Barry Horowitz

File:Barry Horowitz.jpg Barry Horowitz (born March 24, 1960 in St. Petersburg, Florida) is an American professional wrestler, best known as a former jobber in the World Wrestling Federation.

Career

Horowitz attended Florida State University, where he studied sports nutrition and wrestled. After graduating, he trained as a professional wrestler under Boris Malenko in Tampa, Florida for eighteen months and debuted in 1979 on the Floridian independent circuit. He went on to work for the World Wide Wrestling Federation, for Jim Crockett, Sr.'s NWA Mid-Atlantic promotion, and for promotions in Canada and Puerto Rico.

Horowitz eventually joined Florida Championship Wrestling as Jack Hart. On July 23, 1985 in Tampa, Horowitz defeated Mike Graham in a tournament final to win the vacant NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship. He held the title until September 2, 1985, when he lost to Kendall Windham. He remained in FCW for two years, and was managed by heels such as Percy Pringle and Sir Oliver Humperdink.

After wrestling in Memphis as "Stretcher" Jack Hart, Horowitz joined the World Wrestling Federation in 1988. He spent two years in the WWF before suffering a neck injury which left him sidelinded for ten months. After he had recuperated, Horowitz travelled to Texas, where he worked for the newly-formed Global Wrestling Federation. Competing in the light-heavyweight division, Horowitz (billed as Barry "The Winner" Horowitz) won the GWF Light Heavyweight Championship on two occasions within the space of a month in 1992, defeating Jerry Lynn on February 7 and Ben Jordan on February 28 in Dallas, Texas. He remained in the GWF for two years until it declared bankruptcy.

Horowitz competed under a mask at the 1993 WWF Survivor Series as The Red Knight, teaming with Shawn Michaels and the Black and Blue Knights to lose to Bret, Owen, Keith and Bruce Hart. In 1995 he joined the WWF on a regular basis, and was given the gimmick of a career jobber who never won matches. Wearing suspenders in the ring and patting himself on the back as a self-congratulatory measure, Horowitz shocked play-by-play commentator Jim Ross by pinning Bodydonna Skip in 1995, provoking Ross to shout "Horowitz wins!" into his microphone in disbelief. Horowitz faced the vengeful Skip in a match at SummerSlam 1995, which he won again. Following his victory, Horowitz formed a tag team with the newly turned face Hakushi, who he attempted to Americanize. His short-lived, new-found success also earned him a spot in the 1996 Royal Rumble match, at the number 26 position, where he was eliminated by Owen Hart.

Horowitz's contract was not renewed by the WWF in 1997, and he joined World Championship Wrestling in 1998, signing a two year contract. Horowitz wrestled primarily on WCW Saturday Night before leaving WCW in 2000 and returning to the independent circuit. As of June 2005, he was working as a nutritionist in Florida, while occasionally wrestling for local independent promotions.

Profile

Height: 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight: 221 lb (100 kg)
Born: March 24, 1960
Birthplace: St. Petersburg, Florida
Trained by: Boris Malenko
Debut: 1979
Previous manager(s): Percy Pringle, Sir Oliver Humperdink

Previous identities

Barry Hart
Barry Horowitz
Barry "The Winner" Horowitz
"Bad Boy" Barry Horowitz
"Mr. Technical" Barry Horowitz
Brett Hart
Jack Hart
Jack "The Stretcher" Hart
The Red Knight

Finishing and signature moves

The Winning Move (Inverted DDT)
Winnerplex (Northern Lights suplex)
Texas cloverleaf
Ankle lock
Inverted facelock neckbreaker
Jawbreaker
Full nelson with body scissors
Roll-up
Horowitz cradle (three-quarter nelson cradle)
Horowitzer

Trivia

Tammy Sytch said in a 2005 radio interview that Horowitz, while known as a friendly wrestler, had a reputation for being extremely miserly, and once asked a restaurant for a discount for withholding ingredients he did not want from his meal, even though the other wrestlers had offered to buy his meal for him.