Floyd Gerald "Jerry" Brisco (born September 19, 1946) 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 o ...

. Brisco is best known for his time in the wrestling promotion WWE, where he was a backstage producer, and, during the 1990s, an on-screen character, working alongside Pat Patterson as the "stooges" for the Mr. McMahon character (portrayed by former WWE CEO and Chairman

Vince McMahon Vincent Kennedy McMahon (; born August 24, 1945) is an American media proprietor and retired professional wrestling promoter, executive, and performer. From 1982 to 2022, he served as the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of WWE, the ...

). He was most recently a WWE

talent scout In professional sports, scouts are experienced talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scou ...

where he focused on exclusively recruiting

amateur wrestlers Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the ...

into the company. Debuting in 1969, Brisco wrestled for multiple

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling promotion and former professional wrestling governing body operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA began as a governing body for a ...

(NWA)

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

throughout the 1970s and early-1980s, in particular

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 ...

and

Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling 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 promoti ...

, winning dozens of

championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

. Throughout his career, he teamed with his elder brother Jack as The Brisco Brothers. After retiring in 1985, Brisco moved into a backstage role with 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 var ...

(now WWE). He had a late career resurgence between 1997 and 2000 alongside fellow veteran wrestler Pat Patterson as the onscreen "

stooge A stooge or stooges may refer to: * Straight man (stock character), a comedian who feeds lines to another * Shill, a confederate or performer who acts as if they're a spectator * ''The Stooge'', a 1952 American film * The Three Stooges, a comedy g ...

" of WWE chairman

. Both Briscos were inducted into the

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when André the Giant was posthumously i ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Amateur wrestling career

Gerald Brisco grew up with five siblings and an absent father in Oklahoma. He followed his brother, Jack Brisco, into

amateur wrestling Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the ...

, and was eventually awarded an athletic scholarship to

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, ...

after winning two AAU tournaments and only losing two high school matches, placing second in Oklahoma States in his only two years of high school wrestling due to broken leg in football. He was a starter on the OSU freshman team winning several matches and tournaments. During the spring break of 1968, Brisco was in

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

with Jack, and was asked to substitute for his brother's injured

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

partner despite his lack of professional training. After Brisco contracted

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes ( jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal ...

and injured his knee, he decided to drop out of college and become a full-time professional wrestler.

Professional wrestling career

The Brisco Brothers (1967–1984)

Brisco was trained by his brother and debuted in 1967 as his

partner, using the name Gerald Brisco. The Brisco Brothers were a highly successful team, amassing over twenty tag team championships over the course of thirteen years. They arrived 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 ...

in 1970 (with Brisco becoming Jerry Brisco) and dominated the singles and tag divisions for several years thereafter. It was also in the late 1970s that the Brisco's discovered Terry Bollea, the future wrestling legend best known as Hulk Hogan, who they introduced to

Hiro Matsuda (July 22, 1937 – November 27, 1999) was a Japanese professional wrestler and trainer best known by his ring name . He trained many professional wrestlers including Hulk Hogan, The Great Muta, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, Scott Hall, Lex L ...

for training. Jerry Brisco would amass a number of singles championships throughout the 1970s, including becoming the first holder of Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship. On June 20, 1981 he defeated

Les Thornton Les Thornton (9 April 1934 – 1 February 2019) was a British professional wrestler who competed in Great Britain, Japan, European and North American regional promotions throughout the 1970s and 1980s including Joint Promotions, Stampede Wrestl ...

for the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship. In 1983, while teaming in the Mid-Atlantic territory, the brothers turned

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 leg. Structure To distribute the compressive forces exer ...

against the team of

Ricky Steamboat Richard Henry Blood Sr. (born February 28, 1953), better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his work with the American Wrestling Association (AWA), Jim Crockett Promot ...

and Jay Youngblood, the NWA World Tag Team Champions. The two teams traded the belts back and forth until the feud culminated at the first Starrcade, with Steamboat and Youngblood regaining the championship. The brothers would hold the title one last time in 1984, ultimately losing to the team of

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 Un ...

and Mark Youngblood. They would leave the Mid-Atlantic area shortly after. The Briscos held minority interests in Georgia Championship Wrestling. In 1984, dissatisfied with the direction of the company and smaller than expected

dividend A dividend is a distribution of profits by a corporation to its shareholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, it is able to pay a portion of the profit as a dividend to shareholders. Any amount not distributed is taken to be re-i ...

s, they convinced equally disgruntled majority

shareholder A shareholder (in the United States often referred to as stockholder) of a corporation is an individual or legal entity (such as another corporation, a body politic, a trust or partnership) that is registered by the corporation as the legal o ...

Paul Jones to give them

proxy voting Proxy voting is a form of voting whereby a member of a decision-making body may delegate their voting power to a representative, to enable a vote in absence. The representative may be another member of the same body, or external. A person so d ...

of his shares. The three men and Jim Barnett sold their shares to

, enabling him to increase his dominance of the professional wrestling world.

