Misplaced Pages

#58941

139-645: A popular tag team in the Southern United States during the 1980s, the Battens faced off against some of the top tag teams of the era. They began their wrestling career working for the Poffo family in 1983. As identical twins, the brothers were a rarity in pro wrestling at the time of their debut. Their tenure in the NWA's Central States territory saw them engaged in a long feud with Sheik Abdullah. They held

278-647: A Black majority or urban areas in the South. Although historically a Democratic stronghold , most states in the region have in recent decades come to favor Republicans , although both the Republican and Democratic Party are competitive in certain Southern swing states . The region contains almost all of the Bible Belt , an area of high Protestant church attendance, especially evangelical churches such as

417-633: A Mason-Dixon Wrestling show for the Blackberry Festival in Nutter Fort, West Virginia . The two teams met again in Williamson, West Virginia three months later where The Batten Twins defeated Death & Destruction following a wild 4-way brawl. On August 15, they defeated the "New" West Virginia Wrecking Crew (Danny Ray and Scott McComas) in a tournament final to become the first-ever MSWA Tag Team Champions. The Batten Twins retained

556-712: A Three-Way Dance with American Kickboxer and Tarek the Great. On November 1, The Battens defeated Dark Overlord and Gatekeeper in New Martinsville, West Virginia to become the first Atlantic Coast Championship Wrestling Tag Team Champions . They lost the title to The Country Cousins (Cousin Elmer and R.J. Stomper) and failed to regain the belts in a rematch held in Buckhannon, West Virginia on December 13, 1997. On May 9, 1998, The Battens and The Bushwhackers headlined

695-415: A front facelock . He had wrestled three years in high school, however, and was able to reverse the facelock and make Poffo submit to a guillotine hold . Their training progressed quickly after this incident, with both Angelo Poffo and Randy Savage taking part, and they were put into their first match after only a few sessions. The brothers became close friends with both Lanny and Randy. Brad especially became

834-866: A running back they were never on the field at the same time. In addition to teaching school, Bart Batten went on to play two years of semi-professional football for the West Virginia Rockets. Both brothers were wrestling fans and decided to try out for a career in pro wrestling after attending several International Championship Wrestling shows in the early 1980s. The two spent about a year working out until they each weighed 210 lb (95 kg). They also experimented with steroids during this time. Then living in St. Albans, West Virginia , Bart approached Lanny Poffo at an ICW show in Beckley . The wrestler introduced Brad to his brother Randy Savage and invited

973-678: A spinebuster and Flair forced him to submit to the figure-four leglock . On March 7, 1992, on WCW Power Hour Bart Batten wrestled "Flying" Brian Pillman . The Batten Twins first and only appearance as a team was on the March 22nd edition of WCW Main Event at the Civic Center in Anderson, South Carolina against Dustin Rhodes and Barry Windham . The Battens lost when Rhodes pinned one of

1112-497: A 10-count. Batten had previously lost to Abdullah in an Iranian Death match two months earlier. On April 19, the team entered the inaugural Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament at the Louisiana Superdome but were eliminated in the first round by Nelson Royal and Sam Houston . In May 1986, The Batten Twins were defeated by the young duo of Marty Jannetty and Shawn Michaels , The Midnight Rockers , for

1251-460: A benefit show for the family of Tyler Dietrich who were struggling to pay expensive medical bills after their young son was diagnosed with cancer. This One's For Tyler involved wrestlers from seven different independent promotions including Nationwide Championship Wrestling and Ohio Championship Wrestling. The Batten Twins were part of a six-man tag match with Cuzin Elwood against The Poachers and Vic

1390-477: A few weeks of their arrival, they also received a title shot against NWA Central States Tag Team Champions "Bulldog" Bob Brown and Marty Jannetty . It was during this match that the champions split up when Brown stopped cooperating with his partner. The championship remained vacant until The Batten Twins defeated The Midnight Express ( Dennis Condrey and Bobby Eaton ) in a tournament final on November 21, 1985. Their first title reign lasted three months before

1529-470: A key figure behind the scenes by helping produce ICW's television show as well as driving the ring truck and setting up the ring . They made their pro debut on May 12, 1983, against Tony Falk and Doug Vines in Prestonsburg, Kentucky . Brad was injured shortly after their debut when he blew out his left knee performing a jumping high five and toe kick with his brother. Ironically, this would become

SECTION 10

#1732797434059

1668-537: A large American army in the process, and set up a network of bases inland. Although there were Loyalists within the Southern colonies, they were concentrated in larger coastal cities and were not great enough in number to overcome the revolutionaries. The British forces at the Battle of Monck's Corner and the Battle of Lenud's Ferry consisted entirely of Loyalists with the exception of the commanding officer ( Banastre Tarleton ). Both white and black Loyalists fought for

1807-718: A large area north of the city (along the Mississippi) becoming known as the German Coast. Still greater numbers immigrated to Texas (especially after 1848), where many bought land and were farmers. Many more German immigrants arrived in Texas after the Civil War, where they created the brewing industry in Houston and elsewhere, became grocers in numerous cities, and also established wide areas of farming. By 1840, New Orleans

1946-406: A match between The Batten Twins and Dixie Dynamite & Danny Davis end in a no contest when a backstage brawl involving The Heavenly Bodies and The Fantastics disrupted the bout. The following week saw Bart Batten team up with SMW Heavyweight Champion Brian Lee against The Dirty White Boy and "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorff . Lee replaced one of the Battens following an injury and were awarded

2085-887: A month later. In one of his last SSW appearances, Brad Batten joined Ray Idol and Jimmy Golden in a 6-man tag team match to beat K. C. Thunder, Nightmare and Super Destroyer in Greeneville, Tennessee on September 20, 2003. By the early-2000s, for the most part, The Batten Twins stayed within West Virginia working for local independent promotions such as American International Wrestling, Independent Pro Wrestling, Mid South Wrestling Alliance, Mountain State Wrestling, Mountaineer Pro Wrestling and Nationwide Championship Wrestling. They trained future NWA star Jason "The Gift" Kincaid during this time. They did, however, travel to Ashland, Kentucky on May 23, 2003, to take part in

