Hillbilly Jim

Last updated

Hillbilly Jim
Hillbillyjimaxxess.jpg
Jim in 2007
Birth nameJames Morris
Born (1952-07-05) July 5, 1952 (age 72)
Scottsville, Kentucky, U.S. [1]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Big Jim
Harley Davidson [2]
Hillbilly Jim [3]
Billed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) [3]
Billed weight320 lb (145 kg) [3]
Billed from Mud Lick, Kentucky [3]
Trained byDale Mann [1]
Debut1975
Retired1990

James Morris (born July 5, 1952) is an American retired professional wrestler and current radio host, better known by his ring name, Hillbilly Jim. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1984 to 1991, and in the series Hillbilly Moments.

Contents

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1975–1984)

Morris became interested in wrestling after watching Georgia Championship Wrestling on television. [2] He was brought into the business when he met Bruce Swayze at a Bowling Green High School gym, where Morris had been an All-State basketball player. [4] [1] He began his career with Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling and other promotions in North America under his real name. [1] He then went to work for the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) in the Memphis area under the name "Harley Davidson", a biker gimmick. [2] [4]

World Wrestling Federation (1984–1990)

In late 1984, Morris first appeared in the WWF as a wrestling fan known as "Big Jim" who routinely sat in the front row of live events and eventually decided to try his hand at wrestling himself. After appearing as a guest on Piper's Pit, Rowdy Roddy Piper offered his services to train him, but he chose to be "trained"' by WWF Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan instead of the heel Piper. [5] A series of vignettes were aired on WWF's TV programming in the early weeks of 1985, showing Hogan training Jim and providing him with his first set of wrestling boots. This introduced the character of Hillbilly Jim; a simple-minded, shaggy-bearded Appalachian hillbilly clad in bib overalls, and hailing from Mud Lick, Kentucky. [2] Hillbilly Jim had his first high-profile singles match at The War to Settle the Score on February 18, 1985, in which he defeated Rene Goulet. [6] However, just days later, Morris was sidelined by an injury he suffered at a show in San Diego while in Hogan's corner in a match between him and Brutus Beefcake. While chasing Beefcake's manager Johnny V around ringside, Morris slipped on a wet spot and injured his knee. To help fill in the six months during his recovery, similarly dressed "family" members Uncle Elmer, Cousin Luke, and Cousin Junior were introduced for Morris to accompany to ringside as a manager. [2]

Morris (left) and Uncle Elmer embracing, c. 1986 Hillbilly Jim and Uncle Elmer embrace 1986.png
Morris (left) and Uncle Elmer embracing, c. 1986

When his in-ring career resumed, Morris often either teamed with his family or André the Giant. He was traditionally matched up against the WWF's monster heels of the era, such as Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy. He also had a short feud with Don Muraco and Mr. Fuji, wrestling the latter in a series of tuxedo matches in late 1986. [7] [8] Hillbilly Jim was generally kept as a "fun" character, rarely getting involved in any serious storylines. His theme music was a folksy barn dance tune called "Don't Go Messin' With a Country Boy", which Morris danced along to with his partners, the ring announcer and/or children from the crowd. [5] His first WrestleMania appearance was at WrestleMania 2 on April 7, 1986 as part of a battle royal. [5] At WrestleMania III on March 29, 1987, Jim teamed with Haiti Kid and Little Beaver to defeat Bundy, Little Tokyo and Lord Littlebrook. [9] On November 24, 1988, at Survivor Series, Jim, Hogan, Randy Savage, Hercules and Koko B. Ware defeated the team of Big Boss Man, Akeem, Ted DiBiase, King Haku and The Red Rooster. [10]

In June 1989, Jim worked as a fill-in for John Studd, who departed the WWF in the midst of a major feud with André the Giant. [11] Hillbilly Jim's last high-profile match with the WWF was during the April 28, 1990 (taped April 23) edition of Saturday Night's Main Event XXVI , in which he lost to Earthquake. [12] Months later, Jim was released from the WWF and retired from wrestling, although he came back the following year to face Colonel Mustafa and The Berzerker at house shows. [7]

Later career (1990–present)

In 1992, he was one of the co-hosts of WWF Prime Time Wrestling . [13] Hillbilly Jim returned in 1995 and became the manager of Henry O. and Phineas I. Godwinn, "cousins" who were pig farmers. [5] He left managing after the Godwinns turned heel in the spring of 1997 and worked as a road agent. On April 1, 2001, he participated in the "Gimmick Battle Royal" at WrestleMania X-Seven, where he was the last man eliminated by The Iron Sheik. [14]

He was the official WWE legend host of the highly successful WrestleMania Axxess tour for WrestleMania XX, WrestleMania 21, WrestleMania 22, and WrestleMania 23 in major malls across the US. [5] [15] From 1990 to 2001, Morris traveled worldwide representing the WWF for Coliseum Video sales and later with Sony Videos. [4] In 2005, Sirius Satellite Radio added Hillbilly Jim's Moonshine Matinee as a weekly program on its Outlaw Country channel 62. Every Saturday, Morris plays a wide variety of classic country music and Southern rock and tells stories of his days with the WWF. [16] [17]

