 Blanchard in 2019 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Tully Arthur Blanchard (1954-01-22)January 22, 1954 (age 72)[1] |
| Alma mater | West Texas State University |
Spouses | |
| Children | 4; includingTessa |
| Family | Joe Blanchard (father) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Midnight Stallion[1] The Outlaw Tully Blanchard[1] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 225 lb (102 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | San Antonio, Texas Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Trained by | Joe Blanchard[1] José Lothario[1] |
| Debut | 1975[1] |
Tully Arthur Blanchard (born January 22, 1954) is an American-Canadianprofessional wrestler andmanager. He is best known for his appearances withJim Crockett Promotions and theWorld Wrestling Federation in the mid-to-late 1980s as a member ofThe Four Horsemen and theBrain Busters.Championships held by Blanchard over his career include theNWA Television Championship,NWA World Tag Team Championship,WWF World Tag Team Championship, andNWA United States Heavyweight Championship. He was inducted into theNWA Hall of Fame in 2009 and theWWE Hall of Fame in 2012.[1][2]
Blanchard's fatherJoe Blanchard was also a professional wrestler, as is his daughterTessa Blanchard.
As the son of wrestling promoter and formerAmerican Wrestling Association starJoe Blanchard,[1] Tully Blanchard was involved in professional wrestling at a very young age. He began selling programs and refreshments at the arenas at the age of ten, and worked as a referee when he was older.
Blanchard attendedWest Texas State University, where he playedAmerican football, first as aquarterback and then as adefensive end, alongside fellow future wrestlersTito Santana andTed DiBiase.
Blanchard was trained to wrestle by his father andJosé Lothario, debuting in 1975 in his father's promotion,Southwest Championship Wrestling, where he also held a number of backstage production and creative positions. He began his career as a face bytag teaming with his father in a feud againstDory Funk, Jr. andTerry Funk.
Between 1978 and 1983, Blanchard held theSCW Southwest Television Championship andSCW Southwest Heavyweight Championship on seven occasions. He formed heel tag team withGino Hernandez, "The Dynamic Duo". They held theTexas All-Star USA Tag Team Championship on five occasions and theSCW World Tag Team Championship on one occasion in the early 1980s.
In 1984, Blanchard left SCW forJim Crockett Promotions.
In March 1984, Blanchard joinedJim Crockett Promotions /Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (MACW). Blanchard swiftly defeatedMark Youngblood for theNWA Television Championship, and defended the title against contenders such asRicky Steamboat, whom he defeated atStarrcade '84: The Million Dollar Challenge in December 1984.
In January 1985, Blanchard began a feud withDusty Rhodes over the Television Championship. In February 1985, Blanchard introducdBaby Doll as his newvalet. On March 16, 1985 at the Silver Star '85 show, Rhodes defeated Blanchard for the Television Championship (which was renamed the NWA World Television Championship), ending Blanchard's 353-day reign. The two men continued to feud over the title, with Blanchard regaining it from Rhodes in April 1985, then losing it back to Rhodes in July 1985 at theinaugural Great American Bash in asteel cage match. As a stipulation of the match, Rhodes also won the services of Baby Doll for 30 days, with vignettes airing in which Rhodes tried to turn her into a "real lady."[3][4]
After Blanchard's feud with Rhodes ended, he began pursuing theNWA United States Heavyweight Championship held byMagnum T. A.. Much like his feud with Dusty Rhodes, Blanchard's rivalry with Magnum escalated into a series of bloody and brutal matches, and became one of the top feuds in the NWA. On July 21, 1985, Blanchard defeated Magnum for the United States Heavyweight Championship by punching him with a foreign object in his hand given to him by Baby Doll, who came to ringside dressed as a security guard. The feud culminated in December 1985 atStarrcade '85: The Gathering during a brutal and extremely bloody"I quit" match held inside a steel cage. The match ended with Magnum driving a piece of a broken wooden chair into Blanchard's forehead, which was already deeply cut and bleeding profusely, forcing him to submit and concede the title. Blanchard subsequently fired Baby Doll as his manager, slapping her during an interview segment and reigniting his feud withDusty Rhodes, who came to her aid.J. J. Dillon then became Blanchard's manager.
Throughout the latter half of 1985, Blanchard and a number of high-profile wrestlers in the company had often competed together, usually in variations of tag team matches or interfering in one another's matches if they appeared to be losing. These wrestlers includedOle Anderson, who had long since become a legendary figure in the Mid-Atlantic and Georgia territories, rising starArn Anderson andRic Flair, the biggest star in the promotion andNWA World Heavyweight Champion. In early-1986, the foursome became a solidified group and called themselves theFour Horsemen. The group quickly established dominance within the territory by capturing numerous championships with Arn being the NWA World Television Champion simultaneously, Blanchard winning theNWA National Heavyweight Championship in March 1986 and with Flair as the NWA World Champion. The Horsemen feuded with the top baby faces of the territory including Magnum T. A.,Nikita Koloff, Dusty Rhodes,Wahoo McDaniel,The Rock 'n' Roll Express, andThe Road Warriors.
