Garfield Portz (born 1 May 1959) is an English 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 or ...

, 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 ...

, Scott McGhee. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with

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 ...

Jim Crockett Promotions 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 promot ...

, and 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 ...

in the 1980s. Portz is the son of professional wrestler Geoff Portz (1931–2016).

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1978–1980)

Portz was born in the United Kingdom. He relocated to the United States with his father, professional wrestler Geoff Portz. In the late-1970s, he began working as a referee for the

professional wrestling promotion A professional wrestling promotion is a company or business that regularly performs shows involving professional wrestling that has little relationship to the rules of the amateur olympic form. "Promotion" also describes a role which entails man ...

. He trained as a wrestler under his father along with

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American professional wrestler. Regarded by multiple peers and journalists as the greatest professional wrestler of all time, Flair has had a career spanni ...

Karl Gotch Charles Istaz (August 3, 1924 – July 28, 2007) was a Belgian-born German-American professional wrestler and trainer, best known by his ring name Karl Gotch. In Japan, Gotch was known as the "God of Wrestling" due to his influence in shaping the ...

, Buddy Rogers, and

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 ...

, debuting in Jim Crockett Promotions in 1978. He briefly performed in Canada in 1980, wrestling for

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 ...

as "Gary Portz" and for

Maple Leaf Wrestling Maple Leaf Wrestling was the unofficial name in the 1970s and 1980s of the professional wrestling promotion run by Frank Tunney in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. History Queensbury Athletic Club The promotion, initially known as the Queensbury Athle ...

as "Scott McGhee".

Championship Wrestling from Florida (1980–1985)

McGhee began wrestling for the

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

-based promotion

in 1980. He won his first

championship 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 ...

in October 1980, teaming with

Barry Windham Barry Clinton Windham (born July 4, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler. The son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan, he is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). ...

to win a tournament for the

NWA Florida Tag Team Championship The NWA Florida Tag Team Championship is the primary tag team title in NWA Florida Underground Wrestling. It started out in 1968 as the main tag team title in Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was ...

. Their reign lasted until December 1980, when they were defeated by The Cowboy Connection. In late 1982, McGhee often teamed with

Dusty Rhodes Virgil Riley Runnels Jr. (October 11, 1945 – June 11, 2015), better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who most notably worked for the National Wrestling Alliance, Jim Crocket ...

Magnum T. A. Terry Wayne Allen (born June 11, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Magnum T. A. Allen won the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship twice and was being groomed for a potential run with the N ...

and

Blackjack Mulligan Robert Deroy Windham (November 25, 1942 – April 7, 2016), better known by his ring name Blackjack Mulligan, was an American professional wrestler and American football player. He was the father of wrestlers Barry and Kendall Windham, father-in- ...

on the promotions weekly television program. In mid-1982, McGhee toured Japan with

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority shares ...

, where he regularly teamed with

André the Giant André René Roussimoff (; 19 May 1946 – 28 January 1993), better known by his ring name André the Giant, was a French professional wrestler and actor. Roussimoff was known for his great size, which was a result of gigantism caused by exce ...

and Canek. In the same year, he competed for the

Dothan, Alabama Dothan () is a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties and the Houston county seat in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is Alabama's eighth-largest city, with a population of 71,072 at the 2020 census. It is near the state's southeastern corner, ...

-based promotion

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 ...

, winning the

NWA Southeastern United States Junior Heavyweight Championship The NWA Southeastern Junior Heavyweight Championship was a secondary title for wrestlers considered "Junior Heavyweights", that is weighing under 230 lbs. It was promoted in the Alabama, Florida, Tennessee and Mississippi region from 1975 un ...

on three occasions. In 1983, McGhee began wrestling for the

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

-based promotion

Pacific Northwest Wrestling Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) (also known as Big Time Wrestling and Portland Wrestling) is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. T ...

as "'Irish' Pat McGhee". He won the

NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship The NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S. states of ...

with

Curt Hennig Curtis Michael Hennig (March 28, 1958 – February 10, 2003) was an American professional wrestler. He performed under his real name for promotions including the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federation (WWF; now WWE) ...

in December 1983, holding the championship until February 1984. After winning a championship tournament for the NWA Florida Heavyweight title in 1983, he faced Ric Flair and

Harley Race Harley Leland Race (April 11, 1943 – August 1, 2019) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and trainer. Race wrestled in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the World Wrestling Federatio ...

in a series of matches however failed to win the

NWA World Heavyweight Championship The NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), an American professional wrestling promotion. The current champion is Tyrus, who is in ...

