Real Name - Terry Gordy Aliases - Bamm Bamm, Terry Mecca; The Executioner Hometown - Chattanooga, TN Debuted - 1977 Titles Held - AJPW Triple Crown (2x); AJPW Unified World Tag Team (7x, 2 with Stan Hansen, 5 with Steve Williams); NWA Georgia Tag Team (with Michael Hayes); NWA National Tag Team (4x, 3 with Michael Hayes, 1 with Jimmy Snuka); GWF Tag Team (with Jimmy Garvin); NWA Mid-America Tag Team (2x, with Michael Hayes); NWA Alabama Heavyweight; NWA Southeast Heavyweight; SMW Heavyweight; Mid-South Louisiana; Mid-South Mississippi Heavyweight; Mid-South Tag Team (2x, 1 with Michael Hayes, 1 with Buddy Roberts); UWF Heavyweight; NWA World Tag Team (with Steve Williams); WCW World Tag Team (with Steve Williams); NWA American Heavyweight; NWA American Tag Team (with Michael Hayes); NWA Texas Brass Knuckles; WCCW Six-Man Tag Team (6x, 5 with Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts, 1 with Iceman Parsons and Buddy Roberts) Other Accomplishments - First NWA National Tag Team champions (with Michael Hayes); First WCCW Six Man Tag Team champions (with Michael Hayes and Buddy Roberts); First UWF Heavyweight champion; Unified the WCW and NWA World Tag Team titles (with Steve Williams); Final GWF Tag Team Champions (with Jimmy Garvin)
Although Terry Gordy started wrestling under the name Terry Mecca, it didn't take long for him to change to his given name of Terry Gordy. In less than a year, he and Michael Hayes had joined forces as the Fabulous Freebirds and Buddy Roberts soon joined the group as well.
On January 7, 1979 Gordy and Hayes, wrestling in Nick Gulas's NWA Mid-America promotion, defeated George Gulas and Bobby Eaton to capture that company's tag team titles. In February, Eaton and the Mexican Angel briefly captured the belts, only for Gordy and Hayes to take them back. On July 4th their second (and final) reign ended as they were defeated by Gypsy Joe and Tom Renesto Jr.
By November, the Freebirds had made their way to Bill Watts's Mid-South Wrestling. It didn't take long for them to gain gold, as on November 24 Hayes and Gordy ended the two week long reign of Bill Watts and Buck Robley. This reign lasted until the following April, when Robley teamed with the Junkyard Dog to win the belts.
It didn't take long for Gordy to get revenge. On May 2nd, he ended the Junkyard Dog's reign as a double champion by defeating him for the Mid-South Louisiana title. He would lose the belt back to the Dog later that year.
On June 6 Gordy teamed with Roberts to bring the belts back to the Freebirds. That lasted until September, when JYD teamed with Terry Orndorff to win the gold.
As 1980 wound down, the Freebirds were again on the move - this time heading to Georgia Championship Wrestling. October 10 saw Gordy and Hayes won a three-team tournament against The Assassins and Mr. Wrestling 1 and 2 to win the NWA Georgia tag team titles. Their reign wasn't a long one, as they were stripped of the belts on November 14th after a match against Austin Idol and Kevin Sullivan. Again, however, the Freebirds would not be denied for long. On November 27th, Hayes and Gordy defeated Stan Frazier and Robert Fuller to become the first NWA National Tag Team champions as those belts replaced the NWA Georgia belts.
A new threat to the Freebirds surfaced in early 1981 in the form of Ted DiBiase. January 26 saw DiBiase and Stan Frazier taking the titles. They held the belts for five days until the Freebirds reclaimed them. DiBiase won the belts again in June, this time with Steve O as his partner.
Gordy reclaimed the belts in July, but this time with Jimmy Snuka as a partner. The Freebirds had split and were feuding with each other - something made abundantly clear when this title reign was ended by Michael Hayes and Otis Sistrunk.
Gordy's next stop was Robert Fuller's Southeastern Championship Wrestling. In early 1982 he defeated Jos LeDuc for the NWA Southeast Heavyweight title (which he lost back to LeDuc later that year). He also defeated Jimmy Golden for the NWA Alabama Heavyweight title in April and lost it to LeDuc as well in May.
The Freebirds then made a quick stop back in Georgia Championship Wrestling, where Hayes and Gordy reclaimed the tag team titles on July 2nd by defeating the Super Destroyer and Big John Studd. They lost the belts at the end of August to the Wild Samoans.
Gordy's next destination was the one where he would rocket to stardom - World Class Championship Wrestling. Hayes had entered the promotion first, before bringing his "brothers" in.
The Freebirds became strong fan favorites and gained tag team gold in November of 1982 as they defeated King Kong Bundy and Bill Irwin.
