Ferris left the area for a few weeks. When he returned, out with the "Punk Rock" gimmick and in with the "Honky Tonk Man." Ferris was still head and shoulders above the WWF "Honky Tonk Man" he played for Vince McMahon. This "Honky Tonk Man" didn't rely on cheap heat; people hated him because he was down right mean. Somewhere along the way (Sept. 1982), Ferris gained the Alabama Heavyweight Championship.

Here's where it gets tricky. Ferris came in and out of the area. Ferris would eventually get a chance to work as the lead baby face in the area, in a feud, that began when Boris Zukov "broke" Ferris' nose with the pole on his Russian flag. The Fuller's invested a lot of time into developing Ferris as the number-one baby face in the area. They were "rewarded" (note the sarcasm) by Ferris bolting mid-stream to first the Hart's Stampede promotion in Calgary, and then the WWF. From there we all know what happened.

The Wayne Ferris of Southeastern Championship Wrestling was good. He wrestled more, and the comedy act he displayed in the WWF was pretty much non-existent. His character was hated, yet respected by all. I hope you enjoyed this look back. I prefer to remember this Wayne Ferris, as opposed to what he became years later.

NEXT MONTH:

I'll examine one of the hottest feud's to ever hit Southeastern rings: "The Universal Heartthrob" Austin Idol versus "The Canadian Lumberjack" Jos LeDuc.

All feedback can be addressed to Jeff Luce.