Wrestler Moondog Max remembered
FIFTEEN years ago on 3 September, Zimbabwe lost one of its most colourful sports personalities. Sports pages were awash with news that football administrator and top wrestler, Maxwell ‘‘ Moondog Max’’ Kutsanzira had passed on, aged 42.
To many, Kutsanzira was both a clown and an avid sports lover of note. Born into a family belonging to the Johanne WeMasowe religious cult, Moondog Max defied all expectations becoming a businessman, an avid football lover that saw him rise to the chairmanship of the now defunct Zimbabwe Saints and starring on the world stage as a wrestler.
Kutsanzira was one of the first black people to own commercial buildings in the city. He was also a philanthropist whose passion was assisting street kids in the city by providing them with food and clothing.
A former national and All Nations lightweight champion, Kutsanzira refused to be stereotyped on the basis of his religious beliefs but chose to have the world see his potential as a sports administrator, athlete and businessman.
During his wrestling days, he faced the likes of locals Patrick ‘‘Flyer’’ Ncube, Vivian ‘‘Bushman’’ Masuku, Paul ‘‘Bad News’’ Ngozo and the likes of former World Wrestling Federation stars ‘‘Doink’’, Coco Be Ware on the world scene.
In 1992 he won the All Nations Light-heavyweight championship when he defeated Briton Chris McNeil in London, UK via pinfall. Among the top promotions he wrestled for include the late Jeff Dube and Douglas Gadzira led-Rampage Ring Promotions, All Stars Wrestling and Sports Promotions and Diamond Wrestling Promotions (all international).
Three years prior to his death in 1999, Kutsanzira and some of his fellow wrestlers broke away from the Zimbabwe Wrestling Board of Control and established the Associated Wrestling Styles of Zimbabwe. His fellow founder members of this rebel organisation are ‘‘Flyer’’ Ncube and the late Lucas Sabawo.
In an interview with Sunday Life, Kutsanzira’s son, Martin said the family still remembered and cherished the memory of his father. Martin said he and his siblings still strive to emulate Maxwell, both as a man and as a businessman.
“Our family still cherishes my late father’s memory. We still strive to uphold his morals and the hard work he put in both as an athlete and as a businessman. But above all of that we honour his memory as a man whom we believe to have upstanding,” Martin told Sunday Life.
Martin said his two brothers Arnold and Michael are in business while the sporting legacy is being kept alive by the exploits of Rahman and Innocent who both play football in the Castle Premier Soccer League. The two footballers are younger brothers to the late Kutsanzira.
Fellow wrestler and close friend Allan ‘‘Reaper’’ Mpofu reminisced about his time with the man he described as sweet, considerate and a joker of note. Mpofu remembered the times he shared with the late Moondog Max in the dressing rooms and driving across the country to wrestling bouts.
“Moondog Max was Moondog max. He was one of the funniest people I have ever met, always sharing a joke and trying to get people to laugh. I remember one time he told us that his doctor had prescribed that he drives only vehicles manufactured by Mercedes Benz or he would die,” Mpofu shared with Sunday Life.
“Kutsanzira’s other passion outside of wrestling was Zimbabwe Saints. He would literally kill or be killed for Saints,” revealed Mpofu. Moondog Max is survived by nine children and five grandchildren.