Johnny Weaver
Encyclopedia
Kenneth Eugene Weaver was a professional wrestler
and wrestling commentator
in the National Wrestling Alliance
, better known by his ring name
, Johnny Weaver. During Johnny's career, he was credited with being the first wrestler to use the sleeper hold (rear naked choke
) as his finisher of choice.
five times together, and they were household names in the territory for a period of nearly eight years. The team had memorable feuds with Rip Hawk
and Swede Hanson
, Lars Anderson and Gene Anderson
, Gene Anderson
and Ole Anderson
, Aldo Bogni and Bronko Lubich
with manager
"Colonel" Homer O'Dell, the Infernos with manager J. C. Dykes, and many others.
Weaver's next major success came in Championship Wrestling from Florida, where he teamed with Becker to win the Florida version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship
in February 1967. He also competed as a singles wrestler, winning his first NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship
that year by defeating the Missouri Mauler
. He dropped it back to the Mauler but regained the belt on October 25, 1967. The following summer, he won the belt for a third time. He lost the belt to Hiro Matsuda
but then regained it in a rematch in late 1968.
. He teamed with Becker to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship
on May 1, 1969. They held the belts for over nine months before dropping them to Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson on February 17, 1970. Weaver and Becker regained the title exactly one month later, however. They lost the belts to Gene
and Ole Anderson
but regained them on June 3, 1971 from Hawk and Hanson. Once again, Weaver and Becker dropped the titles to Hawk and Hanson but regained them in a rematch. The following year, Weaver teamed with Art Neilson to win the title twice more.
Weaver returned to Florida to compete in 1975 and won the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship
by teaming with Dick Slater
. He also competed in Texas, where he won the Amarillo
version of the NWA International Heavyweight Championship in November 1976.
After a brief absence from the Mid-Atlantic territory in 1975, he returned for one more main event run in 1978 with Baron Von Raschke for the area's Television championship.
to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship
in 1981 by defeating Genichiro Tenryu
and Mr. Fuji
. They lost the belts to Chris Markoff and Nikolai Volkoff
later that year, but Weaver regained the title on November 27, 1981 while teaming with Jay Youngblood.
Weaver's last years in the ring were in an "elder statesman" role, helping establish new stars just entering the territory, most notably Roddy Piper. He also helped book the Mid-Atlantic territory for nearly 8 years as well, roughly between 1966 and 1973. In the early 1980s, Weaver also booked the house shows in the southern part of the territory.
He began his broadcasting career in 1979 as color commentator with World Wide Wrestling host Rich Landrum. He became Landrum's permanent sidekick for the early 1980s, where he became famous for singing "Turn Out The Lights, The Party's Over" at the end of matches (a tip of the hat to Don Meredith, who did the same thing on Monday Night Football). When Landrum left the company in 1983, Weaver then worked briefly with David Crockett, before becoming paired with the longtime voice of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Bob Caudle, whom he worked with until leaving the company in 1988.
He made a brief in-ring return in the Fall of 1987 in the corner of the "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
who was using sleeper hold, calling it the "Weaver Lock," and chasing down Lex Luger
and the N.W.A. United States Title. During this angle, Weaver was placed in a Japanese version of the sleeper by Hiro Matsuda, causing him to bleed from the mouth. Weaver was in Rhodes' corner at Starrcade '87: Chi-Town Heat
, when Rhodes defeated Luger in a steel cage after DDT
ing Luger onto a steel chair.
promotes the Johnny Weaver Cup tournament every August with Weaver in attendance to present the winner with the Weaver Cup trophy. Past tournament winners have been "Dangerous E" Corey Edsel (2004), Jesse Ortega (2005), Gemini Kid (2006) and "Handsome" Mitch Connor (2007).
. In his 50s, Weaver became one of the oldest people to take the basic law enforcement test and ultimately joined the sheriff's office. He spent most of his nineteen-year career transporting prisoners on the same back roads he'd traveled as a wrestler and promoter.
Weaver was once married to female wrestler Penny Banner
. They had a daughter together named Wendi.
Weaver died of natural causes on February 15, 2008, aged 72.