The Horsemen continued to feud with the other top stars of the NWA throughout 1986, particularly after forcing out Ole Anderson and replacing him withLex Luger. In August 1986, Blanchard lost the NWA National Heavyweight Championship to McDaniel. AtStarrcade '86: Night of the Skywalkers in November 1986, Blanchard defeated Dusty Rhodes in afirst blood match to win the NWA World Television Championship for a third time.
By mid-1987, Blanchard and Anderson began competing regularly on the tag team circuit and quickly entered into a feud with the Rock 'n' Roll Express over theNWA World Tag Team Championship. The feud culminated in late September after Blanchard and Anderson won the titles after a number of high-profile matches.
Toward the end of 1987 Lex Luger defected from the Horsemen and feuded with all of them over the course of the next several months. Luger quickly formed a partnership withBarry Windham and competed in the tag team division as well. The new duo defeated Anderson and Blanchard on March 27, 1988, though they would lose the titles back to them a little more than a month later after Windham turned on Luger and became the newest Horseman.
After clashing with Jim Crockett and bookerDusty Rhodes about their pay, Blanchard and Arn Anderson left MACW in September 1988, losing in an 11th-hour title change to theMidnight Express after a brief feud. Fellow Horseman Barry Windham and manager J. J. Dillon would leave later for similar reasons; Ric Flair, meanwhile, considered leaving but decided to stay when the NWA re-signed his old friend Ricky Steamboat and put them in a program together.
.jpg)
Leaving Jim Crockett Promotions in September 1988, the following month Blanchard and Anderson joinedVince McMahon'sWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF). Upon arrival, they were givenBobby "The Brain" Heenan as theirmanager, joining hisHeenan Family stable, and dubbed the "Brain Busters". They competed in the tag team division against teams such asthe Young Stallions andthe Rockers. AtSurvivor Series in November 1988, the Brain Busters took part in a 10 team elimination match, teaming withDemolition,the Bolsheviks,Los Conquistadores, and theFabulous Rougeaus in a loss to theBritish Bulldogs,Hart Foundation,Powers of Pain, Rockers, and Young Stallions. In January 1989, Blanchard entered theRoyal Rumble, but was eliminated byHulk Hogan. Following the Royal Rumble, the Brain Busters wrestled a lengthy series of matches against the Rockers. AtWrestleMania V in April 1989, they defeatedStrike Force afterRick Martel abandoned his partnerTito Santana.
AtSaturday Night's Main Event XXI in April 1989, the Brain Busters challenged Demolition for theWWF Tag Team Championship, winning by disqualification. After a series of matches againstthe Bushwhackers, the Brain Busters faced Demolition in a rematch atSaturday Night's Main Event XXII in July 1989, winning the titles and ending Demolition's record 478 day reign after Heenan Family memberAndré the Giant interfered on their behalf. AtSummerSlam in August 1989, they defeated the Hart Foundation in a non-title match. Following a series of title defences against Demolition, the Brain Busters lost the titles back to Demolition onWWF Superstars in October 1989. The Brain Busters faced Demolition in a series of rematches over the following weeks but failed to regain the titles.
AtSaturday Night's Main Event XXIV at the end of October 1989, the Brain Busters lost to the Rockers in atwo out of three falls match; this was Blanchard's final match in the WWF. Around this time, Anderson and Blanchard had given their notice to the WWF amidst plans to return to WCW and reform the Four Horsemen. After Blanchard failed adrug test, testing positive forcocaine and causing his premature departure from the WWF and the withdrawal of his employment offer by WCW headJim Herd, which in turn caused Herd to also reduce Arn Anderson's contract offer from $250,000 per year to $150,000.[5][6] Heenan replaced Blanchard as part of the Heenan Family team at theSurvivor Series five days later.
Blanchard debuted in theMinneapolis, Minnesota-basedAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA) in March 1990, aligning himself with theDestruction Crew. AtSuperClash IV on April 8, 1990, he defeatedTommy Jammer. He made his final appearance with the AWA in May 1990.
In 1993, World Championship Wrestling offered Blanchard a US$500 per appearance contract to reform The Four Horsemen atSlamboree 1993. Blanchard did not accept the offer, considering the offer to be too low, and WCW replaced him withPaul Roma. One year later, atSlamboree 1994, Blanchard appeared with WCW for a single night, wrestling Terry Funk to a double disqualification.
In January 1995, Blanchard debuted in thePhiladelphia, Pennsylvania-basedExtreme Championship Wrestling promotion, wrestlingECW World Heavyweight ChampionShane Douglas to a time limit draw. He challenged Douglas again in February and March, losing on both occasions.
On September 12, 1998, Blanchard teamed up with fellow Four Horseman alumnus, Barry Windham, and defeated the Border Patrol to win the NWA World Tag Team Titles.
