Fabulous Freebirds

Infobox Wrestling team
article_name= The Fabulous Freebirds
type=


caption=
members=Michael P.S. Hayes
Buddy Roberts
Terry Gordy
Jimmy Garvin
names=The Freebirds

former_members=
debut=1979
disbanded=1994
promotions=AWA
NWA
UWF
WWF
WCCW|

The Fabulous Freebirds were a groundbreaking professional wrestling tag team that attained fame in the 1980s, performing into the 1990s. The team usually consisted of three wrestlers, although in different situations and points in its history, just two performed under the Freebirds name.

History

The Fabulous Freebirds started performing together in 1979 when Michael "P.S." Hayes, Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy and Buddy "Jack" Roberts decided to try a ' 3-man gang' type tag-team - an unusual concept at the time. They worked as heels.

They wrestled in the Dallas-based World Class Championship Wrestling territory, where they had a legendary feud with the Von Erichs (David, Kevin, Kerry and Mike). [cite book|last=Cohen|first=Daniel|coauthors=Susan Cohen|title=Wrestling Superstars II|pages=pg. 88|isbn=0-671-63224-8]

They also performed in the NWA-affiliated Georgia Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association and the Oklahoma-based Universal Wrestling Federation. While in the AWA they feuded primarily with the Road Warriors, costing them the World Tag Team Titles in a match against Jimmy Garvin and Steve Regal.

They had a very brief run in the World Wrestling Federation in 1984, where they were a part of the Rock 'n' Wrestling Connection period. In the WWF, they wrestled under the guidance of Cyndi Lauper's manager David Wolffcite book|last=Cohen|first=Daniel|coauthors=Susan Cohen|title=Wrestling Superstars II|pages=pg. 89] , but they soon left the promotion when WWF officials wanted to split the team up.citeweb|title=Tag Team Profile: Fabulous Freebirds|work=Online World of Wrestling|url=http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/f/freebirds.html|accessdate=2007-10-16]

The Freebirds were last together when Hayes, Gordy and Jimmy Garvin worked for the Global Wrestling Federation in 1994, ending the group after 15 years.

Their name was inspired by the Lynyrd Skynyrd song "Free Bird", which would be their theme song until "Badstreet USA" (sung, composed, and co-written by Hayes) replaced it in 1984. It is often claimed that the Freebirds were the first to use entrance music for their ring introductions, though this is not completely true. The Freebirds were the first to use Rock 'n' Roll entrance music. The first to use actual entrance music was Gorgeous George.

In 1999, Hayes became the manager for the Hardy Boyz and although it was never said on camera, this was WWE's attempt to create a new version of the Freebirds, but this alliance was short lived as the Hardys turned on Hayes and aligned with Gangrel to create the new Brood.

=Freebird Rule= During the Freebirds' career in the NWA, they won its tag-team championship. While holding the title, promoters added a sub-gimmick to the team: the (unofficial) "Freebird Rule", which allowed any two of the three members of the team to defend the title on any given night. [citeweb|last=Oliver|first=Greg|title="Crush" Brian Adams dead at 44|work=SLAM! Sports|url=http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2007/08/13/4414835.html|accessdate=2007-10-16]

This rule has been re-used by a number of other companies when a three (or more) man team captures a tag-team championship. Examples include
*the Midnight Express (Southeastern Championship Wrestling, 1981-1983)
*Demolition (WWF, 1990)
*the Jersey Triad (WCW, 1999)
*Triple X, 3 Live Kru and Team Pacman (TNA, 2003-2007)
*the Spirit Squad (WWE, 2006)

In rare cases, a similar rule has been applied to singles titles, such as when Three Count won the WCW Hardcore Championship in 2000, or Chris Jericho and Chyna co-held the WWE Intercontinental Championship between December 1999 and January 2000.

In wrestling

*Main Members
**Michael Hayes is the leader of the group. Nicknamed "P.S." (Purely Sexy), he has been known to get the crowd going with his antics.
**Terry Gordy was the powerhouse of the group. Nicknamed "Bamm Bamm," he loves to fight and beat his opponents down. Many consider him to be the one of the best big men of all-time.
**Buddy Roberts, nicknamed "Jack" for his love of Jack Daniels' whiskey, was the speed of the group, who would often frustrate other wrestlers into chasing him, until Hayes and/or Gordy surprise them with a move. Buddy has also been acknowledged as the best ring technician of the group.
**Jimmy Garvin's association with the Freebirds began in 1983, as he had often teamed with Hayes, Gordy, and Roberts in WCCW and AWA. In 1988, he teamed with Steven Dane while Hayes was injured as a watered-down version of the Freebirds, and with Hayes during a reignited WCW run between June 1989 and July 1992. He was always considered "the fourth Freebird" by Hayes, Gordy and Roberts, although no one really believed it until 1989, when Hayes and Garvin teamed up for the NWA World Tag Team Championship tournament.

*Other Members
**Badstreet - Brad Armstrong under a mask in WCW, and the group's light-heavyweight/cruiserweight. Originally appeared as "Fantasia", but WCW changed the name to Badstreet to avoid a legal confrontation with Disney.
**Big Daddy Dink - the Freebird alias of manager Sir Oliver Humperdink; in keeping with the Freebirds' 'frustrated rock & roll band' gimmick, he was referred to as their "tour manager"/"road boss" in WCW (1991).
**Little Richard Marley - WCW jobber Rocky King, who as "Little Richard Marley" served as a ringside pest to Freebird opponents in late-1990.
**Steven Dane teamed with Hayes as The Freebirds in WCCW, CWA, and AWA; when Hayes was injured, he would team with Garvin.
**The Angel of Death teamed with Terry Gordy, Buddy Roberts and Iceman "King" Parsons in the late-1987-1988 version of the Freebirds. He had previously feuded with Gordy, Roberts and Michael Hayes in the UWF prior to joining the group.
**Ray Gordy formed a one-night Freebirds reunion with Michael Hayes, in tribute to his father, Terry Gordy.

