WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.960 Welcome. Welcome back to the deep dive. Today 00:00:02.960 --> 00:00:05.599 we are opening a file that I honestly didn't 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:09.460 expect to be this, um, this fascinating. Yeah, 00:00:09.460 --> 00:00:11.080 it's definitely a bit of a departure for us. 00:00:11.160 --> 00:00:13.519 It really is because usually we look at these 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:17.559 massive earth shaking events, you know, like 00:00:17.559 --> 00:00:20.839 geopolitics or tech revolutions, ancient history, 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:23.179 things like that. The big picture stuff. Exactly. 00:00:23.399 --> 00:00:27.039 But today, today we're zooming in on a very specific, 00:00:27.039 --> 00:00:31.370 um, somewhat obscure corner of pop culture history. 00:00:31.530 --> 00:00:33.289 But it's a corner that tells a much bigger story 00:00:33.289 --> 00:00:35.549 than you might think at first glance. I completely 00:00:35.549 --> 00:00:38.369 agree. So we are looking at the career of professional 00:00:38.369 --> 00:00:41.329 wrestler, a man named David Everett Ferrier. 00:00:41.450 --> 00:00:44.189 Right. Now, if I just say that name to you, the 00:00:44.189 --> 00:00:46.710 listener, probably 99 % of you are just going 00:00:46.710 --> 00:00:50.530 to shrug. It doesn't exactly scream stadium -filling 00:00:50.530 --> 00:00:52.829 superstar. No, not at all. It sounds like, I 00:00:52.829 --> 00:00:55.310 don't know, an accountant. Or maybe a guy who 00:00:55.310 --> 00:00:57.670 runs a local hardware store. Which is funny because, 00:00:57.789 --> 00:01:00.149 as we'll find out later, he actually did end 00:01:00.149 --> 00:01:02.070 up doing something quite similar to that. He 00:01:02.070 --> 00:01:05.250 did. But to the wrestling world, he is known 00:01:05.250 --> 00:01:09.290 by a much more colorful, slightly sleazier name. 00:01:09.790 --> 00:01:14.109 Gigolo Jimmy Del Rey. The Gigolo. And right there... 00:01:14.079 --> 00:01:16.060 That is where the hook is for me, because when 00:01:16.060 --> 00:01:18.640 you hear the word jiggle -o in the context of 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:22.040 1990s professional wrestling, you expect a very 00:01:22.040 --> 00:01:25.719 specific look. You expect the bodybuilder. The 00:01:25.719 --> 00:01:28.719 ravishing Rick Rood archetype. Right, exactly. 00:01:28.859 --> 00:01:31.180 A Fabio type, someone with the chiseled abs, 00:01:31.359 --> 00:01:33.739 the flowing hair, the baby oil, just the whole 00:01:33.739 --> 00:01:36.260 package. But Jimmy Del Rey was the complete opposite 00:01:36.260 --> 00:01:38.719 of that expectation. Completely. The source material 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:41.219 we're using today, which is built on his biographical 00:01:41.219 --> 00:01:43.239 records and match histories, it's very polite 00:01:43.239 --> 00:01:45.719 about it, but it's honest. It describes him as 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:49.480 having a, quote, slightly pudgy midsection. Yeah, 00:01:49.480 --> 00:01:52.000 he was not ripped. He looked like a regular guy 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:54.000 who maybe enjoyed a beer or two on the weekends. 00:01:54.120 --> 00:01:56.519 He looked like some someone's uncle, and this 00:01:56.519 --> 00:01:59.000 is the crazy part, he moved like a cat. That 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:00.840 really is the paradox we're exploring today, 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:04.060 the unlikely agile athlete. This is a guy who 00:02:04.060 --> 00:02:06.280 would go out to the ring, do this ridiculous, 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:08.280 taunting dance where he would literally shake 00:02:08.280 --> 00:02:11.199 his belly at the audience. The infamous jiggle? 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:12.960 The jiggle, right. He'd shake it to make them 00:02:12.960 --> 00:02:14.500 mad and then the bell would ring and he would 00:02:14.500 --> 00:02:17.560 suddenly perform these flawless moonsaults. And 00:02:17.560 --> 00:02:19.960 technical holds that rivaled the absolute best 00:02:19.960 --> 00:02:21.919 cruiserweights in the world at that time. It's 00:02:21.919 --> 00:02:24.659 just a fascinating contradiction. So our mission 00:02:24.659 --> 00:02:27.039 today, as we dig into these sources, isn't just 00:02:27.039 --> 00:02:29.659 to rattle off a list of his matches. No, we want 00:02:29.659 --> 00:02:33.199 to understand the journey of a definitive worker 00:02:33.199 --> 00:02:36.379 in the 1990s wrestling scene. We're going to 00:02:36.379 --> 00:02:38.520 track his path from the old school territories 00:02:38.520 --> 00:02:42.240 straight through the neon lit WWF into the grimy 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:45.840 bingo halls of ECW and finally to the high flying 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:48.560 cruiserweight division of WCW. He really was 00:02:48.560 --> 00:02:50.860 a travelogue of the entire industry during its 00:02:50.860 --> 00:02:53.900 most pivotal decade. He hit every single major 00:02:53.900 --> 00:02:56.509 stop on the map. And at every stop, he managed 00:02:56.509 --> 00:02:58.669 to collect championships and unique stories. 00:02:59.009 --> 00:03:01.150 He was a winner, even if he looked like your 00:03:01.150 --> 00:03:03.389 neighbor. So we have this massive stack of sources 00:03:03.389 --> 00:03:06.569 here, biographical data, championship histories, 00:03:06.870 --> 00:03:08.849 personal life records. Let's take it all the 00:03:08.849 --> 00:03:10.750 way back to the beginning. Let's do it. Section 00:03:10.750 --> 00:03:13.870 one, the early days and the identity crisis. 00:03:14.409 --> 00:03:18.969 The year is 1985, 1985. So to set the scene for 00:03:18.969 --> 00:03:21.349 you, the wrestling business is just starting 00:03:21.349 --> 00:03:24.840 to undergo this massive seismic change. Hulk 00:03:24.840 --> 00:03:27.659 Hogan won the WWF title in 1984, right? Exactly. 00:03:28.039 --> 00:03:31.400 The WWF is going national, expanding aggressively. 00:03:32.199 --> 00:03:34.900 But the old system, the territory system, where 00:03:34.900 --> 00:03:37.659 you learned your trade by driving 300 miles a 00:03:37.659 --> 00:03:40.060 night for practically no money, that was still 00:03:40.060 --> 00:03:43.000 very much alive. And that gritty territory system 00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:46.139 is exactly where David Ferrier starts his journey. 00:03:46.580 --> 00:03:48.800 He was trained by a man who went by the name 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:51.560 The Mighty Yankee. OK, I have to stop you right 00:03:51.560 --> 00:03:53.699 there. The Mighty Yankee. That is just, that 00:03:53.699 --> 00:03:55.960 is a wrestling name if I've ever heard one. Doesn't 00:03:55.960 --> 00:03:57.719 it sound like a Golden Age comic book character? 