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Steve Armstrong

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For the Australian rules footballer, seeSteven Armstrong.
Steve Armstrong
Birth nameSteven James
Born(1965-03-16)March 16, 1965(age 59)[1]
Marietta, Georgia,U.S.[2]
Parent(s)Bob Armstrong(father)
FamilyBrad Armstrong(brother)
Road Dogg(brother)
Scott Armstrong(brother)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)The Bullet
The Falcon
Lance Cassidy
Steve Armstrong
Steve James
Billed height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[2]
Billed weight224 lb (102 kg)[2]
Billed fromMarietta, Georgia[2]
"The great state ofTexas"(as Lance Cassidy)
Trained byBob Armstrong[1]
Debut1983[2]

Steven James(born March 16, 1965), better known by hisring nameSteve Armstrong,is an Americanprofessional wrestler.He is the son of fellow wrestler"Bullet" Bob Armstrong,and has three brothers who also wrestled:Scott,Brad,andBrian.

Professional wrestling career

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Early career (1983–1987)

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Steve Armstrong started wrestling in 1983 in theAlabama-basedSoutheast Championship Wrestlingpromotion. He formed a team called the "Rat Patrol" withJohnny Richand they feuded withRon Fuller'sStud Stable(Jerry StubbsandSuper Olympia).[1]

Championship Wrestling from Florida (1987)

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See also:Wild-Eyed Southern Boys

AfterTracy SmothersjoinedChampionship Wrestling from Floridain February 1987 he was immediately paired with Steve Armstrong as the "Wild-Eyed Southern Boys". Their first match came on February 17 in Tampa, Florida, where they lost toThe New Breed.However four days later The Southern Boys defeated The New Breed to gain their first ever championship, theNWA Florida Tag Team Championship.[3][4]Smothers and Armstrong held the belts until March 15, when they were defeated byThe MOD Squad.[3]In June they unsuccessfully challenged for theNWA United States Tag Team Championship,losing to The Midnight Express (Stan Lane&Bobby Eaton).[5][6]

Continental Wrestling Association (1987)

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See also:Southern Boys

The Southern Boys would make a stop in the CWA, where they facedRough & Readyin October 1987.[7]During this time they feuded withThe Stud Stable.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (1988–1989)

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See also:Southern Boys

After a brief stop again in the CWA without Armstrong, the Southern Boys went on tour inNew Japan Pro-Wrestling.Smothers first match for the promotion was as a singles wrestler, where he defeatedOsamu Kidoon July 15, 1988 at the NJPW Summer Fight Series 1988 event. [8]As a team the Southern Boys experienced success, beating Kantaro Hoshino and Osamu Kido,Kuniaki Kobayashi&Norio Honaga,Kensuke Sasakiand Norio Honaga, andSeiji SakaguchiandTatsutoshi Goto.Their final match came on December 9, 1988 at the NJPW Japan Cup Series 1988 – Tag 21 television show, where they lost toKotetsu Yamamotoand Yoshinari Tsuji.[9]During the tour they worked in the main event against the legendaryAntonio Inoki.[10]

World Championship Wrestling (1990-1992)

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See also:Wild-Eyed Southern Boys

Following a January 1990 tour of New Japan Pro-Wrestling, Smothers reunited with Steve Armstrong. The duo made their national debuts forWorld Championship Wrestlingon April 23, 1990 in a dark match at aMain Event/WCW WorldWidetaping in Marietta, GA. Wrestling as "The Wild-Eyed Southern Boys",their first television appearance came on May 12 at aWorld Championship Wrestlingtaping where they defeatedKevin SullivanandCactus Jackvia disqualification. On May 20 on theMain Eventthe new team upsetWCW United States Tag Team ChampionsThe Midnight Expressin a non-title match. Later that month they entered a house show series againstWCW World Tag Team ChampionsDoom,but were unsuccessful in their efforts.

On June 13, 1990, they faced off againstThe Fabulous Freebirdsat theClash of the Champions XI"Coastal Crush" show and were victorious.Jimmy GarvinandMichael Hayeswere able to gain a measure of revenge by defeating them on the June 16, 1990 episode of WCW Worldwide after holding the tights. An appearance by the Midnight Express' managerJim Cornettewould transition the Southern Boys to their first feud. This led to the first PPV showing for Smothers and Armstrong, as they fell to The Midnight Express on July 13, 1990 at theGreat American Bash 1990.Smothers and Armstrong would continue to feud with the Midnight Express before transitioning to a series against the self-declared "Southern Champions" The Fabulous Freebirds. In August they engaged in a "best of three" series against The Freebirds, and on September 5, 1990, they defeated Hayes and Garvin atClash of the Champions XII"Fall Brawl: Mountain Madness".

