Barry Windham (born July 4 1960) is a professional wrestler and the son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan. He is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He is currently employed by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a producer. WWE was previously known as World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

In NWA/WCW, he was a 1 time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, a 1 time United States Heavyweight Champion, a 1 time Television Champion, a 1 time Western States Heritage Champion, a 1 time NWA World Tag Team Champion (Mid-Atlantic version) with Lex Luger, a 3 time World Tag Team Champion and a 1 time United States Tag Team Champion with Ron Garvin. In WWF, he was a 2 time Tag Team Champion with Mike Rotunda.

Career

Early career

Barry Windham was trained by his father Blackjack Mulligan and popular world champion Harley Race. He debuted on January 7 1980 when he was 19 years old. Much of his early career was in the NWA's Championship Wrestling from Florida territory where Gordon Solie was the head announcer. He was a fan favorite for most of the early and middle periods of his career, having great success in singles and tag action. With his brother-in-law Mike Rotunda, Windham formed a tag team in 1984. The duo captured the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship three times between March and May 1984.

World Wrestling Federation (First run, 1984-1985)

Rotunda and Windham were signed by World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in October 1984. They debuted in WWF as babyfaces on November 17, 1984 edition of Maple Leaf Wrestling defeating Mohammed Saad and Bobby Bass. Their tag team was named U.S. Express. They quickly made impact in WWF's tag team division as they beat North South Connection (Dick Murdoch and Adrian Adonis) for their first WWF Tag Team Championship on January 21 1985. At the first-ever WrestleMania, US Express dropped the titles to Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff. On July 13 edition of Championship Wrestling, they beat Sheik and Volkoff for their second and final WWF Tag Team Championship, which they lost to Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) at a television taping on August 24.

National Wrestling Alliance (First run, 1986-1989)

Championship Wrestling from Florida (1986)

After leaving the WWF in 1985, he was outspoken in his criticism of the WWF's "Rock and Wrestling" style, which deemphasized traditional wrestling. He joined the NWA and enjoyed success there as one of the top draws (off-and-on) for the next decade. After departing from the WWF, Windham worked an extended stint in National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). He worked in NWA's territory Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) as a babyface, where most notably he wrestled in the main event of Battle of the Belts II for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Ric Flair, and feuded over the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship with Ron Bass.

Mid-Card Battles (1987)

In the fall of 1986, he shifted to NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) territory as a babyface where he had many memorable matches with \"Nature Boy\" Ric Flair. These included matches going to 60 minute time limit draws and even some extending beyond an hour of action. He shifted back to tag team division. On December 9 1986, Windham and Ron Garvin defeated Ivan Koloff and Khrusher Khruschev. Their biggest feud as a team was with The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane), managed by Jim Cornette. The Midnight Express were never able to beat Windham and Garvin for the titles. Windham and Garvin eventually lost these titles to Ivan Koloff and Dick Murdoch in the spring of 1987, shortly before the annual Jim Crockett Memorial Tag Team Tournament (also known as the Crockett Cup). At this time, Windham also formed an alliance with Lex Luger, who would turn his back on Windham when they were both in the NWA shortly afterward when Luger had aspirations of joining The Four Horsemen. Rather than enter the tournament as a team, the NWA split up Windham and Garvin. Ronnie Garvin instead teamed up with his stepson Jimmy Garvin (in the storyline of the NWA, they were called the Garvin brothers, but Ronnie was actually Jimmy's stepfather). Windham instead of partnering up with someone in the tournament, was booked to face Ric Flair for the NWA World Championship in what would be another classic match between the two. Flair defeated Windham with a controversial pinfall after a little over 25 minutes of action.

