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Johnny Weaver

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For other people with similar names, seeJohn Weaver (disambiguation).
Johnny Weaver
Birth nameKenneth Eugene Weaver
Born(1935-11-17)November 17, 1935
East Saint Louis,Illinois,U.S.
DiedFebruary 15, 2008(2008-02-15)(aged 72)
Charlotte, North Carolina,U.S.
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Johnny Weaver
The Grappler
Ultimate Assassin
Billed height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Billed weight233 lb (106 kg)
Billed fromIndianapolis, Indiana
Debut1957
Retired1987

Kenneth Eugene Weaver(November 17, 1935 – February 15, 2008) was an Americanprofessional wrestlerand wrestlingcommentatorin theNational Wrestling Alliance,better known by hisring name,Johnny Weaver.

Career[edit]

1960s[edit]

Weaver's career spanned four decades in many different territories in the NWA. He held championships across the southeast United States, the first of which was theMid-Atlantic(Carolinas, Virginia) version of theNWA Southern Tag Team Championship,which he won with“Cowboy” Bob Ellison December 2, 1963.[1]His best known run was with partnerGeorge Beckerin the Mid-Atlantic in the 1960s. The two held theNWA Mid-Atlantic Southern Tag Team Championshipfive times together,[1]and they were household names in the territory for a period of nearly eight years. The team had memorable feuds withRip HawkandSwede Hanson,Lars AndersonandGene Anderson,Aldo BogniandBronko Lubichwithmanager"Colonel"Homer O'Dell,the Infernoswith managerJ. C. Dykes,and many others.

Weaver's next major success came inChampionship Wrestling from Florida,where he teamed with Becker to win the Florida version of theNWA Southern Tag Team Championshipin February 1967.[2]He also competed as a singles wrestler, winning his firstNWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championshipthat year by defeating theMissouri Mauler.[3]Hedroppedit back to the Mauler but regained the belt on October 25, 1967.[3]The following summer, he won the belt for a third time.[3]He lost the belt toHiro Matsudabut then regained it in a rematch in late 1968.[3]

1970s[edit]

Returning to the Carolinas, Weaver was a successful tag team wrestler inMid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling.He teamed with Becker to win theNWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championshipon May 1, 1969.[4]They held the belts for over nine months before dropping them to Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson on February 17, 1970.[4]Weaver and Becker regained the title exactly one month later, however.[4]They lost the belts toGeneandOle Andersonbut regained them on June 3, 1971 from Hawk and Hanson.[4]Once again, Weaver and Becker dropped the titles to Hawk and Hanson but regained them in a rematch.[4]The following year, Weaver teamed with Art Neilson to win the title twice more.[4]

Weaver returned to Florida to compete in 1975 and won theNWA Florida Tag Team Championshipby teaming withDick Slater.[5]He also competed in Texas, where he won theAmarilloversion of the NWA International Heavyweight Championship in November 1976.[6]

After a brief absence from the Mid-Atlantic territory in 1975, he returned for one more main event run in 1978 with Baron Von Raschke for the area's Television championship.[7]

1980s[edit]

Weaver's final championship reigns came in 1981 while wrestling in the Mid-Atlantic area. He teamed withDewey Robertsonto win theNWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championshipin 1981 by defeatingGenichiro TenryuandMr. Fuji.[8]They lost the belts to Chris Markoff andNikolai Volkofflater that year, but Weaver regained the title on November 27, 1981 while teaming withJay Youngblood.[8]Weaver also worked as a booker while Mid Atlantic was partnered with Frank Tunney`s Maple Leaf Wrestling in Toronto and briefly held the North American title during afeudwith Leo BurkeLeonce Cormier.

Weaver's last years in the ring were in an "elder statesman" role, helping establish new stars just entering the territory, most notably Roddy Piper. He also helpedbookthe Mid-Atlantic territory for nearly 8 years as well, roughly between 1966 and 1973. In the early 1980s, Weaver also booked the house shows in the southern part of the territory.

