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Fabulous Freebirds

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Fabulous Freebirds
Left to right: Gordy, Hayes and Roberts, circa 1985
Stable
MembersMichael Hayes(leader)
Buddy Roberts
Terry Gordy
Jimmy Garvin
Badstreet
Blackbird
Name(s)The Freebirds
The Fabulous Freebirds
Debut1979
Disbanded1994
Years active1979–1994, 1999–2000, 2017 (reunions)

TheFabulous Freebirdswere aprofessional wrestlingtag teamwho attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed under the Freebirds name. The Freebird lineup of Hayes, Roberts, and Gordy was inducted into theProfessional Wrestling Hall of Famein 2015, and members Hayes, Roberts, Gordy, and Garvin were inducted into theWWE Hall of Famein 2016.[1]

History

[edit]

The Fabulous Freebirds started performing together in 1979 whenMid South WrestlingpromoterBill Wattsput together the duo ofMichael "P.S." HayesandTerry "Bam Bam" Gordy.Though originally meant to be a tag team, he soon added formerHollywood BlondBuddy "Jack" Robertsinto the mix, and they became a "three man gang" type of tag-team—an unusual concept at the time. They invented a concept that is now called the "Freebird Rule" in their honor, in which any two of three members can defend the team's championships. They usually worked asheels,but also had severalfaceruns as well.

After wrestling for Watts in Mid South, they worked forMemphisbasedContinental Wrestling Association(CWA) where they feuded withJerry LawlerandBill Dundee.

In late-1980, the Freebirds moved toGeorgia Championship Wrestling,where they won the National Tag Team titles in the Omni, fromMr Wrestling 1and2.Throughout the first half of 1981, the 'Birds had some of the biggest feuds and most legendary matches in the history of GCW. In one famous match shown onWTBS,(Now known as the piledriver match) Terry Gordy gaveTed DiBiasefour consecutive piledrivers, which led to Dibiase being taken away in an ambulance. In mid 1981, Buddy Roberts left GCW. Terry Gordy and Michael Hayes then had a falling out, and a subsequent feud against each other, with Hayes as the hero, and Gordy as the villain. Hayes and Gordy eventually patched up their differences, and reformed the Freebirds as a duo. They feuded withOle AndersonandStan Hansenover the NWA world tag team titles, throughout the summer of 1982.

The group next wrestled in the Dallas-basedWorld Class Championship Wrestling(WCCW) territory, where they had a legendary feud with theVon Erichs(David,Kevin,Kerry,ChrisandMike).[2]This feud was ignited by an infamous incident in which Terry Gordy slammed Kerry Von Erich's head in a steel cage door, inciting a riot. During this feud, as the Von Erichs would wave theflag of Texas,the Freebirds started using theflag of Georgia,which contained theConfederate battle flag,as a group symbol to counter it.[3]

They also performed in theNWA-affiliatedGeorgia Championship Wrestling(GCW) andWorld Championship Wrestling(WCW), theAmerican Wrestling Association(AWA), and the Oklahoma-basedUniversal Wrestling Federation(UWF). While in the AWA they feuded primarily withThe Road Warriors,costing them the World Tag Team Titles in a match against long time Freebird allyJimmy Garvinand his partnerSteve Regal.

They had a very brief run in theWorld Wrestling Federation(WWF) in 1984, where they were a part of theRock 'n' Wrestling Connectionperiod. In the WWF, they wrestled under the guidance ofCyndi Lauper's manager David Wolff,[4]but soon left the promotion after an altercation withAndré the Giant,who was upset when the Freebirds arrived late to a show.[5]

The group then moved on to their AWA run, returned to World Class, and then started a stint in the UWF where Gordy became the promotion's champion, Roberts held its TV title, and Hayes usually acted as their manager or served as a heel commentator on television broadcasts. When Gordy lost the title toOne Man Gang,the Freebirds feuded with Gang's stable,General Skandor Akbar's Devastation, Inc. After JCP purchased UWF in 1987, Hayes wrestled for JCP, teaming with Garvin andStingatStarrcade '87to wrestle Eddie Gilbert, Rick Steiner and Larry Zbyszko to a draw.

