William Albert Haynes III (born July 10, 1953) is an American retired
professional wrestler
Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring or ...
, better known by the
ring name
A ring name is a type of stage name used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons, or projecting ...
Billy Jack Haynes.
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1982–1984)
Haynes started wrestling in 1982 at the age of 28. He trained in
Stu Hart
Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian amateur and professional wrestler, wrestling booker, promoter, coach, trainer, football player and sailor. He is best known for founding and handling Stampede Wrestling, a ...
's Dungeon pro wrestling school and briefly wrestled in Hart's
Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...
under his given name, forming a tag team with
Bruce Hart. He started wrestling as "Billy Jack" in the Pacific Northwest territory but had to change his name when
Tom Laughlin
Thomas Robert Laughlin Jr. (August 10, 1931 – December 12, 2013) was an American actor, director, screenwriter, author, educator, and activist.
Laughlin was best known for his series of ''Billy Jack'' films. He was married to actress De ...
(who starred in the movie ''
Billy Jack
''Billy Jack'' is a 1971 American action drama independent film, the second of four films centering on a character of the same name which began with the movie ''The Born Losers'' (1967), played by Tom Laughlin, who directed and co-wrote the scr ...
'') threatened to sue him. He added his real last name to the gimmick and continued to work as a babyface. It is rumored that Haynes served time for manslaughter before becoming a pro wrestler.
Championship Wrestling from Florida; Pacific Northwest Wrestling (1984–1986)
He feuded heavily with Rip Oliver until 1984, when he had a run in
Championship Wrestling from Florida
Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...
where he feuded with
Kendo Nagasaki
Kendo Nagasaki is a professional wrestling stage name, used as a gimmick of that of a Japanese Samurai warrior with a mysterious past and even supernatural powers of hypnosis. The name derives from the modern martial art of Japanese fencing ( K ...
for the
NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida, USA and is now the major title in NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by C ...
winning the title from him. They then had a brief run in
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) (1986–1991) was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed ...
in 1985, managed by Sunshine. Due to internal conflict between Fritz Von Erich and Billy, he was written out of the organization, jobbing to Rip Oliver in a storyline where Rip bloodies and injured Billy. He rarely stayed put in any federation that he went to. During that time he faced off against the debuting
Shawn Michaels
Michael Shawn Hickenbottom (born July 22, 1965), better known by his ring name Shawn Michaels, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE as Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative. Widely regarded as one of ...
. He started splitting his time between
Portland Wrestling
Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, companies, both past and present, based in ...
and CWF and wrestled with partner
Wahoo McDaniel
Edward Hugh McDaniel (June 19, 1938 – April 18, 2002) was an American Choctaw-Chickasaw professional American football player and professional wrestler better known by his ring name Wahoo McDaniel. He is notable for having held the NWA United S ...
and won the
NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship
The Florida version of the NWA United States Tag Team Championship was a major professional wrestling tag team championship. The title was defended sporadically in the National Wrestling Alliance affiliated Championship Wrestling from Florida fr ...
and in
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions Inc. is a family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States, restarted by Jim Crockett's son and Jim Crockett Jr's brother, David Crockett. Founded in 1931, the promot ...
where they feuded with
Ole and
Arn Anderson
Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by the ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a m ...
. He had just begun a feud with
The Barbarian over who was the strongest man in the territory when he abruptly left the company after a confrontation with Jim Crockett in his office which became physical.
World Wrestling Federation (1986–1988)
In June 1986, Haynes went to the
World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...
and feuded with
Randy Savage
Randall Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestl ...
over the
Intercontinental Championship and then with
Hercules Hernandez
Raymond Constantine Fernandez (May 7, 1956 – March 6, 2004) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Hercules Hernandez, or simply Hercules.
Fernandez began his career in 1979, primarily wrestling in Florida and T ...
over who was stronger, more muscular, and who had a better version of the full nelson (their mutual finishing maneuver). Their feud in the WWF peaked with what was dubbed "The Battle of the Full Nelsons" at
WrestleMania III
WrestleMania III was the third annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The event was held on March 29, 1987, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. The ...
,
[ where the two men battled to a double count-out. After the bell, Hercules' ]manager
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includes the activities o ...
