Barney Irwin
Encyclopedia
Barney William Irwin is a 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...

 best known as Bill Irwin.

Professional wrestling career

Bill Irwin started wrestling in 1979 in the National Wrestling Alliance
National Wrestling Alliance
The National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...

's Central States territory and in World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling
World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...

. He was soon teaming with his brother Scott Irwin
Scott Irwin
Scott K. Irwin was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tag team with his brother Barney "Bill" Irwin.-Debut and the World Wide Wrestling Federation:...

 as the masked "Super Destroyers" with manager Skandor Akbar. Irwin then moved on to Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions
Jim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...

 and the American Wrestling Association
American Wrestling Association
The American Wrestling Association was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 to 1991. It was owned and founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo...

 where he and his brother wrestled as the "Long Riders" and won several tag team titles together. Their tag team ended in 1987 when Scott died from a brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...

.

Irwin stayed in wrestling in the independents and resurfaced in the NWA during 1989. Later he would form a tag team with Black Bart
Rick Harris
Rick Harris is a former professional wrestler better known by his ring name , Black Bart. He is the son of the late George "Two Ton" Harris.-Career:Rick Harris started wrestling in 1975...

 in the Global Wrestling Federation
Global Wrestling Federation
Global Wrestling Federation was a professional wrestling promotion based in Dallas, Texas. It started in June 1991 and folded in September 1994. At one time its shows were presented on the ESPN television network. On many weeks, the promotion provided programming five days a week airing at 4 p.m...

 from 1991 to 1992. Irwin, as "Wild" Bill Irwin, also appeared sporadically in 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...

, including in a loss to Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith
Davey Boy Smith was a British professional wrestler, better known as "The British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith, who was born in Golborne in North West England, United Kingdom. Smith is known for his appearances with Stampede Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling...

 in Smith's WCW debut at SuperBrawl III. In 1995, he wrestled in 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...

 as The Goon, a hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 character who was "kicked out of every league he ever participated in." He made his TV debut on the July 20, 1996 episode of Superstars
WWF Superstars of Wrestling
WWF Superstars of Wrestling is a professional wrestling television program produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It debuted on September 6, 1986...

. The gimmick did not last long, as he left a few months after arriving.

Bill eventually retired in 2001, the same year that he had returned to the WWF for the gimmick battle royal
Battle royal (professional wrestling)
In professional wrestling, a battle royal is a multi-competitor match type in which wrestlers are eliminated until one is left and declared winner...

 at WrestleMania X-Seven
WrestleMania X-Seven
WrestleMania X-Seven was the seventeenth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view produced by the World Wrestling Federation . It took place on April 1, 2001 at the Reliant Astrodome in Houston, Texas. The event was the first WrestleMania held in the state of Texas...

. After WrestleMania X-Seven, he came out of retirement. He still wrestles the indies in the Minnesota area quite frequently, Including Wrestling Superstars Live and Heavy On Wrestling
Heavy on Wrestling
Heavy On Wrestling is a professional wrestling promotion located in Duluth, Minnesota which was founded by Dave Sabick in 2007.-History:Twenty-two-year-old Dave Sabick from Duluth, Minnesota founded Heavy On Wrestling in 2007 in order to support a variety of causes in the Midwest area of the United...

.
On Raw XV, the 15th-anniversary WWE Raw
WWE RAW
WWE Raw ) is a sports entertainment television program for WWE that currently airs on the USA Network in the United States...

special on December 10, 2007, Irwin, wrestling as "The Goon" once again, and sporting a thick moustache
Moustache
A moustache is facial hair grown on the outer surface of the upper lip. It may or may not be accompanied by a type of beard, a facial hair style grown and cropped to cover most of the lower half of the face.-Etymology:...

, participated in the 15th Anniversary Battle Royal. He was eliminated by the Repo Man
Barry Darsow
Barry Darsow is a former American professional wrestler who is known as Smash, one half of the tag team Demolition, and as Krusher Kruschev, Repo Man, and The Blacktop Bully...

. Irwin also provided extensive commentary on the WWE's "The Triumph and Tragedy of WCCW" video retrospective of World Class Championship Wrestling, regarding his time in Texas, what it was like to wrestle in the Dallas Sportatorium
Dallas Sportatorium
The Sportatorium, located in downtown Dallas, Texas , was a barn-like arena used primarily for professional wrestling events...

, and his fateful trip with David Von Erich
David Von Erich
David Alan Adkisson was an American professional wrestler who competed as "The Yellow Rose of Texas" David Von Erich...

 to Japan.

In wrestling

  • Finishing moves
  • Bicycle kick
  • Superplex

  • Signature moves
  • Lariat

  • Manager
    Manager (professional wrestling)
    In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...

    s
  • Skandor Akbar

Championships and accomplishments

  • Big D Wrestling
  • Big D Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
  • Big D Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time)
  • Big D Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Mr. Mister

  • Central States Wrestling
    Heart of America Sports Attractions
    Heart of America Sports Attractions, also known as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa...

