Col. DeBeers Passes Away At 80

Ed Wiskowski, known to wrestling fans as Col. DeBeers, has passed away. The Cauliflower Alley Club announced on Sunday that Wiskowski passed at the age of 80, writing:

“It is with profound sadness that the Cauliflower Alley Club announces the passing of Ed Wiskowski, better known to wrestling fan as Colonel DeBeers, at the age of 80. We extend our sincerest condolences to his family, friends and fans worldwide. Thank you for the memories. R.I.P. Sir.”

No details on the cause of death as of yet.

Wiskowski grew up in Missouri and attended Northwest Missouri State University. He was trained by Harley Race and Lord Littlebrook, beginning his career in 1972 and famously teamed with Playboy Buddy Rose in the Portland area. The two won the Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championships three times and the San Francisco version of the NWA World Tag Team Championships twice. He also held the PWN Tag Team Championships for reigns with Kendo Nagasaki and John Rambo, and as a solo performer he was a former Pacific Northwest Television Champion and two-time Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Champion.

Wiskowski worked under a variety of gimmicks including “Easy” Ed Wiskoski, Dereck Draper, Mega Maharishi Imed, The Polish Prince, and The General, but he is best known for his run as Col. DeBeers in the AWA where he worked from 1985 until the end of the promotion’s run in late 1990. There he feuded with the likes of Scott Hall, Jimmy Snuka and, perhaps most memorably, Sgt. Slaugther against whom he had a Boot Camp match at AWA Superclash III. He was part of the infamous Team Challenge Series match where he and Jake “The Milkman” Milliman battled in the “Great American Turkey Hunt” in which they had to pull an uncooked turkey off a pole to win. Milliman won the match due to a ref bump.

After the AWA shut down, Wiskowski took the Col. DeBeers character to the UWF where he feuded with Iceman Parsons and Paul Orndorff and was part of an angle where he refused to let referee Larry Sampson officiate his matches for racist reasons.

Wiskowski last match was at 2005’s Wrestle Reunion where he, Buddy Rose, and Bob Orton Jr. lost to Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka and Jimmy Valiant. He opened a wrestling school in Portland from 2001 to 2006 and eventually retired to Arizona.

On behalf of 411, our condolences to the family, friends, and fans of Mr. Wiskowski.

It is with profound sadness that the Cauliflower Alley Club announces the passing of Ed Wiskowski, better known to wrestling fan as Colonel DeBeers, at the age of 80. We extend our sincerest condolences to his family, friends and fans worldwide. Thank for the memories. R.I.P. Sir pic.twitter.com/pT150vSIY3

— Cauliflower Alley Club (@CACReunion) January 26, 2025