2224-440: A naval flotilla was sent to Charleston harbor, and the threat of landing ground troops was used to compel the collection of tariffs. A compromise was reached by which the tariffs would be gradually reduced, but the underlying argument over states' rights continued to escalate in the following decades. The second issue concerned slavery, primarily the question of whether slavery would be permitted in newly admitted states. The issue

2363-867: A no-contest. Four days later, they won the West Virginia Tag Team Invitational in Smithers, West Virginia . On April 28, The Batten Twins were defeated by Eric St. Clair and George South in Fayetteville, West Virginia . On September 21, 2004, The Batten Twins defeated Lance Erikson and Stan Lee by disqualification at a MPW show in Oak Hill. In April 2005, the Batten Twins announced their retirement and would be going on one last wrestling tour throughout their home state of West Virginia. The reason behind their decision to retire

2502-755: A row. The brothers would become one of the biggest heel performers in the country during their three-year run. Both of the Batten brothers worked in World Championship Wrestling , however, they mostly wrestled separately and as preliminary wrestlers . Brad wrestled three tag team matches on WCW television in the spring and fall of 1990. The first match was with Mark Kyle on the March 2nd edition of World Championship Wrestling wrestling against The Steiner Brothers ( Rick and Scott Steiner ). Six months later, Brad appeared on World Championship Wrestling (aired September 8) with Joe Barrett at

2641-459: A short time during Reconstruction. There were thousands of people on the move, as African Americans tried to reunite families separated by slave sales, and sometimes migrated for better opportunities in towns or other states. Other freed people moved from plantation areas to cities or towns for a chance to get different jobs. At the same time, whites returned from refuges to reclaim plantations or town dwellings. In some areas, many whites returned to

2780-687: A show held at Riverside High School in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania . They also worked for the Appalachia Pro Wrestling, where they encountered rivals Death & Destruction, and Nationwide Championship Wrestling where they won the NCW Tag Team Championship. In April 2001, The Batten Twins wrestled John Noble and Stan Lane in Hardeeville, South Carolina . Noble counted his matches with The Battens among

2919-685: A signature maneuver during their career. He would be out of action for nearly a year and a half. While his brother was recovering from his injury, Bart was paired with Johnny Wilhoit and subsequently defeated Tojo Yamamoto and Gypsy Joe for the ICW United States Tag Team Championship . They remained champions until the promotion's close the following year. After ICW's close, Brad Batten began working for rival promoter Jerry Jarrett 's Continental Wrestling Association promotion in Memphis, Tennessee . Wrestling under

SECTION 20

#1732797434059

3058-489: A singles match by disqualification and later on the team retained their title against Thorn and Flex Armstrong. After a near nine month title reign, the Battens dropped the belts back to Thorn and Baldwin on September 3. The following night, Brad Batten defeated Jesse Taylor for the SSW Heavyweight Championship . He decided to forfeit the title and officially surrendered the belt to promoter Beau James

3197-640: A singles match the following week. The brothers defeated The Heavenly Bodies via disqualification a month later in Beckley, West Virginia. Their opponents held on to the belts, however, as titles could not change hands by disqualification. Over the next few weeks The Battens racked up victories on SMW television defeating Joe Cazana & Scott Sandlin in Spartanburg, South Carolina and Dutch Mantel & Jimmy Golden in Tazwell, Virginia. They were unable win

3336-561: A singles match. When Sullivan and his partner The Nightstalker began attacking Batten prior to the match, and Sullivan using a metal spike to stab him, Brian Lee and Tim Horner came to Batten's rescue. The Battens were working only part-time in SMW in the early-1990s and, as there were very limited spots in its tag team division, they decided to go on another tour of Puerto Rico with the World Wrestling Council. They captured

3475-667: A tag team match that same month. On February 11, the Battens got their revenge on Frazier when they finally beat him in a handicap match; due to the pre-match stipulations, the twins would have lost their hair had they lost the match. In their first three months together, the Battens faced Eddie Gilbert & "Iron" Mike Sharpe , The Terminators (Crow and Riggs), and The Wild Hoggs (J.R. and King Harley Hogg) at WMC Studio . In April 1985, Brad Batten wrestled single matches against Mike Sharpe, Mr. Wrestling and AWA Southern Heavyweight Champion Randy Savage. The Batten Twins also challenged The PYT Express ( Koko Ware and Norvell Austin ) for

3614-696: A third and final appearance for TASW on the November 15th 1986 episode of Texas Championship Wrestling against Black Bart . By December 1986, the Batten Twins were back in NWA Central States and had scored victories over The Thunderfoots ( Thunderfoot #1 and Thunderfoot #2) and Porkchop Cash & Colt Steele. On January 30, 1987, Brad and Bart Batten lost a chance to regain the NWA Central States Tag Team Championship from The MOD Squad (Spike and Basher) at

3753-468: A total of 260,000, out of a total white Southern population at the time of around 5.5 million. Based on 1860 census figures, 8% of all white males aged 13 to 43 died in the war, including 6% in the North and about 18% in the South. Northern military deaths were greater than Southern military deaths in absolute numbers, but were two-thirds smaller in terms of proportion of the population affected. After

3892-548: A week later in Fort Worth . At the 3rd Cotton Bowl Extravaganza , The Batten Twins were beaten by Chris and Mark Youngblood . The Battens made a brief appearance in Texas All-Star Wrestling before they departed the territory. On November 1, Brad Batten wrestled Master Gee on the debut episode of Texas Championship Wrestling . The Batten Twins faced The Grapplers the following week. Brad Batten made

4031-585: Is an American retired professional wrestler , referee, promoter and trainer. He is best known for his appearances in the Memphis-based promotion United States Wrestling Association in the 1990s under the ring name Tony Falk . Falk his debut in 1981 for International Championship Wrestling until the promotions folded in 1984. He worked for Mid-South Wrestling , Continental Wrestling Association , Southwest Championship Wrestling , World Wrestling Council and World Class Championship Wrestling . Also

