| Dick Slater | |
|---|---|
 Slater, circa 1977 | |
| Birth name | Richard Van Slater |
| Born | (1951-05-19)May 19, 1951 Albany, New York,U.S.[1] |
| Died | October 18, 2018(2018-10-18) (aged 67) Largo, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Tampa |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Dick Slater[1][2] Mr. Florida[3] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[4] |
| Billed weight | 233 lb (106 kg)[4] |
| Trained by | Hiro Matsuda Eddie Graham |
| Debut | May 1972 (1972-05) |
| Retired | October 1996 (1996-10) |
Richard Van Slater (May 19, 1951 – October 18, 2018)[1] better known by his ring name"Dirty" Dick Slater, was an Americanprofessional wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s, 1980s, and mid-1990s for various promotions includingMid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling andWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW).
Slater began wrestling withMike Graham atRobinson High School, in Tampa, Florida. He attended theUniversity of Tampa withPaul Orndorff. From there he began wrestling inChampionship Wrestling from Florida andGeorgia Championship Wrestling. He worked as a booker inKnoxville, Tennessee afterRon Fuller sold his promotion toJim Barnett. He wrestled inMid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (laterWorld Championship Wrestling), where he appeared on the firstStarrcade. He also worked inMid-South Wrestling Association, where he was managed byDark Journey. Slater made some trips to theWorld Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico. He wrestled briefly in theWorld Wrestling Federation as a babyface under a "Rebel"gimmick, but soon returned to WCW. He wrestled there until receiving his back injury that ended his career.
In June 2004, Slater was convicted for the stabbing of his former girlfriend Theresa Halbert. He was sentenced to one year of house arrest and two years of probation. He blamed the incident on influence from painkillers.
Slater beganwrestling in 1968 withMike Graham atThomas Richard Robinson High School inTampa, Florida.Eddie Graham purchased a wrestling mat for his high school and started a high school wrestling program there. He wrestled in theAmateur Athletic Union (AAU), a program that trained young wrestlers to go to the Olympics.
Slater went to theUniversity of Tampa, where he played football in addition to wrestling (among his teammates wereJohn Matuszak andPaul Orndorff). He had a chance to play football for theMiami Dolphins but declined the opportunity, deciding to wrestle instead. After going to a national AAU meet, he was approached byMike Graham, who asked him if he wanted to become a professional wrestler; Slater decided to go to theTampa Sportatorium to train as a professional wrestler. There, he was trained byJack Brisco,Bob Roop,Hiro Matsuda, andBill Watts. Slater also became good friends withDick Murdoch around this time.
Slater debuted in 1972 withChampionship Wrestling from Florida, which was run byEddie Graham.[2] He stayed there for three years and won theNWA Florida Tag Team Championship (withDusty Rhodes, Stan Vachon,Toru Tanaka, andJohnny Weaver) and theNWA Florida Television Championship.[1]
After leaving CWF, Slater worked in California alongsideThe Von Brauners,Moondog Mayne,Pat Patterson, andRay Stevens. From there, he went toLas Vegas andReno, Nevada (traveling with Moondog Mayne frequently). Slater then went toGeorgia Championship Wrestling, an organization he credits with putting him on the map. He worked there for 8 years,[5] winning theNWA Georgia Heavyweight Championshipfour times, as well as theNWA Georgia Tag Team Championship andNWA Macon Tag Team Championship withBob Orton, Jr. During the time period he also won theNWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship and a number of Florida titles.[1] Slater commented that after winning the Missouri Heavyweight Title, he was in the mix to becomeNWA World Heavyweight Champion, but would attribute his not winning it to "politics".[5]
In 1983, Slater was working inKnoxville, Tennessee for Ron Fuller when Jim Barnett approached Slater with the idea of booking a television show in Atlanta forTed Turner. At the same time,Jim Crockett was buying outJim Barnett; thus, Slater started working for Crockett. Around the same time,Dusty Rhodes (one of Slater's manytag team partners) became a booker for Crockett. Slater teamed up withBob Orton, Jr., and began a feud withRic Flair where they attacked with anaided piledriver in an attempt to end his career. The team collected a bounty fromHarley Race, the reigningNWA World Heavyweight Champion for apparently ending Flair's career. Flair would return and attack Slater and Orton.[6][7] While Flair would go on to fight Race at Starrcade for the championship, Orton and Slater were placed in a tag team match withMark Youngblood andWahoo McDaniel, who sought retribution on Slater and Orton for attacking their friend Flair. At the event, Slater and Orton were victorious over Youngblood and McDaniel after Ortonsuperplexed Youngblood.
Slater has said that Crockett ran one of the hardest promotions to work for; in addition to wrestling for Crockett, Slater was also booking three other promotions,Bill Watts’, Joe Blanchard’s, andPaul Boesch's.[5] For a time in Mid-Atlantic, Slater was managed byGary Hart.[8] While in Mid-Atlantic, Slater won theNWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship,[9] theNWA Television Championship[10] and theNWA United States Heavyweight Championship[11] He also independently declared himself the true NWA World Heavyweight Champion during Flair's title reign, creating his own belt, and was involved in another program with Flair.
