American professional wrestler (1939?2020)
Bob Armstrong
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Bob_Armstrong%2C_circa_1982.png) |
Birth name
| Joseph Melton James
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Born
| (
1939-10-03
)
October 3, 1939
Marietta, Georgia
, U.S.
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Died
| August 27, 2020
(2020-08-27)
(aged 80)
Pensacola, Florida
, U.S.
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Ring name(s)
| Alabama Jaw Jacker
Bob Armstrong
Georgia Jaw Cracker
Jim Durango
Bullet
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Billed height
| 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
[1]
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Billed weight
| 227 lb (103 kg)
[1]
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Debut
| 1960
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Retired
| May 11, 2019
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Joseph Melton James
(October 3, 1939 ? August 27, 2020) was an American
professional wrestler
, better known by his
ring name
,
"Bullet" Bob Armstrong
. In the course of his career, which spanned five decades, Armstrong held numerous
championships
throughout the
Southeastern United States
. His four sons,
Joseph Scott
,
Robert Bradley
,
Steve
and
Brian Girard
, all became wrestlers.
Early life
[
edit
]
Joseph Melton James was born in
Marietta, Georgia
on October 3, 1939.
[2]
[1]
When he was a child, Joseph James's father took him to see
Gorgeous George
wrestle. The young James was impressed and intrigued by the flamboyant performer. As a young man, James served in the
United States Marine Corps
in the early 1960s and was stationed in
Korea
. During his
recruit training
in
Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island
on
Parris Island, South Carolina
, James was named Honor Man. After leaving the military, he began working for the Fair Oaks (later Cobb County) Fire Department as a
firefighter
in 1962.
Professional wrestling career
[
edit
]
Career (1960?1988)
[
edit
]
He debuted as a wrestler in 1960, adopting the ring name "Bob Armstrong". By 1966, Armstrong had become a popular
face
in the
Savannah, Georgia
area, and in 1970 he ceased working as a firefighter and began focusing on his wrestling career.
Armstrong achieved considerable popularity in the Southeastern United States, particularly in
Alabama
and his home state of
Georgia
. He frequently wrestled for affiliates of the
National Wrestling Alliance
, and on October 9, 1974, in
Miami Beach, Florida
, Armstrong unsuccessfully challenged
Jack Brisco
for the
NWA World Heavyweight Championship
. While
bench pressing
a
dumbbell
weighing upwards of 180 lb (82 kg) in a
gym
in Georgia, the bench that Armstrong was lying upon broke, leading to the weight falling on his face. Armstrong's face was severely damaged and his nose was torn entirely off, and he required $38,000
USD
worth of
plastic surgery
to repair it. While undergoing surgery, Armstrong donned a
wrestling mask
to conceal his disfigured features and began using the ring name "The Bullet". As "The Bullet", Armstrong
feuded
with the
Stud Stable
in
Continental Championship Wrestling
. He eventually discarded the mask after his surgeries were complete, but retained the nickname "Bullet" for the remainder of his career until retiring in 1988. Armstrong trained each of his sons to wrestle, and formed
tag teams
with them in the 1980s and 1990s. In the course of his career, he toured both
Japan
and Korea.
Later career
[
edit
]
Semi-retirement (1992?1997, 2001)
[
edit
]
Armstrong went into semi-retirement in 1988. In addition to making occasional appearance on the
independent circuit
in Georgia and Alabama, Armstrong acted as the
commissioner
of
Smoky Mountain Wrestling
and worked backstage with Southeast Championship Wrestling and the Continental Wrestling Federation. He came out of retirement and wrestled for
Smokey Mountain Wrestling
between 1992 and 1995 when the promotion closed its doors down. In 1995 he made a few appearances in the
United States Wrestling Association
. On April 27, 1996, he teamed with his son
Brad
to defeat
Bunkhouse Buck
and
Lord Steven Regal
at a
World Championship Wrestling
house show in Canton, Georgia. He lost to
Ken Lucas
at a Robert Gibson Promotion event in Mobile, Alabama, on February 22, 1997. Afterwards, he retired once again and did not wrestle for a few years.
On December 12, 2001, he teamed with
Dusty Rhodes
and
Larry Zbyszko
to defeat
Barry Windham
,
Ron Reis
and
Steve Lawler
at
Turnbuckle Championship Wrestling
.
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2002?2008)
[
edit
]
Armstrong appeared on the first weekly
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
pay-per-view
on June 26, 2002, alongside fellow
National Wrestling Alliance
veterans
Corsica Joe
,
Dory Funk, Jr.
,
Harley Race
,
Jackie Fargo
and Sarah Lee. His next appearance was on the August 14, 2002 pay-per-view, where he was introduced as an on-screen authority figure and informed
Jeff Jarrett
that he would face a mystery opponent one week later. The mystery opponent was revealed to be "The Masked Bullet", a masked wrestler who imitated Armstrong's mannerisms (although Armstrong himself came to the ringside during the match, proving that he was not the Bullet). On the August 28, 2002 pay-per-view, Jarrett fought the Bullet to a no contest before striking Armstrong with a chair. On the September 18, 2002 pay-per-view, the Bullet unmasked, revealing himself to be Armstrong's youngest son
Brian Gerard James
, who would subsequently go by "B.G. James" in TNA. On December 5, 2005, Armstrong underwent
arthroscopic
knee surgery. Despite being advised to refrain from wrestling until March 2006, Armstrong resumed wrestling later that month.
On the December 3, 2005 episode of
Impact!
, Armstrong returned to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, congratulating the newly formed
Four Live Kru
on their unity. However, at
Turning Point
on December 11, 2005, the Four Live Kru disintegrated, with
Konnan
betraying fellow members
Kip
and
B.G. James
. Armstrong declared that he would reunite the Kru and unsuccessfully petitioned the fourth former member,
Ron Killings
, to that effect on the December 24, episode of
Impact!
