Lawrence Robert Shreve[4] (born January 11, 1941), better known by the ring name Abdullah the Butcher, is a Canadian retired professional wrestler.

[8] He learned karate and judo as a youth and, teaching fellow children in the backyard, claims to have eventually earned the title of seventh-degree grandmaster.

He initially competed in numerous independent territories in Canada under various monikers such as Pussycat Pickens, Kuroi Jujutsushi (the Black Wizard) and Zelis Amara.

Since his gimmick required him to speak no English (though it was his native tongue), he had a number of managers over the course of his long career, including Gary Hart, Paul Jones, Eddie Creatchman, Black Baron, The Grand Wizard, J. J. Dillon, Damien Kane, Larry Sharpe, Hugo Savinovich, Chicky Starr, Oliver Humperdink, Buddy Colt, George Cannon, Bearcat Wright, Big Bad John, Tony Montana, Gentleman Jim Holiday, and Rock Hunter.

A few years later, he ventured to the Montreal region, where he had three reigns as the IWA International Heavyweight Champion between 1969 and 1972, feuding against Ivan Koloff and Johnny Rougeau.

He later served as one of the premier rule breakers in Calgary's Stampede territory, capturing the NWA Canadian Championship, as well as having six North American Heavyweight Title reigns during the early 1970s.

Abdullah also established himself as one of the premier attractions in Japan, where he competed as part of the round-robin tournament that ultimately crowned Giant Baba as All-Japan's inaugural PWF Heavyweight Champion in February 1973.

He arrived in World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) in 1986, where he defeated The Great Kabuki for the Texas Brass Knuckles Title and waged war against the equally wild Bruiser Brody.

In 1993, Abdullah arrived in ECW, where he participated in a storyline with Kevin Sullivan, Terry Funk and Stan Hansen, and wrestled at Ultra Clash and Bloodfest.

In late 2002, Abdullah made a one-night appearance in Ring of Honor as Homicide's partner, facing the Carnage Crew in a bloody Bunkhouse Brawl at ROH's Night of the Butcher.

It was Right After Wrestling in March 2011, hosted by Arda Ocal and Jimmy Korderas, that Abdullah admitted his favorite wrestler to face was actually Lou Thesz.

On October 20, 2018, it was announced that Abdullah would have his retirement ceremony during the Giant Baba 20th Anniversary Memorial Show on February 19, 2019, at Sumo Hall in Tokyo.

A DVD was also released named The Triumph and Tragedy of World Class Wrestling which included a bloody cage match between Abdullah and his famous rival Bruiser Brody.

In early 2012, Abdullah the Butcher appeared on the Wrestling Marks of Excellence radio show and said he had given away his Hall of Fame ring to his brother, saying that he had been in the business and drew people from all over the world and should have been inducted decades ago.

Shreve previously owned two restaurants (one in Atlanta, Georgia and one in Japan) called Abdullah the Butcher's House of Ribs and Chinese Food.