Jonathan Boyd
Encyclopedia
Jonathan Barry Boyle was an Australian professional wrestler who is known worldwide under the name "Lord" Jonathan Boyd. Initially Boyd competed both in North America
n and international promotions as part of the Royal Kangaroos
with his cousin Norman Frederick Charles III. Later on Boyd would team up with Luke Williams
as the Sheepherders
and compete in many North American federations such as Continental Wrestling Association
, Southeast Championship Wrestling
and Southwest Championship Wrestling
. Boyd would also act as a manager for Luke and Butch Miller
as they competed under the "Sheepherder" name.
before he and his cousin travelled to North America to compete as The Royal Kangaroos, a name inspired by the legendary tag team the Fabulous Kangaroos. Boyle and Charles worked mainly for Pacific Northwest Wrestling
in Oregon, capturing their first NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship
from Kurt and Karl Von Steiger on 11 July 1971, their first reign lasted only 6 weeks but the cousins would win the tag team title a further four times between June 1971 and December 1975. Boyd would also work in the singles ranks capturing the main NWA Pacific Northwest title on 31 July 1971 when he defeated Kurt Von Steiner for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship
. Boyd lost the title to Dutch Savage only to regain it a month later on 28 November. On 28 December Savage once again beat Boyd for the title and subsequently managed to keep it away from him.
After working for Pacific Northwest, the Royal Kangaroos headed further north to join Stu Hart
's Stampede Wrestling
promotion. In June 1977 the duo defeated Leo Burke
and Keith Hart for the Stampede International Tag Team Championship but dropped it to Leo Burke and his new tag team partner Bobby Burke only a short time later. After their run in Stampede together the Royal Kangaroos broke up after a disagreement in Calgary Canada over differences in how to promote themselves. Charles remained with Stampede for some time while Jonathan Boyd returned to the Pacific Northwest. On 22 August 1978 Boyd defeated Ed Wiskoski
(the future Colonel DeBeers) to win his third NWA Pacific Northwest title. Boyd reigned for six months until he was defeated by PNW's fastest rising star "Rowdy" Roddy Piper
. After his run with PNW ended Boyd began travelling the other NWA territories working under such names as "Wild Colonial Boy" Johnny Boyd and "Maniac" Jonathan Boyd. His first stop after leaving the Oregon/Washington territory was due south to the Los Angeles area, specifically the NWA Hollywood Wrestling area. In LA Boyd teamed up with Coloso Colosetti
to defeat Hector Guerrero
and Barry Orton to win the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship
on 18 May 1979 only to turn around and lose the title to "The Twin Devils" the very next day. In September Boyd made his mark on Georgia Championship Wrestling
when he beat Ray Candy
for the NWA Georgia Television Championship. The mark was short lived as Candy regained the title about 2 weeks later.
of the Sheepherders decided that he wanted to return closer to home and went to Australia
to wrestle. Luke remained in the United States and started teaming with Boyd as "the Kiwi Sheepherders" and "The New Zealand Sheepherders". The duo of Williams and Boyd quickly gained a reputation of one of the most violent, hard hitting teams in the business. One of the first people to feel the wrath of the "new and improved" Sheepherders was Robert Fuller
in South Eastern Championship Wrestling
. In later 1981 Robert Fuller and Jos LeDuc had split up when LeDuc turned on Fuller during a match. LeDuc brought in the Sheepherders to be a part of his "Commonwealth Connection" to fight against Robert Fuller and the entire Fuller family. In December 1981 the Sheepherders won the NWA Southeast Tag Team Championship
that had been vacated when Fuller and LeDuc split and defended the titles against Robert Fuller and various partners including his brother Ron Fuller
and his cousin Jimmy Golden
(later known as Bunkhouse Buck). One act that made the Sheepherders the most hated men in SECW for a while was when the duo attacked and injured (storyline
) Jimmy's father Billy Golden. Williams and Boyd kept the upper hand for months as Robert Fuller recruited partner after partner to defeated the dastardly duo. On September 11, 1982 the Sheepherders were finally defeated by Fuller and Golden ending the feud on a high for the face duo as the Sheepherders were "run out" of the territory.
Boyd and Williams moved slightly more north as they began to work in the Memphis, TN based promotion Continental Wrestling Association
owend and operated by Jerry Jarrett
and Jerry Lawler
. Making their debut in October 1982 the team quickly became involved in a heated feud with Jacques Rougeau
and Terry Taylor
, clashing week after week at the Mid-South Coliseum with the Sheepherders brawling their way to victory time and again. Taylor and Rougeau redeemed themselves in the end by defeating the Sheepherders in a brutal "Coal Miner's Glove" match. Showing how incredibly resilient the duo was they returned to the ring later in the night and defeated the territory's main stars Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee
.
