Bob Armstrong
Bob Armstrong | |
---|---|
Birth name | Joseph Melton James |
Born | Marietta, Georgia, U.S. | October 3, 1939
Died | August 27, 2020 Pensacola, Florida, U.S. | (aged 80)
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Alabama Jaw Jacker Bob Armstrong Georgia Jaw Cracker Jim Durango Bullet |
Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1] |
Billed weight | 227 lb (103 kg)[1] |
Debut | 1960 |
Retired | May 11, 2019 |
Joseph Melton James (October 3, 1939 – August 27, 2020) was an American
Early life
Joseph Melton James was born in
Professional wrestling career
Career (1960–1988)
He debuted as a wrestler in 1960, adopting the ring name "Bob Armstrong". By 1966, Armstrong had become a popular face in the Savannah, Georgia area, and in 1970 he ceased working as a firefighter and began focusing on his wrestling career.
Armstrong achieved considerable popularity in the Southeastern United States, particularly in
Later career
Semi-retirement (1992–1997, 2001)
Armstrong went into semi-retirement in 1988. In addition to making occasional appearance on the
On December 12, 2001, he teamed with Dusty Rhodes and Larry Zbyszko to defeat Barry Windham, Ron Reis and Steve Lawler at Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002–2008)
Armstrong appeared on the first weekly
On the December 3, 2005 episode of
At
On the January 18, 2008 episode of Impact!, B.G. chose Armstrong as his tag team partner for his Feast or Fired Tag Title shot. The two lost the championship match. This was his final appearance with TNA.
Final years (2009–2019)
A retirement show was held on May 29, 2009, at
From 2010 to 2015, Armstrong worked occasional matches around Georgia, mainly working for promotions such as All Pro Wrestling, Superstars Of Wrestling and Combat Sport Pro. Armstrong wrestled his last match on May 11, 2019, for Continental Championship Wrestling in Dothan, Alabama, where he defeated The Assassin.[3]
Death
In March 2020, Armstrong was diagnosed with bone cancer in his ribs, shoulder, and prostate, he refused treatment as he knew the cancer was terminal.[4] He died from complications of bone cancer on August 27, 2020, at the age of 80.[5]
Championships and accomplishments
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- Combat Sport Pro
- Hall of Fame (Class of 2015)[7]
- Global Championship Wrestling
- GCW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Steve Armstrong
- Memphis Wrestling Hall of Fame
- Class of 2022
- Mid-South Sports/Georgia Championship Wrestling
- NWA Columbus Heavyweight Championship (4 times)[8]
- NWA Columbus Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Robert Fuller[9]
- NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (4 times) - with Dick Steinborn (1) and Robert Fuller (3)[10]
- NWA Georgia Television Championship (1 time)[11]
- NWA Macon Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[12]
- NWA Macon Tag Team Championship (6 times) - with Paul DeMarco (1), El Mongol (1), Bill Dromo (3) and Argentina Apollo (1)[13]
- NWA National Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Brad Armstrong[14]
- NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Georgia version) (1 time)[15]
- NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship (Georgia version) (4 times) - with El Mongol (1), Bill Dromo (1), and Roberto Soto (2)[16]
- NWA Mid-America
- NWA Tri-State
- 1 time)[19]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Southeastern Championship Wrestling
- CWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Brad Armstrong[22]
- NWA Alabama Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[23]
- 4 times)[24]
- NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Northern version) (8 times)[25]
- 1 time)[26]
- NWA Six-Man Tag Team Championship (Southeastern version) (1 time) - with Brad Armstrong and Steve Armstrong[27]
- NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship (Northern Division) (8 times) - with Ken Lucas (1), Robert Fuller (2), Jos LeDuc (2), Steve Armstrong (1), and Brad Armstrong (2)[28]
- NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship (Southern Division) (1 time) - with Robert Fuller[29]
- NWA Southeastern Television Championship (Southern Division) (1 time)[30]
- Southern Championship Wrestling
- SCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[31]
- USA Wrestling
- USA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[31]
- WWE
- WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2011)[32]
1Title was awarded to them sometime in 2005 though the records are unclear as to the exact date and which promotion they wrestled in at the time.
See also
List of oldest surviving professional wrestlers
References
- ^ a b c "OWOW profile". Archived from the original on June 22, 2020.
- ^ "WWE Hall of Fame Inductees". WWE. Retrieved March 1, 2011.
- ^ "GWH News and Notes: Continental Championship Wrestling Results from Dothan on May 11". May 14, 2019.
- ^ McGeorge, Alistair (March 26, 2020). "WWE legend Bob Armstrong battling cancer and refused treatment for illness". Metro. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ Linder, Brian (August 28, 2020). "WWE Hall of Famer dies after bout with bone cancer". PennLive.com. Patriot-News. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
- ^ NWA Southern Heavyweight Title (Florida) history At wrestling-titles.com
- user-generated source]
- ^ Columbus Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ Columbus Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWA Georgia Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWA Georgia Television Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ Macon Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ Macon Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWA National Tag Team Title history Archived 2007-12-18 at the Wayback Machine At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWA Southern Heavyweight Title (Georgia) history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWA Southeastern Tag Team Title (Georgia) history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWA/AWA Southern Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ North American Heavyweight Title (Mid-South) history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 - 1995". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on June 7, 2008. Retrieved July 14, 2008.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved September 15, 2010.
- ^ CWF Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWA Southeast Continental Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ "NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title (Southeastern/Continental) history". wrestling-titles.
- ^ "NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title (Southern Division) history". wrestling-titles.
- ^ NWA Southeastern 6-Man Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ NWA Southeastern Tag Team Title history At wrestling-titles.com
- ^ "NWA Southeastern Tag Team Title (Southern Division) history". wrestling-titles.
- ^ "NWA Southeastern Television Title (Southern Division) history". wrestling-titles.
- ^ ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
- ^ "Bob Armstrong". WWE. Retrieved August 28, 2020.