William F. Watts Jr. (born May 5, 1939), better known under the

ring name A ring name is a type of stage name or nickname used by an athlete such as a professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, or boxer whose real name is considered unattractive, dull, difficult to pronounce or spell, amusing for the wrong reasons ...

Bill Watts, is a retired American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to real-life wrest ...

, promoter and former

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player. Watts garnered fame under his "Cowboy"

gimmick A gimmick is a novel device or idea designed primarily to attract attention or increase appeal, often with little intrinsic value. When applied to retail marketing, it is a unique or quirky feature designed to make a product or service "stand out ...

in his wrestling career, and then as a promoter in the Mid-South United States, which grew to become the Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF). Watts also worked under the ring name Doctor Scarlett which was sometimes stylised as Dr. Scarlett. In 1992, Watts was the Executive Vice President of

World Championship Wrestling World Championship Wrestling (WCW) was an American professional wrestling promotion founded by Ted Turner in 1988, after Turner Broadcasting System, through a subsidiary named Universal Wrestling Corporation, purchased the assets of National W ...

(WCW) but after clashes with management over a number of issues, as well as feeling pressure from

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. Considered one ...

over a racially insensitive interview, he resigned. He was subsequently replaced by

Ole Anderson Alan Robert Rogowski (September 22, 1942 – February 26, 2024), better known by the ring name Ole Anderson (), was an American professional wrestler, booker, and promoter. Following a stint in the U.S. Army, Rogowski made his professional ...

. In 1995, Watts briefly worked as a booker for the

World Wrestling Federation World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...

(WWF; now WWE). In 2009, he was inducted into the

WWE Hall of Fame The WWE Hall of Fame is a List of halls and walks of fame, hall of fame which honors professional wrestlers and professional wrestling personalities maintained by WWE. Originally known as the "WWF Hall of Fame", it was created in 1993 when An ...

Football career

Watts played as a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for his high school football team, the Putnam City Pirates.

Bud Wilkinson Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson (April 23, 1916 – February 9, 1994) was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of ...

recruited him to play for the

Oklahoma Sooners The Oklahoma Sooners are the college athletics in the United States , athletic teams that represent the University of Oklahoma, located in Norman, Oklahoma, Norman. The 19 men's and women's varsity teams are called the "Sooners", a reference to ...

, where he played as a

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison gu ...

during his sophomore and junior years. However, his junior year was marred by a near fatal car accident involving him and his mother, resulting in him going into a coma. When he came out, he had lost a significant amount of weight, and had to put it back on, despite the coaches at the time preferring their players to be small and quick, which Watts had struggled with before the accident. Former Sooners teammate Wahoo McDaniel (then of the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

of the AFL), introduced him to

professional wrestling Professional wrestling, often shortened to either pro wrestling or wrestling,The term "wrestling" is most often widely used to specifically refer to modern scripted professional wrestling, though it is also used to refer to Real life, real- ...

for the first time, something McDaniel did in the off-season. Watts turned professional in 1961 and joined the Oilers, but did not last long there, and according to a shoot interview, he left after knocking out a coach. Through McDaniel's friendship with defensive coach Bob Griffin, Watts played for the Indianapolis Warriors of the United Football League, while also being able to wrestle for NWA Indianapolis. Watts then had a try-out with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), but after a discussion with general manager

Jim Finks James Edward Finks (August 31, 1927 – May 8, 1994) was an American professional football player, coach, and executive. Early life and playing career Finks was born in St. Louis, Missouri, attended high school in Salem, Illinois, and attended ...

, who wanted him to quit his wrestling career, Watts left the Vikings having decided he could make more money back in Oklahoma.

Professional wrestling career

Cowboy Bill Watts - Wrestling News Sept 1968

Wrestling career (1962–1979)

As a professional wrestler, he famously feuded with WWWF Champion

Bruno Sammartino Bruno Leopoldo Francesco Sammartino (October 6, 1935 – April 18, 2018) was an Italian-American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler. He is best known for his time with the WWE, World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). Sammartin ...

, but was unable to win the title. In the 1960s, he wrestled in many areas, such as San Francisco, Chicago, St. Louis, and even Japan for

All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW/AJP) or simply All Japan is a Puroresu, Japanese professional wrestling Professional wrestling promotion, promotion founded on October 21, 1972, by Giant Baba after he left the Japanese Wrestling Association to create his own promotion. Ma ...

(AJPW). During these periods, Watts challenged for both the

National Wrestling Alliance The National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) is an American professional wrestling professional wrestling promotion, promotion and governing body owned by Billy Corgan and operated by its parent company Lightning One, Inc. Founded in 1948, the NWA be ...