The next feud for Boyd and Williams stands as their most memorable and certainly their most bloody and brutal as the team kicked off a long running feud with The Fabulous Ones
(Stan Lane
and Steve Keirn
). The "pretty boy", well polished Fabulous Ones made and the ugly, brawling savage Sheepherders made for the perfect opponents and repeatedly drew big gates all over the country. The matches started out pretty evenly with the Fabulous Ones and the Sheepherders splitting the decisions but soon turned brutal and often without a definite winner. In late 1982 the Sheepherders won the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
from Lane and Keirn which only turned the intensity of the matches up a notch. Between late December and Mid February the two teams traded the belts back and forth 4 times with the Fabulous Ones ending up with possession of them in the end. On 28 March the Sheepherders wrestled their last match in the Mid-South Coliseum before leaving the CWA.
Boyd and Williams resurfaced in Southwest Championship Wrestling
only weeks later, continuing their brutal and destructive ways. Their first target was the reigning Southwest Tag Team Champions "The Grapplers" (Len Denton
and Tony Anthony
. In May the Sheepherders won the gold from the duo through nefarious means, before the match Williams and Boyd had bribed the Grapplers' manager Don Carson and promised he would become a tag team champion, Carson turned on the Grapplers mid match to ensure the Sheepherders' victory. The Sheepherders run with the gold was short lived, in June Jonathan Boyd legitimately broke both his legs in a car accident which forced the SWCW to name Bobby Jaggers
as a replacement for Boyd. After Williams and Jagger lost a non-title match to Bob Sweetan and Sweet Brown Sugar
Williams turned on Jaggers and the titles were vacated. While Boyd was out with the broken leg Williams was reunited with his old tag-team partner, Butch straight in from Australia. Once Boyd was recovered enough he began acting as the Sheepherders' manager despite still on crutches. Over the next year or two Boyd works mainly as a manager for the Sheepherders and as a booker for SWCW.
In 1985 Boyd once again began wrestling as a Sheepherder, but this time he did not team up with Luke Williams but instead teamed with Rip Morgan
(a former flag bearer for the Sheepherders) and continued the Sheepherder legacy of violence under the name "The Kiwi Sheepherders". Boyd and Morgan quickly made a mark on Memphis by beating their longtime opposition the Fabulous Ones for AWA Southern Tag Team Championship on 17 June 1985. The team was soon stripped of the titles due to excessive cheating but had the titles returned to them when Boyd and Morgan threatened to sue CWA management. Instead of taking the titles from the Sheepherders by stripping them the Fabulous Ones took the Southern tag team titles from them the old fashioned way – 4 times in a row between 5 September and 12 October. After the series of violent matches with the Fabulous Ones came to an end the Sheepherders came face to face with another team that would turn out to be a constant thorn in their side the Fantastics
(Bobby Fulton
and Tommy Rogers
). In the winter of 1985 the Kiwi Sheepherders and the Fantastics traded wins back and forth with no side gaining a clear advantage in their feud. In January 1986 the Kiwi Sheepherders defeated the teams of Koko Ware
and Rick Casey and also the team of Tojo Yamamoto
and Dirty Rhodes to reach the finals of a tournament to crown new Southern Tag Team Champions, but in the finals they fell to the Fantastics. The loss to the Fantastics only intensified the Sheepherders' anger bringing the feud to its high point as the two teams clashed in a "No DQ Loser Leaves Town" match on 20 January 1986. The Kiwi Sheepherders lost and left Memphis while the Fantastics rode a wave of popularity thanks to the feud.
In late November the Kiwi Sheepherders returned to the CWA for a brief run. Boyd and Morgan (Now billed as "Bigfoot") cut through the competition and won a 4th Southern Tag Team championship when they beat Jeff Jarrett
and Billy Joe Travis in a tournament to crown new tag team champions. Their run with the titles was brief as Jarrett and Travis won the titles a week later and then ran the Kiwi Sheepherders out of the area in a "Loser Leaves Town" match a week after beating them for the title. Not long after this Morgan began teaming with Jack Victory
as the "New Zealand Militia" while Body toured the independent circuit on his own.
in Continental Championship Wrestling. Boyd held the title for just over a month before dropping the gold to "Doctor" Tom Prichard
. On 28 December of that year Boyd won his last title when he defeated Joe Savoldi
for the ICW Heavyweight Title
(Savoldi version). Boyd once again only held the title briefly losing it back to Joe Savoldi in January 1989
On 25 December 1989 "Lord" Jonathan Boyd wrestles and defeats Rex King
in his retirement match in Portland, Oregon
for the same promotion that gave him his first break in the US, Pacific Northwest Wrestling. Boyd died on 7 August 1999 of a heart attack.