Windham spent the rest of 1987 in NWA's mid-card division. On June 20 1987, Windham defeated Black Bart in a tournament final to win the short-lived NWA Western States Heritage Championship, becoming first champion. He defended the title against the likes of Rick Steiner, Big Bubba Rogers and Incubus. The title was also recognized by Bill Watts' Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF). He began climbing up the ranks of UWF. At NWA's first pay-per-view (PPV), Starrcade 1987: Chi-Town Heat, he lost to UWF Heavyweight Champion "Dr. Death" Steve Williams. In 1988, Windham began rising up in the NWA ranks again. He started off by dropping the Western States Heritage Title to Larry Zbyszko at Bunkhouse Stampede.

Four Horsemen (1988-1989)

On March 27 1988 edition of Clash of the Champions, he teamed up with Lex Luger to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship from Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. A few weeks later, a swerve took place where Windham betrayed Luger causing the team to lose the titles back to Blanchard and Anderson. Windham turned heel and joined Ric Flair's stable Four Horsemen (which also consisted of Anderson and Blanchard) and his heel turn was considered shocking at the time. In addition, he began using a black glove as well as the Iron Claw as his finisher, which was a signature move of his father Blackjack Mulligan. He went back to singles competition and defeated Nikita Koloff in a tournament final to win the vacant NWA United States Heavyweight Championship when NWA suspended then-champion Dusty Rhodes. Windham was a dominant US Champion, who reigned for nine months. He defended the title against the likes of Brad Armstrong, Dusty Rhodes, Sting and Bam Bam Bigelow before dropping to Lex Luger at Chi-Town Rumble in February 1989. His contract with NWA expired.

World Wrestling Federation (Second run, 1989)

Windham returned to the WWF in 1989 as the Widowmaker. Despite the nickname, Windham did not change his image much, portraying a heel cowboy type character. The Widowmaker was to have been on Randy Savage's Survivor Series team, but he left the company due to undisclosed personal reasons; he was replaced by Earthquake in the match. On March 16 1990, he attempted to challenge AJPW Triple Crown champion Jumbo Tsuruta, but was defeated.

National Wrestling Alliance/World Championship Wrestling (Second run, 1990-1994)

Rejoining Four Horsemen (1990-1991)

In May 1990, Barry Windham returned to WCW and rejoined the Four Horsemen which at that point consisted of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Sid Vicious, and Ole Anderson. He defeated Doug Furnas on June 13 1990 edition of Clash of the Champions. He spent most of the time that year in tag team matches with the other Horsemen as partners. At Halloween Havoc 1990, Windham was involved in a controversial match between Sid Vicious and then NWA World Champion Sting. Sid appeared to pin Sting and win the championship, but it was actually Windham who was dressed like Sting. Once the hoax was noticed, the match was restarted and the real Sting defeated Sid Vicious. Windham spent the rest of the year teaming with Arn Anderson in the continuation of a feud between the Four Horsemen and then NWA World Tag Team Champions, Doom. At Starrcade 1990: Collision Course, Windham and Anderson wrestled Doom to a no contest in a Street Fight when a member of each team was pinned.

In 1991, Windham continued teaming with Arn Anderson and Sid Vicious. Windham feuded with Brian Pillman in the spring of 1991, culminating in a taped fist match at SuperBrawl I: Return of the Rising Sun, which Windham won. As the middle of the year approached, controversy erupted in the WCW (which the NWA became fully known as from then on) when WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Ric Flair was fired by the company causing the title to be vacant. Windham was then elevated to the number 2 contender spot and faced Lex Luger in a steel cage match to declare the new champion. At The Great American Bash 1991, Windham lost the match to Luger in a double turn as Luger became the top bad guy of WCW and Windham becoming one of the most popular. This got Windham over in terms of popularity with the fans again despite still not winning the world championship.

Face Turn (1991-1992)

In October 1991, Windham formed a tag team with Dustin Rhodes and feuded with WCW Tag Champions The Enforcers (Arn Anderson and Larry Zbyszko). At Halloween Havoc 1991: Chamber of Horrors, Anderson and Zbyszko slammed a car door on Windham's hand, breaking it, and putting him out of action for a while (including that night's Chamber of Horrors match, where he was replaced by El Gigante). That also led to Ricky Steamboat stepping in as the mystery partner for Rhodes at the Clash of the Champions that November. Steamboat and Rhodes won the titles. Windham, meanwhile, would come back a couple of months later to feud with Anderson, Zbyszko, and the rest of what was now the Dangerous Alliance. Windham would feud with TV Champion "Stunning" Steve Austin in the spring of 1992. On the May 9, 1992 edition of Saturday Night, he defeated Austin in a two out of three falls match to win the WCW World Television Championship. He dropped the title back to Austin on June 13 edition of WorldWide.

