Spiros Arion was born Spyridon Manousakis in September 1940 in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, to Greek parents, Stavros and Konstantina.

Charismatic and strong, he made an early mark on European mats, often billed as the son of his mentor, the veteran Greek wrestler Andreas Lambrakis.

[citation needed] In July 1964, Arion arrived on the Australian wrestling scene, nicknamed "The Golden Greek", and quickly became a fan favorite.

He quickly became a star, defeating top opponents including Dr. Bill Miller, Cowboy Rocky Fitzpatrick (Bob Orton Sr.), Gorilla Monsoon, Johnny Valentine, Crazy Luke Graham, Bull Ortega, The Sheik and George Steele.

Arion was enraged after his first singles loss in the U.S.[citation needed] In their title match, he turned heel on Strongbow, soon taking Freddie Blassie as his manager.

Before viciously beating Sammartino's protégé, Larry Zbyszko, at Madison Square Garden, Arion explained the apparent mismatch as an opportunity for the rookie, who he called a "friend".

In 1979 Arion, billed as "The Iron Greek", arrived in Joint Promotions claiming a version of the Mountevans Rules World Heavyweight Championship.

He made televised defences of his championship against such opponents as Colin Joynson, Lee Bronson and Romany Riley[8] before losing it to Wayne Bridges and leaving the country.