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n and international promotions as part of the Royal Kangaroos
The Royal Kangaroos
The Royal Kangaroos was a professional wrestling tag team consisting of cousins “Lord” Jonathan Boyd and Norman Frederick Charles III. The duo played off their Australian heritage which included using a boomerang as their weapon of choice...
with his cousin Norman Frederick Charles III. Later on Boyd would team up with Luke Williams
Brian Wickens
Brian Wickens is a professional wrestler best known as Luke Williams, one half of the tag team known as "The Sheepherders" on the independent scene and in the National Wrestling Alliance and as The Bushwhackers in the WWF.-Career:Luke Williams started wrestling for NWA New Zealand in 1964...
as the Sheepherders
The Bushwhackers
The Bushwhackers were a professional wrestling tag team that also competed as The Sheepherders during their long career. They wrestled in the World Wrestling Federation and Jim Crockett Promotions as well as a nearly 40 year run on the independent wrestling circuit...
and compete in many North American federations such as Continental Wrestling Association
Continental Wrestling Association
The Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...
, Southeast Championship Wrestling
Continental Championship Wrestling
Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based out of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1974 until 1988 and Dothan, Alabama from 1978 to 1990, managed by Ron Fuller. When Fuller sold the promotion to David Woods, it changed name to the Continental Wrestling Federation...
and Southwest Championship Wrestling
Southwest Championship Wrestling
Southwest Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was owned by Joseph Blanchard and based in San Antonio, Texas, from 1978 to 1985, when it was purchased by Texas All-Star Wrestling and absorbed into that company.-Venues:...
. Boyd would also act as a manager for Luke and Butch Miller
Butch Miller (wrestler)
Butch Miller is a retired professional wrestler best known as one half of the tag team known as "The Sheepherders" on the independent scene and in the National Wrestling Alliance and as one half of The Bushwhackers in the WWF.-Career:Butch Miller started wrestling for NWA New Zealand in 1964 where...
as they competed under the "Sheepherder" name.
Professional wrestling career
Boyle made his professional wrestling debut in 1966, wrestling initially in his native AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
before he and his cousin travelled to North America to compete as The Royal Kangaroos, a name inspired by the legendary tag team the Fabulous Kangaroos. Boyle and Charles worked mainly for Pacific Northwest Wrestling
Pacific Northwest Wrestling
Pacific Northwest Wrestling is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The first such company was founded by Herb Owen in 1925...
in Oregon, capturing their first NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship
NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship
The NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S...
from Kurt and Karl Von Steiger on 11 July 1971, their first reign lasted only 6 weeks but the cousins would win the tag team title a further four times between June 1971 and December 1975. Boyd would also work in the singles ranks capturing the main NWA Pacific Northwest title on 31 July 1971 when he defeated Kurt Von Steiner for the NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship
NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S...
. Boyd lost the title to Dutch Savage only to regain it a month later on 28 November. On 28 December Savage once again beat Boyd for the title and subsequently managed to keep it away from him.
After working for Pacific Northwest, the Royal Kangaroos headed further north to join Stu Hart
Stu Hart
Stewart Edward "Stu" Hart, CM was a Canadian amateur wrestler, professional wrestler, promoter and trainer. Hart founded Stampede Wrestling, a promotion based in Calgary, Alberta, and was the father of famous wrestlers Bret and Owen Hart...
's Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling
Stampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
promotion. In June 1977 the duo defeated Leo Burke
Leo Burke
Leonce Cormier is a retired Canadian professional wrestler. He was born in Dorchester, New Brunswick. He competed across Canada, in several American promotions, and wrestled internationally for both Puerto Rico's World Wrestling Council and the National Wrestling Alliance in New Zealand...
and Keith Hart for the Stampede International Tag Team Championship but dropped it to Leo Burke and his new tag team partner Bobby Burke only a short time later. After their run in Stampede together the Royal Kangaroos broke up after a disagreement in Calgary Canada over differences in how to promote themselves. Charles remained with Stampede for some time while Jonathan Boyd returned to the Pacific Northwest. On 22 August 1978 Boyd defeated Ed Wiskoski
Edward Wiskoski
Edward Wiskoski is a former American professional wrestler best known as Colonel DeBeers in the AWA . He also wrestled as Derek "The Mongoose" Draper and Mega Maharishi...