  • NWA Central States Tag Team Championship
    NWA Central States Tag Team Championship
    The NWA Central States Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team championship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1979 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988...

     (1 time) - with Bryan St. John

  • Continental Wrestling Association
    Continental Wrestling Association
    The Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...

  • AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship
    AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship
    The Memphis Wrestling Southern Heavyweight Championship is a major professional wrestling title in the Memphis Wrestling promotion. The title is part of a long lineage that is best known while the title was named the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship for Continental Wrestling Association during...

     (1 time)
  • AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
    AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
    The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship from its inception through 1977, when it was renamed the AWA Southern...

     (1 time) - with Larry Latham
    Larry Latham (wrestler)
    Larry Booker was a professional wrestler best known as Larry Latham, Iss Spot and Moondog Spot.-Career:...


  • Georgia Championship Wrestling
    Georgia Championship Wrestling
    Georgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on Atlanta, U.S., superstation WTBS. Though based in Atlanta, the company also ran live wrestling shows throughout its geographic "territory" of Georgia Georgia...

  • NWA National Tag Team Championship
    NWA National Tag Team Championship
    The NWA National Tag Team Championship was the major tag team title in the NWA-affiliated Georgia Championship Wrestling from 1980 until 1986.The championship was introduced in November 1980 when Georgia Tag Team Champions the Fabulous Freebirds won a tournament to determine the first champions,...

     (1 time) - with Scott Irwin
    Scott Irwin
    Scott K. Irwin was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his tag team with his brother Barney "Bill" Irwin.-Debut and the World Wide Wrestling Federation:...


  • Global Wrestling Federation
    Global Wrestling Federation
    Global Wrestling Federation was a professional wrestling promotion based in Dallas, Texas. It started in June 1991 and folded in September 1994. At one time its shows were presented on the ESPN television network. On many weeks, the promotion provided programming five days a week airing at 4 p.m...

  • GWF Brass Knuckles Championship
    GWF Brass Knuckles Championship
    The GWF brass Knuckles Championship was a professional wrestling championship. Similar to the WWF Hardcore Championship, it was defended only in hardcore matches in the Global Wrestling Federation. The title had two holders, Black Bart and Bill Irwin but was later retired.-Title history:...

     (1 time)
  • GWF Tag Team Championship
    GWF Tag Team Championship
    The GWF Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Global Wrestling Federation in Texas. The title existed from 1991 until 1994, when GWF closed. The title was featured on the promotion's show that aired nationally on ESPN...

     (1 time) - with Black Bart
    Rick Harris
    Rick Harris is a former professional wrestler better known by his ring name , Black Bart. He is the son of the late George "Two Ton" Harris.-Career:Rick Harris started wrestling in 1975...


  • Lutte` Internationale
  • Canadian International Tag Team Championship
    Canadian International Tag Team Championship
    The Canadian International Tag Team Championship was the tag team title in the Montreal-based wrestling promotion Lutte Internationale . The title lasted from 1976 until Lutte Internationale closed in 1987.-Title history:...

     (1 time) - with Scott Irwin

  • NWA Big Time Wrestling / World Class Championship Wrestling
    World Class Championship Wrestling
    World Class Championship Wrestling ' was a regional professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by 1966 it was run by Southwest Sports, Inc., whose president, Jack Adkisson, was better known as wrestler Fritz Von Erich...

  • NWA American Tag Team Championship (5 times) - with King Kong Bundy
    King Kong Bundy
    Christopher Alan "Chris" Pallies is an American professional wrestler, stand-up comedian and actor, better known by his ring name, King Kong Bundy.-Personal:...

     (1) and Scott Irwin (4)
  • NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship
    NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship
    The NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling title that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today...

     (1 time)
  • NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version)
    NWA World Tag Team Championship (Texas version)
    The Texas version of the NWA World Tag Team Championship existed from 1957 to 1968, and from 1981 to 1982. This title was recognized by World Class Championship Wrestling and The Funk Dynasty's N.W.A. Western States Sports of Amarillo, TX.-Title history:...

     (2 times) - with Frank Dusek (1) and Bugsy McGraw
    Bugsy McGraw
    Bugsy McGraw is the ring name of former professional wrestler Michael Davis. He also wrestled under the name "The Skull." He is not to be confused with the other wrestler named Mike Davis.-Total Nonstop Action Wrestling :...

     (1)
  • WCCW Television Championship
    WCCW Television Championship
    The WCWA Television Championship was a secondary championship that was used and defended in the World Class Wrestling Association. Originally created in 1979 as the WCCW Television Championship, it was primarily defended on their weekly television show...

     (4 times)

  • 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 # 311 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the PWI Years in 2003.

  • Steel Domain Wrestling
  • SDW Television Championship (1 time)

  • Universal Wrestling Federation
  • UWF World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Leroy Brown
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