YouTubular: Mark “Purple Haze” Lewin

Posted by Leonard Hayhurst on 11.18.2009

‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky


Mark Lewin began wrestling in the late fifties as part of a tag team with Don Curtis. They broke up in 1963 and Lewin spent much of the sixties and seventies wrestling in Australia and New Zealand where he often teamed with King Curtis Iaukea as “Mad” or “Maniac” Mark Lewin. Stateside, Lewin wrestled in various territories before undergoing a career resurgence in Florida Championship Wrestling as The Purple Haze in Kevin Sullivan’s Dark Army. Lewin officially retired from the ring 1998.

Here he is coming out of the ocean to join Sullivan. As implied, he walked on the bottom of the ocean floor from Waikiki Beach. If that were me I would be much more winded and wetter.



Mark Lewin with the Great Mephisto vs. Zane Hickey
Video Length: 1:56
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This is from Georgia Championship Wrestling with Gordon Solie on commentary. Lewin knocks Hickey down and pummels him into an early piledriver for a cover, but Lewin pulls him up. Lewin tears at the face and damn near gives Hickey a flat top head. Lewin stomps Hickey on the mat. Lewin catches Hickey coming off the ropes into a sleeper hold, which he calls the Shanghai Sleeper. Mephisto has to pull Lewin off and then revive Hickey. I forgot that back in the day when you knocked a guy out it was your responsibility for waking him up. Just a sloppy, short squash. DUD.

Mark Lewin with Col. Buck Robley vs. Rick Casey
Video Length: 5:02
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From Texas All-Star Wrestling in a flashback from the previous week. We join in progress as Lewin boots Casey to the floor. Lewin throws him into the first row of seats and then rips out a railing to bash Casey with. He throws Casey into the ring post then throws the board into the ring. Lewin tries to tear the board apart, but then catches Casey coming back in and knocks him to the floor. Lewin finds a wooden spike and hides it. Really, if the referee were going to disqualify Lewin, he would have already done so. Casey gets back in the ring and pounds on Lewin. The Maniac comes back with the shard of wood to the gut then uses it on the ear and eye of Casey. The ref starts to get wise, so Lewin throws the wood away and pitches Casey to the floor. This allows him to pull another foreign object out of his tights. He jabs Casey in the ear with that as he tries to enter the ring. Robley throws Casey into the ring and distracts the referee while Lewin works the cut he made near the ear. Lewin bites and jabs the cut. Casey bails. Lewin follows and hits him with a chair. Casey reenters the ring and finds a second wind, well first wind actually. Lewin cuts him off with the foreign object and works the cut some more. Casey succumbs to the Shanghai Sleeper. Lewin then attacks the ref and throws him out of the ring. He stomps Casey and works the cut. The jobber brigade comes to help, but Lewin beats them all off. This match did a little more than the first one to get Lewin over as being just plain bat-shit crazy. ¼*

Mark Lewin with Col. Buck Robley vs. Henry Garcia
Video Length: 3:55
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This match is pretty much déjà vu all over again. Lewin attacks Garcia before the bell and pitches him into the crowd. He rips up the bleachers again and then sends Garcia into the ring post. He smacks Garcia with a chair and then against the ring apron. Back in the ring, Lewin works some chops, but Garcia comes back and Lewin bails. He enters, rakes the eyes and sends Garcia packing. Lewin follows to the floor and throws Garcia into a steel post and rakes the face. He jaws with some fans before going back inside. Shanghai Sleeper ends it. Lewin attacks the ref after and busts him open. A bunch of jobbers run out for the save and Lewin leaves. He seemed more unhinged in the last match. ¼*

Mark Lewin and Kevin Sullivan with Luna Vachon vs. Fred Lane and Jim Backlund
Video Length: 4:41
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There were a few Sullivan and Lewin squashes on YouTube, so I just picked this one to be representative. Just think Lane and Backlund and you can fool yourself into thinking this might be a decent match. Gordon Solie and Harley Race are on commentary for Florida Championship Wrestling. In a nice line, Race says he “used to know Sullivan back when he was a man.”

