Larry Cameron

For the resident cat at 10 Downing Street, see Larry (cat).

Larry Cameron
Personal information
Born(1952-11-04)November 4, 1952
Natchez, Mississippi, US
DiedDecember 13, 1993(1993-12-13) (aged 41)
Bremen, Germany
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Larry Cameron
Lethal Larry
Butcher[1]
Billed height1.84 m (6 ft 1⁄2 in)[2]
Billed weight127 kg (280 lb)[2]
Billed fromHarlem, New York
Chicago, Illinois
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Trained byEddie Sharkey
Stu Hart[1]
Debut1986

Larry Cameron (November 4, 1952 – December 13, 1993) was an American professional football player and professional wrestler.

Cameron played football as a linebacker at Alcorn State University before playing professionally in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the BC Lions and Ottawa Rough Riders, with whom he was a Grey Cup champion. He switched to professional wrestling in 1986 and competed for Stampede Wrestling, where he won the Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship, and the Catch Wrestling Association (CWA), where he won the CWA World Tag Team Championship twice with Mad Bull Buster. He died of a heart attack during a match in December 1993.

Football career

Larry Cameron
Profile
PositionLinebacker
Personal information
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight225 lb (102 kg)
Career information
CollegeAlcorn State
NFL draft1974: 12 / Pick 301st round
Career history
1975BC Lions
1975–1977Ottawa Rough Riders
Awards and highlights

Larry Cameron was born on November 4, 1952,[3] the youngest of seven children.[2] He played football as a linebacker at Alcorn State University, earning four letters from 1970 to 1973.[2][3] He was chosen #301 in the 1974 NFL draft by the Denver Broncos.[4] Cameron then played for the BC Lions and Ottawa Rough Riders in the Canadian Football League (CFL), winning the Grey Cup with the latter in 1976. He also briefly played with the Montreal Alouettes.[3][5] After leaving football, he developed an interest in bodybuilding and won the titles of Mr. Minnesota and Mr. Northern Country in 1985.[2][6]

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1986–1989)

After meeting Eddie Sharkey, Cameron trained with Sharkey for a professional wrestling career and began working for his promotion, Pro Wrestling America.[7] He wrestled his first match in 1986 against a wrestler named Johnny Love at a nightclub in Fridley, Minnesota.[2][7] Cameron won his first championship on September 12, 1987, defeating Ricky Rice for the PWA Heavyweight Championship.[8] He successfully defended the title against the likes of Love, Tom Zenk and Tommy Jammer,[7] before losing it back to Rice on July 8, 1989.[8] He also wrestled for Windy City Pro Wrestling, where he was managed by Paul E Dangerously.[2]

Stampede Wrestling (1988–1989)

In December 1988, Cameron made his debut for Stampede Wrestling, defeating Tommy Ferrara.[9] He was involved in a major feud with Davey Boy Smith, whom he believed received preferential treatment for being the son-in-law of Stu Hart.[10] Cameron also feuded with the likes of Chris Benoit, Don Muraco and Owen Hart.[2][7] On April 28, 1989, he defeated Smith to win the Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship.[11] Cameron held onto the title until Stampede closed in December 1989.[11]

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1990, 1992)

He made his debut for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) in March 1990 as part of the "Big Fight Series" tour, teaming with the likes of Scott Hall and Bam Bam Bigelow against the teams of Hiroshi Hase and Kuniaki Kobayashi, Riki Choshu and Shinya Hashimoto, and Kengo Kimura and Osamu Kido. He returned in April 1992 for the "Explosion Tour", this time with Scott Norton and Tony Halme as his tag team partners.[12]

World Championship Wrestling (1990)

Cameron signed a one-year deal with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) on May 16, 1990.[13] On December 3, managed by Teddy Long, Cameron defeated Ray Hammer for a taping of the January 12, 1991 episode of WCW WorldWide, which was his only televised appearance.[14] For the rest of 1990, he served as a part-time member of Doom (consisting of WCW World Tag Team Champions Butch Reed and Ron Simmons),[15] making six additional appearances at house shows, each time teaming with Reed in a loss to Ric Flair and Arn Anderson of The Four Horsemen.[14]