Things changed at the Christmas Star Wars show, where Kerry Von Erich was challenging Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight title. Hayes was chosen as the referee by a write-in vote from the fans, and Gordy was guarding the door to prevent any interference. During the match, Flair had taunted Hayes and flaunted the rules until Hayes finally attacked Flair. Hayes then turned to Kerry and told him to cover Flair. Kerry refused, wanting to win the belt on his own. A livid Hayes shoved Kerry away and left the cage. Kerry followed, trying to explain his actions, and Gordy slammed the door shut on Kerry's head before following Hayes out.
The war between the Freebirds and the Von Erichs had begun.
The Von Erichs soon began trying to recapture the belts that the Freebirds held - the Six-Man and Tag Team titles. Despite this, Gordy kept adding to the Freebirds' collection. On January 21, 1983, Gordy defeated Kevin Von Erich for the NWA American Heavyweight belt - the primary belt for World Class. Although Kevin reclaimed the belt in March, three weeks later Gordy defeated the Great Kabuki to capture the NWA Texas Brass Knuckles title.
As 1983 continued, the Von Erichs slowly reclaimed belt after belt. June 17th saw Kerry Von Erich and Bruiser Brody win the tag team titles. The Von Erich team of Kevin, Kerry, and David took the six-man belts away in July, and Chris Adams ended Gordy's Brass Knuckles title reign in August.
The Freebirds responded by zeroing in on the six-man belts. They took them back from the Von Erichs in August and the same three Von Erichs took them again in December. January saw another Freebird title reign and they would hold them until May, where at the First David Von Erich Memorial Parade of Champions they lost them to Fritz (who was immediately replaced by Kerry), Kevin, and Mike Von Erich. Or so they thought. The belts were held up when it was discovered that the legal man did not score the pinfall and the Freebirds regained the belts in July after a rematch. The belts were then held up again following interference from Killer Khan, and the Von Erichs (Kevin, Kerry, and Mike) ended the trading in September as they regained the belts.
Soon thereafter, the Freebirds headed north to the World Wrestling Federation. Their stay wasn't long, however, as WWF management decided to split the three up. They refused and left the company.
After leaving the WWF, Gordy and the Freebirds headed to the AWA. They feuded with AWA World Tag Team champions the Road Warriors, but were never able to gain the titles. After costing the Road Warriors the belts, they headed back to Texas.
1986 saw the Freebirds/Von Erichs feud once again firing up as the Freebirds defeated Kevin, Kerry, and Brian Adias to take the belts yet again on January 3. They held the titles until May 4, when Kevin, Kerry, and Lance Von Erich won the belts.
The Freebirds left World Class again almost immediately thereafter and their next stop was the Universal Wrestling Federation (which was the renamed Mid-South). They wasted no time in making their mark as Gordy won a tournament to crown the first UWF Heavyweight champion. Gordy held the title until November 6th. After being injured earlier in the night by Steve Williams, Gordy was easy prey for the One Man Gang.
After the UWF was bought by Jim Crockett, the Freebirds once again returned to WCCW. This time, however, the sides were different. The Freebirds soon welcomed Iceman King Parsons into the group and kicked out Michael Hayes. On Christmas day 1987, the new Freebirds came close to regaining the vacant six-man belts (which had remained vacant since Mike Von Erich's suicide in April) only to be defeated by Kevin Von Erich, Chris Adams, and Steve Simpson.
The Freebirds would not be denied. On January 4 the team captured the belts one more time. In July, a team of Kevin, Kerry, and Michael Hayes regained the gold. The belts would be abandoned later that year.
In 1989 the Freebirds resurfaced in Jim Crockett's World Championship Wrestling. Now composed of Hayes, Gordy, and Jimmy Garvin, the group failed to capture any gold. One of the reasons was the fact that Gordy began touring with All Japan Pro Wrestling later that year.
While in All Japan, Gordy and Steve Williams began teaming together as the Miracle Violence Connection. That team came to WCW in 1992 and began feuding with the Steiner Brothers. In July, Gordy and Williams defeated the Steiners to capture the WCW World Tag Team titles. Only a week later, Gordy and Williams won a tournament to crown official NWA World Tag Team titles and unified the championships. The titles remained unified until September of 1993, when WCW withdrew from the NWA.
Gordy and Williams kept the belts until September of 1992, when they lost them to Barry Windham and Dustin Rhodes.
Overseas, Gordy had continued racking up title wins. By the middle of 1993, he had held the All Japan Triple Crown twice and the Unified World Tag Team titles seven times - five with Williams and twice with Stan Hansen.
During 1993, Gordy overdosed on pain medication while on a Japan tour and slipped into a coma. He recovered, but suffered brain damage as a result.
Gordy returned to the United States in 1994 as he rejoined Jimmy Garvin and Michael Hayes as the Fabulous Freebirds in the Global Wrestling Federation. Gordy and Garvin captured the GWF Tag Team titles in June, and held the belts until the promotion closed its doors later that year.
