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Erik Watts

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Eric Watts, a contestant onWWE Tough Enough,orEric Watts,an American football player.

Erik Watts
Born(1967-12-19)December 19, 1967(age 56)[1]
Amarillo,Texas,United States[2]
Alma materUniversity of Louisville[2]
FamilyBill Watts(father)[3][2]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Amarillo Slim[3]
Erik Watts[3]
Troy[4][2]
Billed height6 ft 5 in (196 cm)[2]
Billed weight262 lb (119 kg)[2]
Trained byBill Watts
Debut1992[3][2]
Retired2006

Erik Watts(born December 19, 1967) is an American semi-retiredprofessional wrestler.He is best known for his appearances withWorld Championship Wrestlingand theWorld Wrestling Federationin the 1990s. He is the son of wrestlerBill Watts.[3][2]

Early life

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Watts attended theUniversity of Louisville,where he was aquarterbackfor theLouisville Cardinals.[5][2][6]

Professional wrestling career

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World Championship Wrestling (1992–1994)

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Watts trained as a wrestler under his father,Bill Watts,and after wrestling for three months, he was hired byWorld Championship Wrestling.He debuted on August 27, 1992, in McMinnville, Tennessee, and began a house show series againstBuddy Lee ParkerandMark Canterbury.Still undefeated three months later, Watts would defeat Scotty Flamingo (later known asRaven),Vinnie Vegas,and a rookieDiamond Dallas Page.On November 2 Watts defeatedMichael Hayeson WCW Saturday Night, and went on to score multiple victories against Mike Thor andTex Slazenger.On November 8 he achieved a time-limit draw withSteve Austinon a live event in Winston-Salem, NC. In late November he entered his first feud, facing members of The Dangerous Alliance. On November 25 he upsetBobby Eatonin Baltimore, MD, winning by submission with an STF. The following month Watts took WCW US Champion Rick Rude to several time limit draws, and he gained his first pinfall victory over Steve Austin on December 5 in St Paul, MN. On December 7 at WCW Saturday Night his undefeated streak was ended by Rude.[7]His constantpusheswere controversial in that his father was WCW'sbookerat the time, leading to accusations ofnepotism.[8]On December 28, atStarrcade,Watts teamed withJushin Thunder Liger,in a Lethal Lottery tag team match, losing to"Dr. Death" Steve WilliamsandSting.

In January 1993 Watts gained victories over The Barbarian, Tony Atlas, and a returningPaul Orndorff.In February Watts teamed withBuff Bagwelland to take on Hollywood Blonds in a tag team match atSuperBrawl III,which Watts and Bagwell lost. Later in February, he was entered into a tournament to crown a new WCW TV Champion after previous titleholder Scott Steiner had departed four months earlier for the WWF. After defeatingJohnny Gunnin the opening round, Watts beatMaxx Payneby disqualification in the quarter-finals. The last two rounds of the tournament were held on March 2 in Macon, GA. Watts pinned Vinnie Vegas in the semifinals, but was defeated by Paul Orndorff in the finals.[9]Following his father's departure from WCW, Erik was targeted by Arn Anderson and began a house show series with The Enforcer as the Four Horsemen began the reformation. Watts continued to perform strongly against lower-level competition, but was defeated by Steve Regal on July 18, 1993, atBeach Blast.In August, he began a house show series withChris Benoitand came out victorious in each encounter. A month later however he began his first losing streak, dropping matches to WCW TV Champion Steve Regal on multiple occasions.[10]

On November 30, 1993, he was involved in a major angle on WCW Saturday Night. After defeatingPaul Orndorff,Paul Roma came out to ringside and attacked Watts. This would lead to the formation of eventual tag-team champions Pretty Wonderful. Meanwhile, Watts continued to be victorious in 1994 against lower-level competition, but was unable to break through against more experienced competition like Regal or Orndorff. His final match was on August 1, 1994, againstJean Paul Levesquein Ft Pierce, FL.[11]

World Wrestling Federation (1995–1996)

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Main article:Tekno Team 2000

In 1995, Watts followed his father to theWorld Wrestling Federation.In the WWF, Watts was renamed "Troy" and, together withChad Fortuneas "Travis", formedTekno Team 2000.[4]Wearing silver smocks and tightzubaz,their gimmick was that they represented the cutting edge of cyberculture. Their tag team made its debut on the May 27, 1995, episode ofSuperstarsin a victorious effort againstThe Brooklyn BrawlerandBarry Horowitz.[4]They wrestled two more matches on TV the following month, but disappeared from television until reappearing atIn Your House 2pay-per-view, acting as lumberjacks for the main event.[4]In the fall of 1995, they were sent down to WWF's development territory,United States Wrestling Associationin Memphis. After being absent from TV for a year, they resurfaced in 1996, but still failed to achieve any success and both men were released from the WWF.[4]Watts took a hiatus from wrestling.

