MikeCampbell Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 Pro Wrestling legend Les Thatcher posted the following..."Just heard that Ron Wright passed away this morning. One of the greatest heels I ever worked with & an East Tennessee legend. Please keep the family in our prayers. He will be cutting those great promos up stairs. God bless with love & respect!" Quote
KrisZ Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 A truly great man in wrestling one of the best Southern heels ever and a legend RIP Quote
RocketCrypt Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 Always been a huge fan of his, hence the profile pic. A fantastic heel performer. Will be revisiting some of his excellent SMW promos. RIP. Quote
Matt D Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 I am to SMW as Parv is to Kamala but I would still watch anything Wright did there in a heartbeat Quote
Memphis Mark Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 Ron Wright was the King of the Hillbillies . Ron was everything people love about wrestling. He was one of a kind , a true all time great. Quote
Wade Garrett Posted April 21, 2015 Report Posted April 21, 2015 Memphis Mark took the words right outta my mouth. Hit the nail on the head. Quote
Robert S Posted April 22, 2015 Report Posted April 22, 2015 I did not realize he was still alive. How old was he? He looked like 70 back in 1992 SMW, however there is a 73 Knoxville clip from him where he seems to be 40 at most. Quote
MikeCampbell Posted April 22, 2015 Author Report Posted April 22, 2015 I did not realize he was still alive. How old was he? He looked like 70 back in 1992 SMW, however there is a 73 Knoxville clip from him where he seems to be 40 at most. He was 76, so he was born in 1938 or 39. Quote
Laney Posted April 22, 2015 Report Posted April 22, 2015 I loved all of his work in SMW. An overlooked manager in my opinion. Quote
Stosh Posted April 23, 2015 Report Posted April 23, 2015 I would have loved to see a run of this guy in his prime. He is an absolutely fascinating character. If he worked bigger territories, he'd be remembered as an all-time great. He seems like an awesome heat machine. Quote
goc Posted April 23, 2015 Report Posted April 23, 2015 One of the most interesting things about Ron Wright is that during his whole wrestling career he had a full time day job working at a press in Kingsport. This is why he never wrestled anywhere outside of East TN. After seeing a couple pictures of him all bloody battling Whitey Caldwell you wonder how many times he showed up to his day job looking like hell. Quote
MikeCampbell Posted April 23, 2015 Author Report Posted April 23, 2015 I would have loved to see a run of this guy in his prime. He is an absolutely fascinating character. If he worked bigger territories, he'd be remembered as an all-time great. He seems like an awesome heat machine. Not exactly what you're looking for. But, SMW TV aired several segments featuring the history of wrestling in Knoxville, all of which are included on the Wrestling Gold DVD version of the show, and one of them contains a Ron White studio interview. Edit: Here it is! Quote
MikeCampbell Posted April 24, 2015 Author Report Posted April 24, 2015 Jim Cornette had Les Thatcher on his Podcast and they discussed Ron Wright in depth, with plenty of great stories, and Jim's usual favorite talking point of how great it was when the fans weren't smart to the business. Apparently, the youtube clip I posted is the only footage in existence of Ron Wright in his prime. Quote
hammerva Posted April 25, 2015 Report Posted April 25, 2015 Ron Wright tribute on the online version of the Southern States Wrestling show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=e8H0Iq-ejDU Most of the clips have been seen before include the rare footage I think Quote
MikeCampbell Posted April 26, 2015 Author Report Posted April 26, 2015 An awesome quote from the Jim and Les podcast: "If Ron and Whitey [Cauldwell] are both in heaven, the pearly gates are probably stained with blood by now." Quote
van_Fair Posted May 6, 2015 Report Posted May 6, 2015 The NWA revealed him as the newest inductee into their Hall of Fame. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.