Bobby Heenan
Raymond Louis Heenan (November 1, 1944 – September 17, 2017) was an American professional wrestling manager, color commentator, wrestler, and comedian. He performed with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation ...
kneed Haynes in the back while he had Hercules in a full nelson out on the floor. Haynes chased Heenan into the ring where Hercules blindsided him with his trademark chain, hitting Haynes multiple times and (Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe, as a noun, is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically the portrayal of competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants as being genuine and not staged. ...
) cutting his forehead (in reality, Haynes had bladed himself with a small razor hidden in the tapes around his wrists after the first hit. He was actually seen on camera taking the razor out of his wrist tapes while chasing Heenan around the ring).
In the months to follow, the two had a series of "chain matches," where they were attached at the wrist by a foot long chain which could also be used as a weapon during the match. Haynes later teamed with fellow Oregon native Ken Patera
Ken or KEN may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer.
* ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film.
* ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine.
* Ken Masters, a main character in t ...
who had returned to the WWF.[ Haynes saved Patera from a beating at the hands of Hercules and ]Harley Race
Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer.
Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federatio ...
after Patera's return match.[ The pair would later feud with ]Demolition
Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...
after a television match where Demolition left Haynes, Patera, and Brady Boone
Dean R. Peters (August 22, 1958 – December 15, 1998) was an American professional wrestler and referee. He performed with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Brady Boone and Battle Kat.
Professional wrestling career Early caree ...
(who played Haynes' cousin) beaten and lying in the ring.[ Haynes' departure from the WWF in January 1988 has been a subject of controversy considering dramatic changes in the story as Haynes repeated it. In one version, he says he quit the WWF after refusing to do a ]job
Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...
in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. Another account of the same incident reported that he actually wrestled the match with the finish reworked and then was fired afterwards.
Late career (1988–1996)
Haynes returned to Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
in 1988 and wrestled in their independents, including forming his own promotion, Oregon Wrestling Federation. In the summer of 1989, he returned to Portland and immediately feuded with The Grappler. By the end of the year, he would form an alliance with former rival Rip Oliver
Larry Richard Oliver (October 6, 1952 – March 5, 2020) was an American professional wrestler, known as "Crippler" Rip Oliver, who had success in Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW).
Early life
Oliver was born in Florida. His father was Dennis Lee ...
and his son Larry. On April 14, 1990, he turned on the Olivers during a match with The Grappler, The Equalizer, and Brian Adams, turning heel for the first time in his career. As a heel, he feuded with the Olivers, Scott Norton
Scott Norton (born June 15, 1961) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his tenures in World Championship Wrestling and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, in which he was a member of the New World Order (professional wrest ...
, and Scotty the Body
Scott Levy (born September 8, 1964) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Raven. He is known for his appearances with professional wrestling promotions including Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Champions ...
. In October 1990, he did several shows for Herb Abrams
Herbert Charles Abrams (July 9, 1955 – July 23, 1996), also known by the nickname Mr. Electricity, was an American professional wrestling promoter from Queens, New York, who founded the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF) in 1990.
Early life ...
' Universal Wrestling Federation, where they built up another strongman feud between Haynes and Ken Patera
Ken or KEN may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer.
* ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film.
* ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine.
* Ken Masters, a main character in t ...
. In May 1991, Haynes returned to the major promotions when he appeared under a mask in World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of Nation ...
as Black Blood in Kevin Sullivan's stable. Soon after The Great American Bash
The Great American Bash is a professional wrestling event currently produced by WWE, a professional wrestling promotion based in Connecticut. Created by Dusty Rhodes, the event was established in 1985 and was originally produced by the National Wr ...
, he was fired in July 1991, due to a pay dispute.[ At the time he was fired, he suffered a severe knee injury. Instead of recuperating, he went back to Portland, where he feuded with top babyface Steve Doll and Demolition Crush. After PNW shut down in 1992, Haynes took time off to recover from his knee injury he suffered in WCW, which took eighteen months to fully recover from. His first matches back was in June 1994, where he wrestled shows that were co-promoted by PNW's successor Championship Wrestling USA and Mexico's ]Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
Antonio Peña Promotions, S.A. de C.V. d/b/a Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide is a Mexican Lucha Libre (professional wrestling) promotion based in Mexico City, Mexico. Commonly referred to as simply AAA (pronounced "triple A"; an abbreviation of its o ...
in Vancouver, Washington. He showed up next in the United States Wrestling Association
The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Wrestling ...
in 1995 and retired in early 1996.
