Professional wrestling has a rich and diverse history, with various styles and personalities shaping its evolution. This article delves into the captivating world of big country wrestling, highlighting key figures and promotions that have left an indelible mark on the industry. From the rise of stars like Jeff Jarrett to the cultural impact of characters like Hillbilly Jim, we'll explore the unique elements that define this exciting genre.
The Jarrett Legacy
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett, born on July 14, 1967, in Hendersonville, Tennessee, is an American professional wrestler and promoter with deep roots in the wrestling industry. A third-generation wrestler, Jarrett has held over 80 championships throughout his career, including the NWA World Heavyweight Championship (six times) and the WCW World Heavyweight Championship (four times).
Jarrett began his career in his father Jerry Jarrett's Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) in 1986. In 1989, Jerry Jarrett purchased the Texas-based World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW) and merged it with the CWA to form the United States Wrestling Association (USWA), based in Memphis, Tennessee. During the late 1980s, Jarrett competed for multiple regional promotions, including the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and the Continental Wrestling Federation (CWF). Jarrett also began wrestling internationally during this period.
In 2002, Jarrett and his father together founded NWA: Total Nonstop Action (NWA-TNA, now Total Nonstop Action Wrestling). After departing the promotion in 2014, Jarrett founded another new promotion, Global Force Wrestling (GFW). After a failed merger between TNA and GFW, he cut ties with TNA. Jarrett then wrestled in Mexico for Lucha Libre AAA Worldwide before returning to WWE in January 2019 as an on-screen talent and producer. He is currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he wrestles and serves as Director of Business Development.
Jarrett made his first appearance with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) on August 9, 1992, during a live event at the Memphis Pyramid. Nearly a year later, Jarrett returned to the World Wrestling Federation. He made his televised return on October 23, 1993, on WWF Superstars of Wrestling as a heel under the gimmick of "Double J" Jeff Jarrett, a country music singer who intended to elevate his singing career through his exposure as a wrestler.
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Jarrett's character would strut to the ring wearing flashing "Double J" hats and ring attire, while he punctuated his promos with the phrase "Ain't I great?". He ended his interviews by distinctly spelling out his name ("That's J-E-Double-F, J-A-Double-R, E-Double-T!"). He would often win matches by smashing opponents with an acoustic guitar, which was nicknamed "El Kabong" after the cartoon character Quick Draw McGraw.
At the 1995 Royal Rumble in Tampa, Florida, Jarrett defeated Razor Ramon to win the WWF Intercontinental Championship thanks to interference by his assistant, The Roadie. On April 26, 1995, the Intercontinental Championship was declared vacant after a controversial ending to a match between Jarrett and Bob Holly. They had a rematch later that evening where Jarrett reclaimed the title. At In Your House 2: The Lumberjacks on July 23, 1995, Jarrett performed the song "With My Baby Tonight".
After leaving the WWF in January 1996, Jarrett returned to the United States Wrestling Association in Memphis. He won the USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship for the third time defeating Jerry Lawler on April 20. In October 1996, Jarrett was hired by World Championship Wrestling (WCW), signing a one-year contract.
Jarrett returned to the WWF on the October 20, 1997, episode of Raw is War, delivering a worked shoot speech in which he criticized both WCW President Eric Bischoff and WWF Chairman Vince McMahon. In early 1998, Jarrett joined forces with Jim Cornette and his stable of "invading" National Wrestling Alliance wrestlers, and began defending the North American Heavyweight Championship on WWF television. Jarrett went on to reprise his country music singer gimmick on the March 2, 1998, edition of Monday Night Raw, introducing Tennessee Lee as his new manager.
On the August 9, 1998, edition of Sunday Night Heat, Jarrett fired Tennessee Lee after he had inadvertently cost Jarrett multiple matches in the preceding weeks. Jarrett and Southern Justice then began feuding with D-Generation X (DX), with Jarrett losing to DX member X-Pac in a hair vs. hair match at SummerSlam. Jarrett's long hair was subsequently cut short by DX and Howard Finkel, who had himself been shaved bald by Jarrett and Southern Justice shortly before SummerSlam.
