Also known as The Iron Duke
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The Iron Duke
The Iron Duke was a name familiar to wrestling enthusiasts in the 1930s, being the persona of Londoner William Welsh. To our mind there was no need to revive the name around 1980 and bestow it upon Peter Stewart. The name Pete Stewart good enough for us because Pete Stewart was a good wrestler in his own right.
Born in 1946 he grew tall and slim, that’s over six feet tall. Teenager Peter Stewart started wrestling professionally around 1964, but it was a couple of years later that we first came across him at our local hall. In those days he was often in tag matches accompanied by his father, Vic Stewart, but in the world of magic and mirrors that is professional wrestling they were billed at the Stewart brothers. We saw no signs of the arrogance that was reported in The Wrestler magazine, more of a youngster heading for greater success. Like many Peter started out as a middleweight, but regular training and maturity saw him growth in strength and stature until a fully blown heavyweight challenging Tony St Clair for the British heavyweight title.
Television exposure came early in his career, wrestling Joe Keegan on a Wryton Promotion programme from Wolverhampton. The majority of Peter’s early matches, and most likely all his career, were working for Wryton Promotions, though he did at one time or another work for all members of Joint Promotions. Between March 1965 and October 1981 Pete made forty appearances on ITV wrestling, a period in which he grew in maturity and stature with opponents that matched that growth, Kendo Nagasaki, Tibor Szakacs, Mike Marino and Masambula.
By the mid sixties the Stewarts were tangling regularly with the likes of the Royal brothers, the Cadmans and the Black Diamonds. And then in 1965 one of the Sunday newspapers revealed they weren’t brothers at all, but father and son. Shock and horror! Did we care? Not a bit. Not that Stewart was their name either, Peter Stewart was born Peter Ernest Lawler, and adopted his father’s ring name. Possbly more damaging was the newspaper reporting that they followed a match between the Stewarts and the Black Diamonds around the country and saw identical bouts on three occasions.
By 1969 when father Vic retired from the ring Peter was well and truly ready to fly the nest. By then he was demonstrating that he could hold his own, though not necessarily beat, the likes of Billy Joyce and Mike Marino. On five occasions Pete wrestled at the most prestigious hall in the country, the Royal Albert Hall, where Dale Martin were the promoters. In September 1971 he made his Royal Albert Hall debut against Iron Man Steve Logan. A more than creditable draw must have been well received by the fans. In December of the same year he returned to make his winning debut, this time the opponent the heavier Lee Sharron. Further matches came in April, 1972, October 1980 and April 1981. Results on those occasions were a draw with Bobby Barnes, partnering Jack Rowlands to lose to Haystacks and Mal Kirk, and a No Contest against Ray Steele.
During his twenty year career Pete worked with the very best in the business and gave enjoyment to thousands of fans. Maybe not a top of the bill star in his own right into the 1980s Peter Stewart remained a good value for money heavyweight.
With his wrestling days coming close to the end Peter and his wife took over as licensees of the Tandle Hill Tavern on Thornham Lane, Thornham, a suburb of Greater Manchester.
Page added 10/02/2026
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