One man gang

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George Gray United StatesUnited States
One Man Gang.jpg
Data
Ring name Crusher Broomfield
Panama Gang
One Man Gang
Akeem
height 1.98 m
Fighting weight 178 - 207 kg
birth February 12, 1960 Chicago , Illinois
USA IllinoisIllinois
Announced from Halsted Street , Chicago (as One Man Gang)
Deepest, darkest Africa (as Akeem)
debut 1977

George Gray (born February 12, 1960 in Chicago , Illinois ) is a retired American wrestler . He was best known by his ring name (The) One Man Gang .

During his career he appeared in the four largest wrestling promotions ( National Wrestling Alliance , World Wrestling Federation , World Championship Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling ) in North America.

In the WWF he also had the controversial gimmick Akeem "The African Dream" .

Career

Beginnings

Gray grew up in Spartanburg , South Carolina and began his wrestling career in 1977, at the relatively young age of 17. He competed in the independent leagues in the Kentucky and Tennessee region . His first notable successes were with International Championship Wrestling , an organization run by Angelo Poffo , Randy Savage's father . Gray appeared there as Crusher Broomfield , whose contract, according to the storyline, was owned by Randy Savage . An interesting note on the side is that Ron Garvin , who won Savage's contract through a match, was called One Man Gang at the time.

Mid South Wrestling

After he was employed at Mid South Wrestling , he was added to the group Devastation Inc. , which was led by Skandor Akbar . He made his debut there as a rule breaker .

Jim Ross , then a commentator in this league, was the first to refer to the gigantic Gray as The One Man Gang . This designation remained as Gray's new ring name and a new gimmick was developed accordingly . In the following years, Gray also competed for the Texas Promotion World Class Championship Wrestling , as well as in Florida and Japan .

Universal Wrestling Federation

He made his last appearances in the regional leagues for the now renamed MSW Universal Wrestling Federation , where he received the UWF Heavyweight title in 1986 .

In May 1987 he received a lucrative offer from the World Wrestling Federation and after 6 months gave his title in a match to Big Bubba Rogers .

World Wrestling Federation

On May 12, 1987, Gray made his WWF debut as "One Man Gang". He was given Slick as a ring companion and spent the first time defeating jobbers in squash matches . In the wake of the health problems of old star superstar Billy Graham , Gray became the one who sent him into retirement in a storyline with a big splash . He then competed in 1987 at the first Survivor Series as a member of the team around André the Giant against that of Hulk Hogan .

After André the Giant won the title from Hulk Hogan and passed it on to Ted DiBiase, the title was declared vacant. At Wrestlemania IV , therefore, a title tournament took place in which Gray also took part. He was allowed to defeat Bam Bam Bigelow in the first round by counting and got a bye for the quarterfinals, but was disqualified in the semifinals against Randy Savage . After that, Gray was only used in the middle combat map in the WWF.

In September 1988, Gray's gimmick was changed in a controversial way. According to the storyline, he suddenly had African roots and was now called Akeem the African Dream , spoke in African-American slang and danced jive .

From then on, he formed the tag team The Twin Towers with The Big Boss Man . Through a feud with the Hulk Hogan and Randy Savage team The Mega Powers , Gray got back into the main event . At the Survivor Series of the same year, the team had to lose The Twin Towers by disqualification against The Mega Powers .

In Wrestlemania V , the Twin Towers were allowed to defeat the tag team The Rockers ( Shawn Michaels and Marty Jannetty ). In the following years a split of the team was prepared, with the big boss man becoming the face . The former team competed against each other at Wrestlemania VI and Gray lost in that match. He stayed in the WWF until October 1990, but was only used in the lower combat map.

World Championship Wrestling

In 1991 Gray came to World Championship Wrestling and now appeared again as a One Man Gang . He got Kevin Sullivan aside and was involved in a feud with El Gigante . The whole thing culminated in a match in which the loser had to leave the organization. Gray lost and was released from his contract by WCW.

In 1995, however, he returned to WCW and became a member of the Stables Dungeon of Doom . He was allowed to defeat Kensuke Sasaki and win the then United States Champion title . Gray soon had to give this title back to Konnan . A little later he left the WCW for good.

Extreme Championship Wrestling

In 1998, he joined November to Remember , the then main event of Extreme Championship Wrestling .

resignation

Gray had a heart attack in 1999 and has lost some weight since then. His last official appearance was at World Wrestling Entertainment when he took part in a Gimmick Battle Royal as One Man Gang at Wrestlemania XVII . Then he announced his retirement from active wrestling. Gray still appears occasionally at smaller independent promotions and at conventions.

Private life

George Gray is married and lives in Baton Rouge , Louisiana . After his active days as a wrestler, George Gray worked as a guard on death row of the Louisiana State Penitentiary until he lost his job there due to persistent back pain, probably from his time as an active wrestler. In 2016, he also lost his home in a flood disaster in Baton Rouge.

successes

  • 1 × NWA Florida Brass Knuckles Championship
  • 1 × NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship (with Ron Bass )
  • 1 × NWA Mid-Atlantic Tag Team Championship (1 with Kelly Kiniski )
  • 1 × UWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • 1 × WCCW Six-Man Tag Team Championship (with killer Tim Brooks & Mark Lewin )
  • World Wrestling All-Stars
  • 1 × WWA World Heavyweight Championship
  • 2 × WWC Hardcore Championship
  • other titles
  • 2 × Superstars of Wrestling Australian Championship

useful information

Gray now works as a guard on Death Row at Louisiana State Prison.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Akeem: Bio. WWE.com, accessed August 14, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b c One Man Gang. Online World of Wrestling, accessed August 14, 2018 .
  3. ^ WWE WrestleMania 2001 (17). Online World of Wrestling, accessed August 14, 2018 .
  4. ↑ a b Alex Marvez: Former WWE wrestler struggling after losing home in Baton Rouge flood. September 1, 2016, accessed August 14, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME One man gang
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Gray, George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH February 12, 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago , Illinois