Billy Jack Haynes

William Haynes, Jr. (born July 10, 1953 in Portland, Oregon) was a professional wrestler better known as Billy Jack Haynes.

Career
Billy Jack Haynes (born William Haynes, Jr.) started wrestling in 1982 after quitting his janitorial job at the age of 28. He trained in Stu Hart's infamous "Dungeon" and briefly wrestled in Hart's Stampede Wrestling under his given name, forming a tag team with Bruce Hart. He started wrestling as Billy Jack in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) territory but had to change his name when Tom Laughlin (who starred in the movie Billy Jack) threatened to sue him. He added his real last name to the gimmick and continued to work as a face.

He feuded heavily with Rip Oliver until 1984, when he had a brief run in Championship Wrestling from Florida and then a run in World Class Championship Wrestling in 1985. He started splitting his time between PNW and FCW and wrestled with partner Wahoo McDaniel in the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions where they feuded with Ole and Arn Anderson. He had just begun a feud with The Barbarian over who was the strongest man in the territory when he abruptly left the company after a confrontation with Jim Crockett in his office which became physical.

In 1986, Haynes went to the World Wrestling Federation and feuded with "Macho Man" Randy Savage over the Intercontinental Title and then with Hercules Hernandez over who was stronger and more muscular. Their feud in the WWF culminated with what was dubbed "The Battle of the Full Nelsons" at WrestleMania III, where the two men battled to a double count-out. His departure from the WWF has been a subject of controversy considering the dramatic changes in the story every time Haynes tells it. In one version, he says he quit the WWF after refusing to do a job in his hometown of Portland, Oregon. Another account of the same incident reported that he actually wrestled the match with the finish reworked and then fired afterwards. Finally, in a shoot interview, Haynes claims the WWF wanted him to do the job in Portland because he put in his notice to the company some time before and the Portland match was to be his last for the company. So instead of doing the job, he simply walked out.

He went back to Oregon in 1987 and wrestled in their independents until he showed up in World Championship Wrestling with the gimmick of a masked executioner from France named Black Blood in Kevin Sullivan's stable. He soon left WCW after a severe knee injury. After a year and a half of rehabbing, he went back to the PNW territory where he was a heel this time and feuded with top babyface Steve Doll.

He spoke out against Vince McMahon and the WWF in 1992 when McMahon was indicted on steroid charges, and stated that the working conditions were terrible and about how ruthless McMahon was.

He showed up next in the United States Wrestling Association in 1995 and retired in early 1996.

In recent news, Haynes ended up in a hospital when he was attacked outside a body shop on Southeast Foster Road in Portland. This was due to Haynes' skimming off the top while being a mule in a marijuana smuggling operation some years ago after finding out that he was being underpaid and lied to. Unbeknownst to him, he was transporting cocaine and not marijuana. Haynes himself admitted the motivation behind the attack on his person since the statute of limitations on the laws he broke had run out.

Wrestling facts

 * Finishing and signature moves
 * Full Nelson
 * La Guillotine (Top Rope Leg Drop)

Championships and accomplishments

 * Championship Wrestling from Florida
 * NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
 * NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Wahoo McDaniel


 * Oregon Wrestling Federation
 * OWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)


 * Pacific Northwest Wrestling
 * NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (5 times)
 * NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Stan Stasiak (2) and Ricky Vaughn


 * Pro Wrestling Illustrated
 * PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year award in 1984.
 * PWI ranked him # 143 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.


 * United States Wrestling Association
 * USWA Southern Heavyweight Championship (2 times)


 * World Class Championship Wrestling
 * WCCW Television Championship (1 time)

Trivia

 * Was briefly married to Jeannie Clark aka Lady Blossom in order for her to continue to work in the United States.
 * Haynes often wore a t-shirt on TBS during his time in Jim Crockett Promotions that said "Women Prefer Haynes", a play on his last name and the slogan of Hanes brand panty hose.
 * During his stint in the WWF in the 1980s, Haynes usually wore yellow and green - the school colors of the University of Oregon - and his trunks and boots often sported the outline of the state of Oregon.
 * He wrestled a then unknown Shawn Michaels in 1985 while part of WCCW. The match can be seen on the "The Shawn Michaels Story: Heartbreak & Triumph" DVD