Art Barr
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| Art Barr | |
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| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | The Intruder Beetlejuice The Juicer American Love Machine "Love Machine" Art Barr |
| Billed height | 6'1" (185.4 cm) |
| Billed weight | 240lbs (108.9 kg) |
| Born | October 8, 1966 Portland, Oregon |
| Died | November 23, 1994 |
| Trained by | Sandy Barr, Roddy Piper |
| Debut | 1987 |
Art Barr, full name Arthur Leon Barr (October 8, 1966 – November 23, 1994), was an American professional wrestler. He wrestled briefly for World Championship Wrestling, but had his greatest success in Mexico's Asistencia Asesoría y Administración promotion.
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[edit] Early career
Barr is the son of promoter Sandy Barr and the brother of Jesse Barr, and began his career in the Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) territory in April 1987. About a year and a half later, he began wrestling as Beetlejuice, based on the title character of the 1988 movie. The character, wearing face paint and flour in his hair, was a cartoonish babyface designed to appeal to children.
Barr had a sexual encounter with a 19 year old girl after a PNW card on July 16, 1989; the girl later filed rape charges. Barr continued to wrestle as Beetlejuice, despite the charges, and the attention brought to them by the Portland Oregonian. A year later, while admitting he did rape the girl, Barr worked a plea-bargain, and was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse. He was fined, placed on probation, and sentenced to community service, but served no jail time.
[edit] WCW Career
After the trial, Barr's license to wrestle in Oregon was not renewed (for unrelated reasons); he joined World Championship Wrestling briefly in 1990 as The Juicer, still playing the cartoonish babyface. His reputation from PNW followed him, however, and he soon found himself unpushed and, eventually, released.
[edit] EMLL Career
After leaving WCW, Barr was brought into Mexico's Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) promotion by Konnan. 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, in a mask-vs-mask match. 18,000 fans sold out the 17,000 seat Arena México in Mexico City and another 8,000 fans watched on big screen TV in the parking lot to see the card. The match ended when "Love Machine" administered a Piledriver (Martinete in Spanish) against Blue Panther, and illegal move in Mexican wrestling, thus losing his mask.
[edit] AAA Career
Soon afterward, Barr left EMLL to join Konnan's Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) promotion. As "Love Machine" Art Barr, he turned heel, and formed the tag team La Pareja del Terror (The Pair of Terror) with Eddie Guerrero. The pair were highly successful, becoming arguably the most hated tag team in lucha libre history. Barr and Guerrero also formed a heel stable with Konnan and Madonna's Boyfriend, known as Los Gringos Locos (The Crazy Americans).
Despite both the acclaim and the financial success, 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 L.A. Sports Arena. La Pareja del Terror faced off against El Hijo del Santo and Octagón in a double hair vs. mask match, which was acclaimed as one of the greatest PPV matches ever. Around this time, Barr and Guerrero were also in talks with Extreme Championship Wrestling.
ECW was very interested in Art Barr & Eddie Guerrero coming into the company to feud with their top tag team Public Enemy, Amazingly, at the same time, WWF, WCW and New Japan also showed interest in the tag team of Guerrero & Barr.
[edit] Death
On November 23, 1994, Art Barr was found dead laying with his child at his home in Springfield, Oregon. Preliminary reports said that he died of an aneurysm, but later reports said that he died under unknown circumstances, Art did not have heart problems, no aneurysm or internal bleeding, no ring injuries and no illegal substance of his body. Eddie Guerrero was his best friend around this time period.
There are two theories of his death:
- He had a missing vertebra on his neck from birth that made two vertebrae press against each other, causing his lungs to stop.
- There could have been some bad mixing of different substances.
As a tribute to his friend, Eddie Guerrero adopted Barr's trademark Frog Splash as his finishing maneuver. The frog splash has become a trademark move of several superstars in Mexico and the United States.
[edit] Finishing and signature moves
- Frog Splash
- Superkick
- Lou Thesz press
- Top-rope Lou Thesz press
- With Jeff Warner in PNW: Slingshot Hart Attack
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
- Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
- 1-Time AAA/IWC World Tag Team Champion (with Eddie Guerrero)
- International Wrestling All-Stars
- 1-Time IWAS Tag Team Champion (with Eddie Guerrero)
- National Wrestling Alliance
- 3-Time NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Champion (w/Big Juice and Jesse Barr)
- 1-Time NWA Pacific Northwest Television Champion
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- 18th Best Tag Team of the "PWI Years" (with Eddie Guerrero)
- 114th (of 500) Best Wrestler of the "PWI Years"
- Wrestling Observer Newsletter
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- 5 Star Match: with Eddy Guerrero vs El Hijo del Santo and Octagón (AAA When Worlds Collide, November 6, 1994: Hair v. Masks Match)
- 1994 Best Heel
- 1994 Feud of the Year (with Eddie Guerrero vs El Hijo Del Santo and Octagon)
- 1994 Tag Team of the Year (with Eddie Guerrero)
