 One Man Gang in 2009 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | George Gray (1960-02-12)February 12, 1960 (age 65) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Akeem Crusher Broomfield[1] Crusher Gray George Gray One Man Gang Panama Gang[1] U.E.I. Gang |
| Billed height | 6 ft 9 in (206 cm)[2] |
| Billed weight | 450 lb (204 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Halsted Street, Chicago (as One Man Gang)[2] "Deepest, DarkestAfrica" (as Akeem) |
| Debut | 1977 |
| Retired | 2009 |
George Gray (born February 12, 1960) is an American retiredprofessional wrestler, better known by hisring name (The)One Man Gang. For three years in theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF), he wasAkeem "The African Dream".[2] Prior to this, he was the topheel forUniversal Wrestling Federation (UWF), andUWF Heavyweight Champion for six months in 1986 and 1987.
Gray was born in Chicago, but moved toSpartanburg, South Carolina, when he was 5.[3]
Gray trained with longtime local independent wrestler and promoter Chief Jay Eagle (Jerry Bragg) and Darren "Rattlesnake" Westbrooks. He started his career at the age of 17 on the Carolinaindependent circuit wrestling both under his real name and as "Crusher Gray." He then moved on to wrestle in the Kentucky/Tennessee area, including forInternational Championship Wrestling (ICW), under thering name Crusher Broomfield. Gray went in as part of a package along with Bragg, Westbrooks, and Ric Starr. One of Broomfield's major angles was that his contract was owned by ICW ChampionRandy Savage and Savage's nemesisRon Garvin defeated Savage in a match to set Broomfield free.[4] He later worked for severalNational Wrestling Alliance-affiliated promotions,Mid-South Wrestling, andWorld Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) as One Man Gang, billed as being fromChicago's Halsted Street on the South Side.[4] He was managed byKevin Sullivan,Skandor Akbar,Theodore Long, Gentleman Jim Holiday, and SirOliver Humperdink in various territories.
Gang worked for many territories during this time for three years. His biggest success was inFlorida where he had a feud withDusty Rhodes from 1983 to 1984. Also, he feuded withBlackjack Mulligan andMike Rotunda. He teamed up withRon Bass and won thetag team titles defeating Rhodes andMike Davis. Two months after they dropped the titles to Rotunda and Davis. In November 1984 as Panama Gang, he became the lastNWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Florida version) defeating Mulligan. Later the title was abandoned when Gang left the territory in 1985.
Then Gang worked forAll Japan Pro Wrestling from 1983 to 1984 and 1986 feuding withGiant Baba,Genichiro Tenryu andJumbo Tsuruta. He teamed withBruiser Brody,Killer Tim Brooks andStan Hansen. In 1984 he teamed with Goro Tsurumi. Then in 1986 he teamed withJerry Blackwell,Harley Race andTiger Jeet Singh.
During these years he also worked in Canada, Central States and Texas.
In the regional territories, he was a member ofSkandor Akbar's "Devastation Inc." as well as working withGary Hart inWorld Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW). He would feud withThe Von Erichs teaming withRick Rude. Also, he feuded in singles competition againstKerry Von Erich,King Parsons,Chris Adams, andBruiser Brody.
On May 5, 1985, he lost to Kerry Von Erich in a hair vs hair match at the2nd Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions where he started sporting a mohawk. He lost to Bruiser Brody in a chain match at Christmas Star Wars 1985. Also lost to Brody again on two occasions a in a steel cage match on January 26 and 27, 1986.
