 Buchanan in 2000 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Barry Buchanan (1968-01-15)January 15, 1968 (age 57) Bowdon, Georgia, U.S. |
| Children | Brooks Jensen |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | B-2 B² Barry Bret Buchanan Bull Buchanan Recon Lord Humongous Mr. Buchanan The Punisher Sam McGraw Bo Buchanan The Captain of Pro Wrestling |
| Billed height | 6 ft 7 in (201 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 296 lb (134 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | South Africa (as Recon) Eddyville, Kentucky (as Bull Buchanan) |
| Trained by | James Hammonds |
| Debut | 1995 |
Barry Buchanan (born January 15, 1968) is an Americanprofessional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with theWorld Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (WWF/WWE) under thering namesRecon,Bull Buchanan andB² and for his appearances withAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) andPro Wrestling Noah (NOAH) asBuchanan. Primarily atag team wrestler, Buchanan is a formerWWF World Tag Team Champion,All Asia Tag Team Champion,GHC Tag Team Champion andUSWA World Tag Team Champion.
Buchanan was trained to wrestle by James Hammonds. He debuted in 1995, wrestling on theNorth Georgiaindependent circuit as "The Punisher". Buchanan formed atag team withRic Savage called "Body Count". The duo competed inNational Championship Wrestling (NCW) until Buchanan was recruited byJim Cornette forSmoky Mountain Wrestling.
Buchanan debuted inSmoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) in 1995 as "The Punisher". He was a member ofJim Cornette'sstable "The Militia" and acted as Cornette'sbodyguard,feuding withBoo Bradley andThe Bullet. Buchanan wrestled on the final SMW show in December 1995, teaming withTommy Rich to wrestleBuddy Landel and The Bullet.
Known as Stud, he teamed with Billy Black as The Dark Riders. The team made two appearances forECW, with clips of a March 1996 match against ECW World Tag Team Champions,The Eliminators, airing on ECW's weekly television show.
After SMW closed, Buchanan signed a WWF developmental contract and was assigned to theUnited States Wrestling Association (USWA), where he was known as Recon ofthe Truth Commission. With his partnerThe Interrogator, Buchanan won theUSWA World Tag Team Championship on March 6, 1997, when they beatBilly Joe Travis andFlash Flanagan.[2] The duo only held the titles for a week before losing them back to Flash Flanagan and Billy Joe Travis.[2] The Truth Commission regained the titles on April 19 when they beatBilly Kidman andAce Darling inMemphis, Tennessee.[2] The second reign came to an end on May 14 whenSteven Dunn andPaul Diamond defeated Recon and the Interrogator.[2] Two weeks later, the Truth Commission became three times champions and held them until the titles were held up on June 14.[2] The titles were vacated because Truth Commission memberTank teamed up with Recon and the titles could not be defended by a substitute. The Truth Commission left the USWA only a short time later as they were being called up to theWorld Wrestling Federation.
The entire Truth Commission faction (except Sniper) up until that point were brought in to theWorld Wrestling Federation. They made their WWF debut on the June 28, 1997, episode ofShotgun Saturday Night. The following week,Sniper made his debut and soon after Tank was removed from the team.[3] The Truth Commission stable was short-lived; it disbanded in 1998, but Buchanan and Sniper of the Truth Commission stayed together as the short-lived tag team, Armageddon. After that team disappeared from TV, Buchanan remained under WWF contract, and was sent to their "developmental territory"Ohio Valley Wrestling to improve his skills. While there, Buchanan and partner Mr. Black captured theOVW Southern Tag Team Championship.[2]
Buchanan returned to the WWF on the March 19, 2000, edition ofSunday Night Heat, now under the name "Bull Buchanan" and dressed in aSWAT uniform, helping theBig Boss Man attackMideon. Buchanan and the Big Boss Man continued wearing matching SWAT-style uniforms and teaming together as Buchanan acted as some sort of aprotégé to Boss Man. The team had a decent amount of success as they defeatedThe Godfather andD'Lo Brown atWrestleMania 2000,[4] and beat theAcolytes the following month atBacklash.[5] The team split on the June 5, 2000, edition ofRaw Is War; after a loss to theHardy Boyz, Buchanan and Boss Man began to argue which led to shoving and eventually Boss Man knocking out Buchanan with hisnightstick when Buchanan's back was turned.
