Jeff Gaylord
Jeff Gaylord | |
---|---|
Birth name | Jeff Gaylord |
Born | Columbus, Ohio, U.S. | October 15, 1958
Died | March 15, 2023 Englewood, Colorado, U.S. | (aged 64)
Alma mater | University of Missouri |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Akeem Hassain The Black Knight The Hood Jeff Gaylord The New Spoiler |
Billed height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
Billed weight | 260 lb (118 kg) |
Debut | 1985 |
Retired | 1998 |
Jeff Gaylord (October 15, 1958 – March 15, 2023) was an American professional wrestler who competed in North American regional and independent promotions including Bill Watts' Universal Wrestling Federation, World Class Championship Wrestling and the United States Wrestling Association during the late 1980s and 1990s, most notably as a frequent tag team partner of Jeff Jarrett. During the late 1990s, he was a member of "Psycho" Sid Vicious' The Psychos and, as Akeem Hassain, the USWA-faction of the Nation of Domination.
Gaylord also made a one-time appearance in the
Early life
Born in
Football career
Gaylord played high school football at Shawnee Mission South in Overland Park, Kansas before embarking on a college career at the University of Missouri. He went on to be a 4th round draft pick (88th overall) of the NFL's Los Angeles Rams in 1982. After being cut by the Rams in camp later that summer, Gaylord spent part of the 1982 season with the CFL's Toronto Argonauts playing just four games before being released.
In 1983, he was signed as a free agent by the
Professional wrestling career
Universal Wrestling Federation (1985–1987)
Making his professional debut in 1985, he began wrestling in the Mid-South area for the Universal Wrestling Federation facing Timothy Flowers,
Facing
During 1989, Gaylord would also appear on
World Class Championship Wrestling (1988–1991)
Wrestling for
However, he would soon begin teaming his former rival and defeated
Defeating Matt Borne and King Cobra in January 1991, Gaylord briefly appeared in the Global Wrestling Federation. He participated in the GWF World Television Championship Tournament losing to Rasta the Voodoo Man in June 1991.[13] During the next two months, he would team with the Blue Avenger in the GWF World Tag Team Championship Tournament being eliminated by Bill Irwin and Johnny Ace[14] and, during the GWF North American Championship Tournament, lost to John Tatum in the opening rounds.[15]
During this time, he was involved in an altercation with
United States Wrestling Association (1991–1995)
Returning to the Memphis area later that year, he lost to USWA Heavyweight Champion Jerry "The King" Lawler by disqualification on November 4 and the following week, teamed with The Big O fighting to a double disqualification against Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee on November 11. After losing to Bill Dundee and The Spirit of America on November 18, Gaylord was absent from the promotion for several weeks before returning to face Jerry Lawler, fighting him several times during an event on December 28, 1991.[17]
Defeating The Candyman on January 6, he spent several months in the Puerto Rico-based Americas Wrestling Federation winning the AWF International Tag Team titles with Sunny Beach before returning later that year teaming with Mr. Hughes to defeat Jerry Lawler and Jeff Jarrett on September 21 and against Tony Williams and Robert Gibson on October 5. Returning to singles competition, he also defeated Tony Falk and Randy Rhodes before losing to Bill Dundee on October 26, 1992.
After he defeated Tony Williams in a rematch on November 2, he wrestled two matches in one night defeating Bart Sawyer and later teamed with USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Brian Christopher losing to The American Eagles (Bill Dundee and Danny Davis) on November 9, 1992.
Suffering several losses to The American Eagles during the next few weeks, Gaylord teamed with Brian Christopher and The Masters of Terror (
In January 1993, he lost singles matches to Tony DeNucci, Danny Davis and Scott Campione. Although defeating Danny Davis in a rematch on February 1, he later teamed with Doink the Clown in a losing effort against USWA Heavyweight Champion Jerry Lawler and USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Jeff Jarrett on February 8. He would appear on several house shows for the World Wrestling Federation wrestling Jerry Lawler at several house shows in early 1993.
Losing to
Feuding with
Defeating Johnny Polo, The Hawk and Colin Scott during the summer, he later defeated Tony Falk in a rematch and, later during the event, teamed with Miss Texas and Ken Wayne in a mixed 6-man tag team match defeating PG-13 and The Black Pussycat on September 6, 1993.
Defeating Wolfie D on September 13, although suffering a loss to Colin Scott on September 20, he also defeated Leon Downs and Jim Dodson before teaming with Mike Anthony to lose to The Moondogs (Moondog Spike and Moondog Cujo) on October 18. Entering the USWA Tag Team Championship Tournament several days later, he and Anthony again lost to The Moondogs on October 25.[19]
Defeating Paul Neighbors by disqualification, he later teamed with Mike Anthony and
On November 24, he would also make a PPV appearance at the WWF's
Returning to the USWA, he and Mike Anthony defeated PG-13 for the USWA Tag Team Championship on November 29 although they would lose the titles a week later to The War Machines on December 6, 1993.[23]
Losing to Doug Gilbert on January 3, he managed to defeat Del Rios however he later lost to
After a loss to Koko B. Ware on February 7, he teamed with Spellbinder and King Cobra defeating Skull Von Crush and The Nightmares at the supercard Memphis Memories on March 7 and later defeated Skull Von Crush on March 14. Teaming with Robert Gibson, Gaylord lost to Well Dunn on March 21 and, defeating Ken Wayne by disqualification on March 28, he teamed with Ricky Morton and Spellbinder to defeat Ken Wayne, Skull Von Crush and Leon Downs in a 6-man tag team match later that night.
