Koko B. Ware is best known for his role in WWE as a mid-card wrestler. Ware's induction into the Hall of Fame was surprising, given some of the names he was inducted ahead of. His time in the Golden Era didn't include a ton of accolades,. [27] US District Judge Vanessa Lynne Bryant dismissed Ware's lawsuit in September 2018. Ware made a few appearances for the American Wrestling Federation from 1994 to 1996 but did not become a regular before going into semi-retirement in 1997. He also worked with a number of other tag team partners, including Arn Anderson, Koko B. Ware, Steve Keirn, and Lord Steven Regal. Another one of Koko's considerable talents was singing. 0. [24] He fought (and was defeated by) Rob Conway on the October 28, 2005, edition of WWE Heat . IMPACT Wrestling/NJPW Multiverse United: Only The Strong Survive. Later that night the duo defended their title against Taylor and Bill Dundee, losing the title when Sugar "accidentally" kicked Eaton and then left the ring. After the match, Jimmy Valiant returned to the ring and beat Koko down. In April 2007, he wrestled in a tag match (while managed by special guest Slick) and lost to Bill Dundee and Dutch Mantel (managed by Jimmy Valiant) at Ultimate Clash of the Legends '07 headlined by Hulk Hogan vs. Paul Wight (Big Show). Collect, curate and comment on your files. I couldn't find the match anywhere on Koko's cagematch profile, probably because he had to work really hard to have it expunged from his record. During the course of the match Stagger Lee's mask was removed to reveal the man beneath it, prompting a heel turn for Ware. Ware would use the ring names Sweet Brown Sugar and Stagger Lee throughout the early 1980's while aligning himself with legendary manager "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart. Koko is one of the guys thats just a blind spot to me. High Energy feuded with (and generally lost to) The Nasty Boys, The Headshrinkers, and Money Inc. [18] They made only one PPV appearance as a team, a loss to the Headshrinkers at the 1992 Survivor Series. Koko returned to WWF in 1994 when he appeared on the March 21 episode of Monday Night Raw and faced Jeff Jarrett. He is at a facility in Mississippi. Despite being in his 60s and having wrestled since the 1970s, Ware is still semi-active on the independent scene predominantly featuring in multiple-man tag team matches for Maryland Championship Wrestling and Pennsylvania Premier Wrestling. . I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. "The Birdman" came to the ring with a blue-and-yellow macaw named Frankie, both flapping and dancing before and after . He debuted in 1978 and became widely popular in 1986, in the World Wrestling Federation, where he went from strong mid-carder to jobber to the stars. [4] Sugar never got the best of Lawler but did taste tag-team success alongside Steve Keirn and then with Bobby Eaton. Copyright 2023 Fightful, Inc. All Rights Reserved. In 1993, he lost the first Monday Night Raw match to Yokozuna. [5] The feud got so out of control that it had to be settled with a "loser leaves town" match, a match that Eaton won, driving Sugar out of the arena. He was most active throughout the 1980s and 1990s in the Tennessee-based United States Wrestling Association (USWA) and Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW), and had two short stints with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring names of T.L. [17], In 1992, Ware teamed up with Owen Hart to form the high-flying team known as High Energy, well known in wrestling circles for their gigantic baggy brightly colored pants and checkered suspenders. [23] When Hart died, the angle was dropped and Ware's services were no longer needed. During an interview where Eaton and Jimmy Hart bragged about the victory, Sugar complained that he was unable to win the Southern Title from Terry Taylor. Ware was the first wrestler on television to fall victim to the Perfect-plex of newcomer Mr. Related Article. I wouldn't say Koko was my idol (I currently own a cat), but he was the first old-timer I got to wrestle, so I was a little apprehensive about being a courteous and respectful adversary. A few seconds into the match, Ware lays into his opponent with several stiff shots, and a heavy clothesline. If he gets his ass stomped like this on a regular basis, I wouldn't want my face seen, either. My god. After dropping the gold in Florida, the Pretty Young Things returned to the Continental Wrestling Association in April 1985. That hurt my head and neck just watching it. Koko B. Ware was born on June 20, 1957 in Union City, United States (65 years old). 1/1 KOKO B WARE 1990 CLASSIC WWF CARD 119 PRINTING PRESS PLATE WRESTLING VINTAGE. After dropping the gold in Florida, the Pretty Young Things returned to the federation that first put them together, the Continental Wrestling Association. While Cook defended his Hall of Fame status since he was very over and some of his losses were historic, Pantoja described him as "the floor for inductees". The team ended in 1993 after Owen Hart injured his knee. Ware's feud with Valiant was quickly expanded to include the heel Tojo Yamamoto and Ware's ally, Tommy Rich. Ware was inducted ahead of WWE legends like Ted DiBiase, Jim Duggan, and Jake Roberts, as well as former WWE World Champions including Bob Backlund, Yokozuna, Ivan Koloff, and Randy Savage. The same taping later saw Ware defeat Savage by countout in a dark match. In a somewhat surprising move, Ware was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009, despite