Sam Tenenbaum Jr.,a local wrestling legend who wore a mask and went by the name “The Great Kaiser” when he wrestled at Boutwell Auditorium and venues throughout the Southeast, has died.

Tenenbaum died on Dec. 5. He was 81.

Singing opera and wrestling were his great passions.

“I used to wrestle just about every Monday night at Boutwell Auditorium,” Tenenbaum recalled in a 2021 interview with The Birmingham News. “I had maybe a 35-year-career in wrestling and kept up my singing on the side.”

Tenenbaum got his wrestling stage name from a suggestion by future “Terminator” star Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was in Birmingham in 1975 during the filming of “Stay Hungry,” which featured actors Schwarzenegger, Sally Field and Jeff Bridges.

Tenenbaum was a local weightlifter and professional wrest

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