Paul Jones – Wrestling Territory Star ‘No. 1’

Description

By the time the world got to see Paul Jones in the mid-1980s, he was a shell of his former self. Hobbled by back injuries, he couldn’t work in the ring anymore, but he was tight with NWA Mid-Atlantic promoter Jim Crockett, so Jones became a manager, leading his “Army” against “the Boogie Woogie Man” Jimmy Valiant. But it’s important to remember that Jones, whose real name was Paul Frederik, was also a standout wrestler in his day. First trained in his native Texas by Houston promoter Paul Boesch, Jones broke in with a stint underneath for Big Time Wrestling — the promotion that would eventually become World Class — and then in Nashville for notorious tightwad Nick Gulas. But then Jones found his footing, working in Florida for Eddie Graham as a young babyface.