. One week later, Armstrong tried once more to reform the group, this time approaching Konnan. Apparently willing to negotiate, Konnan led Armstrong backstage, only for Armstrong to be ambushed and beaten down by Konnan's newly formed
stable
,
the Latin American Xchange
(LAX). Footage from Armstrong's knee surgery earlier that month aired on
iMPACT!
in January 2006, with the
kayfabe
explanation that the assault at the hands of the LAX had necessitated the surgical repair of Armstrong's knee.
Armstrong (left) with his son
Scott
(bottom) and
Mr. Wrestling II
at a 2007 show
At
Against All Odds
on February 12, 2006, Kip and B.G. James (
The James Gang
) faced the Latin American Exchange, with B.G. intent upon avenging the harm done to his "daddy". The James Gang was victorious, but ambushed by the LAX after the match. They were saved when the returning Bob Armstrong entered the ring and chased LAX away. The confrontation led to a six-man bout between LAX and Armstrong and The James Gang at
Destination X
on March 12, which was won by Kip James. Despite the two consecutive victories, Armstrong remained hungry for revenge, and challenged Konnan to an
arm wrestling
contest on the April 8
Impact!
. The contest did not finish due to interference from Homicide and the newest LAX member,
Hernandez
, who had been sent to the locker room prior. The James Gang (also sent backstage) ran in to help Armstrong. This led to a rematch at
Lockdown
on April 23, in which Armstrong scored the pin.
On the January 18, 2008 episode of
Impact!
, B.G. chose Armstrong as his tag team partner for his Feast or Fired Tag Title shot. The two lost the championship match. This was his final appearance with TNA.
Final years (2009?2019)
[
edit
]
A retirement show was held on May 29, 2009, at
The Dothan Civic Center
where many past stars came out to honor Armstrong before his match in the main event. In 2010, Bob returned to the ring at the "GOTJ 2010" event, where he defeated former rival "Cowboy"
Bob Orton Jr.
From 2010 to 2015, Armstrong worked occasional matches around Georgia, mainly working for promotions such as All Pro Wrestling, Superstars Of Wrestling and Combat Sport Pro. Armstrong wrestled his last match on May 11, 2019, for Continental Championship Wrestling in Dothan, Alabama, where he defeated The Assassin.
[3]
Death
[
edit
]
In March 2020, Armstrong was diagnosed with bone cancer in his ribs, shoulder, and prostate, he refused treatment as he knew the cancer was terminal.
[4]
He died from complications of bone cancer on August 27, 2020, at the age of 80.
[5]
Championships and accomplishments
[
edit
]
1
Title was awarded to them sometime in 2005 though the records are unclear as to the exact date and which promotion they wrestled in at the time.
See also
[
edit
]
List of oldest surviving professional wrestlers
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
"OWOW profile"
.
Archived
from the original on June 22, 2020.
- ^
"WWE Hall of Fame Inductees"
. WWE
. Retrieved
March 1,
2011
.
- ^
"GWH News and Notes: Continental Championship Wrestling Results from Dothan on May 11"
. May 14, 2019.
- ^
McGeorge, Alistair (March 26, 2020).
"WWE legend Bob Armstrong battling cancer and refused treatment for illness"
.
Metro
. Retrieved
June 17,
2021
.
- ^
Linder, Brian (August 28, 2020).
"WWE Hall of Famer dies after bout with bone cancer"
.
PennLive.com
. Patriot-News
. Retrieved
September 2,
2020
.
- ^
NWA Southern Heavyweight Title (Florida) history
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
"Elite Championship Wrestling - FL on Facebook"
.
Facebook
. Archived from
the original
on April 27, 2022.
[
user-generated source
]
- ^
Columbus Heavyweight Title history
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
Columbus Tag Team Title history
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
NWA Georgia Tag Team Title history
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
NWA Georgia Television Title history
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
Macon Heavyweight Title history
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
Macon Tag Team Title history
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
NWA National Tag Team Title history
Archived
2007-12-18 at the
Wayback Machine
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
NWA Southern Heavyweight Title (Georgia) history
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
NWA Southeastern Tag Team Title (Georgia) history
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Title history
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
NWA/AWA Southern Heavyweight Title history
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
North American Heavyweight Title (Mid-South) history
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
"Pro Wrestling Illustrated Top 500 - 1995"
. Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from
the original
on June 7, 2008
. Retrieved
July 14,
2008
.
- ^
"Pro Wrestling Illustrated's Top 500 Wrestlers of the PWI Years"
. Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from
the original
on July 7, 2011
. Retrieved
September 15,
2010
.
- ^
CWF Tag Team Title history
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
NWA Alabama Heavyweight Title history
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
NWA Southeast Continental Heavyweight Title history
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
"NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title (Southeastern/Continental) history"
. wrestling-titles.
- ^
"NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Title (Southern Division) history"
. wrestling-titles.
- ^
NWA Southeastern 6-Man Tag Team Title history
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
NWA Southeastern Tag Team Title history
At wrestling-titles.com
- ^
"NWA Southeastern Tag Team Title (Southern Division) history"
. wrestling-titles.
- ^
"NWA Southeastern Television Title (Southern Division) history"
. wrestling-titles.
- ^
a
b
Royal Duncan & Gary Will (2000).
Wrestling Title Histories
(4th ed.). Archeus Communications.
ISBN
0-9698161-5-4
.
- ^
"Bob Armstrong"
.
WWE
. Retrieved
August 28,
2020
.
External links
[
edit
]
Armstrong wrestling family
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First generation
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Second generation
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International
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National
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Other
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