.jpg) Ware in 2016 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | James Williams Ware, Jr. (1957-06-20)June 20, 1957 (age 68) Union City, Tennessee, U.S.[1] |
Spouse(s) | Joyce Ware (died 2009) Tamela James (m. 2020) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Koko Ware[1] Koko B. Ware[1] Stagger Lee[1] Sweet Brown Sugar[1] The Birdman |
| Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 228 lb (103 kg)[2] |
| Billed from | Union City, Tennessee[2] |
| Trained by | Herb Welch |
| Debut | 1978[1] |
| Retired | 2019 |
James Williams Ware Jr. (born June 20, 1957), better known by his ring nameKoko B. Ware, is an American retiredprofessional wrestler. He debuted in 1978 and became widely popular in 1986. He later went on to theWorld Wrestling Federation, where he went from strong mid-carder tojobber to the stars."The Birdman" came to the ring with ablue-and-yellow macaw named Frankie, both flapping and dancing before and after his matches. Before joining the WWF, he was in several tag teams, most notably withBobby Eaton inMemphis and withNorvell Austin (The PYT Express) in several promotions. In 1993, during thepremiere episode, he lost thefirstMonday Night Raw match toYokozuna. In 2009, he was inducted into theWWE Hall of Fame.
Ware spent his early days in the sport in the Mid-South, Georgia and other NWA territories. Early in his career, "Koko Ware" (as he was then known) did not find great success, learning the ropes and paying his dues inJerry Jarrett'sContinental Wrestling Association andNick Gulas' territory.[3]
It was not until late 1980 Ware's fortunes changed when he participated in a battle royal to crown the first ever Mid-American Television Champion. The crowd favorite wasJimmy Valiant, who Ware accidentally knocked intoDanny Davis and eliminated. Moments later, Koko dumped Davis to the floor and won his first title.[4] After the match, Valiant returned to the ring and beat Ware down. Ware's feud with Valiant was quickly expanded to include the heelTojo Yamamoto and Ware's ally,Tommy Rich. WhenDutch Mantel returned to the CWA in early 1981 he quickly defeated Ware for the TV title making Ware's first run with the gold a short one.[4][5]
Ware floundered until September 1981, when he was chosen to referee aSouthern Heavyweight Championship title match betweenJerry Lawler and the "Dream Machine". Ware unfairly counted Lawler out to give the Dream Machine the victory, a decision that did not sit well with Lawler nor the fans in Memphis. Koko quickly aligned himself with managerJimmy Hart and hisFirst Family and changed his ring name to "Sweet Brown Sugar".[3] Sugar never got the best of Lawler but did taste tag-team success alongsideSteve Keirn and then withBobby Eaton. Eaton and Sugar won theAWA Southern Tag Team Championship.[4]
After successfully teaming for a while, Sugar and Eaton started to show signs of dissension, during their last run with the tag-team title Eaton beatJacques Rougeau for theMid-American Heavyweight title.[4] During an interview where Eaton and Hart bragged about the victory, Sugar complained that he was unable to win the Southern Title fromTerry Taylor. After being fed up, Hart finally slapped Sugar and sent the sulking superstar back to the dressing room after which Eaton commented that Sugar had been "whining like a woman". Later that night the duo defended their title against Taylor andBill Dundee, losing the title when Sugar "accidentally" kicked Eaton and then left the ring.[4][6] Eaton and Sugar contested a series of grudge matches centered around the Mid-America title and their issues with each other.[4] The feud got so out of control that it had to be settled with a "loser leaves town" match, a match that Eaton won, driving Sugar out of the arena. Later, a masked man calling himself "Stagger Lee" debuted; the fact that he looked and wrestled like a masked version of Sugar helped make him instantly popular. Eaton, along with the rest of the First Family, tried in vain to unmask Lee but could not manage to do so.[6][7] Bobby Eaton later turned face, he teamed with "Stagger Lee" for a series of matches.
During a tag-team tournament in 1983, the masked Stagger Lee teamed up with fellow faceNorvell Austin to take on "Fargo's Fabulous Ones" (Tommy Rich and"Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert). During the course of the match Stagger Lee's mask was removed to reveal the man beneath it, prompting a heel turn for Ware. Austin and Ware became a regular tag team dubbed "The Pretty Young Things" or ("The PYT Express").[8] The two men soon began wearing red leather jackets, and each had a single white glove on, in an obvious imitation ofMichael Jackson to further enhance their "pretty boy" image.[9] The team defeatedElijah Akeem andKareem Mohammad for the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship in February 1984; almost two weeks later, Akeem and Mohammad regained the title.[4]
In August 1984, The Pretty Young Things began wrestling forWorld Class Championship Wrestling in Texas. They remained with the promotion until November 1984.
In December 1984 the Pretty Young Things began wrestling for Championship Wrestling from Florida. On February 26, 1985, Austin and Ware defeatedJay andMark Youngblood to win theNWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship. Two weeks later on March 5, 1985, the team re-lost the title to the Youngbloods.[4] They left the promotion in March 1985.
