“The Confederate Copperhead” J.T. Whiplash
HEIGHT & WEIGHT: 6’3″ & 243 lbs.
HOMETOWN: Paint Rock, Tennessee
ENTRANCE MUSIC: “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd
STYLE: Old-School/Southern Brawler/Death-Match
FIVE FAVORITE MOVES:
1. Southern Discomfort (Brainbuster onto a Steel Chair)
2. Don’t Tread On Me! (Confederate-Flag Assisted High Impact Russian Leg Sweep)
3. Rebel Rope-A-Dope (Boxing punch combo followed by a long wind-up and a STIFF straight right hook that sends opponents flying in the air.)
4. Copperhead Bite (Running Knee Lift to opponent’s head with knee-pad wrapped in barbed-wire)
5. The Whip-Cracker (Whips opponent off the ropes and hits a Rydeen Bomb onto industrial-sized thumbtacks) *ALWAYS a set-up move to The Rebel Yell*
FINISHER: The Rebel Yell
FINISHER DESCRIPTION: J.T. goes to the top rope, gives the fans a bull-horn sign and lets out a loud “REBEL YELL TIME!” before leaping off the top rope with a big splash onto his opponent, sometimes through a table. After he hits it, he usually holds his ribs for a brief moment before hooking the leg for the 3 count.
ENTRANCE: The lights go out as an image of a copperhead slithering down a dirt road airs on the REBEL-Tron as the bagpipe intro from “Copperhead Road” by Steve Earle begins to play with the snake slithering down the path. The snake then coils up in position to strike as the bagpipe intro ends and “Simple Man” by Lynyrd Skynyrd begins to play over the P.A. system as red, white, and blue lighting goes off throughout the arena. Just then, a spot-light shines on J.T. Whiplash in his wrestling attire, holding a Rebel flag as the fans erupt in cheers. J.T. then waves the Rebel flag in the air hollering as he does so. He then puts the flag over his shoulder as he makes his way to the ring slowly, tagging hands with as many fans as he can get to as he gets to the end of the ramp-way, pausing as he waves his Rebel flag around again before walking to the ring steps and sticking his Rebel flag in the ring post as he steps over the middle rope and climbs in
the ring, shouting and hollering for the fans to cheer as he climbs up each second turn-buckle and lets out a loud “YEEEEEEE-HAAAAAAWWW!!!” as he gives the crowd a bull-horn sign before he paces back and forth in the ring like a pissed-off hyena as he runs against the ropes a couple of times before going back to pacing as the music dies down.
BIO: Born James Tyrell on March 5th, 1960, the man who would later be known in the professional wrestling world as J.T. Whiplash was a star tight end and linebacker at Midway High School, earning a full-ride scholarship to the University of Tennessee as a tight end in 1978. J.T. played two years at the University of Tennessee before getting kicked off the team for being drunk in a bar and starting a major brawl at a night-club. J.T. then took a job as a bouncer at a local strip club in Knoxville where he met Professor Boris Malenko, who was training wrestlers in the Knoxville area at that time. J.T. spent the next year training, setting up the ring, selling concessions and gimmicks, and paying his dues before he started his wrestling career in the Knoxville territory for the next year as an underneath guy working as the son of Knoxville area legend Jack Whiplash. A year later, he was sent to the Kansas City territory for six-month stint followed by six-month runs in Florida, Texas, and Portland. In 1984, J.T. got his first serious run in Bill Watts’ Mid-South territory, spending two years there where he won the Television Title and worked several hour-long draw matches with NWA World Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair until he got fired for being too drunk to wrestle one night in Houma, Louisiana against Ted DiBiase. In 1986, he went to Jim Crockett Promotions for the next two years, winning their Television title on two different occasions as one of the company’s most popular draws thanks to his ability to talk fans into the seats and sell better beatings than anyone in the business, In 1988, J.T. was fired from Mid-Atlantic Wrestling for being passed out in the locker room before
the show one time too many. He was given a shot in World Class for the rest of 1988 and managed to pull himself together professionally long enough for a run as World Class World Heavyweight Champion. He then spent much of 1989 working in Memphis, feuding with Jerry “The King” Lawler before being hired by WCW in late 1989 as a mid-card enhancement talent. Again, J.T.’s personal demons got the better of him as in 1991, he showed up so pilled up he could barely stand at a house show in Knoxville, Tennessee. He then went to the USWA for the next two years, winning their heavyweight championship twice before going onto his most successful run in Smoky Mountain Wrestling from 1993-1995 as he won the TV Title twice and the Heavyweight Title twice as the company’s top draw along-side of the Rock ‘N Roll Express. Just before Smoky Mountain closed, J.T. signed a deal to work for the upstart ECW promotion where he was there until just after the company’s first PPV, winning the ECW Television Title briefly in 1996 as a heel. WCW then called him for a run in the summer of 1997 as enhancement-talent, but after only three weeks, Whiplash showed up in the infamous “no condition to perform” and was fired again from the company. Ever since then, J.T. has predominantly worked on small indy shows across the South in bars, flea markets, community centers, and high school gyms in the South where his name remains a huge draw to small promotions even with his personal problems. He even participated in a couple of IWA: Mid-South’s King Of The Death-Match tournaments and in one of CZW’s Cage Of Death shows back in 2005. During J.T.’s time away from the mainstream wrestling business, he sank deeper into his personal demons, abusing alcohol, marijuana, pills, and cocaine along with steroids periodically. His wife and kids have left him to his own vices as he tries to drown away his pain with drugs, alcohol, or women. But in recent years, J.T.’s career has had a bit of a late-career renaissance in REBEL Pro Wrestling, when his career hasn’t been side-tracked by drug and alcohol problems. In Whiplash’s first run, he won the Aggression Title and was fast becoming the company’s most beloved wrestler until he showed up at a show too drunk to wrestle. He went to rehab in 2010 and came back briefly, but another relapse sent him on the sidelines for an extended period of time. Finally, at 51 years old, knowing this just might be his last run at glory, the “Confederate Copperhead” and the “Pride of Paint Rock” is trying to put together his ravaged personal and professional life and give the loyal fans of REBEL Pro one final big run just to show that he still can.
APPEARANCE: In-Ring: Brown greasy neck-length hair with a REBEL Pro Wrestling T-Shirt with the sleeves ripped off, Confederate flag elbow and knee-pads wrapped in barbed-wire with matching tights and boots with Confederate flag kick-pads and matching MMA-style gloves with white wrist-tape.
Out-Of-Ring: Moonshine Workers of America or old Winston Cup Trucker Cap, Moonshine, Liquor, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Charlie Daniels Band, Hank Jr., or NASCAR T-Shirts with acid-washed blue jeans or camo jeans with Timberland work boots.
