Scott Keegan Irwin (May 14, 1952 – September 5, 1987) was an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

. He was best known for his

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 establis ...

with his brother Barney "Bill" Irwin.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1976–1978)

After training under

Verne Gagne the Minnesota Golden Gophers wrestling, Minnesota Golden Gophers Laverne Clarence "Verne" Gagne ( ; February 26, 1926 – April 27, 2015) was an American amateur wrestling, amateur and professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Amer ...

in 1975, Irwin debuted for the AWA on March 13, 1976 in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

, going to a time limit draw with another rookie, Dick Blood. He mainly wrestled preliminary matches until June 1976 when he left for Georgia Championship Wrestling where he stayed until the spring of 1977. From there he went on to

Jim Crockett James Allen Crockett Sr. (June 2, 1908 – April 1, 1973) was an American professional wrestling promoter and professional sports franchise owner sometimes known as Jim Crockett Sr., or to people within the business simply as "Big Jim". Early lif ...

's Mid Atlantic Championship Wrestling. He wrestled in Mid-Atlantic until early 1978.

World Wide Wrestling Federation (1978)

Irwin debuted in the

World Wide Wrestling Federation Capitol Wrestling Corporation (CWC) was an American sports promotion company. Run by Vincent J. McMahon from the 1950s until the 1980s, the company was originally a professional wrestling and boxing promotion and later became the holding company ...

on March 14, 1978 as one half of the Yukon Lumberjacks, where he was given the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname 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 ...

"Lumberjack Eric" and his tag team partner, Zarinoff Lebeouf, was given the ring name "Lumberjack Pierre". Soon after debuting, The Lumberjacks wrestled against

Dino Bravo Adolfo Bresciano (; August 6, 1948 – March 10, 1993), better known by the ring name Dino Bravo (), was an Italian-Canadian Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter, promoter. After training under Gino ...

and

Dominic DeNucci Domenico A. Nucciarone (January 23, 1932 – August 12, 2021) was an Italian-American professional wrestler and trainer better known by the ring name Dominic DeNucci. He held over a dozen championships around the world in the 1960s and 1970s. H ...

for the

WWF Tag Team Championship WWF may refer to: Computing and games *WWF (file format), a campaign for unprintable PDF documents *Windows Workflow Foundation, a software component of the .NET Framework *''Words with Friends'', a mobile computer game franchise Non-profit orga ...

on June 2, but the match ended in a double disqualification. The Lumberjacks continued their

feud A feud , also known in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, private war, or mob war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially family, families or clans. Feuds begin ...

with Bravo and DeNucci, and after several unsuccessful title rematches, the Lumberjacks finally defeated them for the title on June 26. The Lumberjacks continued their success by retaining their title in several matches over the next several months against the likes of Bravo and DeNucci,

Gorilla Monsoon Robert James "Gino" Marella (June 4, 1937 – October 6, 1999), better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Sports commentator, play-by-play commentator, and Glossary of profess ...

and S.D. Jones and

Haystacks Calhoun William Dee Calhoun (August 3, 1934 – December 7, 1989) was an American professional wrestler, who used the professional name "Haystack" or "Haystacks" Calhoun. Early life Born on August 3, 1934, William Dee Calhoun grew up on a farm i ...

and

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 Wr ...

. On November 21, The Lumberjacks lost their title to Garea and

Larry Zbyszko Lawrence Whistler (born December 5, 1951), better known by the ring name Larry Zbyszko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his Feud (professional wrestling), feud with his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, during ...

. After the title loss, Pierre retired from wrestling and Eric left the WWWF.

Championship Wrestling from Florida (1979–1980)

After leaving the WWWF, Irwin debuted in

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida professional wrestling promotion, wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it close ...

in December 1978 as "Thor the Viking", with

Oliver Humperdink John Jay Sutton (January 16, 1949 – March 20, 2011), better known by his ring name Oliver Humperdink, was an American professional wrestling manager and occasional professional wrestler who worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, Championship Wrestl ...

as his manager. While in FCW, Irwin found championship success and wrestled his final match as Thor on October 14, 1979, with a victory over

Steve Keirn Stephen Paul Keirn (born September 10, 1951) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in multiple National Wrestling Alliance territories as Steve Keirn as one-half of the tag team The Fabulous Ones, as ...

. The following month, Irwin returned to the CWF as the masked "Super Destroyer", and went on to win a tag team match with

Stan Lane Wallace Stanfield Lane (born August 5, 1953) is an American former professional wrestler and color commentator. He is best known for his appearances with the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA), Jim Crockett Promotions and World Championship ...

against Keirn and Mike Graham.

Mid-South Wrestling (1980–1982)

Irwin continued to use the Super Destroyer character in the CWF throughout the rest of 1979 before debuting in

Mid-South Wrestling The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level riv ...

on November 27, 1980, in a losing effort to

Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship succ ...

