Paul Christy (born Paul Christerson, March 20, 1939 – May 24, 2021) was an 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 ...
known mainly for his work in 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
International Championship Wrestling as well as a 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, ...
in the mid-1980s. Christy's wife, Bunny Burmeister, was also a professional wrestler and his manager, working under the name Miss Bunny Love. Christy and his wife both retired from the ring in 1990.
Professional wrestling career
After graduating high school, Christy began working at
American Health Studio.
[ His manager Jack Thornton liked Christy's look and convinced him to wrestle one professional wrestling match.][ Christy won his first match, which was held at the Marigold Arena.][ Christy moved to Chicago and began working for ]Fred Kohler
Fredrick Louis Kohler (April 20, 1888 – October 28, 1938) was an American actor.
Career
Fred Kohler was born in Kansas City, Missouri or in Dubuque, Iowa. As a teen, he began to pursue a career in vaudeville, but worked other jobs to suppor ...
.[ He was voted Rookie of the Year by the fans in 1960.][
Christy also worked for Dory Funk Sr. in Texas and for Mike DiBiase in Arizona.][ In Alabama, Christy formed a tag team with Ken Lucas, as his storyline brother Chris Lucas.][ The Lucas Brothers held both the Gulf Coast Tag Team title and Southern Tag Team title.][ After moving back to Chicago, Christy began working for the ]World Wrestling Association
The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish language, Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ...
(WWA), where he held the WWA World Tag Team Championship with Wilbur Snyder, Moose Cholak and Roger Kirby.[ It was during this time that Christy met Bunny Burmeister and convinced ]Dick the Bruiser
William Fritz Afflis Jr. (June 27, 1929 – November 10, 1991) was an American professional wrestler, promoter, and National Football League player, better known by his ring name, Dick the Bruiser. During his NFL days he played four seasons with ...
to let her act as his manager.[
In the 1980s, Christy and Bunny worked for International Championship Wrestling (ICW), where they were billed as "wrestling's Bonnie & Clyde."][ In the ICW, Christy won the ICW Heavyweight Championship from ]Randy Savage
Randy Mario Poffo (November 15, 1952 – May 20, 2011), better known by his ring name "Macho Man" Randy Savage, was an American professional wrestler and professional baseball player, best known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation ( ...
.[ Following his run with the ICW, he worked for ]Vince McMahon
Vincent Kennedy McMahon ( ; born August 24, 1945) is an American businessman and former professional wrestling promoter. McMahon, along with his later-estranged wife Linda McMahon, Linda, is a co-founder of the modern WWE, the world's largest ...
's 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, ...
as a jobber.[ Christy then semi-retired, working occasionally in Chicago as a villain.][
]
Personal life
Christy grew up around Chicago, Illinois
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
and attended Mt. Carmel Catholic High School after receiving a swimming scholarship.[ He then transferred to Harper High School and began ]amateur wrestling
Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced at Olympic Games, Olympic, Collegiate wrestling, collegiate, Scholastic wrestling, scholastic, and other levels. There are two international wrestling styles performed at the Olympic Games, fr ...
.[
Christy had retired and lived with his wife "Bunny Love" Burmeister in Three Rivers Michigan. He wrote a book detailing his wrestling career called ''The Many Faces of Paul Christy''.][
]
Championships and accomplishments
* International Championship Wrestling
:* ICW Heavyweight Championship ( 1 time)
:* ICW United States Heavyweight Championship ( 2 times, last)
*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 Southern Tag Team Championship (Gulf Coast version) ( 4 times) - with Ken Lucas
:*NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship
The NWA Gulf Coast Tag Team Championship was the main tag team championship in Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling or NWA Gulf Coast. The Gulf Coast tag team championship is the successor for GCCW's version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship ...
( 1 time) - with Ken Lucas
*World Wrestling Association
The World Wrestling Association (WWA) (Asociación Mundial de Lucha Libre in Spanish language, Spanish) is a lucha libre promotion based in the Tijuana-area of Mexico. It was founded in 1986 by Benjamin Mora Jr.. It featured some of Mexico's best ...
:* WWA World Tag Team Championship ( 3 times) - with Wilbur Snyder (1), Moose Cholak (1) and Roger Kirby (1)[
*]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 (2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...
)
References
External links
Online World of Wrestling profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christy, Paul
1939 births
2021 deaths
American male professional wrestlers
People from Three Rivers, Michigan
Professional wrestlers from Chicago
Writers from Chicago