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Guest Editorial - Tribute to Brad Armstrong
Submitted by Bobby Mathews, PWTorch reader

Brad Armstrong was the best wrestler I ever saw.

He wasn't the best sports entertainer. Far from it. Others could out-talk him. His promos were plain, and the personality that shined through in-person and in the ring paled in front of the microphone.

But, my God, how the guy could wrestle.

I grew up in small-town Alabama, and watching the Armstrong family grow was just part of being a fan of Southeastern Championship Wrestling. When Brad came on the scene, it was hard to tell he was a rookie. He claimed two singles titles in his first year as a pro: the NWA United States Junior Heavyweight belt (from “Mr. Olympia” Jerry Stubbs) and the Alabama Heavyweight strap (from Dennis Condrey). Brad also held the Southeastern tag team titles with his father, the legendary "Bullet" Bob Armstrong, while simultaneously holding the national tag team titles in Georgia.

The kid was good. He was so smooth, and so fluid in the ring. He didn't stay too long in Southeastern – Brad had bigger fish to fry. He held titles in Florida with Magnum T.A. And Cowboy Bill Watts put the North American title on him. In those days, if the Cowboy handed the strap to you, you were damn good.

And, who did Armstrong beat for that belt? Oh, nobody special - just perpetual headliner Ernie Ladd. I'm telling you, Brad was something special.

Brad was the top champion in multiple promotions before he was 25. That just didn't happen in those days.

People who saw Brad as simply a jobber to the stars in WCW didn't know what they'd missed. He held the NWA national championship (singles) twice, back when that belt meant something, topping Ted DiBiase and The Spoiler (Don Jardine). He and Tim Horner won tag belts in multiple promotions as the Lightning Express.

I never saw anybody better - and I never saw him have a bad match. One night in Dothan, Alabama, Brad and Ric Flair went 55 minutes for the NWA World Title. The sold-out Houston County Farm Center held about 5,000 people. It was electric. Flair won with a handful of trunks, but everyone in the building knew they'd seen something special. Brad had to be physically tired, but the crowd was emotionally exhausted. There were people in the audience who were in tears when Brad lost.

When I tell you that Brad was the best wrestler I ever saw, you need to understand what we saw in Southeastern (and later, Continental): nearly everyone who was anyone in the wrestling business came through, at least for a time. Hogan, Flair, Savage, Orndorff, HBK, Foley, Arn Anderson, Masa Chono, the (original) Midnight Express, the Rock-n-Roll Express, the Sheepherders. The list could go on. I saw them all - and I can tell you that Brad could go with any one of them.

Brad is the only one of the Armstrong family to have held a world singles title, taking the WCW Lightheavyweight strap from Scotty Flamingo in the latter's pre-Raven days. He also held World Tag Titles with Ricky Steamboat and the Freebirds (as Fantasia), six-man titles with the Freebirds, and obtained numerous other accolades.

Brad held the Smoky Mountain title by beating the great Terry “Bam Bam” Gordy – probably his last major singles title. Now they're both gone. I call that a shame.

I keep trying to explain how important Brad Armstrong was to me as a fan. For all of his limits on the microphone, Brad proved time and time again that he could connect with the audience via his impressive in-ring skills alone.

In the days of kayfabe, that dark time when it was okay to believe that what you were seeing in the ring was real, Brad Armstrong could make you believe. He could work with anyone. He could work any style. He could get himself over, and he could get his opponent over.

He made wrestling look easy. He made it look like the greatest sport in the world. I'll never get to thank him for that. But, I wish I could.

Today, they laid Brad Armstrong to rest. Dead at 50. Far too young. Thank you for the memories, Brad. Rest in peace.

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[Armstrong photo (c) WWE]

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