did not win the title officially until 27 January 1945.

Later in his life, Bert worked as doorman at the Ebbisham Halls in Epsom, Surrey, especially on the dance nights when many of the top acts of the sixties were playing there. He used to enjoy showing a party trick of placing a metal drink cap between each of the fingers on both hands and completely crush them all at once.

On 31 August 1990, Assirati died of bladder cancer. In 1996, he became one of the first inductees to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame.

Championships and accomplishments

British Wrestling Association British Heavyweight Championship (1 time) British Wrestling Federation British Heavyweight Championship (1 time) Joint Promotions British Heavyweight Championship (1 time) World Heavyweight Championship(European version) (1 time) Wrestling Observer Newsletter Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)