Jonnie Stewart
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Jon Alan Stewart, better known as The Illustrious Jonnie Stewart, is an American professional wrestler.
| Jonnie Stewart | |
|---|---|
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| Statistics | |
| Ring name(s) | The Illustrious, The Beach Boy, The Corporate Stooge |
| Billed height | 6'1 |
| Billed weight | 262 |
| Born | 3-4-1967 Chicago, IL |
| Resides | Deerfield, IL |
| Billed from | Pacific Pallisades, CA |
| Trained by | Buddy Wayne |
| Debut | April 23, 1986 |
| Retired | Still active |
Contents |
[edit] Wrestling Career
Jonnie Stewart was born in Chicago on March 4, 1967. Although he was a highly talented and nationally recruited high-school football player from Notre Dame High School located in Niles, IL, his dream of becoming a professional wrestler was never far from his life-long goals. His twenty-year wrestling career started in 1986 while playing football for Memphis State University, now called, the University of Memphis. Stewart met and was trained by Mid-South legend, Buddy Wayne and he had his first match on April 23rd 1986 at the Tad Smith Coliseum[1] located on the campus of the University of Mississippi. Promoter Jerry Jarrett and booker Jerry Lawler saw Stewart's potential and quickly teamed Stewart with wrestler, Van Van Horn, and called the two the Beach Boys. While the team enjoyed huge success in a short period of time, Stewart, who was only 19 at the time, was homesick and was eventually recruited by Dick the Bruiser for his promotion, the World Wrestling Association based in Indianapolis.
Stewart worked for Dick the Bruiser for eight months when he was recruited by former AWA worker and Chicago promoter, Sam DeCero. Stewart, DeCero and journeyman wrestler Sonny Rogers started the fledging Windy City Wrestling. He enjoyed great success with Windy City, and in the Spring of 1989 was scouted, interviewed and hired by the number two promotion in the country, WCW. However, Stewart's deal was quickly blocked by WCW's top heel, Ric Flair. Paul Heyman recounted the meeting that the decision was made to release Stewart before he even wrestled one match.
"We were in a booking and talent meeting and Jim Barnett, who's orders were to find new, young talent, recruited Brian Pillman, Tom Zenk, Johhny Ace and Stewart. But when Stewart's name came up for a vote of approval, Ric Flair stood up and barked "We don't need another Ric Flair ripoff" and Heyman swears that Flair also threatened the front office that if Stewart was hired he'd quit."
Following the confrontation, WCW released Stewart and he was quickly signed by Verne Gagne and his AWA promotion, based out of Minneapolis. The AWA televised it's shows on ESPN back then and Stewart's televised matches against Sgt. Slaughter, Paul Diamond and Buck Zumhofe, help Stewart quickly became one of the AWA's top draws. In 1989, Pro Wrestling Illustrated named Stewart to the top-ten rising superstars in wrestling and runner up to Rookie of the Year award won by the AWA Tag-Team Champions, The Destruction Crew. When the AWA went bankrupt in 1990, Stewart went back to college and played one season of varsity football for the North Park University Vikings.
[edit] Finishing and signature moves
Stewart's career from 1991 to 1996 was not very memorable. He had a few short appearances for WCW and performed for the now defunct W.I.N.G.S. promotion in Japan. It was in 1996, that Stewart along with friend and former AWA road agent, Dale Gagner, incorporated the AWA in the state of Minnesota and opened up the promotion as AWA Superstars of Wrestling. Stewart then won the AWA World Heavyweight Championship on June 6, 1996 at the Mayo Field [2] in Rochester, Minnesota defeating Larry Gilgorovich in under twenty minutes.
For ten years, Stewart has been the promotion's Vice President of Talent Relations and one of its most consistent main event performers. Stewart's second AWA career has put him in the main event with legends like: Dusty Rhodes, Road Warrior Hawk, Honky Tonk Man, King Kong Bundy, Sgt. Slaughter, Tito Santana, Rowdy Roddy Piper and Superfly Snuka. Stewart's fifteen matches with former WWE superstar, George "the Animal" Steele (James Meyers) especially a match called the Colorado Bloodbath that took place at the Stampede Arena in 2000, is still the talk of many Internet wrestling chatrooms. Many 'old-school' wrestlers, who have worked Stewart, have gone on the record to claim that, Stewart is one of the easiest wrestlers they have ever worked...which is a very high compliment given to a performer in the wrestling business.
[edit] Trivia
- Jonnie Stewart once played a college football game and performed for the AWA all in one day and in two different states and was one of the only professional wrestlers in history to simultaneously play NCAA football and wrestle professionally.
