Profile of Sylvester Ritter on Famous Like Me

Sylvester Ritter (December 13, 1953 - June 2, 1998) was a professional wrestler best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation as Junkyard Dog.

Career

JYD, as he was also known, was one of the most popular wrestlers of the 1980s and 1990s. He often brought kids into the ring after his matches during his WWF days. In the Mid-South, his entrance music was "Another One Bites The Dust" by Queen. Later, his entrance music was "Atomic Dog" by P. Funker George Clinton. Even later, his entrance song was "Grab Them Cakes" (about buttocks-fondling) sung by himself and disco legend Vicki Sue Robinson. His wresting tights had the word "thump" on the backside. The character of Jerome "Chef" McElroy on the animated series South Park is based somewhat on him.

He feuded with many heels in the Mid-South region such as Hacksaw Butch Reed who was later "The Natural" Butch Reed in the WWF.

He had an Intercontinental Title bout at Wrestlemania I against Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, which he won by count-out.

JYD had a brief run in WCW where he feuded with Ric Flair and won the Six-Man Tag Team Championship with Ricky Morton and Tommy Rich.

JYD died June 2, 1998, in a single-car accident on Interstate 20 near Forest, Mississippi as he was returning home from his daughter Latoya's high school graduation in Wadesboro, North Carolina. The apparent cause was that he fell asleep at the wheel. In 2004, Latoya Ritter represented her late father as he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame at Wrestlemania XX.

JYD was recently announced as being a legend in the upcoming WWE game WWE SmackDown! vs. RAW 2006

Profile

• Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
• Weight: 285 lbs
• Hometown: Charlotte, North Carolina
• Trained by: Sonny King
• Debut: 1978
• Previous identities: Junkyard Dog, JYD, Stagger Lee, Leroy Rochester, Big Daddy Ritter
• Manager(s): J.R. Foley

Finishing and signature moves

• Thump
• Dog antics (Biting, on all fours, lifting the leg up to pee)

Championships and accomplishments

National Wrestling Alliance

• NWA Bunkhouse Stampede Winner (1988)

World Championship Wrestling

• 1-time WCW World Six-Man Tag-Team Champion (with Ricky Morton & Tommy Rich)

Mid-South Wrestling

• 3-time Mid-South Louisiana Heavyweight Champion
• 8-time Mid-South Tag-Team Champion (with Buck Robley once, Terry Orndorff once, Killer Kox once, Dick Murdoch 3 times, Mike George once and Jerry Stubbs once)
• 4-time Mid-South North American Heavyweight Champion

United States Wrestling Association

• 1-time USWA Heavyweight Champion

Other Titles

• 2-time Calgary Stampede North American Heavyweight Champion
• 1-time Mid-American Tag Team Champion (with Gypsy Joe)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked him # 51 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003.
• JYD won the PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler Award in 1980.

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Sylvester Ritter