Thunderbolt Patterson

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Thunderbolt Patterson
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Trained byPat O'Connor
Steve Kovacs
Debut1964[1]
Retired1994

Claude Patterson (born July 8, 1941) is an American retired

labor union.[citation needed
]

Professional wrestling career

Patterson had grown up in Iowa and worked for

Dory Funk Sr.[1] The following year, he traveled to California, where he held the WWA Tag Team Championship with Alberto Torres.[1] He also continued to work in Texas, where he worked as a villainous character in Dallas until he was turned on by his partner Boris Malenko. Fritz Von Erich had a Russian chain match with Malenko for Patterson's contract which Malenko owned.[1]

In 1969, he worked for Big Time Wrestling in Michigan and Ohio.

In 1970, he feuded with

Jose Lothario and held the Florida version of the NWA Brass Knuckles Championship.[1]

Patterson agreed to work for an outlaw promotion (that is, one outside of the NWA) run by Ann Gunkel, the widow of his old friend and Georgia promoter Ray Gunkel, in January 1974.[1] In January 1975, he moved to Big Time Wrestling in Detroit. In December 1975, he began to wrestle for the NWA promotion in Florida where he remained until April 1976. In 1976, he won the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship from Bruiser Brody.[1] In 1977, he scored a surprise pinfall win over The Sheik in Toronto for the U.S. title but lost three weeks later. He then switched to Georgia Championship Wrestling where he remained until 1980.

He spoke out against poor working conditions for wrestlers in the 1970s and participated in a racial discrimination lawsuit. He has claimed that as a result, he was blacklisted from wrestling in the mid-1970s.

Jim Wilson, himself blacklisted. He has said that it was years, with Patterson claiming to be working at the Los Angeles Times in the interim, before he has said his blacklisting was lifted, when Dusty Rhodes
took ill in Florida in 1975.

Patterson joined Ole Anderson as a tag team partner in 1984 and they briefly held the

Four Horsemen
which would include NWA Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair and Tully Blanchard.

Patterson retired from full time wrestling in 1985. He then appeared in the ring in 1993 at a "Legends Reunion Match" at

Slamboree '93, where he teamed with Brad Armstrong to defeat Ivan Koloff and Baron von Raschke.[1] He would also mentor Ice Train
, until retiring completely in 1994.

On July 27, 2019, Patterson was inducted into the 2019 Class of the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in his hometown of Waterloo.

On March 13, 2024, it was announced that Patterson would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.[2]

Personal life

In 1988, he was a labor organizer for Service Employees International Union in Atlanta.

Patterson is also an ordained minister.[1]

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Johnson, Steven (August 14, 2008). "Thunderbolt Patterson still 'on top'". SLAM! Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved 2010-05-17.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ "Thunderbolt Patterson to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2024".
  3. ^ Johnson, Mike (May 21, 2019). "2019 Tragos/Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Class Announced". PWInsider. Retrieved May 23, 2019.
  4. ISBN 978-0-9698161-5-7
    .
  5. ^ "N.W.A. American Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  6. ^ "Thunderbolt Patterson será introducido en el WWE Hall of Fame". solowrestling.mundodeportivo.com. March 13, 2024.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thunderbolt_Patterson&oldid=1220559046"