Brad Armstrong (wrestler)
Brad Armstrong | |
---|---|
Birth name | Robert Bradley James |
Born | [1] Marietta, Georgia, U.S.[1] | June 15, 1962
Died | November 1, 2012 Kennesaw, Georgia, U.S. | (aged 50)
Spouse(s) |
Lori Spranz (m. 1998) |
Children | 1 |
Parent(s) | Bob Armstrong (father) |
Family | Road Dogg (brother) Scott Armstrong (brother) Steve Armstrong (brother) |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Arachnaman[1] B.A. Badstreet[1] Buzzkill[1] Brad Armstrong[1] Candyman[1] Dos Hombres[1] Fantasia[1] Freedom Fighter Mr. R[1] Armstrong's Avenger |
Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] |
Billed weight | 233 lb (106 kg)[2] |
Billed from | Marietta, Georgia |
Trained by | Bob Armstrong |
Debut | July 4, 1980[3] |
Retired | February 12, 2011 |
Robert Bradley "Brad" James
Professional wrestling career
National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling (1980–1995)
Brad Armstrong started out at the age of 18 in the
Armstrong moved to the NWA's Georgia territory,
Armstrong held the
In 1986, Brad went on his first tour of Japan for All Japan Pro Wrestling, to take part in a tournament to determine the first World Junior Heavyweight Championship. Brad made it to finals, but lost the match and the title to Hiro Saito on July 31.
Armstrong then moved to Cowboy Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling /
The Lightning Express then went back to Jim Crockett Promotions (which became World Championship Wrestling in November 1988) after the UWF was bought out by Crockett, but were not pushed, and Horner left for the WWF in late 1988. Armstrong bounced between singles wrestling, temporary tag teams, and sorting out personal issues for much of the next few years.
After teaming with a returning Tim Horner during the summer of 1990, Armstrong announced on the August 4, 1990, edition of
On Clash of Champions XXIII on November 20, The Candyman was defeated by the debuting
In April 1991,
Later that year, Armstrong was given another masked gimmick, Arachnaman, who bore such a strong resemblance to Spider-Man that Marvel Comics threatened legal action, causing WCW to quickly drop the character.
On July 5, 1992, Armstrong won the
Armstrong returned in early 1995 teaming with Tim Horner wrestling on WCW Saturday Night and Worldwide.
Smoky Mountain Wrestling and United States Wrestling Association (1995–1996)
In June 1995, Armstrong joined Smoky Mountain Wrestling. By August, he'd split his time between SMW in Knoxville and United States Wrestling Association in Memphis. Armstrong won both The USWA Heavyweight Championship (defeating Billy Jack Haynes on August 4, but lost it back to Haynes on August 7) and the SMW Heavyweight Championship three times (defeating Buddy Landel on August 12, losing it to Terry Gordy on October 20, regained it from Gordy on November 23, losing it to Tommy Rich on November 25, regained it on November 27, and lost it to Jerry Lawler on December 26) during his stay. After SMW folded in December 1995, Armstrong wrestled regularly for the USWA until February 1996 when he returned to WCW. In December 1995, he toured Europe for Otto Wanz's Catch Wrestling Association, losing a CWA World Middleweight Championship match to champion Fit Finlay in the tenth round.
World Championship Wrestling (1996–2001)
Armstrong eventually returned to WCW in February 1996. At Slamboree, Armstrong unsuccessfully challenged
Upon his return to WCW in the summer of 1997, Brad had developed a heel turn, changing his look, sporting short hair and a goatee, and had developed a bad attitude and mean streak. By the end of the year, he developed a string of losses, which he blamed on the "Armstrong Curse".
He lost to Goldberg at SuperBrawl VIII during Goldberg's undefeated streak.
In 1999, he was repackaged as "B.A.", a member of
After Halloween Havoc, Vince Russo forced Armstrong to find a gimmick. He was later given the gimmick of "Buzzkill", as a hippie with a Tie-dye shirt and a takeoff of his brother Brian's gimmick, Road Dogg.[1] As "Buzzkill," Armstrong used an entrance theme similar to the one used by the New Age Outlaws in the WWF. The gimmick was less successful due to fans feeling it an imitation of the Road Dogg persona, as well as a lack of awareness that the two were brothers.
