| Bill Watts | |
|---|---|
 Watts in 2005 | |
| Birth name | William F. Watts Jr. |
| Born | (1939-05-05)May 5, 1939 (age 85)[1] Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | |
| Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)[5] |
| Billed weight | 297 lb (135 kg)[5] |
| Debut | 1962[6] |
| Retired | 1995 |
American football player American football career | |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Putnam City High School (Warr Acres, Oklahoma, U.S.) |
| College: | Oklahoma |
| Position: | Guard Linebacker |
| Undrafted: | 1961 |
| Career history | |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
William F. Watts Jr. (born May 5, 1939),[1] better known under thering nameBill Watts, is a retired Americanprofessional wrestler, promoter and formerAmerican football player. Watts garnered fame under his "Cowboy"gimmick in his wrestling career, and then as a promoter in the Mid-South United States, which grew to become theUniversal Wrestling Federation (UWF). Watts also worked under the ring nameDoctor Scarlett which was sometimes stylised asDr. Scarlett.[2][3][4]
In 1992, Watts was the Executive Vice President ofWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) but after clashes with management over a number of issues, as well as feeling pressure fromHank Aaron over a racially insensitive interview, he resigned.[7] He was subsequently replaced byOle Anderson.[8]
In 1995, Watts briefly worked as a booker for theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF; now WWE). In 2009, he was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame.
Watts played as alinebacker for his high school football team, thePutnam City Pirates.[9][10]Bud Wilkinson recruited him to play for theOklahoma Sooners, where he played as aguard during his sophomore and junior years.[11] However, his junior year was marred by a near fatal car accident involving him and his mother, resulting in him going into a coma.[12] When he came out, he had lost a significant amount of weight,[13] and had to put it back on, despite the coaches at the time preferring their players to be small and quick, which Watts had struggled with before the accident.[14] Former Sooners teammateWahoo McDaniel (then of theHouston Oilers of theAFL), introduced him toprofessional wrestling for the first time, something McDaniel did in the off-season.[15] Watts turned professional in 1961 and joined the Oilers, but did not last long there, and according to a shoot interview, he left after knocking out a coach.[14]
Through McDaniel's friendship with defensive coachBob Griffin, Watts played for theIndianapolis Warriors of theUnited Football League, while also being able to wrestle for NWA Indianapolis.[16] Watts then had a try-out with theMinnesota Vikings of theNational Football League (NFL), but after a discussion with general managerJim Finks, who wanted him to quit his wrestling career, Watts left the Vikings having decided he could make more money back in Oklahoma.[14]
As a professional wrestler, he famously feuded withWWWF ChampionBruno Sammartino, but was unable to win the title. In the 1960s, he wrestled in many areas, such as San Francisco, Chicago, St. Louis, and even Japan forAll Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). During these periods, Watts challenged for both theNational Wrestling Alliance (NWA) andAmerican Wrestling Association (AWA) versions of theWorld Title. Watts also had a successful run winning tag belts withBuck Robley in theNWA Tri-State/Mid South Wrestling before he became head promotor in theOklahoma/Louisiana areas.
Watts is perhaps even more famous for being a pioneering promoter in the Mid-South area of the United States, with his base of operation being in the Shreveport, Louisiana area. His promotion was known as Mid-South Wrestling. He is often credited with creating the current and popular "episodic" style of TV wrestling, building solid creativestorylines week-on-week, with an emphasis on solid in-ring action with dependable wrestlers like"Dr. Death" Steve Williams, TheJunkyard Dog,Ted DiBiase andJim Duggan. He is an outspoken critic on breakingkayfabe and"smart" wrestling fans. A Watts-run promotion always had face and heel wrestlers dress in different locker rooms and to have faces and heels not meet publicly. He has also been known to revamp his booking plans in order to protect the business from such fans.
After losing over half a million dollars, Watts sold the UWF to NWA Mid-Atlantic'sJim Crockett Promotions, who kept many of their stars, such asSting. Instead of having UWF as a separate organization, Crockett sent his mid-card wrestlers to the UWF and had them quickly win their titles. Eventually, the UWF folded, and Crockett would be bought out byTed Turner in 1988. In April 1989, after firingGeorge Scott,WCW offered Watts the chance tobook, but he declined the offer and WCW instead decided to go with a booking committee, which includedRic Flair andKevin Sullivan.
Watts became Executive Vice President ofWorld Championship Wrestling (succeeding Kip Frey) in 1992. He took many of his old-school values with him, such as banning moves from the top rope and thebabyfaces andheels separation. His tenure was not long, nor were his ideas overly embraced. According to his autobiography,Controversy Creates Ca$h,Eric Bischoff (who worked under Watts at the time) felt Watts would intimidate anyone he was talking to and was only interested in taking the WCW product back to 1970s standards, with poorly lit arenas and house shows in remote rural towns.
The circumstances of Watts' departure in 1993 are controversial. Prior to 1992, Watts had given an interview toWade Keller for his newsletter, Pro Wrestling Torch. After a lengthy interview on wrestling, Watts commented onLester Maddox, a 1960s restaurant owner and segregationistGovernor of Georgia) who refused service to black customers. Watts supported the owner's position, illegal under theCivil Rights Act of 1964, that he had a right to discriminate as did Watts in his business. Watts further expressed his view that slavery was beneficial for bringing slaves to America. He also made numerous other controversial statements pertaining to race and sexual orientation, including using numerous highly offensive slurs:[17]"If you want a business, and you put money in it, why shouldn't you be able to discriminate? It's your business... That's why I went into business, so that I could discriminate... Who's killed more blacks than anyone? The fuckin' blacks."[18] Watts claims that when he was hired by WCW, he had explained the situation to Turner presidentBill Shaw, apparently to his satisfaction.[citation needed] However, a year later wrestling journalistMark Madden brought the interview to the attention ofHank Aaron, himself a vice president in the Turner organization with theAtlanta Braves, who then pushed for Watts' removal. While Madden takes credit for Watts getting fired, Watts himself disputes this account, saying he was not fired for the comments but quit his position out of frustration over "backstabbing" by Shaw and (unbeknownst to Shaw) had already resigned by the time Aaron got the newsletter.[citation needed] Watts was replaced byOle Anderson.
Watts later went on to a position of booking power in theWorld Wrestling Federation (WWF). His tenure there was short, as he stated in later interviews that he was only there on a three-month contract and had no interest in staying long-term.[19] On April 4, 2009, Watts was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame as a part of theClass of 2009.[20][5]
Watts has five children. From his first marriage, he has a son, William III (nicknamed Biff), and from his second marriage, he has three sons, Joel,Erik, Micah and a daughter, Ene.[21] In March 2006, Watts released his autobiographyThe Cowboy and the Cross: The Bill Watts Story: Rebellion, Wrestling and Redemption throughECW Press. The book chronicles his upbringing, his career as first a wrestler, then a promoter, along with events in his personal life.
Watts served as co-host of a sports talk radio show onThe Sports Animal in Tulsa, Oklahoma until late 2008. He was a longtime resident ofBixby, a Tulsa suburb.[20]
,Internet Wrestling Database
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| National | |
