George South (born September 7, 1962) is an American professional wrestler known for his extensive career in various wrestling promotions.
Early Career and Rise in NWA
South began wrestling in 1984, having his first match on December 26, 1984, in Championship Wrestling from Florida. Teaming with Mike Allen at a CWF TV taping, the rookie lost to the Pretty Young Things (Koko B Ware and Norvell Austin). South next appeared in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). South made his debut on the April 6, 1985, edition of World Championship Wrestling, the inaugural broadcast of the show after Jim Crockett acquired the TBS time slot. That night a young South teamed with Greg Stone to face Ivan Koloff & Krusher Kruschev (Barry Darsow). A week later he had his first singles match, losing to Magnum T. A. on the Saturday night program. On June 1, 1985, he received his first ever match (non-title) with then NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair.
He was also Ric Flair's favorite journeyman to wrestle as Flair considered him a great worker. South was used as enhancement talent but he always got in some offense and was very good at getting heel heat with the fans.
While still frequently wrestling for Crockett, South also wrestled in Georgia Championship Wrestling and captured his NWA Georgia Junior Heavyweight Championship in 1986 in between stops for JCP. South also made appearances in NWA affiliate Central States Wrestling in the fall of 1986. In his first match there, he defeated Colt Steel on October 26 in Kansas City, Missouri, followed up by a win two days later against Mark Fleming. After a loss to Steel on November 21, 1986, South ended his run in CSW with another win over him on November 27, 1986, in Kansas City, Kansas. In the first round of the 1987 Jim Crockett Sr. Memorial Cup, South teamed with Steve Keirn and wrestled Mike Graham and Nelson Royal to a draw. Throughout the year he continued to team with Royal - usually as the Gladiators - and gained occasional victories in singles competition. In 1988 they were redubbed The Cruel Connection, and on April 22 entered the 1988 Jim Crockett Sr.
South also worked with Gary Royal in the masked jobber tag teams the Cruel Connection, Mexican Twin Devils and the Gladiators. As the Gladiators, South and Royal jobbed for Bill and Randy Mulkey giving the perennial jobber tag team their only televised win on World Championship Wrestling.
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World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling
While still wrestling for Jim Crockett Promotions, South made his first World Wrestling Federation appearance on August 2, 1988, at a TV taping for WWF Wrestling Challenge, losing to The Honky Tonk Man in a non-title match. On the August 24, 1988, taping of Challenge, South wrestled The Blue Blazer, the match being the masked Owen Hart's first televised WWF match. South would have matches with a wide array of WWF performers, including Brutus Beefcake, Hercules, Hillbilly Jim, Jake "the Snake" Roberts, Jim Duggan, Jimmy Snuka, Rhythm and Blues, Sam Houston, The Brain Busters, The British Bulldogs, The Rockers, and The Ultimate Warrior.
For a brief time, South also wrestled as a preliminary wrestler in World Wrestling Federation in the late 1980s.
Two months later, he became part of wrestling history on Clash of the Champions VII. Teaming with Cougar Jay, he faced off against The Ding Dongs on June 14, 1989, in a match held in a sweltering Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Although new WCW Vice President Jim Herd was expecting a strong reaction for his new tag-team, the crowd turned virulently against them. While each Ding Dong took turns ringing a giant bell at ringside while the other wrestled, the crowd booed and announcer Jim Ross was noticeably embarrassed.
Gary Royal would depart WCW after 1989, leaving South to soldier on in singles matches wrestling under his own name or as "Cruel Connection #1". He faced a wave of incoming new talent, including Johnny B. Badd, Van Hammer, and Marcus Bagwell as the new decade progressed. After 1992 his appearances became infrequent. On August 20, 1993, when he teamed with The Italian Stallion to face The Cole Twins at a house show in Bluefield, West Virginia in what would be his only match of the year. In 1994 he returned for WCW Saturday Night matches against Alex Wright, Jim Duggan, and Dave Sullivan. In 1995 he would team with various opponents in matches against Stars & Stripes and The Nasty Boys.