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Hart and Jarrett won the WWF Tag Team Championship from Ken Shamrock and Big Boss Man, successfully defending the titles at WrestleMania XV before losing to Kane and X-Pac on an episode of Raw. Eight days after Hart died in a stunt that went wrong at Over the Edge, Jarrett defeated The Godfather, who Owen was scheduled to face at the pay-per-view, for the Intercontinental Championship. As he was handed the title belt, he yelled Hart's name in tribute to his friend.
At SummerSlam, Jarrett challenged D'Lo Brown for both the WWF European Championship and WWF Intercontinental Championships, with Debra accompanying Brown to the ring following an argument with Jarrett. Brown lost the match after both Mark Henry and Debra turned on him, making Jarrett the second ever "Euro-Continental Champion".
Jarrett returned to WCW on the October 18, 1999, episode of WCW Monday Nitro, attacking Buff Bagwell and proclaiming himself the "Chosen One" of WCW. In early 2000, Jarrett feuded with WCW Commissioner Terry Funk, who forced him to wrestle three veterans - George Steele, Tito Santana, and Jimmy Snuka - in one night. Jarrett was stripped of the United States Heavyweight Championship after suffering a concussion during his bout with Snuka, but the title was returned to him by Nash after he became WCW Commissioner.
In April, WCW was rebooted by Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo, with all titles vacated as a result. At Spring Stampede on April 16, he defeated Millionaires Club member Diamond Dallas Page to win the vacant WCW World Heavyweight Championship. In May, Jarrett won and lost the WCW World Heavyweight Championship on two further occasions, regaining the title from Ric Flair both times.
On July 9 at Bash at the Beach, he faced Hogan with the world championship on the line; the match ended swiftly after Jarrett immediately lay down, allowing Hogan to rest a boot on his chest and win the title, with Hogan commenting, "That's why this company is in the damn shape it's in-because of bullshit like this!". Vince Russo subsequently came to the ring and delivered a profanity-laced statement, in which he accused Hogan of politicking and claimed that Hogan had used his creative control to refuse to lose to Jarrett.
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Hulk Hogan: The Icon
Hulk Hogan Highlights Tribute (Rick Derringer "Real American")
Hulk Hogan, born Terry Gene Bollea on August 11, 1953, is an American professional wrestler, actor, and television personality widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide and the most popular wrestler of the 1980s.
He began his professional wrestling career in 1977, taking the name Hogan around that time, and gained worldwide recognition after signing for World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) in 1983. During his initial run, he won the WWF Championship five times, with his first reign being the second-longest in the championship's history. He was the first wrestler to win consecutive Royal Rumble matches, winning in 1990 and 1991. His match with André René Roussimoff on WWF The Main Event on February 5, 1988, still holds American television viewership records for wrestling with a 15.2 Nielsen rating and 33 million viewers.
In 1993, Hogan departed the WWF to sign for rival promotion World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He won the WCW World Heavyweight Championship six times and holds the record for the longest reign. In 1996, he underwent a career renaissance upon adopting the villainous persona of "Hollywood" Hulk Hogan, leading the popular New World Order (nWo) stable. Hogan returned to the WWF in 2002 following its acquisition of WCW the prior year, winning the Undisputed WWF Championship for a record equaling (for the year) sixth time before departing in 2003. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and inducted a second time in 2020 as a member of the nWo.
Hillbilly Jim: The Everyman
Hulk Hogan’s only direct comments comes when he celebrated the union as “a beautiful wedding, a little different, and just might be the type of thing Uncle Elmer needs, a positive type of energy.” Other wrestlers from all walks of life reached out to the hillbillies in a rare moment of tolerance not usually seen in the WWE. Hillbilly Jim represented McMahon’s idea of a diverse wrestling roster - a little different and just the type of thing to give the organization a positive type of energy.
