New Zealand Militia

Last updated

New Zealand Militia
Tag team
Members Jack Victory
Rip Morgan
Name(s)Maulers
New Zealand Militia
Royal Family
Debut1989
Disbanded1992
Years active1988–1992

The New Zealand Militia were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Jack Victory and Rip Morgan. The duo began teaming in 1989 in World Championship Wrestling.

Contents

History

Beginnings

Morgan had been a part of Jim Crockett Promotions in 1988, serving as the flag bearer for The Sheepherders. He had also spent time that year in World Class Championship Wrestling, where Victory also was wrestling and teaming with John Tatum. [1] Victory would join the National Wrestling Alliance (Jim Crockett Promotions) in September 1988 as The Russian Assassin #2. [2]

World Championship Wrestling (1989–1991)

New Zealand Militia (1989–1990)

On the April 22, 1989, episode of World Championship Wrestling , Victory teamed with Rip Morgan for the first time, but the new duo was defeated by Randy Rose and Ranger Ross. On the June 10 episode, Victory and Morgan's team became official; now known as the "New Zealand Militia", [3] [4] they faced the Dynamic Dudes (Shane Douglas and Johnny Ace) in the quarterfinals of a tournament to crown new NWA World Tag Team Champions.

The New Zealand Militia faced the Dynamic Dudes and the Ding Dongs in a series of house show matches. On the August 5, 1989, episode of World Championship Wrestling, Sting and Eddie Gilbert defeated the Militia via disqualification after Terry Funk and The Great Muta attacked Sting. A day later on WCW Main Event , the Militia were defeated by the Midnight Express. They rebounded on August 12 on NWA Pro to defeat the Dynamic Dudes, and on August 14 at a television taping in Charleston, West Virginia, the Milita defeat Ranger Ross and Scott Hall. [5] That same month, the team was featured in NWA Wrestling Wrap-Up . [6]

As the summer concluded, the New Zealand Militia transitioned to a house show series with the newly formed Steiner Brothers, but were unsuccessful in numerous matches. In September 1989, they resumed their feud with the Dynamic Dudes and would later move on to a house show series with the Road Warriors where they were winless. On the November 19 episode of WCW Main Event, they were defeated by Sting and Brian Pillman. Lord Littlebrook came to ringside, scolded Victory and Morgan, and said that if they were to listen to him he would take them to the top. [5]

On the November 25, 1989 episode of World Championship Wrestling the Milita appeared with Lord Littlebrook for the first time and defeated Ricky Nelson and Mike Jackson. A week later, they defeated Carl Nelson and Mike Thor. The Militia's newfound win streak came to an abrupt end on the December 30 episode of World Championship Wrestling when they were defeated by Arn Anderson and Ole Anderson. [5]

The Militia faced the Dynamic Dudes on the first 1990 episode of WCW Main Event. [5] In January 1990, they faced Eddie Gilbert and Tommy Rich, trading wins on the house show circuit. On the February 3, 1990 episode of NWA Worldwide, the Militia entered a tournament to crown new WCW United States Tag Team Champions, but lost in the quarter-finals to eventual winners Brian Pillman and Tom Zenk. [7] On the February 24, 1990 episode of NWA Worldwide, the Militia unsuccessfully challenged the Steiner Brothers for the NWA World Tag Team Championship. [8]

Royal Family (1990–1991)

On the March 10, 1990 episode of World Championship Wrestling the New Zealand Militia was renamed the "Royal Family". Still managed by Lord Littlebrook, Victory was now dubbed "Jacko Victory". The Royal Family defeated Zan Panzer and GQ Stratus, and while successful in televised matches against preliminary competition, the Royal Family continued to be winless against the Road Warriors in house show matches. On March 30, 1990, the Royal Family defeated the Fantastics in Lynchburg, Virginia. The Royal Family defeated Rick Ryder and Rocky King on the May 19 episode of World Championship Wrestling; after this Victory temporarily left the promotion to compete in South Atlantic Pro Wrestling. [9]

Victory returned to reform the Royal Family on December 16, 1990. WCW held the "Pat O'Connor International Tag Team Tournament" as part of Starrcade 1990, with eight teams representing various countries. [10] The storyline was that the Royal Family had won a tournament in Australia to earn the rights to represent Australia and New Zealand; in reality none of the teams had won qualifying tournaments. Victory and Morgan lost to "Team Japan" (Masa Saito and The Great Muta) in the first round of the tournament. [11] [8] On February 24, 1991, the Royal Family competed at WrestleWar 91, losing to the Young Pistols.

