Walter Paul Sieber was a Canadian professional wrestler. He is best known for performing under the ring name Waldo Von Erich, playing the character of a villainous Prussian Nazi. He was billed as the brother of Fritz Von Erich, making him a fictitious member of the Von Erich family.
Early life
Sieber was born in Toronto, Ontario. His parents divorced when he was seven. As a youth, he participated in weightlifting at the YMCA in Weston along other future professional wrestlers including Dave McKigney, Geeto Mongol, and Mikel Scicluna. At the age of 16, he began training as a professional wrestling under Red Garner in a garage in Richmond Hill.
Professional wrestling career
Sieber debuted at the age of 17 under the ring name "Waldo Von Sieber". He began his career in Calgary, wrestling for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion using the character of an evil German. In the late-1950s, Hart paired Sieber with Fritz Von Erich, who also portrayed a villainous German. With Sieber changing his ring name to "Waldo Von Erich", the duo billed themselves as brothers and formed a tag team. In 1964, Von Erich headlined Madison Square Garden in three bouts against Bruno Sammartino for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship. The first bout lasted 81 minutes, ending in a draw when the match had to be halted due to an 11 o'clock curfew. The two following bouts were won by Sammartino. In 1968, Sieber unsuccessfully challenged Gene Kiniski for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in a Texas death match promoted by NWA Big Time Wrestling in the HemisFair Arena in San Antonio, Texas. In 1970, Sieber lost to "Sonny", a 750 lb Kodiak bear, in a bout for NWA Tri-State staged in the Monroe Civic Center in Monroe, Louisiana. Sieber briefly retired in 1973, but returned to the ring later that year. He wrestled for the WWWF throughout the mid-1970s, unsuccessfully challenging Bob Backlund for the WWWF Heavyweight Championship in 1976.
For much of his career, Sieber portrayed a Prussian Nazi. As "Waldo Von Sieber", and later as "Waldo Von Erich", Sieber grew his blond hair long, wore a Stahlhelm, armband, and monocle, and carried a crop to the ring. His finishing move, a diving knee drop, was known as the "Blitzkrieg" in reference to the military tactic employed by Germany in World War II. Other finishing moves utilised by Sieber included a hold known as the "Prussian Deathlock" and a body press. While not recognised as an exceptional technical wrestler, Sieber was known for his ability to draw the ire of audiences, leading promoter Vincent J. McMahon to remark "You know, Waldo, I know what you're like, but I hate your guts when you're in that ring."
Personal life
Sieber was the only child of Paul Sieber Sr. and Anna Yost. Sieber married Anne Elizabeth "Betty" Jones in 1959; the couple divorced in 1988. They had three daughters together. Although Sieber was billed as being the brother of Jack Barton Adkisson Sr., the two men were not related. However, Sieber was a distant cousin of Doris Adkisson, Adkisson Sr.'s wife. In 1985, professional wrestler William Vaughan was introduced to Fritz Von Erich's World Class Championship Wrestling promotion under the ring name Lance Von Erich, purportedly the son of Waldo Von Erich; Vaughan and Sieber were not related.
