There was none of that shades of gray stuff for Bill Watts. Watts understood wrestling villainy because he spent a good portion of his career as a heel. The hat and boots, the cocky swagger, the beefy physique, the tough talk, the overall bad ass demeanor - all these factors combined to make Watts one mean dude. Watts was always a heroic cowboy in Mid-South and the UWF, but you might have found his face on a post office wall in other territories during his career.

Watts' first big success outside of Leroy McGuirk's territory came in the mid 60s in the World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF). Bill tagged with heavyweight champion Bruno Sammartino, who at that time was entering the peak years of his phenomenal popularity and drawing power. Watts himself became enormously popular, but there was no way the Oklahoma outsider would ever eclipse the great Sammartino.  Watts understood that he would never get a shot at Bruno's title, so the tension began to grow. Watts continued to press for a title bout, but Vince McMahon would not sign the match because Bill was Bruno's tag team partner. Ultimately, Watts turned on Sammartino during a tag match and put a savage stompdown on the hero. During a post-match interview, Watts was asked why he was laughing and replied "I¹m laughing all the way to the bank," which may or may not have been the beginning of that pop culture catchphrase.

Watts and Sammartino become mortal enemies and the match between was set. Madison Square Garden hosted a record crowd with hundreds turned away.  Sammartino won the bout and several rematches, but the decisions left enough doubt to lead to the thought that Watts just might be better than the Italian folk hero.  With nowhere to go but down the card, Watts was frustrated. He was too ambitious to settle for second best. Furthermore, he realized that his earnings would diminish without Sammartino as an opponent. He received an offer to go to San Francisco and wrestle for Roy Shires. In just a few weeks Watts captured the Pacific Coast U.S. championship from Ray "the Crippler" Stevens. Watts defended the title and ruled the promotion for several months.

From California, Watts caught the attention of Japanese promoters. Big, rugged American grapplers have always been big, both literally and figuratively, in Japan. Watts protégé Steve Williams currently continues the tradition of gaijin invading Japanese soil. In 1967, Watts traveled to the Asian nation where he wrestled many of their top competitors. Watts once again showed he was not afraid of taking on a revered legend, as he had several battles with Japanese icon Shohei "The Giant" Baba.
In the fall of 1967 returned stateside and began wrestling in the Midwest. He was soon appearing regularly in Chicago, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, St. Louis, Davenport and Omaha. At the time, these cities were hubs of wrestling territories and provided a tremendous opportunity to draw money at each stop. Watts was appearing simultaneously on American Wrestling Alliance and National Wrestling Alliance cards.

Watts became the major heel threat to both AWA champ Verne Gagne and NWA champ Gene Kiniski.  He met both men in a series of matches that found him foiled in his attempts to win the belts. Watts developed a pattern that he would use later in his promotion. Even though he was in control of the matches seemed on his way to victory, his nefarious ways, coupled with the heroic efforts of the "face" champions, would cause his ultimate downfall.

Cowboy Bill Watts understood what it meant to be a big, mean, thoroughly BAD guy. Meanness flowed through his body like blood through a vein. As a starstruck youngster, I attempted to get an autograph from Gino Hernandez. Gino turned, gave me an oily grin, took the paper and ripped it to shreds. As he hollered and called be a punk, I was too busy running back to my seat and trying to avoid soiling myself. Watts knew how to make people hate him. He went into the ring not just to win, but to injure, plunder and maim. Sneak-attacking the face before the match, pounding his noggin into the turnbuckle, kicking him in the kidneys, stomping him in the groin, and generally seeking to pulverize, fold, spindle and mutilate. Bill Watts was a prototypical wrestling bully.

Well, that's it for this time. I wanted to give some background, albeit brief, on Bill Watts' career as a heel. I believe it will provide an understanding as to why heels held such a uniquely prominent place in his promotion and how he used the concept of the "bad guy" slightly differently than his contemporaries. Stop by the UWF message board some time. And if your neighbor upsets you, don't put on a pair of cowboy boots and start gouging his eye.

NEXT MONTH:

The General, an Incorporation, and some hairy Lynyrd Skynyrd fans.