Despite being a grizzled veteran with almost 20 years of in-ring experience, Robertson felt intimidated by the pool of younger talent. On a personal level, however, Dewey was making a catastrophic mistake. In that regard, moving to North Carolina made sense. Baron Von Raschke and Ivan Koloff, Jimmy Superfly Snuka, and Rowdy Roddy Piper. Some of the wrestlers who called Charlotte home during this time included: Blackjack Mulligan Rocky Johnson Greg Valentine The Youngbloods Dusty Rhodes John Studd Ray Stevens Ricky Steamboat Dory Funk Jr. Charlotte was experiencing a boom, while Toronto was barely staying afloat with the help of some of the talents from Charlotte.

However, it was not immediately apparent what a poor decision it was. If one wanted to pinpoint what led to the ultimate decline of Dewey Robertson/The Missing Link, it would be moving to Charlotte. Dewey made a few trips to Charlotte and liked what he saw there-so much so that he uprooted his family and brought them down to live with him, leaving other people in charge of the gym.

This led to a talent exchange that saw many wrestlers travelling back and forth from Toronto to Charlotte and vice versa. So lean that Frank Tunney, head of Maple Leaf Wrestling (NWA Canada), sold off part of the territory to Jim Crockett, head of NWA Mid-Atlantic, based in Charlotte, North Carolina. By 1978, however, Toronto and surrounding territories were experiencing lean times. He drank very little and didn't use drugs, he kept a rigorous workout routine (including owning his gym for a while, which supplemented his income when the territories weren't bringing in as much), and was well respected by his peers. The wrestling gods continued smiling down upon him-for a time.įrom his debut in 1961 until 1978, Dewey Robertson 'kept his nose clean'. He partnered with Whipper Billy Watson to run a small territory in southern Ontario, and between running the smaller territory and wrestling in Toronto, Robertson was living quite comfortably. It wasn't long before Spittles encouraged Dewey to step inside the squared circle to learn some moves, and the bug officially bit Dewey.Īfter a few years of jobbing and getting experience wherever he could around Toronto and beyond, Dewey quit his day job and became a full-time wrestler.

Teased and sometimes ridiculed for his slim, lanky physique, it wasn't until his teens that Dewey became interested in physical fitness and bodybuilding, frequenting a local gym owned by former wrestler Al Spittles. An intelligent kid but a poor student, 'Dewey,' as he came to be nicknamed (for reasons even he couldn't remember) took to sports and physical activity at an early age. The man behind The Missing Link gimmick was born in 1939 by Byron Robertson in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Who was The Missing Link? Where did he come from, and where did he go? But then, just as quickly as he appeared, he vanished from WWF airwaves. With a bizarre, patchy haircut, blue and green face paint, and (seemingly) unable to communicate verbally, The Missing Link was a savage beast of a man who squashed opponents in minutes with a moveset consisting primarily of punches, kicks, and his infamous headbutt, which he was also not afraid to unleash on a variety of inanimate objects. In the pantheon of wild-and brief WWF characters, perhaps nothing can top The Missing Link.

Wwf the missing link