00:03:57.860 --> 00:03:59.740 It really does, like someone who fights Captain 00:03:59.740 --> 00:04:02.979 America. But you have to remember, training in 00:04:02.979 --> 00:04:05.520 those days was brutal. It wasn't about sports 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:07.860 entertainment yet. There were no foam pits or 00:04:07.860 --> 00:04:10.560 soft crash mats. It was about survival. It was 00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:13.419 a trade school. It was about respect, grueling 00:04:13.419 --> 00:04:16.279 stretching. learning legitimate submission holds, 00:04:16.980 --> 00:04:19.000 and most importantly, learning how to protect 00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:21.980 yourself and your opponent in the ring. So, Ferrier 00:04:21.980 --> 00:04:24.180 graduates from the Mighty Yankees old school 00:04:24.180 --> 00:04:28.000 training, and he needs a name. He needs a persona 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:30.800 to step out into the world. And what does he 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:35.139 choose? Jimmy Richland. Jimmy Richland. I just 00:04:35.139 --> 00:04:36.740 have to laugh at that because it's so incredibly 00:04:36.740 --> 00:04:38.980 normal. It sounds like the name of a guy who 00:04:38.980 --> 00:04:41.709 sells life insurance in the suburbs. The source 00:04:41.709 --> 00:04:43.670 material actually points out that funny little 00:04:43.670 --> 00:04:47.970 detail. The name was so completely unassuming 00:04:47.970 --> 00:04:50.730 that most fans actually thought it was his real 00:04:50.730 --> 00:04:53.550 legal name. He didn't come out as the Destroyer 00:04:53.550 --> 00:04:56.449 or the Galactic Warrior or anything flashy. No, 00:04:56.490 --> 00:04:58.439 he was just Jimmy. I think it signals something 00:04:58.439 --> 00:05:00.439 really interesting about his mindset right out 00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:02.399 of the gate. He wasn't trying to get by on a 00:05:02.399 --> 00:05:04.600 wild gimmick or a crazy costume. He was essentially 00:05:04.600 --> 00:05:07.240 saying, I am a wrestler. Watch my technique. 00:05:07.519 --> 00:05:09.540 That's spot on. He was a mechanic in the ring. 00:05:10.500 --> 00:05:12.240 But the reality of wrestling, especially as we 00:05:12.240 --> 00:05:14.860 get into the late 80s, is that you have to evolve. 00:05:15.060 --> 00:05:17.000 You have to catch the promoter's eye and the 00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:19.199 crowd's eye. So he starts moving around the territories. 00:05:19.379 --> 00:05:21.579 He goes down to Florida, championship wrestling 00:05:21.579 --> 00:05:24.100 from Florida. Which was a massive hotbed at the 00:05:24.100 --> 00:05:26.850 time. This is the territory where dusty roads 00:05:26.850 --> 00:05:28.730 and all these heavy hitters had been drawing 00:05:28.730 --> 00:05:32.550 huge crowds for years. And here we see his first 00:05:32.550 --> 00:05:36.870 real identity crisis. He changes his name to 00:05:36.870 --> 00:05:40.350 Jomo Kenya. A very specific and as it turns out 00:05:40.350 --> 00:05:42.910 very short -lived pivot. It feels like such a 00:05:42.910 --> 00:05:45.829 drastic jarring shift from Jimmy Richland, but 00:05:45.829 --> 00:05:48.670 it clearly didn't stick so he pivots again. And 00:05:48.670 --> 00:05:51.089 this time he chooses a name that carries some 00:05:51.089 --> 00:05:54.439 serious industry weight. He becomes Jimmy Backlund. 00:05:54.639 --> 00:05:56.779 Now that is a classic wrestling trope right there. 00:05:57.040 --> 00:05:58.759 For you listening who might not be deep into 00:05:58.759 --> 00:06:01.220 wrestling history, Bob Backlund was one of the 00:06:01.220 --> 00:06:04.180 longest reigning WWF champions ever. The ultimate 00:06:04.180 --> 00:06:06.259 all -American boy. Right. The amateur wrestler, 00:06:06.420 --> 00:06:08.500 the clean -cut technical wizard. So by calling 00:06:08.500 --> 00:06:11.000 himself Jimmy Backlund, was Farrier implying 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:13.420 some sort of biological relation to Bob? The 00:06:13.420 --> 00:06:15.600 sources don't say he explicitly went on TV and 00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:18.360 lied, saying Bob is my cousin, but the implication 00:06:18.360 --> 00:06:20.519 is the entire point. It's bland dissociation. 00:06:20.779 --> 00:06:24.350 Exactly. If a fan sees the name Backlund on the 00:06:24.350 --> 00:06:27.370 event poster, they immediately assume this guy 00:06:27.370 --> 00:06:29.569 is a technical mastermind. They assume he's a 00:06:29.569 --> 00:06:32.589 good guy. It's a shortcut to establishing credibility. 00:06:33.149 --> 00:06:35.449 And looking at the record, it actually worked. 00:06:35.730 --> 00:06:37.949 He started finding real success in the tag team 00:06:37.949 --> 00:06:40.189 ranks under that name. He formed a team called 00:06:40.189 --> 00:06:43.050 the Playboys with a wrestler named Brett Sawyer. 00:06:43.310 --> 00:06:47.290 And by July 1st, 1989, they captured the FCW 00:06:47.290 --> 00:06:50.269 Tag Team Championship. Now, the source specifically 00:06:50.269 --> 00:06:53.329 notes that they were awarded the vacant titles. 00:06:53.889 --> 00:06:56.709 Does that kind of wording diminish the accomplishment 00:06:56.709 --> 00:06:59.050 at all? Not in the context of professional wrestling. 00:06:59.629 --> 00:07:01.930 In a scripted business, if the promoter simply 00:07:01.930 --> 00:07:03.829 decides that you are the team who should hold 00:07:03.829 --> 00:07:05.610 the belts when the previous champions leave, 00:07:05.970 --> 00:07:08.170 that means they view you as top guys. You are 00:07:08.170 --> 00:07:10.350 the investment. They trust you to carry the brand. 00:07:10.490 --> 00:07:12.589 Right. So they held those belts through the summer 00:07:12.589 --> 00:07:16.769 of 89, but then on August 22, they lose them. 00:07:17.209 --> 00:07:19.329 And they lose them to a team that I think just 00:07:19.329 --> 00:07:21.829 about everyone remembers. The nasty boys. Brian 00:07:21.829 --> 00:07:25.050 Knobs and Jerry Sachs. Let's talk about an absolute 00:07:25.050 --> 00:07:28.100 style clash. You've got the Playboys, who are 00:07:28.100 --> 00:07:30.620 presumably this technical, maybe slightly pretty 00:07:30.620 --> 00:07:33.300 boy team. Or at least trying to be. Right. And 00:07:33.300 --> 00:07:35.660 then you have the Nasty Boys, who are just straight 00:07:35.660 --> 00:07:39.000 up brawlers. Mullets, trench coats, stiff punches, 00:07:39.259 --> 00:07:40.980 hitting people with garbage cans. But that's 00:07:40.980 --> 00:07:43.660 the perfect wrestling dynamic. The pristine technician 00:07:43.660 --> 00:07:46.379 versus the chaotic brawler. And the fact that 00:07:46.379 --> 00:07:49.120 Del Rey or Jimmy Backlund at this point was working 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:51.319 top of the card programs with the Nasty Boys 00:07:51.319 --> 00:07:55.360 in 1989 really shows his level. Because the Nasty 00:07:55.360 --> 00:07:58.040 Boys were literally on their way to the WWF to 00:07:58.040 --> 00:08:01.610 become massive global stars. And Del Rey was 00:08:01.610 --> 00:08:03.490 right there in the ring with them, facilitating 00:08:03.490 --> 00:08:05.649 their rise and matching their energy. But to 00:08:05.649 --> 00:08:07.810 truly become a master of the wrestling craft 00:08:07.810 --> 00:08:09.610 back then, you couldn't just stay in Florida. 00:08:10.110 --> 00:08:11.769 You had to get international experience. You 00:08:11.769 --> 00:08:14.769 had to go to Japan. Ah, the Japan chapter. It's 00:08:14.769 --> 00:08:18.189 almost like a mandatory semester abroad for any 00:08:18.189 --> 00:08:20.990 truly great technical wrestler. We look at guys 00:08:20.990 --> 00:08:24.410 like Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, Dean Malenko. 00:08:24.610 --> 00:08:27.879 They all did it. It's a rite of passage. So our 00:08:27.879 --> 00:08:30.459 sources show Del Rey went to Frontier Martial 00:08:30.459 --> 00:08:33.240 Arts Wrestling or FMW and he worked there from 00:08:33.240 --> 00:08:37.019 1989 to 1991. Yes. Now, I know a little bit about 00:08:37.019 --> 00:08:40.379 FMW. When I hear that acronym, I think of exploding 00:08:40.379 --> 00:08:43.320 barbed wire death matches. I think of copious 00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:45.720 amounts of blood and extreme physical danger. 