It was as a protégé of Akbar's in the Mid-South territory where Gray would get the name that would stick with him the rest of his career. Making his debut in the territory by interfering in matches and assaulting thefan favorite, Mid-South announcerBill Watts would say about the then-unnamed assailant "He's a one-man gang!"[4] The Gang worked on-and-off in Mid-South in between tours ofFlorida,Toronto,Japan, andTexas. He would also return to his hometown territory, the Carolinas, to work forJim Crockett Promotions, where he was initially billed as "The One Man Gang, George Gray." He worked in Texas All Star wrestling where he feuded withBig Bubba. It was on his last tour for Mid-South when the promotion renamed itself theUniversal Wrestling Federation, with Gang as one of its topvillains, feuding at the main-event level with UWF top fan favoriteJim Duggan. In late 1986, Gang won the UWF Heavyweight Championship in an angle where the championTerry Gordy was injured earlier in the evening by a revenge-minded"Dr. Death" Steve Williams. Gang, scheduled to face Gordy later on the card, was awarded the belt via forfeit. He held that title for six months, mostly facing Duggan, Williams, andTed DiBiase.[4]
In May 1987, Gray began receiving inquiries from theWorld Wrestling Federation about coming up to wrestle for them. He promptly agreed to terms, but returned to the UWF in order to drop the title toBig Bubba Rogers, who was there from his normal place in the NWA due to the recent sale of the UWF toJim Crockett.[5]
Gray made his debut in the WWF on May 12, 1987, being managed bySlick, in a match against Jesse Cortez. He spent much of his early WWF run defeating enhancement talent in extremely short matches in order to build him up, most notably in a match where heGourdbustered his opponent after the bell and then did the same to the referee, thus being (kayfabe) fined$10,000 for his actions. While the Gang often defeated enhancement talent and other lower card wrestlers with ease, he was often on the end of defeat when main eventing against bigger stars such asHulk Hogan andRandy Savage, although Gang was a major part of the angle regardingBilly Graham being forced into retirement.[4] On October 4, One Man Gang won what was technically the first everRoyal Rumble at a house show. This was a 12 man test run of the match, held atKiel Auditorium. One Man Gang participated in thefirst-ever Survivor Series pay-per-view as a member ofAndré the Giant's team, fighting a team led by Hulk Hogan. In 1988, Gang entered theinaugural Royal Rumble at number 19 out of 20 participants and was one of the last two men left in the ring, before being eliminated byJim Duggan.[6] One Man Gang participated in the World Title Tournament atWrestleMania IV, defeatingBam Bam Bigelow by count-out in the opening round. He drew a bye in the quarterfinals before being disqualified in the semi-finals against eventual-tournament-winner Randy Savage after Gang attempted to hit Savage with his manager's cane.[7] Following his loss at WrestleMania, Gang was Savage's first title defense as world champion, but lost by pinfall to the new champion. After that, Gang was placed lower "on the card", feuding with Bam Bam Bigelow,Koko B. Ware, andDon Muraco.
In September 1988, One Man Gang's manager, Slick, announced that Gang was reborn asAfrican and planned to embrace his roots. An episode ofWWF Superstars, which aired on September 24, 1988, featured a vignette withGene Okerlund on-location in an American ghetto that was dubbed "The Deepest Darkest Parts Of Africa," where dancers dressed as tribal Africans danced and chanted around a fire; Slick then announced that Gang would be known by his new name, "Akeem, the African Dream", though Okerlund immediately called him out as the One Man Gang. This vignette received some criticism, as the Caucasian "Akeem" delivered a promo in which he spoke with an extremely stereotypical "jive" black accent and danced in the style ofDusty Rhodes. while an African ritual took place in the background.[8]
