Peter Stilsbury (born 4 February 1958) is an Australian former

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 ...

, best known for appearing 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, ...

as Outback Jack from 1986 to 1988. He portrayed a

northern Australia The unofficial geographic term Northern Australia includes those parts of Queensland and Western Australia north of latitude 26th parallel south, 26° and all of the Northern Territory. Those local government areas of Western Australia and Q ...

bushman The San peoples (also Saan), or Bushmen, are the members of any of the indigenous hunter-gatherer cultures of southern Africa, and the oldest surviving cultures of the region. They are thought to have diverged from other humans 100,000 to 200 ...

coming to

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

to compete in the WWF.

Professional wrestling career

Early career

Stilsbury started his career in Canada with

Stu Hart Stewart Edward Hart (May 3, 1915 – October 16, 2003) was a Canadian sport wrestling, amateur and professional wrestling, professional wrestler, wrestling Booker (professional wrestling), booker, professional wrestling promotion, promoter, and ...

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 ...

in November 1986. He was brought into the WWF that month in response to the mainstream popularity of the Australian film ''

Crocodile Dundee ''Crocodile Dundee'' is a 1986 action comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as the weathered Mick Dundee and American actress Linda Kozlowski as reporter Sue Charlton. Inspired by the true-life ex ...

''. Wearing an Australian bush jacket, he appeared in several vignettes hyping his debut by showing him in the wilds of the

Australian Outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass ...

—specifically, the

Northern Territory The Northern Territory (abbreviated as NT; known formally as the Northern Territory of Australia and informally as the Territory) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian internal territory in the central and central-northern regi ...

. In the vignettes, he drove a Jeep and drank beer with cows. In addition, as part of the storyline, he claimed to have learned survival skills from the Aborigines.

World Wrestling Federation (1986–1988)

Stilsbury, as Outback Jack, made his WWF debut in November 1986. His wins mainly came over jobbers such as Jose Estrada,

Steve Lombardi Steven Kenneth Lombardi (born April 18, 1961) is an American professional wrestler and road agent, better known by his ring name, the Brooklyn Brawler. He is currently signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he performs as an on-screen per ...

Barry O Randal Berry Orton (May 28, 1958 – March 19, 2021) was an American professional wrestler and actor. He was a son of professional wrestler Bob Orton, brother of professional wrestler Bob Orton Jr., and uncle of professional wrestler Randy Orton ...

Barry Horowitz Barry Horowitz (born March 24, 1959) is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, best known for his time in the WWE, World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Early life Horowitz attended Florida State University, where he studied spo ...

and

"Iron" Mike Sharpe Michael Sharpe (October 28, 1951 – January 17, 2016) was a Canadian professional wrestler better known as "Iron" Mike Sharpe. A second-generation wrestler whose father and uncle ( Mike and Ben Sharpe) also competed in the profession, Sharpe w ...

. However, Outback Jack also defeated well-known superstars such as

Nikolai Volkoff Josip Hrvoje Peruzović (October 14, 1947 – July 29, 2018), better known by his ring name Nikolai Volkoff, was a Croatian-Americans, Croatian-American professional wrestling, professional wrestler from Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, ...

and former

WWE Champion The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown brand ...

The Iron Sheik Hossein Khosrow Ali Vaziri (; March 15, 1942 – June 7, 2023), better known by his ring name the Iron Sheik, was an Iranian-American professional wrestler, amateur wrestler, and actor. To date he is the only Iranian-born champion in WWE histor ...

. Eventually, Stilsbury started becoming a jobber himself, losing matches to high-level superstars such as "Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase and

Rick Rude Richard Erwin Rood (December 7, 1958 – April 20, 1999), better known by his ring name "Ravishing" Rick Rude, was an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler who performed for many Professional wrestling promotion, promotions, incl ...

. Outback Jack feuded with

Frenchy Martin Jean Gagné (July 19, 1947 – October 21, 2016) was a French–Canadian professional wrestler and manager, best known under the ring name Frenchy Martin. During his World Wrestling Federation heyday in the 1980s as the manager of Canadian wrestle ...