00:08:46.159 --> 00:08:48.779 And you aren't wrong at all. FMW was absolutely 00:08:48.779 --> 00:08:51.240 the pioneer of that hardcore death match style. 00:08:51.980 --> 00:08:54.559 But... And this is a crucial point for context. 00:08:55.080 --> 00:08:57.320 A promoter can't just run two straight hours 00:08:57.320 --> 00:08:59.620 of explosions. The crowd would get numb to it. 00:08:59.860 --> 00:09:02.679 Exactly. You need variety on the card. So FMW 00:09:02.679 --> 00:09:04.919 had this junior heavyweight division that was 00:09:04.919 --> 00:09:07.860 incredibly fast paced and athletic to balance 00:09:07.860 --> 00:09:10.320 out the gore. So Dill Ray was brought in to be 00:09:10.320 --> 00:09:13.360 the palate cleanser. In a way, yes. He was there 00:09:13.360 --> 00:09:15.559 to provide the high level athletic wrestling 00:09:15.559 --> 00:09:17.759 action. Yeah. And he was highly successful at 00:09:17.759 --> 00:09:20.340 it. He actually held the AWA World Light Heavyweight 00:09:20.340 --> 00:09:22.960 Championship while he was in FMW. Which proves 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:25.080 he could hang with that Japanese style. The strong 00:09:25.080 --> 00:09:27.500 style, yes. Can you just briefly explain strong 00:09:27.500 --> 00:09:29.259 style for the listener who might not be familiar 00:09:29.259 --> 00:09:32.679 with that specific term? Sure. In Japan, professional 00:09:32.679 --> 00:09:34.879 wrestling is presented much more like a legitimate 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:38.279 combat sport. The hits are tangibly harder. They 00:09:38.279 --> 00:09:40.379 actually make solid contact with their strikes. 00:09:40.879 --> 00:09:43.480 The submission holds are cinched in much tighter. 00:09:43.620 --> 00:09:45.700 It's less theatrical and more physical. Right. 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:48.080 So if you could survive a multi -week tour in 00:09:48.080 --> 00:09:51.600 Japan and actually get invited back by the promoter, 00:09:51.820 --> 00:09:54.919 it means you are genuinely tough and highly precise. 00:09:54.960 --> 00:09:57.419 You aren't just an actor, you're a fighter. And 00:09:57.419 --> 00:10:00.039 the records show he also worked for Wing in 1992, 00:10:00.100 --> 00:10:02.559 which was another Japanese promotion. So he's 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:05.159 really racking up the frequent flyer miles here. 00:10:05.179 --> 00:10:09.019 He's becoming this worldly seasoned veteran. 00:10:09.179 --> 00:10:11.019 And all that hard work finally pays off when 00:10:11.019 --> 00:10:14.019 the big machine comes calling the World Wrestling 00:10:14.019 --> 00:10:16.179 Federation. He gets a look from them, a tryout. 00:10:16.299 --> 00:10:19.100 The date is November 20, 1991. But we should 00:10:19.100 --> 00:10:21.779 clarify, this wasn't Madison Square Garden. This 00:10:21.779 --> 00:10:23.759 wasn't WrestleMania. No, the source notes this 00:10:23.759 --> 00:10:26.320 was a house show and an untelevised live event. 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:28.440 And interestingly, he goes all the way back to 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:31.019 the name Jimmy Richland for this match. Going 00:10:31.019 --> 00:10:33.500 right back to basics. And do you see who he wrestled? 00:10:33.639 --> 00:10:36.279 He wrestled Skinner. The Alligator Man from the 00:10:36.279 --> 00:10:38.740 Everglades. I used to love Skinner. He would 00:10:38.740 --> 00:10:40.559 come out to the ring with that real alligator 00:10:40.559 --> 00:10:43.740 claw and just aggressively chew tobacco. And 00:10:43.740 --> 00:10:45.980 underneath that wild gimmick was Steve Kern, 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:48.860 who was an absolute legend in Florida wrestling. 00:10:50.059 --> 00:10:52.320 Now, Del Rey lost that match to Skinner. But 00:10:52.320 --> 00:10:54.500 in the wrestling business, a loss isn't always 00:10:54.500 --> 00:10:56.919 a failure, right? Not at all. It was a tryout 00:10:56.919 --> 00:10:59.720 match. He went out there to show the WWF agents 00:10:59.720 --> 00:11:02.669 in the back. Look. I can get in the ring with 00:11:02.669 --> 00:11:05.669 an respected veteran like Skinner, have a solid, 00:11:05.750 --> 00:11:08.029 safe match, and do exactly what I am told to 00:11:08.029 --> 00:11:10.570 do. He passed the test from a technical standpoint, 00:11:10.710 --> 00:11:13.070 but he didn't secure a full -time contract right 00:11:13.070 --> 00:11:14.889 then and there. It seems like he was missing 00:11:14.889 --> 00:11:16.970 something. He needed the right vehicle to get 00:11:16.970 --> 00:11:19.529 him to the next level. Which perfectly transitions 00:11:19.529 --> 00:11:22.409 us into section two of our deep dive, the Smoky 00:11:22.409 --> 00:11:24.970 Mountain Wrestling Era and the actual birth of 00:11:24.970 --> 00:11:28.190 the Gigolo. The year is 1993. The location is 00:11:28.190 --> 00:11:30.779 Knoxville, Tennessee. Smokey Mountain Wrestling, 00:11:31.220 --> 00:11:34.179 or SMW, which was run by the legendary Jim Cornette. 00:11:34.399 --> 00:11:38.059 Jim Cornette. A highly polarizing figure in wrestling 00:11:38.059 --> 00:11:41.159 history, to say the very least, but an absolute 00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:43.960 undisputed genius when it came to booking tag 00:11:43.960 --> 00:11:46.620 team wrestling. He loved that traditional old 00:11:46.620 --> 00:11:50.879 school southern tag team style. And his top attraction, 00:11:51.100 --> 00:11:53.860 his big money makers in SMW, was a team called 00:11:53.860 --> 00:11:56.740 the Heavenly Bodies. Now, originally that team 00:11:56.740 --> 00:11:59.830 consisted of Tom Prichard and Stan Lang. Stan 00:11:59.830 --> 00:12:02.450 Lane from the Midnight Express, that is serious 00:12:02.450 --> 00:12:05.149 wrestling royalty. It really is. Stan Lane was 00:12:05.149 --> 00:12:07.090 everything a wrestler was supposed to be in that 00:12:07.090 --> 00:12:10.529 era. He was handsome, smooth in the ring, a fantastic 00:12:10.529 --> 00:12:12.970 talker, and just an all around great worker. 00:12:13.230 --> 00:12:16.269 But in early 1993, Stan Lane decides he wants 00:12:16.269 --> 00:12:19.409 to retire. So suddenly, Jim Cornette has a massive 00:12:19.409 --> 00:12:21.929 problem on his hands. He has this top tier tag 00:12:21.929 --> 00:12:24.190 team brand. He has Tom Prichard ready to go. 00:12:24.409 --> 00:12:27.450 But he has a glaring vacancy. He needs a replacement 00:12:27.450 --> 00:12:29.850 for a legend. And replacing a beloved legend 00:12:29.850 --> 00:12:32.090 is arguably the hardest job in the entire business. 00:12:32.210 --> 00:12:34.090 It's like trying to replace the lead singer of 00:12:34.090 --> 00:12:36.429 an iconic rock band. The fans are practically 00:12:36.429 --> 00:12:38.509 pre -programmed to hate the new guy just because 00:12:38.509 --> 00:12:41.230 he isn't the old guy. So enter David Ferrier, 00:12:41.710 --> 00:12:44.529 the mechanic. But Cornett is smart. He doesn't 00:12:44.529 --> 00:12:46.470 call him David Ferrier. He doesn't call him Jimmy 00:12:46.470 --> 00:12:49.289 Richland. He calls him Jimmy Del Rey. And this 00:12:49.289 --> 00:12:51.490 is where we see the psychology of booking at 00:12:51.490 --> 00:12:54.679 play. Why Del Rey? Because Stan Lane, the guy 00:12:54.679 --> 00:12:57.139 he's replacing, was famously billed as being 00:12:57.139 --> 00:12:59.440 from Delray Beach, Florida. It's a subconscious 00:12:59.440 --> 00:13:02.700 bridge. Exactly. By naming the new guy Jimmy 00:13:02.700 --> 00:13:05.799 Delray, they create this subtle, almost invisible 00:13:05.799 --> 00:13:08.700 link to the past member. It makes him feel like 00:13:08.700 --> 00:13:10.779 he inherently belongs in that link. Oh, it's 00:13:10.779 --> 00:13:13.620 brilliant. But then Cornet executes the real 00:13:13.620 --> 00:13:16.679 masterstroke. He gives him the moniker. He christened 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:19.309 him the Gigolo. And this is where that physical 00:13:19.309 --> 00:13:21.750 paradox we talked about in the intro really becomes 00:13:21.750 --> 00:13:24.669 the focal point. Cornet looked at Jimmy and saw 00:13:24.669 --> 00:13:27.149 that he obviously wasn't a bodybuilder. He had 00:13:27.149 --> 00:13:29.669 that, as the source calls it, pudgy midsection. 