The rest of the Freebirds went to World Class intending to continue their feud with the Von Erichs. When Hayes arrived in the territory in early 1988, he announced his intention to bury the hatchet with the Von Erichs, putting himself at odds with Gordy, Roberts and their new ally,Iceman Parsons.After Gordy interfered to help Parsons defeat Kerry Von Erich for the World Class championship after the Dallas Sportatorium lights mysteriously went out, Hayes wrestled Gordy in a hair vs hair match at the 1988 World Class Parade of Champions. Gordy won, but afterwards refused to cut Hayes hair and instead turned on Roberts and cut his hair. This left Roberts, alongside Parsons, feuding with Hayes, Gordy and the Von Erichs. In retaliation, Roberts brought in theSamoan SWAT Teamto eliminate his former fellow Freebirds. Gordy also wrestled on the independent circuit and began spending most of his time inJapan,and Roberts began to wind down his career.

Hayes and Garvin were paired as the Freebirds in WCW in 1989, enjoying several reigns as World and United States tag-team champions, and were joined by Gordy for a while as well. They later employed the services of masked third partnerBrad Armstrong(under the name Badstreet) and managersDiamond Dallas Page,Big Daddy Dink,Little Richard MarleyandPrecious(Garvin's real-life wife and longtime valet). The Freebirds were last together when Hayes, Gordy, and Garvin worked for theGlobal Wrestling Federation(GWF) in 1994,[6]ending the group after 15 years.

In 1999, Gordy and Hayes reunited as they foughtGlen KulkaandJR Smoothto a no contest forPower Pro Wrestlingon May 28, 1999.[7]On January 21, 2000, Gordy and Hayes wrestled for Oklahoma Pro Wrestling when they lost toThe Hardy Boyz.

Gordy died of aheart attack,caused by ablood cloton July 16, 2001, at age 40 while Roberts died on November 29, 2012, at the age of 67, ofpneumoniaand on November 1, 2012, Armstrong died of a suspectedheart attackmaking Hayes and Garvin the only living members of the Freebirds.[8][9]Hayes (who retired from in-ring competition shortly after the Freebirds disbanded) is currently the head of the road agents/producers within WWE, while Garvin retired from wrestling shortly after disbanding and has become anAirline Transport Pilot.

On April 2, 2016, The Fabulous Freebirds (Hayes, Gordy, Roberts, and Garvin) were inducted into theWWE Hall of FamebyThe New Day.

Entrance music

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The Freebirds concept was heavily derived from theLynyrd Skynyrdsong "Free Bird"and the image of"Southernpride "evoked by the band. For most of the team's early existence, the song was used as their entrance music, in both television and live appearances. On occasion, they would also enter the ring toWillie Nelson's rendition of "Georgia on My Mind".The Freebirds are sometimes credited as the first wrestlers to use entrance music for their entrances, although others includingGorgeous George's use of "Pomp and Circumstance,"Big Daddy's use of "We Shall Not Be Moved"andChris Colt's use of "Welcome to My Nightmare"byAlice Cooperall predate the Freebirds.

During the mid-1980s, a number ofNorth Americanwrestling promotions who licensed copyrighted music faced difficulties in continuing those licenses. Other promotions which did not license music were under scrutiny for the practice. Promotions began looking for solutions. The WWF, which hiredJimmy HartandJim Johnstonin 1985, used their talents to write and produce music under which the copyrights could be controlled by the company. Around this same time, Hayes recorded the song "Badstreet USA" and released a music video, which included the other Freebird members, as well as a cameo by a young Jim Ross. This song would largely be used as the entrance music for the Freebirds from that point forward, though they would use the other songs on occasion.

Freebird Rule

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During the Freebirds' career in the NWA, they won several of its regional tag-team championships. While holding the title, promoters added a sub-gimmick to the team – "The Freebird Rule" – which allowed any two of the three members of the team to defend the title on any given night.[10]

This rule has been re-used by a number of other companies when a three (or more) member team captures a tag team championship.[11]Examples include:

In some cases, the Freebird Rule has been applied to singles titles:

A slight variation of the Freebird Rule exists where a team or stable declares themselves as co-champions but the promotion only recognize the individual(s) who won the title as the official champion:

Offshoots

[edit]

Blackbirds

[edit]

TheBlackbirdswere formed in 1988 inWorld Class Championship WrestlingbyIceman Parsons.He had just teamed withTerry GordyandBuddy Robertsas the "Blackbird" in their feud withMichael Hayes.He teamed up with Perry "Action" Jackson and Harold T. Harris to form the Blackbirds. They also wrestled as the Blackbirds in theGlobal Wrestling Federationin 1992.

