Remembering Tim Woods, the man who saved wrestling
Posted: Dec 13th 2017 By: Brian James O'Connell
November 30th marked 15 years since the passing of professional wrestler Tim Woods. Ric Flair once called him “the man who saved wrestling,” and for good reason. You may have heard the tale before, but you might be very unfamiliar with Woods’ role in one of the most infamous and history-altering incidents in professional wrestling.
On October 4th, 1975, five passengers and one pilot boarded a twin-engine Cessna 310 in Charlotte bound for Wilmington, North Carolina. It was scheduled to be a 45-minute flight. Upon its descent into Wilmington Airport, the plane ran out of gas, stalled out and clipped the top of the treeline and a utility pole before crashing to the ground.
The pilot was a 28-year-old Vietnam veteran named Joseph Michael Farkas, who had difficulty during liftoff in Charlotte due to the unplanned total weight of the passengers — several of whom were professional wrestlers. He made the mistake of not adequately distributing the weight of the passengers in the plane and, once airborne, elected to dump fuel in an effort to lessen the burden on the tiny plane.
Farkas radioed the Wilmington control tower around 6:25 pm to report that one of his engines had failed. The plane crashed between the railroad tracks and a prison farm a half mile away from the airport. Several of the victims were thrown from the airplane, and one was pinned between two seats. Farkas underwent surgery for head injuries late into the night, slipped into a coma, and died the following year.
The passengers on that flight were National Wrestling Alliance executive David Crockett, professional wrestler Robert Bruggers, professional wrestler Johnny Valentine, a 24-year-old wrestler by the name of Ric Flair, and promoter George Burrell Woodin. Most of them sustained severe injuries. Woodin suffered a broken back. The young Flair had his back broken in three places, and was later told by
doctors he may never wrestle again. Bruggers had a steel rod inserted into his spine and elected to retire from the business. The veteran Johnny Valentine, who switched seats mid-flight with Flair, was paralyzed for life.
Flair, of course, followed a vigorous physical therapy regimen and made an almost miraculous comeback to the ring eight months later to face Wahoo McDaniel. Goodwin beat Flair back to the ring by seven months and two weeks.
You see, George Burrell Woodin wasn’t his “real” name, except for the fact that it was his real name. Some fans knew him as Tim Woods, but most of the world knew him as the masked superstar Mr. Wrestling … and that was a very real problem.
Mr. Wrestling was a “babyface” — a good guy. Ric Flair was a bad guy. In 1975, professional wrestlers and promoters went above and beyond to maintain the suspension of disbelief that these feuds were legitimate. The storylines that were presented in the ring and on the screen were treated as real-life disagreements between professional athletes competing for championships, money and pride. The only thing that kept these combatants from killing each other were the officials who enforced rules and regulations … as far as the fans knew. At the time, Mr. Wrestling was in a feud with both Johnny Valentine and Ric Flair.
While lying in a hospital bed, and with no way of knowing if his compatriots were alive or dead, Mr. Wrestling provided his true name (George Burrell Goodwin), and then lied about his job to preserve the illusion of wrestling. He knew that if word got out that a good guy, the owner of the company’s brother and three bad guys were all on the same plane, it could ruin that illusion forever.
Whispers began to circulate that Mr. Wrestling was indeed on that fateful flight. Unwilling to expose the secrets of the business, Mr. Wrestling donned his mask and had a match under extreme duress and enormous physical pain to “prove” that he could not have been involved in the accident.
That incredibly courageous act made it possible for the professional wrestling business to continue in its current form. Mr. Wrestling kept kayfabe sacred and singlehandedly saved the livelihoods of every single other wrestler in the world — at least as far as his contemporaries were concerned.
Walk with me down a video memory lane as I demonstrate just what kind of man Mr. Wrestling was, and the type of passion he had for a business where he would make so great a sacrifice.
Check out this rare 8mm footage of a rare black-mask-clad Mr. Wrestling against Pak Song in the early ’70s. Who was Pak Song? Oh, nobody; just a guy with a Viet Cong gimmick who feuded with Dusty Rhodes in 1974 and made him the biggest babyface in the world. No big whoop. That’s Mr. Wrestling stomping him to death, pre-crash.