00:13:29.769 --> 00:13:31.669 So instead of giving him a t -shirt to hide it, 00:13:31.710 --> 00:13:34.169 they put a massive spotlight on it. Right. If 00:13:34.169 --> 00:13:36.590 Jimmy Del Rey tries to act like a tough, intimidating 00:13:36.590 --> 00:13:38.649 bad guy, the fans are just going to laugh at 00:13:38.649 --> 00:13:41.519 him. But if he acts like this completely delusional 00:13:41.519 --> 00:13:44.519 Lothario, who genuinely believes he is God's 00:13:44.519 --> 00:13:46.600 gift to women, and he does that jiggle dance 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:50.620 to show off his completely average body, it generates 00:13:50.620 --> 00:13:53.460 massive heat. It makes the fans absolutely furious. 00:13:53.500 --> 00:13:55.679 They look at him and say, Who does this guy think 00:13:55.679 --> 00:13:57.879 he is? I want to pay money to see someone punch 00:13:57.879 --> 00:14:00.519 him right in his smug mouth. It is the crucial 00:14:00.519 --> 00:14:03.000 difference between what the industry calls go 00:14:03.000 --> 00:14:05.620 away heat, where fans are just bored and want 00:14:05.620 --> 00:14:08.139 you to leave and I'll pay to see you lose heat. 00:14:08.200 --> 00:14:11.139 And he had the ladder in spades. The jiggle dance 00:14:11.139 --> 00:14:14.259 became his absolute signature. He would stand 00:14:14.259 --> 00:14:16.840 dead center in the ring, swivel his hips and 00:14:16.840 --> 00:14:19.220 just let his stomach bounce. It was grotesque. 00:14:19.220 --> 00:14:21.840 It was hilarious. And it was incredibly effective 00:14:21.840 --> 00:14:23.899 for a villain. And we have to talk about how 00:14:23.899 --> 00:14:26.409 well it contrasted with his partner Tom Prichard. 00:14:26.870 --> 00:14:29.289 Prichard was billed as the Doctor of Desire. 00:14:29.429 --> 00:14:32.750 He was the serious Polish athlete, the street 00:14:32.750 --> 00:14:36.149 man of the duo. While Delray was the weird, sleazy, 00:14:36.309 --> 00:14:38.990 eccentric cousin, it was an absolutely perfect 00:14:38.990 --> 00:14:41.909 dynamic, and it brought them huge success. The 00:14:41.909 --> 00:14:44.529 records show they won the SMW Tag Team Championship 00:14:44.529 --> 00:14:47.389 on three separate occasions. They were the undisputed 00:14:47.389 --> 00:14:49.990 anchors of that territory. But here is where 00:14:49.990 --> 00:14:52.169 the timeline gets really unique, and it brings 00:14:52.169 --> 00:14:55.440 us to Section 3. The big stage. The World Wrestling 00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:58.700 Federation. Usually, if you are the top act in 00:14:58.700 --> 00:15:01.240 a regional territory like SMW, you stay there. 00:15:01.299 --> 00:15:03.000 You don't just magically show up on national 00:15:03.000 --> 00:15:06.539 television for a rival company. But 1993 was 00:15:06.539 --> 00:15:09.679 a weird transitional year. It really was. The 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:12.620 WWF tag team division was a bit thin, and they 00:15:12.620 --> 00:15:15.580 were actively looking for fresh talent. Jim Cornette 00:15:15.580 --> 00:15:17.720 had managed to strike up a working relationship 00:15:17.720 --> 00:15:20.379 with Vince McMahon. A rare cross promotion deal. 00:15:20.600 --> 00:15:23.720 So The Heavenly Bodies, a team actively reigning 00:15:23.720 --> 00:15:26.000 in Smoky Mountain Wrestling, make their debut 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:29.590 on WWF Monday Night Raw. The date is August 9th, 00:15:29.649 --> 00:15:33.129 1993. This is a massive platform. Raw is the 00:15:33.129 --> 00:15:35.529 flagship show. Our sources note they debuted 00:15:35.529 --> 00:15:38.190 against a team of Bobby Who and Mike Bucci. Which 00:15:38.190 --> 00:15:40.649 was a standard squash match designed entirely 00:15:40.649 --> 00:15:42.789 to showcase their moves to the national audience. 00:15:43.029 --> 00:15:45.409 And the WWF clearly liked what they saw because 00:15:45.409 --> 00:15:47.149 they didn't waste any time pushing them up the 00:15:47.149 --> 00:15:49.769 card. Later that exact same month, August 30th, 00:15:49.789 --> 00:15:52.830 they are on SummerSlam. SummerSlam. One of the 00:15:52.830 --> 00:15:55.830 big four. pay -per -views and look at who they 00:15:55.830 --> 00:15:57.990 are putting the ring against. The Steiner brothers 00:15:57.990 --> 00:16:00.769 Rick and Scott Steiner for the World Tag Team 00:16:00.769 --> 00:16:03.750 Championship. Now we have to emphasize at this 00:16:03.750 --> 00:16:06.669 point in time the Steiner's are arguably the 00:16:06.669 --> 00:16:09.600 best most dangerous tag team on the planet. They 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:12.059 were terrifying. They were known for working 00:16:12.059 --> 00:16:14.720 incredibly stiff. They would throw these massive 00:16:14.720 --> 00:16:18.259 high angle suplexes that could legitimately knock 00:16:18.259 --> 00:16:20.500 the wind out of you or drop you on your head 00:16:20.500 --> 00:16:22.720 if you weren't perfectly positioned. So for the 00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:25.159 WWF management to put the heavenly bodies in 00:16:25.159 --> 00:16:27.779 a championship match against the Steiners on 00:16:27.779 --> 00:16:30.240 live pay -per -view It speaks volumes about how 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:32.440 much they trusted Jimmy Del Rey's in -ring ability. 00:16:32.620 --> 00:16:34.700 They needed someone who could take those insane 00:16:34.700 --> 00:16:36.960 bumps, position themselves perfectly to take 00:16:36.960 --> 00:16:39.460 a Frankensteiner safely, and make the champions 00:16:39.460 --> 00:16:42.379 look like absolute monsters. And Del Rey was 00:16:42.379 --> 00:16:44.299 the perfect mechanic for the job. Even though 00:16:44.299 --> 00:16:46.600 the heavenly bodies lost that match, just being 00:16:46.600 --> 00:16:48.720 trusted with that spot elevated them instantly. 00:16:49.100 --> 00:16:51.480 It made them legitimate in the eyes of the WWF 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:54.480 fans. And they kept that momentum rolling, which 00:16:54.480 --> 00:16:57.059 leads us to a specific match at Survivor Series 00:16:57.059 --> 00:17:00.360 1993 that I think really represents the absolute 00:17:00.360 --> 00:17:03.340 peak of their heel character work. November 24th, 00:17:03.419 --> 00:17:07.380 1993. Inside the legendary Boston Garden, the 00:17:07.380 --> 00:17:09.420 Heavily Bodies versus the Rock and Roll Express. 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:12.160 Now, context is everything here. The Rock and 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:14.000 Roll Express, Ricky Morton and Robert Gibson, 00:17:14.160 --> 00:17:16.019 they were the bitter arch rivals of the heavenly 00:17:16.019 --> 00:17:18.539 bodies down in SMW. They were the ultimate pure 00:17:18.539 --> 00:17:21.940 baby faces, former teen idols. And here they 00:17:21.940 --> 00:17:25.319 are, both teams, wrestling on a major WWF pay 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:27.420 -per -view event. But the most mind -blowing 00:17:27.420 --> 00:17:29.140 part is what they were actually fighting for. 00:17:29.359 --> 00:17:31.380 Right. They were fighting for the Smokey Mountain 00:17:31.380 --> 00:17:34.539 Wrestling Tag Team Championship. On WWF television. 