Austin Idol

"Austin Idol was a very charismatic local star during the territory days. One of the features of that era was that wrestlers could move on to another territory before the crowd got bored with limited or uninspired ringwork. Idol came to Georgia in 1979 as a heel, winning the National TV title and feuding with forgettable locals like Ray Candy, Steve Travis, and Kevin Sullivan, who prior to his satanic gimmick was misfiled somewhere between Steve Keirn and Steve Olsonowski in the rolodex of solid but unspectacular workers. Idol wasn't going to turn any of those guys into main eventers, but his charisma made the feuds more interesting. In late 1980, Idol turned babyface, coming to the aid of former rival Kevin Sullivan in a battle against the newly arrived Freebirds. This gave Idol an opportunity for great mic spots like the memorable "four flat tires" interview with Gordon Solie and Michael Hayes, which may well have been the greatest non-wrestling highlight for Georgia Championship Wrestling in 1980. Unfortunately Idol quickly moved on and his appearances in major promotions became few and far between. Idol, like Tommy Rich, continued to get considerable coverage in markazines. Ironically both ended up working a lot in Memphis, partnering or feuding with Jerry Lawler depending on what was needed. In the late eighties, Idol made a couple of trips to All Japan where one can view his ringwork without the benefit of his charismatic micwork and crazy angles. He comes across as just another solid local star who isn't very inspiring. Obviously the name stuck with me and inspired my "handle" here. I wish there were more great Idol matches to recommend. There is a house show from Columbus, Georgia against Tommy Rich that is probably a fair sample of Idol at his working prime, using his heel charisma against another local main event star with plenty of babyface charisma. You can watch that match and imagine Idol having very good, but not great matches with Bob Backlund at Madison Square Garden and the Spectrum, or with Rick Martel at the St. Paul Civic Center. Idol did challenge Ric Flair for the NWA world title on several occasions, but those matches in Dothan, Mobile, and Birmingham probably looked a lot like the Rich match from Columbus, playing to a local crowd with more style than substance."

[9.0] "Changed his style very early on, after he was in that plane crash in Florida. He started focusing more on character work and doing more of the Superstar Graham esque stuff. Either way he could cut a promo like it was nobodies business, especially during his time in Memphis (where I know him from). He got in some of the best physical shape someone could get in after the plane crash and again used the Billy Graham pattern to play that off. He also was so good at being that flamboyant prima donna that it made you wanna rough him up."

"Truly one of the highlights of NWA nowadays, no rating since he normally works as a manager but i'm a fan of his work nonetheless"

[10.0] "I thought he was excellent! Great at everything. Promos, moves and character. Greta heel! His best was in the Southeast. In the 1980's he was excellent in CWA where he feuded with Jerry Lawler."

[8.0] "not quite enough to main event a national promotion but clearly a main event player at a territory level. much more effective as a heel. i guess he hated long road trips which is why he intentionally didnt go to a national promotion."

[9.0] "Idol had it all. Looks, charisma, mouth... he was the perfect wrestler. I believe he was overshadowed by the likes of Ric Flair, Michael Hayes, and other "Blonde Bombshells" in professional wrestling. He was very athletic, had great acting ability and was able to use a microphone well. Live - he could entice a crowd like no one else. I give him a 9 just because he was never able to really hit the big-time but, very underrated. his feuds with Lawler are classic."

[7.0] "Great on the mic and did all the "little things" well - Idol is one of the best heels I have seen in the ring. Unfortunately, he wasn't a great in-ring worker."

[7.0] "Austin Idol is a great example of an underrated worker."