. After losing the title to

Jos LeDuc Michel Pigeon (August 31, 1944 – May 1, 1999) was a Canadian professional wrestler better known by his ring name, Jos LeDuc. Wrestling with a lumberjack gimmick, he debuted in Stampede Wrestling with his kayfabe brother, Paul LeDuc. The pair ...

later that year, he left the promotion to compete in the Mid Atlantic territory, appearing at Starcade 1983 teaming with

Johnny Weaver Kenneth Eugene Weaver (November 17, 1935 – February 15, 2008) was an American professional wrestler and wrestling commentator in the National Wrestling Alliance, better known by his ring name, Johnny Weaver. Career 1960s Weaver's career spa ...

against Kevin Sullivan and Mark "Purple Haze" Lewin. He also briefly appeared under the name "Irish" Pat McGhee in

, winning the PNW tag titles with

on 23 December 1983. Upon his return to Florida, he immediately defeated

"Superstar" Billy Graham Eldridge Wayne Coleman (born June 7, 1943), better known by his ring name "Superstar" Billy Graham, is an American former professional wrestler. He gained recognition for his tenure as the WWWF Heavyweight Champion in 1977–1978. He is a three- ...

to regain the Florida heavyweight title. However, following Eddie Graham's suicide, McGhee left the Florida territory in late 1985.

World Wrestling Federation (1985–1987)

McGhee joined the

in 1985, making his debut at a house show in Springfield, MA on 21 September. McGee was victorious in his first match and pinned

Rene Goulet Robert Bédard (July 12, 1932 – May 25, 2019) was a Canadian professional wrestler. better known by his ring name, the "Number One Frenchman" Rene Goulet. Early life Robert Bedard was born on July 12, 1932 in Quebec City and played hocke ...

. He initially received a push out of the gate, defeating Goulet in a rematch on

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 ...

and

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 Wrestli ...

on the 13 October episode of

All American Wrestling AAW Wrestling (AAW) or AAW: Professional Wrestling Redefined and formerly known as All American Wrestling, is an American independent professional wrestling promotion, based in the Chicago area - originally holding shows in Berwyn, Illinois, an ...

. He sustained his first defeat when he submitted to

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 ...

's figure four in a televised tag-team match that saw him team with

Paul Roma Paul Centopani (born April 29, 1959) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Paul Roma. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling between 1984 an ...

against Valentine &

Brutus Beefcake Edward Harrison Leslie (born April 21, 1957) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake. He later worked for World Championship ...

on the 26 October episode of Championship Wrestling. Later that fall he faced

Randy Savage Randall Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestl ...

and

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 ...

on the house show circuit. By 1986, McGee primarily appeared on

house show A house show or live event is a professional wrestling event produced by a major promotion that is not televised, though they can be recorded. Promotions use house shows mainly to cash in on the exposure that they and their wrestlers receive du ...

s as a

jobber Jobber may refer to: Athletics * Job (professional wrestling) - A professional wrestler who routinely loses a match. * Wichita Jobbers, a minor league baseball team in the Western Association from 1905 to 1911 Commerce * A person or corporation ...

, making a handful of appearances on ''

All-Star Wrestling All Star Wrestling (ASW) is a British professional wrestling promotion operated by Brian Dixon and based in Birkenhead, England. Founded as Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead in October 1970, it has also been known over the years as All Star P ...