You have to realize what kind of legit badass Tim Woods was that made it possible for him to step into a ring a mere fortnight after a plane crash that left one man in a coma and another man paralyzed. As an amatuer wrestler at Michigan State, Georgie Boy won two Big Ten titles and came in second in the National NCAA tournament in 1958 and 1959.
Jim Cornette tells a fun story about Mr. Wrestling doing the old carny thing where any local could get in the ring to challenge the wrestler for money, and the guy bit his finger off. What, you thought that scene from Spider-Man with Randy Savage as Bonesaw was made up? Needless to say, after successfully preventing Mr. Wrestling from strangling the guy with what was left of his bare hands, they stopped doing that gimmick in Columbus, Georgia from then on.
Here’s Mr. Wrestling going toe to toe with none other than Dory Funk Jr. in a super stiff match in Japan in 1979, where Dory is working his arm and back. You know; four years after he broke his neck in a plane crash. Ridiculous. The handshake of respect at the end is legit.
Here’s Mr. Wrestling returning to Georgia Championship Wrestling, looking ultra-spry a little over five years after a plane crash that left no one unscathed, and backing up Mr. Wrestling II in an angle against The Assassins. Because professional wrestling is awesome.
Burly, “let me tell you something” middle-aged white dudes in masks is something that must come back immediately. God, what I wouldn’t give for Zayn/Owens to get fired at Clash of Champions only for the following Tuesday to have “El Local” and “Le Cavalier de Minuit” show up and wreck shop. LCdM
cuts an entire “working man” promo in French while his mute buddy just looks on silently until he hears his name and starts nodding his head vigorously and pointing to himself. Tell Vince he’s getting four wrestlers for the price of two, and book a Mask Vs. Hair match with Shane and Daniel Bryan already.
That aside was vital to my thesis here: I get to fantasy book that little piece of fairytale magic above because Tim Woods believed that professional wrestling was a story worth telling. Think of how many lives would be different if the business had been exposed back in 1975. Would professional wrestling as we know it even exist? Would there even be a Kevin Owens or Sami Zayn? Would there have been a Ric Flair? Would there have even been this website to hire me to write about these things?
Mr. Wrestling finally hung up his boots in 1983, a full eight years after that terrifying night in North Carolina. He opened up a heating and air conditioning store, collected motorcycles and played his beloved saxophone, because of course he did. You can’t make guys like Mr. Wrestling up.
George Burrell Woodin passed away from a heart attack on November 30th, 2002 in Charlotte, North Carolina at the age of 68. Before he passed, he had scheduled an interview with WWE Confidential to talk about the crash.
I will bet you all the money in the world he would have denied ever being there.
Supplemental Information
Latest News
AJ Styles: This isn’t the same WWE that Vince McMahon was in charge of
AJ Styles says Triple H is doing a great job of making everyone in WWE feel important. Styles ... Read More
The Scoop
NEWS Paul “Triple H” Levesque tweeted about Thunderbolt Patterson being part of the 2024 WWE Hall of Fame class saying “He was a champion in the ri... Read More
AEW’s Ricky Starks recalls sneak-eating king cakes, washing cars for money ahead of champions’ homecoming show
New Orleans native Ricky Starks will return home a champ... Read More
- Mickie James on Her Next Chapter In Impact Wrestling & ‘Bound for Glory’
