Dick Slater
Richard Van Slater better known by his ring name "Dirty" Dick Slater, was an American professional wrestler who wrestled in the 1970s, 1980s, and mid-1990s for various promotions including Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling and World Championship Wrestling.
Slater began wrestling with Mike Graham at Robinson High School, in Tampa, Florida. He attended the University of Tampa with Paul Orndorff. From there he began wrestling in Championship Wrestling from Florida and Georgia Championship Wrestling. He worked as a booker in Knoxville, Tennessee after Ron Fuller sold his promotion to Jim Barnett. He wrestled in Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling, where he appeared on the first Starrcade. He also worked in Mid-South Wrestling Association, where he was managed by Dark Journey. Slater made some trips to the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico. He wrestled briefly in the World Wrestling Federation as a babyface under a "Rebel" gimmick, but soon returned to WCW. He wrestled there until receiving his back injury that ended his career.
In June 2004, Slater was convicted for the stabbing of his former girlfriend Theresa Halbert. He was sentenced to one year of house arrest and two years of probation. He blamed the incident on influence from painkillers.
Early life
Slater began wrestling in 1968 with Mike Graham at Thomas Richard Robinson High School in Tampa, Florida. Eddie Graham purchased a wrestling mat for his high school and started a high school wrestling program there. He wrestled in the Amateur Athletic Union, a program that trained young wrestlers to go to the Olympics.Slater went to the University of Tampa, where he played football in addition to wrestling. He had a chance to play football for the Miami Dolphins but declined the opportunity, deciding to wrestle instead. After going to a national AAU meet, he was approached by Mike Graham, who asked him if he wanted to become a professional wrestler; Slater decided to go to the Tampa Sportatorium to train as a professional wrestler. There, he was trained by Jack Brisco, Bob Roop, Hiro Matsuda, and Bill Watts. Slater also became good friends with Dick Murdoch around this time.
Professional wrestling career
Championship Wrestling from Florida (1972–1975)
Slater debuted in 1972 with Championship Wrestling from Florida, which was run by Eddie Graham. He stayed there for three years and won the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship and the NWA Florida Television Championship.Georgia Championship Wrestling (1972–1983)
After leaving CWF, Slater worked in California alongside The Von Brauners, Moondog Mayne, Pat Patterson, and Ray Stevens. From there, he went to Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada. Slater then went to Georgia Championship Wrestling, an organization he credits with putting him on the map. He worked there for 8 years, winning the NWA Georgia Heavyweight Championship four times, as well as the NWA Georgia Tag Team Championship and NWA Macon Tag Team Championship with Bob Orton, Jr. During the time period he also won the NWA Missouri Heavyweight Championship and a number of Florida titles. Slater commented that after winning the Missouri Heavyweight Title, he was in the mix to become NWA World Heavyweight Champion, but would attribute his not winning it to "politics".Mid-Atlantic Championship Wrestling (1983–1985)
In 1983, Slater was working in Knoxville, Tennessee for Ron Fuller when Jim Barnett approached Slater with the idea of booking a television show in Atlanta for Ted Turner. At the same time, Jim Crockett was buying out Jim Barnett; thus, Slater started working for Crockett. Around the same time, Dusty Rhodes became a booker for Crockett. Slater teamed up with Bob Orton, Jr., and began a feud with Ric Flair where they attacked with an aided piledriver in an attempt to end his career. The team collected a bounty from Harley Race, the reigning NWA World Heavyweight Champion for apparently ending Flair's career. Flair would return and attack Slater and Orton. While Flair would go on to fight Race at Starrcade for the championship, Orton and Slater were placed in a tag team match with Mark Youngblood and Wahoo McDaniel, who sought retribution on Slater and Orton for attacking their friend Flair. At the event, Slater and Orton were victorious over Youngblood and McDaniel after Orton superplexed Youngblood.Slater has said that Crockett ran one of the hardest promotions to work for; in addition to wrestling for Crockett, Slater was also booking three other promotions, Bill Watts’, Joe Blanchard’s, and Paul Boesch's. For a time in Mid-Atlantic, Slater was managed by Gary Hart. While in Mid-Atlantic, Slater won the NWA Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship, the NWA Television Championship and the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship He also independently declared himself the true NWA World Heavyweight Champion during Flair's title reign, creating his own belt, and was involved in another program with Flair.
