Art Barr
Encyclopedia
Arthur Leon "Art" Barr was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional wrestler
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...

. While he wrestled briefly for World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...

, he found his greatest success in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

's Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
Asistencia Asesoría y Administración is a lucha libre professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico...

 promotion.

Early life

While growing up, Barr became friends with Roddy Piper
Roddy Piper
Roderick George Toombs , better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler and film actor who is currently signed to WWE. In professional wrestling, he is best known for his work with WWE...

 during Piper's stint in the Oregonian independent circuit
Independent circuit
In professional wrestling, the independent circuit or indy circuit refers to the many independent promotions which are much smaller than major televised promotions. They are roughly analagous to a minor league for pro wrestling, or community or regional theatre.Specific promotions on the...

. While attending Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...

, Barr became an accomplished amateur wrestler
Amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling is the most widespread form of sport wrestling. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games under the supervision of FILA : Greco-Roman and freestyle. Freestyle is possibly derived from the English Lancashire style...

, having become a four-time district champion and a two-time state champion. However, he later dropped out of college to tend to his first wife when she became pregnant.

Pacific Northwest Wrestling

After leaving college, Barr began working in a steel mill
Steel mill
A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel.Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon. It is produced in a two-stage process. First, iron ore is reduced or smelted with coke and limestone in a blast furnace, producing molten iron which is either cast into pig iron or...

 during the day while he began receiving training to become a wrestler from his father Sandy
Sandy Barr
Ferrin Charles Barr was an American professional wrestler, referee, promoter and trainer who spent his career mostly in the Western United States and Canada...

, his older brother Jesse Barr, and Matt Osborne. at night. On April 2, 1987, Barr debuted in the Pacific Northwest Wrestling
Pacific Northwest Wrestling
Pacific Northwest Wrestling is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The first such company was founded by Herb Owen in 1925...

 territory. About a year and a half later, at the suggestion of Roddy Piper, he began wrestling as "Beetlejuice", based on the title character of the 1988 movie
Beetlejuice
Beetlejuice is a 1988 American comedy horror film directed by Tim Burton, produced by The Geffen Film Company and distributed by Warner Bros...

. The character, wearing face paint and flour in his hair, was a cartoonish fan favorite
Face (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a babyface or face or in simple words, a fan favorite is a character who is portrayed as a heroic relative to the heel wrestlers, who are analogous to villains...

.

On July 16, 1989, Barr had a sexual encounter with a 19-year old girl after a PNW card in Pendelton, Oregon; the girl later filed rape charges. Barr continued to wrestle as Beetlejuice, despite the charges and the attention brought to him and PNW by the Portland Oregonian. A year later, Barr was polygraphed as part of the police investigation, during which he admitted the girl did not consent, but he believed she would have been willing to have sex someplace else. Barr worked a plea-bargain, and was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse. He was fined $1,000, placed on two years probation, and sentenced to 180 hours of community service, but served no jail time. Barr always maintained that he would have beaten the case in court, but was advised to take the plea since it involved no jail time. Also if he lost, the bad publicity would harm the local wrestling business, driving away customers.

World Championship Wrestling

After the trial, Barr's license to wrestle in Oregon was not renewed, stemming from a previous conviction for possession of cocaine that he forgot to disclose on his license application. About this time, a tape of Barr as Beetlejuice was sent to the offices of WCW president Jim Herd. WCW was even with WWF in adult demographics, but was losing badly among the child demographics. Herd decided to hire Barr, even though booker Ole Anderson thought Barr was too small to work in the company. Barr joined World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...

 in 1990 and was renamed "The Juicer" in order to avoid copyright conflicts, but he retained his character. Due to a faxing campaign, his rape conviction followed him, which along with his small stature in a wrestling world then dominated by large wrestlers, he lost support
Push (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a push is an attempt by the booker to make the wrestler win more matches and become more popular or more reviled with the fans depending on whether they are a heel or a face...

 and was soon released.

Empressa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre

After leaving WCW, Barr was brought into Mexico's Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre
Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre is a Lucha Libre-style professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico City while running cards in Guadalajara, Puebla and elsewhere in central and southern Mexico...

 promotion by Konnan
Konnan
Carlos Santiago Espada Moises , also known as Charles Ashenoff and better known by his ring name, Konnan, is a Cuban professional wrestler and rapper of Puerto Rican descent...