(NWA) and

American Wrestling Association The American Wrestling Association (AWA) was an American professional wrestling promotion based in Minneapolis, Minnesota that ran from 1960 until 1991. It was founded by Verne Gagne and Wally Karbo. The promotion was born out of the Minneapolis ...

(AWA) versions of the World Title. Watts also had a successful run winning tag belts with

Buck Robley Philip Thompson Robley (January 19, 1945 – May 28, 2013) was an American professional wrestler who worked as Col. Buck Robley mainly in the Mid-South/NWA Tri-State during the 1970s and early 1980s. He also worked in St. Louis, Florida, Kans ...

in the

NWA Tri-State The Universal Wrestling Federation was a 1986 re-branding of wrestler-turned-owner Bill Watts' Mid-South Wrestling promotion. Watts' goal was to elevate his promotion from a relatively smaller, regional-level business, to a national-level riv ...

/ Mid South Wrestling before he became head promotor in the

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

areas.

Booking career (1979–1995)

Mid-South Wrestling / Universal Wrestling Federation (1979–1987)

Bill Watts Mid South wrestling booker 1986

Watts is perhaps even more famous for being a pioneering promoter in the Mid-South area of the United States, with his base of operation being in the Shreveport, Louisiana area. His promotion was known as Mid-South Wrestling. He is often credited with creating the current and popular "episodic" style of TV wrestling, building solid creative storylines week-on-week, with an emphasis on solid in-ring action with dependable wrestlers like "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, The

Junkyard Dog Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1952 – June 1, 1998) was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and NCAA football, college football player, best known for his time in Universal Wrestling Federation (Bill Watts), Mid-South Wre ...

Ted DiBiase Theodore Marvin DiBiase Sr. (; born January 18, 1954) is an American retired professional wrestler, manager, and color commentator. He is signed to WWE as of 2024, where he works in their Legends program. DiBiase achieved championship succ ...

and

Jim Duggan James Edward Duggan Jr. (born January 14, 1954), better known by his ring name "Hacksaw" Jim Duggan, is an American semi-retired professional wrestler. He is best-known for his time in World Wrestling Federation (now WWE), where he won the first ...

. He is an outspoken critic on breaking

kayfabe In professional wrestling, kayfabe (pronounced ) is the portrayal of staged events within the industry as "real" or "true", specifically competition, rivalries, and relationships between participants. The term has evolved to become a code word ...

and "smart" wrestling fans. A Watts-run promotion always had face and heel wrestlers dress in different locker rooms and to have faces and heels not meet publicly. He has also been known to revamp his booking plans in order to protect the business from such fans. After losing over half a million dollars, Watts sold the UWF to NWA Mid-Atlantic's

Jim Crockett Promotions Jim Crockett Promotions, at times branded as Eastern States Championship Wrestling and Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, is a Family business, family-owned professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United Sta ...

, who kept many of their stars, such as

Sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

. Instead of having UWF as a separate organization, Crockett sent his mid-card wrestlers to the UWF and had them quickly win their titles. Eventually, the UWF folded, and Crockett would be bought out by

Ted Turner Robert Edward Turner III (born November 19, 1938) is an American entrepreneur, television producer, media proprietor, and Philanthropy, philanthropist. He founded the CNN, Cable News Network (CNN), the first 24-hour United States cable news, ...

in 1988. In April 1989, after firing George Scott, WCW offered Watts the chance to

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

, but he declined the offer and WCW instead decided to go with a booking committee, which included

Ric Flair Richard Morgan Fliehr (born February 25, 1949), known professionally as Ric Flair, is an American retired professional wrestler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional wrestlers of all time, Flair's career spanned 50 years. He is ...

and Kevin Sullivan.

World Championship Wrestling (1992–1993)

Watts became Executive Vice President of

, succeeding short-tenured Kip Frey in 1992. He took many of his old-school values with him, such as banning moves from the top rope and the babyfaces and heels separation. His tenure was not long, nor were his ideas overly embraced. According to his autobiography, '' Controversy Creates Ca$h'',

Eric Bischoff Eric Aaron Bischoff (born May 27, 1955) is an American television producer, Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Booker, professional wrestling booker, promoter, and performer. He is best known for serving as Executive Producer and later Sen ...

, who worked under Watts at the time, felt Watts would intimidate anyone he was talking to and was only interested in taking the WCW product back to 1970s standards, with poorly lit arenas and house shows in remote, rural towns. The circumstances of Watts' departure in 1993 are controversial. Prior to taking the job with WCW, Watts had given an interview to

Wade Keller Wade Keller (born May 22, 1971) is an American professional wrestling journalist who runs the ''Pro Wrestling Torch'' newsletter. Keller has hosted ''The Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast'' on PodcastOne since 2017. ''Pro Wrestling Torch'' Kel ...

of the

Pro Wrestling Torch Wade Keller (born May 22, 1971) is an American professional wrestling journalist who runs the ''Pro Wrestling Torch'' newsletter. Keller has hosted ''The Wade Keller Pro Wrestling Podcast'' on PodcastOne since 2017. ''Pro Wrestling Torch'' Kel ...

