Kendall Windham
Kendall Wayne Windham (born December 15, 1967) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is the son of Blackjack Mulligan and the brother of Barry Windham. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling.[1][2]
Kendall Windham | |
---|---|
Birth name | Kendall Wayne Windham |
Born | Sweetwater, Texas, United States[1] | December 15, 1967
Residence | Brandon, Florida |
Spouse(s) | Phylis Windham |
Children | 1 |
Relatives | Blackjack Mulligan (father) Barry Windham (brother) Mike Rotunda (brother-in-law) Bray Wyatt (nephew) Bo Dallas (nephew) |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Kendall Windham |
Billed height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm)[1] |
Billed weight | 260 lb (118 kg)[1] |
Trained by | Hiro Matsuda[1] Jimmy Tanaka[1] Pat Tanaka[1] |
Debut | June 11, 1984[1] |
Retired | 2002[1] |
Professional wrestling career
Championship Wrestling from Florida (1985-1987)
Kendall Windham started wrestling in 1985 for Championship Wrestling from Florida. He was very skinny but had the same moves and looks as his older brother, Barry. In his early days, he was a good guy (face) and teamed with Barry to feud with Ron Bass, Jack Hart and Kevin Sullivan's "cult". His biggest singles feuds were with White Ninja AKA Great Muta and The Cuban Assassin. He traded the Florida Heavyweight Title a few times with each of them.
Jim Crockett Promotions / World Championship Wrestling (1987-1989)
In 1987, he ventured to the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions where he teamed with The Italian Stallion and feuded with the MOD Squad, Spike & Basher. He never got above preliminary status and went to WCCW briefly at the end of 1988.[3] In January 1989, he was back in the NWA teaming with another second generation wrestler, Dustin Rhodes, as the "Texas Broncos".[4] In a match aired on January 28, 1989, Kendall teamed with Eddie Gilbert against his brother Barry and James J. Dillon of the Four Horsemen.[4] Kendall turned on Gilbert and joined Barry and held up the four fingers to the camera.[4] Before the next show, Dillon left for the WWF and the Horsemen name was dropped. The Windhams and Flair were given a new manager, Hiro Matsuda, and a new stable name, "Yamasaki Corporation".[4] Kendall stayed with the stable (which grew to include Butch Reed and Michael Hayes) until the summer, when he left for Florida again.[4]
Championship Wrestling from Florida (1989-1990)
On June 27, 1989, Windham won the FCW Heavyweight Championship from Dustin Rhodes. He obtained a new manager, Oliver Humperdink, and feuded with Rhodes. He soon left Humperdink for Robert Fuller's Stud Stable and by the end of 1989, was a member of Ron Slinker's "Strike Command". In 1990, he left Slinker and teamed with Fuller to win the Tag Team Titles, Upon losing them, they split and feuded.
Various promotions
Windham returned to wrestling in 1992 for Florida's ICWA promotion where he feuded with Pat Tanaka. He had put on some more weight in prison and was considered a heavyweight instead of a light heavyweight. He teamed with Dan Spivey for a tour of All Japan Pro Wrestling and spent a little time in WCW in 1994 and ECW in 1995.
World Championship Wrestling (1997-1999)
Windham returned to WCW in 1997 with his head shaved and feuded with Chris Adams and Jim Duggan.[5] In 1999, when WCW created a hardcore division, he entered it briefly and feuded with Hardcore Hak.[5] In June, Windham joined The West Texas Rednecks in what would be the biggest push of his career. The Rednecks were his brother Barry, Curt Hennig and Bobby Duncum Jr..[5] They were supposed to be heels feuding with Master P's rappers, the "No Limit Soldiers", but the southern fans of WCW cheered the Rednecks instead.[5] The angle was quickly dropped and they moved on to a feud with "Harlem Heat" (Booker T and Stevie Ray).[5] Kendall and Barry defeated Harlem Heat for the WCW World Tag Team Title's but lost them back to Harlem Heat three weeks later.[5]
Late career (1999-2002)
By the end of 1999, they all had left WCW and Kendall worked for Ted DiBiase's promotion WXO, WWC (where he won the tag title with Barry) and All Japan Pro Wrestling where he closed out his career tagging with his brother Barry in the AJPW Real World Tag League 2000. Kendall Windhams last match took place on December 16, 2000 where he and his brother Barry Windham lost the WWC Tag Team Titles to the team of Thunder 'N' Lightning.
Windham retired in 2002.[1]
Personal life
Mike Rotunda is married to Windham's sister. His nephews, Windham and Taylor, wrestle for WWE as Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas respectively.[6] He has a son named Wyatt. He is currently president of a security business in Brandon, Florida.[2]
In 1990, Windham and his father Blackjack Mulligan were arrested by the US Secret Service in a joint investigation with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) for counterfeiting. The authorities found close to $500,000 in phony $20 bills. As a result of a plea agreement, both father and son spent 24 months in a federal prison and were released in 1992.[7]
Championships and accomplishments
- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- Professional Wrestling Federation
- PWF Caribbean Championship (1 time)[8]
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- World Championship Wrestling
- World Wrestling Council
- WWC World Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Barry Windham
References
- Philip Kreikenbohm. "Kendall Windham". Cagematch.net. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
- "Windham Security Alliance". ISHCC. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved March 31, 2019.
- Cawthon, Graham (2013). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 3:Jim Crockett and the NWA World Title 1983-1989. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 149480347X.
- Cawthon, Graham (2014). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 4: World Championship Wrestling 1989-1994. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 1499656343.
- Cawthon, Graham (2015). the History of Professional Wrestling Vol 5: World Championship Wrestling 1995-2001. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN 1499656343.
- LaRiviere, Derek J. (November 26, 2009). "Brooksville's Rotunda brothers follow dad Mike into professional wrestling". Tampa Bay Sports. Archived from the original on July 14, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2010.
- Mooneyham, Mike (2008-03-23). "Blackjack, The Nature Boy, and More Memories". The Post and Courier. Retrieved 2010-02-13.
- "PWF Caribbean Championship". Cagematch. Retrieved 2016-12-21.
- "PWI 500 1992". The Turnbuckle Post. Archived from the original on 2012-07-26. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
- "PWI 500 of the PWI Years". Willy Wrestlefest. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
External links
- Kendall Windham's profile at Cagematch.net
- Kendall Windham at IMDb