.png) Boyd,c. 1983 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jonathan Barry Boyle[2] 21 October 1944[3] Sydney, Australia |
| Died | 7 August 1999(1999-08-07) (aged 54) Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring names |
|
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[1] |
| Billed weight | 238 lb (108 kg)[1] |
| Billed from | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Tasmania, Australia |
| Trained by | Al Morgan[1] |
| Debut | 1965[1] |
| Retired | 1991[1] |
Jonathan Barry Boyle (21 October 1944 – 7 August 1999) was an Australianprofessional wrestler, better known by thering name "Lord"Jonathan Boyd. Initially Boyd competed both in North American and international promotions as part of theRoyal Kangaroos with his cousinNorman Frederick Charles III. Later on Boyd would team up withLuke Williams as theSheepherders and compete in many North American federations such as theContinental Wrestling Association,Southeast Championship Wrestling, andSouthwest Championship Wrestling. Boyd would also act as a manager for Luke andButch Miller as they competed under the "Sheepherder" name.
Boyle made his professional wrestling debut in 1965, spending several years wrestling forWorld Championship Wrestling in his native Australia. After several years, he and his cousin,Norman Frederick Charles III, relocated to North America to compete as theRoyal Kangaroos, a name inspired by the legendarytag team theFabulous Kangaroos.[4]
Boyle and Charles worked mainly forPacific Northwest Wrestling in Oregon, capturing their firstNWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship from Kurt and Karl Von Steiger on 11 July 1971. They won the titles three more times in 1971 and 1972.[5] Boyd would also work in the singles ranks capturing the main NWA Pacific Northwest title on 31 July 1971 when he defeated Kurt Von Steiner for theNWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship. Boyd lost the title to Dutch Savage only to regain it a month later on 28 November. On 28 December, Savage once again beat Boyd for the title and subsequently managed to keep it away from him.[5]
From July 1972 to October 1973, the Royal Kangaroos worked forMid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling. In late 1972, they began a lengthy feud with Art Nelson andJohnny Weaver. During their time in the promotion, they held the NWA Brass Knuckles Tag Team Championship.
Throughout 1974, the Royal Kangaroos wrestled for theAtlanta, Georgia-based All-South Wrestling Alliance (ASWA), where they held the ASWA Georgia Tag Team Championship on two occasions.
In February and March 1974, the Royal Kangaroos toured Japan withNew Japan Pro-Wrestling as part of its "Big Fight Series". In addition to teaming together, they also wrestled singles matches and teamed with othergaijin, includingAndré the Giant,Eric the Animal, andLes Thornton. Their opponents included the Yamaha Brothers (Kantaro Hoshino andKotetsu Yamamoto),Seiji Sakaguchi,Osamu Kido, andAntonio Inoki.
In 1975, the Royal Kangaroos returned toPacific Northwest Wrestling, where they won the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship twice more. They left the promotion again in June 1976.
In January 1976, the Royal Kangaroos again toured Japan, this time withAll Japan Pro Wrestling as part of its "New Year Giant Series". Their opponents on the tour includedAkihisa Takachiho,The Destroyer,Giant Baba, andJumbo Tsuruta.
In June 1976, the Royal Kangaroos joined the San Francisco, California-basedBig Time Wrestling promotion. In September 1976, they defeatedPat Patterson andTony Garea for theNWA World Tag Team Championship; they lost the titles to theValiant Brothers in November 1976. The Royal Kangaroos left Big Time Wrestling in January 1977.
After a brief return to Pacific Northwest Wrestling, the Royal Kangaroos joinedStu Hart'sStampede Wrestling promotion in February 1977. In June 1977, the duo defeatedLeo Burke andKeith Hart for theStampede International Tag Team Championship but dropped it to Leo Burke and his new tag team partner Bobby Burke only a short time later.[5] The Royal Kangaroos broke up in mid-1977 after a disagreement about how to promote themselves.
Boyd returned to Pacific Northwest Wrestling in August 1977. In August 1978, he briefly reformed the Royal Kangaroos with Charles inNWA All-Star Wrestling. On 22 August 1978, Boyd defeatedEd Wiskoski to win his thirdNWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship. Boyd reigned for six months until he was defeated by PNW's fastest rising star"Rowdy" Roddy Piper.[5] In November 1978, Boyd won the NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship for a seventh and final time, this time withDutch Savage as his tag team partner. Boyd left PNW in July 1979.
In mid-1979, Boyd began travelling the other NWA territories, working under such names as "Wild Colonial Boy" Johnny Boyd and "Maniac" Jonathan Boyd. His first stop after leaving the Oregon/Washington territory was due south to the Los Angeles, California-basedNWA Hollywood Wrestling promotion, where he teamed up withColoso Colosetti to defeatBarry Orton andHéctor Guerrero to win theNWA Americas Tag Team Championship on 18 May 1979, only to lose the title to the Twin Devils the next day.[5] In August 1978, Boyd joinedGeorgia Championship Wrestling, where he remained until November 1979. After a short stint inMid-South Wrestling, he began wrestling in Texas forBig Time Wrestling andHouston Wrestling. He returned to Pacific Northwest Wrestling in mid-1980, where he feuded withIgor Volkoff andStan Stasiak. He remained in Pacific Northwest Wrestling until mid-1981.