On April 13, 1991 on WCW Pro , Victory and Morgan defeated the Lightning Express, and after the match the Royal Family said that they were going after both the United States and World Tag Team Championships. However the Royal Family was winless that month on the house show circuit, falling to the tandems of Big Josh and Dustin Rhodes and The Junkyard Dog and Tommy Rich. The Royal Family's last significant appearance with WCW was on April 28, 1991, where they teamed up with Black Bart as they unsuccessfully challenged the team of the Junkyard Dog, Ricky Morton, and Tommy Rich for the WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship. [12] On May 1, 1990 on WCW Main Event, they were defeated by Sting and Lex Luger. On May 10 at a house show in Cincinnati, Ohio, the Royal Family lost in an upset to Ron Cumberledge and Brad Armstrong, and a day later lost to Junkyard Dog and Sam Houston. Now mired in a long losing streak, the Royal Family ended its WCW run with a defeat to Tom Zenk and The Junkyard Dog. [13]

Global Wrestling Federation (1991)

In 1991, Victory and Morgan made their way to the Global Wrestling Federation in Dallas, Texas, this time as the "Maulers". The duo competed in the tournament for the first ever GWF Tag Team Championship. In the first round they defeated "Wet 'n' Wild" (Steve Ray and Sunny Beach), followed by a victory over Chaz and Terry Garvin. In the third round – the semi-finals of the tournament – the Maulers lost to eventual tournament winners Chris Walker and Steve Simpson. [12]

World Wrestling Federation (1992)

Wrestling as the Maulers, Victory and Morgan also wrestled a dark match at a WWF Superstars taping in Mobile, Alabama on March 9, 1992, defeating Jim Cooper and John Allen. [14]

Smoky Mountain Wrestling (1992)

The Maulers did not stay in the GWF after the tournament, instead moving on to Smoky Mountain Wrestling (SMW) in Tennessee. They competed in a tournament to determine the first ever SMW Tag Team Champions. In the first round the Maulers defeated the Rich Brothers (Davey Rich and Johnny Rich), but lost to the Fantastics (Bobby Fulton and Jackie Fulton) in the second round to be eliminated from the tournament. [12] Their short lived run in SMW was the last time Morgan and Victory teamed together on a regular basis.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Junkyard Dog</span> American professional wrestler (1952–1998)

Sylvester Ritter was an American professional wrestler and college football player, best known for his work in Mid-South Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation as the Junkyard Dog, a nickname he received while working in a wrecking yard. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Candido</span> American professional wrestler (1972–2005)

Christopher Barrett Candito was an American professional wrestler. Candito is best remembered for his tenures with promotions such as World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), and Smoky Mountain Wrestling, where he performed under the ring name Chris Candido, as well as for his appearances in the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Skip, one-half of the tag team The Bodydonnas. For much of his career, he performed alongside his real-life partner, Tammy "Sunny" Sytch, who acted as his valet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommy Rich</span> American professional wrestler

Thomas Richardson is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Tommy "Wildfire" Rich. He is a one time former National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight Champion and Smoky Mountain Wrestling Heavyweight Champion. He primarily appeared in Georgia Championship Wrestling and Memphis throughout the 1980s, as well as World Championship Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling and Extreme Championship Wrestling throughout the 1990s. He is a 1974 graduate of Hendersonville High School.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracy Smothers</span> American professional wrestler (1962–2020)

Tracy Stanton Smothers was an American professional wrestler, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and Extreme Championship Wrestling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ricky Morton</span> American professional wrestler

Richard Wendell Morton is an American professional wrestler, currently performing on the independent circuit. For most of his career, Morton has performed with Robert Gibson as the Rock 'n' Roll Express, described as "the consummate babyface tag team". Morton has wrestled for multiple promotions in the United States including the Continental Wrestling Association, Mid-South Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation, and Extreme Championship Wrestling, as well as the Japanese promotions All Japan Pro Wrestling, New Japan Pro-Wrestling, and Wrestle Association R.

Steven James, better known by his ring name Steve Armstrong, is an American professional wrestler. He is the son of fellow wrestler "Bullet" Bob Armstrong, and has three brothers who also wrestled: Scott, Brad, and Brian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Terry Gordy</span> American professional wrestler

Terry Ray Gordy Sr. was an American professional wrestler from Soddy - Daisy, TN. Gordy appeared in the United States with promotions such as Mid-South Wrestling, Georgia Championship Wrestling, World Class Championship Wrestling, Jim Crockett Promotions/World Championship Wrestling and the Universal Wrestling Federation as a member of The Fabulous Freebirds. He also appeared in Japan with All Japan Pro Wrestling as one-half of The Miracle Violence Connection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock 'n' Roll Express</span> Professional wrestling tag team

The Rock 'n' Roll Express is a professional wrestling tag team consisting of professional wrestlers Robert Gibson and Ricky Morton. The duo began teaming together in Memphis in the early 1980s, followed by Mid-South Wrestling, followed by Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). They held the NWA World Tag Team Championship nine times, with the first four times in JCP. They also feuded with The Four Horsemen. In the late 1980s, they were contenders for the American Wrestling Association's AWA World Tag Team Championship. By 1991, the team was losing momentum, and Morton turned heel on his partner to join The York Foundation in World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1992, the team reformed in both the United States Wrestling Association and Smoky Mountain Wrestling, where they held the SMW Tag Team Championship ten times. The duo also worked in the World Wrestling Federation. On March 31, 2017, the Rock 'n' Roll Express was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame by Jim Cornette.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stan Lane</span> American professional wrestler

Wallace Stanfield Lane is an American former professional wrestler and color commentator. He is best known for his appearances with the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA), Jim Crockett Promotions and World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in the 1980s. Primarily a tag team wrestler, Lane held championships including the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship, NWA United States Tag Team Championship, NWA World Tag Team Championship, and SMW Tag Team Championship as part of The Fabulous Ones, The Midnight Express, and The Heavenly Bodies.