(the future Colonel DeBeers) to win his third NWA Pacific Northwest title. Boyd reigned for six months until he was defeated by PNW's fastest rising star "Rowdy" Roddy Piper
Roddy Piper
Roderick George Toombs , better known by his ring name "Rowdy" Roddy Piper, is a Canadian semi-retired professional wrestler and film actor who is currently signed to WWE. In professional wrestling, he is best known for his work with WWE...
. After his run with PNW ended Boyd began travelling the other NWA territories working under such names as "Wild Colonial Boy" Johnny Boyd and "Maniac" Jonathan Boyd. His first stop after leaving the Oregon/Washington territory was due south to the Los Angeles area, specifically the NWA Hollywood Wrestling area. In LA Boyd teamed up with Coloso Colosetti
Coloso Colosetti
Elio Carlo Colosetti Drazich is a retired Argentiniean professional wrestler who is primarily known under the ring name Coloso Colosetti. Colosetti wrestled primarily in Mexico and Southern California, but also worked in Texas, Asia and Europe...
to defeat Hector Guerrero
Hector Guerrero
Héctor Manuel Guerrero Llanes is a Mexican-American professional wrestler, better known simply by his paternal name, Héctor Guerrero...
and Barry Orton to win the NWA Americas Tag Team Championship
NWA Americas Tag Team Championship
The NWA Americas Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hollywood Wrestling based out of Los Angeles, California....
on 18 May 1979 only to turn around and lose the title to "The Twin Devils" the very next day. In September Boyd made his mark on Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling
Georgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on Atlanta, U.S., superstation WTBS. Though based in Atlanta, the company also ran live wrestling shows throughout its geographic "territory" of Georgia Georgia...
when he beat Ray Candy
Ray Candy
Ray Canty , known by the ring name Ray Candy, was an American professional wrestler for the Jim Crockett Promotions and various other regional wrestling territories...
for the NWA Georgia Television Championship. The mark was short lived as Candy regained the title about 2 weeks later.
The Sheepherders
In 1981 Butch MillerButch Miller (wrestler)
Butch Miller is a retired professional wrestler best known as one half of the tag team known as "The Sheepherders" on the independent scene and in the National Wrestling Alliance and as one half of The Bushwhackers in the WWF.-Career:Butch Miller started wrestling for NWA New Zealand in 1964 where...
of the Sheepherders decided that he wanted to return closer to home and went to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to wrestle. Luke remained in the United States and started teaming with Boyd as "the Kiwi Sheepherders" and "The New Zealand Sheepherders". The duo of Williams and Boyd quickly gained a reputation of one of the most violent, hard hitting teams in the business. One of the first people to feel the wrath of the "new and improved" Sheepherders was Robert Fuller
Robert Fuller
Robert Welch is a professional wrestler and manager better known by his ring names Robert Fuller and Col. Robert Parker. Robert and his brother Ron co-owned Continental Championship Wrestling for a time.-Career:...
in South Eastern Championship Wrestling
Continental Championship Wrestling
Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based out of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1974 until 1988 and Dothan, Alabama from 1978 to 1990, managed by Ron Fuller. When Fuller sold the promotion to David Woods, it changed name to the Continental Wrestling Federation...
. In later 1981 Robert Fuller and Jos LeDuc had split up when LeDuc turned on Fuller during a match. LeDuc brought in the Sheepherders to be a part of his "Commonwealth Connection" to fight against Robert Fuller and the entire Fuller family. In December 1981 the Sheepherders won the NWA Southeast Tag Team Championship
NWA Southeast Tag Team Championship
The NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship was the major tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's Alabama territory known as Southeast Championship Wrestling. It existed from 1974 until 1986, when it became the NWA Southeast Continental Tag Team Championship...
that had been vacated when Fuller and LeDuc split and defended the titles against Robert Fuller and various partners including his brother Ron Fuller
Ron Fuller (wrestler)
Ronald Welch is a retired professional wrestler and manager better known by his ring names Ron Fuller and Tennessee Stud. He is the elder brother of Robert Fuller...
and his cousin Jimmy Golden
Jimmy Golden
James "Jimmy" Golden is an American professional wrestler, who is better known as Bunkhouse Buck.Golden has many relatives in wrestling: his cousins are Robert & Ron Fuller, his father is Billy Golden and his uncle is Buddy Fuller and his nephew is Eddie Golden. His grandfather is Roy Welch...