Extreme Freebirds

[edit]

TheExtreme Freebirdswere formed inNWA Wildsideand the NAWA by the son of Terry Gordy,Ray Gordy.He teamed up with Tank and Iceberg in 2004 to form this group.

Other appearances

[edit]

The original three Freebirds briefly appear in a match againstGreg Gagne,The Tonga Kid,andJim Brunzellduring the opening sequence of the1986fantasy filmHighlander,[21]which occurs at a show inMadison Square Garden(although the scene was actually filmed at theBrendan Byrne Arenaacross the river).

Members and incarnations

[edit]
  • Main Members
    • Michael Hayeswas the leader of the group. Nicknamed "P.S." (Purely Sexy), he was the main talker, and was known to get the crowd going with his antics.
    • Terry Gordywas the powerhouse of the group. Nicknamed "Bam Bam", he loved to fight and beat his opponents down.
    • Buddy Roberts,nicknamed "Jack" for his love ofJack Daniel'swhiskey, was the speed of the group, who would often frustrate other wrestlers into chasing him, until Hayes and/or Gordy surprised them with a move. Buddy was also acknowledged as the best ring technician of the group and the guy who would often take the high spot bumps.
    • Jimmy Garvin's association with the Freebirds began in 1983, as he had often teamed with Hayes, Gordy, and Roberts in WCCW and AWA. He teamed with Hayes during a reignited WCW run between June 1989 and July 1992. He was consideredthe fourth Freebirdby Hayes, Gordy and Roberts.
  • Associated members
    • During the Buddy Roberts feud against Michael Hayes, with Terry Gordy initially siding with Roberts before crossing to Hayes:
      • Iceman Parsons– in late 1987, he joined Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts after Michael Hayes left the Fabulous Freebirds to help them get revenge on him. Parsons was known as the "Blackbird" during this feud.
      • The Angel of Deathteamed with Terry Gordy, Buddy Roberts and Iceman "King" Parsons in the late-1987–1988 version of the Freebirds. He had previously feuded with Gordy, Roberts and Michael Hayes in theUWFprior to joining the group.
      • Samoan SWAT Teamwere brought in by Roberts and Parsons after Gordy crossed over to Hayes's side. Rogers claimed that "SWAT" was anacronymfor "Samoans Will Annihilate Traitors" referring to Hayes and Gordy.
      • Steve Coxteamed with Hayes as The Freebirds in WCCW, CWA, and AWA.
    • During the Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin tag team era:
      • Steven Dane (Steven Casey) teamed with Garvin in 1990 in WCW, while Hayes was injured.[22][23]
      • Badstreet– Brad Armstrong under a mask in WCW, and the group's light-heavyweight/cruiserweight. Originally appeared as "Fantasia", but WCW changed the name to Badstreet to avoid a legal confrontation withDisney.
      • Big Daddy Dink– the Freebird alias of manager Sir Oliver Humperdink; in keeping with the Freebirds' "frustrated rock & roll band" gimmick, he was referred to as their "tour manager" / "road boss" in WCW (1991).[24]
      • Little Richard Marley– WCW jobber Rocky King, who as "Little Richard Marley" served as a ringside pest to Freebird opponents in late 1990.
    • Later:
  • Managers

