Tor Kamata

McRonald Kamaka (March 9, 1937 – July 23, 2007) was an American/Canadian professional wrestler known by the ring name Tor Kamata. He won several Heavyweight and Tag Team championships, including one World Tag Team title. He was a classic "bad guy" wrestler. He was reviled for his "dirty tricks" in the ring, which included rubbing foreign substances, such as salt, into his opponent's eyes.

Professional wrestling career
After returning to Hawaii after leaving the United States Air Force, promoter Ed Francis convinced Kamaka to try professional wrestling. He was given the name Tor Kamata in reference to Tomas De Torquemada of the Spanish Inquisition. He also worked as Mr. Moto, holding the American Wrestling Association's AWA World Tag Team Championship with Mitsu Arakawa. One of his signature moves, the "judo chop" became a popular phrase for all types of martial arts strikes in the 1960s, even being mentioned by Snoopy in the comic strip "Peanuts" (14Jan67). A generation later, the phrase was satirised in the Austin Powers films.

In the early 1970s, Kamata worked for Stampede Wrestling in Canada, where he held the Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship three times. In the promotion, he feuded with Dan Kroffat.

In 1976 and 1977, Kamata wrestled in the World Wide Wrestling Federation. Managed by Freddie Blassie, he had two memorable matches with Bob Backlund when Backlund was on the brink of becoming the WWWF Champion. In his first match against Backlund, Kamata threw salt into Backlund's eyes, which set the stage for a televised Texas Death match, aired Saturday May 7, 1977. Again Kamata threw salt in Backlund's eyes, so Backlund merely used the referee's shirt to wipe the "salt" out. Then Backlund delivered an Atomic Knee Drop and won the match. At the time, Superstar Billy Graham had just defeated Bruno Sammartino for the title and Backlund was being built up as the number one contender.

Personal life
Kamata was an amateur wrestler during high school. He also worked as a club bouncer before becoming a professional wrestler. He joined the United States Air Force and trained with amateur wrestlers in Turkey. During the 1970s, he owned a restaurant in Calgary, Alberta. In addition, he also owned a restaurant in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and a shiatsu business.

Kamata died on July 23, 2007 in Saskatoon after almost a decade of battling heart disease.

In wrestling

 * Finishing moves


 * Big Splash
 * Signature moves


 * Judo chop to opponent's throat
 * Kick to opponent's throat
 * Managers
 * Fred Blassie
 * The Great Mephisto

Championships and accomplishments

 * All Japan Pro Wrestling
 * PWF World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)


 * American Wrestling Association
 * AWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mitsu Arakawa


 * Central States Wrestling
 * NWA North America Tag Team Championship (Central States version) (1 time) - with Luke Brown


 * Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
 * NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (4 times) - with Kinji Shibuya (2) and Duke Keomuka (2)


 * NWA Los Angeles
 * NWA "Beat the Champ" Television Championship (3 times)


 * NWA Mid-Pacific Promotions
 * NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
 * NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Hawaii version) (1 time)
 * NWA Pacific International Heavyweight Championship (1 time)


 * NWA New Zealand
 * NWA Australasian Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Baron Von Krupp (1), Ox Baker (1), and General Hiro (1)
 * NWA New Zealand British Empire Heavyweight Championship (1 time)


 * NWA Mid-America
 * NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version) (1 time) - with Tojo Yamamoto


 * Stampede Wrestling
 * NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) (1 time) - with Sugi Sito
 * Stampede North American Heavyweight Championship (3 times)
 * Stampede Wrestling Hall of Fame


 * Western States Alliance
 * WSA Western States Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Woody Farmer and Kalalua
 * World Wrestling Association
 * WWA World Tag Team Championship (3 times) - Mitsu Arakawa


 * Worldwide Wrestling Associates / NWA Hollywood Wrestling
 * NWA World Tag Team Championship (Los Angeles version) (1 time) - with Kamalamala
 * WWA Americas Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Freddie Blassie
 * NWA International Television Tag Team Championship (5 times) - with Hans Hermann (1), Freddie Blassie (2), Bearcat Wright (1) and Kintaro Ohki (1)


 * World Wrestling Council
 * WWC Puerto Rico Heavyweight Championship (1 time)