Sullivan attacks Backlund at the bell and throws him to the floor. He distracts the referee while Lewin pummels Backlund on the floor. We cut to Backlund back in the ring taking a side suplex. Sullivan throws Backlund into Lewin’s knee and tags him. Lewin gets a body slam and a double stomp. He chokes Backlund out on the ropes. Sullivan in and he snap mares Backlund into his own corner to tag Lane. It’s not like Sullivan cares. Lane tries to go all house of fire, but Sullivan actually shows some grappling knowledge to tie Lane up and work him into his corner to tag Lewin. He throws Lane to the mat and pounds him. Sullivan back in. Lane gets a flying forearm and works some European uppercuts. He makes the mistake of getting too close to Sullivan’s corner and Lewin tags himself in to chop Lane in the back of the head. Tag to Backlund. He works a wristlock. Lewin boots him in the gut to break. We cut to Sullivan back in and Backlund on his back. Tag to Lewin, who works a Camel Clutch. Tag to Sullivan. Backlund does a Marty Jannetty sell off of a clothesline. Sullivan pins for the win. A bit long for what it was and doesn’t do much to get Sullivan and Lewin over any more than they already were. ¼ *

We then cut to a singles match between Sullivan and Backlund with Purple Haze on the outside. Sullivan throws Backlund to the floor and then brushes him with slaps. He throws Backlund into the ring post. Back in the ring, Sullivan gets a body slam and stomps the head. He throws Backlund into the ropes and punches him straight in the throat. Piledriver finishes. DUD.

Mark Lewin vs. Lars Anderson
Video Length: 9:54
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This is marked to be from New Zealand in 1983. Lewin is working face, but both guys draw a lot of heat. Anderson gets the best of a test of strength to start, but Lewin fights back and drives Anderson to the mat. Anderson comes back, but Lewin gets a monkey flip and comes up with an armbar. Anderson breaks with a forearm to the back. He begs off. Anderson gets a couple more shots to the back. Even for these two the pace is slow. Lewin whips Anderson to the corner and charges for a chop. He gets a headlock take down, but Lars quickly breaks. Anderson works the Flair Punches and gets a back elbow off the ropes, but Lewin fires back with a chop. Lewin cradles for two.

Lewin works a headlock. He starts wrenching on it and the fans count along with each wrench. Haven’t seen that before. Anderson crumples and Lewin covers for two. Back to the headlock. This match is boring, but I have to say that Lewin works a headlock like a mofo. Anderson makes the ropes to break and scores some knees to the gut. Anderson gets a back elbow off the ropes, but seems to hurt his arm. Mark Lewin: abs of steel! Lewin backs Anderson into the corner with a butterfly hold and scores a knee lift. Back to the headlock. Anderson shoves out, but takes a shoulderblock. Lewin tosses Lars to the floor. Lewin follows to work a wishbone hold and repeatedly stomp the nuts. There is a chick in an Annie dress in the front row enjoying this way too much. There’s some confusion, but it looks like Lewin gets disqualified. It was really plodding and that finish didn’t fit with the rest of the match. ½ *

Post match, we get an interview with Man Mountain Lynch and Lewin. Lewin wants Ric Flair.

Mark Lewin vs. Ric Flair for the NWA Heavyweight Title
Video Length: 8:33
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This is from New Zealand in March of 1983 and we JIP to about halfway through. It’s best of three falls and Flair won the first. Flair is on the floor and Lewin throws him into the ring post as he tries to get back into the ring. Lewin punches Flair through the ropes. Flair eats more post. Flair blades before reentering the ring. They have a chop fest. Lewin slugs Flair down and works the cut. Lewin gets a sleeper. Flair passes out to give Lewin the second fall.

Lewin slaps Flair awake. Flair immediately hooks the leg and goes after Lewin, but the referee pulls him off. Lewin chops Flair and boots him in the cut. Finally they start the next fall proper. They slug it out and Lewin goes for the sleeper again, but Flair breaks with a ball shot. Flair then headbutts him in the nuts. Flair goes for a back suplex and Lewin kicks him in the groin. Is this best two out of three falls, or best two out of three crotch shots? Lewin punches Flair and he goes to the eyes. Flair tries for something, but Lewin ducks and Flair knocks the ref to the floor. Flair is body slammed and Lewin covers, but there’s no ref to count. Lewin backdrops Flair to the floor. Lewin suplexes Flair in from the apron. The ref slides in and counts three. The crowd goes apeshit. Wow! I don’t remember Mark Lewin ever being world champion. Well, the belt changed hands so many times when Flair was on those foreign tours that…oh, wait a minute, a second referee DQ’s Lewin for throwing Flair over the top rope. Flair tries to attack Lewin with the World Title belt, but Lewin blocks it and steals the gold. I would like to have seen the whole thing, but Flair and Lewin seemed to groove well. Flair could do his usual big man stuff, but Lewin was pretty mobile for his size too. **