In mid-1981,Butch Miller of the Sheepherders decided that he wanted to return closer to home and relocated to Australia to wrestle. His partnerLuke Williams remained in the Americas. At the time, Miller and Williams were theNWA North American Tag Team Champions in the Puerto RicanCapitol Sports Promotions. Boyd (billed for the match as "Johnny Miller") teamed with Williams to drop the titles toJack Brisco andJerry Brisco. Boyd and Williams subsequently began wrestling inChampionship Wrestling from Florida as the "Kiwi Sheepherders" and the "New Zealand Sheepherders". The duo of Boyd and Williams quickly gained a reputation of one of the most violent, hard hitting teams in the business.[4] They left Championship Wrestling from Florida in October 1981.
After briefly appearing withGeorgia Championship Wrestling, Boyd and Williams joined theAlabama-basedSoutheastern Championship Wrestling promotion in December 1981. The tag team ofRobert Fuller andJos LeDuc had split when LeDuc turned on Fuller during a match; LeDuc subsequently brought in the Sheepherders to be a part of his "Commonwealth Connection" to fight against Robert Fuller and the entire Fuller family. In December 1981, the Sheepherders won theNWA Southeast Tag Team Championship that had been vacated when Fuller and LeDuc split and defended the titles against Robert Fuller and various partners including his brotherRon Fuller and his cousinJimmy Golden. One act that made the Sheepherders the most hated men in Southeastern Championship Wrestling was when they attacked and injured (storyline) Jimmy's father Billy Golden. Williams and Boyd kept the upper hand for months as Robert Fuller recruited partner after partner to defeat the Sheepherders. On 11 September 1982, the Sheepherders were finally defeated by Fuller and Golden ending the feud on a high for the face duo as the Sheepherders were "run out" of Southeastern Championship Wrestling.[4]
In October 1982, Boyd and Williams moved slightly more north as they began to work in theMemphis, Tennessee-basedContinental Wrestling Association, owned and operated byJerry Jarrett andJerry Lawler.[6] The team quickly became involved in a heated feud withJacques Rougeau andTerry Taylor, clashing week after week at the Mid-South Coliseum[7][8] with the Sheepherders brawling their way to victory time and again. Taylor and Rougeau redeemed themselves in the end by defeating the Sheepherders in a brutal "Coal Miner's Glove" match.[9] Showing how incredibly resilient the duo was, they returned to the ring later in the night and defeated the territory's main stars Jerry Lawler andBill Dundee.[10] The next feud for Boyd and Williams stands as their most memorable and certainly their most bloody and brutal as the team kicked off a long running feud withThe Fabulous Ones (Stan Lane andSteve Keirn). The "pretty boy", well polished Fabulous Ones made and the ugly, brawling savage Sheepherders made for the perfect opponents and repeatedly drew big gates all over the country.[4] The matches started out pretty evenly with the Fabulous Ones and the Sheepherders splitting the decisions[11][12] but soon turned brutal and often without a definite winner. In late 1982, the Sheepherders won theAWA Southern Tag Team Championship from Lane and Keirn[5] which only turned the intensity of the matches up a notch. Between late December and Mid February, the two teams traded the belts back and forth 4 times with the Fabulous Ones ending up with possession of them in the end.[5] In March 1983, the Sheepherders wrestled their last match in the Mid-South Coliseum before leaving the Continental Wrestling Association.[13]
In May 1983, Boyd and Williams resurfaced inSouthwest Championship Wrestling, continuing their brutal and destructive ways. Their first target was the reigningSCW Southwest Tag Team Champions "The Grapplers" (Len Denton andTony Anthony). Shortly after debuting, the Sheepherders won the gold from the duo through nefarious means: before the match Williams and Boyd had bribed the Grapplers' manager Don Carson and promised he would become a tag team champion; Carson turned on the Grapplers mid-match to ensure the Sheepherders' victory.[4] The Sheepherders' run with the gold was short-lived because, in mid-1983, Jonathan Boyd legitimately broke both his legs in a car accident, which forced the SWCW to nameBobby Jaggers as a replacement for Boyd. After Williams and Jagger lost a non-title match to Bob Sweetan andSweet Brown Sugar, Williams turned on Jaggers and the titles were vacated.[5] While Boyd was out with the broken leg, Williams was reunited with his old tag-team partner, Butch, straight in from Australia.[4] Once Boyd was recovered enough, he began acting as the Sheepherders' manager despite still on crutches. Over the next year or two, Boyd works mainly as a manager for the Sheepherders and as a booker for SWCW.[14]
In 1985, Boyd once again began wrestling as a Sheepherder, but this time he did not team up with Luke Williams but instead teamed withRip Morgan (a former flag bearer for the Sheepherders) and continued the Sheepherder legacy of violence as the "Kiwi Sheepherders". Wrestling in theContinental Wrestling Association, Boyd and Morgan quickly made a mark on Memphis by beating their long-time opposition theFabulous Ones for theAWA Southern Tag Team Championship on 17 June 1985. The team was soon stripped of the titles due to excessive cheating, but had the titles returned to them when Boyd and Morgan threatened to sue CWA management. Instead of taking the titles from the Sheepherders by stripping them, the Fabulous Ones took the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship from them the old fashioned way – four times in a row between 5 September and 12 October.[5]
After the series of violent matches with the Fabulous Ones came to an end, the Sheepherders came face to face with another team that would turn out to be a constant thorn in their side: theFantastics (Bobby Fulton andTommy Rogers). Jonathan Boyd reunited with the Sheepherders in theWorld Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico. In the winter of 1985, the Kiwi Sheepherders and the Fantastics traded wins back and forth[15][16] with no side gaining a clear advantage in their feud. In January 1986, the Kiwi Sheepherders defeated the teams ofKoko Ware and Rick Casey[17] and also the team ofTojo Yamamoto and Dirty Rhodes[18] to reach the finals of a tournament to crown new Southern Tag Team Champions, but in the finals they fell to the Fantastics.[19] The loss to the Fantastics only intensified the Sheepherders' anger, bringing the feud to its high point as the two teams clashed in a "No DQ Loser Leaves Town" match on 20 January 1986. The Kiwi Sheepherders lost and left Memphis while the Fantastics rode a wave of popularity thanks to the feud.[4]
Throughout mid-1986, Boyd wrestled forTexas All-Star Wrestling.
