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 Reed,c. 1983 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bruce Franklin Reed[4] (1954-07-11)July 11, 1954[1] Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.[1] |
| Died | February 5, 2021(2021-02-05) (aged 66) Warrensburg, Missouri, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Central Missouri[2] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Bruce Reed[1] Butch Reed[2] Doom #2[3] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 262 lb (119 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Kansas City, Missouri[2] |
| Trained by | Ronnie Etchison |
| Debut | 1978 |
| Retired | 2013 |
Bruce Franklin Reed (July 11, 1954 – February 5, 2021) was an Americanprofessional wrestler andfootball player, better known by thering nameButch Reed.[2] He playedcollege football at theUniversity of Central Missouri, was a star inMid-South Wrestling and had high-profile tag team matches in theWorld Wrestling Federation (such as the firstSurvivor Series main event) andWorld Championship Wrestling (where he held the championship withRon Simmons, asDoom).
Reed attended theUniversity of Central Missouri, where he playedcollege football.[5]In 1976, he signed as a rookie free agent with theKansas City Chiefs of theNational Football League, but thelinebacker was cut before the season.[2][6][7]
Butch Reed was trained to wrestle by Ronnie Etchison debuting in 1978. Early on he wrestled as Bruce Reed adopting the "Hacksaw" nickname over time. Reed andJerry Roberts beat Mike George and Bob Sweetan for the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship in 1980[8] and lost it to The Kelly Twins in January 1981. His next title also came as one half of a tag team when he andSweet Brown Sugar won the Florida version of theNWA North American Tag Team Championship when they beatDory Funk, Jr. andDavid Von Erich in 1982.[8] Reed wrestled mainly for theNWA in the early 1980s and made a name for himself in their St. Louis,Florida Championship Wrestling andGeorgia Championship Wrestling territories. On April 7, 1982, Reed had what is now recognized as the first 5-star rated match by Dave Meltzer in which he challengedRic Flair for the NWA title in Miami, Florida.
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Reed established himself as a force to be reckoned with while competing inBill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling from 1983 through early 1986. In Mid-South, he was known as "Hacksaw" Butch Reed and came into the territory as a tag team partner for the mainface in the territory theJunkyard Dog. Reed immediately came face to face with"Hacksaw" Jim Duggan over the "Hacksaw" nickname. Back in 1983, Duggan was part of theheel group, The Rat Pack, along withTed DiBiase andMatt Borne and used every dirty move he could think of to beat Reed. He and Duggan feuded over the "Hacksaw" name until Dugganturned face. This resulted in Reed's heel turn when Duggan was picked to be the Junkyard Dog's tag team partner over Reed.
Reed appeared on TV stating that "Butch Reed is going to start looking out for Butch Reed", which prompted the Junkyard Dog (JYD) to join him in the ring. After arguing back and forth, Reed attacked JYD and was soon joined in the attack by DiBiase. On July 16, 1983, Reed won theMid-South North American Heavyweight Championship and turned back JYD's challenges in subsequent months.[8] In October 1983, Reed's arrogance made him agree to let the Mid-South fans pick a challenger for the North American title; he let them pick from the JYD, "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, newcomerKrusher Khruschev, andMagnum T. A. The fans picked JYD but Reed dismissed the choice; he also said Duggan and Khruschev did not deserve a shot and instead gave the title shot to T.A., who won the title, then lost it twelve days later toNikolai Volkoff.[8]
On the same night that Reed lost the North American title, he and partnerJim Neidhart beat Magnum T. A. and "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan to win theMid-South Tag Team Championship.[8] After a few weeks, the North American title was returned to Reed, claiming that the title match with T.A. was not legal since the fans chose JYD. Reed's run as a double champion did not last long as JYD got his title shot withDusty Rhodes as the special guest referee.[8] After losing the North American title, Reed and Neidhart focused on the tag team titles and defended them against all comers. When Magnum andMr. Wrestling II challenged for the titles, they felt that the challengers had to put up something of their own: Mr. Wrestling II's mask. Mr. Wrestling did not unmask that night as they took the gold from Reed and Neidhart in aSteel cage match onChristmas of 1983.[8] Neidhart and Reed started to blame each other and had a short, brutal feud.
The Neidhart feud was soon replaced with one withTerry Taylor who came out to save Neidhart from being beaten down with a football helmet after a match. The Reed/Taylor feud raged all through the spring of 1984 and was instrumental in establishing Terry Taylor as a star in Mid-South. The feud soon expanded to include"Nature Boy" Buddy Landel as Reed's tag team partner and saw Reed attack Taylor with a "Coalminer's Glove" on several occasions. After fighting with Terry Taylor for months on end, Reed's attention turned from Taylor back to his old enemy the Junkyard Dog. During a match, Reed and Landel attacked JYD as he performed under a mask as "Stagger Lee" and painted him yellow. The war between the two brought inSonny King and laterErnie Ladd to team with Junkyard Dog. After the tag matches, came brutal singles matches such asDog Collar Matches.