Akeem and theBig Boss Man captained a team who featured"The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase, theRed Rooster, andHaku to battle the Mega Powers' team atSurvivor Series in 1988. During the match, Akeem along with teammate Big Boss Man handcuffed Hulk Hogan to the ring post and were later disqualified.[9] The two formed a team called theTwin Towers. They feuded with the Mega Powers (Hulk Hogan and undisputed WWF Champion"Macho Man" Randy Savage) and throughout the summer and fall of 1988, with the Twin Towers and Slick advertising title match that night against Demolition while onArsenio Hall'stalk show. They were also strongly involved in the storyline which would eventually cause Randy Savage to become a villain and defend his title against Hulk Hogan atWrestleMania V.[10] In theRoyal Rumble, Randy Savage was accidentally eliminated by teammate Hogan, allowing Akeem and Bossman to double team Hogan and eliminate him.The Main Event show broadcast live onNBC on February 3, 1989, featured The Mega Powers vs. The Twin Towers. During the match, Savage's manager (and real-life wife)Miss Elizabeth was injured after Savage was thrown through the ropes and knocked her to the ground, which led Hogan to abandon his partner and carry Elizabeth back to the locker room for medical help. Although Hogan later returned to the match to help Savage defeat Akeem and Boss Man, Hogan's actions with Elizabeth caused Savage to attack him backstage, setting up the headline match for WrestleMania.[11]
The Twin Towers went on to face The Rockers at WrestleMania V and defeated them when Akeem pinnedShawn Michaels with a divingAir Africa after apowerbomb from the Big Boss Man.[10] Though the Twin Towers never held theWWF Tag Team Championship, they did feud heavily with WWF World Tag Team championsDemolition at house shows after Wrestlemania, initially gaining wins by countout, later losing by pinfall after Boss Man would accidentally strike Akeem with his nightstick. The feud would continue even after Demolition lost the title to theBrain Busters with the Towers andAndré the Giant facing Demolition and Duggan (now "King Duggan") atSummerslam '89 withSmash pinning Akeem after Duggan struck him with his 2x4.[12]
In early 1990, Big Boss Man refused to be part of a payoff from Ted DiBiase to get DiBiase's "Million Dollar Championship" belt back fromJake "The Snake" Roberts and turned on both his manager Slick and his partner Akeem. He then defeated Akeem atWrestleMania VI. Although Akeem remained in the WWF until October 1990, his loss to The Boss Man at WrestleMania was his last high profile match in the company.[8] He wrestled as the replacement Bad News Brown in Harlem Street fights with Jake Roberts on the house show circuit.[13] Although he was beginning to be featured on television in a feud withSaba Simba, Gray left the World Wrestling Federation in October 1990 due to his fading role in the company at the time. He had been advertised to be a part of Sgt. Slaughter's team at the 1990 Survivor Series alongside the Orient Express. Due to his departure, he was replaced byBoris Zhukov,[14] (Slaughter's oldAWA enemy and former Cobra Corps tag partner inJCP as Private Jim Nelson)
On December 28, 1990, Gang would make his only appearance inUnited States Wrestling Association in Memphis where he won a battle royal.
In 1991, Gang worked in Texas forGlobal Wrestling Federation.
On the March 5, 1991, taping ofWCW Pro inMarietta, Georgia, Gray resumed his One Man Gang persona when he assistedKevin Sullivan in attackingRon Simmons after the latter's win over Joe Cruz.[15] Gang went through a massive change in his gimmick, in which he was nowschizophrenic and constantly lost his mind before, during and after matches. He was undefeated in the early going, beatingRanger Ross,Brad Armstrong, andJunkyard Dog. He made his first WCW PPV appearance on May 19 atSuperBrawl I when he attackedEl Gigante following his match withSid Vicious.[4] He and Sullivan shaved Gigante's head in a post-match sneak attack on the June 22 edition ofWorld Championship Wrestling. He lost a Hair vs. Career match on the final Great American Bash event in Atlanta's Omni on August 25. Other notable matches from Gang's 1991 WCW run include being involved in a handful of War Games matches at the Great American Bash house shows and advancing to the semi-finals of theWCW World Tag Team Championship tournament with partnerBlack Blood overBig Josh and El Gigante. He was promoted to be part of the "Chamber of Horrors" match atHalloween Havoc '91 in October, but was fired byJim Herd in September for refusing to lose toP. N. News. He took a hiatus from wrestling for the next few years.