On a taped edition of Saturday Night on September 2, Windham teamed with Dustin Rhodes to defeat Steve Williams and Terry Gordy for the unified WCW World Tag Team Championship and NWA World Tag Team Championship (their NWA title reign is not recognized by NWA). They held the belts for about two months before losing them to Steamboat and Shane Douglas in a memorable match on November 18 edition of Clash of the Champions. Windham turned on Rhodes after the match when Rhodes refused to pin Steamboat after an accidental low blow.

Heel Turn (1992-1994)

At the end of the year, Windham teamed with Brian Pillman to pursue the titles he and Rhodes lost, but ended up losing to Steamboat and Douglas at Starrcade 1992: Battlebowl/The Lethal Lottery II.

Windham became a full time singles wrestler in January 1993 and pursued the NWA World Championship held by The Great Muta. He defeated Muta for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at SuperBrawl III. Ric Flair, who returned to WCW that night, tried to present Windham with the belt, but when Windham saw it was Flair trying to put the belt around his waist, he took the belt and walked away. Flair and Anderson tried to recruit Windham to join the Horsemen again, but Windham declined and became the "Lone Wolf," feuding with Flair and Anderson. He successfully defended the title against Anderson at Slamboree 1993: A Legend's Reunion. After a successful title defense against 2 Cold Scorpio, Windham dropped the NWA belt to Flair at Beach Blast 1993, then disappeared from wrestling for almost a year, where he took on Flair again at Slamboree 1994: A Legend's Reunion for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Flair won again and Windham dropped out of sight for over two years.

World Wrestling Federation (Third run, 1996-1998)

The Stalker (1996)

Windham would again return to the WWF in late 1996, this time as The Stalker, wearing camouflage face paint. For a short time, he renewed his feud with Dustin Rhodes (Goldust), only this time, Windham was the babyface and Rhodes was the heel. In Windham's only pay-per-view appearance with this gimmick, he was eliminated from a Survivor Series match at Survivor Series 1996 by Goldust. However, Stalker's teammate, the debuting Rocky Maivia, became the sole survivor of the match.

The New Blackjacks (1997-1998)

He later formed The New Blackjacks with Justin Hawk Bradshaw in 1997. That team didn't last long, as Barry turned on Bradshaw to join Jim Cornette's "NWA faction" in 1998 (at the time, the NWA had become just a group of smaller independent promotions, and they cooperated with the WWF for this storyline). The angle was scrapped months later, and Windham left for WCW again.

World Championship Wrestling (Third run, 1998-1999)

In his last WCW run, Barry Windham was originally brought back to WCW by Eric Bischoff who had him turn on Ric Flair. Barry was then loosely associated with Bischoff's nWo Hollywood for a while before forming a tag team with Curt Hennig. At SuperBrawl IX, Hennig and Windham defeated Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko in the finals of a tag team tournament to win the vacant WCW World Tag Team Championship.

Barry reinjured his knee during this period but would return as part of The West Texas Rednecks in mid 1999. They were supposed to be a heel group to feud with rapper Master P's "No Limit Soldiers" but the southern fans of WCW cheered the Rednecks, going against what WCW management and booking had hoped for, and the angle was eventually dropped. The group consisted of his brother Kendall Windham, Curt Hennig, and Bobby Duncum, Jr.; Duncum was replaced by Curly Bill after he was injured and shortly before the group was disbanded and the Rednecks storyline was dropped. On August 23 1999 edition of Nitro, the Windham brothers defeated Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) to win their final WCW World Tag Team Championship, before losing the titles back to Harlem Heat at Fall Brawl 1999. Both Barry and Kendall were shortly after released by WCW.

