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God Bless Texas! Bobby Burns Rides Off Into The Sunset

God Bless Texas! Bobby Burns Rides Off Into The Sunset

Posted: Jul 9th 2012 By: CMBurnham

Long storied careers are no longer the norm in professional wrestling. These days, if you reach 5 or 6 years in the business, you could almost be considered a veteran. So for someone to have a career that began in 1984 and finally ended in 28 years later, that's a significant accomplishment.

And that's just one of the many features of Bobby Burns.

Burns was a main event player in the 1990s as part of the Texas Outlaws, along with Dan Wilder and Bernard Funk. Together, they dominated the WWEmp and OPW. After a little time off, Burns turned up in SRPW in 2005 and would be closely associated with that federation in both its incarnations for the rest of his career. And while he has competed in Texas, Kansas, Arkansas and Mexico (amongst other places), Oklahoma was where he decided to have his final match.

Burns had posted on his Facebook page that he had a huge announcement for the fans who attended the SRPW event in Mounds on June 30th. But when Burns arrived, he didn't spend time talking. Instead, he was booked to face one of the few men in the company who could match him in size: Rolling Thunder. Thunder and Burns first crossed paths in Oklahoma in UWE and no issues between the two of them were ever truly resolved. These two big men pounded on each other in the brutal heat, hoping nature would assist each of them in wearing their opponent down. Most people would presume that a man of Burns' size and power would rely on power moves, but that wasn't actually the case as Burns ultimately won the match by forcing Thunder to tap out to a cross-arm breaker.

After the match was over, Burns took the microphone and told the fans that in almost 30 years, he had been all over the world, but it was time for him to step aside. That was his retirement match. It was a little bit of a surreal moment. Burns is a larger than life character, so for him to make this decision and not bring any fanfare to it didn't seem normal. And perhaps fate thought the same thing as this announcement brought Ray Martinez and Selena out. Ray says that Burns doesn't get to decide on his own when to quit. Ray gets to make those decisions and he has decided that Burns WILL have his final match that night, but it will be against his La M partner El Choppo. Choppo arrived and the two began a quick, but brutal beatdown on the veteran competitor until Psycho Sawyer arrived to drive the hated pair from the ring.

Time passed and more festivities took place at the Mounds Independence Day celebration. The tension began to rise more and more as it got closer and closer to the main event. Finally, it was time. Dennis Heflin, a referee from the OPW days, made a special appearance to be the referee for this final match. El Choppo arrived first, with Ray Martinez & Selena. And then, the strains of "God Blessed Texas" began to pump through the speakers. For many years, that song had elicited boos in overwhelming amounts from the fans. But they cheered and applauded as Bobby Burns made his way to the ring for the final time.

Just as it was with Rolling Thunder, El Choppo and Bobby Burns was a match about power, not finesse. And with Martinez & Selena at ringside, Burns had to contend with as much outside the ring as inside. But he held his own, fighting off all the dastardly attacks that came his way. Seeing that even though there were three of them, they couldn't be victorious, Martinez grabbed Burns' cowbell and smacked it on the head of Burns, earning El Choppo a DQ. Burns fired up and drove everyone from the ring. And even though it probably wasn't the way he wanted it to be, Burns stood victorious in his last venture into a pro wrestling ring.

The entire locker room then emptied to enter the ring, one at a time, and congratulate Burns on his career. After much prompting, Burns was given a microphone and said that he was very proud of what he'd done in his career, but mostly he was proud to have been able to work with a lot of the young talent in SRPW. And he wanted them to be sure that, if they were asked, they should tell everyone they were trained by Bobby Burns.

The Western movies of the past often centred around a hero who rode in to town, defeated the bad guys who were causing problems, and then moved on, riding into the sunset for other adventures. For Bobby Burns, the adventure is over. But he earned his time and opportunity to ride into the sunset, even if he couldn't be called a "hero" for much of his career. As the most senior member of any roster in Oklahoma, Burns accomplished everything he set out to do and more. And now, the grizzled veteran can join the other members of the Texas Outlaws and spend their time reminiscing about the good old days.

