 Windham,c. 1986 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Barry Clinton Windham (1960-07-04)July 4, 1960 (age 65)[1][2] Sweetwater, Texas, U.S. |
Spouse | Kebra Windham (divorced) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relative(s) | Blackjack Mulligan (father) Kendall Windham (brother) Mike Rotunda (brother-in-law) Bray Wyatt (nephew) Bo Dallas (nephew) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Barry Windham[1][2] Dirty Yellow Dog[1][2] Blackjack Mulligan Jr.[1][2] The Widowmaker[1][2] The Lone Wolf Barry Windam The Stalker[1][2] Blackjack Windham[1][2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 6 in (198 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 275 lb (125 kg)[3] |
| Billed from | Sweetwater, Texas The Environment |
| Trained by | Blackjack Mulligan[1] Harley Race[2] |
| Debut | 1979[1][2] |
| Retired | February 26, 2010 |
Barry Clinton Windham (born July 4, 1960) is an American retiredprofessional wrestler. The son of wrestlerBlackjack Mulligan, he is best known for his appearances with theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF).
In NWA/WCW, he was aone-timeNWA World Heavyweight Champion,[4] aone-timeUnited States Heavyweight Champion,[5] aone-timeTelevision Champion,[6] aone-timeWestern States Heritage Champion,[7] afour-timeNWA/WCW World Tag Team Champion[8] and aone-timeNWA United States Tag Team Champion withRon Garvin.[9] In theWWF, he was atwo-timeWorld Tag Team Champion with his brother-in-law,Mike Rotunda.[10] Windham was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame twice, first in2012 as a member ofThe Four Horsemen and then again in2024 as a member ofThe U.S. Express.
Windham was trained by his fatherBlackjack Mulligan and world championHarley Race. He debuted on November 27, 1979, against his future managerJ.J. Dillon inSan Angelo, Texas when he was 19 years old. Much of his early career was in theNWA'sChampionship Wrestling from Florida territory whereGordon Solie was the head announcer. He was afan favorite for most of the early and middle periods of his career, having great success in singles and tag action. Windham had notable feuds withKevin Sullivan and his army. With his brother-in-lawMike Rotunda, Windham formed atag team in 1984. The duo captured theNWA Florida United States Tag Team Championshipthree times between March and May 1984.[11]
Rotunda and Windham were signed byWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF) in October 1984. They debuted in WWF asbabyfaces on the November 17, 1984 edition ofMaple Leaf Wrestling defeating Mohammed Saad andBobby Bass.[12] Their tag team was named "The U.S. Express".[13] They quickly made impact in WWF'stag team division as they beat North South Connection (Dick Murdoch andAdrian Adonis) for their firstWWF Tag Team Championship on January 21, 1985, at ahouse show inHartford, CT.[14][15] Atthe first-ever WrestleMania, US Expressdropped the titles toThe Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff.[16] On the July 13 edition ofChampionship Wrestling, they beat Sheik and Volkoff for their second and final WWF Tag Team Championship,[17][18] which they lost toDream Team (Greg Valentine andBrutus Beefcake) inPhiladelphia atThe Spectrum on August 24.[19]
After departing from the WWF, Windham worked in theNational Wrestling Alliance territoryChampionship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) as ababyface, where most notably he wrestled in the main event ofBattle of the Belts II for theNWA World Heavyweight Championship againstRic Flair,[20] and feuded over theNWA Florida Heavyweight Championship withRon Bass.[21] Windham and Rotundo also wrestled atWrestleRock 86 show in theAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA) where they defeatedThe Fabulous Ones.
In the fall of 1986, Windham shifted to NWA'sJim Crockett Promotions (JCP) territory as ababyface where he had many memorable matches with"Nature Boy" Ric Flair. These included matches going to 60 minute time limit draws and even some extending beyond an hour of action. He then shifted back to thetag team division, forming a successful pairing withRon Garvin. On December 9, 1986, Windham and Garvin defeatedIvan Koloff andKhrusher Khruschev.[9] for the U.S. tag team championship. Their biggest feud as a team was withThe Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton andStan Lane), managed byJim Cornette.
