James “Jim” Watkins (born April 10th, 1957 in Tucson, Arizona) is a retired professional wrestler.
He grew up in a broken home. An alcoholic father who had a liberal right hand when it came to dealing with his family was killed in a car accident in 1971 and a mother who was too frightened to stand up to her husband left Jim a frightened, timid young child. His grades were poor. He showed no signs of aptitude at pretty much anything he ever encountered – sports, hobbies, music – until he hit high school shortly after his father’s death. An only child and suddenly emboldened by being “the man of the house”, Watkins soon tired of the bullying he took at school. Accompanied by a large growth spurt, Watkins quickly became the one doing the bullying, smacking around the local tough guys on an almost daily basis. By his sophomore year, Watkins was considered the toughest kid in school.
But his grades never got any better and with his mother unable to provide for the family, he quit school and got a job loading trucks down at the local rock quarry. Soon enough, Jim found the rock quarry to closely resemble high school with kids much like himself working there, looking to be the “big dog” in the yard. Fights after work were aplenty but despite his young age, Watkins held his own quite well. This pattern continued for a few years until Watkins turned 18 in 1975. The summer of ’75 would be the turning point in the life of Watkins.
That summer, the County Fair featured professional wrestling for the first time. Accompanied by a few friends, Jim went to the matches and got his first taste of the wrestling business. He was smitten. Watkins immediately quit his job at the quarry, following the touring wrestlers throughout the state and eventually into Texas. After weeks of seeing this same kid at ringside, one of the wrestlers – a big, burly brawler by the name of Blackjack Patterson – took Watkins aside and asked him who he was and what he was doing. A starstruck Watkins told Patterson his story – a story that rang close to home for the veteran. He spoke to the promoter and got Watkins a job setting up and tearing down the ring. Watkins became part of the touring group that summer – part of the wrestling business and never looked back.
In the fall of ’75, the tour ended for the year with the wrestlers all returning to their homes to their usual lives. Watkins was afraid that if he left the road, he’d never get back and asked Patterson if he could go home with him. Patterson reluctantly agreed and moved Watkins in with his wife and kids (two sons, two daughters.) Patterson worked a “day job” as a butcher and got young Watkins a job loading and unloading trucks at the butcher’s shop. On weekends, Patterson worked the local towns small wrestling shows and always brought Watkins with him. One night after the matches, Watkins was helping tear down the ring when Patterson approached him and gave him a body slam on the canvas. He looked down at the writhing Watkins and said, “There’s your first lesson.”
From there, almost every weekend was spent with Patterson training Watkins for the ring before and after the shows. He took a beating during that several month period but never complained – always coming back for more.
On Watkins’ 19th birthday, Patterson got him booked on a local Texas show in the opening match. Watkins lost that night but he was overcome by the rush of the moment. He knew what he wanted to do with the rest of his life. He wanted to be a professional wrestler.
During the spring of ’76, Watkins began dating Patterson’s older daughter… outside of Patterson’s knowledge. They knew that the old man would never allow it so they kept their relationship a secret.
That summer, Watkins went out on the Fair tour once again… but this time as a wrestler! The tour was going great, Watkins slowly improving and getting higher and higher on the shows. The promoter was impressed with the kid’s size, strength, and incredible work ethic. On the tour-ending show Labor Day weekend, Patterson asked for a match against Watkins – just to gauge his progress. The two went tooth and nail all over the ring and even outside it. In the end, Patterson used his infamous Clawhold to put Watkins down for a three count. But Patterson told the young man after the match that he was well on his way to becoming a superstar. Watkins was so overjoyed – he returned back to Texas with Patterson on top of the world.
But things changed drastically for Watkins very soon. Upon arriving back to Texas, he discovered that his girlfriend and Blackjack’s daughter, Annie, was pregnant. Patterson was livid at his daughter… and when he found out it was Jim’s, things got worst. A right hand to the jaw laid out Watkins but it didn’t hurt anywhere near as much as Patterson demanding that Jim and Anna leave his house and never come back. Jim insisted that he would do the right thing and marry Annie but Blackjack was having none of it.
So, a 19 year old Jim and an 18 year old Annie were all alone in the world. Her siblings, Jackson, Colt, and Sarah, made occasional visits and helped financially when they could but neither could ask their parents for help. They married on October 6th, 1976 and on Jim’s 20th birthday the following year, he was given the birthday gift of a new son – James Watkins Jr.
Faced with a new family to provide for, Jim tried to retain his bookings at the local promotions to no success but the real blow came when he was shut out of the Fair tour. The promoter had been pressured by Blackjack to keep the kid off the shows and that’s exactly what happened. Jim had, of course, also lost his job at the local butcher shop thanks to Blackjack. Packing up his new wife and child in their broken-down car, Jim drove his family to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and prepared to start a new life. He immediately got a job as a bouncer at a local bar – which just happened to feature pro wrestling on Friday nights. Jim began his career anew – starting from the bottom to prove to the local promoters that he had what it took to wrestle.
