- Edward Pardue

I would like to dedicate this column in memory of my dear friend, Frank Hardwick. Frank was without question one of the most talented and funny individuals I have ever had the pleasure to meet. This world is all the better for him having lived, and all the worse for him going away too soon.

Thank you, Frank... someday, I hope to be "Old and Wise" like you. 

This column is essentially for the main event workers that made Jim Crockett Promotions a success. However, I was approached by Scott Williams, who is a fellow KM writer, and he suggested this be a tribute to the enhancement talent of JCP. While I did mention to Scott that I had already done a section like that for both JCP AND SMW, I realized that to keep Jim Crockett Promotions on top for so long, one column was not sufficient to devote to the guys who made the stars look like stars. And so, with a great deal of pride, I dedicate this column to three of the boys I overlooked the last time.

Denny Brown was the reigning NWA World Junior Heavyweight Champion at the time I started watching wrestling. However, this meant little, as he was stepping in the ring with behemoths such as The Barbarian and Abdullah the Butcher. Denny never gave up, though, and always put up a great fight, only to lose in the end to guys a foot taller and a hundred pounds heavier. When Denny was defending his Junior Heavyweight title, however, he usually came out on top.

One of his main adversaries for the strap was Mr. Electricity Steve Regal, former co-holder of the AWA World tag team strap with Jimmy Garvin. During the Great American Bash on tour in 1986, Regal defeated Brown for the belt, only to lose it a few weeks later back to Brown. This is something I never understood, because with Jimmy Garvin in the area, why didn't Crockett team up Regal and Garvin once again? It made as much sense at not showcasing Brown as champion, because he and Regal had some very good matches, and showed the world that Denny Brown was a legit champion. Denny eventually lost the belt to Lasertron (Hector Gurerro) and upon Hector's leaving JCP, he and Nelson Royal squared off for the title, which Nelson won. I never saw Denny after that in JCP, but I think he worked in some capacity for WCW just before its demise. Denny was a great worker and a tremendous champion.

Sadly, by this time frame, Nelson Royal was reduced to enhancement talent for other workers. Nelson, in his prime, was one of the greatest wrestlers in the entire world, but his role in JCP had changed tremendously since those days. Most of the guys who competed in JCP in "enhancement" roles in 1986 and beyond (David Isley, Rikki Nelson, L.A. Stevens, Colt Steele, etc.) were trained by Nelson at his "Diamond R" Ranch in Mooresville, NC. In speaking to David Isley one night, on the way back from King's Mountain, N.C., I learned the horror stories of a young talent trying to break into the biz back then, as David told me of how Nelson had him carrying another wrestling hopeful on his back and running through a two mile corn field. 

Nelson would primarily put over bigger guys, and teamed with a young upstart by the name of Sam Houston, in the days I started watching. With Nelson providing the inexperienced Houston much needed wisdom in the ring, and Houston adding the youthful enthusiasm, they put over a lot of talent in their time as team. Teaming with a legend like Mr. Royal gave Houston the "rub" he needed to get over with long time MACW/JCP fans. Nelson Royal won the NWA Junior Heavyweight title from Denny Brown in his last hurrah for Jim Crockett Promotions. Nelson Royal sadly passed away last year of a heart attack. You are deeply missed, Mr. Royal.

Sam Houston is the son of wrestling legend Grizzly Smith and the half brother of Jake Roberts. Sam was brought in as a protégé to Dusty Rhodes. 

Sam Houston scored the occasional upset victory (including a pinfall over former World Champion Superstar Billy Graham at the Great American Bash 1985), but his time in JCP was primarily as enhancement talent. He lost to Krusher Kruschev at STARRCADE '85 in a "tournament final" for the vacant Mid Atlantic Title, only to lose to The Russian Sickle. However, a few months later, due to help from The Road Warriors, Houston defeated Kruschev to avenge this loss. During his reign as champion, Sam wrestled with the heart of a lion, but did not have enough weight to turn back the challenge of Black Bart (Rick Harris) as the larger Bart defeated Houston to take the gold. After the loss to Bart, Sam essentially went back to his role as "enhancement talent" until he was sent to Central States, where he won the Heavyweight Title there. Sam Houston was good at making bigger stars look good and was one of the brighter spots on JCP's roster.

Enhancement talent is like the proverbial cow's tail, folks... often overlooked, but GREATLY needed.