TCW and Semi-Retirement

By 2001, photos of a rejuvenated Windham began to surface on the internet of the now defunct Dusty Rhodes' Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling Website. A group of fanatical internet wrestling fans known as "The Barry Windham Revolution" rallied behind Windham and his seemingly miraculous physical comeback. While other competitors might have simply retired, Barry had worked very hard and gotten back down to 236 lb (107 kg) as he had been for much of his early career. During this time, on the American independent scene in the Florida-based TCW, Barry won their heavyweight championship and held it for the better part of a year. He also became part of the Xtreme Horsemen in stable with Steve Corino and C.W. Anderson. They feuded with Dusty & Dustin Rhodes.

Barry's last appearances were at MLW's War Games, a one time U.S. Express Reunion with Mike Rotunda at WrestleReunion I, and on the "WrestleMania Rewind" episode of RAW on March 10 2008 in a rematch from the first WrestleMania.

Barry now resides in community of Fargo in the city of Homerville, Georgia and competes infrequently.

Currently, Windham works as a producer for WWE. In 2007, he appeared on the Ric Flair & the Four Horsemen DVD. Barry was also seen during the 2007 WWE Hall of Fame broadcast, sitting next to former partner John "Bradshaw" Layfield. In June 2007, Barry did the introduction of SuperBrawl III for WWE 24/7.

In wrestling

• Finishing and signature moves
• Skull vice
• Lariat
• Superplex
• Elbow drop
• Figure four leglock
• Implant DDT
• Vertical suplex

Championships and accomplishments

• Championship Wrestling from Florida
• NWA Florida Global Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ron Bass
• NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (6 times)
• NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
• NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Mike Graham (1) and Scott McGhee (1)
• NWA Florida Television Championship (3 times)
• NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Mike Rotunda
• NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Florida version) (1 time) – with Mike Graham

• Jim Crockett Promotions | World Championship Wrestling
• NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• WCW World Television Championship (1 time)
• NWA Western States Heritage Championship (1 time) (First)
• WCW World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Dustin Rhodes (1), Curt Hennig (1), and Kendall Windham (1)
• NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (1 time) - with Lex Luger
• NWA United States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ron Garvin

• Music City Wrestling
• NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• NWA All-Star Wrestling (North Carolina)
• NWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Tully Blanchard¹

• NWA New England
• NWA New England Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• NWA Southern Championship Wrestling
• NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Tennessee version) (2 times)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
• PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (1982)

• Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling
• BTCW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

• World Wrestling Council
• WWC World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kendall Windham

• World Wrestling Federation
• WWF Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Mike Rotunda

• '''Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
• Rookie of the Year (1980)
• Match of the Year (1986) vs. Ric Flair on February 14
• 5 Star Match (1987) vs. Ric Flair at the Crockett Cup Tournament on April 11
• 5 Star Match (1991) with Ric Flair, Larry Zbyszko, & Sid Vicious vs. Brian Pillman, Sting, Rick Steiner, & Scott Steiner (February 24, WarGames match, WrestleWar)
• 5 Star Match (1992) with Nikita Koloff, Ricky Steamboat, Sting & Dustin Rhodes vs. Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, & Larry Zbyszko (May 17, WarGames Match, WrestleWar)

¹The title was won by Windham and Blanchard in a small North Carolina NWA affiliated promotion. However, it should not be confused with the more prominent NWA All-Star Wrestling promotion that operated out of Vancouver, British Columbia from the early '60s to the late '80s.

