Paul Jones (wrestler)
Encyclopedia
Paul Jones is a retired professional wrestler and manager. He had success in the National Wrestling Alliance
(NWA)'s Mid-Atlantic region, including an NWA World Tag Team title reign with Ricky Steamboat
.
. He started wrestling around 1963 in the Mid-Atlantic promotions on the east coast, where he spent most of his career. He was known as Al Fredericks before changing his ring name to "Number One" Paul Jones. He was also given the nickname "Weasel" by most face wrestlers.
He became famous in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions
, where he won the NWA United States Heavyweight title and the NWA World Tag Team titles. His most frequent partners were Ricky Steamboat and the Masked Superstar
.
Briefly in 1980, Jones wrestled as Mr. Florida, a masked wrestler in Championship Wrestling from Florida.
In the 1980s, he became a heel
manager, and he called his stable Paul Jones' Army
. He was involved in a huge feud with "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant
where he ended up having his head shaved. Among the members of his "Army" were Rick Rude
, Manny Fernandez
, Pez Whatley
(known as Shaska), Baron Von Raschke
, The Barbarian, Teijho Khan, The Mighty Wilbur, Abdullah the Butcher
, Superstar Billy Graham, Ivan Koloff and Vladimir Petrov
, The Assassins and The Russian Assassins (David Sheldon
& Jack Victory
). He also managed the Powers of Pain
. He left Jim Crockett Promotions around the time Ted Turner
bought it and renamed it World Championship Wrestling
(WCW).
Jones last competed in the Mid-Atlantic indy promotion South Atlantic Pro Wrestling, where he won its heavyweight championship in 1990. He retired in 1991 and now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he owns the Paul Jones Body Shop.
1Jones actually won the championship on three occasions. However, only two reigns are officially recognized by World Wrestling Entertainment
.
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...
(NWA)'s Mid-Atlantic region, including an NWA World Tag Team title reign with Ricky Steamboat
Ricky Steamboat
Richard Henry Blood , better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is a retired American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He was one of the few wrestlers who stayed a babyface throughout his career...
.
Career
Paul Frederick was born on June 16 in Port Arthur, TexasPort Arthur, Texas
-Demographics:As of the 2000 census, there were 57,755 people, 21,839 households, and 14,675 families residing in the city. The population density was 696.5 people per square mile . There were 24,713 housing units at an average density of 298.0 per square mile...
. He started wrestling around 1963 in the Mid-Atlantic promotions on the east coast, where he spent most of his career. He was known as Al Fredericks before changing his ring name to "Number One" Paul Jones. He was also given the nickname "Weasel" by most face wrestlers.
He became famous in the NWA's 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:...
, where he won the NWA United States Heavyweight title and the NWA World Tag Team titles. His most frequent partners were Ricky Steamboat and the Masked Superstar
Bill Eadie
Bill Eadie is a professional wrestler who has competed under the names of Ax as part of Demolition and The Masked Superstar...
.
Briefly in 1980, Jones wrestled as Mr. Florida, a masked wrestler in Championship Wrestling from Florida.
In the 1980s, he became a heel
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...
manager, and he called his stable Paul Jones' Army
Paul Jones' Army
Paul Jones' Army was a professional wrestling heel stable in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions in the mid-1980s.-History:Paul Jones formed Paul Jones' Army in the early 1980s in Jim Crockett Promotions to help him battle "The Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant and his friends, Manny Fernandez, Wahoo...
. He was involved in a huge feud with "Boogie Woogie Man" Jimmy Valiant
Jimmy Valiant
James Harold Fanning is a former professional wrestler and author better known as Jimmy Valiant.-Personal life:...
where he ended up having his head shaved. Among the members of his "Army" were Rick Rude
Richard Rood
Richard Erwin Rood , better known by his ring name "Ravishing" Rick Rude, was an American professional wrestler who performed for many promotions, including World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation , in the 1980s and 1990s.Among other accolades, Rude was a four-time world...
