Peter Stilsbury (born 4 February 1958) is an Australian former
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 appearing 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 ...
as Outback Jack from 1986 to 1988. He portrayed a
northern Australia
The unofficial geographic term Northern Australia includes those parts of Queensland and Western Australia north of latitude 26° and all of the Northern Territory. Those local government areas of Western Australia and Queensland that lie p ...
n
bushman coming to
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to compete in the WWF.
Professional wrestling career
Early career
Stilsbury started his career in Canada with
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
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 ...
in November 1986.
[ He was brought into the WWF that month in response to the mainstream popularity of the Australian film '']Crocodile Dundee
''Crocodile Dundee'' (stylized as ''"Crocodile" Dundee'' in the U.S.) is a 1986 action comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as the weathered Mick Dundee, and American actress Linda Kozlowski as ...
''. Wearing an Australian bush jacket, he appeared in several vignettes hyping his debut by showing him in the wilds of the Australian Outback
The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...
—specifically, the Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
.[ In the vignettes, he drove a Jeep and drank beer with cows.] In addition, as part of the storyline, he claimed to have learned survival skills from the Aborigines.[
]
World Wrestling Federation (1986–1988)
Stilsbury made his WWF debut in November 1986, as Outback Jack. His wins mainly came over jobbers such as Jose Estrada, Steve Lombardi
Steven Kenneth Lombardi (born April 18, 1961) is an American professional wrestler and road agent, better known by his ring name, The Brooklyn Brawler. He worked for the professional wrestling promotion, WWE, as well as several independent promo ...
, Barry O
Randal Berry Orton (May 28, 1958 – March 19, 2021) was an American professional wrestler and actor. He was the son of professional wrestler Bob Orton, brother of professional wrestler Bob Orton Jr., and uncle of professional wrestler Randy Orto ...
, Barry Horowitz
Barry Horowitz (born March 24, 1959) is an American professional wrestler, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
Early life
Horowitz attended Florida State University, where he studied sports nutrition and wrestled.
...
and "Iron" Mike Sharpe
Michael Sharpe (October 28, 1951 – January 17, 2016) was a Canadian professional wrestler better known as "Iron" Mike Sharpe. A second-generation wrestler whose father and uncle ( Mike and Ben Sharpe) also competed in the profession, Sharpe w ...
.[ However, Outback Jack also defeated well-known superstars such as ]Nikolai Volkoff
Josip Hrvoje Peruzović (October 14, 1947 – July 29, 2018), better known by his ring name Nikolai Volkoff, was a Yugoslav-American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Although Volkoff often p ...
and former WWE Champion
The WWE Championship is a world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, representing the Raw brand division. It is one of two world titles on WWE's main roster, alongside SmackDow ...
The Iron Sheik
Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri ( fa, حسین خسرو علی وزیری, romanized: Hossein Xosrô 'Ali Vaziri; born March 15, 1942), better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, is an Iranian retired professional wrestler, amateur wrestler and a ...
.[ Eventually, Stilsbury started becoming a jobber himself, losing matches to high-level superstars such as "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and ]Rick Rude
Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name "Ravishing" Rick Rude, was an American professional wrestler who performed for many promotions, including World Championship Wrestling (WCW), World Wrestling ...
. Outback Jack feuded with Frenchy Martin
Jean Gagné (July 19, 1947 – October 21, 2016) was a French–Canadian professional wrestler and manager, best known under the ring name Frenchy Martin. During his World Wrestling Federation heyday in the 1980s as the manager of Canadian wrestle ...
, and the two had matches featured on the 4 May and 25 May 1987 episodes of ''WWF Prime Time Wrestling
''WWF Prime Time Wrestling'' is a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It aired on the USA Network from January 1, 1985, to January 4, 1993. A precursor to ''Monday Night Raw'', ''Pr ...
''. Outback Jack won both matches. During this time, he also feuded with Killer Khan
Krugman, Michael. ''André the Giant: A Legendary Life'', p.48. (born March 6, 1947) is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. Popularly known as Killer Khan, he was billed from Mongolia and had numerous high-profile matches with André the G ...
.
On the 3 August 1987 episode of ''WWF Prime Time Wrestling'', Outback Jack rescued Tito Santana
Merced Solis (born May 10, 1953), better known by the ring name Tito Santana, is a retired American professional wrestler and middle school teacher.
Santana has stayed a babyface his entire career and he is best known for his appearances with t ...
from an attack by Ron Bass. This led to a match between Outback Jack and Bass later in the show. Bass won, and the pair continued to face each other into the following year. Outback Jack made one appearance on the interview segment ''The Snake Pit'' with Jake "The Snake" Roberts
Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955), better known by the ring name Jake "The Snake" Roberts, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) where he performs as manager to Lance Archer. He is be ...
, on 6 June 1987.[
On the 7 May 1988 episode of '']WWF Superstars of Wrestling
''WWF Superstars of Wrestling'' (later shortened to ''WWF Superstars'' and to ''Sunday Morning Superstars ''), also referred to as ''Maple Leaf Wrestling'' in Canada was an American professional wrestling television program that was produced by ...
'', Outback Jack competed in his final televised match teaming with 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 ...
and Steve Blackman
Steve Blackman (born September 28, 1963) is an American martial arts instructor, bail bondsman, and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1997 to 2002, where he was a fr ...
in a loss to The Islanders; this was the only match in which The Islanders competed as a team of three, as they were joined by new Islander Siva Afi
Papali'itele Max Amata Taogaga (born 28 April 1949) is a Samoan retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the late-1980s under the ring name Siva Afi.
Early life
Max Taog ...
.[ Outback Jack's brief career concluded at the only wrestling event held in ]Kissimmee, Florida
Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a Principal City of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...
's Tupperware Convention Center, on the evening of 15 May 1988. The outcome of his rematch with Greg Valentine
Jonathan Anthony Wisniski (born September 20, 1951) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "The Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine.
Over five decades, Valentine held more than 40 championship ...
remains a mystery although Valentine had pinned him three days prior at the Columbus Municipal Auditorium.[
]
Post-World Wrestling Federation
The WWF had LJN
LJN Toys Ltd. was an American toy company and video game publisher based in New York City. Founded in 1970 by Jack Friedman, the company was acquired by MCA Inc. in 1985, sold to Acclaim Entertainment in 1990, and dissolved in 1994. The toy d ...
Wrestling Superstars
''Wrestling Superstars'' were the first action figures based on the wrestlers of the WWF. Wrestling action figures were the brainchild of Richard Derwald of Buffalo NY who sold the idea to LJN in the summer of 1984. (Video in references). They w ...
create an Outback Jack action figure to be produced and distributed worldwide.[ In 2003, '']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 ...
'' published a list of the top 400 wrestlers in WWE history; Stilsbury was ranked No. 371. Stilsbury stated in an interview that he does not often think about his time with the World Wrestling Federation.
In recent years, Stilsbury has been involved in Highland Games caber tossing
The caber toss is a traditional Scottish athletic event in which competitors toss a large tapered pole called a "caber" (/ˈkeɪbər/). It is normally practised at the Scottish Highland Games. In Scotland, the caber is usually made from a l ...
events 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 ...
. His eyesight has been declining, and he is now blind in one eye and has limited vision in his other. His sudden departure from the WWF has led to him being described as "one of the most asked about people in the business".
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Outback Jack
1958 births
20th-century professional wrestlers
Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United States
Australian male professional wrestlers
Blind people from Australia
Blind people from the United States
Living people
Professional wrestlers from Florida
Sportsmen from Victoria (Australia)
Sportspeople with a vision impairment
Stampede Wrestling alumni