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
and wrestling commentator
Announcer
An announcer is a presenter who makes "announcements" in an audio medium or a physical location.-Television and other media:Some announcers work in television production , radio or filmmaking, usually providing narrations, news updates, station identification, or an introduction of a product in...
in the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
, better known by his ring name
Ring name
A ring name is a stage name used by a professional wrestler, martial artist, or boxer. While some ring names may have a fictitious first name and surname, others may simply be a nickname, such as The Undertaker.-Wrestling:...
, Johnny Weaver. During Johnny's career, he was credited with being the first wrestler to use the sleeper hold (rear naked choke
Rear naked choke
The Rear naked choke is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. Depending on the context, the term may refer to one of two variations of the technique, either arm can be used to apply the choke in both cases...
) as his finisher of choice.
1960s
Weaver's career spanned four decades in many different territories in the NWA. He held championships across the southeast United States, the first of which was the Mid-Atlantic (Carolinas, Virginia) version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship, which he won with Cowboy Bob Ellis on December 2, 1963. His best known run was with partner George Becker in the Mid-Atlantic in the 1960s. The two held the NWA Mid-Atlantic Southern Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version)
The NWA Southern Tag Team Championship was the Mid-Atlantic territory version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship and was defended between 1953 until 1968 when it became the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship...
five times together, and they were household names in the territory for a period of nearly eight years. The team had memorable feuds with Rip Hawk
Rip Hawk
Harvey Maurice Evers is a retired American professional wrestler best known by his ring name, Rip Hawk. He began his wrestling career in the Mid-Western United States before joining Jim Crockett Promotions in the early 1960s. In the company, he teamed with fellow wrestler Swede Hanson as the...
and Swede Hanson
Swede Hanson (wrestler)
Robert Fort Hanson was an American professional wrestler best known by his ring name Swede Hanson. He spent much of his career wrestling as part of a tag team with Rip Hawk...
, Lars Anderson and Gene Anderson
Gene Anderson
Gene Anderson was an American professional wrestler best known for his days of teaming with his brother Ole Anderson.-Career:...
, Gene Anderson
Gene Anderson
Gene Anderson was an American professional wrestler best known for his days of teaming with his brother Ole Anderson.-Career:...
and Ole Anderson
Ole Anderson
Alan Robert Rogowski , better known by his ring name of Ole Anderson, is a retired professional wrestler and a promoter. He held numerous NWA World Tag Team Championships with Gene Anderson, who was portrayed as his brother...
, Aldo Bogni and Bronko Lubich
Bronko Lubich
Bronko Sandor Lupsity was a Hungarian-born Canadian professional wrestler, manager, referee and promoter...
with manager
Manager (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
"Colonel" Homer O'Dell, the Infernos with manager J. C. Dykes, and many others.
Weaver's next major success came in Championship Wrestling from Florida, where he teamed with Becker to win the Florida version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship
NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Florida version)
The Florida version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a top tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's Florida territory, Championship Wrestling from Florida. It existed from 1960 until 1971, when the title was abandoned.-Title history:...
in February 1967. He also competed as a singles wrestler, winning his first NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship
NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship
The Florida version of the NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship was the major singles professional wrestling championship in the National Wrestling Alliance's Florida territory, Championship Wrestling Florida. It existed from 1962 until 1987, when the title was abandoned. It was revived by NWA...
that year by defeating the Missouri Mauler
Larry Hamilton
Larry "Rocky" Hamilton , known by his ringname The Missouri Mauler, was an American professional wrestler who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance as well as Florida Championship Wrestling and Jim Crockett Promotions, becoming a mainstay of the latter promotion throughout the 1960s.One of...
. He dropped it back to the Mauler but regained the belt on October 25, 1967. The following summer, he won the belt for a third time. He lost the belt to Hiro Matsuda
Yasuhiro Kojima
was a professional wrestler and the trainer of Hulk Hogan, "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff, Lex Luger, Ron Simmons, Keiji Mutoh, and many other professional wrestlers. He was better known as Hiro Matsuda, an identity he adopted while competing in the southern U.S., inspired by earlier wrestlers...
but then regained it in a rematch in late 1968.
