Johnny Weaver
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| Birth name | Kenneth Eugene Weaver |
|---|---|
| Born |
November 17, 1935 East Saint Louis, Illinois |
| Died | February 15, 2008 (aged 72) Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Johnny Weaver The Grappler Ultimate Assassin |
| Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Billed weight | 233 lb (106 kg) |
| Billed from | Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Debut | 1957 |
Kenneth Eugene Weaver (November 17, 1935 – February 15, 2008) was a professional wrestler and wrestling commentator in the National Wrestling Alliance, better known by his ring name, Johnny Weaver. During Johnny's career, he was credited with being the first wrestler to use the sleeper hold (rear naked choke) as his finisher of choice.
Weaver's career spanned four decades in many different territories in the NWA. He held championships across the southeast United States, the first of which was the Mid-Atlantic (Carolinas, Virginia) version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship, which he won with Cowboy Bob Ellis on December 2, 1963. His best known run was with partner George Becker in the Mid-Atlantic in the 1960s. The two held the NWA Mid-Atlantic Southern Tag Team Championship five times together, and they were household names in the territory for a period of nearly eight years. The team had memorable feuds with Rip Hawk and Swede Hanson, Lars Anderson and Gene Anderson, Gene Anderson and Ole Anderson, Aldo Bogni and Bronko Lubich with manager "Colonel" Homer O'Dell, the Infernos with manager J. C. Dykes, and many others.
Weaver's next major success came in Championship Wrestling from Florida, where he teamed with Becker to win the Florida version of the NWA Southern Tag Team Championship in February 1967. He also competed as a singles wrestler, winning his first NWA Florida Southern Heavyweight Championship that year by defeating the Missouri Mauler. He dropped it back to the Mauler but regained the belt on October 25, 1967. The following summer, he won the belt for a third time. He lost the belt to Hiro Matsuda but then regained it in a rematch in late 1968.
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