The Midnight Express were never able to beat Windham and Garvin for the titles. Windham and Garvin eventually lost these titles toIvan Koloff andDick Murdoch in the spring of 1987, shortly before the annual Jim Crockett Memorial Tag Team Tournament (also known as the Crockett Cup). After Koloff and Murdoch were stripped of the titles, however, the Midnight Express were able to beat Windham and Garvin in the finals of the subsequent tournament to fill the title vacancy. At this time, Windham also formed an alliance withLex Luger, who would turn his back on Windham shortly afterward when Luger had aspirations of joiningThe Four Horsemen.[22] Rather than enter the tournament as a team, Windham and Garvin were split up. Ronnie Garvin instead teamed up with hiskayfabe brotherJimmy Garvin (Ronnie was Jimmy'slegit stepfather). Rather than have Windham partner up with someone in the tournament, he wasbooked to face Ric Flair for the NWA World Championship in what would be another classic match between the two. Flair defeated Windham with a controversialpinfall after a little over 25 minutes of action.[23]
Windham spent the rest of 1987 in midcard status. On June 20, 1987, Windham defeatedBlack Bart in a tournament final to win the short-livedNWA Western States Heritage Championship, becoming first champion.[7][24] He defended the title against the likes ofRick Steiner,[25]Big Bubba Rogers.[26][27] The title was also recognized byBill Watts'Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF).[22] He began climbing up the ranks of UWF. At JCP's firstpay-per-view (PPV),Starrcade 1987: Chi-Town Heat, he lost toUWF Heavyweight Champion"Dr. Death" Steve Williams.[28] In 1988, Windham began rising in the JCP ranks again. He started off bydropping the Western States Heritage Title toLarry Zbyszko atBunkhouse Stampede.[29]
In early 1988, Windham reunited with Luger and together they formed a tag team called "The Twin Towers". On March 27, 1988, atClash of the Champions I they won theNWA World Tag Team Championship fromArn Anderson and Tully Blanchard.[30][31] A few weeks later, on April 20, inJacksonville, Florida, aswerve took place where Windham betrayed Luger causing the team to lose the titles back to Blanchard and Anderson.[32] Windhamturnedheel and joinedRic Flair'sstable, the Four Horsemen (which also consisted ofAnderson andBlanchard) and his heel turn was considered shocking at the time.[33] In addition, he began using a black glove as well as theclawhold as his finisher, which was a signature move of his fatherBlackjack Mulligan. He went back to singles competition and defeatedNikita Koloff in a tournament final to win the vacantNWA United States Heavyweight Championship after then-championDusty Rhodes was suspended.[34][35] Windham was a dominant US Champion, who reigned for nine months. He defended the title against the likes ofBrad Armstrong,[36] Dusty Rhodes,[37]Sting[38] andBam Bam Bigelow[39] beforedropping it to Lex Luger atChi-Town Rumble in February 1989.[40] His contract expired in March 1989.[1]
Windham returned to the WWF in June 1989 as the Widowmaker. Despite the nickname, Windham did not change his image much, portraying aheel cowboy type character. He went undefeated for four months and was to have been onRandy Savage'sSurvivor Series team, but was replaced by theEarthquake as Windham left the company in October due to his family's involvement in a counterfeiting scandal.[41]
On May 5, 1990, Windham made a surprise return toWorld Championship Wrestling, interfering in a match between US Champion Lex Luger and World Champion Ric Flair. Following the appearance he re-united with the Four Horsemen which at that point consisted ofRic Flair,Arn Anderson,Sid Vicious, andOle Anderson. At the time, Ole Anderson was only semi-active and permanently became their manager once Windham joined. The first match back for the former United States champion came fifteen days later when he teamed with Ric Flair and Arn Anderson to defeat Rick Steiner and The Road Warriors at a house show in Atlanta, GA.