After dropping the gold in Florida, the Pretty Young Things returned to the Continental Wrestling Association in April 1985. There, they won the AWA Southern Tag Team title twice, both times fromThe Fabulous Ones (Steve Keirn andStan Lane) as they feuded with the top face team of the promotion.[4][10] The team dissolved in July 1985 when Austin left forContinental Championship Wrestling.
In August 1985, Ware won a tournament for the vacantNWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship. He held the title until October, when he lost toHarley Race; he regained the title the following month. His final reign ended in January 1986 when he lost toBuddy Landel. Ware left the Continental Wrestling Association later that month to join theUniversal Wrestling Federation.
In February 1986, Koko moved on to Bill Watts' Mid-South/UWF territory, where he started calling himself Koko B. Ware. Ware's persona was that of a face who entered the ring to the theme of Morris Day's "The Bird", doing an arm-flapping dance. He left the promotion in August 1986 upon signing with the World Wrestling Federation.
In August 1986, Ware signed with theWorld Wrestling Federation, where he continued his fun-loving "Birdman" Koko B. Ware" persona, complete with amacaw named "Frankie". Ware made his debut as afan favorite on the September 6, 1986, episode ofSuperstars, teaming withPaul Roma againstHart Foundation (Bret Hart andJim Neidhart) in a losing effort. His first victory was on the September 7 episode ofWrestling Challenge against Bob Bradley. He made his entrances dancing to the ring to the tune of Morris Day andThe Time's "The Bird", flapping his arms and carrying Frankie, who sat on a perch at ringside while Ware wrestled. Bright outfits, colorful sunglasses, a constant smile and hisvibrato singing voice made Ware popular, especially with the younger crowd that the WWF mainly catered to during the 1980s.[11] Ware also sang the title track of the 1987 WWF albumPiledriver, which then became his entrance music. The song's video featured top wrestlers of the day likeHulk Hogan andThe Honky Tonk Man, as well as WWF ownerVince McMahon wearing a red "Hulkamania" shirt and hard hat.
Ware garnered his first big win of his initial WWF run when he upsetHarley Race at a house show in East Rutherford, NJ, on October 13. On television, his first major showcase was at the November 29, 1986Saturday Night's Main Event VIII where he defeatedNikolai Volkoff.[12] He was then granted an Intercontinental Title match against championRandy Savage on the November 16 edition of Wrestling Challenge, a bout which went to a double countout. The same taping later saw Ware defeat Savage by countout in a dark match.
Ware often lost to bigger stars, such asButch Reed,Hercules,Greg Valentine, andThe Big Boss Man.[13][14][15] From 1987 to 1993, Ware appeared on several WWF PPVs (includingWrestleMania III where he lost to Reed) and editions ofSaturday Night's Main Event, being used mainly to make established or rising stars look good. Ware was the first wrestler on television to fall victim to theperfect-plex of newcomerMr. Perfect on the January 7, 1989, episode ofSaturday Night's Main Event XIX, while at the1990 Survivor Series, Ware became the first wrestler to fall victim toThe Undertaker'stombstone piledriver in the Undertaker's WWF debut match. In a precursor to what would become a regular team years later, Ware occasionally teamed withOwen Hart, wrestling as The Blue Blazer at the time, throughout 1988 and 1989.
During a 1989 European tour, Ware was fired for his part in a physical altercation with WWF executiveJim Troy. Troy had used racial slurs during an argument after which the dispute turned physical, breaking through a glass window in the hotel lobby.[16] Both men were fired, although Koko was almost immediately brought back afterHulk Hogan intervened on his behalf withVince McMahon.[17][18]
In 1992, Ware teamed up withOwen Hart to form the high-flying team known as High Energy, well known in wrestling circles for their gigantic baggy brightly colored pants and checkered suspenders. High Energy feuded with (and generally lost to)The Nasty Boys,The Headshrinkers, andMoney Inc.[19] They made only one PPV appearance as a team, a loss to the Headshrinkers at the1992 Survivor Series.[20] Ware appeared in the first match on the first episode ofMonday Night Raw on January 11, 1993, where he was defeated in asquash match byYokozuna. The team ended in March 1993 after Hart injured his knee. High Energy's final match came in a loss to The Headshrinkers at alive event on March 10.[21]
With Owen Hart out of action Koko would return to singles competition and immediately entered a house show series withSkinner. At the same time, Ware made appearances in the USWA as part of a talent exchange program with WWF. He continued wrestling in the promotion through the remainder of the year.
