Tim Woods
Encyclopedia
George Burrell "Tim" Woodin (July 28, 1934 – November 30, 2002) was an American
former professional wrestler
. He was best known under his ring name
Mr. Wrestling.
and white singlet to complete the character. Mr. Wrestling became a major superstar in the Georgia
, Florida
, Texas
and Mid-Atlantic territories. He wrestled in the World Wide Wrestling Federation in the northeast, at the upper end of the preliminary wrestlers. Starting in the Seventies, he would alternate between his masked persona as Mr. Wrestling and wrestling unmasked as Tim Woods, depending on the territory.
Woodin was involved in the same 1975 plane crash that involved pilot Joseph Michael Farkas (he ended up in a coma and died the next year), wrestling legend Johnny Valentine
(broke his back and bone fragments inpacted into his spinal cord, which ended his career), wrestler Bob Bruggers] (broke his back and had a steel rod put in; Bruggers could have made a comeback, but he decided to retire), future legend Ric Flair
(broke his back, but recovered and returned to wrestling), and Jim Crockett Promotions
' announcer David Crockett
. At the hospital, Woodin gave them his real name (George Burrell Woodin), and told them that he was a promoter. Since Woodin wrestled under the name Tim Woods, a newspaper article in the Charlotte Observer listed his name as his real name, George Burrell Woodin, and mentioned that he was a promoter. Woodin was the only fan favorite
wrestler on the plane, while the rest wrestled as villains
, and this was back in the days when kayfabe
was not broken (at the time, Woods was feuding with Flair and Valentine). Eventually, rumors began circulating that Woods was in fact on the plane. Unwilling to risk the exposure of professional wrestling, he got back in the ring two weeks after the crash and was obviously in extreme pain. Flair later said in his book To Be the Man, that he was "more than just Mr. Wrestling that day, but was the man who saved wrestling." Woodin eventually returned to wrestling and had his final match on September 17, 1983, where he lost to Mr. Wrestling II
.
at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina at the age of 68. Before his death, he was scheduled to be interviewed for a WWE Confidential piece on the October 1975 plane crash.
and a Mechanical Engineering degree at Michigan State University
. He was an accomplished amateur wrestler at Michigan State University and had a very strong amateur wrestling background.
As a junior at Michigan State, Woodin won the 1958 Big Ten 177-pound title by pinning Gary Kurdelmeier of the University of Iowa at 8:21. A couple weeks later, the two met again in the 177-pound finals of the 1958 NCAAs at the University of Wyoming, where Woodin lost to Kurdelmeier, 6-2.
As a senior, Woodin defeated Iowa's Gordon Trapp, 6-4, in the heavyweight finals to win his second Big Ten title. At the 1959 NCAAs, the Michigan State Spartan competed in the 191-pound class, making it to the finals for the second year in a row... but lost 9-5 to Syracuse's Art Baker. With his two runner-up finishes at the national championships, Woodin was a two-time NCAA All-American.
He was an avid collector of motorcycles as well as an accomplished photographer and saxophone player. Woods also ran a heating and air conditioning business after retiring from the ring.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
former professional wrestler
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...
. He was best known under 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:...
Mr. Wrestling.
Professional wrestling career
Woodin began his wrestling career at the age of 29 using the name "Tim Woods". He was then given the name "Mr. Wrestling" by Nebraska promotor Joe Dusek, and subsequently adopted both a white wrestling maskWrestling mask
A Wrestling mask is a fabric based mask that some professional wrestlers wear as part of their in-ring persona or gimmick. Professional wrestlers have been using masks as far back as 1915 and they are still widely used today, especially in Lucha Libre in Mexico.-History:In 1915 a North American...
and white singlet to complete the character. Mr. Wrestling became a major superstar in the Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and Mid-Atlantic territories. He wrestled in the World Wide Wrestling Federation in the northeast, at the upper end of the preliminary wrestlers. Starting in the Seventies, he would alternate between his masked persona as Mr. Wrestling and wrestling unmasked as Tim Woods, depending on the territory.
Woodin was involved in the same 1975 plane crash that involved pilot Joseph Michael Farkas (he ended up in a coma and died the next year), wrestling legend Johnny Valentine
Johnny Valentine
Johnny Valentine was a professional wrestler with a career spanning almost three decades. He has been inducted into four halls of fame for his achievements in wrestling...
(broke his back and bone fragments inpacted into his spinal cord, which ended his career), wrestler Bob Bruggers] (broke his back and had a steel rod put in; Bruggers could have made a comeback, but he decided to retire), future legend Ric Flair
Ric Flair
Richard Morgan Fliehr is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Ric Flair. Also known as "The Nature Boy", Flair is one of the most well-known professional wrestlers in the world....
(broke his back, but recovered and returned to wrestling), and Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim 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:...
' announcer David Crockett
David Crockett (wrestling)
David F. Crockett is a former professional wrestling announcer and executive from Charlotte, North Carolina. He is the son of Jim Crockett and brother to Jim Crockett, Jr. He was usually paired in announcing duties with Tony Schiavone, with Crockett providing color commentary and Schiavone...
. At the hospital, Woodin gave them his real name (George Burrell Woodin), and told them that he was a promoter. Since Woodin wrestled under the name Tim Woods, a newspaper article in the Charlotte Observer listed his name as his real name, George Burrell Woodin, and mentioned that he was a promoter. Woodin was the only fan favorite
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...
wrestler on the plane, while the rest wrestled as villains
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...