00:17:34.799 --> 00:17:38.140 That is just unheard of. The WWF willingly gave 00:17:38.140 --> 00:17:40.480 up premium air time on one of their biggest shows 00:17:40.480 --> 00:17:43.059 of the year to promote a title belt from a small 00:17:43.059 --> 00:17:45.440 regional promotion in Tennessee. It's something 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:48.000 that would be almost unimaginable today. It shows 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:50.220 the immense respect the industry had for Cornett 00:17:50.220 --> 00:17:52.359 and the in -ring quality of these two teams. 00:17:52.660 --> 00:17:56.099 And the finish of that match. It is pure classic 00:17:56.099 --> 00:17:58.880 wrestling psychology. Walk us through it. So 00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:01.500 the match is reaching its climax. The Rock and 00:18:01.500 --> 00:18:04.319 Roll Express are on absolute fire. The Boston 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:06.980 crowd is going wild. They clearly have the match 00:18:06.980 --> 00:18:10.240 won. But as always happens in these situations, 00:18:10.420 --> 00:18:12.700 the referee gets distracted. The oldest trick 00:18:12.700 --> 00:18:15.619 in the bad guy playbook. Exactly. And while the 00:18:15.619 --> 00:18:18.200 referee has his back turned to the action, Jimmy 00:18:18.200 --> 00:18:21.329 Del Rey grabs Jim Cornett's tennis racket. The 00:18:21.329 --> 00:18:23.490 tennis racket. We haven't even properly highlighted 00:18:23.490 --> 00:18:26.170 the racket yet. Cornett carried this vintage 00:18:26.170 --> 00:18:28.670 tennis racket to the ring for every single match. 00:18:28.849 --> 00:18:30.970 And the running storyline was that the cover 00:18:30.970 --> 00:18:34.410 of the racket was loaded with a heavy steel horseshoe. 00:18:34.750 --> 00:18:36.930 So Dillrake takes this loaded racket and just 00:18:36.930 --> 00:18:39.150 smashes Robert Gibson with it. Prichard scrambles 00:18:39.150 --> 00:18:41.289 over, makes the cover, the referee turns back 00:18:41.289 --> 00:18:44.289 around. One, two, three. The bad guys win. On 00:18:44.289 --> 00:18:47.170 a massive global stage, they used the cheapest 00:18:47.170 --> 00:18:49.529 tactics possible to steal the titles from the 00:18:49.529 --> 00:18:51.829 heroes. It perfectly established them as the 00:18:51.829 --> 00:18:54.329 smartest, sneakiest team in the building. And 00:18:54.329 --> 00:18:57.009 they rode that wave of heat right into 1994. 00:18:57.450 --> 00:18:59.470 The sources show they made it to WrestleMania 00:18:59.470 --> 00:19:02.289 X. Madison Square Garden, the 10th anniversary 00:19:02.289 --> 00:19:05.069 of WrestleMania. They wrestled a dark match against 00:19:05.069 --> 00:19:07.490 the Bushwhackers. Now, a dark match is just for 00:19:07.490 --> 00:19:09.589 the live crowd in the arena. It's not broadcast 00:19:09.589 --> 00:19:12.069 on the pay -per -view, but they won that match. 00:19:12.410 --> 00:19:14.519 And honestly, just be able to say you want to 00:19:14.519 --> 00:19:17.900 match at WrestleMania inside MSG that is a permanent 00:19:17.900 --> 00:19:20.440 resume builder. Absolutely. And they stayed highly 00:19:20.440 --> 00:19:23.000 relevant throughout the year. At Survivor Series 00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:27.359 1994, they were recruited for a major main event 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:30.640 level storyline. They became part of Ted DeBias's 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:33.140 million dollar team. Look at the sheer size of 00:19:33.140 --> 00:19:35.420 the guys on this team. You have Bam Bam Bigelow, 00:19:35.799 --> 00:19:38.660 you have King Kong Bundy, you have Tatanka. These 00:19:38.660 --> 00:19:41.339 are massive hulking monsters. And then standing 00:19:41.339 --> 00:19:44.079 next to them, the heavenly bodies, the Gigolo 00:19:44.079 --> 00:19:46.380 and the Doctor. But there is a very practical 00:19:46.380 --> 00:19:49.400 reason for that. In a long traditional Survivor 00:19:49.400 --> 00:19:52.400 Series elimination match, You need workers. You 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:54.460 need guys who can actually wrestle back and forth 00:19:54.460 --> 00:19:56.960 for 20 minutes while guys like King Kong Bundy 00:19:56.960 --> 00:19:59.099 stand on the apron and catch their breath. They 00:19:59.099 --> 00:20:01.140 were the engine of the team. They were up against 00:20:01.140 --> 00:20:04.240 a team called Guts and Glory, which was Lex Luger, 00:20:04.619 --> 00:20:08.519 Mabel, Adam Baum, and the Smoking Guns. And the 00:20:08.519 --> 00:20:10.460 million dollar team actually won that match. 00:20:11.339 --> 00:20:13.859 Delray and Pridgerd were eventually eliminated 00:20:13.859 --> 00:20:16.160 during the course of it, but they were integral 00:20:16.160 --> 00:20:18.660 parts of the winning unit. But as we flip the 00:20:18.660 --> 00:20:21.279 calendar to 1995, you can start to see the writing 00:20:21.279 --> 00:20:24.140 on the wall. The cross -promotion deal is fading 00:20:24.140 --> 00:20:26.500 out. Smokey Mountain Wrestling is struggling 00:20:26.500 --> 00:20:29.559 financially. The great run starts to wind down. 00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:33.640 In January 1995, Del Ray is an entrant in the 00:20:33.640 --> 00:20:36.500 30 -man Royal Rumble match. He gets in there, 00:20:36.779 --> 00:20:39.339 lasts a little while, and is eventually eliminated 00:20:39.339 --> 00:20:41.680 by the British Bulldog. Pretty standard Rumble 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:44.240 appearance, but his exit from the WWF is what 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:46.660 I find truly fascinating, mostly because of who 00:20:46.660 --> 00:20:48.339 he was in the ring with on his way out the door. 00:20:48.640 --> 00:20:50.799 This is what the industry calls the jobber to 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:53.500 the stars phase of a career. When a wrestler 00:20:53.500 --> 00:20:55.559 is leaving or when the front office knows they 00:20:55.559 --> 00:20:57.859 are incredibly safe and reliable, they will put 00:20:57.859 --> 00:21:00.259 them in matches with their absolute top stars 00:21:00.259 --> 00:21:03.759 to guarantee a great television segment. So in 00:21:03.759 --> 00:21:07.799 April 1995 on the show Superstars, he wrestles 00:21:07.799 --> 00:21:10.599 Bret the Hitman Hart. The excellence of execution. 00:21:10.700 --> 00:21:13.700 The face of the company. And then his final televised 00:21:13.700 --> 00:21:17.259 match for the WWF is on Raw, July 24th, 1995, 00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:19.960 and he wrestles Shawn Michaels. The Heartbreak 00:21:19.960 --> 00:21:22.420 Kid, the Intercontinental Champion at the time. 