Wrestling Legend General Skandor Akbar Passes Away At 75

Pro wrestling legend Jim Wehba, better known as General Skandor Akbar, has passed away at the age of 75.

The Examiner.com has a great story on Akbar, and here is an excerpt of his background:

Born as Jim Wehba, he began his professional wrestling career in 1963 under his real name. After a 14-year wrestling career that included teaming with Danny Hodge for the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), he retired from active competition and focused on his managerial skills. He began working for Bill Watt's UWF during their 1980s run, the UWF, as well as a very notable run for World Class Championship Wrestling at the Sportatorium in Dallas. As a suggestion from Fritz Von Erich, Wehba changed his name to Skandor Akbar to fit a more Arabic description. His father was from Lebanon and his mother from Syria. Von Erich felt the lineage would fit the name change and he was correct in saying so.

He spent the majority of his managing days at World Class and Mid-South Wrestling. He would heckle the fans during the matches, and would be a massive distraction to the opponents of the person he was cornering that night. He was also known for throwing fireballs in the faces of the opposition. In total, Akbar managed nearly 50 superstars during his career and they include some very recognizable names. Abdullah The Butcher, Cactus Jack, WWE star Goldust,, Steve Austin, Ted DiBiase, and The Punisher (who would later go onto fame as WWE's Undertaker) were among the laundry list of superstars that Akbar managed during his tenure as manager.

You can check out the full story at the Examiner by clicking here. We will have more on this story later today. We here at WrestlingINC.com would like to express our sincere condolences to his family.

Here's a video of Akbar at an IHWE Wrestling on October 4th, 2008, where World Class Championship Wrestling's commentator Bill Mercer was honored with a plaque for lifetime achievement:

Thanks to Phillip Barnard and Tim for contributing to this story.

Source: Examiner.com