In the 1990s, South worked as enhancement talent for World Championship Wrestling.
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South returned for one match at a television taping on March 7, 1993, and faced Tatanka in Fayetteville, North Carolina. However, in 1994 he would make numerous appearances, starting on January 17 edition of Monday Night Raw where he was defeated by Tatanka in Richmond, Virginia. On February 5, 1994, episode of WWF Superstars he wrestled Doink the Clown, and in April faced Lex Luger in a losing effort.
Pro Wrestling Federation and Later Career
While still making appearances in WCW, South joined the Pro Wrestling Federation, a new promotion that was promoted by The Italian Stallion, who promoted the company with some help from South. On June 15, 1991, he captured the PWF Junior Heavyweight Championship. He would hold this title for 460 days before finally losing it to Flaming Youth on September 17, 1992. South would become the top heel in the PWF, winning the Junior Heavyweight title on multiple occasions. South feuded with Flaming Youth and The Southern Rocker throughout 1993. In 1996 he regained the PWF Heavyweight Championship and continued feud with the Stallion, as well as Carolina Dreamer.
South was the top heel in the Pro Wrestling Federation that ran from 1992 until 1999 in the Carolinas. He mainly feuded with his arch-rival, The Italian Stallion, who promoted the company with some help from South.
As South continued his reign as a top heel wrestler in the PWF, he also made a foray into Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling promotion in 1994. He made his debut on their October 15, 1994, television program, facing Tracy Smothers, then would wrestle Boo Bradley and Bruiser Bedlam later in the year. On January 2, 1995, he received a title shot against SMW TV Champion Buddy Landell in a "Beat The Champ" challenge but was unsuccessful.
When the PWF closed in 1999, South opened his own promotion called the Exodus Wrestling Alliance.
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He still runs shows as of 2005 in the Mid-Atlantic area and participates in Christianity/wrestling shows with Nikita Koloff and Ted DiBiase.
One of his gimmicks is the fact that he gets heel heat from the fans by sticking his tongue out at them and taunting them about how he is manhandling their hero in the ring. He is proud of the fact that he does not have to get crude, use profanity, or become vulgar to get heel heat.
South is a born-again Christian and says one of his biggest thrills was passing a Christian tract to Hulk Hogan in WCW who told him he needed it. In 1999 three full-color cartoon tracts were produced for South entitled The Greatest Match Ever, Who is Your Tag-Team Partner?, and Who Are You Wrestling Against?, illustrated by comics artist Steven Butler, packaged by The Nate Butler Studio, and published by PowerMark Productions.
An important part of South's modern day matches are moves and performances intended to pay tribute to the great wrestling stars of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, including Wahoo McDaniel, Blackjack Mulligan, Brute Bernard, Two Ton Harris, Paul Jones, Ricky Steamboat, Tully Blanchard, the Anderson Brothers, and others.
South's most significant recent match was against Brad Armstrong in Spartanburg, South Carolina, at the Wrestling Night of Legends II. In 2013, South participated in the Brad Armstrong Memorial Event, in a tag-team match alongside Bob Orton Jr. against Tim Horner and Tom Prichard. During the match, Orton and South didn't get along too well to the point South tried to sucker-punch Orton, Orton would later enter the ring and superplex South, letting Horner pin South while Orton was walking down the ramp.
South in 2011
South trains up and comers at the Rings wrestling training facility in Charlotte, North Carolina on Tuesdays.
His son, George South Jr., is also now a wrestler.
Titles and Accomplishments:
| Championship | Promotion | Years |
|---|---|---|
| NWA Georgia Junior Heavyweight Championship | Georgia Championship Wrestling | 1986 |
| PWF Junior Heavyweight Championship | Pro Wrestling Federation | 1991-1992 |
| PWF Heavyweight Championship | Pro Wrestling Federation | 1996 |