(later known as Bunkhouse Buck). One act that made the Sheepherders the most hated men in SECW for a while was when the duo attacked and injured (storyline
Kayfabe
In professional wrestling, kayfabe is the portrayal of events within the industry as "real" or "true". Specifically, the portrayal of professional wrestling, in particular the competition and rivalries between participants, as being genuine or not of a worked nature...
) Jimmy's father Billy Golden. Williams and Boyd kept the upper hand for months as Robert Fuller recruited partner after partner to defeated the dastardly duo. On September 11, 1982 the Sheepherders were finally defeated by Fuller and Golden ending the feud on a high for the face duo as the Sheepherders were "run out" of the territory.
Boyd and Williams moved slightly more north as they began to work in the Memphis, TN based promotion Continental Wrestling Association
Continental Wrestling Association
The Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...
owend and operated by Jerry Jarrett
Jerry Jarrett
Jerry W. Jarrett is an American promoter and former professional wrestler, and the father of wrestler Jeff Jarrett. He is the co-founder and former part-owner of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
and Jerry Lawler
Jerry Lawler
Jerry O'Neil Lawler is an American professional wrestler, wrestling commentator, musician, businessman, commercial artist and film actor, known throughout the wrestling world as Jerry "The King" Lawler. He is currently signed to WWE, working on its Raw brand as the color commentator and occasional...
. Making their debut in October 1982 the team quickly became involved in a heated feud with Jacques Rougeau
Jacques Rougeau
Jacques Rougeau Jr. is a retired French-Canadian professional wrestler from Saint-Sulpice, Quebec, best known for his appearances in the 1980s and 1990s with the World Wrestling Federation under his own name, and as The Mountie. Rougeau has held fifteen championships during his career...
and Terry Taylor
Terry Taylor
Terry Taylor , is an American retired professional wrestler best known for his time in the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling, and the World Wrestling Federation...
, clashing week after week at the Mid-South Coliseum with the Sheepherders brawling their way to victory time and again. Taylor and Rougeau redeemed themselves in the end by defeating the Sheepherders in a brutal "Coal Miner's Glove" match. Showing how incredibly resilient the duo was they returned to the ring later in the night and defeated the territory's main stars Jerry Lawler and Bill Dundee
Bill Dundee
William "Bill" Cruickshanks is a Scottish born-Australian professional wrestler better known by his stage name Bill Dundee. Cruickshanks is the father of Jamie Dundee and the father-in-law of wrestler Bobby Eaton....
.
The next feud for Boyd and Williams stands as their most memorable and certainly their most bloody and brutal as the team kicked off a long running feud with The Fabulous Ones
The Fabulous Ones
The Fabulous Ones was a professional wrestling Tag team consisting of Stan Lane and Steve Keirn that was active between 1982 and 1987 with brief reunions during the 1990s...
(Stan Lane
Stan Lane
Wallace Stanfield "Stan" Lane is an American professional wrestler, trained by Ric Flair, who started wrestling in 1974 in Championship Wrestling from Florida. For a brief time in Florida, he was nicknamed Nature Boy...
and Steve Keirn
Steve Keirn
Stephen "Steve" Paul Keirn is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for being part of the tag team The Fabulous Ones, with Stan Lane, and later for a run in the World Wrestling Federation as Skinner, a gimmick that portrayed him as a tobacco spitting alligator hunter from...
). The "pretty boy", well polished Fabulous Ones made and the ugly, brawling savage Sheepherders made for the perfect opponents and repeatedly drew big gates all over the country. The matches started out pretty evenly with the Fabulous Ones and the Sheepherders splitting the decisions but soon turned brutal and often without a definite winner. In late 1982 the Sheepherders won the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
AWA Southern Tag Team Championship
The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship from its inception through 1977, when it was renamed the AWA Southern...
from Lane and Keirn which only turned the intensity of the matches up a notch. Between late December and Mid February the two teams traded the belts back and forth 4 times with the Fabulous Ones ending up with possession of them in the end. On 28 March the Sheepherders wrestled their last match in the Mid-South Coliseum before leaving the CWA.