4170-607: Is known for having developed its own distinct culture , with different customs, fashion, architecture , musical styles , and cuisines , which have distinguished it in many ways from other areas of the United States. From 1860 to 1861, eleven Southern states plus an additional two Southern states that were claimed and partially controlled seceded from the Union , forming the Confederate States of America . Following

4309-558: The 15th Amendment (which extended the right to vote to African American males), African Americans in the South were made free citizens and were given the right to vote. Under Federal protection, white and black Republicans formed constitutional conventions and state governments. Among their accomplishments were creating the first public education systems in Southern states, and providing for welfare through orphanages, hospitals and similar institutions. Northerners came south to participate in politics and business. Some were representatives of

Batten Twins - Misplaced Pages Continue

4448-531: The American Civil War , these states were subsequently added back to the Union. Sociological research indicates that Southern collective identity stems from political, historical, demographic, and cultural distinctiveness from the rest of the United States; however, this has declined since around the late 20th century, with many Southern areas becoming a melting pot of cultures and people. Ethnic groups in

4587-609: The British Isles before the American Revolution . In the 1980 census , 34% of Southerners reported that they were of English ancestry; English was the largest reported European ancestry in every Southern state by a large margin. The early colonists engaged in warfare , trade, and cultural exchanges. Those living in the backcountry were more likely to encounter Creek Indians , Cherokee , and Choctaws and other regional native groups. The oldest university in

4726-804: The Chesapeake Bay . The next region to be settled was the Deep South, beginning in Province of Carolina and later the Province of Georgia . The last region to be settled was Appalachia, also settled by the Scotch-Irish . King Charles II of England granted the Charter of Carolina in 1663 for land south of the British Colony of Virginia and north of Spanish Florida . He granted the land to eight lords proprietor . Charles granted

4865-527: The Democratic Party to power. In 1876 white Democrats regained power in most of the state legislatures. They began to pass laws designed to strip African Americans and Poor Whites from the voter registration rolls. The success of late-19th century interracial coalitions in several states inspired a reaction among some white Democrats, who worked harder to prevent both groups from voting. Tony Falk Anthony Felker (born August 13, 1961)

5004-621: The Freedmen's Bureau and other agencies of Reconstruction; some were humanitarians with the intent to help black people. Some were adventurers who hoped to benefit themselves by questionable methods. They were all condemned with the pejorative term of carpetbagger . Some Southerners would also take advantage of the disrupted environment and made money off various schemes, including bonds and financing for railroads. White Southerners who supported Reconstruction policies and efforts became known as scalawags . Secret vigilante organizations such as

5143-685: The Georgia Mountains Center in Gainesville, Georgia against NWA Tag Team Champions Doom (with Teddy Long ). His third and final appearance was on WCW Main Event (aired September 30) where he and Dave Diamond took on "The Nature Boy" Ric Flair and NWA Television Champion Arn Anderson at the Cobb County Civic Center in Marietta, Georgia . Batten's team lost the match when Anderson hit Batten with

5282-552: The Ku Klux Klan  – an organization sworn to perpetuate white supremacy  – had arisen quickly after the war's end in the 1860s, and used lynching , physical attacks, house burnings and other forms of intimidation to keep African Americans from exercising their political rights. Although the first Klan was disrupted by prosecution by the Federal government in the early 1870s, other groups persisted. By

5421-757: The NWA Central States Tag Team Championship a record four times, defeating The Midnight Express , the Midnight Rockers , Sheik Abdullah and Akio Sato , and Bobby Jaggers (in a singles match) for the title. The Battens were also major stars in Puerto Rico during the late-1980s where they won WWC Tag Team Championship four times and the WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship twice. Their unexpected " heel turn " made them one of

5560-749: The Ohio State University Medical Center on November 18, 2014, after suffering a sudden heart attack near his home. The news was announced by the World Wrestling Council on its official Facebook page. On January 21, 2015, Bart Batten was a guest on the World Domination with Terry Garvin Simms podcast with retired wrestler Terry Simms. He discussed his reaction to Brad's death and revealed that both of them had become born again Christians after they had split up. It

5699-626: The Patriot cause . Virginia would provide leaders such as commander-in-chief George Washington , and the author of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson . In 1780 and 1781, the British largely halted reconquest of the northern states and concentrated on the south, where they were told there was a large Loyalist population ready to leap to arms once the royal forces arrived. The British took control of Savannah and Charleston, capturing

Batten Twins - Misplaced Pages Continue

5838-494: The Southern Baptist Convention . Historically, the South relied heavily on agriculture as its main economic base and was predominantly rural until after World War II . Since the 1940s, the region has become more economically diversified and metropolitan , helping attract both national and international migrants. In the 21st century, it is the fastest-growing region in the United States, with Houston being

5977-556: The St. Louis Arena . The match was later aired on the Jim Crockett Promotions television special "NWA Super Towns on the Superstation". The winning team won an invitation to the second annual Jim Crockett, Sr. Memorial Cup Tag Team Tournament . On February 27, Brad Batten teamed with Rick McCord to beat The MOD Squad for the belts. They soon became involved in a feud with Porkchop Cash and Ken Timbs . The title

6116-487: The WWC Tag Team Championship . A month later at WWC Aniversario 1988 , the Battens retained the titles against The Sheepherders ( Butch Miller and Luke Williams ). The Sheepherders had initially been declared the winners after Miller had interfered in the match by hitting Brad in the head with a flagpole. A second official came out to inform the referee what had occurred and the Battens were awarded

6255-476: The humid subtropical climate zone. Crops grow readily in the South due to its climate consistently providing growing seasons of at least six months before the first frost. Some common environments include bayous and swamplands, the southern pine forests , the warm temperate montane forest of the Appalachians, the savannas of the southern Great Plains, and the subtropical jungle and maritime forests along

6394-602: The roseate spoonbill and the extinct but symbolic carolina parakeet . The question of how to define the boundaries and subregions in the South has long been the focus of research and debate. As defined by the United States Census Bureau , A survey conducted by social geographers in 2010 selected thirteen states as the cultural south; Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Florida, Virginia, West Virginia, and Oklahoma. The Southern region of

