According to Slam Wrestling and other sources, Johnny Powers, who was a professional wrestler that later became a promoter for the National Wrestling Federation has passed away at age 79.
The reports note Powers passed away on December 30 at his home in Smithville, Ontario, Canada.
Powers, (real name Dennis Arnold Waters) was born in Hamilton, Ontario, on March 20, 1943. Having survived the training in “The Factory,” as Hamilton was known, he then headed off to Detroit, still a teenager, where promoter Jack Britton dubbed him Lord Anthony Lansdowne, his Canadian enunciation apparently close enough to British royalty. At 20, he was a full-time wrestler. He made his pro wrestling debut in 1960, working for the Detroit territory. He also competed in the World Wide Wrestling Federation, where he had challenged Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF World Championship. In addition, he had title matches with Lou Thesz for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship.
As a promoter, Powers and Pedro Martinez took what was then the Buffalo territory and founded the National Wrestling Federation. The promotion ran worldwide, distributing their television show, Championship Wrestling with Johnny Powers, both in the United States and internationally. Powers ended up selling the promotion to New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1973, where the NWF Championship was used as the company’s major championship through 1981.
Powers retired from professional wrestling in 1982 and largely left the business, but returned a year later for a series of matches with the proceeds being donated to charity. He also ran a wrestling school with Sweet Daddy Siki before Ron Hutchinson became a trainer, with Siki and Hutchinson later training wrestlers such as Edge, Gail Kim, and Trish Stratus.
Additional source: F4WOnline
Wrestleview sends its condolences to the family, friends and fans of Johnny Powers.