70. BAD NEWS ALLEN
Real Name – Allen Coage
Aliases – Bad News Brown
Hometown – Calgary, Canada
Debut – 23rd October 1977
Titles Held – NWA Florida Heavyweight; Stampede Wrestling Heavyweight
Other Accomplishments – 1976 Olympic Judo Bronze Medallist; Pan American Games Bronze Medal; PWI ranked him #187 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the PWI Years in 2003
This one will be a tough one for me to write as I honestly know little to nothing about Allen Coage than what I saw of him in the WWF as Bad News Brown. However, he is a tremendously respected man in the world of pro wrestling thanks to his legitimate tough guy reputation and charisma that he carried with him through his career.
Coage lived in poverty in his early life but had a deep love for the sport of Judo. Indeed, his skills in the sport were such that he won an Olympic Bronze Medal in the 1976 Olympics. When he was unable to start his own Judo school he tried his hand at pro wrestling, trained by none other than the legend himself Antonio Inoki. After breaking in to the business he traveled to Calgary to work for Stu Hart’s Stampede Wrestling. He wrestled there from 1982-88 and during that period had wars with Bret Hart and Dynamite Kid. In fact, it was during this time that he competed in some of wrestling’s first ladder matches.
Coage then came to the WWF to wrestle as Bad News Brown and it was here he celebrated his biggest mainstream notoriety. During this time he feuded with a who’s who of the federation’s biggest stars. He competed not only with Jake Roberts but also took part in title matches with both Randy Savage and Hulk Hogan. In addition to that, he also won the opening battle royal at Wrestlemania IV and fought Roddy Piper in an infamous battle at Wrestlemania VI. Coage went on to leave the WWF in 1990 and faded away from the mainstream wrestling scene. However, during his short period in the big time he had created a legacy that would be remembered for a long time. One of the biggest character traits that differed Coage from all the other heels under the WWF’s employ was that he was a complete loner who had no link or friendship with the other heels. He was a man to himself who stood by himself. Some people even consider him the precursor to the Stone Cold character that allowed Steve Austin to break through the glass ceiling and become a mega star. Coage wasn’t just a talented performer, he was also an innovator of sorts.
Once again, I would like to state that I really didn’t follow Allen Coage’s career very closely and I apologize if any of his long term fans have felt I’ve done an injustice to his legacy. That was the last thing I wanted to do. Allen Coage deserves respect for his achievements in wrestling and he thoroughly deserves his slot in Pulse Wrestling’s top 100. He sadly passed away early in 2007 but I dearly hope his memory will live on, as I’m sure do all his fans who followed him from Stampede onwards.
The entire Top 100 Wrestlers feature can be found here.