Hillbilly Jim being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018 Hillbilly Jim 2018 Hall of Fame crop.jpg
Hillbilly Jim being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2018

He made an appearance on the "Blast from the Past" episode of WWE SmackDown on April 10, 2012. [18] In March 2018, Hillbilly Jim was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Jimmy Hart. [13] [19]

Personal life

Morris has four children and seven grandchildren. [20] [21] After retiring from wrestling, he began working for a coin, currency, and stamp dealership called Champion Stamp Company Inc. He is known as a "staple" at coin and currency shows, but is largely there as a spokesman rather than for his expertise in numismatics, although he does collect some paper money and coins himself. [21]

Other media

He appeared in WWE cartoon series Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling , which was produced by DIC Enterprises. He is featured in the game WWE SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain . He performed the song "Don't Go Messing With A Country Boy" for The Wrestling Album , which was certified gold. Its follow-up album, Piledriver - The Wrestling Album 2 , also included a duet by Hillbilly Jim and a female singer credited as Gertrude, entitled "Waking Up Alone". He appeared in WWE Legends' House , which aired on the WWE Network in 2014. [22] On October 10, 2016, Morris released his book, Hillbilly Jim: The Incredible Story of a Wrestling Superstar. [23]

Championships and accomplishments

  • PWI ranked him No. 298 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hulk Hogan</span> American professional wrestler (born 1953)

Terry Gene Bollea, better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is widely regarded as the most recognized wrestling star worldwide, the most popular wrestler of the 1980s and one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania</span> WWE pay-per-view and livestreaming event series

WrestleMania is a professional wrestling event held annually between mid-March and mid-April by the American company WWE, the world's largest professional wrestling promotion. Since premiering in 1985, 40 events have been held, with its most recent 40th edition occurring at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 6 and 7, 2024. WrestleMania was WWE's first pay-per-view (PPV) produced and is the most successful and longest-running professional wrestling event in history. The event has been broadcast through traditional PPV since 1985 and has been available via livestreaming since WrestleMania XXX in 2014, which was WWE's first major event available through this medium. WrestleMania was conceptualized by former WWE executive chairman Vince McMahon and named by ring announcer and WWE Hall of Famer Howard Finkel. It is the company's flagship event and along with Royal Rumble, SummerSlam, Survivor Series, and Money in the Bank, it is referred to as one of the "Big Five", WWE's five biggest annual events of the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Randy Savage</span> American professional wrestler (1952–2011)

Randy Mario Poffo, better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler and professional baseball player, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Hart</span> American musician, professional wrestling manager and sports businessman

James Ray Hart is an American professional wrestling manager, executive, composer, and musician. He is currently signed to WWE in a Legends deal. He is best known for his work in WWE when it was still known as the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling (WCW), and used the nickname "the Mouth of the South".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania III</span> 1987 World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

WrestleMania III was the third annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. The event was held on March 29, 1987, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan. There were 12 matches, with the main event featuring Hulk Hogan successfully defending the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against André the Giant.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania 2</span> 1986 World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

WrestleMania 2 was the second annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. The event took place on April 7, 1986, making it the only WrestleMania that was not held on the traditional Sunday until the two-night WrestleMania 36 in April 2020. The event took place at three venues simultaneously: the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, the Rosemont Horizon in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois, and the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena in Los Angeles, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania IV</span> 1988 World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

WrestleMania IV was the fourth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. The event took place on March 27, 1988, at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The announced attendance of the event was 19,199.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania V</span> 1989 World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

WrestleMania V was the fifth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. It took place on April 2, 1989, at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. A total of 14 matches were contested at the event.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania IX</span> 1993 World Wrestling Federation pay-per-view event

WrestleMania IX was the ninth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation. The event took place on April 4, 1993, at Caesars Palace in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada. It was the first WrestleMania event held outdoors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Orndorff</span> American professional wrestler (1949–2021)

Paul Parlette Orndorff Jr., nicknamed "Mr. Wonderful", was an American professional wrestler and football player, best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW).

The Godwinns were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Dennis Knight and Mark Canterbury and they used to be in the WWF. The team used other gimmicks before they joined the WWF and had a gimmick change in the WWF shortly before disbanding. Their original WWF gimmick was that of two cousins who were hog farmers from Arkansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry O. Godwinn</span> American professional wrestler

Mark Canterbury is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation in the mid to late 1990s under the ring name Henry O. Godwinn. He is also known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling in the early 1990s as Shanghai Pierce.

Daniel Davis is an American former professional wrestling referee and wrestler best known under the ring name "Dangerous" Danny Davis when he worked for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). For years, he competed as Mr. X, a masked wrestler while also working as a referee.

<i>Saturday Nights Main Event</i> WWE television program

Saturday Night's Main Event is a series of American professional wrestling television specials produced by WWE. It was originally broadcast by NBC from 1985 to 1992, replacing Saturday Night Live in its late night timeslot on an occasional basis throughout the year.

