[[File:]]Mike McCord (born on October 26, 1949) is an American retired [[professional wrestler]], better known by his [[ring name]] the "Universal Heartthrob" Austin Idol.

Professional wrestling career

McCord graduated from [[Thomas Richard Robinson High School|Robinson High School]] in [[Tampa, Florida]]. He started wrestling as Iron Mike McCord, a superheavyweight powerlifter in 1972, and became a star in a number of southeast promotions, holding many titles in the United States Wrestling Association (Memphis), Georgia, Birmingham, Texas All Star & Mid Atlantic territories. McCord also had a stint in the WWWF with Lou Albano as his manager. He also worked main event matches against then world champion Pedro Morales. McCord was the passenger on a small airplane, along with [[Gary Hart (wrestler)|Gary Hart]], and flown by Buddy Colt, which crashed in 1975 into [[Tampa Bay]], [[Florida]], killing fellow wrestler Bobby Shane. After a period of inactivity healing from two broken ankles, he emerged with bleach-blonde hair, over 100 lbs lighter, and the new ring name "Universal Heartthrob" Austin Idol. Idol is well known for a long-running feud with the popular [[Jerry Lawler|Jerry "The King" Lawler]] in the CWA and AWA territories. In a 1981 angle, Idol dressed up as a [[lucha libre|masked Mexican wrestler]], presenting the "Top Rated Wrestler in Mexico" award to Lawler on TV before sucker-punching him. Afterward, he delivered an interview where he promised to clean up Memphis rid it of Lawler. On April 27, 1987, Idol defeated Lawler in a [[steel cage match]] with the assistance of "Wildfire" [[Tommy Rich]], who hid underneath the ring for the entirety of the event, winning the AWA Southern Heavyweight championship and causing Lawler to lose his hair. Idol semi-retired in 1990, wrestling only every few years until the mid-1990s. In addition, he promoted his own promotion in Alabama in 1993. After appearing on [[Memphis Power Pro Wrestling]]'s first television show in 1998, he officially retired. Idol has since become a popular motivational speaker.

In wrestling

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• Finishing movesNEWLINE
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  • Las Vegas Leglock ([[Professional wrestling holds#Figure four leglock|Figure four leglock]])
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• Signature movesNEWLINE
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  • [[Professional wrestling attacks#Elbow smash|Elbow smash]]
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  • [[Professional wrestling attacks#Knee drop|Knee drop]]
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  • [[Professional wrestling holds#Sleeper hold|Sleeper hold]]
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  • [[Piledriver (professional wrestling)#Texas piledriver|Piledriver]]
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• [[Manager (professional wrestling)|Manager]]sNEWLINE
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  • [[Jimmy Hart]]
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Championships and accomplishments

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• [[All Japan Pro Wrestling]]
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• [[PWF World Tag Team Championship]] ([[PWF World Tag Team Championship#Title history|1 time]]) - with [[Stan Hansen]]

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• [[Continental Wrestling Association]]
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• [[AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship]] ([[AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship#Title history|3 times]])
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• [[AWA Southern Tag Team Championship]] ([[AWA Southern Tag Team Championship#Title history|1 time]]) - with [[Jerry Lawler]]
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• [[AWA International Heavyweight Championship|CWA International Heavyweight Championship]] ([[AWA International Heavyweight Championship#Title history|4 times]])
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• [[CWA World Heavyweight Championship (Memphis version)|CWA World Heavyweight Championship]] ([[CWA World Heavyweight Championship (Memphis version)#Title history|1 time]])
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• [[CWA World Tag Team Championship]] ([[CWA World Tag Team Championship#Title history|3 times]]) - with [[Wayne Cowan|Dutch Mantel]] (2) and Jerry Lawler (1)

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• [[Georgia Championship Wrestling]]
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• [[NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship]] ([[NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship#Title history|1 time]])
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• [[NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship]] ([[NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship#Title history|1 time]]) - with [[Bill Eadie|Masked Superstar]]
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• [[NWA Georgia Television Championship]] ([[NWA Georgia Television Championship#Title history|2 times]])
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• [[NWA National Heavyweight Championship]] ([[NWA National Heavyweight Championship#Title history|1 time]])

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• [[Pro Wrestling Illustrated]]
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• [[PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year]] (1975)
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• PWI ranked him # 193 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the [[PWI Years]] in 2003.

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• [[Continental Championship Wrestling|Southeastern Championship Wrestling]]
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• [[NWA Alabama Heavyweight Championship]] ([[NWA Alabama Heavyweight Championship#Title history|2 times]])
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• [[NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Northern Division)|NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Northern Division)]] ([[NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Northern Division)#Title history|3 times]])
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• [[NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Championship|NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Southern Division)]] ([[NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Championship#Title history|1 time]])

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• [[Southwest Championship Wrestling|Texas All-Star Wrestling]]
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• TAS Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

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• [[World Championship Wrestling (Australia)]]
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• [[NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Championship]] ([[NWA Austra-Asian Tag Team Championship#Title history|1 time]]) - with [[Bunkhouse Buck|Jimmy Golden]]

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• [[Wrestling Observer Newsletter]]
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• [[Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards#Feud of the Year|Feud of the Year]] (1987) with [[Tommy Rich]] vs. Jerry Lawler

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