The Cream of the Crop #10 — The Von Steigers: The Brothers Everyone Loved to Hate!

<p><strong>They were arrogant. They were vicious. They were German.</strong></p><p>Except they weren&#39;t German. And they weren&#39;t even brothers!</p><p>Kurt Von Steiger was Arnold Pastrick. Karl Von Steiger was Loren Corlett. Two wrestlers from Winnipeg who became one of the most hated tag teams in Pacific Northwest wrestling history.</p><p>But in professional wrestling, the question was never whether the story was true.</p><p><strong>The question was whether the fans believed it.</strong></p><p>And Portland wrestling fans believed every word!</p><p>Welcome to Episode 10 of <strong>The Cream of the Crop: The Main Eventers, Money Draws, and Territory Legends</strong>, hosted by Frank Culbertson.</p><p>This week, we travel back to 1968, when two men who weren&#39;t German and weren&#39;t related helped establish the identity of a brand-new wrestling arena—and gave Portland fans somebody they absolutely loved to hate!</p><p>October 12, 1968.</p><p>Don Owen&#39;s promotion finally had a permanent home. The Portland Sports Arena opened its doors for the first time, and Lonnie Mayne and Beauregard defended the Northwest Tag Team Championship against the Von Steigers.</p><p><strong>By the end of the night, Kurt and Karl were champions.</strong></p><p>And then they threw Lonnie Mayne from the Crow&#39;s Nest interview area!</p><p>New building. New champions. A major star injured.</p><p><strong>Portland Wrestling had found its villains.</strong></p><p>Over the next several years, the Von Steigers would capture the Northwest Tag Team Championship an astonishing <strong>seven times</strong>.</p><p>They battled some of the biggest names in the territory, including Lonnie Mayne, Tony Borne, Luther Lindsay, Shag Thomas, Billy White Wolf, Johnny War Eagle, Frankie Laine, and Bobby Nichols.</p><p>And the fans couldn&#39;t wait to see somebody finally beat them!</p><p>In March 1969, Billy White Wolf gave those fans something special: two chain matches in one night, defeating Kurt and Karl individually.</p><p>But the Von Steigers were far more than a successful tag team.</p><p><strong>Kurt Von Steiger</strong> became a two-time Northwest Heavyweight Champion and later helped train wrestlers, including Afa of the Wild Samoans, contributing to a wrestling family whose influence continues today.</p><p><strong>Karl Von Steiger</strong> built his own championship career, winning titles in Amarillo and Hawaii. In 1979, he captured the Hawaiian State Championship after defeat