Also known as Sean Doyle
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Not the first mad monk but this wild Irishman is the one most commonly identified with the wrestling persona of Rasputin, a familiar figure throughout Europe in the 1970s and 1980s. The unruly hair, long beard and monk’s habit certainly made him look the part. Wrestler Kid Dynamo remembers that hair well, “I fought him in Rhyl in 1987. All I kept on thinking was that his long hair was deceptively soft. Not the biggest guy I ever fought but he was strong.”
Johnny Howard’s father, Jimmy, took the family to live in Manchester, England in the 1950s, though the wrestler did return to live in Carrickmacross. as an adult.
Trained by Dave Finlay Senior in his native Ireland, the two of them were both seen in “The Fit Finlays” documentary Mind you, when we first came across him he was a far cry from an unruly mad monk, wrestling in 1971 as clean cut welterweight Sean Doyle. On that occasion he was facing the veteran welterweight champion Jack Dempsey and went down as the game loser. How times changed. With the clean cut image cast aside Johnny was able to enrage the fans with his dubious tactics and all action style.
John Shelvey remembered Rasputin: “His entrance to the ring which I had witnessed live all those years ago had made a big impression, so much so that I still recall it now some thirty plus years later. The heavy cassock, the hooded cowl, his acolytes similarly dressed, following silently behind, all to the chiming of church bells, set a sombre and mystic atmosphere in the building.”
Fellow wrestler Tony St Clair spoke highly of his friend, “I travelled all over Germany and Ireland and wrestled him a hundred times. He was great fun to be around, always good for a laugh but when you were in trouble you knew Ras would only be one step behind you.”
Although he worked for the top independent promoters as well as Joint Promotions much of Johnny’s career was spent working overseas, around Europe, Africa and the far east.
Johnny Howard died peacefully in Loughbrickland, County Down on 19th August, 2013.
Page added 14/08/2022
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