Mid-South Wrestling Association (1985–1986)
In 1985, Slater left Mid-Atlantic and went to Mid-South Wrestling. He has said that the move was because he was tired of the promotion and the multiple bookings he did. In Mid-South, Slater took on his controversial valet of Dark Journey, whom he first saw dancing at a strip club; he eventually asked her to be his valet. His relationship with her caused a great deal of legitimate heat. While in Mid-South, Slater engaged in a lengthy feud with Jake Roberts ; Slater would also win the Mid-South North American Championship, the Mid-South Television Championship, and the UWF World Television Championship.World Wrestling Federation (1986–1987)
Slater wrestled briefly for the World Wrestling Federation as a babyface using a Southern "Rebel" gimmick. He debuted in WWF on the July 26, 1986 episode of Championship Wrestling by defeating The Gladiator. While in the WWF, Slater had one match with Jake Roberts; however, this being 1980s WWF TV his Mid-South feud with Roberts was ignored. In that match, aired on a December 13, 1986 episode of WWF Superstars, Slater cleanly pinned Roberts but decision was reversed by referee Danny Davis when Roberts put his foot on the rope after the three count. Slater was then disqualified for hitting the referee. Slater defeated Mike Sharpe at The Big Event and was squashed by Don Muraco in two minutes on the Saturday Night's Main Event VIII. Shortly after his match with Muraco, the WWF began to use him as a jobber. His last televised appearance in WWF was on the May 4, 1987 episode of Prime Time Wrestling, where he lost to Butch Reed.All Japan Pro Wrestling (1987–1990)
After departing WWF, Slater toured All Japan Pro Wrestling on numerous occasions between 1987 and 1990. He teamed with Tommy Rich to participate in the 1988 Real World Tag League for the vacant World Tag Team Championship but the duo lost all of their matches in the tournament. On May 13, 1989, Slater and Danny Spivey unsuccessfully challenged Jumbo Tsuruta and Yoshiaki Yatsu for the World Tag Team Championship. Later that year, Slater formed a tag team with Joel Deaton. The duo participated in the 1990 Real World Tag League to crown the new World Tag Team Champions and won only two matches by defeating the teams of Doug Furnas and Ricky Santana and Mighty Inoue and Rusher Kimura.American Wrestling Association (1987)
Slater had a brief run in the American Wrestling Association where he was supposedly a bodyguard for AWA champion Curt Hennig.World Championship Wrestling (1989–1996)
J-Tex Corporation; Hardliners (1989–1991)
Slater returned to Jim Crockett Promotions, then renamed World Championship Wrestling on the August 26, 1989 episode of World Championship Wrestling as a member of J-Tex Corporation, facing Sting in a match, which he lost by disqualification after his J-Tex teammates Terry Funk and The Great Muta attacked Sting. The group primarily feuded with Ric Flair and Sting. He replaced an injured Terry Funk to team up with The Great Muta at Clash of the Champions VIII in a losing effort against Ric Flair and Sting. The match ended in a disqualification after Terry Funk placed a plastic bag over Ric Flair's head. Slater was fired by WCW. However, he would come back to WCW for the final portion of his career in 1991.Slater returned to WCW in the summer of 1991 and formed a tag team with Dick Murdoch called the Hardliners. Hardliners debuted as a team on Clash of the Champions XV, by attacking Steiner Brothers, Hiroshi Hase and Masahiro Chono after an IWGP Tag Team Championship match between the two teams. Hardliners' first match as a team took place on the June 29 episode of WorldWide by defeating enhancement talents Mike Jackson and Tim Parker. Hardliners began a rivalry with Steiner Brothers but Scott suffered an injury and they wrestled Rick and his different tag team partners throughout the summer of 1991. Hardliners participated in a tournament for the vacated World Tag Team Championship, in which they wrestled The Fabulous Freebirds to a double count-out in the first round on the July 27 episode of World Championship Wrestling. The team disbanded in the fall of 1991 and Slater competed in the Florida-based International Championship Wrestling Alliance for the rest of 1991.