spending most of his WWE career in the mid-card. Help make SquaredCircle safer and more inclusive by using the report button to flag posts and comments for moderator review. Race had really slowed down and was rounding the home stretch of his career here. He was basically the jobber to the stars. In the end, Ware stands alongside the likes of Jimmy Snuka and Jake "The Snake" Roberts who also failed to hold a title in WWE during their respective runs with the promotion. Wrestling / Koko B. Ware James Ware (born June 20, 1957) is a retired American professional wrestler from Union City, TN who competed from the 1970s through the start of the 21st century as Koko B. Ware. On July 14, 2017, Ware appeared in Big Time Wrestling in Newark, CA, and teamed with Shane Kody to defeat the Ballard Brothers. This is also the beginning of referee. Koko also hooked up with Rex Hargrove and won the USWA Tag Team Championship once. Later, a masked man calling himself "Stagger Lee" debuted; the fact that he looked and wrestled like a masked version of Sugar helped make him instantly popular. On August 23, 2007, he defeated his former nemesis Greg Valentine for Great North Wrestling at the Ottawa SuperEX in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. He was represented by attorney Konstantine Kyros, who was involved in several other lawsuits involving former WWE wrestlers. Find Koko B. Ware stock photos and editorial news pictures from Getty Images. The Eaton feud led to a particularly fun "Loser. [30] dropkick, headbutt or monkey flip. Watch every Premium Live Event and get unlimited access to WWE's premium content - available to you anywhere, anytime, on any device. He left in 1997 before the company shut down later that year. Koko B. Ware Also known as Koko Ware, Stagger Lee, Sweet Brown Sugar Overview News and Rumors Career Career highlights Titles Matches Match Statistics Matchguide Feuds Tournaments Tag Teams & Stables Entourage Awards Themes Wrestling Games Ratings Comments Matches Displaying items 1 to 100 of total 1705 items that match the search parameters. It turned out that the child that the neighbor was referring too was Frankie. Early in his career, "Koko Ware" (as he was then known) did not find great success, learning the ropes and paying his dues both in Jerry Jarrett's Continental Wrestling Association and Nick Gulas' territory in the south. Ware was fired for his part in the chaotic . He was also a great performer during his time in the company but would. Many fans today remember Koko B. Ware as one of the late great Owen Hart's tag team partners. On May 31, 2014, Ware appeared in the main event at Valour Wrestling's special event to raise money for Lou Gehrig disease. The Bushwhackers consisted of Butch Miller and Luke Williams while the Sheepherders also included Jonathan Boyd and Rip Morgan as members at times. . The event occurred when Ware was wrestling for the Continental Wrestling Association in 1986. According to Ware, the idea of bringing his pet Macaw to the ring came from his wife. The team lasted until March 1993, but were broken up after Hart suffered a knee injury during a match against The Headshrinkers. Koko quickly aligned himself with manager Jimmy Hart and his First Family and changed his name to Sweet Brown Sugar. After leaving the WWF, Koko made a few appearances for the American Wrestling Federation but did not become a regular before going into semi-retirement in 1995. Later that night the duo defended their title against Terry Taylor and Bill Dundee, losing the title when Sugar accidentally" kicked Eaton and then left the ring. Koko B. Ware Profile & Match Listing Facts & Stats PWI Ratings Opponents & Partners Win/Loss Record Star Ratings Win Types Relations PPV Koko B. Ware Promotion Search: All CWA JCW Legends of Wrestling NWA NWA/BTA (Dallas) PMG PWS USWA WAR WCCW WCWA World Wrestling Legends Wrestlefanfest WWE WWF James Ware (born June 20, 1957), better known by his ring name Koko B. Ware is a semi-retired American professional wrestler who made his professional wrestling debut in 1978. After his time with WWE was through, Koko B Ware continued wrestling in independent promotions for years. He debuted in 1978 and became widely popular in 1986, in the World Wrestling Federation, where he went from strong mid-carder to jobber to the stars. In September 2009, Ware's wife died from cancer. On May 19, he defeated The Genius and followed it up a night later with three more wins over Poffo later that month. AEW Rampage: St. Patrick's Day Slam (2023), 1 BSW Tag Team Championship - with Juicy Johnny, 1 NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Florida version) - with Norvell Austin, 7 AWA Southern Tag Team Championship - with Norvell Austin (3), Bobby Eaton (2), Stan Lane (1), Dutch Mantel (1), 6 NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship, 1 NWA Mid-America Television Championship, 2 USWA Unified World Heavyweight Championship, 1 USWA World Tag Team Championship - with Rex Hargrove, WWE Hall of Fame induction (class of 2009), Legends Pro Wrestling induction (class of 2007). In 1993, he lost the first Monday Night Raw match to Yokozuna. Perfect on the January 7, 1989, episode of Saturday Night's Main Event XIX, while at the 1990 Survivor Series, Ware became the first wrestler to fall victim to The Undertaker's Tombstone piledriver in the Undertaker's WWF debut match. In February 1986, Koko moved on to Bill Watts' Mid-South/UWF territory, where he started calling himself Koko B. Ware.