Buchanan briefly struck out on his own after that alliance ended, unsuccessfully participating in theKing of the Ring tournament, before joiningSteven Richards'ultra-conservative stableRight to Censor (RTC). On the July 24 episode ofRaw, Buchanan faced the Godfather, in which he agreed to give up pimping if he lost. Buchanan defeated The Godfather, who promptly joined RTC and renounced his former ways.[6] AtSummerSlam on August 27, Right to Censor defeatedToo Cool in a six-man tag team match.[7] On the September 11 episode ofRaw, Buchanan and the rechristened Goodfather defeated theAcolytes. After the match,Val Venis attacked the Acolytes, joining the group in the process.[8] AtUnforgiven, RTC defeated the Acolytes and theDudley Boyz.[9] AtNo Mercy on October 22, Buchanan and Goodfather entered into an elimination tag team tables match, which was won by the Dudley Boyz.[10] The next night onRaw,Ivory was announced as the newest member of the group.[11] Buchanan and Goodfather won theWWF Tag Team Championship from theHardy Boyz on the November 6 episode ofRaw.[12] AtSurvivor Series, Buchanan and Goodfather teamed up withEdge & Christian, to face the Hardys and the Dudleys in a losing effort.[13] AtRebellion, the duo retained the titles against the Hardys.[14] They lost the titles to Edge and Christian atArmageddon in a fatal four-way tag team match also involvingK-Kwik andRoad Dogg and the Dudleys.[15]
Buchanan entered the2001Royal Rumble match on January 21, 2001, at entry number 2, but was eliminated by the Hardys.[16] AtWrestleMania X-Seven, Buchanan, Goodfather and Venis were defeated by the APA (formerly the Acolytes) andTazz. Also at WrestleMania, Ivory lost theWWF Women's Championship toChyna.[17] On the April 26 episode ofSmackDown!, RTC lost to theBrothers of Destruction on a 4-on-2 handicap match, after all other members walked out on Richards mid-match.[18] Buchanan would continue to team with Goodfather, until the June 17 episode ofSunday Night Heat, where they lost to the Dudley Boyz.[19]
After Right to Censor was disbanded in mid-2001, Buchanan was once again sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling. In August 2002 he returned to the WWE after wrestling several matches with seemingly no character or purpose, until November 21 whenJohn Cena was pinned byRikishi. Buchanan came out and attacked Rikishi after the match thus aligning himself with Cena, who was beginning a rappergimmick in which he would freestyle rhyme about his opponent as he made his entrance. Buchanan stood as anenforcer character for Cena and eventually finished Cena's Freestyles with his own quote: "Boo-yah!"[20] Buchanan also began using the name B-2 (also written as B², pronounced "B-Squared"), and was also called Bling Bling Buchanan. This pairing did not last long. On the January 16, 2003, edition ofSmackDown!, Cena and B-2 lost toLos Guerreros in a tag team title match which led to Cena blaming B-2 after the match for being pinned. This led to Cena slapping B-2 and B-2 shoving Cena down. As B-2 went to attack Cena,Redd Dogg debuted and came through the crowd and joined Cena in a beatdown on B-2; thus, Redd Dogg replaced B-2 at Cena's side. B-2's last televised match was on January 19 at theRoyal Rumble in which he entered at number 11 and was eliminated in 24 seconds. B-2's last match was cut out of the January 23 edition ofSmackDown! in which Redd Dogg defeated B-2. B-2 was released from WWE on January 26, 2003.[21]
Buchanan returned for one night on September 5, 2006, losing toHenry Godwinn in a dark match forSmackDown!.
On the November 14, 2011, episode ofRaw, Buchanan made a one-night return to WWE in a segment whereMick Foley was bringing out people from John Cena's past, and Buchanan claimed that Cena ruined his life.[22]
After parting ways with WWE, he signed with topJapanese promotionAll Japan Pro Wrestling and performed as Buchanan. He debuted in early October and immediately aligned himself withTaka Michinoku,D'Lo Brown andThe Gladiator and eventually joinedRoughly Obsess and Destroy.[23][24] On October 26, Buchanan and Brown took onArashi andKeiji Muto for theWorld Tag Team Championship and lost.[25] In the World's Strongest Tag Determination League 2003, Buchanan teamed with Gigantes where they gained six points, therefore not enough to progress further. On February 11, 2004, he teamed with Gladiator in his second Unified World Tag Team Championship and lost to the champions,Kaz Hayashi andSatoshi Kojima.[26] Once again, Buchanan participated in the World's Strongest Tag Determination League for that year and teamed with D'lo Brown but would once again fall at the first hurdle. After teaming with various members of RO&D and having little success, he decided to bring in a new member which wasRico. This would prove to be the right choice as in their first match, on February 5, 2005, they defeatedMasayuki Naruse andMitsuya Nagai to become theAll Asia Tag Team Champions.[27] With that win, RO&D held all the championships in AJPW. Later in the month, there was an AJPW vs RO&D which RO&D won.[28] Buchanan would participate in his firstChampion Carnival 2005 where he gained five points. On May 27, 2005, Buchanan and Rico vacated the All Asia Tag Team Championship due to Rico retiring. In late 2005, RO&D became faces and feuded against theVoodoo Murders. During the transitional time, Buchanan and D'lo Brown lost toKatsuhiko Nakajima andKensuke Sasaki in a match for the All Asia Tag Team Championship and later in the year took part in World's Strongest Tag Determination League 2005. Over the last part of 2005 and most of 2006, Buchanan would team with various members of RO&D and take part in tournaments and had very little success. With that in mind, on September 17, 2006, Buchanan and his regular tag team partner, D'lo Brown, betrayed RO&D and joined the rival Voodoo Murders faction.[29] Buchanan and Brown continued to team with each other in Voodoo Murders and even took part in the World's Strongest Tag Determination League 2006 and once again lost. In early 2007, Buchanan and Brown left Voodoo Murders and AJPW to joinPro Wrestling Noah.
