[3][9] An accomplished swimmer in school, he was selected for the British swimming team for the 1940 Summer Olympics but was unable to compete due to World War II.

[8] Blears managed to escape by leaping into the water and found his way into a lifeboat, where he and four other survivors began attempting to sail to Ceylon until the United States Navy liberty ship SS James O. Wilder retrieved them three days later.

[3] In 1946, he relocated to New York City in the United States, where he shared an apartment on Amsterdam Avenue with fellow wrestlers Stu Hart and Sandor Kovacs.

[5][9][13][14] He was managed by the tuxedo-wearing Captain Leslie Holmes, a friend of Blears' from his schooldays who had also traveled to the United States.

Managed by Holmes, in 1953, they won the NWA World Tag Team Championship (Chicago version) in the Chicago-based Fred Kohler Enterprises.

[5][17] In 1957, Blears wrestled in Australia, unsuccessfully challenging Lou Thesz for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship on several occasions.

Blears had a single reign as NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Champion, defeating King Curtis Iaukea on 25 October 1961.

After the death of Rikidōzan in 1963, Giant Baba – the owner of All Japan Pro Wrestling – asked him to identify foreign wrestlers to perform for AJPW.

Blears arranged for wrestlers such as Davey Boy Smith, Don Leo Jonathan and Dynamite Kid to tour Japan.

[3] From 1973 to 2001, Blears made appearances with AJPW as an on-screen authority figure under the title of chairman of the Pacific Wrestling Federation.