Gang returned to WCW in the fall of 1995, reverting his gimmick back to his normal biker's gimmick. He made his first appearance back on the November 16 taping ofWCW Saturday Night when he defeated Scott Turner (the match aired December 2). His televised return came at theWCW World War 3 PPV on November 19, where he was the last person to be eliminated in the three ring, sixty man battle royal. Following this, he appeared in a post-show dark match forStarrcade '95. He upset United States ChampionKensuke Sasaki to win the championship. Although the match was subsequently restarted with Sasaki winning, WCW never acknowledged the restart and Gang remained the titleholder when Sasaki returned to Japan.[16]
His first US title defense came on the January 20, 1996, edition ofWCW Saturday Night when he defeatedSuper Giant Ninja. Gang became a member of Sullivan's burgeoningDungeon of Doom. On the January 22 edition ofWCW Monday Nitro, Gang lost toHulk Hogan in a non-title match. Following the match, he joined members of the Dungeon of Doom andthe Horsemen in attacking Hogan andRandy Savage. The next night, atClash of the Champions XXXII, Gang successfully defended the belt againstDisco Inferno. His title run ended at the next television taping, when he was defeated byKonnan in a match that aired February 4 onWCW Main Event. He lost a rematch atSuperBrawl VI the next month and left WCW shortly thereafter.[17]
After leaving WCW, Gang returned to Texas and wrestled in the Sportatorium, where he wrestled during his tenure in WCCW 10 years earlier. Gang defeated his former rivalTerry Gordy on July 19, 1996. He feuded withCharlie Norris andBlack Bart. On January 25, 1997, he lost toKing Kong Bundy at NWA New Jersey.
On November 29, 1998, he returned to Japan and made an appearance forFrontier Martial-Arts Wrestling in a three-way againstSabu andYukihiro Kanemura. Sabu won the match.
Gang wrestled atHeroes of Wrestling event on October 10, 1999, againstAbdullah The Butcher in a double count out.
On June 30, 2000, Gang made an appearance fori-Generation Superstars of Wrestling in Sydney, Australia defeatingTatanka for the i-Generation Australasian Championship.
Also in 1998, Gang briefly joinedExtreme Championship Wrestling, including appearing at their flagship event,November to Remember.[18] He feuded withRob Van Dam,Sabu andShane Douglas. He also lost a series of matches to "giant killer"Spike Dudley. He left ECW in October 1999.
One Man Gang wrestled in adark match defeatingFlash Flanagan prior to the February 3, 1998Raw is War taping in Evansville, Indiana, but was not hired.
Gray made another appearance in the WWF in 2001 for the gimmickbattle royal atWrestleMania X-Seven as One Man Gang, eliminatingMichael Hayes and then getting eliminated byKamala.The Iron Sheik won the battle royal.
In 2000, he also worked for theWorld Wrestling Council inPuerto Rico where he won theWorld Wrestling Council (WWC) Hardcore Title and feuded withAbdullah The Butcher, El Nene, andCarlos Colón.[19] He left Puerto Rico in June 2001. He would retire from wrestling.
Gray came out of retirement in 2007 after a six-year hiatus. He made appearances on theindependent circuit. He teamed withKamala as they lost toThe Powers of Pain on October 19, 2007, at Wrestlefanfest Malice in the Palace in San Francisco. He also made an appearance forChikara's King Of Trios 2008, teaming withDemolition, where they lost to the Fabulous Three ofLarry Sweeney, Mitch Ryder, and Shayne Hawke. On March 28, 2009, Gang wrestled at an International Wrestling Cartel event. He was defeated byJim Duggan in the main event.[20]
In 1992, Gray appeared in the movieStay Tuned.
After his wrestling career, Gray worked as aprison guard at theLouisiana State Penitentiary, until a recurring back problem forced him to quit his job.[21]
In later years, Gray lost a lot of weight following aheart attack in 2000.[1]
In July 2016, Gray 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.[22] The lawsuit was dismissed by US District JudgeVanessa Lynne Bryant in September 2018.[23] In September 2020, an appeal for the lawsuit dismissed by a federal appeals court.[24]
In August 2016, Gray's home in Baton Rouge was partially submerged by the2016 Louisiana floods, destroying most of its contents. He was among the estimated 125,000 people who had not purchasedflood insurance to cover the damage, as that part of the capital was not designated aflood zone, so he appealed for help throughGoFundMe.[21]
| Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Gigante (hair) | One Man Gang (career) | Atlanta, Georgia | WCW Great American Bash Tour house show | August 25, 1991 | [33] |
,Cagematch,Internet Wrestling Database