In November 1986, the Kiwi Sheepherders returned to the Continental Wrestling Association for a brief run. Boyd and "Bigfoot" (Bob Hallow) cut through the competition[20][21] and won a fourth Southern Tag Team championship when they beatBilly Joe Travis andJeff Jarrett in a tournament to crown new tag team champions.[22] Their run with the titles was brief as Jarrett and Travis won the titles a week later[5] and then ran the Kiwi Sheepherders out of the area in a "Loser Leaves Town" match a week after beating them for the title. The Kiwi Sheepherders subsequently disbanded.
In late-1986, Boyd again began wrestling as a singles for promotions including theTennessee-basedContinental Wrestling Association and theAlabama-basedContinental Championship Wrestling /Continental Wrestling Federation.
On January 11, 1988, Boyd defeatedRanger Ross for theNWA Alabama Heavyweight Championship in Continental Championship Wrestling. Boyd held the title for just over a month before dropping the gold to"Doctor" Tom Prichard.[5] On 28 December of that year, Boyd won his last title when he defeatedJoe Savoldi for theIWCCW Heavyweight Championship. Boyd once again only held the title briefly losing it back to Savoldi in January 1989.[5]
On 25 December 1989, "Lord" Jonathan Boyd lost toRex King in his retirement match inPortland, Oregon for the same promotion that gave him his first break in the United States,Pacific Northwest Wrestling.[23] He returned to wrestling on March 11, 1991 forWorld Championship Wrestling's television tapings, teaming in asix-man tag team match with Mark Kyle and Joe Cruz in a loss toDustin Rhodes and theYoung Pistols.[24] His final match took place on August 10, 1991 in Portland, Oregon, in Pacific Northwest Wrestling where he went to a double count-out againstThe Grappler under the ring name "Johnny Miller".[25][1]
As Jonathan Boyd, Boyle affected the title "Lord".[26] His signature moves were theIron Claw and theneckbreaker.[26]
Boyd owned aDMC DeLorean.[27] He was married and divorced three times.[3]
Boyd died on 7 August 1999, aged 54, of a heart attack.[28]
Steve Regal & Spike Huber beat The Sheepherders (Boyd & Williams)
The Sheepherders (Boyd & Williams) beat Jacques Rougeau & Terry Taylor
The Sheepherders (Boyd & Williams) beat Jacques Rougeau & Terry Taylor
Jacques Rougeau & Terry Taylor beat The Sheepherders (Boyd & Williams) in a "coalminer's glove" match
The Sheepherders (Boyd & Williams) beat Jerry Lawler & Bill Dundee
The Fabulous Ones beat The Sheepherders (Boyd & Williams).
The Sheepherders (Boyd & Williams) beat The Fabulous Ones
The Fabulous Ones, & Steve O, & Dutch Mantel beat The Sheepherders (Boyd & Williams), Jesse Barr, & Adrian Street
The Fantastics beat The Kiwi Sheepherders
The Kiwi Sheepherders beat The Fantastics
The Sheepherders beat Koko Ware & Rick Casey
The Sheepherders beat Tojo Yamamoto & Dirty Rhodes
The Fantastics beat The Sheepherders to win the vacant Southern Tag Title
The Sheepherders (Boyd & Bigfoot) beat Paul DeMann & Ric McCord
The Sheepherders (Boyd & Bigfoot) drew Jerry Lawler & Tommy Rich
The Sheepherders (Boyd & Bigfoot) beat Jeff Jarrett & Billy Joe Travis to win the vacant Southern Tag Title
Boyd was found dead Aug. 7 in his duplex in Oregon. He was found by his first wife, who despite being divorced for many years, still shared the house even after Boyd remarried and later divorced. He had undergone back surgery a few weeks earlier and it is thought the heart attack may be related.