References

External links

• Barry Windham's Online World of Wrestling Profile
• Barry Windham's Accelerator 3359 Bio

Barry Windham (born July 4 1960) is a professional wrestler and the son of wrestler Blackjack Mulligan. He is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He is currently employed by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) as a producer. WWE was previously known as World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

In NWA/WCW, he was a 1 time NWA World Heavyweight Champion, a 1 time United States Heavyweight Champion, a 1 time Television Champion, a 1 time Western States Heritage Champion, a 1 time NWA World Tag Team Champion (Mid-Atlantic version) with Lex Luger, a 3 time World Tag Team Champion and a 1 time United States Tag Team Champion with Ron Garvin. In WWF, he was a 2 time Tag Team Champion with Mike Rotunda.

Career

Early career

Barry Windham was trained by his father Blackjack Mulligan and popular world champion Harley Race. He debuted on January 7 1980 when he was 19 years old. Much of his early career was in the NWA's Championship Wrestling from Florida territory where Gordon Solie was the head announcer. He was a fan favorite for most of the early and middle periods of his career, having great success in singles and tag action. With his brother-in-law Mike Rotunda, Windham formed a tag team in 1984. The duo captured the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship three times between March and May 1984.

World Wrestling Federation (First run, 1984-1985)

Rotunda and Windham were signed by World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in October 1984. They debuted in WWF as babyfaces on November 17, 1984 edition of Maple Leaf Wrestling defeating Mohammed Saad and Bobby Bass. Their tag team was named U.S. Express. They quickly made impact in WWF's tag team division as they beat North South Connection (Dick Murdoch and Adrian Adonis) for their first WWF Tag Team Championship on January 21 1985. At the first-ever WrestleMania, US Express dropped the titles to Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff. On July 13 edition of Championship Wrestling, they beat Sheik and Volkoff for their second and final WWF Tag Team Championship, which they lost to Dream Team (Greg Valentine and Brutus Beefcake) at a television taping on August 24.

National Wrestling Alliance (First run, 1986-1989)

Championship Wrestling from Florida (1986)

After leaving the WWF in 1985, he was outspoken in his criticism of the WWF's "Rock and Wrestling" style, which deemphasized traditional wrestling. He joined the NWA and enjoyed success there as one of the top draws (off-and-on) for the next decade. After departing from the WWF, Windham worked an extended stint in National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). He worked in NWA's territory Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) as a babyface, where most notably he wrestled in the main event of Battle of the Belts II for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Ric Flair, and feuded over the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship with Ron Bass.

Mid-Card Battles (1987)

In the fall of 1986, he shifted to NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) territory as a babyface where he had many memorable matches with \"Nature Boy\" Ric Flair. These included matches going to 60 minute time limit draws and even some extending beyond an hour of action. He shifted back to tag team division. On December 9 1986, Windham and Ron Garvin defeated Ivan Koloff and Khrusher Khruschev. Their biggest feud as a team was with The Midnight Express (Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane), managed by Jim Cornette. The Midnight Express were never able to beat Windham and Garvin for the titles. Windham and Garvin eventually lost these titles to Ivan Koloff and Dick Murdoch in the spring of 1987, shortly before the annual Jim Crockett Memorial Tag Team Tournament (also known as the Crockett Cup). At this time, Windham also formed an alliance with Lex Luger, who would turn his back on Windham when they were both in the NWA shortly afterward when Luger had aspirations of joining The Four Horsemen. Rather than enter the tournament as a team, the NWA split up Windham and Garvin. Ronnie Garvin instead teamed up with his stepson Jimmy Garvin (in the storyline of the NWA, they were called the Garvin brothers, but Ronnie was actually Jimmy's stepfather). Windham instead of partnering up with someone in the tournament, was booked to face Ric Flair for the NWA World Championship in what would be another classic match between the two. Flair defeated Windham with a controversial pinfall after a little over 25 minutes of action.

Windham spent the rest of 1987 in NWA's mid-card division. On June 20 1987, Windham defeated Black Bart in a tournament final to win the short-lived NWA Western States Heritage Championship, becoming first champion. He defended the title against the likes of Rick Steiner, Big Bubba Rogers and Incubus. The title was also recognized by Bill Watts' Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF). He began climbing up the ranks of UWF. At NWA's first pay-per-view (PPV), Starrcade 1987: Chi-Town Heat, he lost to UWF Heavyweight Champion "Dr. Death" Steve Williams. In 1988, Windham began rising up in the NWA ranks again. He started off by dropping the Western States Heritage Title to Larry Zbyszko at Bunkhouse Stampede.