World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment/WWE (1984–2020)

The brothers entered the

in the fall of 1984, once again assuming their familiar role as fan favorites. The Briscos unsuccessfully challenged the North-South Connection, Adrian Adonis and

Dick Murdoch Hoyt Richard Murdoch (August 16, 1946 – June 15, 1996) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names "Dirty" Dick Murdoch and "Captain Redneck". He was best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation and New Jap ...

, for the

WWF World Tag Team Championship The World Tag Team Championship was the original professional wrestling world tag team championship in the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) promotion, and the promotion's third tag team championship overall. Originally established by the then- ...

. Both men would retire from the ring in early 1985. After retiring, Brisco began working backstage as a road agent and booker for McMahon. Following the 1997

Montreal Screwjob The Montreal Screwjob (also called the Montreal Incident; French: ''Le Coup Tordu de Montréal'' lit. Montreal's Twisted Coup) was an infamous unscripted professional wrestling incident that occurred on November 9, 1997, at the Survivor Series ...

, Brisco capitalized on his notoriety by becoming an onscreen "stooge" of Vince McMahon along with Pat Patterson. The duo portrayed a pair of bumbling comic heels and joined The Corporation and the McMahon-Helmsley Faction. They lampooned

Hulk Hogan Terry Eugene Bollea (; born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 19 ...

(then working for

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 Nati ...

, the rival of WWF) by mimicking his trademark gestures and using "Real American", his old entrance theme. Gerald Brisco - King of the Ring 2000

On the May 18, 2000 episode of '' SmackDown!'' Brisco won his first WWF championship when he pinned a sleeping

Crash Holly Michael John Lockwood (August 25, 1971 – November 6, 2003) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment from 1999 to 2003 under the ring names ...

to win the perpetually contested Hardcore Championship. Crash regained the title on June 12 but Brisco was intent on regaining. He pursued Holly around

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

but ran afoul of

John Shaft John Shaft is a fictional character created by author/screenwriter Ernest Tidyman for the 1970 novel of the same name. He was portrayed by Richard Roundtree in the original 1971 film and in its four sequels, '' Shaft's Big Score!'' (1972), '' Sh ...

, who had agreed to protect Holly. Brisco eventually regained the title the following week with the aid of Pat Patterson in the midst of a match between Crash and his cousin,

Hardcore Holly Robert William Howard (born January 29, 1963) is an American professional wrestler, actor, and former auto racer and wrestling trainer/ host, better known by the ring name Hardcore Holly or Bob Holly. He is best known for his 16-year career wit ...

. As Patterson and Brisco celebrated the victory, Patterson poured

champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

in Brisco's eyes then broke a second bottle over his head. He then pinned the (

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. ...

) unconscious Brisco to win the Hardcore Championship. Patterson hid from Brisco in drag in the women's locker room, and, after Brisco pursued him into the locker room, Vince McMahon booked them in a Hardcore Evening Gown Match at the

King of the Ring King of the Ring was a professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) and WWE Network event produced by WWE, a Connecticut-based professional wrestling promotion. The PPV event was held annually in June and was established in 1993 when the promotion ...

. In the course of the match, Holly interfered and pinned Patterson, regaining the title once again. On July 15, 2005, Brisco was inducted into the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame. He appeared at

WrestleMania 23 WrestleMania 23 was the 23rd annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was held for wrestlers from the promotion's Raw, SmackDown!, and ECW brand divisions. The eve ...

in a party scene and also on the July 23, 2007 edition of ''RAW''. On March 29, 2008, Brisco and his brother were inducted into the

the night before WrestleMania XXIV in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

. In June 2009, Brisco suffered three strokes. Four months later, it was announced that Brisco would not be returning to his position as a road agent in WWE. In March 2010, Jerry Brisco did return to the WWE as a

and recruiter for NXT. According to

Jim Ross James William Ross (born January 3, 1952) is an American professional wrestling commentator currently signed with All Elite Wrestling (AEW) as a commentator, analyst, and senior advisor. Ross is best known for a long and distinguished career a ...

, on October 19, 2011, Brisco suffered another stroke, a minor one. During the '' Raw Reunion'' episode on July 22, 2019, Brisco pinned Pat Patterson off-screen backstage to win the

WWE 24/7 Championship The WWE 24/7 Championship was a professional wrestling championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE. It was a tertiary championship open to anyone—regardless of gender or WWE employment status—and carried the special ru ...

. He became the third person to win both the

WWE Hardcore Championship The WWE Hardcore Championship was a hardcore wrestling championship in WWE which was contested under "hardcore" rules (no disqualifications, no countouts, and pinfalls count anywhere). In the latter part of the title's history, a rule was im ...

and the

. He would soon after lose the title to

Kelly Kelly Barbara Blank Coba (born Barbara Jean Blank; January 15, 1987), known professionally as Barbie Blank and by her ring name Kelly Kelly, is an American professional wrestler and model. Blank has a background in gymnastics and cheerleading, a ...

. He was furloughed, along with many other WWE employees, on April 15, 2020 and was officially released on September 10.