, Manny Fernandez
Manny Fernandez (wrestler)
Emanuel "Manny" Fernandez is an American professional wrestler currently wrestling for different independent promotions. He is best known by the his ring name "The Raging Bull" Manny Fernandez.-Professional wrestling career:...
, Pez Whatley
Pez Whatley
Pezavan Whatley was a professional wrestler in the 1980s and early 1990s who wrestled primarily under the ring name Pez Whatley.-Career:...
(known as Shaska), Baron Von Raschke
James Raschke
James Donald Raschke is a retired professional wrestler best known as Baron von Raschke.-Career:...
, The Barbarian, Teijho Khan, The Mighty Wilbur, Abdullah the Butcher
Abdullah the Butcher
Lawrence Robert "Larry" Shreve best known as Abdullah the Butcher, and also at times The Madman from the Sudan, is a semi-retired Canadian professional wrestler known as one of the most brutal or "hardcore" professional wrestlers of all-time...
, Superstar Billy Graham, Ivan Koloff and Vladimir Petrov
Al Blake
Al Blake is a retired American professional wrestler, known by his ringname Vladimir Petrov, who wrestled in North American regional promotions including the Universal Wrestling Federation and the National Wrestling Alliance, most notably as a member of...
, The Assassins and The Russian Assassins (David Sheldon
David Sheldon
Later in 1980's Russian assassin #1 was portrayed by Joe Piermatteo, another masked wrestler out of Johnny Rodz StableDavid Sheldon was a professional wrestler, known by his ring name the Angel of Death, who wrestled in North American regional promotions during the 1980s and early 1990s including...
& Jack Victory
Jack Victory
Kenneth "Ken" Rinehurst is an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name, Jack Victory. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling between 1998 and 2001.-Career:Rinehurst debuted in 1985 in the Universal Wrestling Federation...
). He also managed the Powers of Pain
Powers of Pain
The Powers of Pain are an on-and-off professional wrestling tag team. They are best known for their tenure in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation.-Jim Crockett Promotions:...
. He left Jim Crockett Promotions around the time Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
bought it and renamed it 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...
(WCW).
Jones last competed in the Mid-Atlantic indy promotion South Atlantic Pro Wrestling, where he won its heavyweight championship in 1990. He retired in 1991 and now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he owns the Paul Jones Body Shop.
In wrestling
- ManagerManager (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 - Oliver HumperdinkOliver HumperdinkJohn Sutton , better known by his ring name Oliver Humperdink, was a professional wrestling manager who worked for Jim Crockett Promotions, Florida Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation.-Career:...
- Wrestlers managed
- Tag teams managed
- The Assassins
- The Russian Assassins (David Sheldon and Jack VictoryJack VictoryKenneth "Ken" Rinehurst is an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name, Jack Victory. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling between 1998 and 2001.-Career:Rinehurst debuted in 1985 in the Universal Wrestling Federation...
) - The Powers of PainPowers of PainThe Powers of Pain are an on-and-off professional wrestling tag team. They are best known for their tenure in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation.-Jim Crockett Promotions:...
(The BarbarianSione VailahiSione Havea Vailahi is a professional wrestler best known in wrestling as The Barbarian.-Life and career:Born and raised in Tonga, Sione was one of five teenagers sent by the King of Tonga to Japan to study Sumo wrestling in the mid 1970s. Tonga Fifita was one of the other teenagers...
and The WarlordTerry SzopinskiTerry Scott Szopinski is an American professional wrestler. He is best known by his ring name The Warlord and for his tenures in Jim Crockett Promotions and the World Wrestling Federation as one half of the Powers of Pain alongside The Barbarian.-National Wrestling Alliance / Jim Crockett...
)
Championships and accomplishments
- Cauliflower Alley ClubCauliflower Alley ClubThe Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America....