Just as the feud was about to reach its heated highlight, the Junkyard Dog left Mid-South and signed with theWorld Wrestling Federation without informingbooker Bill Watts of his decision. This meant that the federation was without their biggest face and the shows had to be hastily rebooked. Watts brought in "Master G" (journeyman wrestlerGeorge Wells) to take JYD's place but the feud between Reed and "Master G" never took off forcing Watts to rethink his options. When"General" Skandor Akbar entered the Mid-South and started to build astable of heels, he presented Buddy Landel with a golden Rolex watch with the understanding that it wasn't actually for Landel but for someone else Akbar was trying to recruit. When Landel tried to give the watch to Reed, he became incensed, in thestoryline, stomped on the watch, and started to brawl with his former partner. Akbar and his cronies came to ringside, which prompted Reed to rant on them getting the crowd behind him as he told them he didn't need back-up. When "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan came to his rescue from a 3 on 1 attack, Reed's face status was cemented. The two Hacksaws feuded with Akbar's army of Landel, DiBiase,Steve Williams, andHercules. The two Hacksaws were successful at first, until Reed came up againstKamala. He proved to be too much for Reed, beating him all over the Mid-South territory before Reed quietly left.
Reed went to theAmerican Wrestling Association for a short stint asJimmy Garvin's bodyguard, then returned to Mid-South in the middle of 1985. In October, he beatDick Murdoch for the North American title.[8] Around this time, he had a famous one-hour time-limit draw with NWA Champion"Nature Boy" Ric Flair and feuded withDick Slater when Slater helped Ric Flair keep the world title. In January 1986, Slater won the North American title from Butch Reed through underhanded means.[8]
After leaving Mid-South Wrestling once more, Reed returned to Kansas City and the NWA Central States territory run byBob Geigel. Here he initially teamed withRufus R. Jones . He later turned on Jones and joined the group of manager Slick in 1986. After a brief feud with Jones, Reed feuded withBruiser Brody. That summer, he lost aLoser Leaves Town match to Brody and left the territory along with Slick.
Reed and Slick signed with theWWF and were brought in as a package.[9][self-published source] Reed dyed his hair blond and became "The Natural" Butch Reed, an updated version ofSweet Daddy Siki.[10] He feuded initially withTito Santana, a target of Slick's verbal jabs, and made hispay-per-view debut atWrestleMania III, where he defeatedKoko B. Ware.[11]
In the weeks after WrestleMania, Reed targeted newIntercontinental championRicky Steamboat and faced him at house shows and on an episode ofWrestling Challenge. Reed was a no show in Buffalo, NY where Steamboat lost the belt to Honky Tonk Man.
In the fall, the WWF was heavily hyping a feud between Reed andSuperstar Billy Graham, a formerWWF champion who was staging a comeback after hip-replacement surgery. Graham's condition was such that he could no longer handle the physical demands of being a wrestler, so Reed and Slick's newest acquisition, theOne Man Gang, "injured" Graham in a sneak attack that was used to explain his permanent retirement. Graham began managing the man who came to his aid,Don Muraco, with Muraco immediately entering into a rivalry with Reed. The enemies were on opposing teams in the main event of thefirst Survivor Series (Muraco took Graham's place onHulk Hogan's team); Reed (a member ofAndré the Giant's team), was the first elimination of the match, by Hogan.[12]
Reed competed in (and was the first wrestler eliminated from) thefirst Royal Rumble match in January 1988. Two months later, he was eliminated in the first round of theWrestleMania IV championship tournament by eventual winnerRandy Savage. Reed dominated most of the match against Savage, but spent too much time mouthing off to Savage's manager (and real-life wife)Miss Elizabeth while climbing to the top turnbuckle. Savage caught Reed, threw him off for a slam and immediately hit hisdiving elbow drop off the top turnbuckle for the win. This first round loss at WrestleMania IV was Reed's final match for the WWF.[13]
On September 9, 2007, Reed made acameo appearance backstage at the September 14 edition of WWESmackDown!, during a segment involving his former manager and SmackDown!General managerTheodore Long.
Shortly after WrestleMania IV, Reed and the WWF parted ways,[10] Reed's manager Slick stayed with the WWF while Reed struck out on his own once more. Butch Reed resurfaced in the NWA'sJim Crockett Promotions as "Hacksaw" Butch Reed. He more or less immediately resumed his Mid-South feud with The Junkyard Dog.[14] He was briefly managed byJ. J. Dillon before his contract was "sold" toHiro Matsuda's "Yamasaki Corporation". Reed did not see much success in the early parts of his run with JCP; his biggest match was a loss toSting at theChi-Town Rumble on February 20, 1989.[15] During the summer of 1989, he floundered in the mid-card as Jim Crockett Promotions grew to become a national wrestling organization.
