Norvell Austin facts for kids

Norvell Austin (born March 9, 1951) is a retired American professional wrestler. He spent most of his career wrestling in the southern parts of the United States. He often competed in tag team matches. Norvell Austin is well-known for teaming up with Sputnik Monroe. They formed one of the first "mixed-race" villain teams in the South. Austin was also a member of the first group called The Midnight Express from 1981 to 1983. Later, he teamed with Koko B. Ware as one half of the "Pretty Young Things".

Norvell Austin's Wrestling Career

Early Days and Breaking Barriers (1971–1981)

Norvell Austin started his wrestling journey in 1971. This was in the Florida and Alabama areas. Back then, African American wrestlers in the South faced many rules. They mostly wrestled other African Americans. If they wrestled white opponents, they had to be fan favorites. They could not cheat or use unfair tricks. These rules meant Austin started as a fan favorite. He mainly wrestled by himself. All-African American tag teams were not common at that time.

In late 1971, Austin teamed up with Sputnik Monroe. Monroe had fought for equality in wrestling for a long time. Their tag team was special because they were bad guys. This was a first for wrestling shows in the Southern United States. Norvell even dyed a blond streak in his hair to match Monroe's. They hinted that Austin might be Sputnik Monroe's son.

Together, they won the NWA Mid-America NWA Southern Tag Team Championship. They beat Bearcat Brown and Len Rossi in May 1972. They lost the titles about a month later. Austin and Monroe did more than just win titles. In a famous event, they dropped black paint on white wrestler Robert Fuller. This was a reversal of an earlier event. Sputnik Monroe then said, "Black is Beautiful." Norvell Austin replied, "White is wonderful." This became a popular saying for their team.

Austin and Monroe also found success in Florida. They worked for Championship Wrestling from Florida. There, they won the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship on October 10, 1972. They held these titles until November 16, 1972.

On October 1, 1973, Austin won his first singles title. He became the NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Champion. This helped show Austin as a pioneer. He helped break down racial barriers in the South. In 1975, Austin teamed with Rocket Monroe. Rocket was Sputnik's storyline brother. They briefly held the Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling version of the NWA United States tag team titles.

After three years, Norvell Austin decided to wrestle alone. He ended his partnership with Sputnik Monroe. From 1975, Austin kept working for NWA Mid-America. He also worked for Continental Wrestling Association (CWA). Even though he wanted to wrestle alone, Austin was often in tag teams. He teamed with wrestlers like Butch Malone. They won the NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship. Austin also held tag team championships with Bill Dundee, Pat Barrett, and Jimmy Golden.

The Midnight Express Era (1981–1983)

In 1980, a new team formed in Southeast Championship Wrestling. Dennis Condrey teamed up with Randy Rose. They won the NWA Southeast Tag Team Championship. Austin, wrestling as "The Junkyard Dog," started a rivalry with them. This was before the more famous Junkyard Dog used the name. Austin brought in partners like Paul Orndorff. They briefly won the Southeast tag team gold.

To surprise Rose and Condrey, Austin became "The Shadow." He wore a mask. With Brad Armstrong, they beat Condrey and Rose on May 4, 1981. They held the titles until July 27, 1981. After losing the titles, Austin turned on Armstrong. He joined Condrey and Rose. They formed a group called The Midnight Express.

The name "Midnight Express" came from their style. They all dressed in black. They drove black cars. They were known for partying late. As a team, they won the AWA Southern Tag Team title in the CWA. They used a special rule. It was later called the Freebird Rule. This rule allowed any two of the three men to defend the titles. Their opponents never knew who they would face. The Midnight Express lost the AWA Southern tag team title. They then returned to Southeastern Championship Wrestling in 1982.

In Southeastern Championship Wrestling, the Midnight Express won the NWA Southeastern Tag Team Title six more times. They wrestled against teams like Jimmy Golden and Robert Fuller.

The Pretty Young Things (1983–1985)

The Midnight Express group broke up in late 1983. Norvell Austin went back to the CWA in Memphis. There, Austin joined Jimmy Hart's group of wrestlers. This group was known as the First Family.

In 1984, Austin teamed with a masked wrestler named Stagger Lee. During a match, Stagger Lee's mask was removed. It showed that he was Koko B. Ware. This made Ware become a bad guy. Austin and Ware became a regular tag team. They were called the "Pretty Young Things" or "PYT Express." They started wearing red leather jackets. Each wore a single white glove. This was to look like Michael Jackson. They even used Jackson's song "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" as their entrance music.

The team beat Elijah Akeem and Kareem Mohammad. They won the AWA Southern Tag Team titles in February 1984. But they only held the titles for less than two weeks. The PYT Express stayed in Memphis for a while. Then they moved to other wrestling shows. On February 26, 1985, Austin and Ware won the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship. Two weeks later, they lost the titles.

After losing the titles, the Pretty Young Things returned to the CWA. They won the AWA Southern Tag Team titles twice. Both times, they beat The Fabulous Ones.

Later Career and Retirement (1985–2004)

By the end of summer 1985, the Pretty Young Things went their separate ways. Austin returned to Southeast Championship Wrestling. There, Austin teamed with Brickhouse Brown. They formed a team called "Soul Patrol." On September 23, 1985, the Soul Patrol won the NWA Southeast Tag Team Championship. This was Norvell Austin's tenth time holding that title. The Soul Patrol lost the championship a few weeks later.

After the Soul Patrol broke up, Austin had a big rivalry. He faced the NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Champion, "Exotic" Adrian Street. On January 6, 1986, Austin defeated Street for the title. He held it until February 17, 1986. Street, with help from his valet Miss Linda, won the title back.

Norvell Austin retired from wrestling in the late 1980s. However, he made a few special appearances as a "Legend." His last match was on September 25, 2004. He teamed with Randy Rose to win a match in Continental Wrestling.

Championships and Achievements

• Championship Wrestling from Florida
  • NWA Florida Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Sputnik Monroe
  • NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Florida version) (1 time) – with Koko B. Ware
• Gulf Coast Championship Wrestling / Southeastern Championship Wrestling / Continental Championship Wrestling
  • NWA Mississippi Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Northern Division) (1 time)
  • NWA Southeastern Tag Team Championship (10 times) – with Jimmy Golden (1), Paul Orndorff (1), Brad Armstrong (1), Dennis Condrey (3), Randy Rose (3), Brickhouse Brown (1)
  • NWA Southeastern United States Junior Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
  • NWA Tennessee Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Butch Malone
  • NWA United States Tag Team Championship (Gulf Coast-Version) (1 time) – with Rocket Monroe
• NWA Mid-America / Continental Wrestling Association
  • AWA Southern Tag Team Championship (6 times) – with Bill Dundee (1), Dennis Condrey (1), Randy Rose (1), and Koko B. Ware (3)
  • NWA Southern Tag Team Championship (Mid-America version) (2 times) – with Sputnik Monroe (1) and Pat Barrett (1)