David W. Peterson (July 17, 1959 – May 25, 1993), better known by his

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 ...

D. J. Peterson was an American professional wrestler. He is best known for competing in various North American regional promotions during the 1980s, including the Universal Wrestling Federation, 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 ...

, and most notably the

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 ...

during its final days. While there, he and

The Trooper "The Trooper" is a song by the English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released as the second single on 20 June 1983 from the band's fourth studio album, ''Piece of Mind'' (1983). It was one of only a few Iron Maiden songs to ac ...

became the final holders of the AWA Tag Team Championship.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1984–1987)

Making his debut in 1984, Peterson started wrestling in

Texas All-Star Wrestling Texas All-Star Wrestling (TASW) is a professional wrestling promotion that was established by Bob Murphy in Humble, Texas in 1994. It is the oldest independent promotion in the state of Texas and one of two based in the Greater Houston area al ...

and in the NWA Central States. During the mid-1980s, Peterson briefly appeared in

Fritz von Erich Jack Barton Adkisson Sr. (August 16, 1929 – September 10, 1997), better known by his ring name Fritz Von Erich, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, wrestling promoter, and the patriarch of the Von Erich family. He was ...

World Class Championship Wrestling World Class Championship Wrestling (WCCW), later known as the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA), was an American professional wrestling promotion headquartered in Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. Originally owned by promoter Ed McLemore, by ...

defeating

Jack Victory Kenneth Rinehurst (born July 3, 1964) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and Manager (professional wrestling), manager, better known by his ring name, Jack Victory. He is perhaps best known for his appearances with the U ...

on February 7 and Prairie States Wrestling against

Ox Baker Douglas Baker (April 19, 1934 – October 20, 2014), known professionally as Ox Baker, was an American professional wrestler and actor. He was famous for his distinctive eyebrows and finishing move, the Professional wrestling attacks#Heart punch ...

on July 23 before wrestling in the Mid-South area and, by early 1986, for

Bill Watts William F. Watts Jr. (born May 5, 1939), better known under the ring name Bill Watts, is a retired American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, promoter and former American football player. Watts garnered fame under his "Cowboy" Glos ...

' Universal Wrestling Federation facing wrestlers such as Gustavo Mendoza and, in tag team matches, teamed with

Brett Sawyer Brett Eugene Woyan (10 August 1960 – 8 September 2023) was an American professional wrestling trainer and professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Brett Sawyer. Early life Woyan grew up in St. Petersburg, Florida. He attended Di ...

against Mike Scott and

Rick Steiner Robert Rechsteiner (born March 9, 1961) is an American retired Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Rick Steiner. Steiner is best known for his tenure with World Championship Wrestling (WCW), where he wa ...

, the

Blade Runners The Blade Runners were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of future superstars Steve Borden and Jim Hellwig which existed in 1985 and 1986. Their look was from the new wave music scene with black eye paint and spiked hair with a rat ...

and the Fabulous Freebirds ( Terry "Bam Bam" Gordy &

Buddy Roberts Dale Hey (June 16, 1947 – November 26, 2012) was a Canadian-American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Buddy "Jack" Roberts. Primarily a tag team wrestler, Roberts is known for his appearances as one of The Hollywood Blon ...

) in their UWF debut. He also wrestled Bart Sawyer several times, losing to him on May 3 and teamed with Chavo Guerrero against Sawyer and Rick Steiner in the following weeks. Later that year, he teamed with Todd Champion feuding with the Thunderfoots and faced Big Bubba Rogers and The Warlord and

The MOD Squad ''The Mod Squad'' is an American crime drama series, originally broadcast for five seasons on ABC from September 24, 1968, to March 1, 1973. It starred Michael Cole as Peter "Pete" Cochran, Clarence Williams III as Lincoln "Linc" Hayes, Pegg ...

during October while in

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 ...

as well as wrestling

Arn Anderson Martin Anthony Lunde (born September 20, 1958), better known by his ring name Arn Anderson, is an American professional wrestling Glossary of professional wrestling terms#Agent, road agent, author, and retired professional wrestler. Although he ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

on November 16, 1986.

American Wrestling Association (1987)

Jumping to the American Wrestling Association in 1987, Peterson fought Super Ninja to a time limit draw at

SuperClash II SuperClash II was the second SuperClash professional wrestling supercard event produced by American Wrestling Association (AWA). The event took place at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California on May 2, 1987. The show was promoted as the AWA's mos ...

on May 2, 1987. He would also form a team with

J. T. Southern J. T. Southern (born January 4, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler. Though he achieved most notoriety during his 1992 feud with Van Hammer in World Championship Wrestling, Southern also competed for Verne Gagne's American Wrestli ...