And so it went… 1978… 1979… 1980… all trying to get his big break.
But little did he know that his big break would come thanks to his old teacher. A big wrestling promotion, Southern Championship Wrestling, was planning on running a show in Oklahoma, trying to expand their territory. The posters were all over town… and Blackjack Patterson was on the bill. At the urging of his wife, Jim and his family went to the matches that night, sitting in the cheap seats to see all the action. After the matches, they made their way towards the wrestlers’ exit, hoping to catch Blackjack’s attention… and that’s exactly what happened. A surprised Patterson caught the eye of his daughter and his grand-son. Patterson softened upon seeing his estranged family members and took the trio out to dinner that night.
Patterson asked them to come home with him… come back to Texas. He knew of a small promotion starting up that was planning on touring Texas and they could use a “hand” like Watkins. But Watkins wasn’t budging. He liked Oklahoma and wanted to stay there. Patterson understood and the next morning, he introduced Watkins to Jim Somers – the owner and promoter of Southern Championship Wrestling. And he was hired. Watkins started as a member of the SCW roster in late 1980. His wife and son moved to Atlanta, SCW’s home base, in early ’81 so they could spend more time with Jim. And it worked because in the fall of ’81, Jim and Annie had their second child – a son named Patterson (or Pat) Watkins.
Jim enjoyed SCW quite a bit – brawling and muscling his way up the roster. In 1982, Watkins won the Battle Of Atlanta tournament, earning a shot at the Southern Championship in the process. Watkins battled The Masked Destroyer in a brutal encounter on St. Patrick’s Day – coming up short in his attempt to strike gold but he wouldn’t be denied long. He continued to chase the title, riding a huge wave of fan support to become the Southern Title on the 4th Of July of 1982. Watkins held the title throughout the rest of 1982, battling off challenges from all sorts of contenders until finally dropping the title on New Year’s Day against Sonny Day. Watkins chased Day for months in 1983 but lost a Loser Leaves Town match on Memorial Day.
With SCW in his past, Jim moved his family to Memphis, Tennessee where he began working for Mid-South Wrestling.
<INSERT MSW HISTORY WRITTEN WITH JOHN AT SOME POINT!>
In 1987, with Watkins on the verge of his 30th birthday, he decided to take his family home to Texas. He immediately began working for Lone Star Wrestling where Blackjack Patterson was the Texas State Champion as well as the lead matchmaker. With his father-in-law running the place, Watkins excelled in LSW – quickly becoming a top star. He was adored by the LSW fans for his hard-hitting, violent style and unwillingness to back down from anyone. A brutal Texas Bullrope match on Thanksgiving Night between Watkins and local rulebreaker “Rugged” Ronnie Evans was one of the best matches on 1987 and earned Watkins some national press. A tag team run with his father-in-law in 1988 also put a lot of eyeballs on Watkins and in the winter of 1989, Watkins was recruited to the big time – International Championship Wrestling. The ICW had splintered off from SCW after Jim Somers’ death in 1988 and was boasting of plans to take over the wrestling business. With many former SCW staff members and wrestlers, Watkins felt right at home. However, his decision to leave Lone Star Wrestling which was starting to make noise about expanding to other areas in the South, greatly upset his father-in-law… and his wife. Annie sided with her father in this battle and the two separated on March 15th, 1989.
Watkins’ ICW run was huge for his career as he was put center stage time and time again. His battle with “Handsome” Hamilton Graham was legendary for the amount of blood loss… and also because of a neck injury suffered by Graham when he was hit with a steel chair. The injury put Graham on the sidelines for an extended period and forced the ICW World Title to be vacated.
On Thanksgiving night in 1989, Watkins was entered into a sixteen-man tournament for the World Title to be held in Dallas, Texas… right in the heart of Patterson’s territory. The show was a huge hit and Watkins fell just short of the World Title that night, losing to eventual champion “Dr. Love” David Stein by a controversial pinfall in the semifinals. Many believe that the show directly led to Lone Star Wrestling closing up shop. Watkins and Stein would feud throughout the rest of 1989. On April 3rd, 1990, Watkins lost a Loser Leaves Town match to Stein that shocked the fans. However, just a few days later, a masked man came to the ICW – a man known only as The Masked Outlaw. This Masked Outlaw greatly resembled Watkins inside the ring with both style and mannerisms and for months, Stein accused Watkins of trying to dodge the rules. The ICW offered to suspend Watkins for life if the Outlaw was unmasked and it was proven to be true. So, on Labor Day 1990, Stein challenged the Masked Outlaw to a hair vs mask match. The Masked Outlaw won that night, shaving his rival’s head in the middle of the ring in a scene that still is talked about amongst Southern wrestling fans. Soon after, the Masked Outlaw vanished and Watkins returned… with a new nickname, “The Outlaw of Professional Wrestling.”
