Gene Petit (c. May 19, 1949 – September 29, 2013) was an American
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 ...
best known for his portrayal of Cousin Luke in 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 ...
. He also competed under several other gimmicks and competed for several
promotions in the United States as well as Australia, Japan, Nigeria and Puerto Rico.
Career
Early career
Petit attended the
University of Tampa
The University of Tampa (UT) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 22 master's degrees and a broad variety of majors, ...
, where he played for the
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
team. While there, he met former
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
wrestler
Dale Lewis. They became friends, and Lewis paid Petit to drive him to his bookings at professional wrestling events.
Petit stated that he began wrestling after spending a couple of weeks practising in a gym. At one of Lewis' events, the company did not have enough wrestlers and Petit was asked to fill in. He teamed with Lewis and Gypsy Joe Rosario in a
six-man match. After his first match, in which he wrestled under his real name, he competed with 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 ...
Gene Lewis. He and Dale Lewis competed as
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. ...
(storyline) brothers due to their similar appearance.
[
While wrestling in ]Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
in the 1980s, Petit joined a stable
A stable is a building in which livestock, especially horses, are kept. It most commonly means a building that is divided into separate stalls for individual animals and livestock. There are many different types of stables in use today; the ...
named the Army of Darkness. As a member of the group, which used a devil-worshipping gimmick
A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand ou ...
, he used the ring name Kharma.
World Wrestling Federation
During a conversation with George Scott, a booker from 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 ...
, Petit received an unenthusiastic response to his query about joining the promotion. Petit then showed Scott a picture he had taken of himself as a joke, in which he wore "cutoff jeans, overalls, and a floppy hat". After seeing the picture, Scott offered Petit the role of Cousin Luke, a member of the Hillbilly Family led by Hillbilly Jim
James Morris (born July 5, 1952) is an American retired professional wrestler and current radio host, better known by his ring name, Hillbilly Jim. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1984 to 1991, ...
.[ As part of this gimmick, Petit was silent and expressionless and portrayed a rural Southerner who did not know how to wrestle.] He joined the other hillbillies in their feud
A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one part ...
with Roddy Piper
Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor.
In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for hi ...
, Bob Orton, Jr.
Robert Keith Orton Jr. (born November 10, 1950), better known by the ring name "Cowboy" Bob Orton, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is the son of professional wrestler Bob Orton Sr., the brother of professional wrestler Bar ...
, and Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura (born James George Janos; July 15, 1951) is an American politician, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2 ...
. Shortly after joining the company, however, Petit broke his ankle due to a problem with a defective wrestling ring
A wrestling ring is the stage on which a professional wrestling match usually occurs. It is similarly constructed to a boxing ring and is traditionally square-shaped.
Configuration and construction
The configuration and construction of the trad ...
. He was asked to compete at WrestleMania 2
WrestleMania 2 was the second annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view List of WWE pay-per-view events, event produced by the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). The event took place on April 7, 1986 (a Monday), making ...
against Adrian Adonis
Keith Adonis Franke (September 15, 1953 – July 4, 1988) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Adrian Adonis. He was best known for his appearances with the American Wrestling Association and World Wrestling Federati ...
, the WWF's biggest show of the year, but had to decline due to the injury. Instead Uncle Elmer
Stanley C. Fraizer (August 16, 1937 – July 1, 1992), also known as Plowboy Frazier, was an American professional wrestler. He was primarily a regional gimmick wrestler, employed for his massive size and unique personality. He is best known as U ...
faced Adonis.[
Petit explained the nature of his departure from the World Wrestling Federation in 1986 to SLAM! Wrestling: "Vince cMahontold me that they would keep me until the end of the year, leave me off for a few months, and then figure out another gimmick, because they were just going to keep Hillbilly. There was too much back and forth with Hillbilly and he got hurt; they brought Elmer in, and he got fired; Junior left; then I came in, and Hillbilly had a little disagreement with the office, so he took off for a few weeks. We had lost the steam that we had. I finished the year with them, and then started working the independents."
]
Later career
After leaving WWF in 1987, Petit went to work for All Japan Pro Wrestling
(AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established on October 21, 1972 when Giant Baba split away from the Japanese Wrestling Association and created his own promotion. Many wrestlers had left with Baba, ...
as Texas Red. For the rest of his career he worked in the independent circuit mainly in New Jersey and the New York City area. His last match was in 2002.
Retirement and death
In 2000, Petit retired from wrestling due to back problems. Petit lived in Bernardsville, New Jersey
Bernardsville () is a borough in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough is nestled in the heart of the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 7,707, and was a member of the board of directors for the Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. He died on September 29, 2013. and was believed to be in his mid 60s when he died. He had had multiple sclerosis
Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...
and diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...
in his later years and was residing in a long-term health facility when he died.
Championships and accomplishments
*National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc.
Founded in 1948, the NWA ...
**NWA Central States Television Championship
The NWA Central States Television Championship was the secondary singles championship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1977 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988. Because the championship ...
(2 times)[http://www.cagematch.de/?id=2&nr=1822&page=11 ]
References
External links
*
Biography at SLAM! Wrestling
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petit, Gene
Year of birth missing
2013 deaths
American male professional wrestlers
Professional wrestlers from Tennessee
Stampede Wrestling alumni
20th-century professional wrestlers