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:24.900 Just think about the magnitude of that. In his 00:21:24.900 --> 00:21:27.359 final months, he shared the ring with Bret Hart 00:21:27.359 --> 00:21:29.859 and Shawn Michaels. Those are undeniably the 00:21:29.859 --> 00:21:32.779 two best wrestlers of the 1990s. And the office 00:21:32.779 --> 00:21:35.519 trusted Jimmy Del Rey to go out there on national 00:21:35.519 --> 00:21:37.700 television and work singles matches with him. 00:21:37.789 --> 00:21:41.269 That is the ultimate seal of approval for a wrestler's 00:21:41.269 --> 00:21:44.349 ability. So by mid -95, the WWF run is officially 00:21:44.349 --> 00:21:47.450 over, and then SMW finally shuts its doors for 00:21:47.450 --> 00:21:50.670 good in December of 1995. The old territory system 00:21:50.670 --> 00:21:52.990 is effectively dead. So where does a traditional 00:21:52.990 --> 00:21:55.450 guy like Jimmy Del Rey go? He's a gigolo who 00:21:55.450 --> 00:21:57.769 relies on an obnoxious dance and a manager with 00:21:57.769 --> 00:22:00.450 a tennis racket. Section 4. The Wild West. He 00:22:00.450 --> 00:22:02.470 goes to the one place that makes absolutely zero 00:22:02.470 --> 00:22:04.650 sense on paper. He goes to Philadelphia. Extreme 00:22:04.650 --> 00:22:07.130 Championship Wrestling. I really cannot stress 00:22:07.130 --> 00:22:09.630 enough how weird of a cultural fit this was. 00:22:10.289 --> 00:22:13.970 ECW in 1995 was grunge. It was counterculture. 00:22:14.410 --> 00:22:17.769 It was flannel shirts, broken tables, blood and 00:22:17.769 --> 00:22:22.099 beer. The ECW fans actively despised sports entertainment. 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:24.680 They hated traditional gimmicks. And here come 00:22:24.680 --> 00:22:27.059 the heavenly bodies. Two guys walking down the 00:22:27.059 --> 00:22:29.500 aisle in pristine matching trunks managed by 00:22:29.500 --> 00:22:32.140 a loudmouth southern lawyer doing a jiggle dance. 00:22:32.299 --> 00:22:34.599 They were the ultimate squares crashing the punk 00:22:34.599 --> 00:22:37.259 rock show. And paradoxically, that is exactly 00:22:37.259 --> 00:22:39.700 why it worked. They ended up joining a faction 00:22:39.700 --> 00:22:42.440 called Raven's Nest, which is another layer of 00:22:42.440 --> 00:22:45.839 weirdness. Raven was this moody, depressed, philosophical 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:47.859 cult leader. Why on earth would he hang out with 00:22:47.859 --> 00:22:49.960 the Gigolo. It had to be irony, right? Completely. 00:22:50.259 --> 00:22:52.119 Raven collected the outcasts and the weirdos 00:22:52.119 --> 00:22:54.660 of wrestling, and bringing these pristine Southern 00:22:54.660 --> 00:22:57.480 traditionalists into his gritty nest was a brilliant 00:22:57.480 --> 00:23:00.940 way to troll the diehard ECW audience. And this 00:23:00.940 --> 00:23:03.660 leads to a specific night in ECW history that 00:23:03.660 --> 00:23:06.259 our source highlights in detail, December 9th, 00:23:06.319 --> 00:23:09.420 1995, an event called December to Dismember. 00:23:09.740 --> 00:23:12.480 The match was billed as Ultimate Jeopardy, and 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:15.839 this is where we see peak ECW booking insanity. 00:23:16.059 --> 00:23:18.480 I really need you to brace yourself as we go 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:20.480 through these match stipulations. I'm ready. 00:23:20.759 --> 00:23:23.119 Latest stipulation's on me. Okay. So it's a tag 00:23:23.119 --> 00:23:26.240 team match. The Heavenly Bodies versus the Public 00:23:26.240 --> 00:23:29.599 Enemy. Now Public Enemy were the beloved crowd 00:23:29.599 --> 00:23:32.460 favorites. They wore street clothes. They brought 00:23:32.460 --> 00:23:35.039 tables into the ring. They were brawlers. So 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:37.380 once again, we have the pristine technicians 00:23:37.380 --> 00:23:40.880 versus the chaotic brawlers. Exactly. But the 00:23:40.880 --> 00:23:43.539 stakes placed on this match were just completely 00:23:43.539 --> 00:23:47.000 ridiculous. Stipulation number one. If public 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:49.220 enemy loses the match, they are forced to fight 00:23:49.220 --> 00:23:51.420 each other later that same night. Okay, forcing 00:23:51.420 --> 00:23:53.660 the best friends to turn on each other? Classic 00:23:53.660 --> 00:23:55.980 wrestling tension, I follow that. Stipulation 00:23:55.980 --> 00:23:59.200 number two. If the heavenly bodies lose, their 00:23:59.200 --> 00:24:01.440 stablemates, a tag team called the Eliminators, 00:24:01.559 --> 00:24:04.619 are fired from ECW. And on top of that, their 00:24:04.619 --> 00:24:06.920 manager, a guy named Jason, has to get his head 00:24:06.920 --> 00:24:09.460 shaved bald. Wait, hold on. So if Jimmy Del Rey 00:24:09.460 --> 00:24:11.880 gets pinned in the ring, two completely different 00:24:11.880 --> 00:24:14.480 guys lose their jobs and a third guy loses his 00:24:14.480 --> 00:24:17.480 hair. You've got it. But wait, there is more. 00:24:17.920 --> 00:24:21.319 Stipulation three. If the heavenly bodies lose 00:24:21.319 --> 00:24:24.839 Raven's valet, Bula McGillicutty is forced to 00:24:24.839 --> 00:24:27.420 spend an entire week with her rival, Tommy Dreamer. 00:24:27.619 --> 00:24:30.859 The romantic soap opera subplot. So now true 00:24:30.859 --> 00:24:34.579 love is on the line, too. And finally, stipulation 00:24:34.579 --> 00:24:37.319 four, if the heavenly bodies lose, Stevie Richards, 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:39.940 who was Raven's lackey, gets locked inside a 00:24:39.940 --> 00:24:41.859 steel cage for five minutes with the winners 00:24:41.859 --> 00:24:44.299 of the main event. That is, I mean, that is just 00:24:44.299 --> 00:24:46.319 so much math. I feel like the fans in the arena 00:24:46.319 --> 00:24:48.140 would need a spreadsheet just to keep track of 00:24:48.140 --> 00:24:51.400 what was at stake. It was absolute chaos by design. 00:24:52.000 --> 00:24:54.180 And the ultimate punchline to all of this buildup, 00:24:54.539 --> 00:24:56.640 the heavenly bodies lost the match. Of course 00:24:56.640 --> 00:24:58.500 they did. So every single one of those crazy 00:24:58.500 --> 00:25:00.740 stipulations was enforced. The eliminators were 00:25:00.740 --> 00:25:02.980 fired. Jason got his head. shaved in the middle 00:25:02.980 --> 00:25:05.380 of the ring, Bula had to leave with Dreamer, 00:25:05.660 --> 00:25:07.839 and poor Stevie Richards got locked in a steel 00:25:07.839 --> 00:25:10.039 cage and absolutely destroyed. And amidst all 00:25:10.039 --> 00:25:12.440 that swirling chaos and storyline madness, there 00:25:12.440 --> 00:25:15.039 is Jimmy Del Rey just lacing up his boots and 00:25:15.039 --> 00:25:17.220 doing his job perfectly. Just doing his job. 00:25:17.700 --> 00:25:20.279 But that ECW run was very short. It was basically 00:25:20.279 --> 00:25:22.960 a cup of coffee. Tom Prichard ended up going 00:25:22.960 --> 00:25:26.240 back to the WWF to work as a trainer, so the 00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:28.119 heavenly bodies disbanded. The source mentions 00:25:28.119 --> 00:25:30.619 Delray had one final singles match there against 00:25:30.619 --> 00:25:32.660 Bubba Ray Dudley, who obviously became a massive 00:25:32.660 --> 00:25:35.460 tag team legend later on, and Delray lost that 00:25:35.460 --> 00:25:38.609 match. And that was it for Philadelphia. So he's 00:25:38.609 --> 00:25:40.130 conquered the old territories. He's wrestled 00:25:40.130 --> 00:25:43.549 on pay -per -view for the polished WWF. He's 00:25:43.549 --> 00:25:46.849 survived the hardcore bingo hall of ECW. There 00:25:46.849 --> 00:25:49.089 was only one major player left on the board in 00:25:49.089 --> 00:25:50.869 the Monday Night Wars. Which brings us to section 00:25:50.869 --> 00:25:54.509 five, reinvention. It's late 1996 world championship 00:25:54.509 --> 00:25:57.750 wrestling. WCW is flush with cash. They are buying 00:25:57.750 --> 00:26:00.289 up every talent they can find. Hulk Hogan is 00:26:00.289 --> 00:26:03.150 there. The NWO is running wild. And in walks 00:26:03.150 --> 00:26:05.970 our guy, David Ferrier. But he's not Jimmy Del 00:26:05.970 --> 00:26:08.329 Rey anymore. No, he reinvents his identity yet 00:26:08.329 --> 00:26:12.450 again. He debuts in October 1996 under the name 00:26:12.450 --> 00:26:15.369 Jimmy Graffiti. Jimmy Graffiti. It is a painfully 00:26:15.369 --> 00:26:17.630 90s name. It sounds like a radical character 00:26:17.630 --> 00:26:19.569 they invented for a skateboard or a soda commercial. 