 

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Spotlight in History

  • 1951 Joe Alderman became the TSW Missouri Junior Heavyweight Champion
  • 1972 Jose Lothario def. Stan Stasiak for the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Title
  • 1981 Kerry Von Erich & Terry Orndorff def. Tim Brooks & Arman Hussein for the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
  • 2008 3rd Rail def. Outlaw for the SWCW Heavyweight Title
  • 2014 Montego Seeka became the IWR Revolutionary Champion
  • 2020 Thrash became the ASP Mid-American Champion
  • 2020 Brawler Morrison def. Gemini [2nd] for the ASP 5-Star Title
  • 2025 Giganto def. Pastor Brent for the WAH Living Hope Title
  • 2025 Duncan Kincaid def. Deacon Hendrix for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Title
  • 2025 Vald def. Duncan Kincaid for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Title
  • 2025 Duncan Kincaid def. Vald for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Title
  • 2025 Psycho Mike def. Duncan Kincaid for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Title

Week of Sun 10-25 to Sat: 10-31

  • 10-25 1951 Joe Alderman became the TSW Missouri Junior Heavyweight Champion
  • 10-25 1972 Jose Lothario def. Stan Stasiak for the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Title
  • 10-25 1981 Kerry Von Erich & Terry Orndorff def. Tim Brooks & Arman Hussein for the WCCW American Tag Team Titles
  • 10-25 2008 3rd Rail def. Outlaw for the SWCW Heavyweight Title
  • 10-25 2014 Montego Seeka became the IWR Revolutionary Champion
  • 10-25 2020 Thrash became the ASP Mid-American Champion
  • 10-25 2020 Brawler Morrison def. Gemini [2nd] for the ASP 5-Star Title
  • 10-25 2025 Giganto def. Pastor Brent for the WAH Living Hope Title
  • 10-25 2025 Duncan Kincaid def. Deacon Hendrix for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Title
  • 10-25 2025 Vald def. Duncan Kincaid for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Title
  • 10-25 2025 Duncan Kincaid def. Vald for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Title
  • 10-25 2025 Psycho Mike def. Duncan Kincaid for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Title
  • 10-26 1964 Tony Borne def. Karl Kox for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Title
  • 10-26 1978 Ernie Ladd became the TSW Arkansas Champion
  • 10-26 1983 Junkyard Dog def. Butch Reed for the MSW North American Heavyweight Title
  • 10-26 1986 John Tatum & Jack Victory def. The Fantastics (Tommy Rogers & Bobby Fulton) for the UWF Tag Team Titles
  • 10-26 2002 Beau Dalton def. Vinnie Valentino for the OCW Oklahoma Title
  • 10-26 2002 Michael Faith & Smash Hansen def. Big Daddy Moore & Karl Davis for the OCW Oklahoma Tag Team Titles
  • 10-26 2006 D Money became the UWF06 Heavyweight Champion
  • 10-26 2024 Tommy Dean def. Wesley Crane for the WFC Hometown Heroes Title
  • 10-26 2024 Daniel Aaron Michalles def. Super Star for the WAH Hunger Dojo Title
  • 10-26 2024 Riley Grinn def. Tommy Dean for the WFC Hometown Heroes Title
  • 10-26 2024 Sean Ryan def. Daniel Aaron Michalles for the WAH Hunger Dojo Title
  • 10-26 2025 Duncan Kincaid def. Psycho Mike for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Title
  • 10-27 1984 Chris Adams & Gino Hernandez & Jake Roberts def. Kerry Von Erich, Mike Von Erich, & Bobby Fulton (substituting for Kevin Von Erich) for the WCCW World 6-Man Tag Team Titles
  • 10-27 1995 TNT def. Casey Cannon for the PZWA Heavyweight Title
  • 10-27 2007 Shane Rawls def. Jerry Bostic for the UWF06 Heavyweight Title
  • 10-27 2007 Les Mayne def. Dane Griffin for the UWF06 Texhoma Title
  • 10-27 2007 Martin Justice became the GPCW Lightweight Champion
  • 10-27 2007 Justin Lee def. Shane Morbid for the ComPro Oklahoma X Division Title
  • 10-27 2023 Johnny Kove def. Koko for the CPW Heavyweight Title
  • 10-27 2023 Lunchador became the MajCW 24/7 On Call Native American Champion
  • 10-27 2023 Handgun Dan def. Lunchador for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Native American Title
  • 10-27 2023 Brandon Warhawk def. Handgun Dan for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Native American Title
