Talk:Ernie Roth

New York City birthplace tagged as dubious

Some sources list Ernie Roth's birthplace as Canton, Ohio. Staszu13 18:26, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

I made this same point recently at Talk:Canton, Ohio, whose article contains a sizable section on notable people. I didn't check this page beforehand, but glad to see it has been discussed. Canton had an active local wrestling promotion back when Roth started in the business, even if the shows may have been booked by another office, so it would make sense if he started there. I really don't know for sure, though. Is The Repository available via NewsBank? (postscript: I found the archive page on their website, and they do have a NewsBank archive, but it only begins with 1999.) This is what I originally posted in a hidden comment in the article, moved here instead so that it's more likely to be read:

WWE Legends by Brian Solomon states that he was born in Canton, Ohio. Multiple other wrestling books, including Ric Flair's autobiography To Be the Man(I'm pretty sure it was actually Freddie Blassie's autobiography — I read the two at around the same time and tended to frequently confuse the two afterward), mention his origins in Canton. While we're at it, a perhaps-non-RS (nonetheless used as a source in the article) states that he was actually born in 1926. Still work to be done here, apparently. RadioKAOS  – Talk to me, Billy 21:15, 17 April 2013 (UTC)

Based on available records, it appears that Ernie Roth was born Irwin J. Roth in Canton Ohio. His DOB in the SSDI (where his name is misspelled Rothh), is listed as August 30, 1926. He is listed in the 1930 and 1940 census as the son of Edward and Rose Roth of Canton, Ohio. Siblings Phyllis and Armin. Armin Lawrence Roth's obit mentions his deceased brother Irwin (Ernie): http://www.memorialsolutions.com/sitemaker/sites/arnold0/obit.cgi?user=armin-roth — Preceding unsigned comment added by Stembark (talk • contribs) 20:10, 2 September 2013 (UTC)

Additional info: 1930 census: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X4CV-CMR

1940 census: https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KWPC-Q46 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Stembark (talk • contribs) 00:10, 13 February 2016 (UTC)

Requested move

The following discussion is an archived discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the proposal was not moved. --BDD (talk) 06:17, 21 September 2013 (UTC)

Ernie Roth → The Grand Wizard of Wrestling – Per WP:COMMONNAME. Under that name, he is a wrestling legend. It far outweighs his real name. GeicoHen (talk) 20:40, 14 September 2013 (UTC)

• Oppose So that the underlying historical revisionism isn't "running wild, brother": from approximately 1968 to 1975, The Sheik (Ed Farhat) was arguably a far greater drawing card than Bruno Sammartino. Translated, Roth was likely just as well known as Abdullah Farouk than as The Grand Wizard. During his time with the WW(W)F, the promotion was just another regional territory. Granted, there is a substantial difference between running monthly shows at Madison Square Garden with the occasional big show at Shea Stadium, and running weekly shows at the East Bumfuck County Fairgrounds Horse BarnArena with the occasional big show at the East Bumfuck County War Memorial Auditorium (truly "movin' on up like George and Weezy"). However, I see an effort on Wikipedia, perhaps false, to paint the present-day differences between the WWE and every other wrestling promotion as having always been the case. RadioKAOS  – Talk to me, Billy 01:02, 15 September 2013 (UTC)
• Oppose. I don't see that this name is more common than either his real name or "Abdullah Farouk". Even just looking at the "Wizard" gimmick, just "Grand Wizard" appears to be much more common than "Grand Wizard of Wrestling", though obviously it's taken. "Abdullah Farouk" wrestling gets 44 Google Books hits; "Grand Wizard of Wrestling" gets 39, and "Ernie Roth" wrestling gets 67 (though many are Wikipedia ripoffs). These books discuss him under all three names (though just "Grand Wizard"). Judging by other recent RMs, it seems that especially for pre-1980s wrestling figures, we can't assume the name used in a "national" company is necessarily how they're best known in the relevant sources, particularly if it was a comparatively shorter stint.--Cúchullain ^t/c 20:40, 17 September 2013 (UTC)
• Oppose The Grand Wizard (of Wrestling) is probably a bit more common than Farouk, but not overwhelmingly. Real name works as a balance. InedibleHulk (talk) 20:12, 20 September 2013 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Requested move 22 April 2016

