Curtis Hughes (December 7, 1964) is an American professional wrestler that has worked for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), World Championship Wrestling (WCW), the American Wrestling Association (AWA), the American Wrestling Federation (AWF) and Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).
Professional wrestling career[]
Early career[]
While briefly attending Kansas State University, Hughes began playing on the Kansas State Wildcats. After leaving college, Hughes began training with Sonny Myers and Bob Geigel to become a professional wrestler. In 1988, he made his debut and began competing with the American Wrestling Association as a face under the ring name Curtis "The Cat" Hughes. He then moved on to World Championship Wrestling, where he changed his ring name to The Big Cat. Within a few months, he again changed his ring name to Mr. Hughes and subsequently adopted a bodyguard gimmick, complete with a suit and a constant frowning expression. Hughes became a prominent member of factions such as the York Foundation, the Rat Pack and the Darkside.
World Wrestling Federation (1993)[]
After stints in several independent promotions, Hughes signed a short-term deal with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was brought in as a part of the feud between The Undertaker and Harvey Wippleman. During the feud, Hughes managed to hold his own against Undertaker and even stole his urn. He also took part in the 1993 King of the Ring where he lost to Mr. Perfect by disqualification before being ultimately defeated by The Undertaker, his last WWF appearance was on Monday Night Raw against Tatanka, During the match, his glasses shattered in his eyes and was released after the match.
Extreme Championship Wrestling (1993–1996)[]
After his departure from the WWF, Hughes made his Extreme Championship Wrestling debut as the bodyguard for Shane Douglas during Douglas' first and second ECW World Heavyweight Championship reigns. In addition to aiding Douglas, Hughes also competed in several singles matches during which he was nicknamed "The Ruffneck".
Return to the WWF (1997, 1999)[]
Hughes made two more short-lived appearances for the WWF, the first being as the bodyguard for Hunter Hearst Helmsley in 1997, before being replaced by Chyna. He made his final appearance for the WWF as the bodyguard for Chris Jericho in 1999 before being turned on by Jericho himself during a tag team match.
World Wrestling Alliance and the Independent circuit[]
Following his second stint in the WWF, Hughes began working on the Independent circuit and also became the head trainer of the WWA4 Wrestling School, the training school of the Atlanta-based World Wrestling Alliance. In 2006, WWA4 launched a professional wrestling program which is televised in local markets and available on the internet. Hughes co-hosts the show alongside wrestling announcer and the broadcasts executive producer, Taylor McKnight. When Mcknight left WWA4 to do work for Great Championship Wrestling, Dave Wills took over co-hosting alongside Hughes. After beginning classes at the WWA4 school, Hughes' weight steadily dropped from 310 pounds to 250 pounds.
In 2007, Hughes became the focus of Memphis Wrestling when he called Jerry Lawler a "sell out" for not showing up for a scheduled match against Hulk Hogan, which occurred due to World Wrestling Entertainment's legal issues with the match. After his statement, Hughes began a feud with Lawler. After shoving Lawler's real life girlfriend Renee on an edition of Memphis Primetime, the two battled three weeks later at Sam's Town River Palace Arena in Tunica, Mississippi. The match ended when Hughes got down on his knees and apologized for his actions before hitting Lawler with a Low blow and punching Renee in the face, thus losing via disqualification.
In March 2011, Hughes was in the main event of the inaugural Redneck Wrasslin Organization card in Springfield Ill., as he teamed with Pretty Boy Floyd and Beast to defeat Team Dragonfire.
On February 18, 2012, Hughes won a 34-man Battle Royalto win vacant Peachstate Wrestling Alliance Heritage Championship.
In wrestling[]
- Finishers and signature moves
- Sitout powerbomb
- Spinning side slam, sometimes while using one arm
- Big Boot
- Choke Hold
- Choke Slam
- Managers
- Skandar Akbar
- Adnan El Kassey
- Jade Chung
- Jason Knight
- Harley Race
- Terri Runnels
- Joe "Don" Smith
- Rico Suave
- Harvey Wippleman
- Nicknames
Championship and accomplishments[]
- International Wrestling Union
- 1-time IWU Heavyweight Championship
- All States Wrestling
- 1-time ASW Brass Knuckles Championship
- Southern States Championship Wrestling
- 1-time SSCW Heavyweight Championship
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked him #412 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