00:26:19.809 --> 00:26:22.809 It really does. But the name itself matters a 00:26:22.809 --> 00:26:25.369 lot less than where WCW actually placed him on 00:26:25.369 --> 00:26:27.690 the roster. He wasn't wrestling the giant heavyweight. 00:26:27.710 --> 00:26:29.930 No, he was placed directly into the Cruiserweight 00:26:29.930 --> 00:26:32.539 division. And this is huge context for our listeners. 00:26:32.940 --> 00:26:35.539 The WCW Cruiserweight division completely changed 00:26:35.539 --> 00:26:37.599 the paradigm of professional wrestling in North 00:26:37.599 --> 00:26:40.240 America. This is the division that featured Rey 00:26:40.240 --> 00:26:44.109 Mysterio, Dean Milanko, Chris Jericho, Eddie 00:26:44.109 --> 00:26:46.630 Guerrero. These were international athletes doing 00:26:46.630 --> 00:26:49.430 things in the ring that seemed to literally defy 00:26:49.430 --> 00:26:52.450 gravity. And WCW management looked at Jimmy Graffiti, 00:26:52.589 --> 00:26:55.210 the guy with the pudgy midsection, the guy famous 00:26:55.210 --> 00:26:56.950 for the jiggle dance, and put him right in the 00:26:56.950 --> 00:26:59.109 mix with the greatest high flyers on earth. Just 00:26:59.109 --> 00:27:01.930 visualize that contrast. Yeah. You have Ray Mysterio. 00:27:02.039 --> 00:27:05.099 who is maybe five foot four, wearing a colorful 00:27:05.099 --> 00:27:07.680 lucha libre mask, doing twisting flips off the 00:27:07.680 --> 00:27:10.079 top rope, and the guy catching him is Jimmy Graffiti. 00:27:10.259 --> 00:27:13.039 It totally validated the entire premise of his 00:27:13.039 --> 00:27:16.579 career. He was a genuine elite athlete. The source 00:27:16.579 --> 00:27:18.779 specifically notes he competed against technical 00:27:18.779 --> 00:27:21.680 wizards like Dean Malenko and Billy Kidman. And 00:27:21.680 --> 00:27:24.079 you simply cannot fake your way through a match 00:27:24.079 --> 00:27:26.220 with Dean Malenko. They called him the man of 00:27:26.220 --> 00:27:28.759 a thousand holds. If you don't know exactly what 00:27:28.759 --> 00:27:30.920 you're doing on the mat, Malenko will tie you 00:27:30.920 --> 00:27:33.319 in knots. The fact that Del Rey hung with him 00:27:33.319 --> 00:27:35.940 proves his skill. He became a solid part of the 00:27:35.940 --> 00:27:38.920 WCW landscape. He even participated in the massive 00:27:38.920 --> 00:27:41.339 World War Three pay -per -view event in November 00:27:41.339 --> 00:27:45.559 1996. 60 men, three separate wrestling rings, 00:27:46.119 --> 00:27:48.980 a massive chaotic spectacle. And he was right 00:27:48.980 --> 00:27:51.740 there in the thick of it. But sadly, this WCW 00:27:51.740 --> 00:27:54.880 run, it ends incredibly abruptly. And it's not 00:27:54.880 --> 00:27:56.940 because he got fired. It's not because of backstage 00:27:56.940 --> 00:27:59.319 politics or scandal. But it's the ultimate wrestler's 00:27:59.319 --> 00:28:01.859 curse. His body finally gave out. The source 00:28:01.859 --> 00:28:03.880 notes that he suffered a severe knee injury in 00:28:03.880 --> 00:28:06.339 1997. It's always the knees or the necks in that 00:28:06.339 --> 00:28:08.900 business. It forced him to retire from full time 00:28:08.900 --> 00:28:11.740 active competition. And here is the real kicker 00:28:11.740 --> 00:28:14.400 of this whole timeline. David Ferrier was born 00:28:14.400 --> 00:28:17.839 in 1962. So when he was forced to retire in 1997, 00:28:18.180 --> 00:28:21.910 he was only 35 years old. 35. That is just incredibly 00:28:21.910 --> 00:28:24.509 young, especially for a guy with his vast technical 00:28:24.509 --> 00:28:27.150 knowledge. If his knee hadn't given out, a worker 00:28:27.150 --> 00:28:29.109 like him could have easily wrestled for another 00:28:29.109 --> 00:28:31.250 10 or 15 years. It's one of the great tragedies 00:28:31.250 --> 00:28:33.769 of the profession. The miles just add up so fast 00:28:33.769 --> 00:28:36.730 on those joints. So what does a 35 year old retired 00:28:36.730 --> 00:28:39.849 wrestler do with his life? He can't do the jiggle 00:28:39.849 --> 00:28:42.990 dance forever. And that brings us to section 00:28:42.990 --> 00:28:47.049 six, life after wrestling. Well, initially he 00:28:47.049 --> 00:28:49.869 did what many respected veterans do. He decided 00:28:49.869 --> 00:28:52.009 to pass on his knowledge to the next generation. 00:28:52.470 --> 00:28:54.490 He became an instructor. Which makes perfect 00:28:54.490 --> 00:28:57.089 sense. If you are known as a worker who knows 00:28:57.089 --> 00:28:59.289 how to make every single opponent look good, 00:28:59.869 --> 00:29:02.930 you are the ideal teacher. Our records show he 00:29:02.930 --> 00:29:05.450 went to work as an instructor at Steve Kern's 00:29:05.450 --> 00:29:07.250 professional wrestling school down in Florida. 00:29:07.609 --> 00:29:10.430 Steve Kern? Wait, that's Skinner. The exact guy 00:29:10.430 --> 00:29:13.230 who beat him in his WWF tryout match way back 00:29:13.230 --> 00:29:16.109 in 1991. It is the ultimate circle of life in 00:29:16.109 --> 00:29:18.529 the wrestling business. He went back to work 00:29:18.529 --> 00:29:20.970 side by side with a guy who first welcomed him 00:29:20.970 --> 00:29:23.289 to the big leagues. The source says he trained 00:29:23.289 --> 00:29:25.849 guys like Buck Quartermain and Steve Madison, 00:29:26.289 --> 00:29:28.390 names that hardcore independent wrestling fans 00:29:28.390 --> 00:29:31.589 would definitely recognize. He even managed an 00:29:31.589 --> 00:29:34.529 indie team called the New Heavenly Bodies, keeping 00:29:34.529 --> 00:29:37.589 the old gimmick alive for a new crowd. But eventually 00:29:37.589 --> 00:29:40.089 he made a clean break. He left the wrestling 00:29:40.089 --> 00:29:42.450 bubble entirely. And this is the part of his 00:29:42.450 --> 00:29:44.849 story that I actually find really grounding and 00:29:44.849 --> 00:29:47.319 respectable. Because so often we hear these tragic 00:29:47.319 --> 00:29:49.819 stories that end with retired guys just hanging 00:29:49.819 --> 00:29:52.660 around the fringes of the business, signing autographs 00:29:52.660 --> 00:29:55.279 in sad high school gyms until they're 70 years 00:29:55.279 --> 00:29:57.279 old. Right. Unable to let go of the spotlight. 00:29:57.680 --> 00:30:00.240 But Jimmy Del Rey didn't do that. No. He entered 00:30:00.240 --> 00:30:02.839 the trades. He started a completely legitimate, 00:30:03.000 --> 00:30:05.759 normal business. He founded a company called 00:30:05.759 --> 00:30:08.579 Ferriers Fine Flooring, Inc. in Tampa, Florida, 00:30:08.819 --> 00:30:12.839 in March 2006. Hardwood Floors. tile, grout, 00:30:13.099 --> 00:30:15.900 real tangible work. Real work. He traded the 00:30:15.900 --> 00:30:18.220 roar of the crowd for a steady job and a normal 00:30:18.220 --> 00:30:20.779 life. The source even mentions he started a second 00:30:20.779 --> 00:30:23.420 entity, Ferrier's Flooring Inc., later in September 00:30:23.420 --> 00:30:26.380 2013. He successfully built a second life for 00:30:26.380 --> 00:30:29.000 himself. It really humanizes him. He wasn't just 00:30:29.000 --> 00:30:32.200 the gigolo. He was David Ferrier, a small business 00:30:32.200 --> 00:30:34.539 owner in Florida. But unfortunately, we do have 00:30:34.539 --> 00:30:36.460 to discuss the end of his story. And it ends 00:30:36.460 --> 00:30:39.900 far too soon. It does. On December 6th, 2014, 00:30:40.140 --> 00:30:43.319 David Ferrier passed away. The details provided 00:30:43.319 --> 00:30:45.859 in the source are just tragic. He suffered a 00:30:45.859 --> 00:30:47.700 massive heart attack while he was driving his 00:30:47.700 --> 00:30:51.240 truck on US Highway 301 near the Florida State 00:30:51.240 --> 00:30:53.920 Fairgrounds. While driving, that is a terrifying 00:30:53.920 --> 00:30:56.299 thought. He was rushed to Tampa General Hospital, 00:30:56.339 --> 00:30:58.480 but they couldn't save him. He died at the age 00:30:58.480 --> 00:31:02.440 of 52. 