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Koko B. Ware (born James Ware on June 20, 1957) is an American professional wrestler who made his professional wrestling debut in 1979. He gained most of his popularity in the World Wrestling Federation when he was known as the Birdman. He used to come to the ring with his macaw Frankie, flapped his arms like a bird before and after his matches while dancing.
CareerThe Early Years
It wasn’t until late in 1980 that Koko’s fortune changed when he participated in a battle royal to crown the first ever Mid-American Television Champion. The crowd favorite was Jimmy Valiant who Koko accidentally knocked into Danny Davis who shocked everyone by eliminating Valiant. Moments later Koko dumped Davis to the floor and he had won his first title to the shock of more or less everyone in the arena. After the match Jimmy Valiant returned to the ring and beat Koko down. Koko’s feud with Jimmy Valiant was quickly expanded to include the heel Tojo Yamamoto and Koko ally Tommy Rich. When Dutch Mantell returned to the CWA in early 1981 he quickly defeated Koko for the TV title making Koko’s first run with the gold a short one. Koko floundered until September 81 where he was chosen to referee a Southern Heavyweight Championship title match between Jerry Lawler and “The Dream Machine”. Ware unfairly counted Lawler out to give the Dream Machine the victory, a decision that did not sit well with Lawler nor the fans in Memphis. Koko quickly aligned himself with manager Jimmy Hart and his First Family and changed his name to Sweet Brown Sugar. Sugar never got the best of Lawler but did taste tag-team success alongside Steve Keirn and then more famously as he teamed up with Bobby Eaton. Eaton & Sugar won the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship two with Bobby Eaton displaying great teamwork and intensity. After successfully teaming for a while Sugar and Eaton started to show signs of dissention, during their last run with the tag-team titles Bobby Eaton beat Jacques Rougeau for the Mid-American heavyweight title. During an interview where Eaton and Jimmy Hart bragged about the victory Sugar complained that he was unable to win the Southern Title from Terry Taylor. After being fed up Jimmy Hart finally slapped Sweet Brown Sugar and sent the sulking superstar back to the dressing room after which Bobby Eaton commented that Sugar had been “whining like a woman”. Later that night the duo defended their titles against Terry Taylor and Bill Dundee, losing the titles when Sugar “accidentally” kicked Bobby Eaton and then left the ring.
Ironically when Bobby Eaton later turned face he teamed with Stagger Lee for a series of matches. During a tag-team tournament in 1983 the masked Stagger Lee teamed up with fellow face Norvell Austin to take on “Fargo’s Fabulous Ones” (Tommy Rich & Hot Stuff Eddie Gilbert). During the course of the match Stagger Lee’s mask was removed to reveal the man beneath it, this prompted a heel turn for both Ware and Austin, dubbing themselves Pretty Young Things or the PYT Express as they competed in the Dallas, Florida and Memphis territories. Together the “Pretty Young Things” won multiple regional tag-team titles and appeared on major cards presented by federations like the American Wrestling Association, Mid-South Wrestling and World Class Championship Wrestling World Wrestling Federation 1986-1994In 1986 Koko B. Ware signed with the World Wrestling Federation Where he was repackaged as the fun loving “Birdman” Koko B. Ware with his pet Macaw “Frankie” that would sit on a perch at ringside while Koko was in the ring. The bright outfits, the colorful hair and friendly personality made Koko a big hit especially with the younger crowd that the WWF mainly catered to during the 80's. Koko’s first major showcase in the WWF was at Saturday Night Main Event on November 29, 1986 where he defeated Nikolai Volkoff. Unfortunately for Koko his initial success in the big match environment was not an indicator of things to come as he soon found himself losing repeatedly when he came up against such stars as Butch Reed, Greg Valentine and The Big Boss Man. From 1987 to 1993 Koko would appear on several WWF PPVs and Saturday Night Main Events but ended up losing every time, being used mainly to make established or rising stars look good. In 1991 the WWF and the United States Wrestling Association started a talent exchange agreement which saw Koko B. Ware return to his old stomping grounds in Memphis (same area, different promotion) in the USWA Koko was more successful than in the WWF winning the USWA World Title twice, once from Kamala “The Ugandan Giant” and once from the USWA icon Jerry Lawler. Koko also hooked up with Rex Hargrove and won the USWA Tag Team Championship once. Koko B. Ware competed in the USWA until his semi-retirement in 1995 While competing in the USWA Koko B. Ware also got a bit of a push in the WWF when he teamed up with Owen Hart to form the high flying team known as High Energy, famous for their gigantic baggy brightly colored pants and checkered suspenders. High Energy feuded with (and generally lost to) The Nasty Boys, the Headshrinkers and Money Inc. making only one PPV appearance as a team (a loss to the Headshrinkers at the 1992 Survivor Series. The team ended in 1993 after Owen Hart injured his knee. After High Energy ended Koko was mainly used as a “Jobber to the Stars” until he left the WWF in 1994. Semi-retirement and returnAfter leaving the WWF Koko made a few appearances for the American Wrestling Federation but did not become a regular before going into semi-retirement in 1995. In 1999 Koko made a short-lived return to the World Wrestling Federation where he put on the “Blue Blazer” mask during the Owen Hart angle, when Hart died the angle was dropped and Koko’s services were no longer needed. Koko’s macaw “Frankie” died in a house fire in 2001 while Koko and his family were at church. In 2003 Koko returned to the spot light competing once again in the Memphis area for the Memphis Wrestling promotion. He also competed at the “World Wrestling Legends” PPV on March 5, 2006 where he defeated Disco Inferno. He also appeared at "WWE Homecoming", RAW's return to the USA Network, on October 3, 2005. He fought (and was defeated by) Rob Conway on the October 28, 2005 edition of WWE Heat and is currently in many independent wrestling organizations such as the AWA-Supreme Championship Wrestling where he has wrestled against people like Eric Draven and The Blackhearts. Trivia
In Wrestling
Championships and accomplishments
External Links
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