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: not moved. Number 57 20:02, 8 May 2016 (UTC)

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Ernie Roth → The Grand Wizard of Wrestling – The consensus that the "real name works as a balance" between two common names is unsupported by policy. We have to choose one per WP:COMMONNAME. The three best candidates are Abdullah Farouk (wrestler), The Grand Wizard of Wrestling and The Grand Wizard (wrestler). I'd say we should discount the latter per WP:NATDAB as the longer title is a more natural disambiguation. The question should be whether he's better known best as Abdullah or Grand Wizard. I believe sources show that he is best known as the Grand Wizard, which is also the name under which he's featured on WWE's Hall of Fame. I also believe, that if it's "too close to call", we should go with The Grand Wizard of Wrestling per WP:NATDAB as Abdullah Farouk is taken. In any case, I don't believe the current title is supported by policy, and we should definitely move him away from his real name. Feedback 19:44, 22 April 2016 (UTC) --Relisted. George Ho (talk) 09:11, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

• Oppose per previous RM. Particularly, Cuchullain's remarks: "Judging by other recent RMs, it seems that especially for pre-1980s wrestling figures, we can't assume the name used in a "national" company is necessarily how they're best known in the relevant sources, particularly if it was a comparatively shorter stint." It appears the overall purpose of this wave of RMs is to make our article titles conform to WWE's marketing strategy, which continues to show indifference to/ignorance of the fact that our content is supposed to be for a general audience, not just obsessive fanboys. Additionally, this matter is far from cut-and-dried, but we're attempting to make it appear cut-and-dried nonetheless, invoking policy as the reason why. Yes, taking WP:COMMONNAME at face value would dissuade us from continuing to use this title. However, WP:IAR counsels us against taking such things at face value, so therefore "common sense" trumps "common name". To start, the article mentions that he enjoyed a public persona under his real name both in and out of wrestling. The 1969–1977 heyday of The Sheik was arguably the hottest thing going in the business at that time, even though his appearances were mostly limited to the Great Lakes and Midwest regions. With Roth serving as the mouthpiece on television for someone whose gimmick included not speaking English, he was obviously in a very high-profile position at the time. In the WW(W)F, Roth was far more just a part of the show than a focal point, even though they also did great business (not hard to do when you promoted in a region where there's another 100,000 people every 20 miles). Most of what I've read indicates that the predominant element of pre-Hulkamania MSG audiences were Puerto Rican people from the Bronx who came down every month to see Pedro Morales, even though his days at the top of the card were long gone. Also, "(wrestler)" is a poor choice of a disambiguator for someone who was around 130–140 pounds and therefore obviously never wrestled professionally. RadioKAOS / Talk to me, Billy / Transmissions 13:36, 30 April 2016 (UTC)
• Oppose. For one thing, "The" should be removed per WP:THE, and for another, "Grand Wizard of Wrestling" is less common than his real name. "Ernie Roth" wrestling returns 377 Google Books hits compared to 59 for "Grand Wizard of Wrestling". That isn't substantially higher than the 39 hits for "Abdullah Farouk" wrestling. Even under the "Wizard" persona he was more known as just the "Grand Wizard", which obviously isn't available due to Grand Wizard. Various real sources include his real name and some include both his gimmicks together,[1][2][3] so I don't think we're at a loss by using Ernie Roth.--Cúchullain ^t/c 18:24, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

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The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

Tribute to Ross

I don't know or care about Roth's bio, but he was always was a big plus to a wrestling show. I remember one occasion when Roth blew his nose on Vince McMahon's tie, as funny as anything I've seen on TV. He would also run into the ring when his wrestler had won, and distract the ref while his wrestler continued to violate the "Human Rights" of the hapless opponent. He was a part of pro-wrestling when pro-wrestling was fun, not hype. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2604:2D80:882A:0:8C1F:6128:CB8D:9036 (talk) 23:50, 27 July 2016 (UTC)