Ron Garvin (born Roger Barnes on March 30, 1945 in Montréal, Quebec) is a Canadian former professional wrestler and referee most known for his time in the National Wrestling Alliance.
| Roger Barnes | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 30, 1945 Montréal, Quebec |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Ron Garvin One Man Gang Miss Atlanta Lively "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin Mr. Knoxville |
| Billed height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) |
| Billed weight | 231 lb (105 kg) |
| Trained by | Pat Girard |
| Debut | 1962 |
Career
Ron Garvin started wrestling in 1962. He formed a team with his "brother" Terry Garvin in the 1960s and early 1970s and they won a few regional tag team titles together. They were managed by their other "brother", Jimmy Garvin (actually Ron's stepson in real life).
Garvin made a name for himself as a singles wrestler in the Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, and Tennessee territories in the late 1970s after splitting with Terry and Jimmy. He wrestled in Angelo Poffo's International Championship Wrestling promotion where he was best known for his heated rivalries with Randy Savage and Pez Whatley. One of Garvin's best-known ICW moments was where he knocked Ox Baker's dentures out of his mouth, after which Garvin stomped on the dentures.[1] He held the NWA Georgia Television Title (also known as The National or World TV Title) 5 times, including a feud with then Legion of Doom member, Jake "The Snake" Roberts. At one point during the feud, Jake Roberts held the TV title and refused to give Garvin a re-match. Garvin had to mortgage his house to come up with $10,000 to pay Roberts for a re-match. Garvin would go on to win the re-match and once again become the NWA World TV champion.
He then went to the NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions where he would achieve his greatest success. He became "The Hands of Stone" Ron Garvin and he feuded with Tully Blanchard and Black Bart before entering in a feud with NWA World Champion Ric Flair in 1987. On September 26, 1987, Garvin was able to defeat Flair for the title. It was during this feud that Garvin would eventually gain X-Pac heat, which would see Flair getting cheered in the middle of a cage match, and Garvin booed. His winning the belt was a last minute booking decision by the committee due to losing their original choices for successors. Magnum T.A., the original choice, was forced out of in-ring competition following a car accident and Buddy Landel was fired for drug use on the day he was to win the title. He held it for less than 2 months before losing it back to Flair.
He briefly feuded with Jim Cornette's "Midnight Express" of Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane after Cornette threw fire in his face. Jimmy Garvin came to his rescue and they teamed for awhile against them before Ron had a singles feud with Cornette's bodyguard, Big Bubba Rogers.
At the 1988 Great American Bash, he turned heel by knocking Dusty Rhodes out with a punch to keep him from winning Barry Windham's U.S. Title. He was managed by Gary Hart but left after only a few months as a heel.
He wrestled in the American Wrestling Association in late 1988 as a heel and feuded with Greg Gagne over the AWA International Television Championship. He also feuded with Carlos Colon over the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship on trips to Puerto Rico during this time.
Garvin next went to the WWF wrestling as a babyface under the name "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin. He feuded with Greg Valentine. Valentine defeated him in a 'loser must retire' match, but the feud continued with Garvin as a referee. He went back to wrestling months later, but only ended up jobbing to up and coming wrestlers such as the late Earthquake. He then returned to the independents, mainly in the Carolinas, on a semi-retired basis and can still be found in 2005 as a wrestler or special referee in the independents in the Mid-Atlantic area.
Finishing and signature moves
- Reverse Figure 4 (Sharpshooter) and a dig at Greg Valantine
- Hands of Stone
- Garvin Stomp
- Figure Four Leglock
- Sunset Flip Powerbomb
- A clockwise series of stomps all over the body in order:
- Left arm
- Left chest
- Left stomach
- Left upper leg
- Left lower leg
- Right lower leg
- Right upper leg
- Right stomach
- Right chest
- Right arm
- Jaw
Championships and accomplishments
- NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Terry Garvin
- NWA National Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- NWA National Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Jerry Oates
- NWA National Television Championship (2 times)
- International Championship Wrestling
- NWA Mid-America
- NWA Mid-America Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Terry Garvin
- NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version) (1 time) - with Terry Garvin
- PWI ranked him # 142 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
- NWA Southeast Heavyweight Championship (5 times)
- NWA Southeast Tag Team Championship (3 times) - with Tony Charles (1) and Bob Orton, Jr. (2)
- NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Terry Garvin
- Tennessee Mountain Wrestling
- TMW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- TMW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Tim Horner
- Other Titles
- NCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
Trivia
- Ron is not related to Terry Garvin but he is Jimmy Garvin's stepfather.
- Ron would dress up as "Miss Atlanta Lively" in the NWA to get heels like Jim Cornette and Ric Flair by surprise.