Four Horsemen (1988-1989)

On March 27 1988 edition of Clash of the Champions, he teamed up with Lex Luger to win the NWA World Tag Team Championship from Arn Anderson and Tully Blanchard. A few weeks later, a swerve took place where Windham betrayed Luger causing the team to lose the titles back to Blanchard and Anderson. Windham turned heel and joined Ric Flair's stable Four Horsemen (which also consisted of Anderson and Blanchard) and his heel turn was considered shocking at the time. In addition, he began using a black glove as well as the Iron Claw as his finisher, which was a signature move of his father Blackjack Mulligan. He went back to singles competition and defeated Nikita Koloff in a tournament final to win the vacant NWA United States Heavyweight Championship when NWA suspended then-champion Dusty Rhodes. Windham was a dominant US Champion, who reigned for nine months. He defended the title against the likes of Brad Armstrong, Dusty Rhodes, Sting and Bam Bam Bigelow before dropping to Lex Luger at Chi-Town Rumble in February 1989. His contract with NWA expired.

World Wrestling Federation (Second run, 1989)

Windham returned to the WWF in 1989 as the Widowmaker. Despite the nickname, Windham did not change his image much, portraying a heel cowboy type character. The Widowmaker was to have been on Randy Savage's Survivor Series team, but he left the company due to undisclosed personal reasons; he was replaced by Earthquake in the match. On March 16 1990, he attempted to challenge AJPW Triple Crown champion Jumbo Tsuruta, but was defeated.

National Wrestling Alliance/World Championship Wrestling (Second run, 1990-1994)

Rejoining Four Horsemen (1990-1991)

In May 1990, Barry Windham returned to WCW and rejoined the Four Horsemen which at that point consisted of Ric Flair, Arn Anderson, Sid Vicious, and Ole Anderson. He defeated Doug Furnas on June 13 1990 edition of Clash of the Champions. He spent most of the time that year in tag team matches with the other Horsemen as partners. At Halloween Havoc 1990, Windham was involved in a controversial match between Sid Vicious and then NWA World Champion Sting. Sid appeared to pin Sting and win the championship, but it was actually Windham who was dressed like Sting. Once the hoax was noticed, the match was restarted and the real Sting defeated Sid Vicious. Windham spent the rest of the year teaming with Arn Anderson in the continuation of a feud between the Four Horsemen and then NWA World Tag Team Champions, Doom. At Starrcade 1990: Collision Course, Windham and Anderson wrestled Doom to a no contest in a Street Fight when a member of each team was pinned.

In 1991, Windham continued teaming with Arn Anderson and Sid Vicious. Windham feuded with Brian Pillman in the spring of 1991, culminating in a taped fist match at SuperBrawl I: Return of the Rising Sun, which Windham won. As the middle of the year approached, controversy erupted in the WCW (which the NWA became fully known as from then on) when WCW World Heavyweight Champion. Ric Flair was fired by the company causing the title to be vacant. Windham was then elevated to the number 2 contender spot and faced Lex Luger in a steel cage match to declare the new champion. At The Great American Bash 1991, Windham lost the match to Luger in a double turn as Luger became the top bad guy of WCW and Windham becoming one of the most popular. This got Windham over in terms of popularity with the fans again despite still not winning the world championship.