- Ric Flair Interview Recap
- AEW ‘Grand Slam’: Sammy Guevara on His Journey from Working at Taco Bell to Facing Chris Jericho
- AJ Styles reveals a trip to the WWE Performance Center inspired him to finish his wrestling career ‘strong’ after recent return from a broken ankle... and it’s ‘it’s not much different’ with Triple H in charge
Spotlight in History
- 1956 Don Evans def. Bull Curry for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Champion
- 1974 The Texan def. Fritz Von Erich for the WCCW American Heavyweight Champion
- 2004 Terry Montana def. Shadow of Death for the TPW Hardcore Champion
- 2006 Seth Allen def. Cody Jones for the MSWA Mid-South Cruiserweight Champion
- 2016 The K. C. Wolves/The Diamond Dogs (Graham Bell & Luke Langley) def. What Wrestling Should Be (Jermaine Johnson & Jordan Jacobs) for the IZW Tag Team Champions
- 2016 Double D def. Damon Windsor for the IZW Heavyweight Champion
- 2022 Anarchy [2nd] became the UWE Heavyweight Champion
- 2022 Ronnie Morton became the RDW Brass Knucks Champion
- 2022 Murder, Inc. (Mr. Nasty & Killbane) def. The OMGs (John Omari & Mike Anthony) for the WCR Tag Team Champions
- 2022 Moonshine Mantell became the WCR Heavyweight Champion
Week of Sun 03-17 to Sat: 03-23
- 03-17 1982 Bob Roop def. Ted DiBiase for the MSW North American Heavyweight Champion
- 03-17 2006 Beau Dalton & Bobby Dalton def. Tommy Smash for the SRPW Tag Team Champions
- 03-17 2007 Kareem Sadat became the SWCW Hardcore Champion
- 03-17 2007 Dexter Hardaway became the SWCW Sooner Xtreme Champion
- 03-17 2007 John O'Malley def. Ryan Davidson for the IZW Impact Division Champion
- 03-17 2007 Canadian Red Devil def. Rocco Valentino for the FCW Heavyweight Champion
- 03-17 2007 AWOL def. Rocco Valentino for the ComPro Heavyweight Champion
- 03-17 2007 Texas, Inc. (Tim Rockwell & Bernard Funk) became the SWCW Tag Team Champions
- 03-17 2012 John E. Stone def. Drake Gallows for the SWCW All-American Champion
- 03-17 2012 Aaron Neil def. Jermaine Johnson for the IZW Heavyweight Champion
- 03-17 2012 The Old School Suckas (Gary Tool & Randy Price) def. Nemesis (Rage Logan & Damien Morte) for the IZW Tag Team Champions
- 03-17 2021 El Torito def. Flyin’ Ryan for the MWF Heavyweight Champion
- 03-17 2023 Edge Stone def. Shane Taylor for the TexPro Heavyweight Champion
- 03-17 2024 Micro Tiger def. Disco Don for the MWF Heavyweight Champion
- 03-18 1963 Louie Tillet def. Bull Curry for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Champion
- 03-18 1976 The Hollywood Blondes (Jerry Brown & Buddy Roberts) def. Greg Valentine & Gorgeous George, Jr. for the TSW United States Tag Team Champion
- 03-18 2006 Aaron Neil def. Big Van Vader for the IZW Heavyweight Champion
- 03-18 2006 John O'Malley def. Kenny Campbell for the IZW Hardcore Champion
- 03-18 2006 The Old School Assassins (Brad Michaels & Seth Allen) def. Impact Inc. (John Zorthos & Bernie Donderwitz) for the IZW Tag Team Champions
- 03-18 2012 Drake Gallows def. The Canadian Red Devil for the BYEW Caution Champion
- 03-18 2012 Prophet def. Sam Stackhouse for the BYEW Heavyweight Champion
- 03-18 2017 Arrow Club (Ky-Ote & Kyle Hawk) became the IWR Tag Team Champions
- 03-18 2022 Doz Camachos (Onyx Camacho & Zarek Camacho) def. The Unit (Charlie Haas & Dane Griffin) for the TexPro Tag Team Champions
- 03-18 2023 Nashoba def. Skidz for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Champion
- 03-18 2023 Skidz def. Nashoba for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Champion
- 03-19 1956 Don Evans def. Bull Curry for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Champion
