Curtis Hughes
| Curtis Hughes | |
|---|---|
 Curtis Hughes under his "Mr. Hughes" gimmick | |
| Born | December 7, 1964[1] Kansas City, Missouri[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | The Big Cat[2][3] Big Cat Hughes[3] Gotch Gracie[1] Curtis Hughes[3] Mr. Hughes[2] |
| Billed height | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)[2][4] |
| Billed weight | 250 lb (110 kg)[4] (formerly 375 lb (170 kg)) |
| Billed from | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Trained by | Sonny Myers[3] Bob Geigel[3] |
| Debut | 1988[2] |
Curtis Hughes (born December 7, 1964) is an American professional wrestler, better known under the ring name Mr. Hughes. He is best known for his stints in the World Wrestling Federation. In addition to the WWF, Hughes has also worked for World Championship Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, the American Wrestling Federation, and Extreme Championship Wrestling. Hughes currently trains wrestlers in the WWA4 Training School and wrestles on the independent circuit.
Professional wrestling career
Early career
While briefly attending Kansas State University, Hughes began playing on the football team.[4] After leaving college, Hughes began training with Sonny Myers and Bob Geigel to become a professional wrestler. In 1988, he made his debut and began competing with the American Wrestling Association as a face under the ring name Curtis "The Cat" Hughes. He then moved on to World Championship Wrestling, where he changed his ring name to The Big Cat. Within a few months, he again changed his ring name to Mr. Hughes and subsequently adopted an enforcer gimmick, complete with a suit and a constant frowning expression. Hughes became a prominent member of factions such as the York Foundation, the Rat Pack and the Darkside.[4] According to Chris Jericho's autobiography "Chris Jericho: Undisputed", Hughes suffers from narcolepsy.
World Wrestling Federation (1993)
After stints in several independent promotions, Hughes signed a short-term deal with the World Wrestling Federation and was brought in as a part of the feud between The Undertaker and Harvey Wippleman. During the feud, Hughes managed to hold his own against Undertaker and even stole his urn. He also took part in the 1993 King of the Ring where he lost to Mr. Perfect by disqualification before being ultimately defeated by The Undertaker, his last WWF appearance was on Monday Night Raw against Tatanka, During the match, his glasses shattered in his eyes and was released after the match.
Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993–1996)
After his departure from the WWF, Hughes made his Extreme Championship Wrestling debut as the bodyguard for Shane Douglas during Douglas' first and second World Heavyweight Championship reigns. In addition to aiding Douglas, Hughes also competed in several singles matches during which he was nicknamed "The Ruffneck".
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Return to the WWF (1997, 1999)
Hughes made two more short-lived appearances for the WWF, the first being as the bodyguard for Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 1997, before being replaced by Chyna.[5] He made his final appearance for the WWF as the bodyguard for Chris Jericho in 1999 before being turned on by Jericho himself during a tag team match.
World Wrestling Alliance and the independent circuit (1999–present)
Following his second stint in the WWF, Hughes began working on the independent circuit and also became the head trainer of the WWA4 Wrestling School, the training school of the Atlanta-based World Wrestling Alliance. In 2006, WWA4 launched a professional wrestling program which is televised in local markets and available on the internet. Hughes co-hosts the show alongside wrestling announcer and the broadcasts executive producer, Taylor McKnight. When Mcknight left WWA4 to do work for Great Championship Wrestling, Dave Wills took over co-hosting alongside Hughes. After beginning classes at the WWA4 school, Hughes' weight steadily dropped from 310 pounds to 250 pounds.[4]
In 2007, Hughes became the focus of Memphis Wrestling when he called Jerry Lawler a "sell out" for not showing up for a scheduled match against Hulk Hogan, which occurred due to World Wrestling Entertainment's legal issues with the match. After his statement, Hughes began a feud with Lawler. After shoving Lawler's real life girlfriend Renee on an edition of Memphis Primetime, the two battled three weeks later at Sam's Town River Palace Arena in Tunica, Mississippi. The match ended when Hughes got down on his knees and apologized for his actions before hitting Lawler with a low blow and punching Renee in the face, thus losing via disqualification. In March 2011, Hughes was in the main event of the inaugural Redneck Wrasslin Organization card in Springfield Ill., as he teamed with Pretty Boy Floyd and Beast to defeat Team Dragonfire. On February 18, 2012, Hughes won a 34-man battle royal to win vacant Peachstate Wrestling Alliance Heritage Championship.[6]
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Wrestlers managed
Championship and accomplishments
- Galaxy Wrestling Federation
- GWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[10]
- Independent Wrestling Network
- IWN Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[2]
- Peachstate Wrestling Alliance
- PWA Heritage Championship (1 time)[6]
- Other titles
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Accelerator3359 profile".
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "OWOW profile".
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Cagematch profile".
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "WWA4 profile".
- ^ Mick Foley (2000). Have A Nice Day: A Tale of Blood and Sweatsocks. HarperCollins. p. 213. ISBN 0-06-103101-1.
- ^ a b "PWA champions roll call".
- ^ "Managers".
- ^ "Bruno Lauer's OWOW profile". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "Wrestlers managed".
- ^ Royal Duncan & Gary Will (4th Edition 2000). Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|year=(help)CS1 maint: year (link) - ^ http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwi500yr.htm
External links
