[2] Born in Watts, Alberta, Ruhl was living in nearby Hanna as a cattle grain farmer when he was encouraged to pursue a career in professional wrestling during the mid-1940s.

Murder" Mills for the vacant NWA Canadian Championship in Calgary, Alberta on November 13, 1959 (although other sources claim Ruhl won the title in 1955).

Continuing to tour North America with the National Wrestling Alliance during the next ten years, including the Arizona and Texas territories as the masked wrestler The Hooded Wasp,[2] he would later win the NWA Canadian Heavyweight Championship a record six times defeating Sweet Daddy Siki, The Beast, Stan Stasiak, Danny Lynch and Abdullah the Butcher respectively.

Facing Gene Kiniski in a match for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship in Calgary on July 12, 1967,[3] Ruhl eventually began competing for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling promotion during the late 1960s winning the Stampede North American Championship twice between 1969 and 1970 defeating The Stomper and Abdullah the Butcher respectively.

Touring Japan in 1969 and again in 1972, he briefly held the Stampede International Tag Team Championship with Tiger Joe Tomasso in May 1972 although they lost the titles back to Chin Lee & Sugi Sito later that month.