Face Turn (1991-1992)

In October 1991, Windham formed a tag team with Dustin Rhodes and feuded with WCW Tag Champions The Enforcers (Arn Anderson and Larry Zbyszko). At Halloween Havoc 1991: Chamber of Horrors, Anderson and Zbyszko slammed a car door on Windham's hand, breaking it, and putting him out of action for a while (including that night's Chamber of Horrors match, where he was replaced by El Gigante). That also led to Ricky Steamboat stepping in as the mystery partner for Rhodes at the Clash of the Champions that November. Steamboat and Rhodes won the titles. Windham, meanwhile, would come back a couple of months later to feud with Anderson, Zbyszko, and the rest of what was now the Dangerous Alliance. Windham would feud with TV Champion "Stunning" Steve Austin in the spring of 1992. On the May 9, 1992 edition of Saturday Night, he defeated Austin in a two out of three falls match to win the WCW World Television Championship. He dropped the title back to Austin on June 13 edition of WorldWide.

On a taped edition of Saturday Night on September 2, Windham teamed with Dustin Rhodes to defeat Steve Williams and Terry Gordy for the unified WCW World Tag Team Championship and NWA World Tag Team Championship (their NWA title reign is not recognized by NWA). They held the belts for about two months before losing them to Steamboat and Shane Douglas in a memorable match on November 18 edition of Clash of the Champions. Windham turned on Rhodes after the match when Rhodes refused to pin Steamboat after an accidental low blow.

Heel Turn (1992-1994)

At the end of the year, Windham teamed with Brian Pillman to pursue the titles he and Rhodes lost, but ended up losing to Steamboat and Douglas at Starrcade 1992: Battlebowl/The Lethal Lottery II.

Windham became a full time singles wrestler in January 1993 and pursued the NWA World Championship held by The Great Muta. He defeated Muta for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at SuperBrawl III. Ric Flair, who returned to WCW that night, tried to present Windham with the belt, but when Windham saw it was Flair trying to put the belt around his waist, he took the belt and walked away. Flair and Anderson tried to recruit Windham to join the Horsemen again, but Windham declined and became the "Lone Wolf," feuding with Flair and Anderson. He successfully defended the title against Anderson at Slamboree 1993: A Legend's Reunion. After a successful title defense against 2 Cold Scorpio, Windham dropped the NWA belt to Flair at Beach Blast 1993, then disappeared from wrestling for almost a year, where he took on Flair again at Slamboree 1994: A Legend's Reunion for the WCW World Heavyweight Championship. Flair won again and Windham dropped out of sight for over two years.

World Wrestling Federation (Third run, 1996-1998)

The Stalker (1996)

Windham would again return to the WWF in late 1996, this time as The Stalker, wearing camouflage face paint. For a short time, he renewed his feud with Dustin Rhodes (Goldust), only this time, Windham was the babyface and Rhodes was the heel. In Windham's only pay-per-view appearance with this gimmick, he was eliminated from a Survivor Series match at Survivor Series 1996 by Goldust. However, Stalker's teammate, the debuting Rocky Maivia, became the sole survivor of the match.

The New Blackjacks (1997-1998)

He later formed The New Blackjacks with Justin Hawk Bradshaw in 1997. That team didn't last long, as Barry turned on Bradshaw to join Jim Cornette's "NWA faction" in 1998 (at the time, the NWA had become just a group of smaller independent promotions, and they cooperated with the WWF for this storyline). The angle was scrapped months later, and Windham left for WCW again.

World Championship Wrestling (Third run, 1998-1999)

In his last WCW run, Barry Windham was originally brought back to WCW by Eric Bischoff who had him turn on Ric Flair. Barry was then loosely associated with Bischoff's nWo Hollywood for a while before forming a tag team with Curt Hennig. At SuperBrawl IX, Hennig and Windham defeated Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko in the finals of a tag team tournament to win the vacant WCW World Tag Team Championship.

Barry reinjured his knee during this period but would return as part of The West Texas Rednecks in mid 1999. They were supposed to be a heel group to feud with rapper Master P's "No Limit Soldiers" but the southern fans of WCW cheered the Rednecks, going against what WCW management and booking had hoped for, and the angle was eventually dropped. The group consisted of his brother Kendall Windham, Curt Hennig, and Bobby Duncum, Jr.; Duncum was replaced by Curly Bill after he was injured and shortly before the group was disbanded and the Rednecks storyline was dropped. On August 23 1999 edition of Nitro, the Windham brothers defeated Harlem Heat (Booker T and Stevie Ray) to win their final WCW World Tag Team Championship, before losing the titles back to Harlem Heat at Fall Brawl 1999. Both Barry and Kendall were shortly after released by WCW.

