Dennis Brown (born January 10, 1956) is an American retired professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, "Downtown" Denny Brown. He is best known for his appearances with the National Wrestling Alliance affiliates Championship Wrestling from Florida and Jim Crockett Promotions in the 1980s and with World Championship Wrestling in the 1990s.[1]
| Denny Brown | |
|---|---|
 Denny Brown (back) hiptosses Mike Davis (front), circa 1985 | |
| Birth name | Dennis Brown[1] |
| Born | January 9, 1956 St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.[1] |
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Bradford Brown[2] Dennis Brown[2] Denny Brown[2] Night Rider[2] Red Raider[2] |
| Billed height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)[3] |
| Billed weight | 224 lb (102 kg)[3] |
| Trained by | Rick Conners[4] |
| Debut | 1979[3] |
| Retired | 1997[3][4] |
Early life
editAfter serving in the United States Army, Brown attended welding school in St. Petersburg, Florida. After completing his training, he moved to Knoxville, Tennessee in search of work, but was rejected by the trade union due to not coming from Tennessee. His uncle introduced him to professional wrestler Rick Conners, who agreed to train him.[4]
Professional wrestling career
editBrown debuted in 1979. In 1980, he began wrestling for Jim Crockett Promotions as "Downtown" Denny Brown. After wrestling as a jobber for several years, Brown won the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship at Starrcade in 1984 from Mike Davis. When New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) withdrew their separate claim to the title, Brown was recognized as the undisputed champion in August 1985. He held the title three times over the following months, feuding with Nelson Royal, Gary Royal, Steve Regal and Lazer Tron.
Later in his career, Brown wrestled in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) and as a jobber in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) before retiring in 1997.
Championships and accomplishments
edit- Championship Wrestling from Florida
- Georgia Championship Wrestling
- International Wrestling Association of Japan
- IWA World Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Jim Crockett Promotions
- National Wrestling Alliance1
- South Atlantic Pro Wrestling
- SAPW Junior Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
1NWA records are unclear as to where Brown was or what NWA affiliated promotion he was wrestling for when his first reign with the championship began.
References
edit- ^ a b c Meltzer, Dave (1986). The Wrestling Observer's Who's who in Pro Wrestling.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ a b c d e Saalbach, Axel. "Denny Brown". WrestlingData.com. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Kreikenbohm, Philip. "Denny Brown". Cagematch.net. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- ^ a b c Robertson, Alexandra (November 26, 2018). "Downtown Denny Brown never gave up". SlamWrestling.net. Archived from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2022.
- ^ Lentz III, Harris M. (2003). Biographical Dictionary of Professional Wrestling (2 ed.). McFarland & Co. p. 282. ISBN 978-1-4766-0505-0.
External links
edit- Denny Brown at IMDb
- Denny Brown's profile at Cagematch.net, Wrestlingdata.com, Internet Wrestling Database