Beloved Pro Wrestler Johnny Powers Dead at 79

Johnny Powers, a professional wrestler who was also a promoter for the National Wrestling Federation (NWF), has died. He was 79 years old. According to Slam Wrestling, Powers died peacefully on Dec. 30 at his home in Smithville, Ontario, Canada. The cause of death was not announced. 

Powers (real name Dennis Waters) began training to be a professional wrestler at the age of 15 and had his first match at 17. He was attending McMaster University at the time but dropped out at the age of 20 and battled the likes of Bruno Sammartino, Lou Thez and Antonio Inoki during the 1960s and 1970s. 

Johnny Powers — one of wrestling's biggest stars in the late 1960s and 1970s — has died. He was also a promoter and a major figure in Japan. Here is the @SlamWrestling obituary: https://t.co/isLub82KZm pic.twitter.com/hCD1WDLmYm

— Greg Oliver (@gregmep) January 8, 2023

In 1970, Powers and Pedro Martínez co-founded the National Wrestling Federation (NWF) which was based in Buffalo, New York. While was a promoter with the company, Powers had a lot of success in the ring, winning the NWF Heavyweight Championship twice, the NWF World Tag Team Championship twice and the NWF North American Heavyweight Championship 12 times. 

“By the time I was 22, I was bored with the wrestling side, so I was interested in the marketing aspects, the promoting aspects,” he said in a past interview with Slam Wrestling. “We took it actually from a standstill that was a quasi-dormant territory, and when we finished, it was really moving. That organization had everybody from [Johnny] Valentine to The Sheik to [Bobo] Brazil. There was a lot of quality talent at that time.”  

Powers sold NWF to New Japan Pro Wrestling in 1973. He retired from wrestling in 1982 and ultimately left the business altogether. At one time, Powers ran a pro wrestling school with Sweet Daddy Siki before Ron Hutchinson became a trainer.  “Johnny Powers, when he came in — I’ll tell you the truth — he’d show up once a month and get in the ring with some of the guys for 10, 15 minutes, and that’s about it, and takes off. I’m there every day,” Siki said in a previous interview.  

Powers was inducted into the Canadian Professional Hall of Fame in 2003.  Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer tweeted: “Sorry to hear about the death of Johnny Powers, a monumental figure in Japanese wrestling history, part of an attempt to do an early national promotion and the top star in Cleveland/Buffalo NWF in the early 70s.”

“I heard my Grandpa talk for hours about how much he loved Johnny Powers,” one fan wrote. “Rest in peace to a Cleveland wrestling icon.”