Steve Williams (wrestler)

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"Dr. Death “Steve Williams
Data
Ring name "Dr. Death “Steve Williams
height 186 cm
Fighting weight 120-134 kg
birth May 14, 1960
Lakewood , Colorado
death December 29, 2009
Denver , Colorado
Announced from Shreveport , Louisiana
Trained by Bill Watts
debut 1982

Steve Williams (born May 14, 1960 in Lakewood , Colorado , † December 29, 2009 in Denver , Colorado) was an American wrestler . He was especially known by his nickname “Dr. Death " known. He achieved his greatest successes in the Japanese league All Japan Pro Wrestling .

Career

Beginnings

Prior to wrestling, Steve Williams played football at the University of Oklahoma and in the United States Football League with the New Jersey Generals . As a college player he achieved All-American status . He was also successful in wrestling . In a tournament of the NCAA he had to admit defeat to the later Olympic champion Bruce Baumgartner in the final in 1982 . His time as a wrestler began in high school, where he was nicknamed "Dr. Death ”received.

NWA and UWF

After Williams was trained in wrestling by Bill Watts , he made his debut in 1982 for his promotion NWA Mid-South, which was later renamed the Universal Wrestling Federation . Williams achieved his first major success in 1986 when he won the UWF Heavyweight Championship from Big Bubba Rogers . The Jim Crockett Promotions bought the UWF in 1987 and saw Williams' potential so he continued to be pushed .

This was followed by a feud against Kevin Sullivan's stable The Varsity Club. After Rick Steiner left this group, Williams joined the stable himself. He formed a tag team with Mike Rotunda and won a few months later, the NWA World Tag Team Championship from the Road Warriors . Less than five weeks later, Williams and Rotunda were stripped of their titles after attacking Special Referee Nikita Koloff in a match .

AJPW

Williams switched to All Japan Pro Wrestling a short time later . At AJPW he formed one of the most successful Gaijin teams together with Terry Gordy . Within 15 months they won the All Japan Unified World Tag Team Championship three times ; In 1993 the fourth reign followed. In 1990 and 1991 they also won the annual World's Strongest Tag Team League . In the meantime, the team competed in World Championship Wrestling and won the tag team titles there several times. However, Williams reached his preliminary climax as a single wrestler again at AJPW when he defeated Mitsuharu Misawa in a match for the AJPW Triple Crown Championship on July 28, 1994 . He held the title for nearly three months and eventually lost it to Toshiaki Kawada .

WWF and WCW

In 1998 Williams signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation . In order to properly introduce him and his intense, stiff style, the WWF set up the "Brawl for All" tournament. Non-choreographed shoot fights were held - in the plans of the WWF an optimal opportunity to push Williams quickly and credibly. Williams could not meet expectations, however, because in the quarterfinals he was knocked out by the eventual tournament winner Bart Gunn . Shortly afterwards, Williams left the promotion. His return to WCW, where he feuded with Oklahoma against Vampiro in 1999, was similarly short-lived . In the following period he appeared again mainly for AJPW.

WWE

In 2003, Williams played two matches against Lance Storm at house shows by the former WWF, which has now been renamed World Wrestling Entertainment . In the same year he made appearances for the independent leagues Major League Wrestling and NWA Mid-Atlantic. In April 2004, Williams withdrew from wrestling for the time being with the announcement that he was suffering from throat cancer. Eight months later it was announced that he had beaten cancer. In the following years, Williams completed a few more appearances; most recently he appeared as a special referee at WWE house shows in March 2006.

death

On December 30, 2009, Williams succumbed to throat cancer, which had returned mid-year, which he announced in an open letter to his fans.

successes

  • 1 × UWF Heavyweight Champion
  • 1 × UWF Tag Team Champion (with Ted DiBiase )
  • 1 × Mid-South Tag Team Champion (with Ted DiBiase)
  • 1 × UWF SportsChannel Television Champion
  • 1 × IWA Japan Tag Team Champion (with Ryo Miyake)
  • 1 × USWA Southern Heavyweight Champion

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ Death report on Cagematch.de
personal data
SURNAME Williams, Steve
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dr. Death (pseudonym)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American wrestler
DATE OF BIRTH May 14, 1960
PLACE OF BIRTH Lakewood , Colorado
DATE OF DEATH December 29, 2009
Place of death Denver , Colorado