Terry Gordy
#PWHS #Bio #Biography #BamBam #Gordy #WCCW #MidSouth #UWF #AJPW
Terry Gordy started his career in the gym with Canadian legend Archie Gouldie. He would get into the ring for the first time at the age of 13, in 1974. He would compete under a mask as Mr. Wrestling billed from New York City. The mask was adorned to hide the recognizable acne of a teenager. His debut would take place from Rossville, Georgia and he would be tagging with Eddie Griffin as a team called the Masked Scavengers.
He would move on to the outlaw ICW promotion run by Angelo Poffo and his two songs. It would be in this promotion he went under the name of Tony Mecca, still from New York City.
In 1977 I find the first fully recorded match for Terry Gordy on June 21, 1977, in a losing effort alongside partner Wee Willie Morgan against David Schultz and Little Tokyo for the ESA promotion in Canada. We would also see him make appearances for the Tennessee based CWA promotion in 1977. Terry Gordy would appear in both Mid-America and ESA during 1978.
The years of 1977 and 1978 are more remembered for Terry Gordy's appearances in the Mid-South promotion where he would win gold. It would be at the end of 1978 and the beginning of 1979 that would prove one of the most important times in the young man's career. Whilst wrestling for Nick Gulas he would meet Michael Hayes for the first time and begin to team up.
They would first start using Lynyrd Skynyrd as their entrance music the easily recognizable Free Bird after going over to CWA run by Jerry Jarrett in the latter half of 1979 taking on the name of the Fabulous Freebirds. By the end of the year they were in the Mid-South territory where they would stay until the second part of 1980.
Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy would move on to GCW it would be during their time in this promotion Buddy Roberts would be added to the group. They would stay loyal to GCW up until November 1981 when they did several dates for Mid-Atlantic. January of 1982 would see the group work solely for Jim Crockett.
It was only a short stint though and by February of 1982 they were in Southeastern Championship wrestling. That only lasted until the spring of that year though as they moved on back to Georgia Championship Wrestling until the autumn of that year as they moved around the country working spot shows for various NWA promotions.
By winter of 1982 the Fabulous Freebirds landed in WCCW. This is where they became a sensation in the business of professional wrestling. Their legendary feud with the Von Erich Family starting at the Christmas Star Wars event and lasting for over two years after that event took place would be one of the most talked about feuds ever to take place.
All the way up until 1984 they would stay in WCCW with the exception of a trip or two to AJPW, during one of which winning the annual Tag-Team Tournament. In September of that year they would leave to go to the WWF. By January of 1985 they would be in CWF, this would only be another short stint as they'd join the AWA by June of the same year. The didn't stay completely out of WCCW though and did make an occasional appearance all through-out this time.
By 1986 they had moved on to the UWF where Terry Gordy would capture their World Heavyweight Championship, even with this success they trio would still end out the year back in Japan for AJPW. Terry Gordy would find himself back in WCCW as a singles star by 1988 not really recreating his momentum of past years with the Freebirds.
Gordy would head back over to AJPW in 1989 for a long run over there. By the end of the year Gordy would find himself reforming the Fabulous Freebirds with Michael Hayes, and Jimmy Garvin as a replacement to Buddy Roberts for JCP/WCW. Back in Japan during 1990 Terry became the first gaijin to win the Triple Crown Championship by defeating Jumbo Tsurata.
In the middle of 1990 it would become apparent that Gordy had a drug problem as he overdosed and found himself in hospital, along with being stripped during his second reign as Triple Crown Champion. It would be during this stretch of dates that Gordy would team up with Dr. Death Steve Williams to form the Miracle Violence Connection and win back-to-back World Tag-Team Tournaments in Japan during 1991 and 1992.
Towards the end of 1992 he would find himself briefly in WCW before heading back over to Japan, this time for NJPW. In the late summer of 1993 Gordy would once again overdose, this time it was disclosed as being soma's. For nearly a week he would be in a coma due to this drug overdose of muscle relaxants. When he eventually awoke from the drug induced coma, Terry had suffered brain damage hindering his physical ability inside of the squared circle.
In 1994 the Freebirds would reunite for GWF winning their Tag-Team Championships alongside Michael Hayes and Jimmy Garvin. From here on he would almost fade into obscurity wrestling in the King of the Death Match tournament for IWA in Japan, having a brief run for ECW and an even shorter run for the WWF as the Executioner.
His time in ECW will be remembered for his feud with Bam Bam Bigelow over the name of Bam Bam and his championship match against Raven. Whilst in WWF those who know he appeared as the Executioner will just remember a couple of matches with very unique stipulations against the Undertaker, whilst in a partnership with Mankind and Paul Bearer, taking him up until early 1998, most of the time not on camera though.
His career would just decline into obscurity from here on out working for various independent promotions , the last recorded match I can find took place on January 21, 2000, in Tulsa, Olkahoma, alongside Michael Hayes against the upcoming Hardy Boyz for OPW. Unfortunately at the age of 40 in 2001 when Terry Gordy suffered a heart attack and passed away.
Before he passed away though Terry Gordy managed to train his son Terry Ray Gordy Jr who would go on to wrestle for the WWF as Slam Master J or Jesse. Terry Gordy should and will forever be remembered as the muscle of the Fabulous Freebirds a very influential group in the world of sports entertainment and as one half of one of the toughest Japanese gaijin teams ever, the Miracle Violence Connection.
Unique content strictly for the Professional Wrestling Historical Society.
Biography of Terry Gordy.
Author: Jimmy Wheeler.
Published: July 2014.
Biography: #53.
Editor: Jimmy Wheeler.
Updated: December 27, 2018.