. Irwin, as the Super Destroyer, returned to Mid-South on April 18, 1981, and won the

tag team championship In professional wrestling, a championship or title is a recognition promoted by professional wrestling organizations. Championship reigns are determined by professional wrestling match types, professional wrestling matches, in which competitors a ...

with the Grappler after defeating

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

and the

Junkyard Dog Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1952 – June 1, 1998) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and NCAA football, college football player, best known for his time in Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts), Mid-South Wre ...

in the finals of a tournament to claim the vacant title. However, the Destroyer and the Grappler lost the tag team title days later to Murdoch and JYD, on April 27. Soon after the title loss, Destroyer rebounded by winning the Louisiana Heavyweight Championship on May 1. He held the title for over two months before losing it to

Bob Roop Robert Michael Roop (born July 22, 1942) is an American retired amateur wrestler and professional wrestler whose career spanned high school, college, the United States Army, amateur and professional wrestling. He was an American heavyweight Grec ...

on July 22. Irwin continued to perform as the Super Destroyer upon joining the

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 ...

, and soon formed a successful tag team with the

Masked Superstar William Reid Eadie (born December 27, 1947) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known for performing under the ring names The Masked Superstar and Ax, the latter as part of Demolition. Early life Eadie was born in Brownsville, ...

The Super Destroyers (1982–1984)

The team soon jumped ship to

Georgia Championship Wrestling Georgia Championship Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades b ...

, and continued their success by winning the

NWA National Tag Team Championship The NWA National Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team championship in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)-affiliated Georgia Championship Wrestling professional wrestling promotion from 1980 until 1986. History The championship w ...

on January 22, 1982 from the Armstrongs ( Bob and

Brad Brad may refer to: * Brad (given name), a masculine given name Places * Brad, Hunedoara, a city in Hunedoara County, Romania * Brad, a village in Berești-Bistrița Commune, Bacău County, Romania * Brad, a village in Filipeni, Bacău, Romania * ...

). Beginning in March, the Superstar gave his half of the title to

Big John Studd John William Minton (February 19, 1948 – March 20, 1995) was an American professional wrestler and actor, better known by his ring name, Big John Studd. Studd is best known for his appearances with the World Wide Wrestling Federation/World ...

. On July 2, Super Destroyer and Studd lost the title to

The Fabulous Freebirds The Fabulous Freebirds were a professional wrestling tag team who attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed ...

. After the title loss, Super Destroyer returned to singles competition before he formed The Super Destroyers tag team with his real-life brother Bill Irwin. Bill became Super Destroyer No. 1 while Scott became Super Destroyer No. 2, and the brothers won their first

NWA American Tag Team Championship The WCWA World Tag Team Championship was the primary professional wrestling tag team championship promoted by the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex area–based World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). The championship was originally introduced as ...

from Bulldog Brower and

Roddy Piper Roderick George Toombs (April 17, 1954 – July 31, 2015), better known as "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, was a Canadian professional wrestler and actor. In professional wrestling, Piper was best known to international audiences for his work with the Wo ...

in October 1983. Soon after debuting, they acquired

Skandor Akbar Jimmy Saied Wehba (September 29, 1934 – August 19, 2010) was an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager better known by his ring name Skandor Akbar (which translates as "Alexander the Great"). Akbar led the villaino ...

as a manager. The Destroyers lost the title to

Brian Adias Brian Gower (born June 1, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Brian Adias. He is best known for his appearances with World Class Championship Wrestling. Early life Gower w ...

and Iceman King Parsons on December 25 before regaining it on January 30, 1984. The Destroyers held the title for four months before losing it to Rock 'n' Soul (Parsons and Buck Zomhofe). The Destroyers quickly rebounded and won the title back thirteen days later, but after the match, Rock 'n' Soul unmasked them.

The Long Riders (1984–1986)

After being unmasked, the brothers dropped the Destroyers aspect of their team and instead began wrestling under their real names while their tag team was renamed to the "Long Riders". The Riders continued their feud with Rock 'n' Soul and lost the title to them again, on August 4, after Parsons defeated Bill in a singles match. The Riders won the American Tag Team Title for the fourth and final time on September 28 after defeating Rock 'n' Soul. The brothers soon lost the title to the Fantastics ( Tommy Rogers and

Bobby Fulton James Hines (born October 4, 1960) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Bobby Fulton. He was one-half of the tag team the Fantastics with Tommy Rogers. Professional wrestling career James Hines started wr ...

) on October 22. On November 18, Irwin returned to

and, with his brother, defeated Brad Armstrong and

Jacques Rougeau Jacques Rougeau Jr. (born June 13, 1960) is a Canadian former professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s with the World Wrestling Federation. He began his career under his real name as half of the tag team The ...

in the finals of a one-night tournament to win the NWA National Tag Team Championship. The next night, the Long Riders retained their newly won title against Armstrong and Tommy Rich. On January 11, 1985, the Riders lost the title to

Ole Anderson Alan Robert Rogowski (September 22, 1942 – February 26, 2024), better known by the ring name Ole Anderson (), was an American professional wrestler, booker, and promoter. Following a stint in the U.S. Army, Rogowski made his professional ...

and

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

. After the Riders lost a rematch for the title the following night, Scott faced Anderson and Patterson in two subsequent rematches with Kareem Muhammad and then