- 03-19 1974 The Texan def. Fritz Von Erich for the WCCW American Heavyweight Champion
- 03-19 2004 Terry Montana def. Shadow of Death for the TPW Hardcore Champion
- 03-19 2006 Seth Allen def. Cody Jones for the MSWA Mid-South Cruiserweight Champion
- 03-19 2016 The K. C. Wolves/The Diamond Dogs (Graham Bell & Luke Langley) def. What Wrestling Should Be (Jermaine Johnson & Jordan Jacobs) for the IZW Tag Team Champions
- 03-19 2016 Double D def. Damon Windsor for the IZW Heavyweight Champion
- 03-19 2022 Anarchy [2nd] became the UWE Heavyweight Champion
- 03-19 2022 Ronnie Morton became the RDW Brass Knucks Champion
- 03-19 2022 Murder, Inc. (Mr. Nasty & Killbane) def. The OMGs (John Omari & Mike Anthony) for the WCR Tag Team Champions
- 03-19 2022 Moonshine Mantell became the WCR Heavyweight Champion
- 03-20 1962 Bull Curry def. Jack Dalton 1st for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Champion
- 03-20 1970 The Spoiler def. Tarzan Baxter for the TSW North American Champion
- 03-20 1988 The Simpson Brothers (Steve Simpson & Shaun Simpson) def. John Tatum & Jack Victory for the WCCW Texas Tag Team Champion
- 03-20 2009 Brandon Groom became the TAP Pure Xtreme Champion
- 03-20 2021 Dimitri Alexandrov def. Tim Rockwell for the WFC Hometown Heroes Champion
- 03-20 2022 Little Foot def. Li’l Show for the MWF Heavyweight Champion
- 03-21 1972 The Continental Warriors (Bobby Hart & Lorenzo Parente) def. Tom Jones & Billy Red Lyons for the TSW United States Tag Team Champion
- 03-21 1998 Rocco Valentino def. Jimmy Kane for the OPW Oklahoma Heavyweight Champion
- 03-21 1998 Generation X (Zane Morris & Ian St. James) def. Body Count (Krull Danzig & Brett Knight) for the OPW Oklahoma Tag Team Champion
- 03-21 1998 Bernard Funk def. Rocco Valentino for the OPW Oklahoma Heavyweight Champion
- 03-21 2009 The Good Ol' Boys (Bud Barnes & Moonshine) became the SWCW Tag Team Champions
- 03-21 2009 3rd Rail def. Kevin James Sanchez for the SWCW Heavyweight Champion
- 03-21 2015 Paul Puertorico def. Matt Majestic for the ComPro Oklahoma X Division Champion
- 03-22 1980 The Fabulous Freebirds (Michael Hayes & Terry Gordy) def. Ted DiBiase & Paul Orndorff for the MSW Mid-South Tag Team Champion
- 03-22 2008 Canadian Red Devil became the TAP Heavyweight Champion
- 03-22 2008 The Innovators (Anarchy 2nd & Fuel) became the TAP Tag Team Champions
- 03-22 2008 Tim Rockwell became the TAP Oklahoma Heritage Champion
- 03-22 2008 Dominique Lereaux became the SWCW Womens Champion
- 03-22 2008 Sage became the SWCW Cruiserweight Champion
- 03-22 2008 X-Rated (Kevin James Sanchez & Shane Sanchez) def. Death Row [1st] (Blade [1st] & Shank) for the SWCW Tag Team Champions
- 03-22 2008 Nemesis (Damien Morte & Rage) def. X-Rated (Kevin James Sanchez & Shane Sanchez) for the SWCW Tag Team Champions
- 03-22 2014 MHM, Inc. (Ray Martinez, Alabastair Hunt & K. P. Moore) became the SRPW United States Champion
- 03-22 2015 A. C. Slaughter (Aaron Anders & Clint Cassidy) def. The K. C. Wolves (Graham Bell & Luke Langley) for the WFC Tag Team Champions
- 03-23 2007 AWOL def. Mustafa Sharmoot for the AACW Heavyweight Champion
- 03-23 2013 Hurricane Ross became the NAW Heavyweight Champion
- 03-23 2013 Pretty In Pink (Michael Duplanti & Mike Rose) became the NAW Tag Team Champion
- 03-23 2013 Damien Morte became the IZW Impact Division Champion
- 03-23 2013 Johnny Z became the IZW Heavyweight Champion
- C. G. Mullins Mar 19th Today!
- Kelsey King Mar 19th Today!
- Scott Casey Mar 19th Today!
- Matt Sydal Mar 19th Today!
- Lisa Gennero Mar 19th Today!
- Matt Majestic Mar 19th Today!
- Rick McGraw Mar 19th Today!