In October 1998, he appeared at the NWA 50th Anniversary Show, teaming withTom Prichard in a four-way tag match as The Brotherhood (Knuckles Nelson andEric Sbraccia) and won the NWA Tag Team titles.
He defeatedStan Lane at theHeroes of Wrestling PPV on October 10, 1999.
In the mid-2000s, Blanchard briefly worked forWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as aproducer.
On January 29, 2005, atWrestleReunion, Blanchard lost toJeff Jarrett. On August 10, 2007, he lost toDustin Rhodes at anNational Wrestling Alliance Legends Fanfest in Charlotte, North Carolina.
He appeared prominently in the 2007DVDRic Flair and the Four Horsemen. On the March 31, 2008, edition ofWWE Raw, Blanchard reunited withArn Anderson,J. J. Dillon, andBarry Windham to salute the recently retiredRic Flair. In November 2008, he hosted part 2 of the 5 part EssentialStarrcade series onWWE 24/7 Classics on Demand as well as appearing in one of the matches. On March 31, 2012, Tully Blanchard was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame as a member of The Four Horsemen.
Blanchard was the head booker of the NWA New Beginnings territory in Charlotte, North Carolina and was a backstage agent for the wrestling shows staged as part of the 2010 and 2011 NWA Legends Convention.
On April 27, 2016, Blanchard appeared alongside Ric Flair and Arn Anderson in an episode ofTable For 3 onWWE Network, where the three former members of the Horsemen discussed their lives during and after their years as a team.
Blanchard made a surprise appearance during a sit down interview with Jim Ross and Shawn Spears on AEW's "Road to All Out" YouTube series that premiered July 17, 2019.[7] It was announced the following day that Blanchard had signed a multi-show deal to serve as an"exclusive advisor" forShawn Spears inAll Elite Wrestling.[8] AtAll Out, Blanchard accompanied Spears for his match against Cody, but in a losing effort after interference from Blanchard's former Four Horsemen stablemate,Arn Anderson, who delivered a spinebuster on Spears and chased Blanchard out of the arena.[9] AtFull Gear, Blanchard helped Spears defeatJoey Janela by delivering an assisted piledriver on the concrete. In February 2020, Blanchard and Spears began a campaign to recruit a new tag team partner for Spears. However, the angle was dropped due to theCOVID-19 pandemic and Blanchard being unable to appear on television. On the June 3 episode ofAEW Dynamite, Blanchard returned and berated Spears for making a joke out of himself atDouble or Nothing. He then presented Spears with a black glove similar to the one worn byBlackjack Mulligan andTed Dibiase.[10] Blanchard officially aligned withFTR on August 22, leadingDax Harwood andCash Wheeler to defeatKenny Omega andAdam Page for theAEW World Tag Team Championship atAll Out.[11] On the March 3, 2021, special episode ofDynamite (entitled"The Crossroads"), Tully had his first match in 14 years, teaming with FTR to defeat Jurassic Express in a match where they were managed byJ. J. Dillon.[12] On March 10, Blanchard, Spears and FTR joined the faction led byMJF namedThe Pinnacle.[13] On the March 9th, 2022 episode of Dynamite Tully was fired by FTR as their manager after a disagreement of what FTR's focus as a team should be.
After getting fired by FTR, Blanchard was moved to AEW's sister promotionRing of Honor (ROH). In ROH, Blanchard managed theGates of Agony (Toa Liona andKaun) andBrian Cage, collectively known as "Tully Blanchard Enterprises".[14] During the July 23, 2022, Death Before Dishonor, a storyline revealed thatPrince Nana had purchased Tully Blanchard Enterprises from Blanchard. It was soon revealed that the group would now be going underThe Embassy name, the long-time group associated with Nana dating back to 2004.[15] Blanchard subsequently departed AEW and ROH.[16]
Blanchard was first married on May 7, 1978, to Elizabeth Diane Boyles inBexar County, Texas.[17] However, the marriage ended in divorce on June 30, 1980.[18]
Blanchard later married Courtney Shattuck. Together, they had four children: Taylor, Tanner, Tessa and Tally. They later divorced with Courtney marrying another former wrestler,Magnum T. A., in March 2005.[19] He says it took him twenty years to come to terms with his and his wife's falling-out and his relatively sparse presence in his children's lives.
Blanchard became aborn-again Christian on November 13, 1989. He currently has aprisonministry, where he preaches to inmates. In 2010 Tully Blanchard joinedInternational Network of Prison Ministries, where he serves on the Board of Advisers.[20]
1Typically defended in Georgia, the title was won after Georgia Championship Wrestling was purchased by theWorld Wrestling Federation.
2Not to be confused with the Vancouver, British Columbia based promotion that existed from the early '60s to the late '80s. This North Carolina promotion lasted from March 1998 until January 1999.
3The last TV title he won on January 12, 1979, was renamed to Heavyweight title in February 1979.
,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling DatabaseLinks to related articles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