He defeatedDoug Furnas on June 13, 1990Clash of the Champions XI: Coastal Crush. He spent most of the time that year in tag team matches with the other Horsemen as partners.[42]
AtHalloween Havoc 1990, Windham was involved in a controversial match between Sid Vicious and then NWA World Heavyweight ChampionSting. Vicious appeared to pin Sting and win the championship, but it was actually Windham who was dressed like Sting. Once the hoax was noticed, the match was restarted and the real Sting defeated Sid Vicious.[43] Windham spent the rest of the year teaming with Arn Anderson in the continuation of a feud between the Four Horsemen and then NWA World Tag Team Champions,Doom. AtStarrcade 1990: Collision Course, Windham and Anderson wrestled Doom to a no contest in aStreet Fight when a member of each team was pinned.[44]
In 1991, Windham continued teaming with Arn Anderson and Sid Vicious.[1] Windhamfeuded withBrian Pillman in the spring of 1991, culminating in ataped fist match atSuperBrawl I: Return of the Rising Sun, which Windham won.[45]
As the middle of the year approached, controversy erupted whenWCW World Heavyweight Champion, Ric Flair, was fired by the company, thus vacating the title. It is rumored that Flair was going to drop the title to Windham at a TV taping in Columbus, Georgia, but was fired before it could happen.[citation needed] To crown a new champion Windham then faced number-one contender Lex Luger atThe Great American Bash 1991 in asteel cage match, which Luger won after outside interference by heel managerHarley Race.[46] Luger became the top bad guy in WCW while Windham's dogged determination to win the title after years as an upper-mid carder got Windhamover in terms of popularity.
In October 1991, Windham formed atag team withDustin Rhodes and feuded with WCW World Tag Team Champions TheEnforcers (Arn Anderson andLarry Zbyszko). AtHalloween Havoc 1991: Chamber of Horrors, Anderson and Zbyszko slammed a car door on Windham's hand, breaking it, and putting him out of action for a while (including that night's Chamber of Horrors match). That led toRicky Steamboat stepping in as Rhodes's partner atClash of the Champions XVII that November.[1] Steamboat and Rhodes won the titles.[1] Windham, meanwhile, came back a couple of months later to feud with Anderson, Zbyszko, and the rest of what was now theDangerous Alliance. Windham would feud with TV Champion"Stunning Steve" Austin in the spring of 1992. On the May 9, 1992 edition ofSaturday Night, he defeated Austin in atwo out of three falls match to win theWCW World Television Championship.[6][47] Hedropped the title to Austin on the June 13 edition ofWorldWide.[48]
On a taped edition ofSaturday Night on September 2, Windham teamed with Dustin Rhodes to defeat Steve Williams andTerry Gordy for the unifiedWCW/NWA World Tag Team Championship (their NWA title reign is not recognized by NWA); the match aired on October 3.[8] They held the belts for about two months before losing them to Ricky Steamboat andShane Douglas on November 18 atClash of the Champions XXI. As Rhodes refused to go for the pinfall after an accidental low blow on Steamboat, Windham turned heel on Rhodes after the match.[49]
At the end of the year, Windham teamed withBrian Pillman, who had also turned heel, to pursue the titles he and Rhodes lost, but ended up losing to Steamboat and Douglas atStarrcade 1992: Battlebowl/The Lethal Lottery II.[50]
In January 1993 Windham pursued the NWA World Championship held byThe Great Muta. He defeated Muta for theNWA World Heavyweight Championship atSuperBrawl III.[4][51] Ric Flair, who returned to WCW that night, tried to present Windham with the title belt, but when Windham saw it was Flair trying to put the belt around his waist, he took the belt and walked away.[52] Flair and Anderson tried to recruit Windham to join the Horsemen again, but Windham declined and called himself a "Lone Wolf", starting a feud with Flair and Anderson. Windham successfully defended the title against Anderson atSlamboree 1993: A Legend's Reunion.[53]
After a successful title defense against2 Cold Scorpio,[54] Windham dropped the NWA belt to Flair atBeach Blast,[55] while injuring his knees and then disappeared from wrestling for almost a year, where he took on Flair again atSlamboree 1994: A Legend's Reunion for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. For weeks leading up to the match, WCW led fans to believe it would be Hulk Hogan coming to challenge Flair (as indeed he would a month later), saying a 6'7", 300 lbs blond haired former World Champion was the masked man thatCol. Robert Parker'sStud Stable was bringing in to challenge Flair as his "Stable Stud". It was revealed to be Barry Windham. Flair won again and Windham reinjured the knee that he had surgery on,[56] then dropped out of sight for over two years.[57]
Originally theWWF wanted Windham to return and once again team with his brother in-lawMike Rotunda (who by then wrestled as Irwin R. Schyster) and form the "NewMoney Inc.", as part ofTed DiBiase'sMillion Dollar Corporation. Windham and Schyster were supposed to feud withLex Luger andTatanka (who Schyster was feuding with), but however his knee injury forced him out of the deal with WWF and Tatanka replaced Windham in the feud with Luger.
