Bill Watts, (born May 5, 1939 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma), is a former American professional wrestler and promoter. May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (126th in leap years). ... 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display full year calendar). ... Nickname: Capital of the New Century, O-K-C, O-City, O-C, Renaissance City Location in Oklahoma County and the state of Oklahoma. ... ...

Watts was famous under his "Cowboy" gimmick in his wrestling career, and then as a tough, no-nonsense promoter in the Mid-South area of the United States, which grew to become the UWF. For other uses, see Cowboy (disambiguation). ... In professional wrestling, a gimmick is a wrestlers personality, behavior, attire and/or other distinguishing traits while performing. ... The Universal Wrestling Federation was a regional professional wrestling federation founded by Leroy McGuirk, and later owned by Bill Watts. ...

In 1992, he was the Executive Vice President of World Championship Wrestling but after clashes with management over a number of issues as well as feeling pressure from Hank Aaron over a racially sensitive piece of correspondence, he resigned. World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion which, in its proper form, existed from 1988 to 2001. ... Henry Louis Aaron (born February 5, 1934 in Mobile, Alabama), usually referred to as Hank Aaron, is a retired American baseball player and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. ...

Wrestling career

He was a former football player and wrestler at high school, and went on to play for the Houston Oilers and the Minnesota Vikings. City New Orleans, Louisiana Team colors Old Gold, Black, and White Head Coach Sean Payton Owner Tom Benson General manager Mickey Loomis Mascot Gumbo League/Conference affiliations National Football League (1967–present) Eastern Conference (1967-1969) Capitol Division (1967; 1969) Century Division (1968) National Football Conference (1970-present) NFC West... City Minneapolis, Minnesota Other nicknames The Vikes, The Purple People Eaters Team colors Purple, Gold, and White Head Coach Brad Childress Owner Zygi Wilf General manager Rob Brzezinski Fight song Skol, Vikings Mascot Ragnar League/Conference affiliations National Football League (1961–present) Western Conference (1961-1969) Central Division (1967-1969...

As a pro wrestler, he famously feuded with WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino, but was unable to win away the belt. In the 1960's, he wrestled in many areas, such as San Francisco, Chicago, St. Louis, and even Japan, for All Japan Pro Wrestling. During these periods, Watts challenged for both the National Wrestling Alliance and American Wrestling Association versions of the World Title. The WWE Championship belt, April 11 2005 – August 20, 2006; September 18, 2006 – present The World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Championship is a professional wrestling title. ... Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (born October 6, 1935), is a former professional wrestler, best known for being the longest-running champion of the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), holding the title across two reigns for over 12 years in total, as well as the longest world championship reign in professional... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in Chicagoland and Illinois Coordinates: Country United States State Illinois County Cook & DuPage Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) (全日本プロレス, zen nihon puroresu) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion established in 1972. ... National Wrestling Alliance logo The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is the governing body for a group of independent professional wrestling promotions and sanctions various NWA championships. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This is a list of number of World Heavyweight Title reigns for professional wrestling. ...

Booking career

Bill Watts is perhaps even more famous for being a pioneering promoter in the Mid-South area of the USA, with his base of operation being in the Shreveport area. His promotion was known as the UWF. He is often credited with creating the current and popular "episodic" style of TV wrestling, building solid creative storylines week-on-week, with an emphasis on solid in-ring action with dependable wrestlers like Steve Williams, The Junkyard Dog, Ted DiBiase and Jim Duggan. He's an outspoken critic on breaking kayfabe and "smart" wrestling fans. A Watts run promotion always had face and heel wrestlers dress in different locker rooms and to have faces and heels not meet publicly. He has also been known to revamp his booking plans in order to protect the business from such fans. When a newspaper mentioned a wrestling event being the last one Jake "The Snake" Roberts would wrestle in Watts' territory and talked about the tradition of a wrestler jobbing in his last match to put his opponent over and to expect the finish to be in that fashion, Watts changed it so Roberts actually won the match and got put over on his way out of the territory. This article is the current U.S. Collaboration of the Week. ... The Universal Wrestling Federation was a regional professional wrestling federation founded by Leroy McGuirk, and later owned by Bill Watts. ... See TV (disambiguation) for other uses and Television (band) for the rock band European networks National In much of Europe television broadcasting has historically been state dominated, rather than commercially organised, although commercial stations have grown in number recently. ... In professional wrestling, an angle is a fictional storyline. ... Dr. Death Steve Williams is a professional wrestler and former collegiate American football star at the University of Oklahoma. ... Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1953 – June 2, 1998) was a professional wrestler best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation and Mid-South Wrestling as The Junkyard Dog. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... James (Jim) Duggan (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name Hacksaw Jim Duggan, is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its RAW brand, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling. ... In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced KAY-fayb; IPA: ) refers to the portrayal of events within the industry as real, that is the portrayal of professional wrestling as not staged or worked. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Aurelian Jake Smith, Jr. ... A job is professional wrestling slang referring to a performer who loses a match. ...