Weaver began his broadcasting career in 1979 as color commentator with World Wide Wrestling host Rich Landrum. He became Landrum's permanent sidekick for the early 1980s, where he became famous for singing "Turn out the lights, the party's over"at the end of matches thatfacewrestlers won (a nod toDon Meredith,who did the same thing onMonday Night Footballnear the end of games). When Landrum left the company in 1983, Weaver then worked briefly with David Crockett, wrestling in a tag team match at Starrcade '83, before becoming paired with the longtime voice of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Bob Caudle; whom he worked with until leaving the company in 1988.

For a period of time in the early 1980s, there was a string of recurringanglesin which Weaver would get into ringside verbal confrontations withheelwrestlers or their managers. These confrontations always ended with Weaver slapping the wrestler or manager across the face, to the delight of the fans in the studio. Recipients of these slaps have includedRoddy Piper,Lord Alfred Hayes,andKevin Sullivan.

Weaver made a brief in-ring return in late 1987 in the corner of the "American Dream"Dusty Rhodeswho was using a sleeper hold, calling it the "Weaver lock", and chasing downLex Lugerand the N.W.A. United States Title. During this angle, Weaver was placed in a Japanese version of the sleeper byHiro Matsuda,causing him to bleed from the mouth. Weaver was in Rhodes' corner atStarrcade '87: Chi-Town Heat,when Rhodes defeated Luger in a steel cage afterDDTingLuger onto a steel chair.

Legacy[edit]

CWF Mid-Atlanticout ofBurlington, North Carolinapromotes the Johnny Weaver Cup tournament every summer, culminating in Weaver Cup Finals Night every August. Mr. Weaver was a special guest in attendance to present the trophy to the tournament winner at every Finals Night until his death in 2008. Since then a former tournament winner usually presents the trophy, often accompanied by surviving members of Mr. Weaver's family. Past tournament winners have been "Dangerous E" Corey Edsel (2004), Jesse Ortega (2005), Gemini Kid (2006), "Handsome" Mitch Connor (2007), Brass Munkey (2008), Kamakazi Kid (2009), "The 1st" Ric Converse (2010), Arik Royal (2011, 2012) andTrevor Lee(2013)[9]

Personal life[edit]

Weaver was a deputy sheriff withMecklenburg County, North Carolina.In his 50s, Weaver became one of the oldest people to take the basic law enforcement test and ultimately joined the sheriff's office. He spent most of his nineteen-year career transporting prisoners on the same back roads he had traveled as a wrestler and promoter.[10]

Weaver died of natural causes on February 15, 2008, aged 72.[11]

Championships and accomplishments[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abc"NWA Southern Tag Team Title (Mid-Atlantic)".Wrestling Titles.Retrieved2008-01-29.
  2. ^ab"NWA Southern Tag Team Title (Florida)".Wrestling Titles.Retrieved2008-01-29.
  3. ^abcde"NWA Southern Heavyweight Title (Florida)".Wrestling Titles.Retrieved2008-01-29.
  4. ^abcdefg"NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Title".Wrestling Titles.Retrieved2008-01-29.
  5. ^ab"Florida Tag Team Title".Wrestling Titles.Retrieved2008-01-29.
  6. ^ab"International Heavyweight Title (Amarillo)".Wrestling Titles.Retrieved2008-01-29.
  7. ^ab"NWA Mid-Atlantic Television Title".Wrestling Titles.Archived fromthe originalon 2008-04-12.Retrieved2008-01-29.
  8. ^abc"NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Title".Wrestling Titles.Retrieved2008-01-29.
  9. ^"CWF Mid-Atlantic Champions".CWF.Archived fromthe originalon 2008-02-23.Retrieved2008-01-29.
  10. ^(from the Charlotte Observer-Cleve R Wootsen)
  11. ^Schramm, Chris (February 15, 2008)."Johnny Weaver Dead At 72".Slam Wrestling.Archivedfrom the original on September 28, 2022.RetrievedFebruary 21,2023.
  12. ^AWA Indiana World Tag Team Championshipcagematch.net retrieve February 9, 2019
  13. ^Johnny Weavercagematch.net retrieved February 9, 2019

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Johnny_Weaver&oldid=1234294471"