Art Barr
Art Barr | |
---|---|
Birth name | Arthur Leon Barr |
Born | [1] Portland, Oregon, U.S.[1] | October 8, 1966
Died | November 23, 1994[1] Springfield, Oregon, U.S. | (aged 28)
Cause of death | Heart attack caused by a drug overdose |
Spouse(s) |
Veronica Barr (m. 1984) |
Family | Ferrin Barr, Jr. (brother) |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Art Barr[1] Beetlejuice[2] The Intruder[1] Love Machine[1] The Juicer[2] The Witcher[1] |
Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)[1] |
Billed weight | 240 lb (110 kg)[1] |
Trained by | Sandy Barr[1][2] Roddy Piper[1][2] |
Debut | April 2, 1987[1][2] |
Arthur Leon Barr (October 8, 1966 – November 23, 1994) was an American
Early life
While growing up, Barr became friends with Roddy Piper during Piper's stint in the Oregonian Pacific Northwest Wrestling.[1] While attending Oregon State University, Barr became an accomplished amateur wrestler, having become a four-time district champion and a two-time state champion.[1] However, he later dropped out of college to tend to his wife when she became pregnant.[1]
Barr had three brothers:
Professional wrestling career
Pacific Northwest Wrestling (1987–1990)
After leaving college, Barr began working in a
World Championship Wrestling
On July 16, 1989, Barr pled guilty to the rape of a 19-year-old woman after a PNW card in Pendelton, Oregon. After the plea, Barr's license to wrestle in Oregon was not renewed, due to a previous conviction for possession of cocaine that he did not disclose on his license application.[3] About this time, a tape of Barr as Beetlejuice was sent to the offices of WCW president Jim Herd. WCW was even with WWF in adult demographics, but was losing badly among the child demographics. Herd decided to hire Barr, even though booker Ole Anderson thought Barr was too small to work in the company.[3] Barr joined World Championship Wrestling in 1990 and was renamed "The Juicer" in order to avoid copyright conflicts, but he retained his character.[2] Due to a faxing campaign, his sexual assault conviction followed him, which along with his small stature in a wrestling world then dominated by large wrestlers, he lost support and was soon released.[2][4]
After his release, Barr worked a few spot shows for the Pacific Northwest Wrestling promotion in Washington state, as he was banned from working Oregon by the state's commission.[5]
Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (1991–1992)
After leaving WCW, Barr was brought into Mexico's Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre promotion by Konnan.[2] He initially wrestled under a mask as "The American Love Machine", and was very successful.[2] A year after entering EMLL, the American Love Machine faced off against another masked wrestler, Blue Panther, in a mask versus mask match.[2] 18,000 fans sold out the 17,000 seat Arena México in Mexico City and another 8,000 fans watched on big screen TV in the parking lot to see the card.[2] The match ended when American Love Machine performed a piledriver (Martinete in Spanish) against Blue Panther, an illegal move in Mexican wrestling, thus losing his mask.
Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (1992–1994)
Soon afterward, Barr left EMLL to join Konnan's newly formed
Despite both the acclaim and the financial success he received, Barr's time in Mexico took a toll on him, as he was reportedly homesick (his wife and son remained in Oregon while he was working in Mexico).[2] Eventually, he turned to alcohol and drugs for solace, despite the concern of his friends in the business.
On November 6, 1994, AAA held the
At the same time, the
At Triplemania XXIV, Barr was posthumously inducted into the AAA Hall of Fame as the 2016 inductee. He is regarded as the most hated rudo the company has ever had along with his tag team partner Eddie Guerrero as Los Gringos Locos.
New Japan Pro Wrestling (1994)
Barr made his
Death
On November 23, 1994, Barr was found dead lying with his child at his home in
After his death, Guerrero adopted Barr's trademark
Legacy
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter wrote that Barr and his tag team partner Eddie Guerrero changed Lucha Libre forever. "Art Barr and Eddie Guerrero broadened the style of Lucha Libre, Art opened their eyes to his style and made the young guys like Rey Mysterio Jr, Psicosis and Juventud Guerrera who came up from AAA to WCW into the best workers in the world. He and Eddie had that much influence. Art taught them a whole lot."[9]
Eddie Guerrero himself also paid tribute Barr on his Cheating Death, Stealing Life DVD produced by WWE: "I learned so much from Art," admitted Guerrero. "He could make the fans laugh, he could make them cry and he could make them pissed off. He made me realize there's more to wrestling than just wrestling. He helped me change my personality in the ring. He had a big effect on me... I cried three months straight when he passed away. He changed everything."
Konnan said that Barr was one of the greatest talents he'd ever stepped into the ring with.[10]
Personal life
On July 16, 1989, Barr pled guilty to the rape of a 19-year-old woman after a PNW card in Pendelton, Oregon; the woman later filed charges.
Championships and accomplishments
- Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
- AAA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Eddie Guerrero[12]
- AAA Hall of Fame (Class of 2016)
- Championship Wrestling USA
- CWUSA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Konnan el Barbaro[13]
- Pacific Northwest Wrestling
- Jesse Barr (1 time)[14]
- NWA Pacific Northwest Television Championship (1 time)[15]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Best Heel (1994)
- Feud of the Year (1994)[19] Los Gringos Locos vs. AAA
- Tag Team of the Year (1994)[19] with Eddie Guerrero
Luchas de Apuestas record
Winner (wager) | Loser (wager) | Location | Event | Date | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blue Panther (mask) | Love Machine (mask) | Mexico City | 36. Aniversario de Arena México | April 3, 1992 | [20] |
El Hijo del Santo and Octagón (masks) |
Los Gringos Locos (hair) (Eddy Guerrero and Art Barr) |
Los Angeles, California | AAA When Worlds Collide | November 6, 1994 |
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "Art Barr profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 21 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
- ^ Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the originalon June 24, 2015. Retrieved 2008-10-12.
- ^ a b c d e Dave Meltzer, Wrestling Observer Newsletter, December 5, 1994
- ^ a b Williams, Scott: Hardcore History: The Extremely Unauthorized Story of ECW, page 45-46. SportsPublishingLLC, 2006.
- ^ Observer Staff (February 25, 1991). "February 25, 1991 Observer Newsletter: Full WrestleMania card released". F4WOnline.com. Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved January 26, 2020. (subscription required)
- ^ "Love Machine - Luchawiki".
- )
- ^ Cheating Death, Stealing Life - The Eddie Guerrero Story (DVD, 2004)
- ^ a b "Wrestling's Biggest Busts: Art Barr". 9 August 2013.
- ^ @Konnan5150 (November 4, 2018). "Here is one of my dark matches in WWE..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Pacific Northwest
- ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary. "NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship history". Solie's Title Histories. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
- ^ Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary. "NWA Pacific Northwest Television Championship history". Solie's Title Histories. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 - 1994". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on 21 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-14.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 100 Tag Teams of the PWI Years". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on 13 September 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on 2011-07-07. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
- ^ a b "Los Gringos Locos OWOW profile".
- ^ Lucha 2000 Staff (April 2006). "Arena México: 50 anos de Lucha Libre". Lucha 2000 (in Spanish). Especial 28.
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External links
- Art Barr at IMDb
- Art Barr's profile at Cagematch.net , Internet Wrestling Database