TheSteiner Brothers were involved in anangle withWoman who promised "Doom" for the two brothers but never specified exactly what this meant. She unveiled her promise atHalloween Havoc 1989, a couple of brawny, hard hitting masked African-Americans.[16] It was obvious to most wrestling fans thatRon Simmons and Butch Reed were under the masks — they had both been on WCW television shortly before Doom debuted, and they were the only two African-American wrestlers in the company with the same massive physical appearance — but the announcers were made to keep up the storyline (although Jim Ross accidentally exposed Reed's identity on commentary duringStarrcade 89: Future Shock). Doom won their debut match against the Steiners when one of the members of Doom pinned Rick Steiner after a headbutt with an illegal object in his mask. Doom followed up on this success by defeatingEddie Gilbert andTommy Rich atClash of the Champions IX, looking very strong in the process.[17]
Doom's next PPV outing did not come with the same success. Along with the Steiner Brothers, theRoad Warriors, and theSamoan Swat Team they were entered in a one night, tag teamround robin tournament. They did not score a single point, ending dead last in the tournament.[18] Doom's misfortune continued as Woman soon dropped the team and left the federation. Then on February 6, 1990, atClash of the Champions X, Doom were defeated by the Steiner Brothers and as a result of the stipulation were forced to unmask.[19]
Doom beat the Steiner Brothers[8] atCapital Combat;[20] at that point in time, the Steiners didn't lose very often. Doom won the tag team titles and quickly set about defending them against the former champions the Steiners as well the rest of WCW's very talented tag team division. In the fall of 1990, Doom soonfeuded withThe Four Horsemen and defended against them in two inconclusive tag team title matches atHalloween Havoc 1990[21] andStarrcade 1990.[22] AtClash of the Champions XIV, Doom lost a non-title match toSting andLex Luger[23] in a match that foreshadowed the trouble that lay ahead.
On February 24, 1991, at WCW'sWrestleWar PPV, Doom took on former tag team championsThe Fabulous Freebirds[24] and lost due to miscommunication between Reed and Simmons.[8] After the Freebirds left the ring, Reed turned on Simmons and beat him up; this turned Simmons face and ended the team of Doom forever. Teddy Long sided with Butch Reed as the former Doom partners engaged in a short but intense feud. The feud culminated atSuperBrawl I where Ron Simmons pinned Butch Reed in aSteel cage match (referred to as a "Thunder-Doom" cage match).[25] After the PPV, Reed left the company for a short while only to return in 1992 siding withThe Barbarian andCactus Jack. Reed and the Barbarian teamed up to defeatDustin Rhodes andBarry Windham atClash of the Champions XX[26] but left WCW for good shortly afterwards.
After leaving WCW, Reed went to theUnited States Wrestling Association where he resumed feuding with Junkyard Dog. Reed beat him for theUSWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship on October 12, 1992.[8] He held the title for a week before he lost it toTodd Champion.[8] He left the promotion before 1992 ended.
Reed next appeared for a notable promotion in 1994, theGlobal Wrestling Federation in its last days. He became the penultimateGWF North American champion on June 4, 1994, when he beatRod Price for the held-up title. It had been held up the previous day after a match he had with Price got out of hand and ended inconclusively.[8] He held it for almost a month before losing it to"Gentleman" Chris Adams, who was the last GWF North American champion.[8]
Reed continued to work on the independent scene on a part-time basis so that he could participate in therodeo circuit inKansas City. In 2000, he started working forHarley Race's WLW promotion. He beat Luminous Warrior for the WLW Heavyweight Title on March 31, 2001[27] and held the title until Dennis McHawes beat him for it on January 25, 2002.[27] After losing the title, he retired from wrestling.
After being retired for three years, Reed returned in 2005, appearing several times for Mid States Wrestling and eventually defeating Heavyweight Champion "Mr. Saturday Night" Michael Barry on November 11, 2005, for the Mid States Wrestling Heavyweight title. He also participated in the "Legends of Wrestling" tour in 2006. On August 18, 2007, he lost toSteve Williams at NWA Legends Fanfest.
Reed's last match was on May 18, 2013, teaming withBob Orton Jr. and losing toFlash Flanagan andRon Powers at SICW in East Carondelet, Illinois.[28]
In July 2016, Reed was named part of aclass action lawsuit filed against WWE which alleged that wrestlers incurred traumatic brain injuries during their tenure and that the company concealed the risks of injury. The suit was litigated by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who has been involved in a number of other lawsuits against WWE.[29] In September 2018, the lawsuit was dismissed by US District JudgeVanessa Lynne Bryant.[30]
On February 5, 2021, an Instagram post from Reed's official account announced his death from complications of two heart attacks that occurred in January.[31] His relatives attributed his death toCOVID-19, and said he tested positive around January 12. He was 66 years old.[5]
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