Personal life
On March 16, 2013, Haynes was hospitalized because he was suffering from an aortic aneurysm
An aortic aneurysm is an enlargement (dilatation) of the aorta to greater than 1.5 times normal size. They usually cause no symptoms except when ruptured. Occasionally, there may be abdominal, back, or leg pain. The prevalence of abdominal aortic ...
, and liver and kidney issues.
In October 2014, the ''Portland Tribune
The ''Portland Tribune'' is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is part of the Pamplin Media Group, which publishes a number of community newspapers in the Portland metropolitan area. Launched in ...
'' reported that Haynes filed a lawsuit in federal court against WWE, alleging "egregious mistreatment of its wrestlers for its own benefit, as well as its concealment and denial of medical research and evidence concerning traumatic brain injuries suffered by WWE wrestlers." This litigation was taken after research into chronic traumatic encephalopathy
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse o ...
(CTE), which was attributed to causing the deaths of Chris Benoit in 2007 and Andrew Martin in 2009. Haynes also sought for the court to grant class action
A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class actio ...
status for hundreds of former wrestlers and to force WWE to establish a medical trust fund to pay for wrestlers who suffer from injuries that took place in a WWE ring.[ Former WWE stars ]Vito Lograsso
Vito Joseph LoGrasso (born June 18, 1964) is an American actor and professional wrestler, best known for his work in World Championship Wrestling as Big Vito and more recently World Wrestling Entertainment and working for their " developmental te ...
and Adam Mercer filed a class action lawsuit against WWE in January 2015 while being represented by the same lawyer as Haynes, Konstantine Kyros. In March 2016, the suit was dismissed by Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant
Vanessa Lynne Bryant (born January 27, 1954) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.
Early life
Bryant was born in Queens, New York, and graduated from Howard University wit ...
. At the time of dismissal, dozens of former WWE wrestlers had joined a class action lawsuit under Kyros's counsel.
Championships and accomplishments
*Championship Wrestling from Florida
Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it closed down. It is also referred to as ...
** NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida, USA and is now the major title in NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by C ...
( 1 time)
** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 1 time) - with Wahoo McDaniel
Edward Hugh McDaniel (June 19, 1938 – April 18, 2002) was an American Choctaw-Chickasaw professional American football player and professional wrestler better known by his ring name Wahoo McDaniel. He is notable for having held the NWA United S ...
*Oregon Wrestling Federation
**OWF Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
*Pacific Northwest Wrestling
Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. T ...
** NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S. states of ...
( 5 times)
** NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship
The NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S. states of ...
( 3 times) - with Stan Stasiak
George Emile Stipich (April 13, 1937 – June 19, 1997) was a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Stan Stasiak. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) in the 1970s, where he ...
(2 times) and Ricky Vaughn (1 time)
*''Pro Wrestling Illustrated
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publish ...
''
** PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (1984)
**PWI ranked him #143 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years
''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...
" in 2003
*United States Wrestling Association
The United States Wrestling Association (USWA) was a professional wrestling promotion based in Memphis, Tennessee. The company was founded when the Memphis-based Continental Wrestling Association merged with the Dallas-based World Class Wrestling ...
** USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship
The AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was a major professional wrestling title in the Continental Wrestling Association during the 1970s and 1980s. The title is part of a long lineage that was started when the NWA Southern Junior Heavyweight ...
(2 times
"2 Times" is a song co-written and recorded by British Italian-based singer Ann Lee. It was released in 1999 as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999). The single entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart. Outside ...
)
*World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA) (1986–1991) was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed ...
**WCCW Television Championship
The WCWA Television Championship was a secondary professional wrestling championship that was used and defended in the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). Originally created in 1979 as the NWA Television Championship, one of many television ...
( 1 time)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haynes, Billy Jack
1953 births
American male professional wrestlers
Living people
Professional wrestlers from Oregon
Professional wrestling promoters
Stampede Wrestling alumni
20th-century professional wrestlers
NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions
NWA United States Tag Team Champions (Florida version)