6533-606: The 16th century, reaching a peak in the late 17th century, but the population was small because the Spaniards were relatively uninterested in agriculture, and Florida had no mineral resources. There were regional differences in the Southern colonies, with the three main regions of Tidewater , the Deep South , and Appalachia . The first region to be settled was Tidewater, containing the low-lying plains of southeast Virginia , northeastern North Carolina , southern Maryland and

6672-490: The 1960s, and the widespread use of poll taxes and other methods to deny black and poor people the ability to vote or hold office until the 1960s. Scholars have characterized pockets of the Southern United States as being authoritarian enclaves from Reconstruction until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 . When looked at broadly, studies have shown that Southerners tend to be more conservative than most non-Southerners, with liberalism being mostly predominant in places with

6811-530: The AWA Southern Tag Team Championship but they were unsuccessful in winning the title. That summer, the Battens battled Hot Property ( Billy Travis and Ron Sexton) and The Kiwi Sheepherders ( Jonathan Boyd and Rip Morgan ) before leaving the area. The Batten Twins moved on to the NWA's Central States territory where they had a long-running feud with Sheik Abdullah The Great and his various tag team partners, most often Akio Sato and Tarzan Goto , but also including American Starship Coyote and Mr. Pogo . Within

6950-589: The Atlantic Ocean and the Western United States , with the Midwestern and Northeastern United States to its north and the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico to its south. Historically, the South was defined as all states south of the 18th-century Mason–Dixon line , the Ohio River , and 36°30′ parallel . Within the South are different subregions such as the Southeast , South Central , Upper South , and Deep South . Maryland , Delaware , Washington, D.C. , and Northern Virginia have become more culturally, economically, and politically aligned in certain aspects with

7089-426: The Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Unique flora include various species of magnolia, rhododendron, cane, palm, and oak, among others. Fauna of the region is also diverse, encompassing a plethora of amphibian species, reptiles such as the green anole , the venomous cottonmouth snake, and the American alligator , mammals like the American black bear , the swamp rabbit , and the nine-banded armadillo , and birds such as

SECTION 50

#1732797434059

7228-407: The Battens would have been major stars had they been given the opportunity by the bigger territories. Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie , also referred to as the Southern States , the American South , the Southland , Dixieland , or simply the South ) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau . It is between

7367-422: The British Governor Dunmore of Virginia's promise of freedom for service. Many others were removed by Loyalist owners and became slaves elsewhere in the British Empire. Between 1770 and 1790, there was a sharp decline in the percentage of blacks – from 61% to 44% in South Carolina and from 45% to 36% in Georgia. In addition, some slaveholders were inspired to free their slaves after the Revolution. They were moved by

7506-502: The British Navy. The British Navy did arrive, but so did a stronger French fleet, and Cornwallis was trapped. American and French armies, led by George Washington, forced Cornwallis to surrender his entire army in Yorktown, Virginia in October 1781, effectively winning the North American part of the war. The Revolution provided a shock to slavery in the South and other regions of the new country. Thousands of slaves took advantage of wartime disruption to find their own freedom, catalyzed by

7645-472: The British at the Battle of Kemp's Landing in Virginia. Led by Nathanael Greene and other generals, the Americans engaged in Fabian tactics designed to wear down the British invasion force and to neutralize its strong points one by one. There were numerous battles large and small, with each side claiming some victories. By 1781, however, British General Cornwallis moved north to Virginia, where an approaching army forced him to fortify and await rescue by

7784-455: The Bruiser. On July 24, The Batten Twins lost to Mike Woods and Gary Valiant by disqualification at a NWA Main Event TV taping in Murfreesboro, Tennessee . In January 2004, The Batten Twins briefly feuded with Jared and Bitch Lancaster in Mountain State Wrestling. On February 6, 2004, they fought to a double-disqualification against Johnny Blast and Cuban Assassin #2 in Minnora, West Virginia . A March 16 bout against The Memphis Mafia ended in

7923-431: The Census definition, two U.S. territories located southeast of Florida ( Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands ) are sometimes included as part of the Southern United States. The Federal Aviation Administration includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands as part of the South, as does the Agricultural Research Service and the U.S. National Park Service . The first well-dated evidence of human occupation in

8062-603: The Championship Pro Wrestling tag team titles that summer. During this time, the Battens had several run ins with Death & Destruction ( Frank "The Tank" Parker and "Ruthless" Roger Anderson ). A few days after winning the CPW Tag Team Championship, they beat Mountain State Wrestling Association tag champions Death & Destruction in a non-title match. The Battens also occasionally wrestled for Ian Rotten 's IWA Mid-South promotion in Louisville, Kentucky . On September 11, The Batten Twins lost to Shark Boy and The Tower Of Doom. A week later, however, they avenged this loss in

8201-419: The Civil War, the South was devastated in terms of infrastructure and economy. Because of states' reluctance to grant voting rights to freedmen, Congress instituted Reconstruction governments. It established military districts and governors to rule over the South until new governments could be established. Many white Southerners who had actively supported the Confederacy were temporarily disenfranchised. Rebuilding

8340-441: The Confederacy. Though early in the war, the Confederacy controlled more than half of Kentucky and the southern portion of Missouri. By March 1862, the Union largely controlled all the border state areas, had shut down all commercial traffic from all Confederate ports, had prevented European recognition of the Confederate government, and was poised to seize New Orleans. The rugged mountainous East Tennessee region attempted to rejoin

8479-498: The Deep South and coastal plain areas, from the early 1600s to mid-1800s. This includes the presence of a large proportion of African Americans within the population, support for the doctrine of states' rights , and legacy of racism magnified by the Civil War and Reconstruction era (1865–1877). Following effects included thousands of lynchings (mostly from 1880 to 1930), a segregated system of separate schools and public facilities established from Jim Crow laws that remained until

SECTION 60

#1732797434059

8618-460: The East Coast to the Great Lakes. Some noted explorers who encountered and described the Mississippian culture, by then in decline, included Pánfilo de Narváez (1528), Hernando de Soto (1540), and Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville (1699). Native American descendants of the mound-builders include Alabama , Apalachee , Caddo , Cherokee , Chickasaw , Choctaw , Creek , Guale , Hitchiti , Houma , and Seminole peoples, all of whom still reside in