, attempting to gain the AWA World Tag Team titles, but ended up coming short.

Other Federations (1987–1990)

He then split his time wrestling in several territories during the next two years appearing on the debut television show of

Continental 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 ...

and had a brief stint in 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, ...

, primarily being used as a jobber. In 1989, he would head up to Calgary for

Stampede Wrestling Stampede Wrestling was a Canadian professional wrestling promotion based in Calgary, Alberta. For nearly 50 years, it was one of the main promotions in western Canada and the Canadian Prairies. Originally established by Stu Hart in 1948, the prom ...

until its closure on December 18.

Return to AWA (1990–1991)

Peterson returned to the AWA full-time in early 1990 teaming with Brad Rheingans against the Texas Hangmen at

SuperClash IV SuperClash IV was the fourth and final SuperClash professional wrestling supercard event promoted by the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and was held at the Saint Paul Civic Center in St. Paul, Minnesota on April 8, 1990. In September 2019 ...

on April 8, 1990 and later to pursue then AWA World Champion Mr. Saito. When

Larry Zbyszko Lawrence Whistler (born December 5, 1951), better known by the ring name Larry Zbyszko, is an American retired professional wrestler. He is perhaps best known for his Feud (professional wrestling), feud with his mentor, Bruno Sammartino, during ...

regained the title, Peterson was granted title shots although he failed to unseat the World Champion. Shortly thereafter, he formed a tag team with The Trooper which captured the AWA World Tag Team Titles from The Destruction Crew on August 11, 1990. Defending the titles during the rest of the year, Peterson and Trooper would turn out to be the last AWA World Tag Team Champions. In January 1991,

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publishing Group. The maga ...

and its sister publications withdrew recognition of the AWA's World Championship status but continued to recognize Trooper and Peterson as incumbent "AWA Tag Team Champions" until the promotion finally closed later that year.

Later career (1991–1993)

After the AWA closed in early 1991, Peterson went back to the independents until he died from a

motorcycle A motorcycle (motorbike, bike; uni (if one-wheeled); trike (if three-wheeled); quad (if four-wheeled)) is a lightweight private 1-to-2 passenger personal motor vehicle Steering, steered by a Motorcycle handlebar, handlebar from a saddle-style ...

crash on May 25, 1993.

Championships and accomplishments

AWA World Tag Team Championship The American Wrestling Association (AWA) World Tag Team Championship was a professional wrestling world tag team championship in the American Wrestling Association from 1960 until the promotion folded in 1991. History When the NWA Minneapolis ...

( 1 time) - with

Central States Wrestling Heart of America Sports Attractions, Inc., operating as the Midwest Wrestling Association, Central States Wrestling and the World Wrestling Alliance, was an American professional wrestling promotion that ran shows mainly in Kansas, Missouri, Nebr ...

NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship The NWA Central States championship was reactivated in 2002 seeing Shane Somers defeat. 7'1 Butch McClain becoming the 1st champion since 1989 & youngest at 19 years of age. Title history {{Professional wrestling title history middle {{BundleEn ...

(

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 ...

) **

NWA Central States Tag Team Championship The NWA Central States Tag Team Championship was the primary tag team championship for the Heart of America Sports Attractions / Central States Wrestling promotion from 1979 until the promotion ceased to exist in 1988. The Central States Tag Team ...

( 1 time) - with Todd Champion *

**TASW Six-Man Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with

Paul Diamond Thomas Boric (born May 11, 1961) is a Croatian-Canadian retired professional wrestler better known by his ring name Paul Diamond. He is best known for being one half of the tag team Badd Company with Pat Tanaka and for his time in the Worl ...

Shawn Michaels Shawn Michaels (born Michael Shawn Hickenbottom on July 22, 1965) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he is the Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Creative, and oversees the creative aspects of th ...

WCCW Television Championship The WCWA Television Championship was a secondary professional wrestling championship that was used and defended in the World Class Wrestling Association (WCWA). Originally created in 1979 as the NWA Television Championship, one of many television ...

( 1 time) *

**PWI ranked him # 205 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1991

References

External links

*
The Oklahoma Wrestling Fan's Resource center: Bios - D.J. Peterson
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, D. J. 1959 births 1993 deaths 20th-century American male actors 20th-century male professional wrestlers 20th-century American professional wrestlers American male professional wrestlers AWA World Tag Team Champions Professional wrestlers from Missouri Sportspeople from St. Joseph, Missouri Stampede Wrestling alumni WCWA Television Champions