Defeating The Moondogs by disqualification in a tag team match with
Continuing his feud with Spellbinder as well as Spike Huber during the next several weeks, he eventually lost to Spellbinder on September 19. After being eliminated by Perry Saturn in the USWA Heavyweight Championship Tournament on October 3, he would also defeat Tony Williams before losing to Spellbinder on October 17, 1994.
Feuding with The Phantoms during late 1994, he defeated Phantom Sorrow on November 14 and, with King Cobra and Miss Texas, defeated Fantasia and The Phantoms in a mixed 6-man tag team match on November 21.[24]
Remaining with the promotion during its last years, he lost to The Gambler by disqualification in his last appearance on May 15, 1995.[25]
Late career (1994–1997)
After leaving the USWA, Gaylord began wrestling for the American Wrestling Federation and later teamed with The Warlord fighting to a double disqualification with Hercules Hernandez and Mr. Hughes.[26] Gaylord also wrestled on the November 28th, 1994 taping of WCW Saturday Night, where he defeated Rip Rogers.[27]
Criminal convictions
In October 2001, Gaylord robbed a bank in Aurora, Colorado of five thousand dollars.[28] Then, in February, he robbed the same bank branch; this time his license plate number was written down and a high-speed chase resulted, which resulted in Gaylord being taken into custody.[28] He pleaded guilty to two counts of bank robbery and was sentenced to two consecutive terms of seventy-eight months.[28] In 2009 he once again attempted a bank robbery in Monument, Colorado. He was released from prison for that attempt on July 15, 2015.[29]
Death
Gaylord died on March 15, 2023, at the age of 64. He was found deceased at a bus stop in Englewood, Colorado and was "likely a transient."[30][31][32]
Championships and accomplishments
- American Wrestling Federation
- AWF International Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Sunny Beach[33]
- United States Wrestling Association
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him # 83 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500in 1991.
- PWI ranked him # 83 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the
References
- ^ a b Scott Keith; Paul Nemur; Luke Michael (2002). "Pro Wrestling FAQ: Shawn Michaels". WrestleView.com.
- ^ DeArmond, Mike. "Grandma, aunt, mom passed on lots of fire to MU coach". Kansas City Star. October 1, 1999
- ISBN 1-58261-619-1
- ^ "Monument bank robbery suspect arrested", by Rhonda Moore, Colorado Tribune
- ^ Geigel, Bob; Harley Race (May 6, 2005). "February 1986". HarleyRace.com.
- ^ "Card Results: Universal Wrestling Federation". The Oklahoma Wrestling Fan's Resource Center. Archived from the original on October 25, 2008.
- ^ "Superdome Extravaganza 11/86". ProWrestlingHistory.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2007.
- ^ "Card Results: Universal Wrestling Federation". Archived from the original on October 25, 2008.
- ^ "WCCW Results 1989". Oldschool-Wrestling.com. October 14, 2006. Archived from the original on October 29, 2006.
- ^ Dananay, John; John Nord. "WCCW Frequently Asked Questions: Who was (insert masked wrestler's name here)?". World Class Memories. Archived from the original on May 5, 2007. Retrieved April 3, 2007.
- ^ Brown, Sydney (August 22, 2004). "Down With The Brown: Steve Austin & Mick Foley – The Early Years". 411wrestling.com.
- ^ "Mid-South Coliseum 1990 (Jarrett)". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
- ^ "GWF TV Title Tournament 1991". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
- ^ "GWF Tag Team Title Tournament 1991". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
- ^ "GWF North American Title Tournament 1991". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
- ^ Beard, James. ""Hot Stuff" Eddie Gilbert". EddieGilbert.com.
- ^ "Mid-South Coliseum 1991 (Jarrett)". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
- ^ "Mid-South Coliseum 1992 (Jarrett)". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
- ^ "USWA Tag Title Tournament 1993". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
- ^ Gaworecki, David (April 14, 2005). "World Wrestling Entertainment Substitutions". American Wrestling Trivia.
- ISBN 1-58261-817-8
- ^ Karlsson, Peter (April 10, 2005). "Survivor Series 1993". American Wrestling Trivia.
- ^ "Mid-South Coliseum 1993 (Jarrett)". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
- ^ "Mid-South Coliseum 1994 (Jarrett)". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
- ^ "Mid-South Coliseum 1995 (Jarrett)". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
- ^ "AWF Tag Team Title Tournament 1995". ProWrestlingHistory.com.
- ^ "WCW 1994". thehistoryofwwe.com. January 16, 2023.
- ^ a b c Judge Carlos F. Lucero (April 1, 2003). "U.S. v. Jeffery S. Gaylord". U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit. Retrieved June 27, 2009.
- ^ "Inmate Search". U.S. Bureau of Prisons Federal. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
- ^ Jeff Gaylord Dead at 64
- ^ Lee, Dustin (March 15, 2023). "Jeff Gaylord Passes Away At 64". Wrestling News Source. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
- ^ Jeff Gaylord's death shines light on life of strength and selflessness
- ^ "Solie's Title Histories: AJPW - ALL JAPAN PROFESSIONAL WRESTLING".
- ^ "U.S.W.A. World Tag Team Title". Puroresu Dojo. 2003.
External links
- Jeff Gaylord's profile at Cagematch.net , Internet Wrestling Database