8757-472: The Islander . The Batten Twins regained the belts for a third time in Bayamón on March 4, 1989, only to drop the belts to Jason the Terrible and Steve Strong a week later. That same month, The Batten Twins were featured as part of a cover story for Wrestling Life . That spring the Battens were on the look out for more tag team gold. They beat The Ninja Express for the WWC Caribbean Tag Team Championship in Dorado on April 2, their opponents having won them

8896-400: The Mississippi River in 1863. In the East, however, the Confederate Army under Robert E. Lee beat off attack after attack in its defense of their capital at Richmond. But when Lee tried to move north, he was repulsed (and nearly captured) at Sharpsburg (1862) and Gettysburg (1863). The Confederacy had the resources for a short war, but was unable to finance or supply a longer war. It reversed

9035-428: The NWA Central States Tag Team titles. They quickly regained the belts from The Midnight Rockers the following week, causing Michaels to leave the territory, but dropped them to Hacksaw Higgins and J.R. Hogg on May 29. Though their feud was short-lived, the Battens considered The Midnight Rockers one of their favorite opponents of all time. Bart and Brad Batten were brought into World Class Championship Wrestling during

9174-410: The Northeastern United States and are sometimes identified as part of the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic . The United States Census Bureau continues to define all four places as formally being in the South. To account for cultural variations across the region, some scholars have proposed definitions of the South that do not coincide neatly with state boundaries. The South does not precisely correspond to

9313-409: The South and Eastern United States and were sent to Oklahoma. By 1856, the South had lost control of Congress, and was no longer able to silence calls for an end to slavery – which came mostly from the more populated, free states of the North. The Republican Party, founded in 1854, pledged to stop the spread of slavery beyond those states where it already existed. After Abraham Lincoln

9452-445: The South include: Historically, the South was defined as all states south of the 18th century Mason–Dixon line , the Ohio River , and 36°30′ parallel . Newer definitions of the South today are harder to define, due to cultural and sub-regional differences throughout the region; however, definitions usually refer to states that are in the southeastern and south central geographic region of the United States. Although not included in

9591-445: The South were the most diverse among American regions, and include strong European (especially English , Scots-Irish , Scottish , Irish , French , and Spanish ), African , and Native American ancestries. The politics and economy of the region were historically dominated by a small rural elite. The historical and cultural development of the South has been profoundly influenced by the institution of slave labor , especially in

9730-498: The South, the College of William & Mary , was founded in 1693 in Virginia; it pioneered in the teaching of political economy and educated future U.S. Presidents Jefferson , Monroe and Tyler , all from Virginia. Indeed, the entire region dominated politics in the First Party System era: for example, four of the first five presidents – Washington , Jefferson , Madison and Monroe  – were from Virginia. The two oldest public universities are also in

9869-479: The South. Other peoples whose ancestral links to the Mississippian culture are less clear, but those who were in the region before the European incursion include the Catawba and the Powhatan . The arrival of European settlers caused a massive population decline in Native Americans , due to Europeans unknowingly spreading diseases that the natives had no immunities towards, numerous violent conflicts, and forcibly relocating them. The predominant culture of

10008-662: The South: the University of North Carolina (1789) and the University of Georgia (1785). Slavery was legal in all of the Thirteen Colonies prior to the American Revolution in 1776. Britain had slave island colonies in the Caribbean , including Jamaica , Barbados , Nevis , and Antigua , which provided a steady flow of profits from the slave labor that produced sugar. The Southern Colonies differed in that

10147-518: The Southern transportation system depended primarily on river and coastal traffic by boat; both were shut down by the Union Navy . The small railroad system virtually collapsed, so that by 1864 internal travel was so difficult that the Confederate economy was crippled. The Confederate cause was hopeless by the time Atlanta fell and William T. Sherman marched through Georgia in late 1864, but

10286-547: The Union as a new state , having opposed secession and slavery compared to most of Tennessee. In the four years of war 1861–65 the South was the primary battleground, with all but two of the major battles taking place on Southern soil. Union forces led numerous campaigns into the western Confederacy, controlling the border states in 1861, the Tennessee River, the Cumberland River and New Orleans in 1862, and

10425-629: The United States Wrestling Organization and the independents until retiring in 2017. Falk trained his son, LT Falk to become a wrestler. Trained many other Tennessee wrestlers. He was also the promoter of All-Star Wrestling in Paducah, Kentucky from 1994 to 2004 and United States Wrestling Organization in Nashville, Tennessee from 2002 to 2013. In Paducah, the town celebrates "Tony Falk Day" on August 13 which

10564-593: The United States includes sixteen states. As of 2010, an estimated 114,555,744 people, or thirty seven percent of all U.S. residents, lived in the South, the nation's most populous region. The Census Bureau defined three smaller divisions: The Council of State Governments , an organization for communication and coordination between states, includes in its South regional office the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Other terms related to

10703-739: The WWC Tag Team Championship from The Latin Connection ( Ray González and Ricky Santana ) in March 1993. On April 2, they jumped to rival Americas Wrestling Federation where they won the promotion's vacant tag team championship and held the belts until the AWF's close in June 1993. On December 3, 1993, wrestling as "The Wild Angels", the Batten's defeated The Fantastics for Big Time Wrestling's Ohio Tag Team Championship. The Batten Twins returned to SMW in early 1994. Their first match back

10842-411: The arguments over states' rights that culminated in secession and the Civil War. One of these issues concerned the protective tariffs enacted to assist the growth of the manufacturing sector, primarily in the North. In 1832, in resistance to federal legislation increasing tariffs, South Carolina passed an ordinance of nullification , a procedure in which a state would, in effect, repeal a Federal law. Soon

10981-524: The beginning of the program. The Batten Twins made their final SMW appearance losing to The Studd Stable in Newton, North Carolina on February 7. The team lost the match when Fuller made one of the twins submit to a surprise "Fuller leglock" ( Inside toe hold leglock ). This was the first time the move had been used in the promotion. Bart Batten returned to Newton the following week to face Kevin Sullivan in