Doug Somers Douglas Duane Somerson (September 22, 1951 – May 16, 2017) was an American professional wrestler known by his ring name "Pretty Boy" Doug Somers. He worked in the American Wrestling Association (AWA) in the mid-1980s as part of a tag team with ...

as his partners, due to Bill leaving GCW, but was unable to win either rematch. Irwin wrestled a few more matches in GCW before leaving the promotion. The Long Riders soon sprang up in 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 founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

later in mid-1985, where they lost their debut match to the

Road Warriors The Road Warriors, also known as the Legion of Doom, were a professional wrestling tag team originally composed of Road Warrior Hawk (Michael Hegstrand) and Road Warrior Animal (Joseph Laurinaitis).. They performed under the name "The Road Wa ...

for the Warriors'

AWA World Tag Team Championship The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991. History When the NWA Minneapolis ...

on July 14. On September 28, the Riders and

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

lost to

Genichiro Tenryu , better known as is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and professional wrestling promoter. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling. "Tenryu" was h ...

Giant Baba , best known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler, promoter, and professional baseball player. He is best known as a co-founder of All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW), a promotion he founded in 1972 along with Mitsuo Momota ...

and

Jumbo Tsuruta , better known by his ring name , was a Japanese professional wrestler who wrestled for All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) for most of his career, and is well known for being the first ever Triple Crown Heavyweight Champion, having won the PWF Heavy ...

in a

six-man tag team match Much like the singles match, tag team professional wrestling matches can and have taken many forms. Just about any singles or melee match type can be adapted to tag teams; for example, hardcore tag team matches are commonplace. Tag team ladder m ...

SuperClash SuperClash was a series of major professional wrestling shows promoted by the American Wrestling Association (AWA) between 1985 and 1990, often co-promoted with other North American wrestling promotions. AWA held a total of four SuperClash shows, ...

. The Riders continued in the AWA until April 20, 1986, where they lost a tag team title match to

Curt Hennig Curtis Michael Hennig (March 28, 1958 – February 10, 2003), better known by the ring name Mr. Perfect, was an American professional wrestler. Considered one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time by peers, critics, and fans, he per ...

and

Scott Hall Scott Oliver Hall (October 20, 1958 – March 14, 2022) was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tenures with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under his real name and with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE ...

at WrestleRock. The Long Riders also worked in Montreal for Gino Brito's International Wrestling between treatment for cancer and Scott had lost his hair.

Death

On September 5, 1987, Irwin died from a

brain tumor A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the Human brain, brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign ...

. He was 35 years old.

Championships and accomplishments

Yukon Lumberjacks WWWF Tag Team Championships 1978

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 Ab ...

**Posthumous Award (

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

) with Betty Joe Hawkins *

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 ...

( 1 time) – with

Bugsy McGraw Michael Davis (born November 1, 1944), best known by the ring names Bugsy McGraw and The Skull, is an American retired professional wrestler. McGraw is known for his long beard and for his philosophical, crazed rants during wrestling interviews. ...

** NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 1 time) ** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 1 time) – with

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 l ...

NWA National Heavyweight Championship The NWA National Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the U.S.-based, National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The championship was established in January 1980 as the top singles title of Georgia Cha ...

( 1 time) **

( 3 times) – with

(1),

(1), and

Bill Irwin William Mills Irwin (born April 11, 1950) is an American actor, choreographer, clown, and comedian. He began as a vaudeville-style stage performer and has been noted for his contribution to the renaissance of American circus during the 1970s. ...

(1) *

Lutte Internationale Lutte Internationale (; "International Wrestling") was a professional wrestling promotion based in Montreal from 1980 until 1987. The promotion was founded by Frank Valois, André the Giant and Gino Brito as Promotions Varoussac (VAlois, ROUSSim ...

** Canadian International Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Bill Irwin *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

'' **PWI ranked him No. 77 of the 100 best tag teams of the "PWI years", with the Masked Superstar in 2003 * Mid-South Wrestling Association ** Mid-South Louisiana Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time) ** Mid-South Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with The Grappler *

World Class Championship Wrestling World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA), was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by ...

( 4 times) – with Super Destroyer #1/Bill Irwin **

WCCW Television Championship The WCWA Television Championship was a secondary professional wrestling championship that was used and defended in the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). Originally created in 1979 as the NWA Television Championship, one of many television ...

(

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) *

** WWWF World Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with Yukon Pierre *''

Wrestling Observer Newsletter The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') is a newsletter that covers professional wrestling and mixed martial arts. Founded in print in 1982 by Dave Meltzer, the ''Wrestling Observer'' website merged with Bryan Alvarez's ''Figure Four Wee ...

'' ** Best Wrestling Maneuver (1982) Superplex

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Scott 1952 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers Masked wrestlers NWA National Heavyweight Champions NWA Florida Television Champions NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version) NWA United States Tag Team Champions (Florida version) NWA National Tag Team Champions Professional wrestlers from Minnesota Sportspeople from Duluth, Minnesota World Tag Team Champions (WWE, 1971–2010) WCWA Television Champions WCWA World Tag Team Champions