Giant Warrior

[Giant Warrior GALLERY]

Title History

  • NWA Latin American title defeating Bronco 1 (Santa Domingo, Dominican Republic)
  • CWA World title defeating Danie Voges in a Tournament Final (Johannesburg, South Africa)
  • NWA Indo-Asian Heavyweight title defeating The Barbarian (Bombay, India)
  • PWF World title defeating Barry Evans (Harlingen, Texas)
  • CWA World title defeating Lance Von Erich (Capetown, South Africa)
  • TWA Heavyweight title defeating Venom (San Antonio, Texas)
  • CCC Cup winner defeating Rambo (Hannover, Germany)
  • CWA Cup winner defeating Ulf Herman (Bremen, Germany)
  • ACW World title defeating Karsten Kretchmer (Weinheim, Germany)
  • WAW title defeating P.N. News (Cannonball Grizzly) (Norwich, England)
  • ACW Tag Team titles w/ Robb Harper defeated Michel Kovac & Eric Schwartz (Weinheim, Germany)
  • PCW (Professional Championship Wrestling) Television title defeating Jiggle-O James Johnson (Dallas, Texas)

Career Highlights

The Early Years:

  • 1986 Left playing professional basketball in Leuven, Belgium to train to wrestle under fellow Texans, Dick Murdoch & Dory Funk Jr.
  • April 4, 1987- NWA: Made debut in Macon, Georgia with NWA with Jim Crockett, defeating Ricky Lee Jones.
  • 1987 Began wrestling in Outlaw (now called Indy) promotions throughout the Southern USA.
  • July 1988 – CMLL: Wrestled in Mexico as Butch Masters working in tag matches with Fabulous Blonde, Ken Timbs. Butch Master worked with many legendary Mexican wrestlers including Mil Mascaras, Atlantis, Lizmark, and Rayo de Jalisco, Jr.
  • December 1988 – CMLL: Butch Masters received a compound fracture of his left forearm and was unable to wrestle for several months.
  • February 1989- Butch Master travelled with Lord Littlebrook and his band of merry “little people,” doing independent shows

Breakout Years:

  • 1990 – Butch Masters was introduced to Nitron while working an independent show in Oklahoma, where they decided to form a team.
  • 1990- Butch Masters moved to Puerto Rico to work for Carlos Colon, who gave him the name Giant Warrior.
  • November 1990 -Nitron and Butch Masters tagged together for the All-Japan yearly tag tournament, working with Andre the Giant, Giant Baba, the Funks, Dynamite Kid, Dr. Death Steve Williams, Stan Hanson, Terry Gordy, Johnny Ace and several of the Japanese stars.
  • February 1991- Returned for another tour of Japan
  • 1991- Giant Warrior worked in Puerto Rico for the majority of the year and was the first American to never turn heel in WWC.
  • May 1991- UWA: Giant Warrior started a 2- year feud with another Mexican legend, El Canek. After a title match for a crowd of 26,000 with Canek in Mexico City, a fan stabbed him in the stomach.
  • October 1991- Giant Warrior formed a two-year tag team with Rodney Anoai, then wrestling as Kokina (later Yokozuna for WWF).
  • 1992- All Star Wrestling: First tour of South Africa for Paul Lloyd’s All Star Wrestling. Giant Warrior began his long-standing feud with Danie Voges, causing a riot their first match in Cape Town. A South African wrestling legend was born!
  • 1992- Wrestled primarily in Mexico and South Africa. Giant Warrior developed legendary feuds with Danie Brits, Danie Voges, and Lance Von Erich during this time.
  • 1993- Giant Warrior wrestled again for All-Japan, continued wrestling in South Africa, and continued to work with a strong core of wrestlers with Mexico’s UWA including: Kokina (Yokozuna), Samoan Swat Team (Samu and Rikishi), Chris Benoit , Owen Hart, Bad News Allen, and Andre the Giant, to name a few.
  • 1993 WWF- Wrestled for the World Wrestling Federation in Arizona.
  • 1993 Giant Warrior and Barbarian drew the largest crowd in Indian wrestling history in Bombay (Mumbai). Giant Warrior defeated Barbarian for the NWA Indo- Asian title in front of a crowd of 75,000.

South African Years:

  • 1993-1995- ASW: Giant Warrior’s two-year reign as CWA World Champion.
  • 1994-1998- ASW: Giant Warrior moved to Johannesburg and wrestled all over the southern half of Africa including: Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, Malawi.
  • 1994-ASW: Giant Warrior and Lance Von Erich were the main event at the legendary Sun City show. Giant Warrior and Lance Von Erich had a double DQ.
  • 1994- ASW: Giant Warrior’s feud with Danie Voges caused a fan in Cape Town to stab him.
  • 1995- UWF: Giant Warrior began the most heated feud in his career with Gama Singh. The feud was so heated that fans in Durban filled the ring with chairs, the riot squad was brought in, and one crazed fan stabbed him in the chest. Gama and Giant Warrior wrestled in Durban 15 times, 11 of which Giant Warrior needed a police escort out of the building.
  • 1996- ASW:Giant Warrior was again the main event at Sun City.
  • 1996-1997- ASW: Giant Warrior’s one-year reign as CWA World Champion.
  • 1997 WWF- Wrestled for WWF’s tour of South Africa in the Johannesburg Athletic Stadium.
  • 1998-ASW: Began working as Big Tiger Steele. Tiger Steele was the first wrestler to use a valet in South Africa; however, he has later said that he regrets using the girl who was his valet, since she was not his first choice.