11120-547: The belts to Castillo and Perez in Jayuya, Puerto Rico on June 9, 1989. The Battens would wrestle Castillo and Perez in over 40 times. Brad Batten named The Puerto Rican Express as the best tag team they had ever faced. The tense relationship between the U.S. and Puerto Rican wrestling industries led the Battens to adopt a "rebellious" attitude towards Carlos Colón and other promoters. During their second Puerto Rican tour, The Battens wrestled in scaffold matches thirteen nights in

11259-686: The belts to The Heartbreakers (Andy Douglas and Kelly Charles) on June 1 but regained them two months later. The team defended the NCW and SSW Tag Team Championships while competing in both promotions. On September 3, they successfully defended both belts against Jimmy Valiant and Flex Armstrong at an NCW show in Huntington, West Virginia . Their feud with K. C. Thunder continued into the fall. On October 13, The Batten Twins and their allies Ricky Harrison and Scotty Ace were beaten in an 8-man tag team match against Beau James, KC Thunder, PJ Sharp and Steve Flynn;

11398-729: The brothers as "heels" and suggested a " family vs. family " storyline pitting the Batten and Von Erich brothers against each other but the promoter turned down the idea. At Labor Day Star Wars '86, The Batten Twins lost to Mark Lewin and Kevin Sullivan in the opening rounds of championship tournament for the WCWA World Tag Team Championship . The next night at Fort Hood 's Prichard Stadium, The Batten Twins defeated Killer Brooks and Perry Jackson. Moments after Bart pinned Jackson, their opponents began fighting with each other with Brooks vowing never to partner with Jackson again. They lost to Rick Rude and Jos LeDuc

11537-664: The brothers had also defended their NCW/SSW titles against Ray Idol and Tony Givens that same night. They remained champions for only two more weeks when they were defeated in Kingsport by K. C. Thunder and Steve Flynn on October 27, 2001. In 2002, The Battens began wrestling for the Mid-South Wrestling Alliance out of Oak Hill and Blue Ridge Wrestling out of Princeton, West Virginia , alongside another former SMW veteran "Player" Brian Logan. On August 3, 2002, The Batten Twins lost to Death & Destruction at

11676-676: The brothers to the promotion's next show in Marmet to meet with their father Angelo Poffo . Lanny later admitted to Brad that he was skeptical about him having a twin brother but when the twins entered the dressing room the Poffo family "saw dollar signs" as identical twins were very rare in the wrestling business at the time. The Battens were initially trained by Lanny Poffo in Sutton, West Virginia . Bart recalled that Poffo had tried to " shoot on him" during their first day of training by putting him in

11815-501: The brothers were featured in The Charleston Daily Mail about identical twins who participate in little league baseball . Both brothers played football from junior high to college with Bart attending West Virginia State University and Brad going to Glenville State College . As both schools had a longtime football rivalry , the brothers often played against each other but with Bart as a wide receiver and Brad

11954-538: The championship was held-up following a title defense in Kansas City, Kansas against Sheik Abdullah and Akio Sato on February 20, 1986. The title was returned to The Batten Twins following a rematch one week later. On March 6, Bart Batten defeated Sheik Abdullah in a Texas Death match . Batten took the first fall when he made his opponent submit to an abdominal stretch while Abdullah took the next two wins by pinfall. The bout ended when Abdullah failed to get up after

12093-634: The codes are not an exact copy, such as Virginia and Maryland , the influence of the Barbados Slave Code can be traced throughout various provisions. In the mid-to-late-18th century, large groups of Ulster Scots (later called the Scotch-Irish ) and people from the Anglo-Scottish border region immigrated and settled in the back country of Appalachia and the Piedmont . They were the largest group of non-English immigrants from

12232-581: The eleven Confederate states, states such as Tennessee (especially East Tennessee ), Virginia (which included West Virginia at the time), and North Carolina were home to the largest populations of Unionists. Many areas of Southern Appalachia harbored pro-Union sentiment as well. As many as 100,000 men living in states under Confederate control would serve in the Union Army or pro-Union guerrilla groups. Although Southern Unionists came from all classes, most differed socially, culturally, and economically from

12371-553: The end of the 15th century – the Mississippian culture . The Mississippian culture was a complex, mound-building Native American culture that flourished in what is now the Southeastern United States from approximately 800 AD to 1500 AD. Natives had elaborate and lengthy trading routes connecting their main residential and ceremonial centers extending through the river valleys and from

12510-404: The entire geographic south of the United States, but primarily includes the south-central and southeastern states. For example, California, which is geographically in the southwestern part of the country, is not considered part of the South. However, the geographically southeastern state of Georgia is. The South, being home to some of the most racially diverse areas in the United States,

12649-484: The favorites of his career. The brothers also assisted promoter Scotty Ace produce NCW's weekly television show. They were living in Huntington, West Virginia at the time and had to travel the furthest of the entire roster. That same year, The Batten Twins appeared on an episode of The Jerry Springer Show posting as brothers who were secretly dating a woman unaware that they were identical twins. They were among several Southern independent wrestlers used as "guests" for

12788-636: The following night in Spencer, West Virginia , but came up short both times. The Batten Twins continued wrestling on the independent circuit after SMW folded. On May 31, 1997, the Battens lost to Terminal Punishment ( Allan Funk and Gregg Anderson) in Lorain, Ohio . On August 3, they wrestled Little Guido and Tracy Smothers at a Cleveland All-Pro Wrestling show at Turner's Hall in Cleveland, Ohio . The Batten Twins also defeated Beau James and Frank Murdoch for

12927-510: The institution became even more deeply an integral part of the South's economy. With the opening up of frontier lands after the government forced most Native Americans to move west of the Mississippi, there was a major migration of both whites and blacks to those territories. From the 1820s through the 1850s, more than one million enslaved Africans were transported to the Deep South in forced migration, two-thirds of them by slave traders and

