Don Leo Jonathan
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| Don Leo Jonathan | |
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| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | Don Leo Jonathan, The Mormon Giant |
| Billed height | 6 ft 6 in |
| Billed weight | 285-340 lb |
| Born | April 29, 1931 Hurricane, UT |
| Resides | Langley, BC Canada |
| Billed from | Salt Lake City, UT |
| Trained by | Brother Jonathan |
| Debut | 1949 |
| Retired | 1980 |
Don Heaton (more commonly known as Don Leo Jonathan) is a former professional wrestler.
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[edit] Career
Jonathan, nicknamed "The Mormon Giant" and billed from Salt Lake City, Utah, is one of the greatest big men ever to compete in the sport of wrestling, having shown amazing agility for his size (such as performing backflips, standing dropkicks, cartwheels, kip-ups and somersaults over the top rope into a standing position) and capturing championships wherever he wrestled.
A second generation star (his father was former wrestler Brother Jonathan), Jonathan made his pro debut in 1949. Over the course of his career, he competed around the world, making stops in Europe, South Africa, Australia and Japan; his greatest accomplishments, however, would take place in the United States and Canada, where he wrestled most often. His first championship wins occurred in Montreal with the International Wrestling Association, where he twice captured their International Heavyweight title; Montreal would also be the scene of one of his greatest bouts later on, when he faced Andre the Giant in a 1972 match billed as the "Battle of the Giants".
Elsewhere in Canada, Jonathan would find more success competing in Toronto's NWA affiliate Maple Leaf Wrestling (where he first teamed with Gene Kiniski to win the Canadian Open Tag Team title, in 1959) and in Winnipeg, where he wrestled for NWA member Alex Turk Promotions (twice winning their International Tag Team title) and for the American Wrestling Association (where he won the World Tag Team title with Verne Gagne in 1967). Jonathan also got a taste of World heavyweight gold when he won the AWA-affiliated Omaha territory's version of the World title three times in 1961.
Canada would eventually become home to Jonathan in the early 1960s as he settled in the Vancouver suburb of Langley. Making Vancouver his home base, he competed frequently for NWA All Star Wrestling, winning five Pacific Coast Heavyweight titles between 1970 and 1977, the NWA World Tag Team title (with Dominic Denucci) in 1966, and a record 15 Canadian Tag Team titles between 1964 and 1978, as well as challenging for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against such titleholders as Kiniski, Dory Funk Jr. and Jack Brisco; he also engaged in feuds with Kiniski and Dutch Savage in All Star, as well as teaming with them.
- He appeared in the 1978 Sylvester Stallone movie Paradise Alley.
Jonathan retired from the ring in 1980. On November 5, 2005, he appeared at an event in Surrey, British Columbia, presented by Top Ranked Wrestling (prior to its purchase by ECCW) to be honored in a special ceremony for his contributions to the sport. On May 20, 2006, he was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in Amsterdam, New York.
[edit] Significant feuds
- Killer Kowalski
- Yvon Robert
- Buddy Rogers
- Andre the Giant
- Gene Kiniski
- Pat O'Connor
- Dutch Savage
- "Bulldog" Bob Brown
[edit] Championships won
[edit] National Wrestling Alliance
- 1-time NWA World Tag Team Champion (Vancouver version) (with Dominic Denucci)
- 5-time NWA Pacific Coast (Vancouver) Heavyweight Champion
- 15-time NWA Canadian Tag Team Champion (Vancouver version)
- 1-time NWA Canadian Open Tag Team Champion (with Gene Kiniski)
- 2-time NWA Texas Heavyweight Champion
- 2-time NWA Canadian Heavyweight Champion (Calgary version)
- 2-time NWA International Tag Team Champion (Winnipeg version)
[edit] American Wrestling Association
- 1-time AWA World Tag Team Champion (with Verne Gagne)
- 3-time AWA (Omaha) World Heavyweight Champion
[edit] Other titles
- 2-time IWA (Montreal) International Heavyweight Champion
- 2-time IWA (Australia) World Tag Team Champion
- 1-time Grand Prix Wrestling (Montreal) Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time EWU (South Africa) World Super Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time United States Tag Team Champion (Los Angeles version) (with Fred Blassie)
- 1-time CWA World Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time Rocky Mountain Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time West Virginia Heavyweight Champion
