| Tim Woods | |
|---|---|
| Ring name(s) | Tim Woods[1][2] Mr. Wrestling[1][2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2] |
| Billed weight | 230 lb (100 kg)[2] |
| Born | July 28, 1934[1][2] Utica, New York[2] |
| Died | November 30, 2002 (aged 68)[1][2] Charlotte, North Carolina[1] |
| Debut | 1963[1] |
| Retired | 1984[2] |
George Burrell "Tim" Woodin[2] (July 28, 1934 – November 30, 2002) was an American former professional wrestler. He was best known under his ring name Mr. Wrestling.
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Woodin began his wrestling career at the age of 29 using the name "Tim Woods".[1] He was then given the name "Mr. Wrestling" by Nebraska promotor Joe Dusek, and subsequently adopted both a white wrestling mask and white singlet to complete the character.[1] Mr. Wrestling became a major superstar in the Georgia, Florida, Texas and Mid-Atlantic territories. He wrestled in the World Wide Wrestling Federation in the northeast, at the upper end of the preliminary wrestlers. Starting in the Seventies, he would alternate between his masked persona as Mr. Wrestling and wrestling unmasked as Tim Woods, depending on the territory.
Woodin was involved in the same 1975 plane crash that involved pilot Joseph Michael Farkas (he ended up in a coma and died the next year), wrestling legend Johnny Valentine (broke his back and bone fragments inpacted into his spinal cord, which ended his career), wrestler Bob Bruggers] (broke his back and had a steel rod put in; Bruggers could have made a comeback, but he decided to retire), future legend Ric Flair (broke his back, but recovered and returned to wrestling), and Jim Crockett Promotions' announcer David Crockett. At the hospital, Woodin gave them his real name (George Burrell Woodin), and told them that he was a promoter. Since Woodin wrestled under the name Tim Woods, a newspaper article in the Charlotte Observer listed his name as his real name, George Burrell Woodin, and mentioned that he was a promoter. Woodin was the only fan favorite wrestler on the plane, while the rest wrestled as villains, and this was back in the days when kayfabe was not broken (at the time, Woods was feuding with Flair and Valentine). Eventually, rumors began circulating that Woods was in fact on the plane. Unwilling to risk the exposure of professional wrestling, he got back in the ring two weeks after the crash and was obviously in extreme pain. Flair later said in his book To Be the Man, that he was "more than just Mr. Wrestling that day, but was the man who saved wrestling." Woodin eventually returned to wrestling and had his final match on September 17, 1983, where he lost to Mr. Wrestling II.[3]
On November 30, 2002, Woods died from a heart attack at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina at the age of 68. Before his death, he was scheduled to be interviewed for a WWE Confidential piece on the October 1975 plane crash.
Tim Woodin earned an Agricultural Engineering degree at Cornell University and a Mechanical Engineering degree at Michigan State University. He was an accomplished amateur wrestler at Michigan State University and had a very strong amateur wrestling background.
As a junior at Michigan State, Woodin won the 1958 Big Ten 177-pound title by pinning Gary Kurdelmeier of the University of Iowa at 8:21. A couple weeks later, the two met again in the 177-pound finals of the 1958 NCAAs at the University of Wyoming, where Woodin lost to Kurdelmeier, 6-2.
As a senior, Woodin defeated Iowa's Gordon Trapp, 6-4, in the heavyweight finals to win his second Big Ten title. At the 1959 NCAAs, the Michigan State Spartan competed in the 191-pound class, making it to the finals for the second year in a row... but lost 9-5 to Syracuse's Art Baker. With his two runner-up finishes at the national championships, Woodin was a two-time NCAA All-American.
He was an avid collector of motorcycles as well as an accomplished photographer and saxophone player. Woods also ran a heating and air conditioning business after retiring from the ring.
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