1970s
Returning to the Carolinas, Weaver was a successful tag team wrestler in Mid-Atlantic Championship WrestlingJim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
. He teamed with Becker to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship
NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship
The NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship is the tag team title currently defended in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Mid-Atlantic territory. The championship was originally created in the summer of 1968 and was originally named the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship...
on May 1, 1969. They held the belts for over nine months before dropping them to Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson on February 17, 1970. Weaver and Becker regained the title exactly one month later, however. They lost the belts to Gene
Gene Anderson
Gene Anderson was an American professional wrestler best known for his days of teaming with his brother Ole Anderson.-Career:...
and Ole Anderson
Ole Anderson
Alan Robert Rogowski , better known by his ring name of Ole Anderson, is a retired professional wrestler and a promoter. He held numerous NWA World Tag Team Championships with Gene Anderson, who was portrayed as his brother...
but regained them on June 3, 1971 from Hawk and Hanson. Once again, Weaver and Becker dropped the titles to Hawk and Hanson but regained them in a rematch. The following year, Weaver teamed with Art Neilson to win the title twice more.
Weaver returned to Florida to compete in 1975 and won the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship
NWA Florida Tag Team Championship
The NWA Florida Tag Team Championship is the primary tag team title in Pro Wrestling Fusion. It started out in 1968 as the main tag team title in Championship Wrestling from Florida and lasted until 1990 when it was abandoned. It was picked back up in 1997 by NWA Florida, where it was the primary...
by teaming with Dick Slater
Dick Slater
Richard Van Slater , better known by his ring name "Dirty" Dick Slater, is a retired American professional wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s, 1980s, and mid 1990s for various promotions including Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling .Slater began wrestling with Mike...
. He also competed in Texas, where he won the Amarillo
Amarillo, Texas
Amarillo is the 14th-largest city, by population, in the state of Texas, the largest in the Texas Panhandle, and the seat of Potter County. A portion of the city extends into Randall County. The population was 190,695 at the 2010 census...
version of the NWA International Heavyweight Championship in November 1976.
After a brief absence from the Mid-Atlantic territory in 1975, he returned for one more main event run in 1978 with Baron Von Raschke for the area's Television championship.
1980s
His final championship reigns came in 1981 while wrestling in the Mid-Atlantic area. He teamed with Dewey RobertsonDewey Robertson
Byron James John "Dewey" Robertson was a professional wrestler, known best for his ring name The Missing Link....
to win the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship
NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship
The NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship is the tag team title currently defended in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Mid-Atlantic territory. The championship was originally created in the summer of 1968 and was originally named the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship...
in 1981 by defeating Genichiro Tenryu
Genichiro Tenryu
Genichiro Tenryu , real name Genichiro Shimada , is a Japanese professional wrestler. At age 13, he entered sumo wrestling and stayed there for 13 years, after which he turned to Western-style professional wrestling...
and Mr. Fuji
Harry Fujiwara
Harry Fujiwara is an American former professional wrestler and manager, best known by his ring name Mr. Fuji. He was infamous for often throwing salt in the eyes of face wrestlers...
. They lost the belts to Chris Markoff and Nikolai Volkoff
Nikolai Volkoff
Josip Nikolai Peruzović , better known by his ring name of Nikolai Volkoff, is a professional wrestler who is best known for his performances for the World Wrestling Federation...
later that year, but Weaver regained the title on November 27, 1981 while teaming with Jay Youngblood.
Weaver's last years in the ring were in an "elder statesman" role, helping establish new stars just entering the territory, most notably Roddy Piper. He also helped book the Mid-Atlantic territory for nearly 8 years as well, roughly between 1966 and 1973. In the early 1980s, Weaver also booked the house shows in the southern part of the territory.
He began his broadcasting career in 1979 as color commentator with World Wide Wrestling host Rich Landrum. He became Landrum's permanent sidekick for the early 1980s, where he became famous for singing "Turn Out The Lights, The Party's Over" at the end of matches (a tip of the hat to Don Meredith, who did the same thing on Monday Night Football). When Landrum left the company in 1983, Weaver then worked briefly with David Crockett, before becoming paired with the longtime voice of Mid-Atlantic Wrestling Bob Caudle, whom he worked with until leaving the company in 1988.