Koko returned to WWF in 1994 when he appeared on the March 21 episode ofMonday Night Raw and facedJeff Jarrett.[22] He would then appear on the April 9 episode ofSuperstars in a loss toIrwin R. Schyster.[22] Koko picked up his first victory of his return by defeatingBastion Booger on the April 16, 1994, episode ofWWF Mania.[22] Koko then embarked on a house show tour in England where he faced Jarrett andKwang. On May 19, he defeatedThe Genius and followed it up a night later with three more wins over Poffo later that month.[23] Koko faced his former partner Owen Hart on the June 18 episode ofSuperstars. He ended his WWF run with three straight victories as he teamed with BushwhackerLuke Williams in house show matches in Philippines, Hong Kong, and Singapore againstReno Riggins andBarry Horowitz.
In 1991 Koko made his debut in the USWA. By 1992 the WWF and theUnited States Wrestling Association started a talent exchange agreement which saw Koko B. Ware return to Memphis. In the USWA Koko was more successful than in the WWF, winning theUSWA World Title twice, once fromKamala "The Ugandan Giant" and once from USWA iconJerry Lawler.[4] Koko also hooked up with Rex Hargrove and won theUSWA Tag Team Championship once in 1993.[4] In 1996 he feuded withBrian Christopher andJerry Lawler. He left in 1997 before the company shut down later that year.
Ware made a few appearances for theAmerican Wrestling Federation from 1994 to 1996 but did not become a regular before going into semi-retirement in 1997.[citation needed] Ware was interviewed briefly during the 1999 wrestling documentaryBeyond the Mat.
After USWA, Ware did not wrestle as much. He started working for theindependent circuit. In 1998 to 1999 he wrestled forPower Pro Wrestling in Memphis. In 1999, he retired from wrestling and took a couple of years off.
On the January 25, 1999, edition of WWF Raw is War, Ware made a short-lived return to the World Wrestling Federation where he put on the "Blue Blazer" mask during the Owen Hartangle and Jeff Jarrett in their victory for the tag team championship.[24] WhenHart died, the angle was dropped and Ware's services were no longer needed.
On May 18, 2001, Ware returned to wrestling and defeatedBrickhouse Brown at Galaxy Championship Wrestling in Little Rock, Arkansas.
By 2003 Ware began to wrestle full time again. He defeated Billy Maverick for the SCW Supreme Title for Supreme Championship Wrestling on August 22. Also in 2003, Ware began competing once again in the Memphis area for theMemphis Wrestling promotion from 2003 to 2007. He also competed at the "World Wrestling Legends" PPV on March 5, 2006, where he defeatedDisco Inferno.
He appeared at "WWE Homecoming",Raw's return to theUSA Network, on October 3, 2005.[25] He fought (and was defeated by)Rob Conway on the October 28, 2005, edition ofWWE Heat.[25] On April 4, 2009, Ware was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame byThe Honky Tonk Man. On February 15, 2011, Ware made an appearance onTosh.0. The appearance was during a "Web Redemption" segment. During the segment, Daniel Tosh performed an interview with Dave Mills, who became the popular "Crying Wrestling Fan" meme after going into a crying fit and yelling "It's still REAL to me, damn it!" into a microphone during a fan convention. The piece took place in a wrestling ring, with Tosh dressed as The Ultimate Warrior and the pair being fought by a number of WWE Legends such as Ware,"The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase andSgt. Slaughter battling for a trophy, which ultimately was won by Ware.[26] On May 31, 2014, Ware appeared in the main event at Valour Wrestling's special event to raise money forLou Gehrig disease.[27] Ware wrestled his last match on August 10, 2019, for Pennsylvania Premiere Wrestling, teamed with John Wes and Matt Turner to defeatJames Ellsworth, RJS and Alexander Bateman.
James was born in Union City, Tennessee, on June 20, 1958.
In September 2009, Ware's wife died fromcancer.[28] In 2020 he married Tamela James.
Ware was a defendant in a 2015 lawsuit filed by WWE after they received a letter from him indicating that he intended to sue them for concussion-based injuries sustained during his tenure with them.[citation needed] He was represented by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who was involved in several other lawsuits involving former WWE wrestlers.[29] US District JudgeVanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed Ware's lawsuit in September 2018.[30]
In March 2002, Ware lost his Macaw, Frankie, in a house fire. According to Ware, he was summoned to the house during church after someone told him his home was burning down. A neighbor said that they could not save his "child", having mistaken the sounds of distress and repeated calls of "Let me out" from Frankie for those of a small child.[31]
Ware's character featured him carrying a parrot called Frankie, which earned him the nicknames "The Birdman".[2] He performed abrainbuster known as theGhostbuster.[32][1] He used a wide range of signature moves including theMissile dropkick,bulldog.[33]dropkick,headbutt ormonkey flip.[32]
After being inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009, Ware has been a point of controversy because, working as acarpenter, he was inducted before world championsIvan Koloff,[34] Randy Savage or Bruno Sammartino.[35][36][37][38][39] In 2020, 411Mania writers Steve Cook and Kevin Pantoja discussed Ware's induction. While Cook defended his Hall of Fame status since he was very over and some of his losses were historic, Pantoja described him as "the floor for inductees".[40]
,Cagematch,Wrestlingdata,Internet Wrestling Database
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