TCW and Semi-Retirement

By 2001, photos of a rejuvenated Windham began to surface on the internet of the now defunct Dusty Rhodes' Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling Website. A group of fanatical internet wrestling fans known as "The Barry Windham Revolution" rallied behind Windham and his seemingly miraculous physical comeback. While other competitors might have simply retired, Barry had worked very hard and gotten back down to 236 lb (107 kg) as he had been for much of his early career. During this time, on the American independent scene in the Florida-based TCW, Barry won their heavyweight championship and held it for the better part of a year. He also became part of the Xtreme Horsemen in stable with Steve Corino and C.W. Anderson. They feuded with Dusty & Dustin Rhodes.

Barry's last appearances were at MLW's War Games, a one time U.S. Express Reunion with Mike Rotunda at WrestleReunion I, and on the "WrestleMania Rewind" episode of RAW on March 10 2008 in a rematch from the first WrestleMania.

Barry now resides in community of Fargo in the city of Homerville, Georgia and competes infrequently.

Currently, Windham works as a producer for WWE. In 2007, he appeared on the Ric Flair & the Four Horsemen DVD. Barry was also seen during the 2007 WWE Hall of Fame broadcast, sitting next to former partner John "Bradshaw" Layfield. In June 2007, Barry did the introduction of SuperBrawl III for WWE 24/7.

In wrestling

• Finishing and signature moves
• Skull vice
• Lariat
• Superplex
• Elbow drop
• Figure four leglock
• Implant DDT
• Vertical suplex

Championships and accomplishments

• Championship Wrestling from Florida
• NWA Florida Global Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ron Bass
• NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (6 times)
• NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
• NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Mike Graham (1) and Scott McGhee (1)
• NWA Florida Television Championship (3 times)
• NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Mike Rotunda
• NWA North American Tag Team Championship (Florida version) (1 time) – with Mike Graham

• Jim Crockett Promotions | World Championship Wrestling
• NWA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
• WCW World Television Championship (1 time)
• NWA Western States Heritage Championship (1 time) (First)
• WCW World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Dustin Rhodes (1), Curt Hennig (1), and Kendall Windham (1)
• NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version) (1 time) - with Lex Luger
• NWA United States Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Ron Garvin

• Music City Wrestling
• NWA North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• NWA All-Star Wrestling (North Carolina)
• NWA World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Tully Blanchard¹

• NWA New England
• NWA New England Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• NWA Southern Championship Wrestling
• NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Tennessee version) (2 times)

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
• PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (1982)

• Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling
• BTCW Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

• World Wrestling Council
• WWC World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Kendall Windham

• World Wrestling Federation
• WWF Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Mike Rotunda

• '''Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
• Rookie of the Year (1980)
• Match of the Year (1986) vs. Ric Flair on February 14
• 5 Star Match (1987) vs. Ric Flair at the Crockett Cup Tournament on April 11
• 5 Star Match (1991) with Ric Flair, Larry Zbyszko, & Sid Vicious vs. Brian Pillman, Sting, Rick Steiner, & Scott Steiner (February 24, WarGames match, WrestleWar)
• 5 Star Match (1992) with Nikita Koloff, Ricky Steamboat, Sting & Dustin Rhodes vs. Rick Rude, Steve Austin, Arn Anderson, Bobby Eaton, & Larry Zbyszko (May 17, WarGames Match, WrestleWar)

¹The title was won by Windham and Blanchard in a small North Carolina NWA affiliated promotion. However, it should not be confused with the more prominent NWA All-Star Wrestling promotion that operated out of Vancouver, British Columbia from the early '60s to the late '80s.

References

External links

• Barry Windham's Online World of Wrestling Profile
• Barry Windham's Accelerator 3359 Bio