In 1985, Slater left Mid-Atlantic and went toMid-South Wrestling (run byBill Watts). He has said that the move was because he was tired of the promotion and the multiple bookings he did. In Mid-South, Slater took on his controversial valet ofDark Journey, whom he first saw dancing at a strip club; he eventually asked her to be his valet. His relationship with her caused a great deal oflegitimateheat (due to her beingAfrican-American).[12] While in Mid-South, Slater engaged in a lengthy feud withJake Roberts (who wouldDDT Dark Journey in one of their matches); Slater would also win theMid-South North American Championship, theMid-South Television Championship, and theUWF World Television Championship.[1]
Slater wrestled briefly for theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) as ababyface using a Southern "Rebel" gimmick. He debuted in WWF on the July 26, 1986 episode ofChampionship Wrestling by defeating The Gladiator.[13] While in the WWF, Slater had one match with Jake Roberts; however, this being 1980s WWF TV (where no mention was ever made of a wrestler's past) his Mid-South feud with Roberts was ignored. In that match, aired on a December 13, 1986 episode of WWF Superstars, Slater cleanly pinned Roberts but decision was reversed by referee Danny Davis when Roberts put his foot on the rope after the three count. Slater was then disqualified for hitting the referee. Slater defeatedMike Sharpe atThe Big Event and was squashed byDon Muraco in two minutes on theSaturday Night's Main Event VIII.[1][12] Shortly after his match with Muraco, the WWF began to use him as ajobber. His last televised appearance in WWF was on the May 4, 1987 episode ofPrime Time Wrestling, where he lost toButch Reed.[14]
After departing WWF, Slater touredAll Japan Pro Wrestling on numerous occasions between 1987 and 1990. He teamed withTommy Rich to participate in the1988 Real World Tag League for the vacantWorld Tag Team Championship but the duo lost all of their matches in the tournament.[15] On May 13, 1989, Slater andDanny Spivey unsuccessfully challengedJumbo Tsuruta andYoshiaki Yatsu for the World Tag Team Championship.[16] Later that year, Slater formed a tag team withJoel Deaton. The duo participated in the1990 Real World Tag League to crown the new World Tag Team Champions and won only two matches by defeating the teams ofDoug Furnas andRicky Santana and Mighty Inoue andRusher Kimura.[17]
Slater had a brief run in theAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA) where he was supposedly a bodyguard for AWA championCurt Hennig.
Slater returned toJim Crockett Promotions, then renamedWorld Championship Wrestling on the August 26, 1989 episode ofWorld Championship Wrestling as a member ofJ-Tex Corporation, facingSting in a match, which he lost bydisqualification after his J-Tex teammatesTerry Funk andThe Great Muta attacked Sting.[18][19] The group primarilyfeuded withRic Flair and Sting. He replaced an injuredTerry Funk to team up withThe Great Muta atClash of the Champions VIII in a losing effort against Ric Flair and Sting.[20] The match ended in a disqualification after Terry Funk placed a plastic bag over Ric Flair's head.[21] Slater was fired by WCW. However, he would come back to WCW for the final portion of his career in 1991.[22]
Slater returned to WCW in the summer of 1991 and formed a tag team withDick Murdoch called the Hardliners. Hardliners debuted as a team onClash of the Champions XV, by attackingSteiner Brothers,Hiroshi Hase andMasahiro Chono after anIWGP Tag Team Championship match between the two teams.[23] Hardliners' first match as a team took place on the June 29 episode ofWorldWide by defeatingenhancement talents Mike Jackson and Tim Parker.[24] Hardliners began a rivalry with Steiner Brothers but Scott suffered an injury and they wrestled Rick and his different tag team partners throughout the summer of 1991.[25] Hardliners participated in a tournament for the vacatedWorld Tag Team Championship, in which they wrestledThe Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin andMichael Hayes) to a double count-out in the first round on the July 27 episode ofWorld Championship Wrestling.[26] The team disbanded in the fall of 1991 and Slater competed in the Florida-based International Championship Wrestling Alliance (ICWA) for the rest of 1991.