Return To The WWF (1996–1998)
Windham would again return to the WWF, making his first appearance in a vignette on the August 10, 1996 edition ofWWF Superstars. His first match back came nine days later, when he defeated Justin Bradshaw in a dark match at a Monday Night RAW taping in Wheeling, WV. Windham portrayed a deranged "Forest Stalker" gimmick called "The Stalker". He was to be wearing camouflage face paint, while originally being supposed to feud withMarc Mero, but the angle was dropped due to Mero's request. Originally, his PPV Debut was to be atMind Games, but did not happen for unknown reasons.In Your House 11: Buried Alive was originally to hype "The Stalker" gimmick however the announcers acknowledged that he was Barry Windham.[58]
The Stalker was introduced with little fanfare as ababyface. For a short time, he renewed his feud with Dustin Rhodes (known by that time as Goldust). In Windham's onlypay-per-view appearance with this gimmick, he was eliminated from aSurvivor Series match atSurvivor Series 1996 by Goldust. His last appearance as the "Stalker" gimmick was booked to be atIn Your House 14: Revenge of the 'Taker's pre-showFree for All againstFlash Funk. However, he was replaced byThe Sultan for unknown reasons.[59]
In February 1997, Windham turnedheel and formedThe New Blackjacks withJustin "Hawk" Bradshaw.[60] Windham dyed his hair and moustache black. The tag team was a tribute to the original Blackjacks (Windham's father, Mulligan, and Jack Lanza). The team had opportunities for the World Tag Titles, but no success. That team didn't last long, as Windham turned on Bradshaw to joinJim Cornette's"NWA faction" in January 1998.[1] He wore brown cowboy vest and boots. The angle was scrapped months later. His last WWF TV appearance was a loss toVader on Monday Night Raw May 11 and his last WWF match losing to Bradshaw on May 16, 1998, at a house show. Windham left for WCW again.[61]
In his lastWorld Championship Wrestling run, Barry Windham was brought back to WCW in late-1998 byEric Bischoff. Barry was then loosely associated with Bischoff'snWo Hollywood for a while before forming a tag team withCurt Hennig. AtSuperBrawl IX, Hennig and Windham defeatedChris Benoit andDean Malenko in the finals of atag team tournament to win the vacantWCW World Tag Team Championship.[8][62]
Windham reinjured his knee during this period, but would return as part of "The West Texas Rednecks" in mid-1999. They were supposed to be aheel group to feud with rapperMaster P's "No Limit Soldiers", but the southern fans of WCW cheered the Rednecks, going against what WCW management andbooking had hoped for, and the angle was eventually dropped. The group consisted of his brotherKendall Windham,Curt Hennig, andBobby Duncum Jr.; Duncum was replaced byCurly Bill after he was injured and shortly before the group was disbanded and the Rednecks storyline was dropped.[63] On the August 23, 1999 edition ofNitro, the Windham brothers defeatedHarlem Heat (Booker T andStevie Ray) to win their final WCW World Tag Team Championship,[8][64] before losing the titles back to Harlem Heat atFall Brawl 1999.[65] Both Barry and Kendall were shortly after released by WCW.
In late 1999, Windham worked forTed DiBiase's promotion WXO andWorld Wrestling Council (WWC), where he won the latter'sWorld Tag Team Championship inPuerto Rico with brother Kendall.
By 2000, Windham began competing on the American independent scene in the Florida-basedTurnbuckle Championship Wrestling, where he won theirHeavyweight Championship and held it for the better part of a year.[2] He also became part of theXtreme Horsemen in a stable withSteve Corino andC. W. Anderson. They feuded with Dusty and Dustin Rhodes.
