Donald Hollis Welch (March 14, 1946 - September 16, 2016) 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 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 ...

Don Bass.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1973–1981)

Don Welch was trained by AL "Spider" Galento and started wrestling in 1968. Bass found early success as a tag team wrestler, teaming up with his brother,

Ron Bass Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in ''Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe A ...

as a member of the

heel The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg. Structure To distribute the compressive for ...

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 ...

The Bass Family. The duo was managed by their "mother", Maw Bass. Maw Bass carried a loaded purse, with which she would strike their opponents to steal a victory.

Continental Wrestling Alliance (1981–1988)

In the early 1980s, Don Bass joined

Continental Wrestling Association Continental Wrestling Association (later the Championship Wrestling Association) was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually ref ...

as one half of The Interns with Roger Smith. The masked duo would become a staple in Memphis tag team wrestling, capturing the

AWA Southern Tag Team Championship The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-America version)'' from its ince ...

on five occasions. Later, the team would be repackaged as Fire and Flame, once again winning the Southern Tag Titles. During this time, Bass defeated

Jerry Lawler Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949), better known as Jerry "The King" Lawler, is an American color commentator and professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE, although he has not performed as a full-time commentator since Apr ...

in a tag team match, winning the

AWA 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 ...

, his first and only major singles championship. In 1987, after a brief absence he returned to CWA and in an angle, he tried unsuccessfully to become a country singer by lipsynching to songs that was originally sung by

Bobby Bare Robert Joseph Bare Sr. (born April 7, 1935) is an American country music singer and songwriter, best known for the songs "Marie Laveau", " Detroit City" and "500 Miles Away from Home". He is the father of Bobby Bare Jr., also a musician. Early ca ...

United States Wrestling Association (1989–1996)

Don Bass would work under several masks and gimmicks including The Assassins, Scorpion, Rock and Roll Phantom and Fire. He would continue with USWA until his "retirement" in 1996

Late career (1996–2010)

Don Bass began a training school in Jericho, Arkansas. He trained with many of the Power Pro Wrestling superstars and headed the Power Pro School of Wrestling. He trained Derrick king, Alan Steele, "Big" Nasty Bill, Hoss Williams, Blade, Jett Logan, Alexi Krisis, Dustin 5 Starr and Simon Reed of the Posse And Tombstone plus many more. He continued working around the Memphis area until the time of his death.

Death

Welch died of cancer on September 16, 2016.

Championships and accomplishments

* Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling - Southeastern Championship Wrestling **

NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship The NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship was the main tag team championship in Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling or NWA Gulf Coast. The Gulf Coast tag team championship is the successor for GCCW's version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ...

( 1 times) – with

(1 time) **

NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship The NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship was a secondary tag team title promoted as the name indicates mainly in the Tennessee region from 1967 until 1977, first by ''Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling'' and occasionally NWA Mid-America from 1967 to ...

(

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 ...

) - with Ron Bass ** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Gulf Coast version)'' (1 time) – with Bobby Bass *

NWA NWA or Nwa most commonly refers to: * N.W.A ("Niggaz Wit Attitudes"), a hip hop group from Compton, California, US * National Wrestling Alliance, a professional wrestling organization NWA or Nwa may refer to: Music * New Weird America, a subgenr ...

Mid-South **NWA Mid-South Unified Heavyweight Championship (2 times) *

NWA Mid-America NWA Mid-America was a professional wrestling promotion territory under the umbrella of the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) that promoted shows in Tennessee, Kentucky and Alabama from the 1940s until 1981. The company was founded in the 1940s by N ...

(

) **

( 5 time) - with Don Greene (1 time) and Roger Smith (4 times) **

CWA Tag Team Championship The CWA Tag Team Championship was a major professional wrestling tag team title defended in the Continental Wrestling Association. It lasted from 1988 through 1990, when it was abandoned and replaced with the United States Wrestling Association Ta ...

( 1 time) - with Gary Young (1 time) **

CWA World Tag Team Championship The CWA World Tag Team Championship was a major professional wrestling tag team championship (professional wrestling), title defended in the Continental Wrestling Association. It lasted from 1980 through 1983. Title history Footnotes Refere ...

( 5 times) - with Assassin #1 ** NWA United States Tag Team Championship (''Mid-America version'') ( 1 time) – with

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bass, Don 1946 births 2016 deaths American male professional wrestlers People from West Memphis, Arkansas Professional wrestlers from Arkansas Deaths from cancer in Tennessee