David W. Peterson (July 17, 1959 – May 25, 1993), better known by his

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 ...

D. J. Peterson was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for competing in various North American regional promotions during the 1980s, including the Universal Wrestling Federation, the

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 ...

, and most notably the

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The territory was originally part o ...

during its final days. While there, he and The Trooper became the final holders of the AWA Tag Team Championship.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Making his debut in 1984, Peterson started wrestling in

Texas All-Star Wrestling Texas All-Star Wrestling (TASW) is a professional wrestling promotion that was established by Bob Murphy in Humble, Texas in 1994. It is the oldest independent promotion in the state of Texas and one of three based in the Greater Houston area a ...

and in the NWA Central States. During the mid-1980s, Peterson briefly appeared in Fritz von Erich's World Class Championship Wrestling defeating Jack Victory on February 7 and Prairie States Wrestling against Ox Baker on July 23 before wrestling in the Mid-South area and, by early 1986, for Bill Watts' Universal Wrestling Federation facing wrestlers such as Gustavo Mendoza and, in tag team matches, teamed with

Brett Sawyer Brett Eugene Woyan (born August 10, 1960) is an American professional wrestling trainer and retired professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Brett Sawyer. Early life Woyan grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida. He attended Dixie M. Ho ...

against Mike Scott and Rick Steiner, the

Blade Runners The Blade Runners were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of future superstars Steve Borden and Jim Hellwig that existed in 1985 and 1986. Their look was from the new wave music scene with black eye paint and spiked hair with a rattai ...

and the Fabulous Freebirds ( Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy &

Buddy Roberts Dale Hey (June 16, 1947 – November 26, 2012) was a Canadian-American professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Buddy Roberts. Primarily a tag team wrestler, Roberts is known for his appearances as one of The H ...

) in their UWF debut. He also wrestled

Bart Sawyer Steven Stewart (born November 30, 1965), known by his ring name Bart Sawyer, is an American retired professional wrestler, color commentator, and occasional actor. He is best known for his time in Championship Wrestling USA and the United States ...

several times, losing to him on May 3 and teamed with

Chavo Guerrero Salvador Guerrero IV (born October 20, 1970) better known by his ring names Chavo Guerrero and Chavo Guerrero Jr., is an American professional wrestler. He has previously worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling Federatio ...

against Sawyer and Rick Steiner in the following weeks. Later that year, he teamed with

Todd Champion Todd Bradford (born September 2, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Todd Champion. He competed in the Southeastern United States, winning titles in several promotions, including World Championship ...

feuding with the Thunderfoots and faced Big Bubba Rogers and The Warlord and The MOD Squad during October while in Jim Crockett Promotions as well as wrestling Arn Anderson in

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

on November 16, 1986.

American Wrestling Association- First Stint

Jumping to the American Wrestling Association in 1987, Peterson fought Super Ninja to a time limit draw at

SuperClash II SuperClash II was the second SuperClash professional wrestling supercard event produced by American Wrestling Association (AWA). The event took place at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California on May 2, 1987. The show was promoted as the AWA's mos ...

on May 2, 1987. He would also form a team with

J. T. Southern J. T. Southern (born January 4, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler. Though he achieved most notoriety during his 1992 feud with Van Hammer in World Championship Wrestling, Southern also competed for Verne Gagne's American Wrestlin ...

, attempting to gain the AWA World Tag Team titles, but ended up coming short.

Other Federations

He then split his time wrestling in several territories during the next two years appearing on the debut television show of Continental Championship Wrestling and had a brief stint in the World Wrestling Federation, primarily being used as a jobber. In 1989, he would head up to Calgary for Stampede Wrestling until its closure on December 18.

American Wrestling Association- Second Stint

Peterson returned to the AWA full-time in early 1990 teaming with Brad Rheingans against the Texas Hangmen at SuperClash IV on April 8, 1990 and later to pursue then AWA World Champion Mr. Saito. When Larry Zbyszko regained the title, Peterson was granted title shots although he failed to unseat the World Champion. Shortly thereafter, he formed a tag team with The Trooper which captured the AWA World Tag Team Titles from The Destruction Crew on August 11, 1990. Defending the titles during the rest of the year, Peterson and Trooper would turn out to be the last AWA World Tag Team Champions. In January 1991, Pro Wrestling Illustrated and its sister publications withdrew recognition of the AWA's World Championship status but continued to recognize Trooper and Peterson as incumbent "AWA Tag Team Champions" until the promotion finally closed later that year.

Later career

After the AWA closed in early 1991, Peterson went back to the independents until he died from a motorcycle crash on May 25, 1993.

Championships and accomplishments

** AWA World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with The Trooper *

Central States Wrestling Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska ...

** NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship (

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 ...

) ** NWA Central States Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) - with

**TASW Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with

Paul Diamond Thomas Boric (born May 11, 1961) is a Croatian retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name Paul Diamond. He is best known for being one half of the tag team Badd Company with Pat Tanaka and for his time in the World Wrestling F ...

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 ...

* World Class Championship Wrestling ** WCCW Television Championship ( 1 time) * Pro Wrestling Illustrated **PWI ranked him # 205 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1991

References

External links

The Oklahoma Wrestling Fan's Resource center: Bios - D.J. Peterson
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, D. J. 1959 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American male actors American male professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Missouri Sportspeople from St. Joseph, Missouri Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century professional wrestlers AWA World Tag Team Champions