On the July 4 episode ofSaturday Night, Slater returned to WCW television by teaming withGreg Valentine to defeatMarcus Alexander Bagwell andBig Josh. Slater would then form analliance with Valentine andThe Barbarian. Later that night, Slater and Barbarian challengedThe Fabulous Freebirds (Jimmy Garvin andMichael Hayes) to a match for theUnited States Tag Team Championship,[27] which took place on the July 12 episode ofMain Event, with Slater and Barbarian defeating Fabulous Freebirds to win the United States Tag Team Championship and becoming the final holders of the title as it was retired on July 31.[4][28] AtClash of the Champions XX, Slater and Valentine lost to the team ofArn Anderson andBobby Eaton.[29] Slater and Valentine competed in the tag team division for the rest of 1992 before splitting up and Slater began competing as a singles competitor.[28]
Slater returned to WCW in 1993 as the injuredPaul Orndorff's replacement againstRon Simmons in a match atClash of the Champions XXIII, which Slater lost.[30] Slater mainly competed as anenhancement talent for the rest of 1993 and most of 1994. On the December 3, 1994 episode ofSaturday Night, Slater replaced Terry Funk inCol. Robert Parker's groupStud Stable.[31][32] Slater was placed in a tag team with Stud Stable teammateBunkhouse Buck and the group started a feud withHarlem Heat because of a love/haterelationship between Parker and the Heat's manager,Sister Sherri. Slater and Buck faced Harlem Heat in a losing effort atThe Great American Bash.[33] On the July 22 episode ofSaturday Night, Slater and Buck defeated Harlem Heat to win theWorld Tag Team Championship due to an interference fromCol. Rob Parker.[34] After winning the titles, Slater and Buck feuded with teams such as theNasty Boys andStars n Stripes.[35] AtClash of the Champions XXXI, Slater, Buck and Parker lost a match to Harlem Heat and Sister Sherri,[36] resulting in Harlem Heat getting a title shot at Slater and Buck's World Tag Team Championship atFall Brawl, where Slater and Buckdropped the titles back to Harlem Heat.[37] Parker then dumped Slater and Buck for Sister Sherri.[38]
Slater and Buck continued to perform in the tag team division without Parker. AtWorld War 3, Slater participated in the inauguralnamesake match for the vacantWorld Heavyweight Championship, whichRandy Savage won.[39] After continuing to lose matches, Buck eventually abandoned Slater during a match againstThe American Males on the March 2, 1996 episode ofSaturday Night, leading to Slater losing thehandicap match to American Males, thus marking the end of the Stud Stable.[40] On the March 30 episode ofSaturday Night, Slater unsuccessfully challenged Ric Flair for the World Heavyweight Championship.[41]
Slater reunited with Col. Robert Parker in mid-1996. AtSlamboree, Slater andEarl Robert Eaton defeatedAlex Wright andDisco Inferno in a Lethal Lottery match and then defeatedJim Duggan andVK Wallstreet in the second match of the Lethal Lottery to qualify for theBattlebowl battle royal to determine the #1 contender for theWorld Heavyweight Championship atThe Great American Bash.Diamond Dallas Page won the Battlebowl to earn the title shot.[42] Shortly after, Slater formed a tag team withMike Enos called Rough 'n' Ready. The two began teaming with each other on the July 6 episode ofSaturday Night, where they were paired with VK Wallstreet againstLex Luger,Sting andRandy Savage in a losing effort.[43] Rough n Ready lost the majority of their matches but received five opportunities againstHarlem Heat for theWorld Tag Team Championship on WCW television during the next two months but failed to win the title.[44][45][46][47][48] InGainesville, Georgia, Slater blew out two vertebrae during a match in October 1996. The back injury ended his wrestling career and his run with Enos.[22]
Slater had three brothers, George, Russell and Carl Slater. He had four half-sisters, Nancy, Donna, Sandra and Catherine Slater. He had one daughter.
By 2003, Slater was largely confined to a wheelchair after a number of back surgeries. In June 2004, Slater was convicted of attacking his then-girlfriend, Theresa Halbert. On December 27, 2003, it was reported that Slater had stabbed Halbert with a butcher's knife. Slater claimed that the night before the incident, he had received "a shot of morphine and two forty milligram Oxycontins" at an emergency room, related to his numerous back injuries. In an interview with Mid-Atlantic Gateway, Slater said that "It was all drug related ... most of it all. I mean, I couldn’t tell you what happened ... if I didn’t know what happened...I really don’t know what actually took place, other than I was ... I woke up in Intensive Care in the hospital. I had gone to the hospital by ambulance the night before ... ". On June 10, 2004, Slater was sentenced to one year of house arrest and two years of probation. He was also sentenced to keep away from Halbert and pay more than $18,000 restitution.[49][50]
Before coming to Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, Slater was involved in an incident whereWahoo McDaniel shot him. Slater, McDaniel,Tommy Rich, andAndré the Giant were at a bar in Atlanta when someone in the bar made a comment about Rich's wife, which angered Rich and McDaniel. The man who had commented about Rich's wife got a knife, and seeing that, McDaniel got out a gun. André and Slater went out to the parking lot and watched the altercation; while they were watching McDaniel pistol-whip the man, the gun went off and Slater was hit by the bullet in the leg. Slater told the police that a sniper had shot him; he would return to the ring in just three weeks. Slater was also famous for an altercation in a bar in Tampa, Florida withJohn Matuszak, which Slater won.[51] Wrestling trainer and close friendLes Thatcher acknowledged that Slater had died on hisTwitter account.[52] His death was also confirmed by on-screen adversary Ric Flair, who paid tribute onYouTube.[53] According to the NWA's Twitter account, Slater died due to heart complications.[54]
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