. He initially wrestled under a mask as "The American Love Machine", and was very successful. A year after entering EMLL, the American Love Machine faced off against another masked wrestler, Blue Panther
Blue Panther
Genaro Vazquez Nevarez is a Mexican professional wrestler currently working for Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre, better known by his ring name Blue Panther...

, in a mask versus mask match. 18,000 fans sold out the 17,000 seat Arena México
Arena México
Arena México is an indoor arena in Mexico City, Mexico located in the Colonia Doctores neighboorhood in the Cuauhtémoc borough. The arena is primarily used for professional wrestling, or Lucha libre, shows promoted by Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre . The building is called the "cathedral of lucha...

 in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

 and another 8,000 fans watched on big screen TV in the parking lot to see the card. The match ended when American Love Machine performed a piledriver
Piledriver (professional wrestling)
A piledriver is a professional wrestling driver move in which the wrestler grabs his opponent, turns him upside-down, and drops into a sitting or kneeling position, driving the opponent head-first into the mat. The most common piledrivers are the basic belly-to-back, or Texas piledriver, and the...

 (Martinete in Spanish) against Blue Panther, an illegal move in Mexican wrestling, thus losing his mask.

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración

Soon afterward, Barr left EMLL to join Konnan's newly formed Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
Asistencia Asesoría y Administración is a lucha libre professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico...

 promotion. As "The Love Machine" Art Barr, he debuted in AAA as a villain
Heel (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a heel is a villain character. In non-wrestling jargon, heels are the "bad guys" in professional wrestling; the term heel coming from the term take to you heels, which means to run away which heel champions tend to do to avoid losing their titles.storylines...

, and formed the tag team "La Pareja del Terror" (The Pair of Terror) with Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...

. The pair were highly successful, as they would go on to win the World Tag Team Championship
AAA World Tag Team Championship
The AAA World Tag Team Championship is the main tag team title contested for in the Mexican lucha libre promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración...

 and become arguably the most hated tag team
Tag team
Tag team professional wrestling is a variation in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. A tag team may comprise two wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of established teams who wrestle regularly as a unit and have a team name...

 in lucha libre
Lucha libre
Lucha libre is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries, for a form of professional wrestling that has developed within those countries...

 history. Barr and Guerrero expanded their tag team into a faction after being joined by Konnan, Black Cat, Madonna's Boyfriend
Louie Spicolli
Louis Mucciolo, Jr. was an American professional wrestler. He performed in Mexico under the ring name Madonna's Boyfriend, for the World Wrestling Federation as Rad Radford, and in Extreme Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling in the 1990s as Louie Spicolli...

, Jake Roberts
Jake Roberts
Aurelian Jake Smith, Jr. is a second-generation American professional wrestler, the son of former wrestler Aurelian "Grizzly" Smith...

, Misterioso
Misterioso (wrestler)
Roberto Castillo is a Mexican-American Luchador or professional wrestler currently working on the independent circuit in Mexico and Southern California under the ring name Misterioso...

, Chicano Power and King Lion. Together, the faction became known as Los Gringos Locos
Los Gringos Locos
Los Gringos Locos were a lucha libre stable in Asistencia Asesoría y Administración . The stable was originally a tag team consisting of Eddy Guerrero and Art Barr.-Gimmick:...

 (The Crazy Americans).

Despite both the acclaim and the financial success he received, Barr's time in Mexico took a toll on him, as he was reportedly homesick (his wife and son remained in Oregon while he was working in Mexico). Eventually, he turned to alcohol and drugs for solace, despite the concern of his friends in the business.

On November 6, 1994, AAA held the When Worlds Collide pay-per-view card (with some help from WCW) at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena is a multi-purpose arena, in the University Park neighborhood, of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park. It is located next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, just south of the campus of the University of Southern California.-History:The Los Angeles...