Catch Wrestling Association (1991–1993)

In 1991, Cameron began wrestling exclusively for Otto Wanz's promotion, Catch Wrestling Association (CWA).[16] On July 11, 1992, Cameron and Mad Bull Buster defeated Mile Zrno and Steve Regal to win the vacant CWA World Tag Team Championship.[17] On December 19, they successfully defended the titles against Regal and Derrick Dukes at the Euro Catch Festival.[18] Cameron and Buster lost the titles on July 18, 1993, to Dave Taylor and Zrno, but regained them on October 24.[17]

Death

On December 13, 1993, Cameron suffered a heart attack during a match with Tony St. Clair in Bremen and died backstage at the age of 41.[16] He reportedly suffered from heart problems, at one point being stopped from wrestling at an independent show due to an irregular heartbeat.[16] A benefit show was held on December 27 for Cameron's body to be brought back to the United States.[6] At the time of his death, Cameron had been planning to retire from professional wrestling to open a gym for kids.[6] The CWA World Tag Team Championship was vacated following his death.[17]

Championships and accomplishments

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Larry Cameron". CageMatch. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Introducing: Larry Cameron". The Wrestler. July 1989. pp. 20, 58.
  3. ^ a b c "Larry Cameron profile". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  4. ^ "1974 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  5. ^ Henry, Tom (February 22, 1989). "Lion turns lethal". 100 Mile House Free Press. p. 41.
  6. ^ a b c "Professional wrestler Larry Cameron, 41". Star Tribune. December 18, 1993. p. 4B.
  7. ^ a b c d Feintuch, Howard (January 1991). "Larry Cameron: A Man With A Lethal Mission". Wrestling Eye. Jems, Inc. pp. 66–68.
  8. ^ a b c Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Minnesota: PWA Pro Wrestling America Title [Eddie Sharkey]". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 244. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  9. ^ "Bulldogs win in cage". Calgary Herald. December 8, 1988. p. 44. Steve DiSalvo and Johnny Smith battled to a double count-out while newcomer Larry Cameron topped Tommy Ferrara.
  10. ^ Apter, Bill (June 1989). "Names Makin' News". Inside Wrestling. p. 15.
  11. ^ a b c Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Calgary: Stampede North American Title [Stu Hart]". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 344. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  12. ^ "Larry Cameron >> Matches >> New Japan Pro-Wrestling". CageMatch. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  13. ^ "No Flair as Luger set to win". The Toronto Star. May 17, 1990. p. D5. Lethal Larry Cameron, who held the heavyweight championship belt with the defunct Calgary Stampede Wrestling, signed a one-year deal with the NWA yesterday.
  14. ^ a b "1990 WCW Results". The History of WWE. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  15. ^ Pope, Kristian; Whebbe, Ray (2003). The Encyclopedia of Professional Wrestling: 100 Years of History, Headlines & Hitmakers. Krause Publications. p. 167. ISBN 0873496256.
  16. ^ a b c Meltzer, Dave (December 20, 1993). "December 20, 1993 Wrestling Observer Newsletter". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Campbell, California. p. 1. ISSN 1083-9593.
  17. ^ a b c d Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Europe: CWA Tag Team Title". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 426. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  18. ^ Woodward, Buck; Martinez, Ryan (December 19, 2010). "This day in history: the match that led to the end of Bret Hart's career, British Bulldog in ECW, Edge and Christian tie a record and more". Pro Wrestling Insider. Retrieved January 22, 2026.
  19. ^ Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Ohio: IWA International Wrestling Association Title [Rob Russen, Pete Lucic]". Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 82. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  20. ^ PWI Staff (1997). "Pro Wrestling Illustrated presents: 1997 Wrestling almanac & book of facts". The PWI 500. Kappa Publishing. p. 44.
  21. ^ "Archived copy". www.100megsfree4.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2008. Retrieved January 12, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. ^ Whalen, Ed (host) (December 15, 1995). "Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame: 1948-1990". Showdown at the Corral: A Tribute to Stu Hart. Event occurs at 27:55. Shaw Cable. Calgary 7.
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