Erik Watts

Not to be confused with Eric Watts, a contestant on WWE Tough Enough.
Erik Watts
Birth name Erik Watts
Born December 19, 1967[1]
Amarillo, Texas, US[1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Amarillo Slim[2]
Erik Watts[2][1]
Troy[2]
Billed height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)[2][1]
Billed weight 268 lb (122 kg)[1]
Trained by Bill Watts
Debut 1992

Erik Watts (born December 19, 1967) is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation in the 1990s. He is the son of WWE Hall of Famer Bill Watts.[3][4][5]

Early life

Watts attended the University of Louisville, where he was a quarterback for the Louisville Cardinals.[5]

Professional wrestling career

World Championship Wrestling (1992-1994)

Watts trained as a wrestler under his father, Bill Watts, and debuted in 1992. After wrestling for three months, he was hired by World Championship Wrestling. While in WCW, Watts feuded with Arn Anderson.[3] His constant pushes were controversial in that his father was WCW's booker at the time, leading to accusations of nepotism.[4]

World Wrestling Federation (1995-1996)

Main article: Tekno Team 2000

In 1995, Watts followed his father to the World Wrestling Federation. In the WWF, Watts was renamed "Troy" while Chad Fortune was renamed "Travis" and put in a tag team known as Tekno Team 2000.[2][1] Wearing silver smocks and tight zubaz, their gimmick was that they represented the cutting edge of cyberculture. Their tag team made its debut on the May 27, 1995 episode of Superstars in a victorious effort against The Brooklyn Brawler and Barry Horowitz.[2] They wrestled two more matches on TV the following month before disappearing from television until reappearing at the second ever In Your House pay-per-view, acting as lumberjacks for the main event. After the event, disappeared off of television for a year, only to resurface back on WWF television in 1996. They still failed to achieve any success and both men were released from the WWF.

Return to WCW (1999)

In February 1999, Watts returned to WCW. In his second run with the company he was mainly used as a jobber working on Saturday Night, WorldWide and on rare occasions on Monday Nitro.[6] His last TV appearance was on November 13 as he lost a match against Disco Inferno on Saturday Night.[7]

Extreme Championship Wrestling (2000)

Watts joined the Philadelphia-based Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion in 2000, losing to Spike Dudley in his ECW Arena debut. He remained with the promotion for two months before departing.

All Japan Pro Wrestling (2000)

In late 2000, Watts worked for All Japan Pro Wrestling.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002-2005)

In 2002, Watts joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He eventually formed a heel stable with David Flair and Brian Lawler (two other second generation wrestlers whose careers were overshadowed by those of their famous fathers, Ric and Jerry) known as "The Next Generation". After the faction disbanded, Watts turned face. He acted as the TNA Director of Authority from July 23, 2003 to January 28, 2004, before being ousted from his position by Don Callis. Watts then feuded with his on-screen girlfriend, Goldy Locks, throughout 2004. In late 2004, he feuded with Raven, defeating him at Final Resolution on January 16, 2005 before leaving the promotion in February.

Independent circuit (2005-present)

After leaving TNA, Watts began working primarily for the Georgia-based Great Championship Wrestling promotion. He also appeared with AWA Superstars of Wrestling, defeating Diamond Dallas Page for the vacant International Heavyweight Championship on February 4, 2005 in Tucson, Arizona in a match refereed by Mick Foley. The title was retired by the AWA Board of Directors later that year. In November 2009, Watts returned to Great Championship Wrestling, now based in Phenix City, Alabama, to be the promotion's booker. He is also playing an authority role on their weekly live events.

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 "OWOW profile".
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 "IMDB profile".
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Zbyszko, Larry (2004). Adventures in Larryland!. ECW Press. p. 156. ISBN 1550228269.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Reynolds, R.D.; Alvarez, Bryan (2004). The Death of WCW. ECW Press. pp. 45–47. ISBN 1550226614.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Assael, Shaun; Mooneyham, Mike (2004). Sex, Lies, and Headlocks: The Real Story of Vince McMahon and World Wrestling Entertainment. Broadway. p. 107. ISBN 1400051436.
  6. ↑ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=2=00002444&nr=127&page=4
  7. ↑ http://www.cagematch.net/?id=1&nr=19970
  8. ↑ "Other arena's finishing movelist".
  9. ↑ "AWA International Heavyweight Championship history".
  10. ↑ "Independent Wrestling Results - October 2004". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  11. ↑ "TCW Tag Team Championship history".

External links