Championships and accomplishments

[edit]
Freebirds as NWA Georgia Tag Team champions, circa 1981

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abThe Fabulous Freebirds join the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2016,March 2016,retrieved2021-06-30
  2. ^Cohen, Daniel; Susan Cohen (October 1986).Wrestling Superstars II.Simon Pulse. p. 88.ISBN0-671-63224-8.
  3. ^"Michael Hayes Explains Why The Fabulous Freebirds Used The Confederate Flags".WrestlingNewsSource.2016-03-09.Retrieved2017-11-04.
  4. ^abCohen, Daniel; Susan Cohen.Wrestling Superstars II.p. 89.
  5. ^Greenberg, Keith Elliot."Remembering Andre the Giant's Larger Than Life Career and Complexities".Bleacher Report.
  6. ^New Wave Wrestling, February 1995 issue, number 15, p.42.
  7. ^"Matches « Terry Gordy « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database".Archived fromthe originalon 2020-07-06.
  8. ^"411MANIA".Kevin Von Erich Comments on Buddy Roberts’ Passing.
  9. ^"WWE Hall of Famer Jim Ross comments on the death of Buddy Roberts, wrestlers need to" create their push "".prowrestling.net.
  10. ^Oliver, Greg.""Crush" Brian Adams dead at 44 ".SLAM! Sports.Archived from the original on July 16, 2012.Retrieved2007-10-16.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  11. ^"The Fabulous Freebirds".WWE.
  12. ^abcd"Teams that used 'Freebird Rule': photos".WWE.
  13. ^Crush feature,WWF MagazineSeptember 1990
  14. ^Wrestling 93: Rulebreaker, Spring 1993 issue, p.10.
  15. ^Wrestle America, June 1993 issue, p.60.
  16. ^"New Day – WWE.com".Archived fromthe originalon 2015-05-02.Retrieved2015-04-30.
  17. ^Barnett, Josh (October 12, 2017)."Bullet Club vs. The Kingdom: 10/12 ROH Global Wars in Buffalo, NY report".Pro Wrestling Insider.RetrievedOctober 13,2017.
  18. ^"Main Event Signed for ROH Elite in Ft. Lauderdale".Ring of Honor.30 October 2017.RetrievedNovember 26,2017.The trio defended the ROH World Six-Man Tag Team Titles, officially held by Adam Page and the Young Bucks, under "Bullet Club Rules", allowing any three members to defend the titles.
  19. ^Powell, Jason (March 5, 2024)."NXT TV results (3/5): Moore's review of NXT Roadblock with Carmelo Hayes vs. Tony D'Angelo for a shot at the NXT Title, Kabuki Warriors vs. Lyra Valkyria and Tatum Paxley for the WWE Women's Tag Titles".Pro Wrestling Dot Net.RetrievedMarch 6,2024.
  20. ^"NXT Heritage Cup".WWE.Retrieved2024-03-06.
  21. ^Difino, Lennie."Catching up with Buddy Roberts".WWE.com.Retrieved2007-10-16.
  22. ^https://www.wrestlingdata.com/index.php?befehl=bilanzen&wrestler=6222&jahr=1990&monat=3[bare URL]
  23. ^"WCW - 1990 Results".16 January 2023.
  24. ^Matt Mackinder (January 17, 2008)."Sir Oliver Humperdink recalls career of yesteryear".SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012.Retrieved2008-04-04.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  25. ^Davies, Ross (August 2001).Diamond Dallas Page.Rosen Publishing. p.31.ISBN0-8239-3493-4.
  26. ^"N.W.A. National Tag Team Title".Wrestling-Titles.com.Archived fromthe originalon 2007-12-18.Retrieved2007-10-16.
  27. ^"N.W.A. Georgia Tag Team Title".Wrestling-Titles.com.Retrieved2007-10-16.
  28. ^Oliver, Greg (2014-11-26)."Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class of 2015 announced".Slam! Sports.Canadian Online Explorer.Archived from the original on November 30, 2014.Retrieved2014-11-28.{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  29. ^"Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners: Tag Team of the Year".Wrestling Information Archive.Archived fromthe originalon 2008-05-16.Retrieved2007-10-16.
  30. ^"Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 100 Tag Teams of the PWI Years".Wrestling Information Archive.Archived fromthe originalon 2008-06-16.Retrieved2007-10-16.
  31. ^Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "(Dallas) Texas: NWA American Tag Team Title [Fritz Von Erich]".Wrestling Title Histories.Archeus Communications.ISBN978-0-9698161-5-7.
  32. ^"N.W.A. American Tag Team Title".Wrestling-Titles.com.RetrievedJanuary 19,2020.

Further reading

[edit]
  • Greg Oliver and Steve Johnson (2005). "Top 20: #7 The Fabulous Freebirds".The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams.ECW Press.ISBN978-1-55022-683-6.
[edit]

Fabulous FreebirdsonWWE.com

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