On the September 22, 1990 episode ofWorld Championship Wrestlingthe Southern Boys fell once more to The Midnight Express in a match where the winner received a United States Tag Team Championship shot. On the October 6 episode ofThe Main Event,the duo fell to the newly arrivedNasty Boys.Their televised slump continued at theHalloween Havoc 1990,where they were defeated byThe Master BlastersafterJim Cornetteinterfered in the match. Cornette andStan Lanedeparted from the promotion immediately afterwards, and there was no resolution to the Southern Boys/Midnight Express storyline. They moved instead to a house show series with the Blasters (Al Greenand a rookieKevin Nash).[11]

1991 saw an immediate reversal of fortunes for the young team. In January they opened the year with several wins over The Master Blasters, and on February 24, 1991 atWrestleWar 1991they beat The Royal Family (Jack VictoryandRip Morgan). A few days earlier at TV taping in Montgomery, Alabama they were renamedThe Young Pistols.In March they began a house show series againstMoondog RexandDutch Mantell,the latter who would ultimately becomeThe Desperados.On May 19, 1991, their televised win streak came to an end when they were defeated by The Freebirds atSuperBrawl Iin a match to claim the vacated United States Tag Team Championship after "Badstreet" (a maskedBrad Armstrong) interfered. This began a renewed feud with the Freebirds, and on June 12, 1991, they teamed withTom Zenkto defeat Michael Hayes, Jimmy Garvin, and Badstreet atClash of the Champions XV.

That summer an injury toScott Steinerled to the WCW World Tag Team Championship being vacated. On August 3, 1991, the Young Pistols participated in a tournament to crown new champions; they were defeated byThe York Foundation.On September 21, 1991, they received a non-title match against the eventual winners of that tournament, The Enforcers (Arn AndersonandLarry Zybyskobut were unsuccessful. That fall, the Pistols continued to face The York Foundation on the house show circuit.

AtHalloween Havoc 1991the Pistols began to show the first signs of an attitude change, stating that they did not care who was the "WCW Phantom" (eventually revealed that night asRick Rude), but were instead waiting for a United States Tag Team Championship title shot against The WCW Patriots (Firebreaker ChipandTodd Champion). On the December 8, 1991 episode of The Main Event they finally received their shot. After initially being declared the winners, the match was restarted and the Patriots won. The following week they declared that they were unconcerned with what the fans thought, confirming a heel turn. Later that night the Pistols defeated the WCW Patriots to win the United States Tag Team Championship.[12][13]

The Young Pistols entered 1992 as champions and defeated The Patriots in another rematch in the January 18 episode ofWCW Pro.On January 25 onWCW Worldwidethey beat former champions Tom Zenk andBrian Pillman.However, their run with the titles ended on the February 16 episode ofWCW Prowhere they lost the championship toRon SimmonsandBig Josh.In February the Young Pistols moved to a house show series against The Steiner Brothers. They were scheduled to team with The Vegas Connection (Vinnie VegasandDallas Page) in an eight-man tag team match againstEl Gigante,Big Josh,Johnny B. Badd,andMike Grahamat SuperBrawl II on February 29; however, the match was cancelled.

In April 1992, Armstrong departed WCW, leaving Smothers as a singles competitor.

World Wrestling Federation (1992-1993)

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In 1992, Steve came to theWorld Wrestling Federationas "Lance Cassidy" under ababyfacecowboygimmick. He made his TV debut on the October 10, 1992 episode of Superstars, beating Tom Stone. The run proved to be short, as after only a few TV appearances and some house show victories overSkinnerandTerry Taylor,he left the WWF in January 1993.[14][15]

Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1993-1995)

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In 1993, he started to work forJim Cornette'sSmoky Mountain Wrestling.He worked in Smoky Mountain for two years and mainly worked in tag team competition with his brother Scott. In his last year with Smoky he was in a feud withBuddy Landelfor theSMW Heavyweight Championship.[16]

World Championship Wrestling (1995-2000)

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On April 25, 1995, Armstrong returned to work for WCW and wrestledCraig Pittmanat aWCW Saturday Nightepisode. In July he began teaming with his brother Scott as The James Boys. At the July 10 taping ofWCW Pro,WCW World Tag Team ChampionsBunkhouse BuckandDick Slaterdefeated the duo in the debut match. A month later on the August 5 edition they fell to Arn Anderson and Ric Flair. On August 22 they faced Men at Work but were again unsuccessful.[17]Steve made his return to PPV when he appeared atWorld War 3on November 26, 1995, when he competed in the three-ring battle royal.

Although back as a performer in WCW, he was mainly used as ajobberworking with his brother Scott as The Armstrongs or James Brothers onSaturday Night,WorldWideand on rare occasions onMonday Nitro.On the February 17 edition ofWCW Saturday Nightthey again fell to Men at Work. In June 1996 they were defeated byPublic Enemy,and on the July 1 edition they were defeated again by Arn Anderson and Ric Flair. On the July 28, 1996 edition ofWCW Worldwidethey fell to Lord Steven Regal and SquireDave Taylor.[18]On the August 22 taping ofWCW Pro,The Armstrong Brothers would finally gain their first WCW victory when they defeatedBill Payneand Rick Thames. They would go on to faceThe Amazing French CanadiansandThe Faces of Fearduring the remainder of 1996.[18]