After losing over half a million dollars, Watts sold the UWF to NWA Mid-Atlantic's Jim Crockett Promotions, who kept a lot of their stars, such as Sting. Jim Crockett Promotions was the name of a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Later on, Bill Watts became head booker, or promoter, of World Championship Wrestling in the early nineties. He took a lot of his old-school values with him, such as banning moves from the top rope (due to its overuse at the time), and the aforementioned babyfaces and heels separation. His tenure was not long, nor were his ideas overly embraced. He introduced his son, Erik Watts, to WCW around this time, who many felt was not ready for big-time wrestling yet. A booker, as the term is used in professional wrestling, is a person who puts matches together and determines basics about their content, such as relative overall length, who the eventual victor will be, and many of the moves which will be made during the match; in other words, the... World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion which, in its proper form, existed from 1988 to 2001. ... In professional wrestling, a face is a character who is portrayed as being moral or approving (that is, faces are good guys or crowd favorites). The vast majority of wrestling storylines (though not all) place a heel (or bad guy) against a face. ... In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character who is portrayed as behaving in an immoral manner, breaking rules or otherwise taking advantage of their opponents outside of the bounds of the rules of the match. ... Erik Watts (born December 19, 1967 in Amarillo, Texas) is an American professional wrestler. ...

Bill later went on to a position of booking power in the World Wrestling Federation, his tenure there was short, as Watts stated in later interviews that he was only up there on a three-month contract and had no interest in staying long-term. World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ...

Political allegiance

Bill Watts is a Republican, and in an ROH shoot interview with Jim Cornette, he criticised Bill Clinton and the Democrats numerous times. He also said, "In the United States constitution it says all men are equal, but some men are more talented than others, and worth more". The Republican Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. ... Ring of Honor (ROH) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion. ... James E. (Jim) Cornette (born September 17, 1961) is an American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III[1] on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ... The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States; the other being the Republican Party. ...

Autobiography

In March 2006 Watts released his autobiography The Cowboy and the Cross: The Bill Watts Story: Rebellion, Wrestling and Redemption through ECW Press. The book chronicles his upbringing, his career as first a wrestler then a promoter along with events in his personal life. The book also details his becoming a born-again Christian. March is the third month of the year in the Gregorian Calendar and one of seven Gregorian months with the length of 31 days. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... ECW Press is a North American book publisher. ...

Championships and accomplishments

• National Wrestling Alliance

• NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (Tri-State version) (6 times)

• Mid-South Wrestling

• Mid-South North American Championship (1 time)

• World Wide Wrestling Federation

• WWWF United States Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Gorilla Monsoon

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter

• Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 1996)

National Wrestling Alliance logo The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is the governing body for a group of independent professional wrestling promotions and sanctions various NWA championships. ... The Mid-South North American Championship was the major singles title in Mid-South Wrestling from 1979 until the promotion became the Universal Wrestling Federation in 1986. ... The Mid-South North American Championship was the major singles title in Mid-South Wrestling from 1979 until the promotion became the Universal Wrestling Federation in 1986. ... The Universal Wrestling Federation was a regional professional wrestling federation founded by Leroy McGuirk, and later owned by Bill Watts. ... The Mid-South North American Championship was the major singles title in Mid-South Wrestling from 1979 until the promotion became the Universal Wrestling Federation in 1986. ... The Mid-South North American Championship was the major singles title in Mid-South Wrestling from 1979 until the promotion became the Universal Wrestling Federation in 1986. ... World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ... The WWWF United States Tag Team Championship was a major tag team title in the World Wide Wrestling Federation from 1963 until 1967. ... The WWWF United States Tag Team Championship was a major tag team title in the World Wide Wrestling Federation from 1963 until 1967. ... Robert Otto Marella (June 4, 1937 – October 6, 1999), better known by his stage name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American professional wrestler, play-by-play announcer, and booker. ... Dave Herbert Meltzer (born October 24, 1961 in San Jose, California) is the editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, an insider newsletter for the world of professional wrestling. ... Summary The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (WON HOF for short) only exists on paper, but nonetheless is considered one of the highest honors that professional wrestling has to offer. ... Summary The Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (WON HOF for short) only exists on paper, but nonetheless is considered one of the highest honors that professional wrestling has to offer. ...

LINKS

TRIBUTE PAGE for Bill Watts