Personal life

Brisco is married, he and his wife Barbara have two sons named Wesley (born 1983) who is also a professional wrestler, known as Wes Brisco, a former FCW Tag Team Champion and Joseph who is a grad student at USF Tampa. Brisco also co-owned a body shop with his brother Bill, and longtime partner Travis Allred, known as the Brisco Brothers Body Shop. Jack Brisco was also a partner in the business before his death in 2010. The Briscos were inducted into the

Chickasaw Nation The Chickasaw Nation (Chickasaw: Chikashsha I̠yaakni) is a federally recognized Native American tribe, with its headquarters located in Ada, Oklahoma in the United States. They are an Indigenous people of the Southeastern Woodlands, original ...

Hall Of Fame in June 2016. On August 11, 2018, Brisco was inducted into the NWHOF Florida Chapter as “Outstanding American.”

Other media

Brisco appears as a manager alongside Pat Patterson in WWE2K16. After leaving WWE, Brisco began hosting a

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

series with

John Layfield John Charles Layfield (born November 29, 1966), better known by the ring name John "Bradshaw" Layfield (abbreviated to JBL), is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and Gridiron football, football player. He is curre ...

Championships and accomplishments

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Abra ...

**Lou Thesz Award (2015) **Other honoree (

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

) *

** NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) **

NWA Florida Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA Florida Junior Heavyweight Championship was the top title for lighter wrestlers in the National Wrestling Alliance's Florida territory, Championship Wrestling from Florida. The title itself began in 1942, seven years before CWF was foun ...

( 1 time) ** NWA Florida Tag Team Championship ( 8 times) – with

Jack Brisco Freddie Joe "Jack" Brisco (September 21, 1941 – February 1, 2010) was an American amateur and professional wrestler. As an amateur for Oklahoma State, Brisco was two-time All-American and won the NCAA Division I national championship. He tur ...

** NWA Florida Television Championship ( 1 time) ** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' (

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 Jack Brisco ** NWA North American Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' (

) – with Jack Brisco ** NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 3 times) * Eastern Sports Association ** ESA International Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with

* George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame **Class of 2005 * Georgia Championship Wrestling **

NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship The NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship was the top tag team championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1968 to 1980, when it was replaced with the NWA National Tag Team Championship. The title was revived in 1998 by Music City Wrestling ...

( 5 times) – with

Bob Backlund Robert Louis Backlund (born August 14, 1949) is an American retired amateur and professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in the World Wide Wrestling Federation/ World Wrestling Federation from 1976 to 1984 and in the 1990s, whe ...

(1), Jack Brisco (2),

Ole Anderson Alan Robert Rogowski (born September 22, 1942), better known by the ring name Ole Anderson (), is an American retired professional wrestler, referee, manager, and promoter. Part of the Anderson family, Anderson was a founding member of the influen ...

(1), and Rocky Johnson (1) ** NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship ''(Northern Division)'' ( 1 time)While almost always defended in the

Southeastern Championship Wrestling Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Dothan, Alabama from 1985 until 1989, owned by Ron Fuller. The promotion evolved out of the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship Wr ...

promotion, Brisco won the championship while working on a card hosted by Georgia Championship Wrestling via a working relationship between the two promotions. **NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship ''(Georgia version)'' (1 time) *

** NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with

Thunderbolt Patterson Claude Patterson (born July 8, 1941) is an American retired professional wrestler, ring name Thunderbolt Patterson. He began his career in 1964 and wrestled primarily in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. During the early 1970s, he was blacklisted ...

** NWA Eastern States Heavyweight Championship ( 3 times) ** NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** NWA World Tag Team Championship ''(Mid-Atlantic version)'' ( 3 times) – with

** NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 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 Publi ...

'' **PWI ranked him # 54 of the 100 best tag teams during the "PWI Years" with Jack Brisco in 2003. **PWI ranked him #217 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the " PWI Years" in 2003 * Western States Sports ** NWA Western States Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) *

World Wrestling Council The World Wrestling Council (WWC) (Spanish: "Consejo Mundial de Lucha"), is a Puerto-Rican professional wrestling promotion based in Puerto Rico. It was originally established as Capitol Sports Promotions in 1973 by Carlos Colón Sr., Victor J ...

** WWC North American Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Jack Brisco **

WWC World Junior Heavyweight Championship The WWC Junior Heavyweight Championship is a championship contested for in the Puerto Rican professional wrestling promotion, the World Wrestling Council. While weight classes are generally not strictly adhered to in professional wrestling tod ...

( 1 time) * World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE ** WWF Hardcore Championship (

) **

( 1 time) **

( Class of 2008)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brisco, Gerald 1946 births American male professional wrestlers American male sport wrestlers American male television writers American television writers Living people Native American professional wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Oklahoma Professional wrestling podcasters Professional wrestling trainers Professional wrestling writers Sportspeople from Oklahoma City WWE executives WWE Hall of Fame inductees WWE 24/7 Champions WWF/WWE Hardcore Champions 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA Florida Tag Team Champions NWA Florida Television Champions NWA North American Tag Team Champions (Florida version) NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version) NWA United States Tag Team Champions (Florida version) WCW World Tag Team Champions NWA Georgia Tag Team Champions