- Sting Mar 20th
- J. D. Richardson Mar 20th
- Sol Azteka Mar 20th
- Sexy Diamante Mar 20th
- Scott Summers Mar 20th
- D Money Mar 20th
- Al Madril Mar 20th
- Terrance M. Garvin Mar 20th
- Frank Dalton Mar 21st
- Mike York Mar 21st
- Shawn Sanders Mar 21st
- Scott Sanders Mar 21st
- Niles Plonk Mar 22nd
- Luc Lapointe Mar 22nd
- Seth Shai Mar 23rd
- Sophia Mar 23rd
- Karl Karlson Mar 23rd
- Mr. Chale Mar 23rd
- Ryuma Go Mar 23rd
- Tank Patton Mar 23rd
- Devion Black Mar 23rd
- Cruze Mar 24th
- Ricky Wingrave Mar 24th
- Merc Mar 24th
- Cruze Mar 24th
- Fran Gravette Mar 24th
- Buddy Fuller Mar 24th
- Gorgeous George Mar 24th
- Jake Hager Mar 24th
- Clinton Starks Mar 24th
- Rey Leon Mar 25th
- Jake McCoy Mar 25th
- Seigfried Stanke Mar 25th
- Elephant Boy Mar 26th
- Mike Mondo Mar 26th
- John Swenski Mar 26th
- Tom Hanley Mar 26th
- Ron McFarlane Mar 26th
- Gordon Nelson Mar 27th
- Charlie Haas Mar 27th
- Sheeva Mar 28th
- Maddox Jones Mar 28th
- Caine Carter Mar 28th
- Keith Knight Mar 29th
- Michael Hayes Mar 29th
- Ron Garvin Mar 30th
- Riley Grinn Mar 30th
- Spur the Clown Mar 30th
- Mace [1st] Mar 31st
- Glenn Wade Apr 1st
- K-Rob Apr 1st
- Mighty Atlas Apr 1st
- Oni Wiki Wiki Apr 1st
- Richard Sharpe Apr 1st
Card Results
- MWF · Mar 17th 2024 · Guthrie
- RDW · Mar 16th 2024 · Lexington
- EPW · Mar 16th 2024 · Oklahoma City
- UWO · Mar 16th 2024 · Lexington
- CAPW · Mar 16th 2024 · Lexington
- TIW · Mar 16th 2024 · Claremore
- UWO · Mar 15th 2024 · Guthrie
- NAW · Mar 9th 2024 · Watts (Chewey)
- WFC · Mar 9th 2024 · Owasso
- UWE · Mar 9th 2024 · Tahlequah
- 3CW
- 3DW
- 412PE
- AACW
- ACW
- AdCW
- AEW
- ASP
- AWA
- AWE
- AWF
- AWFUL
- BB
- BBOW
- BCW
- BLOW
- BMLL
- BPPW
- BPW
- BSWF
- BTW
- BYEW
- CAPW
- CCW
- ComPro
- CPW
- CWE
- CWF
- CXW
- DEMW
- DI2IW
- ECW
- EDW
- EmpCW
- EMWF
- EPW
- FCW
- FIW
- FTE
- GPCW
- GWF
- GWF2016
- HPB
- ICW
- IMPACT
- IPW
- IWR
- IWW
- IZW
- JCW
- KCW
- LA
- LDU
- LLQ
- LLR
- MajCW
- MAW
- MCW
- MERC
- MMWF
- MPW
- MSPW
- MStW
- MSW
- MSWA
- MVSC
- MWA
- MWF
- MWW
- NAW
- NCW
- NCWO
- NEW
- NMS
- NWA
- NWA-FTA
- NWA-OK
- NWA-TXO
- NWA-U
- NWA-West
- NXT
- NXW
- OCCW
- OCW
- OECW
- OKX
- OPW
- OWA
- OWF
- OWP
- PWR
- PWTV
- PZWA
- RDW
- ROH
- SCW
- SCWF
- SECW
- SLPW
- SoCW
- SPW
- SRPW
- SWCW
- TAP
- TAZW
- TCBW
- TCW
- TexPro
- TIW
- TNA
- TOPW
- TPW
- TSW
- TxPW
- UCW
- USWA
- UWE
- UWF
- UWF06
- UWO
- W4CW
- WAH
- WCCW
- WCP
- WCR
- WCW
- WCW92
- WFA
- WFC
- WIA
- WLW
- WWE
- WWEmp
- WWF
- WWG
- WWW
- XMW
- XUW