. La Pareja del Terror faced off against El Hijo del Santo
El Hijo del Santo
Jorge Guzmán Rodríguez , better known as El Hijo del Santo , is a Mexican professional wrestler, political activist and one of the most successful stars in Lucha Libre...

 and Octagón
Octagón
Juan Escalera is a Mexican luchador enmascarado better known as Octagón. He is currently with Asistencia Asesoría y Administración , having worked for the company since it was founded in 1992. In 2011 he was inducted into the promotion's Hall of Fame...

 in a double hair versus mask match, which was acclaimed as one of the greatest pay-per-view matches ever and would receive a 5 star rating from Dave Meltzer
Dave Meltzer
David A. Meltzer is the editor of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter . Sports Illustrated senior writer Frank Deford has praised Meltzer's work, saying that "Meltzer, I believe, is the most accomplished reporter in sports journalism." Meltzer has written for the Oakland Tribune, the Los Angeles...

. Around this time, Barr and Guerrero were also in talks with Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling
Extreme Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1992 by Tod Gordon and closed when his successor, Paul Heyman, declared bankruptcy in April 2001...

.

Extreme Championship Wrestling was very interested in Barr and Guerrero coming into the company to feud with their top tag team, The Public Enemy
The Public Enemy (professional wrestling)
The Public Enemy was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Rocco Rock and Johnny Grunge. The duo competed in many promotions, including Extreme Championship Wrestling , World Championship Wrestling , National Wrestling Alliance , and the World Wrestling Federation...

. At the same time, the World Wrestling Federation
World Wrestling Entertainment
World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. is an American publicly traded, privately controlled entertainment company dealing primarily in professional wrestling, with major revenue sources also coming from film, music, product licensing, and direct product sales...

, World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling
World Championship Wrestling, Inc. was an American professional wrestling promotion which existed from 1988 to 2001. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, it began as a regional promotion affiliated with the National Wrestling Alliance , named Jim Crockett Promotions until November 1988, when Ted Turner and...

 and New Japan Pro Wrestling
New Japan Pro Wrestling
is a major professional wrestling promotion in Japan, founded by Antonio Inoki in June 1972 and owned by Yuke's since 2005, when Inoki sold the promotion. Naoki Sugabayashi is the current President of the promotion and has held that position from 2007. Owing to its TV program aired on TV Asahi, it...

 also showed interest in the tag team of Guerrero and Barr.

Death

On November 23, 1994, Barr was found dead lying with his child at his home in Springfield, Oregon
Springfield, Oregon
Springfield is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. Located in the Southern Willamette Valley, it is within the Eugene-Springfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. Separated from Eugene to the west, mainly by Interstate 5, Springfield is the second-most populous city in the metropolitan area...

. Preliminary reports said that he died of an aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...

, but later reports said that he died under unknown circumstances. Barr did not have heart problems, no aneurysm or internal bleeding, and no ring injuries. He had a mixture of alcohol and drugs in his blood stream. Eddie Guerrero was his best friend around this time period. Although Eddie Guerrero's book claims that the cause of Barr's death is still unknown to this day, Hardcore History by Scott E. Williams, criminal-justice reporter and wrestling columnist for The Galveston County Daily News
The Galveston County Daily News
The Daily News, formerly the Galveston County Daily News and Galveston Daily News, is a newspaper published in Galveston, Texas, United States. It was first published April 11, 1842, making it the oldest newspaper in the U.S. state of Texas. The newspaper founded The Dallas Morning News on October...

, states that "Barr died in his sleep from a drug-related heart attack."

Personal life

Barr has three brothers: Jesse, who was also a wrestler, JR and Sean. His father, Sandy
Sandy Barr
Ferrin Charles Barr was an American professional wrestler, referee, promoter and trainer who spent his career mostly in the Western United States and Canada...

, was also involved in wrestling as a wrestler, referee and promoter. Sandy died on June 2, 2007. According to Guerrero, when they began tagging he first used the frog splash as the "Jackknife Splash". Barr took a liking to the move, began using it regularly and adopted it as his finisher. 2 Cold Scorpio
2 Cold Scorpio
Charles Scaggs is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name 2 Cold Scorpio . Scaggs has competed in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, World Wrestling Entertainment and Pro Wrestling Noah...

 commented to Barr that he "looked like a frog", thus leading Barr to name his move the frog splash. As a tribute to his friend, Eddie Guerrero
Eddie Guerrero
Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...

 adopted Barr's trademark frog splash as his finishing maneuver. It has since become a trademark move of several wrestlers in Mexico and the United States. Chris Jericho
Chris Jericho
Christopher Keith Irvine , better known by his ring name Chris Jericho, is an inactive Canadian-American professional wrestler, musician, songwriter, radio personality, television host, actor, author, and dancer...

