War Eagle was a skillful catch wrestler and went pro in 1916 at the age of seventeen. He had a lengthy career, winning a World Junior Heavyweight title and becoming a top catch trainer, and in 1957, he wrestled a match with Capitol Wrestling (the pre-cursor to WWE), where he shared the ring with his son, Chief Don Eagle, and fellow Native American Chief Big Heart. War Eagle was one of the first men to introduce the Indian Deathlock into pro wrestling (although it was more popularized by Chief Little Wolf later). Nick Lassa was a multi-sport prodigy that seemed to excel at any sport he put his mind to. In 19, he played in the National Football League with the Oorang Indians, an all-Native American football team run by fellow Native American multi-athlete Jim Thorpe (the team only ran in the NFL during those years).
While football was his only pro sport, Lassa was also a competent athlete in baseball, basketball, lacrosse, and hockey.īut since his college days, he was also an accomplished amateur wrestler, winning a heavyweight championship at Haskell Indians Nation University in Kansas. During half time at the Indians football games, Lassa and other teammates would dress in traditional garb and put on half-time shows that, according to legend, would sometimes see Lassa wrestle a bear. He would routinely earn extra bucks in wrestling matches at sideshows and carnivals like many early days grapplers. When he retired from the NFL in 1923, he worked exclusively as a wrestler and strongman, until he left the area in the 1930s to better his life and get away from his hectic lifestyle. One of the first big Native American stars of the new era of pro wrestling was Navajo wrestler Ventura Tenario, better known as Chief Little Wolf. Little Wolf made his debut in 1932, inspired by a Sioux Indian grappler named Ben Bolt. Now for the first time, these heroes are going to have to come together to stop a threat greater than any one of them could defeat alone.Chief Little Wolf became the first North American to challenge for the first major World title in the United States, that of the National Wrestling Association (not to be confused with the NWA that started in 1948 and continues today), when he was a contender for NWA World Champion Jim Londos and Dan O’Mahoney. As the Earth's Fist and Steel, even Valiant's longest-living hero, the Eternal Warrior, has helped keep the malignant forces of the Deadside at bay. Valiant also has the paranormal investigator Doctor Mirage and the swamp-inhabiting, Shadowman ally Punk Mambo.
However, he's not the only hero that has helped keep the world safe from evil Loas and powerful necromancers. Valiant Entertainment is home to a legion of heroes, but none have the same level of experience fighting demons from the ethereal and terrifying Deadside as Jack Boniface, aka the Shadowman. Fans of Valiant's paranormal heroes will be pleased to know that Screen Rant has an exclusive look at art from the series. The supernatural protectors of the Valiant Universe are teaming up to stop a horrifying threat in the upcoming event Book of Shadows., spinning out of recent events in Shadowman.