52. We see that age, or ages close to 00:31:02.440 --> 00:31:05.180 it, so incredibly often with wrestlers from that 00:31:05.180 --> 00:31:09.299 specific 80s and 90s era. The long -term toll 00:31:09.299 --> 00:31:12.009 that lifestyle takes on the human heart is just 00:31:12.009 --> 00:31:14.410 immense. It really is. But I think it's worth 00:31:14.410 --> 00:31:17.549 noting that the WWE, this massive billion dollar 00:31:17.549 --> 00:31:19.410 global corporation that he hadn't worked for 00:31:19.410 --> 00:31:21.970 nearly 20 years, they actually issued an official 00:31:21.970 --> 00:31:23.970 statement offering condolences a couple of days 00:31:23.970 --> 00:31:26.049 later. They remembered him. They remembered the 00:31:26.049 --> 00:31:28.509 work. And that is exactly what I want to focus 00:31:28.509 --> 00:31:31.769 on as we move to wrap this up. Section seven, 00:31:31.930 --> 00:31:35.079 the trophy case. Because it's so easy to just 00:31:35.079 --> 00:31:37.039 joke about the sleazy dance and the pudgy stomach, 00:31:37.039 --> 00:31:39.859 but this guy was a highly decorated, legitimate 00:31:39.859 --> 00:31:42.000 champion. Let's see the roll call of his accomplishments. 00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:44.279 It's an impressive list. Hit me with the list. 00:31:44.319 --> 00:31:46.839 Let's cement his legacy. OK, in Smokey Mountain 00:31:46.839 --> 00:31:50.400 Wrestling, he was a three -time tag team champion, 00:31:50.759 --> 00:31:55.000 and he also held their Beat the Champ television 00:31:55.000 --> 00:31:58.900 title in the USWA. World tag team champion. Back 00:31:58.900 --> 00:32:01.240 in Florida championship wrestling. Tag team champion. 00:32:01.769 --> 00:32:04.410 and his international resume. He was the Wing 00:32:04.410 --> 00:32:07.710 World Junior Heavyweight Champion and the AWA 00:32:07.710 --> 00:32:10.029 World Light Heavyweight Champion over in FMW. 00:32:10.309 --> 00:32:12.869 So he was legitimately a world champion in Japan. 00:32:13.369 --> 00:32:15.809 Twice. And on the independent circuit, he held 00:32:15.809 --> 00:32:19.069 a PWF Junior Heavyweight title three times, the 00:32:19.069 --> 00:32:22.089 FCW Light Heavyweight title, the IWA Mid -South 00:32:22.089 --> 00:32:24.569 Light Heavyweight title. The list just goes on. 00:32:25.049 --> 00:32:26.890 And didn't Pro Wrestling Illustrated, which is 00:32:26.890 --> 00:32:28.630 basically the Bible of wrestling magazines at 00:32:28.630 --> 00:32:30.950 the time, didn't they rank his team historically? 00:32:31.329 --> 00:32:35.170 They did. In 2003, PWI released this massive, 00:32:35.630 --> 00:32:38.369 definitive list called the best tag teams of 00:32:38.369 --> 00:32:41.960 the PWI years. The heavenly bodies, specifically 00:32:41.960 --> 00:32:44.019 the Delray and Prichard version of the team, 00:32:44.400 --> 00:32:48.460 were ranked at number 73. Number 73. Just think 00:32:48.460 --> 00:32:50.880 about how many thousands of tag teams have existed 00:32:50.880 --> 00:32:53.539 in the history of the sport. To be recognized 00:32:53.539 --> 00:32:56.880 in the top 100 is an elite exclusive club. It 00:32:56.880 --> 00:32:58.859 absolutely cements their legacy. Yeah. They weren't 00:32:58.859 --> 00:33:01.160 just a mid -card comedy act with a loaded tennis 00:33:01.160 --> 00:33:03.400 racket. They were objectively one of the best 00:33:03.400 --> 00:33:06.259 wrestling teams of their generation. So as we 00:33:06.259 --> 00:33:08.480 synthesize all of this information from the records, 00:33:09.069 --> 00:33:11.589 What is the big takeaway here? When we look at 00:33:11.589 --> 00:33:14.670 the complete file of gigolo Jimmy Del Rey, what 00:33:14.670 --> 00:33:17.950 do we see? I see a bridge. A bridge? He was a 00:33:17.950 --> 00:33:19.569 bridge between two completely different eras 00:33:19.569 --> 00:33:22.309 of the industry. On one hand, he had the old 00:33:22.309 --> 00:33:24.609 school, carny sensibilities of the territory 00:33:24.609 --> 00:33:27.549 days. He knew exactly how to make a crowd furious 00:33:27.549 --> 00:33:29.549 just by looking at them or shaking his hips. 00:33:30.109 --> 00:33:32.150 He knew the psychology of using a prop like a 00:33:32.150 --> 00:33:34.470 tennis racket perfectly. That is the old school. 00:33:34.529 --> 00:33:37.019 But the actual wrestling? The wrestling was entirely 00:33:37.019 --> 00:33:39.500 new school. The flawless moonsaults, the intense 00:33:39.500 --> 00:33:42.779 speed, the complex technical counters. He was 00:33:42.779 --> 00:33:45.819 doing things in 1993 that wouldn't become the 00:33:45.819 --> 00:33:48.980 industry standard until 2003. He lived in both 00:33:48.980 --> 00:33:51.039 of those worlds simultaneously. And he did it 00:33:51.039 --> 00:33:53.160 all while shaking his hips. While shaking his 00:33:53.160 --> 00:33:55.460 hips. I have a provocative thought to leave you 00:33:55.460 --> 00:33:57.940 with, listener. We look at professional wrestling 00:33:57.940 --> 00:34:01.519 today. The modern athletes are undeniably incredible. 00:34:01.789 --> 00:34:04.190 Everyone on television has an 8 -pack. They're 00:34:04.190 --> 00:34:07.190 essentially gymnasts and acrobats. But is the 00:34:07.190 --> 00:34:09.150 product missing something? Are you asking if 00:34:09.150 --> 00:34:12.070 it's missing the gigolo? Exactly. Could a character 00:34:12.070 --> 00:34:15.210 like Jimmy Del Rey even exist in today's landscape? 00:34:15.650 --> 00:34:18.469 Could a guy with a totally average dad bod go 00:34:18.469 --> 00:34:20.809 on national television, pull himself a gigolo, 00:34:20.849 --> 00:34:23.929 and actually get real heat? Or would the modern 00:34:23.929 --> 00:34:26.230 audience just reject him outright because he 00:34:26.230 --> 00:34:28.690 doesn't look like an action figure? That is the 00:34:28.690 --> 00:34:31.550 big question. Have we become so visually obsessed 00:34:31.550 --> 00:34:34.489 with the look that we've lost the nuanced art 00:34:34.489 --> 00:34:36.849 of the character worker? I don't know the answer. 00:34:37.309 --> 00:34:41.050 But I do think there is something lost when every 00:34:41.050 --> 00:34:43.610 single person on the roster looks like a fitness 00:34:43.610 --> 00:34:46.650 model. There is a unique charm to the unlikely 00:34:46.650 --> 00:34:50.050 agile athlete. The guy who looks like us but 00:34:50.050 --> 00:34:52.690 moves like a superhero. It gives you hope. It 00:34:52.690 --> 00:34:55.489 really does. So here is my homework for you. 00:34:55.769 --> 00:34:58.269 If you have a moment after this deep dive, go 00:34:58.269 --> 00:35:01.900 online. Search for Heavenly Bodies versus Rock 00:35:01.900 --> 00:35:05.500 and Roll Express Survivor Series, 1993. Pay attention 00:35:05.500 --> 00:35:08.380 to the finish. Watch the finish! Watch the jiggle 00:35:08.380 --> 00:35:11.500 dance! But mostly, just watch the work. You will 00:35:11.500 --> 00:35:13.699 see a master technician who knew exactly who 00:35:13.699 --> 00:35:16.099 he was and exactly how to make you react. You 00:35:16.099 --> 00:35:18.099 definitely won't regret watching it. That is 00:35:18.099 --> 00:35:20.019 it for this depth dive into the life of Jimmy 00:35:20.019 --> 00:35:21.739 Del Rey. Thanks for listening and we'll catch 00:35:21.739 --> 00:35:23.219 you on the next one. Goodbye everyone!