, and the two had matches featured on May 4 and 25 1987 episodes of ''

WWF Prime Time Wrestling ''WWF Prime Time Wrestling'' was a professional wrestling television program that was produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). It aired on the USA Network from January 1, 1985, to January 4, 1993. A precursor to ''Monday Night Raw'', ''P ...

'', both of which Outback Jack won. During this time, he also feuded with

Killer Khan was a Japanese professional wrestler. Popularly known as Killer Khan, he was billed from Mongolia and had numerous high-profile matches with André the Giant in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) during the 1980s, including a high profile "M ...

. On 3 August episode of ''Prime Time Wrestling'', Outback Jack rescued

Tito Santana Merced Solis (born May 10, 1953), better known by the ring name Tito Santana, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler, Professional wrestling school, trainer, and retired school teacher. Solis has stayed a Face (profession ...

from an attack by Ron Bass, leading to a match between him and Bass later in the show, which Bass won. The pair continued to face each other into the following year. Outback Jack made one appearance on the interview segment ''The Snake Pit'' with

Jake "The Snake" Roberts Aurelian Smith Jr. (born May 30, 1955) better known by the ring name Jake "the Snake" Roberts, is an American actor, podcaster and retired professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs as the on-screen man ...

on 6 June. On 7 May 1988 episode of ''

WWF Superstars of Wrestling ''WWF Superstars of Wrestling'' (later shortened to ''WWF Superstars'' and to ''Sunday Morning Superstars''), also referred to as ''Maple Leaf Wrestling'' in Canada, was an American professional wrestling television program that was produced b ...

'', Outback Jack competed in his final televised match, teaming with

Brady Boone Dean Robert Peters (August 22, 1958 – December 15, 1998) was an American professional wrestler and referee. He performed with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Brady Boone and Battle Kat. Professional wrestling career Early ...

and

Steve Blackman Steve Blackman (born September 28, 1963) is an American martial arts instructor and former professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) from 1997 to 2002, where he was a frequent ...

in a loss to The Islanders; this was the only match in which The Islanders competed as a team of three, as they were joined by new Islander

Siva Afi Papali'itele Max Amata Taogaga (born 28 April 1949) is a Samoan retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) in the late-1980s under the ring name Siva Afi. Early life Max Taog ...

. On 15 May, Outback Jack wrestled his last match in

Kissimmee, Florida Kissimmee ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Osceola County, Florida, Osceola County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 79,226. It is a principal city of the Greater Orlando, O ...

, against

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 ...

. The outcome of his rematch with Valentine remains a mystery although Valentine had pinned him three days prior at the Columbus Municipal Auditorium. The WWF had

LJN LJN Toys Ltd. was an American toy company and video game publisher founded by Jack Friedman in 1967. MCA Inc. acquired the company in 1985, and sold to Acclaim Entertainment in 1990. The toy division of the company was closed by Acclaim and a m ...

Wrestling Superstars ''Wrestling Superstars'' were the first action figures based on the wrestlers of the World Wrestling Entertainment, WWF. Wrestling action figures were the brainchild of Richard Derwald of Buffalo NY who sold the idea to LJN in the summer of 1984. ...

create an Outback Jack action figure to be produced and distributed worldwide. His sudden departure from the WWF has led to him being described as "one of the most asked about people in the business".

Personal life

Stilsbury is blind in one eye due to a helicopter crash, and has limited vision in his other due to

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

Awards and accomplishments

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 ...

** PWI ranked him No. 371 of the top 400 wrestlers in

WWE 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, ...

history in 2003

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Outback Jack 1958 births 20th-century male professional wrestlers Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Australian male professional wrestlers Australian blind people American blind people Living people Professional wrestlers from Florida Sportsmen from Victoria (state) Stampede Wrestling alumni 20th-century Australian sportsmen