We Lose Robert Bruce — Giant Scottish Wrestler

Sad news last week at the unexpected passing of legendary Scottish grappler Robert Bruce. He was a New Zealand icon in wrestling, and also the film industry. The following is a story I wrote on Robert back in the 1970’s when wrestling was big-time in New Zealand.

Robert Bruce

Giant Scot Settles In New Zealand

Robert Bruce, the giant star from Musselbrough in Scotland, has decided to settle permanently in New Zealand. The 6foot 2inch, 300lbs star has been around our rings for a few seasons now, between far off travels to South Africa, Japan, Singapore, Australia, Hong Kong and the Fiji Islands.

Ex-coal miner and club bouncer, heavyweight Robert, who has no superstitions and no mascot, trains two or three hours a day and keeps up his judo and boxing. He played rugby for nine years around Britain and Scotland, and is a conoisseur of art and antiques. Amongst his hobbies are music and, appropriately for one who speaks French, the art of cooking.

He won many trophies at the Highland Games while still in his teens, and came to London because he thought it would further his wrestling career.

In the U.K. Robert had met every top British and European heavyweight including Billy Robinson, Geoff Portz, Ian Campbell, Wild Angus, “Judo” Al Hayes, Albert Wall, Gwynn Davies, Horst Hoffman, Josef Kovacs and Gideon Gida.

He has high praise for Billy Robinson, now in the United States, Albert Wall, former British Champion, and Tibor Szakacs, who is the only man to have won the Royal Albert Hall annual International tournament five times.

Since coming to New Zealand, Robert has met the best we have to offer, and has had many victories. He won the Commonwealth Crown from John DaSilva and successfully defended it on many occasions.

Wrestling for American promoter James Barnett in Australia, he has locked horns with Spiros Arion, Mark Lewin, Bulldog Brower, Tiger Jeet Singh, Mario Milano, Thunderbolt Patterson, Sweet Daddy Siki, King Curtis and all the other big names that flock to the Australian circuit.

Robert has teamed with Bulldog Brower on many occasions, also Waldo Von Eric, and has appeared with Abdullah the Butcher and Big Bad John, in six man tag matches.

He wrestles hard and has a tendency to “bend” the rules somewhat, especially when teamed up with some of America’s toughest and roughest matmen.

Before he left England he played the role of a “heavy” in Stanley Kubrick’s controversial film “A Clockwork Orange”. For the purpose of the film he was required to appear clean shaven.

Robert is a First Dan Black belt judoka, and had his own club Tora Kawa (River of Tigers) He competed as a shot putter and javelin thrower at athletic meetings throughout Scotland.

A few years ago Robert journeyed to South Africa where he defeated the best they had to offer. His matches with Percy Hall produced a standard of wrestling seldom seen today. In South Africa he also met up with New Zealand wrestler Abe Jacobs, and they had some good matches.

Robert started off as a scientific grappler, schooled in the tough British style, as were Billy Robinson, Billy Joyce and Karl Gotch. However in recent years and with the American “bad men” coming here, Roberts style has changed somewhat, and he is now known to “stretch” the rules somewhat. But when the need arises he can rise to the occasion and produce brilliant wrestling moves, which can easily outdo the average grappler.

His Scottish “caber” hold is a hold he devised himself from his younger days as a young caber-thrower in the Edinburgh Games Festival. This hold has rendered unconscious many leading mat-men and in fact is the most feared hold in wrestling at the present time. The giant Scot will only use this hold if all others fail and he finds he can usually win his contests without having to use this highly dangerous maneuver. There has been a move amongst the overseas wrestlers here to have the “caber hold” banned, but so far without success.

Robert has recently had offers to wrestle in South Africa, Beruit, and Nigeria, but with T.V. commitments here in New Zealand, and the current wrestling boom here it is highly unlikely he will leave these shores in the near future.

The standard of grappling here at present is very high, and Scot Robert Bruce must take a share of the credit for helping to put wrestling on such a high standing.

Robert is currently teaming with the colored star Brutus Mullumba and they are creating havoc up and down the country. They will go down on record as one of the most brutal tag combinations in New Zealand wrestling history.

The big, handsome Scot is currently a great asset to the New Zealand grappling scene.