Boyd and Williams resurfaced in Southwest Championship Wrestling
Southwest Championship Wrestling
Southwest Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was owned by Joseph Blanchard and based in San Antonio, Texas, from 1978 to 1985, when it was purchased by Texas All-Star Wrestling and absorbed into that company.-Venues:...
only weeks later, continuing their brutal and destructive ways. Their first target was the reigning Southwest Tag Team Champions "The Grapplers" (Len Denton
Len Denton
Len Denton is a semi-retired professional wrestler, best known by his ring name The Grappler.While wrestling as The Grappler in Pacific Northwest Wrestling , his gimmick was a loaded boot, and later a loaded mask, which he had started wearing earlier in his career after losing a hair match and...
and Tony Anthony
Tony Anthony
Darrell W. "Tony" Anthony is a semi-retired American professional wrestler best known as Dirty White Boy, who wrestled primarily for independent promotions in the Southeastern United States...
. In May the Sheepherders won the gold from the duo through nefarious means, before the match Williams and Boyd had bribed the Grapplers' manager Don Carson and promised he would become a tag team champion, Carson turned on the Grapplers mid match to ensure the Sheepherders' victory. The Sheepherders run with the gold was short lived, in June Jonathan Boyd legitimately broke both his legs in a car accident which forced the SWCW to name Bobby Jaggers
Bobby Jaggers
Bobby Jaggers is a retired professional wrestler.-In wrestling:*Finishing moves**Elbow drop**Reversed neckbreaker-Championships and accomplishments:...
as a replacement for Boyd. After Williams and Jagger lost a non-title match to Bob Sweetan and Sweet Brown Sugar
James Ware (wrestler)
James Ware , better known by his ring name Koko B. Ware, is a retired American professional wrestler who made his professional wrestling debut in 1978. He gained most of his popularity in the World Wrestling Federation when he was known as the Birdman...
Williams turned on Jaggers and the titles were vacated. While Boyd was out with the broken leg Williams was reunited with his old tag-team partner, Butch straight in from Australia. Once Boyd was recovered enough he began acting as the Sheepherders' manager despite still on crutches. Over the next year or two Boyd works mainly as a manager for the Sheepherders and as a booker for SWCW.
In 1985 Boyd once again began wrestling as a Sheepherder, but this time he did not team up with Luke Williams but instead teamed with Rip Morgan
Rip Morgan
Mike Morgan is a former professional wrestler from New Zealand who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling and World Class Championship Wrestling best known as Rip Morgan. Best known as one half of the New Zealand Militia in WCW with Jack Victory...
(a former flag bearer for the Sheepherders) and continued the Sheepherder legacy of violence under the name "The Kiwi Sheepherders". Boyd and Morgan quickly made a mark on Memphis by beating their longtime opposition the Fabulous Ones for AWA Southern Tag Team Championship on 17 June 1985. The team was soon stripped of the titles due to excessive cheating but had the titles returned to them when Boyd and Morgan threatened to sue CWA management. Instead of taking the titles from the Sheepherders by stripping them the Fabulous Ones took the Southern tag team titles from them the old fashioned way – 4 times in a row between 5 September and 12 October. After the series of violent matches with the Fabulous Ones came to an end the Sheepherders came face to face with another team that would turn out to be a constant thorn in their side the Fantastics
Fantastics
The Fantastics are a professional wrestling tag team composed of Bobby Fulton and Tommy Rogers.-History:While in the Mid-Southern area, Terry taylor was teamed with a budding young wrestler named Bobby Fulton, who at the time was a jobber on TV but showed promise...
(Bobby Fulton
James Hines
James Hines is a professional wrestler better known as Bobby Fulton of The Fantastics.-Career:James Hines started wrestling as a 16 year old in 1977 as Jimmy Hines....
and Tommy Rogers
Thomas Couch
Thomas R. Couch is a professional wrestler better known as Tommy Rogers of The Fantastics.-Career:Couch started wrestling in 1980 as Tommy Rogers in North Carolina...