- Other honoree (2004)
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- NWA Brass Knuckles Championship (Florida version) (1 time)
- NWA Florida Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Florida Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida, USA and is now the major title in NWA Florida. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by CWF and lasted until 1987 when the company was purchased by Jim Crockett...
(3 times) - NWA Florida Television ChampionshipNWA Florida Television ChampionshipThe NWA Florida Television Championship was a secondary title in Championship Wrestling from Florida. It existed from 1970 until 1987.-Title history:The NWA Florida Television Championship was a secondary title in Championship Wrestling from Florida...
(2 times) - NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (Florida version) (1 time)
- Georgia Championship WrestlingGeorgia Championship WrestlingGeorgia 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 Georgia Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Georgia Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship was the major title in the Georgia Championship Wrestling professional wrestling promotion. It started in 1964 and was unified in 1981 with the NWA National Heavyweight Championship....
(1 time)
- Mid-Atlantic Championship WrestlingJim Crockett PromotionsJim 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:...
- NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship is the tag team title currently defended in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Mid-Atlantic territory. The championship was originally created in the summer of 1968 and was originally named the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship...
(1 time) - with Nelson Royal - NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship contested for in Jim Crockett Promotions , a territory-promotion governed by the National Wrestling Alliance . The title was only contestable by male individual wrestlers...
(2 times) - NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship is the tag team title currently defended in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Mid-Atlantic territory. The championship was originally created in the summer of 1968 and was originally named the NWA Atlantic Coast Tag Team Championship...
(5 times) - with Ricky SteamboatRicky SteamboatRichard Henry Blood , better known by his ring name Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat, is a retired American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to WWE working as a road agent. He was one of the few wrestlers who stayed a babyface throughout his career...
(3), Tiger Conway Jr. (1), and Bob Bruggers (1) - NWA Mid-Atlantic Television ChampionshipWCW World Television ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling World Television Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Championship Wrestling....
(4 times) - NWA Television ChampionshipWCW World Television ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling World Television Championship was a professional wrestling championship in World Championship Wrestling....
(1 time) - NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (Mid-Atlantic version)WWE United States ChampionshipThe WWE United States Championship is a professional wrestling championship in WWE. It was originally a National Wrestling Alliance and World Championship Wrestling championship, and is currently the secondary championship of the Raw brand....
(2 times)1 - NWA World Tag Team Championship (Mid-Atlantic version)WCW World Tag Team ChampionshipThe World Championship Wrestling Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in World Championship Wrestling...
(6 times) - with Ricky Steamboat (1), Masked SuperstarBill EadieBill Eadie is a professional wrestler who has competed under the names of Ax as part of Demolition and The Masked Superstar...
(2), Baron Von RaschkeJames RaschkeJames Donald Raschke is a retired professional wrestler best known as Baron von Raschke.-Career:...
(2), and Wahoo McDanielWahoo McDanielEdward "Wahoo" McDaniel was a Choctaw-Chickasaw Native American who achieved fame as a professional American football player and later as a professional wrestler.-Early life:...
(1)
- NWA Hollywood WrestlingNational Wrestling AllianceThe 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...
- NWA Americas Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Americas Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Americas Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hollywood Wrestling based out of Los Angeles, California....
(1 time) - with Nelson Royal
- NWA Mid-Pacific PromotionsNational Wrestling AllianceThe 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...
- NWA Hawaii Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Hawaii Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Hawaii Heavyweight Championship is a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and is defended in the US state of Hawaii. The title, which is still currently defended, began in1935...
(1 time)
- Pacific Northwest WrestlingPacific Northwest WrestlingPacific 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 Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight 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...
(1 time)
- Pro Wrestling IllustratedPro Wrestling IllustratedPro 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 Tag Team of the Year award in 1978 - with Ricky Steamboat
- South Atlantic Pro Wrestling
- SAPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
- Worst Manager (1986)
1Jones actually won the championship on three occasions. However, only two reigns are officially recognized by World Wrestling Entertainment
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...
.