Tiger Steele:

  • January 1999Tiger Steele began traveling to the Middle East and working on small Texas promotions.
  • May 1999 Tiger Steele began Shawn Michaels’ Texas Wrestling Alliance.
  • August 1999 Tiger Steele returned to Japan to wrestle for FMW.
  • Fall 1999- CWA: Tiger Steele began working in Germany for Otto Wanz and CCC.
  • November 1999- CCC: Tiger Steele became the CCC Cup winner defeating Rambo in Hannover, Germany.
  • December 1999- CWA: Tiger Steele became the last CWA Cup winner defeating Ulf Herman in Bremen, Germany.
  • 2000- AAA: Tiger Steele had a feud with Cibernetico in Mexico.
  • 2000- Tiger Steele continued to work for TWA and also began working Saudi Arabia. Tiger Steele began working on tours with his ex-tag team partner Kokina, who had become Yokozuna. Yokozuna and Tiger Steele went to England together to work for Brian Dixon’s All Star Promotion. It was on this tour that Yokozuna was found dead in his hotel room in Liverpool; Tiger Steele was instrumental in getting his body back to the United States.
  • 2001- Tiger Steele spent 9 months wrestling in UK and Germany, working for several promotions throughout Europe.
  • December 2001- ACW: Tiger Steele won the ACW World Title defeating Karsten Kretchmer in Weinheim, Germany.
  • February 2002- NWA Southwest: Tiger Steele began wrestling for NWA in Dallas.
  • 2002-2004- ACW: Tiger Steele continued to wrestle in the United Kingdom and Germany.

Colossus the Gladiator:

  • 2004- Debuted Colossus the Gladiator in European and Saudi Arabian tours.
  • March 2004- Colossus the Gladiator and Robb Harper became ACW World Tag Team Champions in Wienheim, Germany.
  • August 2004- Back surgery left Colossus unable to wrestle for over a year.
  • November 2005- December 2005- UWF: Returned to South Africa to tour for Mano Singh’s Universal Wrestling Federation in Cape Town, Durban, and Johannesburg. The tour of legendary wrestling superstars, “World Wrestling Superstars Live” included one of the most star-studded rosters South Africa has seen including: Kevin Nash, Rikishi, The Steiner Brothers, Test, Sean O’Haire, O.D.B., Taylor Wilde, and Powers of Pain, to name a few. Colossus the Gladiator re-ignited his long-standing feud with Gama Singh on this tour.

Professional Championship Wrestling – Colossus:

Return of Giant Warrior:

  • Jeff Bearden returned to wrestling as “Giant Warrior” in South Africa..
  • March 31, 2009- UWE: Made return as Giant Warrior in Queretaro, Mexico for El Toreo, Requiem por una Era, a “legends” tour of Mexico. Giant Warrior returned to challenge Canek for the decision reversed by the referee in 1991, Giant Warrior’s “Mexico City Screwjob,” reigniting his feud with Canek. Giant Warrior tagged with Dr.Wagner to defeat Canek and Villiano IV.
  • April 4, 2009- UWE: Tagged with Dr. Wagner and Scorpio, Jr. at Cortijo Arena in Mexico City to defeat Canek, Mil Mascaras, and Dos Caras.
  • August 15, 2009- X-LAW: Tagged with Relampago, Epidemia, Heavyboy, Bunker, and Konami in Arena Lopez Mateos in Mexico City to defeat Triton the Titan, Catman, Serval, Black Soul, Titanik, and Fantasma de la Opera.
  • January 11, 2010 Giant Warrior’s return to Mexico was voted “Surprise of the Year” by Super Luchas magazine.
  • January 2010 Miss Hilton began managing Giant Warrior as part of her Hilton Exchange, deciding to take him back to South Africa to conquer the country together.
  • January 27, 2010 Giant Warrior made his return to Johannesburg to wrestle in South Africa, the only country violent enough to suit his personality.
  • January 29, 2010- APWA: Ananzi Pro-Wrestling announced the return of Giant Warrior and presented him to the South African public, accompanied by his manager, Miss Hilton.
  • January 31, 2010- WWP: Accompanied by Miss Hilton; defeated Jason Steele with Warrior’s Wings in Boksburg.
  • March 2010 Began training students at the Ananzi Pro-Wrestling Academy in Johannesburg.
  • March 27,2010- SAPW: Accompanied by Miss Hilton; defeated Mr. Wrestling with Warrior’s Wings in Brakpan.
  • March 30, 2010- AWF: Double DQ against Shaun Koen in Cape Town at Parow Civic Center.
  • April 3, 2010- SAPW: Accompanied by Miss Hilton; defeated Boer Seun with Warrior’s Wings in Pretoria.

 

Updated:

Trained By

Dory Funk Jr.
Dick Murdoch

Debut

April 4, 1987 (Macon, GA)

Birthday

June 10, 1963

Hometown

Amarillo, Texas
Moved to Johannesburg, South Africa

Gender

Height

7'0"

Weight

350 lbs

Finishing Move(s)

The Conqueror (Colosus)
Warrior's Wings

Favorite Move(s)

Leg Drop
2nd Rope Splash
Mile-High Spinebuster

Notable Feuds

Abdullah the Butcher
Scott Hall
Dick Murdoch
Danie Voges
Danie Brits
Lance Von Erich
Gama Singh
The Barbarian
Venom (Paul Diamond)
El Canek
Cibernetico
Ulf Hermann
Viktor Kruger
Lance Hoyt
Mike Foxx
Mace Malone

Status