<i>Clash of the Champions</i> World Championship Wrestling professional wrestling television program

Clash of the Champions is an American series of professional wrestling television specials that were produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP) in conjunction with the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The specials were supercards comprising pay-per-view caliber matches, similar to the World Wrestling Federation's Saturday Night's Main Event series. The Clash of the Champions shows were famous for typically not airing commercials during matches even though many of these matches lasted 20 minutes or more.

Brian Lee Harris is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling, Smoky Mountain Wrestling, and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Brian Lee and with the World Wrestling Federation as Chainz and an impersonator version of The Undertaker.

Kenneth Rinehurst is an American professional wrestler and manager, better known by his ring name, Jack Victory. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with the Universal Wrestling Federation and the World Class Wrestling Association in the mid-1980s, with World Championship Wrestling between 1988 and 1991, and with Extreme Championship Wrestling between 1998 and 2001.

The Fantastics were a professional wrestling tag team composed of Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers that worked together extensively between 1984 and 2007. At times, Bobby Fulton would team up with his brother Jackie Fulton under the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George South</span> American professional wrestler (born 1962)

George South is an American professional wrestler. In the course of his career, South has wrestled for professional wrestling promotions such as Jim Crockett Promotions, World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation.

Michael Morgan is a former professional wrestler from New Zealand who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling and World Class Championship Wrestling as Rip Morgan. He is perhaps best known as one half of The New Zealand Militia in WCW with Jack Victory. Morgan also wrestled in WCW/NAWA/SAPW with Victory as "The Royal Family". He was the last flag bearer for the original New Zealand Sheepherders. He was formerly the CEO of the now defunct Wellington-based professional wrestling promotion Kiwi Pro Wrestling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Maestro (wrestler)</span> American professional wrestler and actor (born 1973)

Robert Kellum is an American professional wrestler and actor, best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling under the ring name The Maestro. He has also wrestled for other promotions, including the United States Wrestling Association, Smokey Mountain Wrestling and the World Wrestling Council. He currently wrestles under the ring name The Stro. Kellum is an occasional television and film actor, having made cameo appearances on several episodes of the television series One Tree Hill.

The Southern Boys - also known as the Wild-Eyed Southern Boys and the Young Pistols - were a professional wrestling tag team active between 1987 and 1991 in Championship Wrestling from Florida, Southeastern Championship Wrestling, and World Championship Wrestling. The tag team was composed of Steve Armstrong and Tracy Smothers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WrestleWar '89: Music City Showdown</span> 1989 World Championship Wrestling pay-per-view event

WrestleWar '89: Music City Showdown was the first WrestleWar professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by World Championship Wrestling (WCW) under the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) banner. It took place on May 7, 1989 from the Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Russian Assassins were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of Dave Sheldon and Jack Victory.

References

  1. ↑ "Matches « Jack Victory « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH – The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  2. ↑ "JCP – 1988 Results". thehistoryofwwe.com. January 16, 2023.
  3. ↑ Dave Meltzer (July 2003). Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Wrestling Observer Newsletter. p. 17.
  4. ↑ Cawthon, Graham (2014). The History of Professional Wrestling Vol 4: World Championship Wrestling 1989–1994. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN   978-1499656343.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Cawthon, Graham. "WCW - 1989 Results". TheHistoryOfWWE.com. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  6. ↑ "New Zealand Militia Out For Blood". NWA Wrestling Wrap-Up . Vol. 1, no. 5. Atlanta, Georgia. August 1989. p. 5.
  7. ↑ Will, Gary; Royal Duncan (1994). "United States: 19th century & widely defended titles – NWA, WWF, AWA, IWA, ECW, NWA". Wrestling Title Histories (3 ed.). Archeus Communications. p. 23. ISBN   0-9698161-1-1.
  8. 1 2 "WCW – 1990 Results". 16 January 2023.
  9. ↑ "SAPW TV #25 « Events Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  10. ↑ Marvez, Alex (December 16, 1990). "SOVIETS HIGHLIGHT NWA FOREIGN AFFAIR". Miami Herald .
  11. ↑ Adamson, Matt (17 February 2008). "Going Old School: Starrcade '90". 411mania. Retrieved 28 May 2008.
  12. 1 2 3 Duncan, Royal and Gary Will (2006). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN   0-9698161-5-4.
  13. ↑ "WCW – 1991 Results". 16 January 2023.
  14. ↑ "1992". thehistoryofwwe.com. 16 January 2023.
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.