| J-Tex Corporation | |
|---|---|
| Stable | |
| Members | See below |
| Name(s) | J-Tex Corporation Gary Hart International |
| Debut | 1989[1] |
| Disbanded | 1990[1] |
TheJ-Tex Corporation, also known asGary Hart International, was aheelprofessional wrestlingstable inWorld Championship Wrestling. The group was managed byGary Hart and consisted of several popular wrestlers includingTerry Funk,Dick Slater,The Great Muta,The Dragonmaster, andBuzz Sawyer. Their name was reference to the fact that its two prominent members, Muta and Funk, were fromJapan andTexas, respectively.
The group was conceived in July 1989,feuding primarily withNWA World ChampionRic Flair andSting and then with theFour Horsemen after their surprise reformation later that year.[1]
Prior to the Horsemen's reformation, Flair and Sting defeated Slater and Muta by disqualification atClash of the Champions VIII on September 12, 1989.[2] Post-match, Funk tried to suffocate Flair by putting a plastic bag over his head.[1] This led to their highly acclaimed non-title"I Quit" match atClash of the Champions IX on November 15, in which Flair defeated Funk.[1][3]
During this time, Muta faced Sting in one of the year's greatest feuds, eventually winning hisNWA World Television Championship.[4] The title had been vacated after a controversial match atThe Great American Bash (1989) pay-per-view in July 1989,[5] but eventually Muta won the title in a no disqualification match in September after using ablackjack.[4] He held the title for four months before losing to Arn Anderson in January 1990.[4]
Also at the 1989 Great American Bash, Ric Flair facedTerry Funk in the main event. After retaining his NWA title, Flair was attacked by Muta post-match.[5] Sting came to Flair's rescue which, given their fierce rivalry the year prior, was an amazing surprise to fans.[1] Sting and Flair feuded with Funk and Muta for the rest of the year in one of the NWA's most memorable battles, including aThunderdome match called byBruno Sammartino atHalloween Havoc.[6] When Flair reformed theFour Horsemen in December 1989, Sting was quick to join him along withArn andOle Anderson.[1]
The culmination of this feud took place on February 6, 1990 atClash of the Champions X, where the two stables faced off in the main eventSix man tag teamsteel cage match.[7] During the event, however, the Horsemen returned to their heel nature; after demanding an NWA World Heavyweight title shot from Flair, Sting was effectively thrown out of the Horsemen, thus restarting their rivalry.[1] This attributed to shifting theheat away from their feud with J-Tex Corporation, and despite their impressive roster, J-Tex ultimately disbanded shortly after the event. Muta subsequently returned toNew Japan Pro-Wrestling, while Terry Funk briefly retired from wrestling to become a color commentator with Chris Cruise onWorld Wide Wrestling.[1]