The Armstrong Brothers would continue teaming in 1997 and faced The Amazing French Canadians andThe Steiner Brothers.On the April 13 edition ofWCW Worldwidethey defeated The Southern Posse. After this they moved on to a brief series of matches with Harlem Heat, and in May 1997 defeated the new duo ofJim PowersandBobby Walker,the latter put together byTeddy Long.After this they were winless for the rest of 1997 in matches withMortisandWrath,as well as The Public Enemy.[19]Their pairing continued into 1998 but again saw little success. They were winless againstHigh Voltagein multiple encounters. On the September 13 pay-per-viewFall Brawl '98they were involved in an angle whenWCW WorldwideannouncerMike Tenayattempted to interview them, only to be interrupted byErnest Millerwho then attacked both brothers. Thirteen days later they would defeat The Power Company onWCW Saturday Night.On November 30, 1998, the duo enjoyed the biggest victory of their WCW tenure when they upsetRavenandKanyononWCW Monday Nitro.[20]

Success continued for The Armstrong Brothers in 1999. On January 6, they upset Alex Wright and Disco Inferno inMobile, Alabama.On the January 9 edition ofWCW Saturday Nightthey defeatedNick DinsmoreandMike Sullivan.The winning streak was stopped in April on WCW Saturday Night when they were defeated by Disorderly Conduct. On April 27, at a television taping inBismarck, North Dakotathey faced theNWOfor the first time and defeatedVincentandStevie Ray.On April 29, onWCW Monday Nitrothe team faced Raven in a handicap match and were victorious.[21]Scott's teaming with Steve finally came to an end on March 1, 2000, when The James Brothers faced WCW World Tag-Team ChampionsBig VitoandJohnny The Bullat aWCW Saturday Nighttaping.

On March 29, 2000, Steve made his last televised appearance for the promotion as he lost toHugh MorrusonSaturday Night.[22]

Late career (2000–present)

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After his run with WCW, he made a few appearances for the resurrectedContinental Championship Wrestlingfrom 2002 to 2005.[23]

In August 2002 he worked under The Bullet mask forTNA Wrestling,having a match withJeff Jarrett.[24]

In October 2005 he had match withElix Skipperfor the NWA Wrestle Birmingham in theBoutwell Memorial Auditorium.

In December 2008 he had a tag team match alongside his father against Aaron James and Michael Patrick for the Great American Wrestling Federation.

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^abc"Wrestler profile: Steve Armstrong".Online World of Wrestling.RetrievedJanuary 28,2010.
  2. ^abcde"Statistics for Professional wrestlers".PWI Presents: 1998 Wrestling Almanak and book of facts.Kappa Publications. pp. 60–72. 1998 Edition.
  3. ^ab"CWF".Cagematch.
  4. ^abRoyal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Florida: NWA Florida Tag Team Title".Wrestling Title Histories(4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 157.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
  5. ^"CWF « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database".Archived fromthe originalon 2021-07-29.
  6. ^"JCP 1987".thehistoryofwwe.com.
  7. ^Archived atGhostarchiveand theWayback Machine:"Southern Boys vs. Rough & Ready CWA Memphis 10/03/1987".YouTube.
  8. ^"NJPW Summer Fight Series 1988 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-11-14.
  9. ^"NJPW Japan Cup Series 1988 - Tag 21 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-11-14.
  10. ^"Matches « Steve Armstrong « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database".Archived fromthe originalon 2013-11-14.
  11. ^"WCW 1990".thehistoryofwwe.com.
  12. ^"WCW 1991".thehistoryofwwe.com.
  13. ^Cawthon, Graham (2014).the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 4: World Championship Wrestling 1989–1994.CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.ISBN978-1499656343.
  14. ^Cawthon, Graham."Ring Results: WWF 1992".The History of WWE.RetrievedJanuary 28,2010.
  15. ^Cawthon, Graham."Ring Results: WWF 1993".The History of WWE.RetrievedJanuary 28,2010.
  16. ^"Steve Armstrong – 1995".Cagematch.
  17. ^"WCW 1995".thehistoryofwwe.com.
  18. ^ab"WCW 1996".thehistoryofwwe.com.
  19. ^"WCW 1997".thehistoryofwwe.com.
  20. ^"WCW 1998".thehistoryofwwe.com.
  21. ^"WCW 1999".thehistoryofwwe.com.
  22. ^"Matches « Steve Armstrong « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database".Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-04.
  23. ^"Steve Armstrong - Online World of Wrestling".Archived fromthe originalon 2012-09-24.
  24. ^"Steve Armstrong – 2002".Cagematch.
  25. ^Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Florida: Bahamas Title".Wrestling Title Histories(4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 159.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
  26. ^Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "Alabama: CWF Tag Team Title".Wrestling Title Histories(4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 148.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
  27. ^Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "United States: 19th century & widely defended titles - NWA, WWF, AWA, IWA, ECW, NWA".Wrestling Title Histories(4th ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 23.ISBN0-9698161-5-4.
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