'Pretty Boy' Doug Somers passes away at 65 years old

[Big Red Machine]

Source: www.F4WOnline.com

By Dave Meltzer | @davemeltzerWON | May 16, 2017 1:12 pm

Douglas Somerson, who wrestled regularly from 1971 to 1992 as "Pretty Boy" Doug Somers, is reported to have passed away earlier today at the age of 65.

Somers was best known for his run as AWA World Tag Team Champion with Buddy Rose, as The Playboy and the Pretty Boy, managed by Sherri Martel, and their feud over the belts with the Midnight Rockers, Shawn Michaels & Marty Jannetty.

Somers, a native of Minneapolis, started his career driving the ring truck, often working with John Sutton, who became Sir Oliver Humperdink. He also refereed before getting into the ring.

He worked a number of territories, mostly as a lower card journeyman type wrestler, traveling all over the world.

He did occasional independent shows as late as 2012.

In 2011, he filed a suit against WWE regarding them using footage of his matches on DVDs and Classics on Demand, notably Rose & Somers vs. Rockers matches which were key parts of the early portion of Michaels' career, and one bloodbath match was considered among the top matches of the 80s. The case was ruled in favor of the WWE.