With the ICW rolling financially, Watkins was able to get his father-in-law, Blackjack Patterson, a job in the ICW front office with an occasional in-ring stint. One of those stints came in 1991 when a storyline was created over Watkins’ estrangement from his wife and children. Blackjack Patterson played the angry father-in-law (a role he handled quite well) looking to “straighten out” his son-in-law. The feud raged all over the South throughout 1991 and even involved other members of the Patterson family, including Blackjack’s son, Colt, who had broken into the business as well. A series of brutal matches between Watkins and the muscular Colt Patterson made Colt into a household name and provided the boost that Colt needed to cement his status as a pro wrestler. The feud came to an end on Memorial Day of 1992 when Patterson forced his son-in-law to submit to the Claw in the middle of the ring in Charlotte, North Carolina – something that many felt hurt Watkins’ tough guy image in the eyes of the fans. But as the angle ended, so did the strife for Jim and Annie as they reunited and would have their third child, a girl named Betty in 1993.
1993 also saw a big career move for Watkins. He was eyeing his oncoming 40s with great nervousness about the future. He knew he needed some big pay days if he was going to be able to retire comfortably. Watkins pushed hard at this point to become the ICW World Champion. His father-in-law, at this point the lead matchmaker, argued against the title change as rulebreaker “Heartthrob” Keith Adams was filling arenas everywhere the ICW went. Watkins wanted a feud with Adams in the worst way, knowing it could fill his bank account for years to come. After months of arguing, the feud was on.
The feud was one of the most memorable in wrestling history as Adams and Watkins trading wins all over the United States – even venturing into Mexico for a six man tag featuring local luchadors that drew a huge house in Tijuana. Perhaps the most memorable moment came when Adams and Watkins battled for the title inside of a steel cage in Memphis, Tennessee. At a key moment in the match, old rival David Stein made his ICW return to help Adams regain the title. Together, the two battered Watkins with a steel chair and he was stretchered out of the ring for the first time in his career. When he returned, a big focus of ICW programming was on Watkins making peace with Blackjack Patterson and going to his old teacher to instruct him on how to use the Claw. For months, Watkins was putting down victims left and right with his new-found weapon to the roars of crowds all over the ICW until Thanksgiving night ’93 when he challenged Adams for the title once more. The fans were convinced that a new champion would be crowned that night… and he was… for a moment. The referee was floored accidentally during the match and the Clawhold was locked in while he was down. A second ref declared the match over and awarded the title to Watkins in front of an elated crowd.
But ICW television that weekend told a different story as the original referee reversed the decision due to Watkins accidentally knocking him down, DQng the big man and returning the title to Adams. The front office immediately scheduled rematches but the fans felt burned by the reversed decision and stayed away from the arenas. The scapegoat for this became Blackjack Patterson and seeing the writing on the wall, Patterson spent the summer of 1994 talking to other promotions about their front office jobs… without telling a soul. In late ’94, wrestling fans were stunned to learn that Blackjack Patterson was leaving the ICW… and was taking his son, Colt, with him. Together, they were leaving to help with a start-up promotion based out of New York, the EMWC.
With the Pattersons gone, the ICW was reeling in 1994 when they had their hated rival, Southern Championship Wrestling, reeling the most. But Michael Somers was not one to go down without a fight. He struck back hard, going deep into debt to run as many areas as ICW was – putting on competitive shows with top talent… and actually managing to excel in this strategy. SCW was growing… ICW was fading… and one of the biggest blows to ICW came when Jim Watkins met with Michael Somers on Thanksgiving Day 1994. Somers reminded Watkins of how much his father had helped him get started in the business and appealed to his loyalty to help SCW when they needed him the most. That night, Watkins lost to Adams once more and immediately gave his notice. He was returning to SCW.
On New Year’s Day 1995, Watkins made an immediate impact on the SCW by winning the Southern Title from the big Russian Vladimir Velikov in an impromptu match. This one win set off a bloody war between Velikov and Watkins that thrilled fans all over the South. SCW gained more and more ground on ICW by presenting a stronger overall product and on the 4th of July, ICW closed their doors – clearing the path for many of SCW’s former talent and staff to return to the SCW as well. The same night, Watkins lost a heartbreaking Russian Chain match to Velikov that forced him to leave SCW for six months. But just days later, SCW saw a new wrestler arrive on the scene… The Masked Outlaw – a character that would go on to be used elsewhere in the United States by other promotions as well. The Masked Outlaw would battle Velikov for the remainder of 1995, their matches getting more and more violent, until a steel cage match on Christmas night that saw the Outlaw reign supreme. And much like before, the Masked Outlaw disappeared days later… just as Watkins returned to SCW.