13066-567: The invention of the cotton gin , short staple cotton could be grown more widely. This led to an explosion of cotton cultivation, especially in the frontier uplands of Georgia, Alabama and other parts of the Deep South, as well as riverfront areas of the Mississippi Delta. Migrants poured into those areas in the early decades of the 19th century, when county population figures rose and fell as swells of people kept moving west. The expansion of cotton cultivation required more slave labor, and

13205-520: The labor-intensive cultivation of tobacco, the first cash crop of Virginia. Tobacco exhausted the soil quickly, requiring that farmers regularly clear new fields. They used old fields as pasture, and for crops such as corn wheat, or allowed them to grow into woodlots. The Barbados Slave Code served as the basis for the slave codes adopted in the British American colonies, including Carolina , Georgia , and Antigua . In other colonies where

13344-633: The land in return for their financial and political assistance in restoring him to the throne in 1660. The granted lands included all or part of the present-day U.S. states of North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida. In the British colonies, immigration began in 1607 and continued until the outbreak of the Revolution in 1775. Settlers cleared land, built houses and outbuildings, and on their own farms. The Southern rich owned large plantations that dominated export agriculture and used slaves. Many were involved in

13483-504: The land to farm for a while. Some freedpeople left the South altogether for states such as Ohio and Indiana, and later, Kansas. Thousands of others joined the migration to new opportunities in the Mississippi and Arkansas Delta bottomlands, and Texas. With passage of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States (which outlawed slavery), the 14th Amendment (which granted full U.S. citizenship to African Americans) and

13622-941: The local independent circuit. He was the color commentator for the Bluefield, West Virginia -based All Pro Wrestling and hosted Network West Virginia's Monday night show Mountain State Wrestling TV . On July 5, 2014, Bart Batten appeared with fellow Smokey Mountain Wrestling alumni Bobby Blaze , Jim Cornette and Mick Foley for Bluegrass Championship Wrestling's "Rumble on the River" show in Ashland, Kentucky . Brad Batten left West Virginia after retiring from pro wrestling. He later settled in Crestline , Ohio where he lived with his wife for several years. Batten died at

13761-576: The match by disqualification. On August 10, the Battens lost to The Studd Stable (Jimmy Golden and Robert Fuller ) at Polk High School in Benton, Tennessee . On the January 30, 1993 episode of Smoky Mountain Wrestling , Brad Batten was the opponent selected to wrestle fellow "fan favorite" Tracy Smothers for the SMW "Beat The Champ" Television Championship ; his name was drawn from a hat by Dutch Mantell at

13900-535: The match via disqualification. The Batten Twins later provided commentary with Ecuadorian promoter Hugo Savinovich when the match was released on DVD. They consider this bout one of the greatest matches of their career. They lost the title to Chicky and Ron Starr in Aguadilla on October 16, but they won the titles back in Caguas on November 12, 1988. The team lost the title two months later to Dan Kroffat and Tama

14039-672: The mid-to-late-1870s, some upper class Southerners created increasing resistance to the altered social structure. Paramilitary organizations such as the White League in Louisiana (1874), the Red Shirts in Mississippi (1875) and rifle clubs, all "White Line" organizations, used organized violence against Republicans , both black and white, to remove Republicans from political office, repress and bar black voting, and restore

14178-494: The most hated wrestlers in the country. After returning to the U.S., the Battens continued wrestling on the Southern independent circuit until the early-2000s. In April 2005, The Batten Twins ended their 23-year career with a retirement tour of their home state. Bradley Jay "Brad" Batten and Bartley Alan "Bart" Batten were born to Marjorie (née Hayes) and Jack Batten in New Martinsville, West Virginia on September 8, 1958. They were involved in youth sports at an early age. In 1969,

14317-836: The murder of Bruiser Brody on July 17, 1988. Wrestling Observer editor Dave Meltzer speculated that the team may have had " legit heat " as they were the only wrestlers to leave a U.S. promotion to compete in Puerto Rico and "may have to stay there until this all blows over". Bart Batten later defended their decision as they had families to support and could not afford to turn down bookings. The Battens had been fans of Brody prior to entering wrestling, later becoming friends with him while in NWA Central States and WCCW, and Brad felt that their old friend "wouldn't have held it against us". On August 6, they defeated The Ninja Express ( Kendo Nagasaki and Mr. Pogo ) in San Juan, Puerto Rico for

14456-488: The name "Mark Batten", he made his first appearance at the Mid-South Coliseum teaming with Porkchop Cash against AWA Southern Tag Team Champions Tommy Rich and Eddie Gilbert on April 30, 1984. Following their loss, Batten formed a new tag team with Johnny Wilhoit called "The New Generation". A music video filmed on Jarrett's estate near Nashville was aired on Memphis Championship Wrestling to introduce

14595-632: The number of immigrants arriving at Southern ports began to increase, although the North continued to receive the most immigrants. Huguenots were among the first settlers in Charleston, along with the largest number of Orthodox Jews outside of New York City. Numerous Irish immigrants settled in New Orleans, establishing a distinct ethnic enclave now known as the Irish Channel . Germans also went to New Orleans and its environs, resulting in

14734-816: The original Southern states was English . In the 17th century, most voluntary immigrants were of English origin and settled chiefly along the eastern coast but had pushed as far inland as the Appalachian Mountains by the 18th century. The majority of early English settlers were indentured servants , who gained freedom after working off their passage. The wealthier men, typically members of the English landed gentry , who paid their way received land grants known as headrights to encourage settlement. The Spanish and French established settlements in Florida , Texas , and Louisiana . The Spanish settled Florida in

14873-559: The others by masters who moved there. Planters in the Upper South sold slaves in excess of their needs as they shifted from tobacco to mixed agriculture. Many enslaved families were broken up, as planters preferred mostly strong males for field work. Two major political issues that festered in the first half of the 19th century caused political alignment along sectional lines, strengthened the identities of North and South as distinct regions with certain strongly opposed interests, and fed

15012-511: The previous night in San Juan. Shortly after winning the belts, the Battens began feuding with The Puerto Rican Express (Hurricane Castillo, Jr. and Miguelito Perez). On April 29, a title bout between the two teams in Carolina ended in controversy and the championship was declared held up by the promotion. The Batten Twins regained the title in a rematch on May 14, however, they ended up losing

