Joe Lightfoot

Ventura began his professional wrestler career in the mid-1970s, wrestling in Calgary, Alberta and Regina, Saskatchewan primarily for Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling. His older brother Tito Senza was also a wrestler.[3] Having competed against wrestlers such as Keith Hart he made his way to Maple Leaf Wrestling in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, teaming with Steve Bolus on MLW television in a losing effort against Baron von Raschke and Greg Valentine on December 16, 1978.[4] Throughout the remainder of the 1970s, Ventura competed for All-Star Wrestling and Stampede,[4] feuding with wrestlers including Terry Sawyer, Dynamite Kid, Cuban Assassin and Roddy Piper.[4] On March 1, 1977 he defeated Chin Lee to win his first title - the Grand Prix Wrestling Junior Heavyweight Championship.[5] In April 1979, he won the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship, teaming with Bobby Bass to defeat Igor Volkoff and The Mongol.[6]

On October 24, 1980 Ventura made his debut in the United States, wrestling for Pacific Northwest Wrestling in Eugene, Oregon under the ring name "Joe Lightfoot".[7] Now portraying an Indian, Lightfoot became a mainstay in PNW, competing against Igor Volkoff, Buddy Rose and The Destroyer. He also became a regular tag team partner with Jay Youngblood, competing as "The Indians". The team proved a very popular babyface duo, winning the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship October 25, 1980. The team also worked in Canada, winning the NWA Canadian Tag Team Championship on November 3, 1980, Lightfoot's second reign with the title.[8]

In 1981, Lightfoot travelled to Puerto Rico to work for the World Wrestling Council. Here he had great success as a babyface, becoming a prominent single's competitor. On November 7, 1981, Lightfoot won the WWC World Junior Heavyweight Championship, defeating Les Thornton.[9] This was the second title he won from Thornton in as many months as he had captured the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship on October 16 in Knoxville, Tennessee.[10]

Lightfoot competed throughout the United States and Canada in the mid-1980s, wrestling primarily for Georgia Championship Wrestling, All-Star Wrestling in Vancouver, NWA Hollywood and PNW. He continued his successful tag-team with Jay Youngblood throughout the territories and were the most popular tag team in Pacific Northwest, where on February 27, 1981, they teamed with Andre the Giant in the main event to defeat Buddy Rose, Rip Oliver and The Destroyer in Oregon.[11] He also had memorable rivalries with The Iron Sheik and The Moondogs in Georgia.

Lightfoot became a mainstay in Championship Wrestling From Florida from 1984 onwards. He formed a successful team with Mike Davis, competing in noted feuds with Black Bart & Kevin Sullivan and Hector & Chavo Guerrero. Lightfoot also began one of his most memorable rivalries with the One Man Gang, a feud which spanned both CWFF and Jim Crockett Promotions. They competed against each other in both singles and tag matches and also had a strap match on October 4, 1984 at the Sun Dome in Tampa, Florida.[12] He worked his way through Jim Crockett Promotions and Central States Wrestling during this time, often teamed with other Native/Indian stars in tag team matches.[13] He teamed with Billy Two Eagles win the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship in July 1986.[14]