Gordy's next stop in the US was in Jim Cornette's Smoky Mountain Wrestling. He captured the SMW World Heavyweight title in October of 1995 and lost the belt a month later to Brad Armstrong.
After leaving Smoky Mountain, Gordy appeared in ECW, where he was announced as an international contender for Raven's ECW World title. After the feud with Raven ended, he battled Brian Lee and also reunited with Steve Williams to battle the Eliminators.
Gordy then headed to the WWF, where he was placed under a mask as Paul Bearer's Executioner. After losing to the Undertaker at the It's Time PPV, Gordy vanished from the WWF.
Gordy passed away on July 16, 2001 after suffering a heart attack.
Gordy's influence is still felt in the wrestling world today. His son Ray currently competes for the WWE on the Smackdown brand as Jesse (cousin of Festus).
Gordy is memorable firstly because of his run with the Freebirds. It was obvious that if Michael Hayes was the brains of the group, Gordy was the muscle. Gordy was strong and agile - definitely one of the best "big men" in wrestling.
Even after leaving the Freebirds, Gordy still maintained his image as a legitimate tough guy. When paired with Steve Williams, the two were a legitimately powerful duo and an equal match for the Steiners.
It is entirely possible that Gordy would have been still higher up this list if not for the overdose in 1993. After emerging from the coma, it was very obvious that Gordy had been affected. His wrestling skills were visibly diminished. The unstoppable monster Gordy had been in WCCW was gone. Gordy was still a decent wrestler, but the exceptional wrestler he had been was no more.
While Gordy's later years are less than memorable (especially his short run as the Executioner), his earlier years were something special. From his run as a Freebird to half of the Miracle Violence Connection, Gordy showed his skills every time he stepped into the ring.
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58. DICK MURDOCH
Aliases - Captain Redneck Hometown - Waxahachie, Texas Debuted - 1965 Titles Held - WWF World Tag Team; WWC Universal Heavyweight; NWA World Tag Team Other Accomplishments - son of wrestler Frank Murdoch; cousin of wrestler Tim Brooks; not related to WWE'S Trevor Murdoch
I was never a real fan of Dick Murdoch. He was ahead of my time and when I did see him he never really impressed me to a great deal. But my peers at Pulse Wrestling and his peers in the wrestling business were fans of his, and thus he will be honored here for his accomplishments.
Hoyt Richard Murdoch was a second-generation wrestler from Texas. He grew up in the business with fellow second-generation Texans Dory & Terry Funk while watching their fathers tear up the industry.
Murdoch's first real success came in the 1970s when he and fellow big-bellied blonde Dusty Rhodes formed a violent heel team dubbed "The Texas Outlaws." They tore up all the territory hotspots like Florida, Mid-South and the AWA through the decade and made a name for themselves in the ring and out of it as well. Eventually Dusty decided he wanted to go solo and left the territory they were working. The pair split without the violent break-up that has become commonplace.
Through the '80s Murdoch made a name for himself as an established singles star and a top-flight technical wrestler, even though his demeanor and physical appearance didn't lead credence to that notion. Even though he looked like just a raw-boned brawler, he could put on scientific mat clinics with the best of them if he was so inclined.
He was dubbed "Captain Redneck" for his apparent bigoted and racist tendencies, but those who knew him best said it was just a facade to keep the fans paying their money to see him. In fact his tag team pairing with the Junkyard Dog in Mid-South in the early '80s was a huge draw for the promotion, with both black and white fans.
In 1984 he made a stop in the World Wide Wrestling Federation and picked up a Tag Championship with Adrian Adonis. That run didn't last long before he soon settled into Mid-Atlantic/Jim Crockett Promotions in the late '80s. He gained national notoriety thanks to his battles with Ric Flair, his old partner/rival Dusty Rhodes and The Russians.
As the '90s came around Murdoch's career began to wind down. He made one last stop down south, in WCW, where he teamed with Dick Slater as "The Hardliners." They made a name for themselves by attacking The Steiner Brothers at a Clash of the Champions in July 1991 and legitimately injuring Scott Steiner.
His last appearance on the global stage was his one-shot deal for the World Wrestling Federation, where he was an entrant in the 1995 Royal Rumble.
A year and a half later, Murdoch died of a heart attack. He was only 49 years old.
He could be hated or loved by fans, but was genuinely loved by those co-workers who really knew him. He could wrestle Broadways with Ric Flair or engage in bloodbaths with the likes of Kevin Sullivan. He knew how to read a crowd and knew how to work a ring. Murdoch was a man who was good at his profession and was rewarded for his talents.
Though he is gone his legacy still lives on. Even in today's wrestling landscape he is honored. Current WWE wrestler Trevor Rhodes, who bears a striking resemblance to Murdoch, uses the surname "Murdoch" and is billed as hailing from his old stomping grounds of Waxachachie, Texas as a tribute to late "Captain Redneck."
