It was learned today that former AWA World Tag Team Champion “Pretty Boy” Doug Somers – whose tag team with “Playboy” Buddy Rose battled The Rockers in the AWA before they moved to the WWF – has passed away today, at the age of 65.
Somers made his pro wrestling debut in 1971 and was a frequent star in the NWA, often competing in the NWA Tri-State territory (which eventually got absorbed by Bill Watts’ Mid-South territory and NWA Western States territory in Texas. Primarily a tag team specialist, he captured tag team gold with both regions. In the 1980’s, he moved to Verne Gagne’s AWA, where he was paired with “Playboy” Buddy Rose and the duo captured AWA World Tag Team gold when they defeated Scott Hall and Curt Hennig in 1986. They would embark on a legendary feud with The Midnight Rockers (Marty Jannetty & Shawn Michaels), eventually losing the titles to the young upstarts.
Somers would do enhancement work in the early 1990’s for both WCW and WWE, before spending the rest of his career in the independent circuit, officially retiring in 2012.
Details of his passing have not fully been released, but Somers was 65 at the time of his passing.