*Managers
**Diamond Dallas Page [cite book|last=Davies|first=Ross|title=Diamond Dallas Page|pages=pg. 31|isbn=0823934934]
**David Wolff

Championships and accomplishments

*Global Wrestling Federation
**GWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) - Gordy & Garvin (Last)
*Georgia Championship Wrestling
**NWA National Tag Team Championship (3 times) - Hayes & Gordy "'(First)" [citeweb|title=N.W.A. National Tag Team Title|work=Wrestling-Titles.com|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ga/nwa/nat-t.html|accessdate=2007-10-16]
**NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (1 time) - Hayes & Gordy [citeweb|title=N.W.A. Georgia Tag Team Title|work=Wrestling-Titles.com|url=http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/ga/ga-t.html|accessdate=2007-10-16]
*NWA Mid-America
**NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship (2 times) - Hayes & Gordy
*Pro Wrestling Illustrated
**PWI Tag Team of the Year award in 1981 for Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy. [citeweb|title=Pro Wrestling Illustrated Award Winners: Tag Team of the Year|work=Wrestling Information Archive|url=http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwittoty.htm|accessdate=2007-10-16]
**PWI Ranked Michael Hayes and Terry Gordy #3 of the 100 best tag teams during the PWI Years in 2003. [citeweb|title=Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 100 Tag Teams of the PWI Years|work=Wrestling Information Archive|url=http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/pages/pwi/pwi100tg.htm|accessdate=2007-10-16]
*Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts) | Mid-South Wrestling
**Mid-South Tag Team Championship (2 times) - Hayes & Gordy and Gordy & Roberts
**UWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time) - Gordy
**UWF Television Championship (1 time) - Roberts
*World Championship Wrestling
**NWA United States Heavyweight Championship (1 time)¹ - Hayes
**WCW United States Tag Team Championship (2 times) - Hayes & Garvin
**WCW World Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) - Hayes, Garvin & Badstreet
**WCW World Tag Team Championship (2 times)(First) - Hayes & Garvin²
***The Fabulous Freebirds had a WCW World Tag Team reign with a length of -6 days, since the day they lost was taped before the day they won.
*World Class Championship Wrestling
**NWA American Tag Team Championship (1 time) - Hayes & Gordy
**WCCW Six-Man Tag Team Championship (5 times) - Hayes, Gordy & Roberts (First)
**WCCW Television Championship (1 time) - Roberts
*Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
**Tag Team of the Year award in 1980. - Gordy & Roberts
**Feud of the Year award in 1983. - Freebirds vs. the Von Erichs
**Feud of the Year award in 1984. - Freebirds vs. the Von Erichs
**Worked Match of the Year award in 1984. - Freebirds vs. the Von Erichs, July 4, 1984, Fort Worth, Texas
**Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame (Class of 2005) Hayes, Gordy, & Roberts¹Hayes' reign as NWA United States Heavyweight Champion occurred after Ted Turner purchased Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling from Jim Crockett, Jr. in 1988, which resulted in renaming the promotion World Championship Wrestling. This was also prior to the title's name being changed to the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship and prior to WCW's withdrawal from the NWA.
²During Hayes and Garvin's first reign, the titles were known as the NWA World Tag Team Championships.

Offshoots

Blackbirds

The Blackbirds were formed in 1988 in World Class Championship Wrestling by Iceman Parsons. He had just teamed with Terry Gordy and Buddy Roberts as the "Blackbird" in their feud with Michael Hayes. He teamed up with Perry "Action" Jackson and Harold T. Harris to form the Blackbirds. They also wrestled as The Blackbirds in the Global Wrestling Federation in 1992.

Extreme Freebirds

The Extreme Freebirds were formed in NWA Wildside and the NAWA by the son of Terry Gordy, Ray Gordy. He teamed up with Tank and Iceberg in 2004 to form this group.

The New Age Freebirds

The "New Age" Freebirds were formed in Chatsworth, GA on the Indy Scene and consists of "Dead Sexy" Daniel Gunner and "Hot Property" Devin Lee. Other members, Will Morgan & JL Cool, have also been members of the "New Age" Freebirds. The "New Age" Freebirds have also had two valets, Miss Lindsey and Miss Lacey. You can currently see the "New Age" Freebirds wrestling in Chatsworth, Georgia at both Renegade Championship Wrestling and Brotherhood Championship Wrestling. Also in Dalton, Georgia at Tri-State Wrestling Alliance.

Other appearances

The original three Freebirds briefly appear in action against Greg Gagne, The Tonga Kid, and Jim Brunzell during the opening sequence of the 1986 film "Highlander", [citeweb|last=Difino|first=Lennie|title=Catching up with Buddy Roberts|work=WWE.com|url=http://www.wwe.com/superstars/wherearetheynow/roberts|accessdate=2007-10-16] which occurs at an arena-based wrestling show in "Madison Square Garden" (the actual site was the Izod Center in New Jersey, as they didn't take the Meadowlands banners down for filming but was said to be Madison Square Garden), as wrestlers in-action.

References

Further reading

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