He made a brief in-ring return in the Fall of 1987 in the corner of the "American Dream" Dusty Rhodes
Dusty Rhodes (wrestler)
Virgil Riley Runnels, Jr. , better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler currently working for WWE...
who was using sleeper hold, calling it the "Weaver Lock," and chasing down Lex Luger
Lex Luger
Lawrence Wendell "Larry" Pfohl , better known by his ring name Lex Luger, is an American former professional wrestler and football player currently working with WWE on their wellness policy...
and the N.W.A. United States Title. During this angle, Weaver was placed in a Japanese version of the sleeper by Hiro Matsuda, causing him to bleed from the mouth. Weaver was in Rhodes' corner at Starrcade '87: Chi-Town Heat
Starrcade (1987)
Starrcade '87 was the fifth annual Starrcade professional wrestling event produced by Jim Crockett Promotions under the National Wrestling Alliance banner. It took place on November 26, 1987 from the UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois...
, when Rhodes defeated Luger in a steel cage after DDT
DDT (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling a DDT is any move in which the wrestler has the opponent in a front facelock, and falls down or backwards to drive the opponent's head into the mat...
ing Luger onto a steel chair.
Legacy
CWF Mid-Atlantic out of Burlington, North CarolinaBurlington, North Carolina
Burlington is a city in Alamance and Guilford counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the principal city of the Burlington, North Carolina Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Alamance County, in which most of the city is located. The population was 49,963 at the 2010...
promotes the Johnny Weaver Cup tournament every August with Weaver in attendance to present the winner with the Weaver Cup trophy. Past tournament winners have been "Dangerous E" Corey Edsel (2004), Jesse Ortega (2005), Gemini Kid (2006) and "Handsome" Mitch Connor (2007).
Personal life
Weaver was a deputy sheriff with Mecklenburg County, North CarolinaMecklenburg County, North Carolina
-Air:The county's primary commercial aviation airport is Charlotte Douglas International Airport in Charlotte.- Intercity rail :With twenty-five freight trains a day, Mecklenburg is a freight railroad transportation center, largely due to its place on the NS main line between Washington and Atlanta...
. In his 50s, Weaver became one of the oldest people to take the basic law enforcement test and ultimately joined the sheriff's office. He spent most of his nineteen-year career transporting prisoners on the same back roads he'd traveled as a wrestler and promoter.
Weaver was once married to female wrestler Penny Banner
Penny Banner
Mary Ann Kostecki , better know by her stage name Penny Banner, was a professional wrestler. She was best known for her time spent in the American Wrestling Association...
. They had a daughter together named Wendi.
Weaver died of natural causes on February 15, 2008, aged 72.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Weaver Lock (Sleeper hold)
- Weaver Roll (Schoolboy)
- Signature moves
- Bulldog
Championships and accomplishments
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- NWA Florida Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Florida Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Florida Tag Team Championship is the primary tag team title in Pro Wrestling Fusion. It started out in 1968 as the main tag team title in Championship Wrestling from Florida and lasted until 1990 when it was abandoned. It was picked back up in 1997 by NWA Florida, where it was the primary...
(1 time) - with Dick SlaterDick SlaterRichard Van Slater , better known by his ring name "Dirty" Dick Slater, is a retired American professional wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s, 1980s, and mid 1990s for various promotions including Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling .Slater began wrestling with Mike...
(1) - NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (4 times)
- NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Florida version)NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Florida version)The Florida version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a top tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's Florida territory, Championship Wrestling from Florida. It existed from 1960 until 1971, when the title was abandoned.-Title history:...
(1 time) - with George Becker
- NWA Florida Tag Team Championship
- Mid-Atlantic Championship WrestlingJim Crockett PromotionsJim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
- NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship is the tag team title currently defended in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Mid-Atlantic territory. The championship was originally created in the summer of 1968 and was originally named the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship...
(6 times) - with George Becker (4) and Art Nielson (2) - NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship is the tag team title currently defended in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Mid-Atlantic territory. The championship was originally created in the summer of 1968 and was originally named the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship...
(2 times) - with Dewey RobertsonDewey RobertsonByron James John "Dewey" Robertson was a professional wrestler, known best for his ring name The Missing Link....
(1) and Jay Youngblood (1) - NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version)NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version)The NWA Southern Tag Team Championship was the Mid-Atlantic territory version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship and was defended between 1953 until 1968 when it became the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship...
(6 times) - with Cowboy Bob Ellis (1) and George Becker (5) - NWA Television ChampionshipWCW World Television ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling World Television Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Championship Wrestling....
(1 time)
- NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship
- NWA Western States Sports
- NWA International Heavyweight Championship (Amarillo version) (1 time)