'', ''

WWF Championship Wrestling ''WWF Championship Wrestling'' is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It aired from 1971 to August 30, 1986 and was the original television show of the WWF. Originally produced u ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', and ''

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 ...

''. He entered the year wrestling on the house show circuit in opening match encounters, wrestling

Tiger Chung Lee or Kim Duk ( ko, 김 덕/金徳) (born February 7, 1948) is a retired Zainichi-Korean professional wrestler, better known under his ring name . He was also known by the name Tiger Chung Lee in the World Wrestling Federation. Early life Masan ...

, Les Thornton, and

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 ...

to draws and pinning Joe Mirto, Rene Goulet, and Ron Shaw. He was less successful against more established veterans higher in the card and fell to

Hercules Hernandez Raymond Constantine Fernandez (May 7, 1956 – March 6, 2004) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Hercules Hernandez, or simply Hercules. Fernandez began his career in 1979, primarily wrestling in Florida and T ...

Jake 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 ...

, and

Dory Funk Jr. Dorrance Earnest Funk (born February 3, 1941), known professionally as Dory Funk Jr., is an American retired professional wrestler and wrestling trainer. The son of Dory Funk (Dorrance Wilhelm Funk) and brother of Terry Funk, he was the promoter ...

After several months of defeats, McGee rebounded to defeat Johnny K-9 on the May 19th episode of Prime Time Wrestling. That would remain his one victory on television for some time as he saw further losses on the WWE's various programs. He remained mired as an opening card performer for the remainder of the year, but did close out December with victories over

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 Barry O on the house show circuit. That momentum temporarily halted, as McGee wrestled Tama on 19 January episode of Prime Time Wrestling (taped 3 January) and was defeated. He rebounded to defeat Barry O and

The Red Demon ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

on the house show circuit that month, then beat Terry Gibbs in a televised match in Philadelphia on 10 January. McGee then teamed with former WWF Tag-Team Champion

Tony Garea Anthony Gareljich (born 20 September 1946) is a New Zealand retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Tony Garea. He is best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wide Wrestling Federation/World Wrestl ...

in a losing effort to the

Hart Foundation Hart often refers to: * Hart (deer) Hart may also refer to: Organizations * Hart Racing Engines, a former Formula One engine manufacturer * Hart Skis, US ski manufacturer * Hart Stores, a Canadian chain of department stores * Hart's Reptile W ...

on 24 January episode of

WWF Superstars is a List of wrestling video games, wrestling video game manufactured by Technōs Japan and released for arcade game, arcades in 1989. It is the first WWE, WWF arcade game to be released. A series of unrelated games with the WWF Superstars (Game ...

. McGee's final WWF match came at a house show on 11 November 1987 in West Palm Beach, Fl, where he teamed with

Ken Patera Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...

against

Demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...

Independent circuit (1987–1988, 1989, 2010)

McGhee returned to the independent circuit in 1987. In late-1987 he began wrestling for

as "Garfield Portz". On 31 January 1988 he suffered a severe

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

, forcing him to retire from professional wrestling. McGhee subsequently trained as a nurse. McGhee broke his retirement in October 1989, wrestling a single bout for the Professional Wrestling Federation. He returned to wrestling once again in November 2010, wrestling for NWA Wrestle Birmingham.

Championships and accomplishments

NWA Florida Global Tag Team Championship The NWA Florida Global Tag Team Championship was a major tag team title in Florida Championship Wrestling from 1982 until fall 1983, when it was replaced by the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship. Title history See also *List of ...

( 4 times) - with

(3 times) and Mike Graham (1 time) **

NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida, USA and is now the major title in NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by C ...

( 3 times) **

( 1 time) - with

*''

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 ...

'' **PWI ranked him #387 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003 *

** NWA Southeast United States Junior Heavyweight Championship ( 3 times)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:McGhee, Scott 1959 births English male professional wrestlers Living people Professional wrestling referees Sportspeople from Shipley, West Yorkshire Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century professional wrestlers NWA Florida Global Tag Team Champions NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions NWA Florida Tag Team Champions