Remember Your Classic Wrestlers: Magnum TA

America's Heart-Throb
Photo Credit: Online World of Wrestling

Who?: Magnum TA
Promotions: Mid-South, NWA
Nicknames: America's Heart Throb
Classic Affiliations: Magnum was one of the many who feuded with the Horsemen, and his allies included Dusty Rhodes and the Road Warriors.

Height: 6'1"
Weight: 245 lbs.
From: Tidewater, VA

After the jump...Signature Maneuvers

Belly to Belly Suplex (at 0:19)


Classic Feuds:

- Magnum was one of the many wrestlers who mounted a resistance against the Four Horsemen. His primary focus was Tully Blanchard. The two traded the US Title until Magnum defeated him once and for all for the Championship at Starrcade in 1985 in an "I Quit" Match.

- Perhaps his most famous feud was his final one with the Russian menace, Nikita Koloff. Koloff got Magnum to lose his cool by insulting his mother. When the NWA President went to reprimand Magnum, Magnum lost his cool, said "Reprimand this!" and clotheslined him. He was stripped of his United States Championship and forced to wrestle Koloff in a best-of-seven series for the title. In a screwjob finish, Koloff won the title.

Titles Held:

NWA United States Championship (2x)
Mid-South North American Championship (2x)
Mid-South Tag Team Championships (2x, once apiece with Jim Duggan and Mr. Wrestling II)

Promos:

Promo with Ric Flair


"Reprimand THIS!"


Great American Bash 1986 Promo


Magnum's Legacy: Three words, fairly or not, will always define Magnum: could have been. He could have been the next big thing. He could have been JCP's answer to Hulk Hogan. He could have been an all-timer, but his career was cut tragically short when he crashed his Porsche on that rainy October night in 1986, much to the sadness of wrestling fans everywhere.

Still, for the relatively short time that he was in the business, he made a huge mark. He became an icon in Memphis and Florida. He was groomed as a foil to Ric Flair, a foil that maybe could have stood up against him in stature like Sting, Lex Luger and so many others couldn't do in later years. He was even a symbol of America in his feud with the Koloff Family. He especially had a bitchin' moustache.

Magnum TA might be known better for what he might have become, but that doesn't take away from what he's given us in his short career. It was impactful enough that he is considered among the best of all-time, even though he didn't have the longevity to stand up to others, and his memory in the ring lives on in the minds of Southern wrestling fans everywhere.

Remember you can contact TH and ask him questions about wrestling, life or anything else. Please refer to this post for contact information. He always takes questions!