Windham's last wrestling appearances were atMajor League Wrestling's War Games,[66] aU.S. Express reunion withMike Rotunda in a loss toLarry Zbyszko and"The Outlaw" Ron Bass atWrestleReunion I[67] on January 29, 2005, and on the "WrestleMania Rewind" episode ofWWE Monday Night Raw on March 10, 2008, appearing with Rotunda to reform the U.S. Express one final time againstThe Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff in a rematch fromWrestleMania I, although the match never commenced.[68]
Windham worked as a producer for WWE. In 2007, he appeared on theRic Flair and the Four Horsemen DVD. Barry was also seen during the 2007 WWE Hall of Fame broadcast, sitting next to former partnerJohn "Bradshaw" Layfield. In June 2007, Windham did the introduction ofSuperBrawl III forWWE 24/7. On December 31, 2008, he was released by the WWE.
Windham wrestled his final match in February 2010 for American Combat Wrestling.
Windham appeared at the 2012WWE Hall of Fame with Ric Flair, J.J. Dillon, Arn Anderson, and Tully Blanchard as The Four Horsemen were inducted.
Windham appeared at the 2024WWE Hall of Fame alongside his former tag team partner Mike Rotunda, as The U.S. Express were inducted.
He is the maternal uncle of WWE wrestlersBray Wyatt andBo Dallas.
On October 26, 2011, it was reported that he was hospitalized for either a very serious stroke or a massive heart attack and was in anICU unit.[69][70] He was found at his ranch by hisbrother-in-lawMike Rotunda.[71] His family confirmed that Windham suffered a heart attack. His fatherBlackjack Mulligan posted a message to Facebook saying "I have a son near death".[72]
1The title was won by Windham and Blanchard in a small North Carolina NWA affiliated promotion. However, it should not be confused with the more prominent NWA All-Star Wrestling promotion that operated out of Vancouver, British Columbia from the early '60s to the late '80s.
Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo defeated Mohammed Saad & Bobby Bass when Windham pinned Saad with a bulldog at 2:48
Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Adrian Adonis & Dick Murdoch to win the titles when Windham pinned Murdoch with a sunset flip as Windham was assaulting Rotundo
Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo (w/ Captain Lou Albano) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Nikolai Volkoff & the Iron Sheik (w/ Freddie Blassie) to win the titles at 3:13 when Rotundo pinned Sheik after both Volkoff and Windham reversed the pin position behind the referee's back
Brutus Beefcake & Greg Valentine (w/ Johnny V) defeated WWF Tag Team Champions Barry Windham & Mike Rotundo (w/ Capt. Lou Albano) to win the titles at the 19-minute mark when Valentine pinned Windham after Beefcake stuck Johnny V's lit cigar into Windham's eye
NWA World Champ Ric Flair vs. Barry Windham. Windham flips out of a back suplex and rolls Flair up for 1-2-NO!! Flair rolls through with a handful of tights and gets 1-2-3
Lex Luger & Barry Windham beat Arn Anderson & Tully Blanchard (9:35) to win the NWA Tag Title when Luger pinned Anderson
Barry Windham defeated WCW TV Champion Steve Austin at around the 18-minute mark to win the title in a Best 2 out of 3 falls match, 2-1
Steve Austin (w/ Paul E. Dangerously) pinned WCW TV Champion Barry Windham to win the title after hitting him with the title belt; after the bout, Jesse Ventura interviewed Paul E. on the podium who gloated about Austin's victory and talked about Larry Zbyszko quitting the Dangerous Alliance
NWA World Heavyweight Champion The Great Muta vs. Barry Windham. Ric Flair hand-delivers and puts the NWA belt on Windham[unreliable source?]
Barry Windham and Kendall Windham vs. WCW World Tag Team Champions Harlem Heat. Curt Hennig comes in, and brains Booker in the back of the head with the cowbell. Kendall covers Booker. The ref slowly comes back in. One...Two....Three???? Oh my....the Windham brothers are the NEW World Tag Team champions[unreliable source?]
War Games: The Funkin Army defeated The Extreme Horsemen. The Funkin Army = Terry Funk, Sabu, Steve Williams, and Sandman... The Extreme Horsemen = Steve Corino, CW Anderson, Simon Diamond, PJ Walker (aka Justin Credible) & Barry Windham... Terry Funk used a branding iron and a fireball to make Steve Corino quit
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