Pampero Firpo

Juan Kachmanian (April 6, 1930 – January 9, 2020) was an Armenian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Pampero Firpo.

[1] The bushy-haired Firpo packed a powerful punch with his stocky, 5–8, 230-pound frame, engaging in bloody feuds with stars such as The Sheik, Bobo Brazil, Johnny Valentine, Wild Bull Curry, The Crusher and The Mighty Igor, with most of his victories coming from a crushing bear hug or a dreaded claw hold that he called "El Garfio", a trademark death grip that would allegedly render his opponents unconscious.

[2] It was in his homeland of Argentina where Firpo, while staying at a hotel frequented by the ruling Perón family, was introduced to "Chimu", purportedly the shrunken head of a tribal leader from Ecuador.

[2] In 1972, Pampero Firpo captured the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Detroit version) twice after defeating Bobo Brazil on both occasions – on August 12 and October 28, respectively.

He competed with and defeated Manuel Soto, Rene Goulet, Ben Justice, and Chief Jay Strongbow in matchups at Madison Square Garden in New York.

On May 22, 1972, Firpo competed for the WWWF Heavyweight Title against Pedro Morales at Madison Square Garden, but was defeated.

He spent the next 25 years working for the United States Postal Service in San Jose, California,[1] retiring at the age of 78.