Return to WCW (1998–1999)

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Watts returned to wrestling after a two-year hiatus on the April 16, 1998 edition ofThunder,Watts returned to WCW for a match againstYuji Nagata.[12]Eight months later Watts made a full-time return, and would win his first 2 matches back out of the gate. Before mainly being used as enhancement talent working onSaturday Night,WorldWideand on rare occasions onMonday Nitro.[13]He would receive a shot at theWCW Television Championshipon the March 30 edition of WCW Saturday Night, but would fall short at the hands of Booker T. His last TV appearance was on November 13 as he lost a match againstDisco Infernoon Saturday Night.[13]

Extreme Championship Wrestling (2000)

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Watts joined thePhiladelphia-basedExtreme Championship Wrestlingpromotion in 2000, losing toSpike Dudleyin hisECW Arenadebut. He remained with the promotion for two months before departing.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (2000)

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In late 2000, Watts worked forAll Japan Pro Wrestling.

Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling (2001)

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In 2001, Watts worked forDusty Rhodes'Turnbuckle Championship Wrestlingin Philadelphia where he won the TCW Tag Team titles withScotty Riggs.

NWA Total Nonstop Action (2002–2005)

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In 2002, Watts joinedNWA Total Nonstop Action.He eventually formed aheelstablewithDavid FlairandBrian Lawler(two other second generation wrestlers whose careers were overshadowed by those of their famous fathers,RicandJerry) known as "The Next Generation". After the faction disbanded, Wattsturnedface.He acted as theTNA Director of Authorityfrom July 23, 2003, to January 28, 2004, before being ousted from his position byDon Callis.Watts then feuded with his on-screen girlfriend,Goldy Locks,throughout 2004. In late 2004, he feuded withRaven,defeating him atFinal Resolutionon January 16, 2005, before leaving the promotion in February.

Retirement (2005–2006)

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After leaving TNA, Watts began working primarily for theGeorgia-based Great Championship Wrestling promotion. He also appeared withAWA Superstars of Wrestling,defeatingDiamond Dallas Pagefor the vacant International Heavyweight Championship on February 4, 2005, inTucson, Arizona,in a match refereed byMick Foley.The title was retired by the AWA Board of Directors later that year. In November 2009, Watts returned to Great Championship Wrestling, now based inPhenix City, Alabama,to be the promotion's booker. He is also playing an authority role on their weekly live events.

Championships and accomplishments

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References

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  1. ^abcd"OWOW profile".
  2. ^abcdefghiHarris M. Lentz III (January 1, 2003).Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling, 2d ed.McFarland. p. 378.ISBN978-0-7864-1754-4.
  3. ^abcde"Erik Watts".Cagematch.net.RetrievedJune 10,2016.
  4. ^abcdeCawthon, Graham (2013).the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 2: WWF 1990 - 1999.CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.ASINB00RWUNSRS.
  5. ^Assael, Shaun; Mooneyham, Mike (2004).Sex, Lies, and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment.Broadway. p. 107.ISBN1400051436.
  6. ^Shaun Assael; Mike Mooneyham (2002).Sex, Lies, and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and the World Wrestling Federation.Crown Publishers. pp.107.ISBN978-0-609-60690-2.
  7. ^"WCW 1992".thehistoryofwwe.January 16, 2023.
  8. ^Reynolds, R.D.; Alvarez, Bryan (2004).The Death of WCW.ECW Press. pp. 45–47.ISBN1550226614.
  9. ^Brian Shields (June 15, 2010).Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s.Simon and Schuster. p. 79.ISBN978-1-4516-0467-2.
  10. ^"WCW 1993".thehistoryofwwe.January 16, 2023.
  11. ^"WCW 1994".thehistoryofwwe.January 16, 2023.
  12. ^"WCW 1998".thehistoryofwwe.January 16, 2023.
  13. ^abCawthon, Graham (2015).the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 5: World Championship Wrestling 1995-2001.CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.ISBN978-1499656343.
  14. ^"AWA International Heavyweight Championship history".Archived fromthe originalon September 30, 2007.
  15. ^"Independent Wrestling Results - October 2004".Online World of Wrestling.RetrievedJuly 5,2008.
  16. ^"PWI Awards".Pro Wrestling Illustrated.Kappa Publishing Group.Archived fromthe originalon January 21, 2016.RetrievedJune 5,2018.
  17. ^"Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1998".The Internet Wrestling Database.RetrievedAugust 25,2015.
  18. ^"TCW Tag Team Championship history".
  19. ^abcMeltzer, Dave(January 26, 2011). "Biggest issue of the year: The 2011 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards Issue".Wrestling Observer Newsletter.Campbell, CA: 1–40.ISSN1083-9593.
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