). In the winter of 1985 the Kiwi Sheepherders and the Fantastics traded wins back and forth with no side gaining a clear advantage in their feud. In January 1986 the Kiwi Sheepherders defeated the teams of Koko Ware
James Ware (wrestler)
James Ware , better known by his ring name Koko B. Ware, is a retired American professional wrestler who made his professional wrestling debut in 1978. He gained most of his popularity in the World Wrestling Federation when he was known as the Birdman...
and Rick Casey and also the team of Tojo Yamamoto
Tojo Yamamoto
Harold Watanabe was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name Tojo Yamamoto. He was born in Hawaii.-In-ring career:...
and Dirty Rhodes to reach the finals of a tournament to crown new Southern Tag Team Champions, but in the finals they fell to the Fantastics. The loss to the Fantastics only intensified the Sheepherders' anger bringing the feud to its high point as the two teams clashed in a "No DQ Loser Leaves Town" match on 20 January 1986. The Kiwi Sheepherders lost and left Memphis while the Fantastics rode a wave of popularity thanks to the feud.
In late November the Kiwi Sheepherders returned to the CWA for a brief run. Boyd and Morgan (Now billed as "Bigfoot") cut through the competition and won a 4th Southern Tag Team championship when they beat Jeff Jarrett
Jeff Jarrett
Jeffrey Leonard Jarrett is an American professional wrestler and wrestling promoter. He is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling , an organization he co-founded along with his father and in which he holds some stock but not total control...
and Billy Joe Travis in a tournament to crown new tag team champions. Their run with the titles was brief as Jarrett and Travis won the titles a week later and then ran the Kiwi Sheepherders out of the area in a "Loser Leaves Town" match a week after beating them for the title. Not long after this Morgan began teaming with Jack Victory
Jack Victory
Kenneth "Ken" 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 Extreme Championship Wrestling between 1998 and 2001.-Career:Rinehurst debuted in 1985 in the Universal Wrestling Federation...
as the "New Zealand Militia" while Body toured the independent circuit on his own.
After the Sheepherders
On 11 January 1988 Boyd defeated Ranger Ross for the NWA Alabama Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Alabama Heavyweight Championship
The NWA Alabama Heavyweight Championship was created in October, 1962. Since its creation, the championship has been defended in a number of NWA territories throughout the decades....
in Continental Championship Wrestling. Boyd held the title for just over a month before dropping the gold to "Doctor" Tom Prichard
Tom Prichard
Thomas Prichard is an American professional wrestler currently signed to WWE, working in their developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling as a trainer using his ring name Tom Prichard...
. On 28 December of that year Boyd won his last title when he defeated Joe Savoldi
Joseph Savoldi
Joseph Fornini, known by his ring name "Jumping" Joe Savoldi is an American professional wrestler and the son of wrestler Angelo Savoldi...
for the ICW Heavyweight Title
IWCCW Heavyweight Championship
The ICW / IWCCW Heavyweight Championship was the top singles championship of International World Class Championship Wrestling between 1984 and 1995 where IWCCW closed down operations...
(Savoldi version). Boyd once again only held the title briefly losing it back to Joe Savoldi in January 1989
On 25 December 1989 "Lord" Jonathan Boyd wrestles and defeats Rex King
Timothy Well
Timothy A. Smith is a retired American professional wrestler, better known by the ring names Rex King and Timothy Well. He wrestled in several promotions, including the World Wrestling Federation and World Championship Wrestling . Much of his career was spent wrestling as a tag team with Steve...
in his retirement match in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
for the same promotion that gave him his first break in the US, Pacific Northwest Wrestling. Boyd died on 7 August 1999 of a heart attack.
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Neckbreaker
- Three point stance clothesline
- Signature moves
- Diving elbow drop
- Flying clothesline
- The Iron Claw Clawhold
- ManagersManager (professional wrestling)In professional wrestling, a manager is a secondary character paired with a wrestler for a variety of reasons. The manager is often either a non-wrestler, an occasional wrestler, an older wrestler who has retired or is nearing retirement or, in some cases, a new wrestler who is breaking into the...
- Billy Golden
- Ox BakerOx BakerDouglas A. Baker better known professionally as Ox Baker, is an American former professional wrestler and actor, and was feared for his dreaded finishing move, the Heart Punch, sometimes called the "Hurt Punch", after Baker's famous catchphrase "I love to hurt people!" He has appeared in several...
- Don Carson
Championships and accomplishments
- Continental Wrestling AssociationContinental Wrestling AssociationThe Continental Wrestling Association was a wrestling promotion managed by Jerry Jarrett. The CWA was the name of the "governing body" for the Championship Wrestling, Inc. promotion which was usually referred to as Mid-Southern Wrestling...
- AWA Southern Tag Team ChampionshipAWA Southern Tag Team ChampionshipThe AWA Southern Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the Tennessee area from the 1940s through the late 1980s. It was originally named the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship from its inception through 1977, when it was renamed the AWA Southern...
