Barry Windham is an American wrestler who is mostly known for competing for National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) and World Championship Wrestling (WCW). He has participated in multiple championships and won various titles throughout his career. Barry is now retired, and allegedly owns a small business.
Early life, family, educational background
Barry Clinton Windham was born on 4 July 1960, in Sweetwater, Texas USA. His father was Robert Deroy Windham, also known as Blackjack Mulligan who was a famous wrestler who participated in multiple professional championships; he passed away in 2016. Barry’s mother is Julia Windham, but the details about her life and occupation remain unknown.
Windham has two siblings: Kendall and Stephanie Windham. Just like Barry and Robert, Kendall was a professional wrestler before retirement, and Stephanie is the spouse of Mike Rotunda, also a professional wrestler. Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas are Barry’s nephews, and they too are pursuing a wrestling career.
Barry supposedly went to East Mecklenburg High School. He doesn’t seem to have continued his studies at university, since he was always interested in wrestling. Having Blackjack Mulligan as an exemplary figure, he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps. Barry started training when he was 16, coached by Blackjack and Harley Race.
Career
Barry had his first match when he was only 19 years old, against J.J. Dillion in San Angelo, Texas. He spent his early career wrestling with NWA, participating in multiple Florida championships.
“The U.S. Express” tag team with Mike Rotunda
In 1984, he formed a tag team with his brother-in-law, Mike Rotunda, which led to significant success for both wrestlers. In the October of the same year, Rotunda and Windham were noticed and signed by World Wrestling Federation (WWF) – they called the tag team The U.S. Express, and competed against other successful tag teams, such as “North South Connection”, “The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff”, and “Dream Team”. “The U.S. Express” took part in several “WWF Tag Team Championships”, displaying unmatched skills and technique during each match.
https://twitter.com/WrestlingIsKing/status/1263813216834068482
Rotunda and Windham departed from WWF in 1985 and joined American Wrestling Association (AWA) in 1986. From 1986 to 1987, Barry worked in NWA’s Championship Wrestling from Florida, during which he had one of the most significant feuds in his wrestling career. He participated in the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and wrestled against Ric Flair, and also competed against Ron Bass for the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship.
NWA’s Jim Crocket Promotions (JCP)
“The U.S. Express” was broken up during the late 1980s – Windham started working for JCP, but later formed another tag team, this time partnered with Ron Garvin. The team competed against Ivan Koloff and Khrusher Khruschev, and The Midnight Express. Regardless of achieving notable success, the newly formed tag team split up, and Windham next partnered with Lex Luger, but the latter left the team quite quickly to join up with the Four Horsemen.
In 1987, Barry had another legendary encounter with Ric Flair in which he was defeated. At this point in his career he mainly competed alone, winning the NWA Western States Heritage Championship. He was recognized by Universal Wrestling Federation (UWF), but returned to JCP after being defeated by Dr. Death – Steve Williams.
In 1988, Barry eventually teamed up with Ric Flair and the “Four Horsemen” – to join the stable, he had turned his back on Luger, which was a scandalous event at the time. During this period, he started honoring his father by using the clawhold technique as his finisher. After returning to the championships as a single wrestler, he won the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship, and held the title for over nine months.
Between 1990 and 1993, Barry worked with WCW, returned to the “Four Horsemen”, formed a tag team with Dustin Rhodes, but broke up that partnership and teamed up with Brian Pillman, meantime participating in multiple professional championships.
NWA, WWF, and WCW
In 1993, Barry won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, and defended the title against Arn Anderson and 2 Cold Scorpio, but dropped it to Ric Flair during the Beach Blast. This match was traumatizing for him as he hurt his knees, and had to stay away from the wrestling scene for about a year.
Windham returned to the WWF in 1996, and created a mysterious persona The Stalker. This character was short-lived, since Barry’s identity was soon revealed – he appeared as The Stalker in a single pay-per-view gimmick, but he was eliminated shortly afterwards.
Can't be #4thofJuly w/o wishing a #HappyBirthday to a legend of the #NWAFam: BARRY WINDHAM.
Former World Champion, 4 Horsemen, Son of a Blackjack, Uncle of @WWEBrayWyatt & @TheBoDallas… Come on. Ya'll know who Barry Windham is… Take a moment to remember the legacy. pic.twitter.com/1emlBsNKHz
— NWA (@nwa) July 5, 2021
To honor the tag team of his father, in December 1996, Windham formed The New Blackjacks with Justin Bradshaw; even though the team participated in multiple World Tag championships, they didn’t achieve any significant success.
Windham broke up the partnership with Justin and returned to the WCW, creating a tag team with Curt Hennig and winning the “WCW World Tag Team Championship”, but injuring his knee once again.
In 1999, he joined up with his brother Kendall Windham, winning the final WCW World Tag Team Championship against “Harlem Heat”. However, the brothers were released by WCW shortly after losing the title.
Final years of the career
One of the last wrestling appearances for Barry was at Major League Wrestling’s War Games with Mike Rotunda in 2005. During 2007 and 2008, Windham worked as a producer for WWE.
His final wrestling match was in 2010, for American Combat Wrestling. In 2012, he participated in the WWE Hall of Fame along with his former partners in the “Four Horsemen”.
Personal life
Even though Barry keeps much of his personal life private, it’s a widely known fact that he married Kebra Hart during the 1990s, but the couple divorced in 2004, and It’s unclear whether Barry has had any other relationships after the divorce.
The couple has two children together: Callan Windham and Abbie Belle Windham. Barry’s kids lead a private lifestyle, refusing to reveal details of their personal lives.
In the October of 2011, Robert Windham posted that Barry suffered a stroke and was in the intensive care unit ‘near death’. Even though Barry denies having a stroke, it’s widely believed that he has serious health problems.
Hobbies, favorite things, and interesting facts
As a professional wrestler, Barry always loved working out at the gym. Even since retiring, he allegedly works out in the gym whenever he can. He loves traveling and has visited multiple states and countries. Barry seems to have chosen a calm lifestyle after retirement, and lives in Homerville, Georgia.
Appearance, clothing style
Barry is currently in his early 60s, and as a result, he has grey hair – most recent pictures show him with long grey hair, a grey mustache and a beard. Barry’s height is 6ft 6in (198cm); his billed weight was 275lb (125kgs), but it’s unknown how much he weighs at the moment. Outside the ring, he seems to prefer wearing casual clothes.
Net worth and salary
As of mid-2022, Barry Windham’s estimated net worth is approximately $700,000. Allegedly, his annual salary amounts to around $400,000 since he earns about $32,000 a month. He has accumulated his wealth throughout his wrestling career; there’s no evidence of any other sources of income at the moment.
