Mr. Wrestling

George Burrell Woodin (July 28, 1934 – November 30, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring names, Mr. Wrestling and Tim Woods.[1][2]

"Mr. Woods" redirects here. For the song by Big Dipper, see Supercluster: The Big Dipper Anthology.
Mr. Wrestling
Birth nameGeorge Burrell Woodin
Born(1934-07-28)July 28, 1934[1][2]
Utica, New York[2]
DiedNovember 30, 2002(2002-11-30) (aged 68)[1][2]
Charlotte, North Carolina[1]
Cause of deathMyocardial infarction
Alma materCornell University
Michigan State University
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Mr. Wrestling[1][2]
Tim Woods[1][2]
Billed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[2]
Billed weight230 lb (100 kg)[2]
Debut1962
Retired1983 [2]

Collegiate wrestling career

Woodin received a degree in agricultural engineering from Cornell University and a degree in mechanical engineering from Michigan State University.

Before becoming a professional wrestler, Woodin was a successful collegiate wrestler. While wrestling for the Michigan State Spartans, Woodin won two Big Ten titles in 1958 and 1959. He also finished second in the NCAA tournament in 1958 and 1959.

As a junior at Michigan State, Woodin won the 1958 Big Ten 177-pound title by pinning Gary Kurdelmeier of the University of Iowa at 8:21. A couple of weeks later, the two met again in the 177-pound finals of the 1958 NCAAs at the University of Wyoming, where Woodin lost to Kurdelmeier 6-2.

As a senior, Woodin defeated Iowa's Gordon Trapp 6–4 in the heavyweight finals to win his second Big Ten title. At the 1959 NCAAs, the Michigan State Spartan competed in the 191-pound class, making it to the finals for the second year in a row, but lost 9-5 to Syracuse's Art Baker. With his two runner-up finishes at the national championships, Woodin was a two-time NCAA All-American.

Professional wrestling career

Woodin began his wrestling career at the age of 28 using the name "Tim Woods".[1] He was then given the name "Mr. Wrestling" by Nebraska promotor Joe Dusek, and subsequently adopted both a white wrestling mask and white singlet to complete the character.[1] Mr. Wrestling became a major superstar in the Georgia, Florida, Texas and Mid-Atlantic territories. He wrestled in the World Wide Wrestling Federation in the northeast, at the upper end of the preliminary wrestlers. Starting in the Seventies, he would alternate between his masked persona as Mr. Wrestling and wrestling unmasked as Tim Woods, depending on the territory.

In 1968, Woodin faced street fighter Arnold Spurlin, a former Golden Gloves champion, in a shoot fight in Columbus, Georgia. After Woodin dominated the match, using non-wrestling moves and blows with his fists, Spurlin bit down on the only thing he could to stop the melee - Woodin’s finger. As Woodin danced around Spurlin in pain and trying to remove his finger from his opponent’s grip, other wrestlers entered the ring and began beating Spurlin. Spurlin’ s friends then joined in with knives in hand to run off the wrestlers. As they did, Spurlin spit Woodin’s finger joint across the ring. The finger was subsequently surgically reattached, but Woodin did not regain full use of it. Later that year, Woodin challenged NWA World Heavyweight Champion Gene Kiniski, with the bout being stopped after Woodin's finger began bleeding.[3]

1975 plane crash

Woodin was involved in the same 1975 plane crash which involved pilot Joseph Michael Farkas (he ended up in a coma and died the next year), wrestling legend Johnny Valentine (broke his back and bone fragments impacted into his spinal cord, which ended his career), wrestler Bob Bruggers (broke his back and had a steel rod put in; Bruggers could have made a comeback, but he decided to retire), future legend Ric Flair (broke his back, but recovered and returned to wrestling), and Jim Crockett Promotions' announcer David Crockett. At the hospital, Woodin gave them his real name (George Burrell Woodin), and told them that he was a promoter. Since Woodin wrestled under the name Tim Woods, a newspaper article in the Charlotte Observer listed his name as his real name, George Burrell Woodin, and mentioned that he was a promoter. Woodin was the only fan favorite wrestler on the plane, while the rest wrestled as villains, and this was back in the days when kayfabe was not broken (at the time, Woods was feuding with Flair and Valentine) and heroes and villains were not known to travel together. Eventually, rumors began circulating that Woods was in fact on the plane. Unwilling to risk the exposure of professional wrestling, he got back in the ring two weeks after the crash and was obviously in extreme pain. Flair later said in his book To Be the Man, that he was "more than just Mr. Wrestling that day, but was the man who saved wrestling."

Retirement

Woodin retired from professional wrestling in 1983. After retiring, he ran a heating and air conditioning business.

Personal life

Woodin was an avid collector of motorcycles as well as an accomplished photographer and saxophone player.

On November 30, 2002, Woodin died from a heart attack at his home in Charlotte, North Carolina at the age of 68. Before his death, he was scheduled to be interviewed about the October 1975 plane crash for WWE Confidential.

Championships and accomplishments

Amateur wrestling

Professional wrestling

References
  1. "Mr. Wrestling – Online World of Wrestling". Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  2. "Cagematch profile".
  3. Dave Meltzer; Bret Hart (January 2004). Tributes II: Remembering More of the World's Greatest Professional Wrestlers. Sports Publishing LLC. pp. 178–. ISBN 978-1-58261-817-3.
  4. "PUROLOVE.com". www.purolove.com. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  5. "Real World Tag League 1979". CageMatch. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  6. Mr. Wrestling at cagematch.net
  7. Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000). Wrestling Title Histories (4th ed.). Archeus Communications. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  8. "Ventura given Museum's top honour". Slam! Wrestling. Canadian Online Explorer. August 4, 2003. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  9. "WWE United States Championship". Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  10. Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2006). "(Dallas) Texas: NWA American Tag Team Title [Fritz Von Erich]". Wrestling Title Histories. Archeus Communications. ISBN 978-0-9698161-5-7.
  11. "N.W.A. American Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
    • Will, Gary; Duncan, Royal (2000). "Texas: NWA Texas Heavyweight Title [Von Erich]". Wrestling Title Histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Pennsylvania: Archeus Communications. pp. 268–269. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  13. "NWA Texas Heavyweight Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved March 30, 2017.
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