On May 17, 2007, Buchanan along with D'lo Brown and Taka Michinoku debuted forPro Wrestling Noah and would reformRoughly Obsess and Destroy. On July 8, Buchanan and Brown took onJun Akiyama andTakeshi Rikio for theGHC Tag Team Championship and lost.[30] After the tag titles were vacated, Buchanan and Brown took part in the GHC Tag Team Championship Decision Tournament where whoever gained the most points would win the tournament and the title. Buchanan and Brown gained six points, the most of any team, and therefore became the GHC Tag Team Champions.[31] However, the celebrations would be cut short because only a week later, on October 10, they lost the titles toNaomichi Marufuji andTakashi Sugiura. They would enter to Global Tag League 2008 and 2009 but would come short.[32] After being eliminated from the tournament, Buchanan would leave Noah but returned in February 2010 for one last tour.[32]
On October 30, 2004, Buchanan and AJ Steele defeated David Young and Sonny Siaki to become the GCW Tag Team Champions but a week later, Steele would turn on him and teamed up with Damien Steel in a two on one handicapped match for the titles which the Steele Brothers won.[33] Buchanan formed a stable called Bad Company which consisted of himself, David Young and The Grappler. In late 2004, Buchanan and The Grappler took on The Steele Brothers for the GCW Tag Team Championship and lost.[34] On April 23, 2005, Buchanan and Young defeated Southside Trash (Big Daddy and Rowdy) for the GCW Tag Team Championship.[33] on July 11, they lost the titles to John Bogie and Lee Thomas.[33] Over a year later on December 13, 2006, Buchanan and Johnny Swinger defeated The Diamonds In The Rough (David Young andElix Skipper) to become a three time GCW Tag Team Champion.[33] They would hold the titles for 56 days before losing them to the NOW (Hale Collins and Vik Dalishus).[33]
On September 29, 2007, Buchanan defeated former tag team partner, Johnny Swinger, to become the GCW Heavyweight Champion.[35] In December, Buchanan would lose the title back to Swinger.[35] He would challenge Swinger to several rematches but lost his first and won the second via DQ, therefore not winning the title back. In mid-2008, Buchanan would team up with another former partner, David Young, and Sonny Siaki.[34] Although neither of them had a tag team title shot, the three of them earned a shot at Swingers' heavyweight title and in a four-way elimination match, Swinger came out on top.[34] On June 27, 2008, Buchanan and Scotty Beach defeated Hot Like Lava (Cru Jones and Shaun Banks) for the GCW Tag Team Championship. They held the titles until September 18 when they lost them toMicah Taylor and Cru Jones.[34] On January 28, 2010, Buchanan defeated Kyle Matthews to become a two time GCW Heavyweight Champion, however, he would lose it to Murder-1 on February 11.[35] For the rest of 2010, Buchanan had multiple title shots but failed to capitalize on any of them.[34]
Buchanan worked mainly for Universal Independent Wrestling in Georgia in his final years as a performer. He retired from professional wrestling on November 22, 2014, teaming with D'Lo Brown to face AJ Steele and Brad Lynch in his final match.
In March 2019, Buchanan returned to the ring teaming with his son Ben where they won a tag team match.[36]
Buchanan has two sons named Benjamin and Zach. Benjamin, who is also a professional wrestler currently performs for theWWE onNXT under the ring nameBrooks Jensen. His other son, Zach, is currently an independent wrestler within the West Georgia area.
Buchanan has also started a wrestling promotion called "Bullpen Professional Wrestling", including independent wrestlers such as Zach Buchanan, AJ Black, Jaden Vain, JT Paradox, Sean Nelson, Dante Diamond and Trey Jordan. The promotion, started on June 8, 2024, is located inBowdon, Georgia.
(August 18, 1997) Recon & Sniper defeated Blackjack Windham & Blackjack Bradshaw
The Goodfather & Bull Buchanon defeated the Acolytes at 2:36 when Buchanon pinned Farooq with the axe kick; after the match, Val Venis attacked the Acolytes with a chair and joined the RTC.
(November 19, 2002) Rikishi pinned John Cena with a belly to belly suplex; after the match, Bull Buchanan attacked Rikishi and left ringside with Cena
(Translated from German) (October 11, 2003) The Gladiator, TAKA Michinoku, Gigantes & Buchanan defeated Keiji Muto, Arashi, Tomoaki Honma & Kaz Hayashi (15:00)
(Translated from German) (October 10, 2003)Gigantes, Buchanan & D-Lo Brown defeated Keiji Muto, Arashi & Tomoaki Honma (14:11)
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