. After a lengthy interview on wrestling, Watts commented on

Lester Maddox Lester Garfield Maddox Sr. (September 30, 1915 – June 25, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 75th governor of Georgia from 1967 to 1971. A populist Southern Democrat, Maddox came to prominence as a staunch segregationist, when ...

, a 1960s restaurant owner and segregationist, as well as a former

Governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...

, who refused service to black customers. Watts supported the owner's position, illegal under the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

, that any business owner had a right to discriminate as did Watts in his business. Watts further expressed his view that slavery was beneficial for bringing black people to America. He also made numerous other controversial statements pertaining to race and sexual orientation, including using numerous highly offensive slurs: "If you want a business, and you put money in it, why shouldn't you be able to discriminate? It's your business... That's why I went into business, so that I could discriminate... Who's killed more blacks than anyone? The fuckin' blacks." Watts claims that when he was hired by WCW, he had explained the situation to then Turner president Bill Shaw, apparently to his satisfaction. However, approximately one year later, wrestling journalist Mark Madden brought the interview to the attention of

, himself a vice president in the Turner organization with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

. Aaron, who dealt with plenty of racial abuse in his career as an African-American baseball player, particularly when he broke

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

's home run record in 1974, pushed for Watts' removal. While Madden takes credit for Watts getting fired, Watts himself disputes this account, saying he was not fired for the comments, but quit his position out of frustration over "backstabbing" by Shaw and (unbeknownst to Shaw) had already resigned by the time Aaron got the newsletter. Watts was replaced by

World Wrestling Federation (1995)

Watts later went on to a position of booking power in the

(WWF). His tenure there was short, as he stated in later interviews that he was only there on a three-month contract and had no interest in staying long-term. On April 4, 2009, Watts was inducted into the

as a part of the Class of 2009.Jimmie Tramel
"WWE Hall of Fame to induct 'Cowboy Bill'"
''

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is an American daily newspaper. It serves the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is the primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. The printed edition is the second-most circulated newspaper in the sta ...

'', April 3, 2009.

Personal life

Watts has five children. From his first marriage, he has a son, William III (nicknamed Biff), and from his second marriage, he has three sons, Joel,

Erik The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Nor ...

, Micah and a daughter, Ene. In March 2006, Watts released his autobiography ''The Cowboy and the Cross: The Bill Watts Story: Rebellion, Wrestling and Redemption'' through

ECW Press ECW Press is a Canadian book publisher located in Toronto, Ontario. It was founded by Jack David and Robert Lecker in 1974 as a Canada, Canadian literary magazine named ''Essays on Canadian Writing''. They started publishing trade and scholar ...

. The book chronicles his upbringing, his career as first a wrestler, then a promoter, along with events in his personal life. Watts served as co-host of a sports talk radio show on The Sports Animal in Tulsa, Oklahoma until late 2008. He was a longtime resident of Bixby, a Tulsa suburb.

Championships and accomplishments

* American Wrestling Alliance **

AWA United States Heavyweight Championship The AWA United States Championship was a short-lived title in the early days of the American Wrestling Association. It started out as the NWA United States Championship promoted in the Chicago, Illinois, territory from 1953 until 1958. In 1960, th ...

( 1 time) *

Cauliflower Alley Club The Cauliflower Alley Club is a non-profit fraternal organization, which includes a newsletter and website, comprising both retired and active professional wrestlers and boxers in North America. Established in 1965 by Mike Mazurki and Art Ab ...

**Other honoree (

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

) *

Championship Wrestling from Florida Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF) was the corporate and brand name of the Tampa, Florida professional wrestling promotion, wrestling office existing from 1961, when Eddie Graham first bought into the promotion, until 1987, when it close ...

NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship The NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship was a major title in Championship Wrestling from Florida and is now the major title in NWA Florida Wrestling Alliance. It started in 1937 and was abandoned in 1949. It was picked back up in 1966 by CWF an ...

( 3 times) ** NWA Southern Heavyweight Championship ''(Florida version)'' ( 1 time) *

George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (TNTHOF) is a professional wrestling hall of fame The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum was an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in ...

**Class of 2013 *

Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling Continental Championship Wrestling was a professional wrestling promotion based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and Dothan, Alabama, from 1985 until 1989, owned by Ron Fuller. The promotion evolved out of the NWA-affiliated Southeastern Championship W ...

NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Championship The NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Southern Division) was originally the primary singles championship for '' Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling'' and was originally named the NWA Gulf Coast Heavyweight Championship. As the name indicate ...

( 1 time) * Japan Wrestling Association **

NWA International Tag Team Championship ''This was a regional NWA championship based in Japan. For the version of this title that was promoted in NWA All Star Wrestling in Canada, see NWA International Tag Team Championship (Vancouver version).'' The NWA International Tag Team Champio ...

( 1 time) – with

Tarzan Tyler Camille Laurent "Tarzan" Tourville (December 4, 1927 – December 24, 1985), better known by his ring name Tarzan "The Boot" Tyler, was a Canadian professional wrestler and manager. He was one-half of the first WWWF World Tag Team Champions, alon ...

Mid-South Sports Georgia Championship Wrestling is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Atlanta, Georgia. The promotion was affiliated with what had been the world's top sanctioning body of championship titles for decades before, the National W ...

NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship The GCW Heavyweight Championship is the major title in the Georgia Championship Wrestling professional wrestling promotion. It started in 1964 and was unified in 1981 with the NWA National Heavyweight Championship. The title was picked back up i ...

( 1 time) * NWA Tri-State / Mid-South Wrestling Association ** Mid-South North American Heavyweight Championship (

2 times "2 Times" is the debut single of English singer Ann Lee. It was released in Italy in December 1998 by X-Energy as the lead single from her debut album, ''Dreams'' (1999), and was issued worldwide the following year. The single peaked at number tw ...

) ** Mid-South Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with

** NWA Louisiana Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Buck Robley ** NWA North American Heavyweight Championship ''(Tri-State version)'' ( 7 times) ** NWA Tri-State Brass Knuckles Championship (

) ** NWA United States Tag Team Championship ''(Tri-State version)'' ( 5 times)– with Jerry Kozak (1),

Billy Red Lyons Willem Snip (17 May 1932 – 22 June 2009) was a Canadian professional wrestler, who wrestled under the ring name Billy Red Lyons. He was an active wrestler between 1956 and 1985, and won numerous championships throughout his career. He worked fo ...

(1),

Greg Valentine Jonathan Anthony Wisniski (born September 20, 1951) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "the Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine. Over five decades, Valentine held more than 40 championsh ...

(1),

Billy Robinson William Alfred Robinson (18 September 1938 – 27 February 2014) was an English professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and coach. Having trained at Billy Riley's gym, better known as " The Snake Pit" in Wigan, Robinson was one of the leadin ...

(1) and Buck Robley (1) *

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame The Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame (PWHF) and Museum was an American professional wrestling hall of fame and museum located in Wichita Falls, Texas; following the postponement of its 19th induction ceremony, planned for May 2020, and an annou ...

** Class of 2013 * Southwest Sports, Inc. **

NWA Texas Heavyweight Championship The NWA Texas Championship is a professional wrestling title that has existed since the 1930s. Though its exact date of creation isn't known, it is among the oldest championships used in professional wrestling today. The title has used a variety ...

( 1 time)* * World Wide Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment ** WWWF United States Tag Team Championship ( 1 time) – with

Gorilla Monsoon Robert James "Gino" Marella (June 4, 1937 – October 6, 1999), better known by his ring name of Gorilla Monsoon, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Sports commentator, play-by-play commentator, and Glossary of profess ...

(Class of 2009) *

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards This is a list of both active and inactive ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' awards created by professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) journalist Dave Meltzer. The first fourteen awards were created in 1980 as an informal poll betwee ...

** Most Obnoxious (1992) **

Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame The ''Wrestling Observer Newsletter'' (''WON'') Hall of Fame is a professional wrestling and mixed martial arts (MMA) hall of fame that recognizes people who make significant contributions to their professions. It was founded in 1996 by Dave Mel ...

( Class of 1996)

References

; Notes ; Bibliography * *

External links

* * *
Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watts, Bill 1939 births American football defensive linemen American male professional wrestlers American male television writers American Christians American television writers Living people Oklahoma Republicans Oklahoma Sooners football players People from Bixby, Oklahoma Sportspeople from Oklahoma City Professional wrestlers from Oklahoma American professional wrestling announcers Professional wrestling promoters American professional wrestling trainers Professional wrestling writers WWE executives WWE Hall of Fame inductees World Championship Wrestling executives People from Walton County, Florida Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum Houston Oilers players Minnesota Vikings players 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers NWA Florida Heavyweight Champions NWA Southern Heavyweight Champions (Florida version) NWA International Tag Team Champions NWA Georgia Heavyweight Champions WWWF United States Tag Team Champions NWA Texas Heavyweight Champions NWA United States Heavyweight Champions (San Francisco version) United Football League (1961–1964) players