<i>Hulk Hogans Rock n Wrestling</i> Professional wrestling themed television series

Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling is an American animated television series that originally aired on CBS Saturday mornings from September 14, 1985 to October 18, 1986, with reruns airing until June 27, 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Johnny Valiant</span> American professional wrestler and manager

John L. Sullivan was an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name, Johnny Valiant. He competed in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF), which became the World Wrestling Federation during his time with the promotion. He won the World Tag Team Championship two times. The first run was with his first and most famous storyline brother Jimmy Valiant over Tony Garea and Dean Ho on May 8, 1974; his second title run was with his second storyline brother Jerry Valiant over Tony Garea and Larry Zbyszko on March 6, 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The War to Settle the Score</span> 1985 World Wrestling Federation event

The War to Settle the Score is a professional wrestling event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It took place at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on February 18, 1985. The main event featured Hulk Hogan defending the WWF World Heavyweight Championship against "Rowdy" Roddy Piper. Hogan retained the title after Piper got disqualified in the only match of the event that was shown on MTV.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brutus Beefcake</span> American professional wrestler

Edward Harrison Leslie is an American retired professional wrestler, best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) under the ring name Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake. He later worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under a wide variety of names.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleMania Fan Axxess</span> WWE convention

WWE World at WrestleMania, formerly known as WrestleMania Axxess, is a professional wrestling fan convention held by WWE during the week of WrestleMania. The event typically runs for four to five days—from Thursday to Sunday or Monday—and features WWE talent and alumni autograph signings, interviews, fan activities, memorabilia displays, meet-and-greets, and matches. WrestleMania Axxess was briefly discontinued from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but was relaunched as WWE World at WrestleMania beginning with WrestleMania XL in 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WWE Hall of Fame (2018)</span> WWE Hall of Fame induction ceremony

WWE Hall of Fame (2018) was the event that featured the introduction of the 19th class to the WWE Hall of Fame. The event was produced by WWE on April 6, 2018, from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana. The event took place the same weekend as WrestleMania 34. The event aired live on the WWE Network, and was hosted by Jerry Lawler. The following night, a condensed one-hour version of the ceremony aired on USA Network.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Kizer, Drake (March 19, 2018). "Former wrestler Hillbilly Jim to enter WWE Hall of Fame". WKUHerald.com. College Heights Herald. Archived from the original on April 23, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Murphy, Ryan (December 8, 2010). "Where Are They Now? Hillbilly Jim". WWE. Archived from the original on November 7, 2013. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Hillbilly Jim WWE". wwe.com.
  4. 1 2 3 Oliver, Greg (May 9, 2008). "The Hillbilly Jim story not far off reality". SlamWrestling.net. Archived from the original on October 24, 2021. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Shields, Brian (2006). Main Event: WWE in the Raging 80s . Pocket Books. pp.  118–119. ISBN   978-1-4165-3257-6.
  6. ↑ "The War to Settle the Score results". Pro Wrestling History. Archived from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Hillbilly Jim profile". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  8. ↑ "WWF Results 1986". The History of WWE. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  9. ↑ "WrestleMania III results". WWE. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Survivor Series 1988 results". WWE. Archived from the original on January 27, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  11. ↑ "WWF Results 1989". The History of WWE. Archived from the original on July 13, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Saturday Night's Main Event results – April 28, 1990". WWE. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  13. 1 2 3 Melok, Bobby (March 5, 2018). "Hillbilly Jim to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2018". WWE. Archived from the original on May 14, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  14. ↑ Powell, John (April 2, 2001). "Austin turns heel at WM X-Seven". Slam! Sports. Canadian Online Explorer. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  15. ↑ Schramm, Chris (March 15, 2007). "Hillbilly Jim still offering fans Axxess". SlamWrestling.net. Archived from the original on January 26, 2022. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  16. ↑ Denbaum, Evan (July 28, 2005). "Hillbilly Jim's "Brave New World"". WWE. Archived from the original on September 4, 2013. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  17. ↑ Sheridan, Jeff (October 31, 2006). "Recap of Hillbilly Jim's Sirius radio show". PWInsider. Archived from the original on November 26, 2024. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  18. ↑ Nemer, Paul (April 10, 2012). "Smackdown Results – 4/10/12". WrestleView. Archived from the original on February 4, 2023. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  19. ↑ "Jimmy Hart to induct Hillbilly Jim into the WWE Hall of Fame". WWE. March 31, 2018. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved November 25, 2024.
  20. ↑ Murphy, Ryan (December 8, 2010). "Where Are They Now? Hillbilly Jim: Part 2". WWE. Archived from the original on September 4, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  21. 1 2 O'Donnell, Joe (August 13, 2014). "'Hillbilly Jim' a hard-to-miss mainstay at World's Fair of Money". Coin World . Archived from the original on December 5, 2019. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  22. ↑ Burdick, Michael (April 16, 2014). "'WWE Legends' House' Season 1, Episode 1 recap: Welcome to the neighborhood". WWE. Archived from the original on April 16, 2020. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  23. ↑ Csonka, Larry (October 17, 2016). "'Hillbilly Jim: The Incredible Story of a Wrestling Superstar' Book Released". 411Mania. Archived from the original on October 20, 2016. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.