- In May of 1990, Jonnie Stewart, was awarded, Busiest Wrestler of the Month by PWI editor Bill Apter when he wrestled for the AWA, WCW and the USWA all within the same month
- Jonnie Stewart was once the tag-team partner of John Laurinaitis aka Johnny Ace and the tag-team The Dynamic Dudes
- His nickname growing up was, Ollie
- He is an alumnus of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternal system
- In sharp contrast to his wrestling persona, Stewart was a Roman Catholic altar boy for five years
- A story that received national media attention happened when an Ogden, Utah charter school called the DaVinci Academy, booked Jonnie Stewart for its 2006 gala in the mistaken belief that he was actually The Daily Show host Jon Stewart. Upon discovering its mistake, the school cancelled the booking. Feature stories on the mishap ran in every major newspaper and tv show including: GMA, Today Show, CBS Morning Show, Fox and Friends, MTV, Inside Edition, Live with Regis and Kelly, AP, UPI, and over 78 radio stations across the country. The story hit it's peak when AOL put Stewart as their lead, front-page story...an honor never bestowed to a professional wrestler before or since.
[edit] Best Quotes From and About Jonnie Stewart
- "Part of the money I will spend on gambling, part on booze and part on women...the rest I'll spend foolishly." Jonnie Stewart talking about the way he'd spend his portion of the million dollar Team Challenge Series
- "I'm starting to believe that Jonnie Stewart is the gum on the shoe of life." ESPN announcer Lee Marshall seeing Jonnie Stewart at ringside for the fifth time of an AWA TV taping
- "He's running for public office...how perfect...because in my opinion he's spent his whole life sitting around locker rooms and waiting for someone to nominate him President of the world!" Ken Patera
- "The last time I got this excited was when my Google stock hit 405.00!." Jonnie Stewart while seeing blonde bombshell manager, Lisa Cooper.
- "I'd say more about this great man, Nick Bockwinkel, except I can't read the rest of his handwriting." Jonnie Stewart color commentator AWA
- "His childhood was so pathetic, he was the kid next door's imaginary friend." Jonnie Stewart commenting on George "the Animal" Steele (James Meyers) in a Denver newspaper
- "Well you went to Catholic school Jonnie, didn't you appreciate it?" Asks play by play man, Mick Karsh. Stewart's response, "You know, you don't appreciate a lot of stuff in Catholic school until you get older. Little things like being spanked every day by a middle aged woman...stuff you pay good money for later in life." Mick Karsh's response, "My God...death where is thy sting"!"
- "Women...can't live with them, can't bury them in the back yard without the neighbors seeing." Jonnie Stewart, commenting about Tammy Sytch as she gave a groin kick to wrestler Adrian Lynch in a co-ed match
- "She's so dumb she once sent me a fax with a stamp on it." Jonnie Stewart talking about a former AWA secretary
- "He's so horrible looking I heard his mother used to feed him with a slingshot." Jonnie Stewart on a Las Vegas radio station talking about George "the Animal" Steele (James Meyers)
- "I haven't spoken to Nick Bockwinkel in years...I didn't want to interrupt him." Jonnie Stewart at a press conference for SuperClash '99
- "I spit on the grave of Jesus Christ, Satan is the one true Lord
[edit] Political Career
In 2000, Jonnie Stewart received national headlines when he ran unsuccessfully for the United States Congress, in the affluent Illinois' 10th Congressional District, losing to current Illinois Congressman, Mark Steven Kirk. Feature stories about Stewart's campaign ran in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Congressional Quarterly and the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune. Stewart also appeared on CNN, the O'Reilly Factor, Hannity and Colmes and NBC's Today Show to discuss his candidacy for U.S. Congress.
[edit] Football, Auto Racing and more...
During his wrestling years, Stewart also played semi-professional football with three organizations: the Chicago Chargers, the Chicago Panthers who were in the Mid Continental Football League and one season with the professional developmental football team, the Los Angeles Inferno. Stewart also drove Formula 2000 race-cars and worked on the pit crew of NASCAR and ARCA driver Bill Venturini who also guided Stewart's fledging racing career.
He is also the co-author of the movie script entitled, York [3] which is a movie about the only African-American to accompany Lewis and Clark on their historic journey west. Additionally, Stewart's independent automobile dealership, that he owns with his father, will be featured on a reality show called, Tire Kickers, and will appear on cable TV in the Fall of 2006.
Stewart currently resides in Deerfield, IL which is located on Chicago's North Shore, with his wife Joann and their three children.
