.png) McGhee in 1983 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | Garfield Portz[3][4] (1959-05-01)1 May 1959 (age 66) |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Garfield Portz[1] Gary Portz[1] Geoff Portz Jr. Pat McGhee[2][1] Scott McGhee[1] Scotty McGhee[3] Scott Shannon[1] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] |
| Billed weight | 242 lb (110 kg)[1] |
| Trained by | Ric Flair[1][4] Karl Gotch[1] Geoff Portz[1] Buddy Rogers[1][4] Ricky Steamboat[1][4] |
| Debut | 1978[1] |
| Retired | November 2010 |
Garfield Portz (born 1 May 1959) is an English retiredprofessional wrestler, better known by hisring name,Scott McGhee. He is best known for his appearances in the United States withChampionship Wrestling from Florida,Jim Crockett Promotions, and theWorld Wrestling Federation in the 1980s. Portz is the son of professional wrestlerGeoff Portz (1931–2016).[3][4][self-published source?][2][1]
Portz was born in the United Kingdom. He relocated to the United States with his father, professional wrestlerGeoff Portz. In the late-1970s, he began working as a referee for theprofessional wrestling promotionJim Crockett Promotions. He trained as a wrestler under his father along withRic Flair,Karl Gotch,Buddy Rogers, andRicky Steamboat, debuting in Jim Crockett Promotions in 1978.[1][4] He briefly performed in Canada in 1980, wrestling forStampede Wrestling as "Gary Portz" and forMaple Leaf Wrestling as "Scott McGhee".[5]
McGhee began wrestling for theTampa, Florida-based promotionChampionship Wrestling from Florida in 1980. He won his firstchampionship in October 1980,teaming withBarry Windham to win a tournament for theNWA Florida Tag Team Championship. Their reign lasted until December 1980, when they were defeated by The Cowboy Connection.[6][7]
In late 1982, McGhee often teamed withDusty Rhodes,Magnum T. A. andBlackjack Mulligan on the promotions weekly television program.
In mid-1982, McGhee toured Japan withNew Japan Pro-Wrestling, where he regularly teamed withAndré the Giant andCanek.[5] In the same year, he competed for theDothan, Alabama-based promotionSoutheastern Championship Wrestling, winning theNWA Southeastern United States Junior Heavyweight Championship on three occasions.
In 1983, McGhee began wrestling for thePortland, Oregon-based promotionPacific Northwest Wrestling as "'Irish' Pat McGhee". He won theNWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship withCurt Hennig in December 1983, holding the championship until February 1984.[2]
After winning a championship tournament for the NWA Florida Heavyweight title in 1983,[7] he faced Ric Flair andHarley Race in a series of matches however failed to win theNWA World Heavyweight Championship. After losing the title toJos LeDuc later that year,[7] he left the promotion to compete in the Mid Atlantic territory, appearing at Starcade 1983 teaming withJohnny Weaver againstKevin Sullivan andMark "Purple Haze" Lewin. He also briefly appeared under the name "Irish" Pat McGhee inPacific Northwest Wrestling, winning the PNW tag titles withCurt Hennig on 23 December 1983.[7]
Upon his return to Florida, he immediately defeated"Superstar" Billy Graham to regain the Florida heavyweight title.[7] However, following Eddie Graham's suicide, McGhee left the Florida territory in late 1985.
McGhee joined theWorld Wrestling Federation in 1985, making his debut at a house show in Springfield, MA on 21 September. McGee was victorious in his first match and pinnedRene Goulet. He initially received a push out of the gate, defeating Goulet in a rematch onPrime Time Wrestling andLes Thornton on the 13 October episode ofAll American Wrestling. He sustained his first defeat when he submitted toGreg Valentine's figure four in a televised tag-team match that saw him team withPaul Roma against Valentine &Brutus Beefcake on the 26 October episode of Championship Wrestling. Later that fall he facedRandy Savage andAdrian Adonis on the house show circuit.[8]
By 1986, McGee primarily appeared onhouse shows as ajobber, making a handful of appearances onAll-Star Wrestling,WWF Championship Wrestling,WWF Prime Time Wrestling, andWWF Superstars of Wrestling. He entered the year wrestling on the house show circuit in opening match encounters, wrestlingTiger Chung Lee, Les Thornton, andBarry O to draws and pinningJoe Mirto, Rene Goulet, andRon Shaw. He was less successful against more established veterans higher in the card and fell toHercules Hernandez,Jake Roberts, andDory Funk Jr. After several months of defeats, McGee rebounded to defeatJohnny K-9 on the May 19th episode of Prime Time Wrestling. That would remain his one victory on television for some time as he saw further losses on the WWE's various programs. He remained mired as an opening card performer for the remainder of the year, but did close out December with victories overFrenchy Martin and Barry O on the house show circuit.[9]
That momentum temporarily halted, as McGee wrestledTama on 19 January episode of Prime Time Wrestling (taped 3 January) and was defeated. He rebounded to defeat Barry O andThe Red Demon on the house show circuit that month, then beatTerry Gibbs in a televised match in Philadelphia on 10 January. McGee then teamed with formerWWF World Tag Team ChampionTony Garea in a losing effort to theHart Foundation on 24 January episode ofWWF Superstars. McGee's final WWF match came at a house show on 11 November 1987 in West Palm Beach, Fl, where he teamed withKen Patera againstDemolition.[10][4][5][11][self-published source?]
McGhee returned to the independent circuit in 1987. In late-1987 he began wrestling forStampede Wrestling as "Garfield Portz".[3][5] On 31 January 1988 he suffered a severestroke, forcing him to retire from professional wrestling. McGhee subsequently trained as a nurse.[4][2]
McGhee broke his retirement in October 1989, wrestling a single bout for the Professional Wrestling Federation. He returned to wrestling once again in November 2010, wrestling for NWA Wrestle Birmingham.[5]
