Early career (1972–1974) Whistler trained under Bruno Sammartino after cutting his collegiate wrestling career at
Penn State University short. He debuted in 1972 as the
babyface "Larry Zbyszko", with his name a tribute to 1920s
Polish American wrestler
Stanislaus Zbyszko. He initially wrestled in the
Pittsburgh area in 1972, appearing on the local wrestling program
Studio Wrestling, before receiving
bookings in Vancouver with
NWA All-Star Wrestling in 1973. Studio Wrestling shut down in 1974.
World Wide Wrestling Federation (1974–1981) He debuted in the
World Wide Wrestling Federation in 1974 before working in both California and Japan in 1975. Zbyszko was one of the attractions in the 1976 Latin America Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight championship, held in Guatemala City, under José Azzari promotions. Three days after the tournament ended (with Mil Máscaras winning the title, defeating José Azzari in the final), an earthquake destroyed much of Guatemala. Zbyszko returned to the WWWF in 1976 and Zbyszko is once again recognized as the AWA Superstars World Heavyweight Champion as AWA Superstars of Wrestling retroactively refused to recognize the title change. He dropped the title to Ricky Landell on October 11. In 2009,
Full Impact Pro hired Zbyszko as the executive director of the FIP Championship committee. Zbyszko competed at the ROH show on January 29 as a part of Wrestle Reunion 4 where he defeated
Scotty 2 Hotty. In March 2010 Zbyszko started appearing at live events for the
WFX in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Shortly after his debut, he was named the interim commissioner of the promotion, and makes regular appearances. He competed in one match for the promotion thus far, teaming with
Jessie Godderz, to compete against
Bushwacker Luke and
Eugene Dinsmore. Zbyszko defeated
Palmer Canon for the All Out Mayhem Heavyweight Championship on November 20, 2010, in South Portland, Maine. In late March 2011, it was noted that Chris Jericho was very critical of Zbyszko and his announcing capabilities during his tenure in WCW in his latest book. When this was brought to his attention, Larry proceeded to challenge Jericho to say it to his face and questioned his manhood in a popular internet video. Zbyszko stated in another video that the reason for Jericho's disrespect was because he could not use the phrase "The Living Legend" in the WWE because it has been used and trademarked by Zbyszko. On March 17, 2012, In Caribou, Maine Zbyszko defeated Ryan Michaels in a lumberjack match to retain the All Out Mayhem Heavyweight Championship. He would lose the title a month later to
Gino Martino in Gray, Maine. His last match was on April 25, 2015, teaming with CPA which they lost to Beefcake Charlie and Damian Gibbs at Pro Wrestling Syndicate in Rahway, New Jersey. ==Personal life==