, who was also close to Barr at the time of his death, would, when performing in WCW in the late nineties, occasionally accuse performer Lenny Lane
Lenny Lane
Leonard "Lenny" Carlson is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his time in World Championship Wrestling under the ring name Lenny Lane. During his time tenure in WCW, he was a one time Cruiserweight Champion....

 of stealing Jericho's Loverboy
Loverboy
Loverboy is a Canadian rock group formed in 1980 in Calgary, Alberta. Throughout the 1980s, the band accumulated numerous hit songs in Canada and the United States, earning four multi-platinum albums and selling millions of records...

 tapes in reference to a personal joke between himself and Barr.

In wrestling

  • Finishing moves
  • Kneeling belly to belly piledriver
  • Stretch out frog splash – innovated

  • Signature moves
  • Belly to belly suplex
  • Chokeslam
    Chokeslam
    A chokeslam refers to a type of body slam in professional wrestling in which the wrestler grasps their opponent's neck, lifts them up, and slams them to the mat. It is common in televised wrestling because it is simple and relatively safe, yet looks powerful on camera...

  • Dropkick
    Dropkick
    A dropkick is an attacking maneuver in professional wrestling. It is defined as an attack where the wrestler jumps up and kicks the opponent with the soles of both feet; this sees the wrestler twist as he or she jumps so that when the feet connect with the opponent one foot is raised higher than...

  • Thesz press, sometimes while diving from the top rope

  • Nickname
    Nickname
    A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....

    s
  • "Love Machine" Art Barr
  • "American Love Machine"
  • "American Machine"

Championships and accomplishments

  • Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
    Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
    Asistencia Asesoría y Administración is a lucha libre professional wrestling promotion based in Mexico...

  • AAA World Tag Team Championship
    AAA World Tag Team Championship
    The AAA World Tag Team Championship is the main tag team title contested for in the Mexican lucha libre promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración...

     (1 time) – with Eddie Guerrero
    Eddie Guerrero
    Eduardo Gory "Eddie" Guerrero was a Mexican-American professional wrestler born into the Guerrero wrestling family. He wrestled in Mexico and Japan for several major professional wrestling promotions...


  • Championship Wrestling USA
    • CWUSA Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Konnan el Barbaro
      Konnan
      Carlos Santiago Espada Moises , also known as Charles Ashenoff and better known by his ring name, Konnan, is a Cuban professional wrestler and rapper of Puerto Rican descent...


  • Pacific Northwest Wrestling
    Pacific Northwest Wrestling
    Pacific Northwest Wrestling is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The first such company was founded by Herb Owen in 1925...

  • NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship
    NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship
    The NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S...

     (3 times) – with Big Juice
    Jeff Warner
    Jeff Warner is an American professional wrestler, best known under the ringname J.W. Storm. Jeff competed in World Championship Wrestling most notably as a member of the jobber tag team Magnum Force with Tim Hunt....

     (2), and Jesse Barr (1)
  • NWA Pacific Northwest Television Championship
    NWA Pacific Northwest Television Championship
    The NWA Pacific Northwest Television Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling. It served as PNW's second-tier title, lasting from 1987 through 1990.-Title history:...

     (1 time)

  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    Pro Wrestling Illustrated is a professional wrestling magazine. PWI is currently based in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania and published by Kappa Publishing Group.-History:The first issue of Pro Wrestling Illustrated was released in 1979...

    • PWI ranked him #62 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1994
    • PWI ranked him #18 of the 100 best tag teams during the PWI Years with Eddie Guerrero in 2003
    • PWI ranked him #114 of the top 500 singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003

  • Wrestling Observer Newsletter
  • Best Heel (1994)
  • Feud of the Year (1994) with Eddie Guerrero vs. El Hijo del Santo and Octagón
  • Tag Team of the Year (1994) with Eddie Guerrero

External links

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