, and this was back in the days when kayfabe
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
was not broken (at the time, Woods was feuding with Flair and Valentine). Eventually, rumors began circulating that Woods was in fact on the plane. Unwilling to risk the exposure of professional wrestling, he got back in the ring two weeks after the crash and was obviously in extreme pain. Flair later said in his book To Be the Man, that he was "more than just Mr. Wrestling that day, but was the man who saved wrestling." Woodin eventually returned to wrestling and had his final match on September 17, 1983, where he lost to Mr. Wrestling II
Mr. Wrestling II
John "Johnny" Walker , better known as Mr. Wrestling II, is a retired American professional wrestler. As Mr...
.
Death
On November 30, 2002, Woods died from a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina at the age of 68. Before his death, he was scheduled to be interviewed for a WWE Confidential piece on the October 1975 plane crash.
Personal life
Tim Woodin earned an Agricultural Engineering degree at Cornell UniversityCornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
and a Mechanical Engineering degree at Michigan State University
Michigan State University
Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...
. He was an accomplished amateur wrestler at Michigan State University and had a very strong amateur wrestling background.
As a junior at Michigan State, Woodin won the 1958 Big Ten 177-pound title by pinning Gary Kurdelmeier of the University of Iowa at 8:21. A couple weeks later, the two met again in the 177-pound finals of the 1958 NCAAs at the University of Wyoming, where Woodin lost to Kurdelmeier, 6-2.
As a senior, Woodin defeated Iowa's Gordon Trapp, 6-4, in the heavyweight finals to win his second Big Ten title. At the 1959 NCAAs, the Michigan State Spartan competed in the 191-pound class, making it to the finals for the second year in a row... but lost 9-5 to Syracuse's Art Baker. With his two runner-up finishes at the national championships, Woodin was a two-time NCAA All-American.
He was an avid collector of motorcycles as well as an accomplished photographer and saxophone player. Woods also ran a heating and air conditioning business after retiring from the ring.
Amateur wrestling
- Amateur Athletic Union
- AAU National Championship (1955, 1957)
- Big Ten ConferenceBig Ten ConferenceThe Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
- Big Ten ConferenceBig Ten ConferenceThe Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
ChampionshipChampionshipChampionship is a term used in sport to refer to various forms of competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.- Title match system :...
(1958, 1959)
Professional wrestling
- Cauliflower Alley ClubCauliflower Alley ClubThe 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....
- Other honoree (2002)
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- NWA Florida Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Florida Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida, USA and is now the major title in NWA Florida. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by CWF and lasted until 1987 when the company was purchased by Jim Crockett...
(1 time) - 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...
(2 times) - with Hiro Matsuda (1) and Big Bad John (1) - NWA Florida Television ChampionshipNWA Florida Television ChampionshipThe NWA Florida Television Championship was a secondary title in Championship Wrestling from Florida. It existed from 1970 until 1987.-Title history:The NWA Florida Television Championship was a secondary title in Championship Wrestling from Florida...
(1 time) - NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (4 times)
- 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 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...
(1 time) - with Dino Bravo - NWA Mid-Atlantic Television ChampionshipWCW World Television ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling World Television Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Championship Wrestling....
(1 time) - NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Mid-Atlantic version)WWE United States ChampionshipThe WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
(1 time) - NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version)WCW World Tag Team ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling...
(1 time) - with Dino Bravo
- Mid-South Sports/Georgia Championship WrestlingGeorgia Championship WrestlingGeorgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on Atlanta, U.S., superstation WTBS. Though based in Atlanta, the company also ran live wrestling shows throughout its geographic "territory" of Georgia Georgia...
- NWA Georgia Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Georgia Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship was the major title in the Georgia Championship Wrestling professional wrestling promotion. It started in 1964 and was unified in 1981 with the NWA National Heavyweight Championship....
(2 times) - NWA Georgia Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Georgia Tag Team ChampionshipThe 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....
(4 times) - with Mr. Wrestling IIMr. Wrestling IIJohn "Johnny" Walker , better known as Mr. Wrestling II, is a retired American professional wrestler. As Mr...
(3) and Thunderbolt Patterson (1) - NWA Macon Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Macon Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Macon Tag Team Championship was a tag team professional wrestling championship in Georgia Championship Wrestling, defended exclusively on events held at the Macon City Auditorium and Macon Coliseum in Macon, Georgia. The title lasted from 1969 to 1975....
(2 times) - with Mr. Wrestling II
- NWA Big Time WrestlingWorld Class Championship WrestlingWorld Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...
- NWA American Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with George Scott
- NWA Hollywood WrestlingNational Wrestling AllianceThe 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...
- NWA Americas Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Americas Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Americas Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hollywood Wrestling based out of Los Angeles, California....
(2 times) - with Pak Song (1) and Dr. Death (1)
- NWA Mid-AmericaContinental Wrestling AssociationThe Continental 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 referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...
- NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Memphis version)AWA Southern Heavyweight ChampionshipThe Memphis Wrestling Southern Heavyweight Championship is a major professional wrestling title in the Memphis Wrestling promotion. The title is part of a long lineage that is best known while the title was named the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship for Continental Wrestling Association during...
(1 time)
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...
- PWI ranked him #394 of the top 500 singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003