Billed from Mudlick, a real town within south-central Kentucky near Bowling Green, Hillbilly Jim represented a simple, rural Everyman during professional wrestling’s “Rock and Roll” era. Often lining up with or against more famous celebrity wrestlers like Hulk Hogan, Roddy Piper, and Andre the Giant, Jim’s floppy hat, red bandana, and blue jean bib overalls actually caused him to stand out. He was also a large man among large men, measuring around 6’7″, which made him roughly on par with other giants (except for Andre of course).
The commonality between the two was that Jim was ultimately a fun-loving man more likely to dance his way to the ring and appear in vignettes with his country momma (in her rocking chair) than find himself in a blood feud. In this way, Hillbilly Jim was different than other Southern characters at the time. Jim was fun, honorable, and nice. Others, like Ric Flair or the Fabulous Freebirds, were conniving cheaters and brawlers, natural descendants of a very specific type of professional wrestling culture.
Early in Hillbilly Jim’s run, the WWE brought in three other “hillbilly” wrestlers to partner with Jim - Uncle Elmer, Cousin Junior, and Cousin Luke (only one of whom was actually from the mountains). Unlike Jim, these less charismatic hillbilly relatives often appeared on the butt end of McMahon’s jokes. The infamous Uncle Elmer wedding skit, airing October 5, 1985, is a perfect example.
It’s worth considering too that Jim was never a villain and never adopted a racist or Confederate-sympathizing Southern character as did so many others. The character came close once as the manager of the 1990s tag team The Godwinns, a pair of Arkansan hog farmers.
To gain approval in McMahon’s 1980s world, a wrestler needed to be physically fit, imposing, express a willingness to fight, and charismatic, just to name a few.
Big Time Wrestling in Detroit
Big Time Wrestling in Detroit was one of the most successful territories under the NWA banner, captivating audiences with myriad top performers and a hardcore wrestling style never seen before. Nick Londos first brought professional wrestling to 5920 Grand River Avenue at the Detroit Olympia in the early ’20s.
Curry began to train and work as a wrestler in the 1930s under the era that Adam Weissmuller was running the Detroit area. The Wild Bull continued to create havoc in The Old Red Barn, as the Olympia became known by the local Red Wing hockey fans for the next year or so.
After the passing of Weissmuller at age 37 in 1937, Light worked with a man who took over the booking for a year or so before breaking off on his own to start a new promotion. It was under the leadership of Harry Light that Detroit wrestling grew its foundations and expanded its fan base. Harry Light passed away on October 29, 1971. Wrestling was as hot as the Motown movement in the early ’60s in the Motor City.
Initially managed by The Grand Wizard of Wrestling, The Sheik would play games with whoever he faced. Bobo Brazil was born Houston Harris, only a month after Farhat in 1924 in Little Rock, Arkansas. He lived for a short time in East St. He took up the training, soon realizing that wrestling was his calling. Brazil retired in 1993 and was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in the Class of 1994 by "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd.
1964 also saw longtime Detroit and mid-western wrestler Dick the Bruiser splinter off and start his own promotion in Indiana that ran in competition with Big Time Wrestling in Detroit. The Sheik continued to tour the States and into Canada while he was working out of Detroit.
Born in Dearborn in 1931, the strapping young man took to bodybuilding. He won the Mr. Michigan title in 1954 and participated in both the Mr. America and Mr. In an excellent example of the day and a wonderfully funny break-in story, Bert Ruby approached him with a job offer when he watched Garza knock wrestler Brute Bernard out cold after an argument.
The Mighty Igor was a beloved fan favorite in the ’60s and ’70s. He can be best described as Hillbilly Jim meets Ivan Putski. He used his own spin on the Polish Power idea by being more soft-spoken and performing feats of strength to ingratiate himself to the fans, which helped maintain his babyface persona. Their NWA US Heavyweight Title was retired, and the promotion closed.
| Wrestler | Notable Achievements |
|---|---|
| Jeff Jarrett | 6-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, 4-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion |
| Hulk Hogan | 5-time WWF Champion, 6-time WCW World Heavyweight Champion |
| Hillbilly Jim | Popular "Everyman" character in WWE during the 1980s |