(7 times) - with Luke WilliamsBrian WickensBrian Wickens is a professional wrestler best known as Luke Williams, one half of the tag team known as "The Sheepherders" on the independent scene and in the National Wrestling Alliance and as The Bushwhackers in the WWF.-Career:Luke Williams started wrestling for NWA New Zealand in 1964...
(2) and Rip MorganRip MorganMike Morgan is a former professional wrestler from New Zealand who competed in the National Wrestling Alliance, World Championship Wrestling and World Class Championship Wrestling best known as Rip Morgan. Best known as one half of the New Zealand Militia in WCW with Jack Victory...
(5)
- Georgia Championship WrestlingGeorgia Championship WrestlingGeorgia Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion whose self-titled TV program aired in the 1970s and 1980s on Atlanta, U.S., superstation WTBS. Though based in Atlanta, the company also ran live wrestling shows throughout its geographic "territory" of Georgia Georgia...
- NWA Georgia Television Championship (1 time)
- International World Class Championship WrestlingInternational World Class Championship WrestlingInternational World Class Championship Wrestling was an independent professional wrestling promotion based in Boston, Massachusetts. It was promoted by Angelo Savoldi and his sons Mario, Tom, and Joseph Savoldi....
- IWCCW Heavyweight ChampionshipIWCCW Heavyweight ChampionshipThe ICW / IWCCW Heavyweight Championship was the top singles championship of International World Class Championship Wrestling between 1984 and 1995 where IWCCW closed down operations...
(1 time)
- Mid-Atlantic Championship WrestlingJim Crockett PromotionsJim Crockett Promotions was a professional wrestling promotion owned by Jim Crockett, Jr. until the late 1980s. It was a member of the National Wrestling Alliance and was the forerunner to World Championship Wrestling .-Early history:...
- NWA Mid-Atlantic Brass Knuckles Championship (1 time)
- NWA Hollywood WrestlingNational Wrestling AllianceThe National Wrestling Alliance is a wrestling promotion company and sanctions various NWA championships in the United States. The NWA has been in operation since 1948...
- NWA Americas Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Americas Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Americas Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling tag team title in the National Wrestling Alliance's NWA Hollywood Wrestling based out of Los Angeles, California....
(1 time) – with Coloso ColosettiColoso ColosettiElio Carlo Colosetti Drazich is a retired Argentiniean professional wrestler who is primarily known under the ring name Coloso Colosetti. Colosetti wrestled primarily in Mexico and Southern California, but also worked in Texas, Asia and Europe...
- Pacific Northwest WrestlingPacific Northwest WrestlingPacific Northwest Wrestling is the common name used to refer to several different professional wrestling companies, both past and present, based in Portland, Oregon, United States. The first such company was founded by Herb Owen in 1925...
- NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S...
(3 times) - NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team ChampionshipNWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team ChampionshipThe NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling championship sanctioned by the National Wrestling Alliance and defended in its member promotion Pacific Northwest Wrestling, which promoted shows in the U.S...
(7 times) - with Norman Frederick Charles III (6) and Dutch SavageDutch SavageFrank Stewart is a former professional wrestler and wrestling promoter, best known for his time spent competing in Pacific Northwest Wrestling under the ring name Dutch Savage.-Career:...
(1)
- Southeastern Championship Wrestling - Continental Wrestling FederationContinental Championship WrestlingContinental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based out of Knoxville, Tennessee from 1974 until 1988 and Dothan, Alabama from 1978 to 1990, managed by Ron Fuller. When Fuller sold the promotion to David Woods, it changed name to the Continental Wrestling Federation...
- NWA Alabama Heavyweight ChampionshipNWA Alabama Heavyweight ChampionshipThe NWA Alabama Heavyweight Championship was created in October, 1962. Since its creation, the championship has been defended in a number of NWA territories throughout the decades....
(1 time) - NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Luke Williams
- Southwest Championship Wrestling - Texas All-Star WrestlingSouthwest Championship WrestlingSouthwest Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion that was owned by Joseph Blanchard and based in San Antonio, Texas, from 1978 to 1985, when it was purchased by Texas All-Star Wrestling and absorbed into that company.-Venues:...
- SWCW Southwest Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Luke Williams
- Texas All-Star USA 6-Man Tag Team Championship
- Stampede WrestlingStampede WrestlingStampede Wrestling is a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta and was for nearly 50 years one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies...
- NWA International Tag Team Championship (Calgary version) (1 time) - with Norman Frederick Charles III