In early 1996, with a budding wrestling war starting all over the United States, Michael Somers was getting concerned. The EMWC, a growing promotion based out of New York had announced plans to launch a developmental promotion, Extreme Southern Wrestling, right in the heart of his territory. ESW was a quick hit, presenting a more violent “hardcore” style that seemed to appeal to younger fans. But Somers stuck to his guns, presenting the same type of product he and his father before him always had. By the end of the year, their crowds had dropped off enough that Somers experimented with a series of “spot shows” with a more aggressive style often featuring Jim Watkins in the Main Events swinging chairs, chains, and busting heads. ESW soon closed up shop as the EMWC moved to Los Angeles and re-focused their efforts on becoming the Number One promotion.
Somers tried to stay out of the wrestling war but in 1997, he found himself in an awkward spot – trapped between two warring promotions, the EMWC and the IIWF. Watkins was in a bad spot as well. With his 40th birthday upon him, the years of a physical style was starting to wear on Watkins. He found himself sidelined through much of ’97 with knee injuries and had to stand by and watch as SCW was picked apart by the two warring companies. Somers was presented with buy-out offers from both companies repeatedly as they tried to expand their territory but Somers held strong, sure that his talent would be able to hold off the charge and keep their company going.
In 1998, that certainty fell. Somers was broke and in many cases, could no longer afford to pay his talent. Jim Watkins, ready to return from injury, was contacted from many major companies, looking to pick up his services for the wrestling war. Somers pleaded with Watkins to remain loyal, offering him part-ownership of SCW if he stayed. Thinking of his future, Watkins debated long and hard on what would be the most likely source of steady finances for his family. His father-in-law was still with the EMWC – although was on the verge of being pushed out since his son had been out of the picture for months with an injury. On the 4th of July of 1998, Watkins met with Blackjack Patterson to discuss moving to the EMWC. Patterson ultimately advised against it, pointing out how quickly Colt had been tossed aside with his injury. Ultimately, Watkins accepted Somers’ offer, taking on a partial ownership role with SCW in exchange for signing a ten year contract.
On Thanksgiving night 1999, Watkins announced his retirement from the wrestling ring… and while he drifted out from time to time to compete in short storylines, he held his word for the most part and never stepped into the ring on a regular basis again. He settled into a backstage role, mentoring the younger competitors as he served as matchmaker for the company. The SCW had fallen back to its roots, running a very small territory of doggedly loyal fans. With the evolution of the Internet, SCW became a hotly-traded video amongst wrestling fans on the Internet as Watkins became well-regarded for his creative talents behind the scenes. Many attempted to lure him to the big time for creative positions but Watkins stayed loyal to Somers, forsasking the big money jobs for the stability of working with the people he’d known for years.
But in 2007, Somers and Watkins had an ugly split. Somers had decided that after years of difficulties, he wanted to promote one show – the Super Bowl of wrestling – and put everything on the line. Watkins was irate – needing the steady income to support his family. The two long-time friends argued for weeks over the decision and ultimately, Watkins stepped aside and let Somers make the decision for the company his family had built. Somers booked the show for the day before the Super Bowl… and Watkins was proved correct as it was a financial bust. Within days, Somers had announced his intention to cease operations of SCW. Watkins fought hard to put together an investment group to purchase the company and keep it running but to no avail. The company was purchased but it was by an outside group – a group that was looking to start their own promotion based in the South and just wanted the talent, fan base, and other intangibles that SCW offered.
Watkins wanted no part of the new promotion despite being offered a creative position. He had decided to go home to his family. Within months, Watkins’ father figure, Blackjack Patterson, had died of pneumonia after a prolonged hospital stay. At the funeral in October of 2008, Colt Patterson approached Watkins about giving the AWA a shot. Colt had been approached by the company about returning to the ring – something he’d always dreamed of doing on a full-time basis. He wanted Watkins, his brother-in-law, to come with him. But Watkins was having none of it, still refusing to get involved.
Retirement was good to Watkins, enjoying spending time with his wife and children… and now grandkids were on the way. “The Outlaw of professional wrestling” was now a grandpa… and it slowly started to eat at him. He tried to get out of the house… attempting to start a small promotion of his own that quickly went under. The AWA was the big dog in the area and any attempt to start something small was getting eaten up by them.
In early 2010, AWA partial owner Bobby Taylor came to the house. He expressed his respect for Watkins and told him what a big fan he was of his work. Taylor admitted that while JW Hardin was who he was after when he took on the Outlaw name… he first heard it on Watkins. It was a heartfelt conversation – from one Outlaw to another – and in the end, Watkins told Taylor he would consider coming to work for the AWA.
On April 10th, that became a reality with Jim Watkins took the job as Chairman of the Championship Committee.