He injured his knee in March 2000 in an accident backstage at a WCW Saturday Night taping, where Armstrong got run over by Juventud Guerrera and Psicosis, severely injuring his knee. After going through knee surgery, his WCW contract expired as the company was bought by WWF in 2001, and he retired from wrestling.
Independent circuit (2004–2011)
Armstrong came out of retirement in 2004. His first match back was teaming with Greg Brown losing to
On February 19, 2005, he defeated George South for the EWA Heavyweight Championship. In 2005 and 2006 the Armstrongs feuded with the Midnight Express. Between 2007 and 2010 he feuded with Midnight Express member Dennis Condrey.
In 2010, he began teaming with Ricky Morton winning the NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team titles defeating Chris Hamrick and Jeff Lewis.
His last wrestling match was on February 12, 2011, where he lost to Kyle Matthews in Villa Rica, Georgia.
World Wrestling Entertainment (2006–2012)
On September 12, 2006, Armstrong signed a contract with
Death and legacy
On November 1, 2012, Armstrong was found dead in his Kennesaw, Georgia, home, after seeing his physician the previous week for an undisclosed medical issue.
Armstrong was survived by his parents, brothers, his wife Lori Spranz (whom he married on October 17, 1998) and his daughter Jillian (born 2001).[7]
Eulogizing Armstrong, Jim Ross described him as "one of the more talented in-ring performers I've ever worked with...one of the most underrated all-time greats ever in the business."[11]
Championships and accomplishments
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- Exodus Wrestling
- Exodus Wrestling Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[1]
- Georgia Championship Wrestling
- Mid-South Wrestling / Universal Wrestling Federation
- Mid-South North American Championship (1 time)[1]
- UWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Tim Horner[1]
- NWA Rocky Top
- NWA Rocky Top Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ricky Morton[1]
- Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling
- MACW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ricky Morton
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Southeastern Championship Wrestling
- NWA Southeastern Continental Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[1]
- Scott Armstrong (1), and The Shadow (Norvell Austin) (1)[1]
- NWA Southeastern United States Junior Heavyweight Championship (3 time)[1]
- Smoky Mountain Wrestling
- Tennessee Mountain Wrestling
- United States Wrestling Association
- 1 time)[1]
- World Championship Wrestling
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
- Most Underrated Wrestler (1987)
- Rookie of the Year (1981) shared with Brad Rheingans
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag "Brad Armstrong profile". OWOW. Archived from the original on 2009-08-03. Retrieved 2009-08-14.
- ^ a b "Brad Armstrong Profile". Cagematch.
- ^ "Stories With Brisco And Bradshaw - The day Bullet Bob decided to let Brad Armstrong in the business". YouTube.
- ^ "WCW 1990". thehistoryofwwe.com. 16 January 2023.
- ^ Damage, Brian (December 27, 2013). "The Man Of A Thousand Gimmicks: Brad Armstrong". Ring the Damn Bell.
- ^ "WCW 1991". thehistoryofwwe.com. 16 January 2023.
- ^ a b Michelle E. Shaw (November 4, 2012). "Robert "Brad" James, 50: Wrestler got out of the ring to help raise daughter". Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- ^ "Brad Armstrong passes away". WWE. November 1, 2012. Retrieved November 1, 2012.
- ^ "Brad Armstrong's Former Lightning Express Tag Team Partner Speculates On His Cause Of Death". November 4, 2012. Archived from the original on November 22, 2013.
- ^ "Armstrong Avenue Podcast - Scott Armstrong on Brad Armstrong". YouTube.
- ^ Ross, Jim (November 1, 2012). "J.R. Remembers Brad Armstrong". J.R.'s Blog. Archived from the original on 2012-11-04. Retrieved 2012-11-02.
- ^ "PWI Awards". Pro Wrestling Illustrated. Kappa Publishing Group. Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
- ^ "Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) 500 for 1992". profightdb.com. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
- ^ "Independent Wrestling Results - September 2004". onlineworldofwrestling.com. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
External links
- Brad Armstrong at IMDb
- Brad Armstrong's profile at Cagematch.net , Wrestlingdata.com , Internet Wrestling Database