Mark Lewin vs. Ox Baker
Video Length: 6:51
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The comments thread says this is from Detroit around 1970. Baker doesn’t have his kick ass evil mustache. Baker offers a handshake, but then pulls his hand away. That’s how you know he’s the heel. They grapple and go to the corner a few times to start. Baker wants a test of strength, but boots Lewin in the gut and works the arm. Lewin breaks with a cradle for two and then goes to a toehold. Baker makes the ropes. He gets a bearhug that Lewin breaks with a bell ringer. Basically the story of the match is that Lewin is way smarter than Baker and can break anything he can think of. This finally makes Baker snap and he chokes Lewin out in the corner.

Lewin fights back and drives Ox to the floor. Baker comes back in and offers a handshake, but Lewin slaps it away and works a headlock. Baker tries to break with a side suplex, but Lewin holds on. Lewin scores a body slam and a double stomp to the gut. Sleeper time. Baker’s toast. Lewin revives him. I think they should bring that back. Give some guy a deadly new sleeper variation and he’s the only one that knows how to revive the guy from it. Vladimir Koslov could have like a Russian Sleeper. Anyway, the match itself was pretty standard for the time and felt like it was cut a bit short. I did like the storyline of the match and that helps to elevate it above something like the dull and plodding Anderson match above. * ¼

Mark Lewin with Gary Hart vs. Dusty Rhodes
Video Length: 9:57
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This is from somewhere in Texas in the late seventies. A nickname for Dusty I’ve never heard before the announcer gives is “living stardust.” Lewin attacks Dusty with Hart’s shoe. Rhodes retaliates with the flip, flop and fly. Rhodes follows Lewin to the floor and they fight over a chair. Back in the ring, Lewin does a lot of stalling and talking to Hart. Lewin knocks Rhodes to the mat near Hart and backs off to distract the referee. Hart rakes the eyes. Lewin works a double Vulcan nerve pinch.

We jump to Lewin dazed and talking to Hart on the apron. Hart slips Lewin his tie. Hart’s whole wardrobe is a weapon. Rhodes steps to the apron and wants the ref to check Lewin, but he doesn’t. Rhodes gets an armbar and Hart tries to interfere, so Rhodes uses this distraction to get Lewin to chase him to the floor so he can brain him with a chair. Rhodes drags Lewin into the ring with the tie and nails a bunch of elbows. Lewin does a header into the corner and is caught in the tree of woe. Hart jumps to the apron and Rhodes brings him in. Lewin saves with a running knee. Hart joins in on the beating and it’s a DQ. Rhodes fights them both off. Rhodes challenges both of them and lands a double noggin knocker. He does the ‘you’re gay, I rule,’ taunt. Lewin follows Rhodes to the floor and is thrown into the ring post. Rhodes takes a seat at ringside and chills. From what I saw, it seemed like the standard well-booked, crowd pleasing Rhodes brawl. **

Mark Lewin vs. Allan Pinfold
Video Length: 6:05
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This is in black and white and I would guess from the early sixties. Pinfold is giving up a lot of size, but he’s scrappy and really goes after Lewin to start. Lewin grabs the arm, but Pinfold backs him to the ropes and yanks the hair. Lewin says enough of this crap and unleashes some wild punches of his own. He gets a body slam. A second body slam and he boots the chest like a thousand times. Shanghai Sleeper. Pinfold is out. In a great bit, Lewin can’t revive Pinfold, so he carries him to the back to get medical attention. DUD. Lewin returns for an interview and puts over his version of the sleeper. He says he wanted to show the people he could wrestle, but the guy wanted to brawl and cheat, so Lewin took him out early. We also find out this is from Lewin’s first tour of Australia.

The 411: Mark Lewin was ECW before ECW existed. He also seems to be the prototypes for the bruising power wrestlers that became in vogue in the eighties. However, at the same time, Lewin shows some actual wrestling skill and good speed for his size. It’s obvious that Lewin knew how to work a crowd and put different matches together depending on his opponent and the time limit. While many of these matches were a bit overwhelming, Lewin truly is a lost, old school star that deserves some due.

Final Score:  6.5   [ Average ]