Legendary Wrestler And Manager Paul Jones Passes Away At Age 75
In the same week as one of the biggest babyfaces of the 70s passed away, Bruno Sammartino, one of the biggest heels of the 70s has passed away as well.
Popularly known for his villainous faction that terrorized the NWA Mid-Atlantic territory, Paul Jones has died at the age of 75.
Trained by legendary promoter Paul Boesch, Paul Frederik debuted as Paul Jones in the early 1960s, and competed in promotions all over the country, as well as toured other countries such as Japan, Canada, and Australia.
In the 1970s, Jones began to grow popularity while competing for Mid-Atlantic Championship wrestling, commencing singles and tag-team feuds with names such as Ric Flair, Ricky Steamboat, and Jay Youngblood, among many others.
In 1982, Jones transitioned into being a heel manager, leading the Paul Jones' Army stable to continue his heated feud with Jimmy Valiant. This stable was instrumental in developing names such as Rick Rude, The Barbarian, The Warlord, and Manny Fernandez, as well as promote established names such as "Superstar" Billy Graham, Ivan Koloff, Baron von Raschke and Abdullah the Butcher.
Jones retired from wrestling in 1991 after 30 years in the business. Jones will be fondly remembered as being a contribution to the success of many wrestlers over his 30-year career.
It is with great sadness that we learned this afternoon of the passing of Paul Jones. He was part of our childhood growing up watching Mid-Atlantic Wrestling and had become our friend. We send condolences to his son Paul Jr. and all of Paul's friends and family. Rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/limS7qVQzW
? Mid-Atlantic Gateway (@magateway) April 19, 2018
Roger Scheu, Paul Henderson, Bryan Gilbert, Brendan Daley and Sean whalen contributed to this article.