  • 10-27 2023 Lunchador def. Brandon Warhawk for the MajCW 24/7 On Call Native American Title
  • 10-27 2024 Billie the Kiid def. Malik Mayfield for the ASP Livestream Title
  • 10-28 1975 Karl Kox def. Dick Murdoch for the TSW North American Title
  • 10-28 2006 Mass Destruction (Spoiler 2000 & Bash) became the NWA-U Universal Tag Team Champions
  • 10-28 2006 John O'Malley def. Rocco Valentino for the NWA-U Oklahoma Heavyweight Title
  • 10-28 2006 Christopher Fox became the NWA-U Universal Heavyweight Champion
  • 10-28 2006 Rocco Valentino def. Christopher Fox for the NWA-U Universal Heavyweight Title
  • 10-28 2007 The South Side Soul Assassins (Tyson Jaymes & 3rd Rail) def. Bad Boy & Outlaw for the MSWA Mid-South Tag Team Titles
  • 10-28 2012 Bobby Starr def. Cody Jones for the MSWA Oklahoma Title
  • 10-28 2012 The Investment (Jason Noal & Jay Synn) became the ACW Tag Team Champions
  • 10-28 2012 Johnny Z def. Double D for the MSWA Mid-South Heavyweight Title
  • 10-28 2017 Duke Swellington def. Kikutaro for the ComPro Oklahoma X Division Title
  • 10-29 1969 Johnny Valentine def. Wahoo McDaniel for the WCCW Texas Heavyweight Title
  • 10-29 1984 Kerry Von Erich def. Gino Hernandez for the WCCW American Heavyweight Title
  • 10-29 1995 The Bad Boyz (Brett Knight & Krull Danzig) became the WWEmp Tag Team Champions
  • 10-29 1995 Shane Cortez def. Original Renegade for the WWEmp Television Title
  • 10-29 1995 Red Eagle def. Annihilator for the WWEmp Heavyweight Title
  • 10-29 2002 Ty Magnus def. Brandon Bishop for the ACW Heavyweight Title
  • 10-29 2016 Nathan Estrada def. Gavin Dixon for the ComPro Oklahoma X Division Title
  • 10-29 2016 Urn Stokes def. Steven Cruze for the ComPro Showtime Title
  • 10-29 2016 MX2 (Zak Mason & Dan Maestro) def. Dynamic Shields (Justin Dynamic & Shawn Shields) for the ComPro Tag Team Titles
  • 10-29 2022 Ryan the Ripper def. Ronnie Morton for the RDW Brass Knucks Title
  • 10-29 2022 The Psychotic Messengers (Malachi & Maniac Mike) def. Team Boner (Drake Gallows & MLP) for the AIWF Tag Team Titles
  • 10-29 2022 X-Rated (Kevin James Sanchez & Shane Sanchez & Ozzy Hendrix) def. The Psychotic Messengers (Malachi & Maniac Mike) for the EPW Tag Team Titles
  • 10-30 1978 Mark Lewin & The White Knight became the WCCW Texas Tag Team Champions
  • 10-30 2009 Franco D'Angelo def. Jeremy Quinn III for the ACW Heavyweight Title
  • 10-30 2010 Gene Valdez def. Ryan Reed for the NCW Heavyweight Title
  • 10-30 2010 Mr. Big & Michael H became the NCW Tag Team Champions
  • 10-31 1967 Fritz Von Erich def. Brute Bernard for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Title
  • 10-31 1972 Johnny Valentine def. Stan Stasiak for the WCCW Texas Brass Knuckles Title
  • 10-31 1980 Ernie Ladd & Leroy Brown def. Junkyard Dog & Terry Orndorff for the MSW Mid-South Tag Team Titles
  • 10-31 1983 Johnny Mantell def. Jimmy Garvin for the WCCW Television Title
  • 10-31 1994 Beast 3rd became the WWEmp Heavyweight Champion
  • 10-31 2009 Martin Justice became the OECW Heavyweight Champion
  • 10-31 2025 Phoenix Down (Colton Kinnamon & Ricky Wingrave) def. Blazin' Saddles (Bang Bang Bennett & Scotty Rose) for the RDW Tag Team Titles
10-25
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  • Double D Oct 25th Today!
  • Phil Shark Oct 25th Today!
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  • Anthony Wayne Oct 26th
  • Troy Graham Oct 26th
  • Doberman [2nd] Oct 27th
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  • Miss Linda Oct 27th
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  • MVP Oct 28th
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  • Jake Boulder Oct 28th
  • Paul Orndorff Oct 29th
  • D. J. Hall Oct 29th
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  • Debbie Combs Oct 30th
  • Brandon Bishop Oct 30th
  • Danny McShain Oct 30th
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  • Jayson Boss Oct 31st
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  • Dylan Michaels Nov 3rd
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