15151-468: The principles of the Revolution, along with Quaker and Methodist preachers who worked to encourage slaveholders to free their slaves. Planters such as George Washington often freed slaves by their wills. In the Upper South , more than 10% of all blacks were free by 1810, a significant expansion from pre-war proportions of less than 1% free. Cotton became dominant in the lower South after 1800. After

15290-463: The proportion of their populations that were African American slaves was much higher than in the Middle Colonies and New England Colonies , as shown on the map. According to Bertram Wyatt-Brown , "Bondage was an answer to an economic need. The South was not founded to create slavery; slavery was recruited to perpetuate the South." The Barbados Slave Code of 1661 served as the basis for

15429-572: The rebels fought on until Lee's army surrendered in April 1865. Once the Confederate forces surrendered, the region moved into the Reconstruction Era (1865–1877), in a partially successful attempt to rebuild the destroyed region and grant civil rights to freed slaves. Southerners who were against the Confederate cause during the Civil War were known as Southern Unionists . They were also known as Union Loyalists or Lincoln's Loyalists. Within

15568-460: The region's largest city. The South is a diverse meteorological region with numerous climatic zones, including temperate , sub-tropical , tropical , and arid —though the South generally has a reputation as hot and humid, with long summers and short, mild winters. Most of the South—except for the areas of higher elevations and areas near the western, southern, and some northern fringes—falls in

15707-444: The regions dominant pre-war planter class . The South suffered more than the North overall, as the Union strategy of attrition warfare meant that Lee could not replace his casualties, and the total war waged by Sherman, Sheridan and other Union armies devastated the infrastructure and caused widespread poverty and distress. The Confederacy suffered military losses of 95,000 soldiers killed in action and 165,000 who died of disease, for

15846-720: The show. The Batten Twins began competing for Southern States Wrestling based in Kingsport, Tennessee . On March 20, 2001, they beat Beau James and K. C. Thunder for the SSW Tag Team Championship . Aligned with Scotty Ace, the Battens continued feuding with James and Thunder throughout the year. At the second annual Mark Curtis Weekend of Champions , they defeated James and Thunder in a Steel Cage "loser leaves town" match thanks in part to outside interference from Scotty Ace and Ricky Harrison who "turned heel" by attacking his former allies. The Batten Twins lost

15985-548: The slave codes adopted in the British American colonies of the Province of Carolina and the Province of Georgia . In other colonies where the slaves codes were not an exact copy, such as the Colony of Virginia and the Province of Maryland , the influence of the Barbados Slave Code can be traced throughout various provisions. During the American Revolutionary War , the Southern colonies helped embrace

16124-513: The south United States occurs around 9500 BC with the appearance of the earliest documented Americans, who are now referred to as Paleo-Indians . Paleoindians were hunter-gatherers that roamed in bands and frequently hunted megafauna . Several cultural stages, such as Archaic ( c.  8000 –1000 BC) and the Woodland ( c.  1000 BC – AD 1000), preceded what the Europeans found at

16263-504: The state of Kentucky attempted to remain neutral, and it could only do so briefly. When Lincoln called for troops to suppress what he referred to as "combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary" judicial or martial means, four more states decided to secede and join the Confederacy (which then moved its capital to Richmond, Virginia). Although the Confederacy had large supplies of captured munitions and many volunteers, it

16402-717: The summer of 1986. The team was renamed the U.S. Express and Bart given the name "Mark Batten". One day after losing the NWA Central States belts, they made their WCCW television debut against Killer Brooks and Matt Borne in Dallas, Texas on May 30, 1986. On June 9, The Batten Twins and Steve Simpson beat Matt Borne, Killer Brooks and The Assassin in a six-man tag team match. During the next two months, The Battens scored victories over Jerry Allen and The Grapplers (Grappler #1 and Grappler #2). On July 11, they were beaten by Matt Borne and The Dingo Warrior . A week later in Fort Worth , both brothers wrestled in singles matches; Bart Batten

16541-581: The tag titles from The Heavenly Bodies in subsequent rematches. On the May 25 episode of Smoky Mountain Wrestling (aired June 20), the Battens told Bob Caudle in a TV interview that the team would temporarily stop pursuing the tag team champions so that The Fantastics ( Bobby and Jackie Fulton ) could have a title shot now that Jackie Fulton had recovered from a recent injury. The 4th of July edition of Smoky Mountain Wrestling in Cumberland, Kentucky saw

16680-529: The team was defeated by Rick McCord and Porkchop Cash in Versailles, Missouri on November 9, 1987. The Battens moved on to World Organization of Wrestling in Pensacola, Florida where they feuded with Badd Company ( Paul Diamond and Pat Tanaka ) and The Fabulous Fargos (Ken Timbs and Pat Rose). They teamed with Mr. Olympia in several six-man tag team matches against The Fargos and Bob Holly . One of

16819-589: The team's matches saw their opponents break up when Big Bubba turned on his partner Samoan Kokina . After a brief stint in Southern Championship Wrestling , The Batten Twins went to Puerto Rico to compete in the World Wrestling Council where they found considerable success. Their stay in the country was not without some controversy, however. The Battens were among the six American wrestlers who decided to remain after

16958-506: The team; it became a viral video after it was shown by Jon Stewart on The Daily Show nearly thirty years later. The team was intended to capitalize on the popularity of The Fabulous Ones and The Rock 'n' Roll Express but they failed to catch on with fans. The New Generation's last match was against The Dirty White Boys ( Tony Anthony and Len Denton ) at the Mid-South Coliseum on October 8, 1984, which they lost. Brad

17097-578: The title against The Rebel and Jamie Bolen in Marsh Fork on September 7 but they were stripped of the titles on October 19, 2002, when they failed to appear for a scheduled title defense in Smithers, West Virginia . The Battens won the SSW Tag Team Championship for a third and final time when they beat Thorn and Tim Baldwin in Kingsport on March 22, 2003. At the two-day Mark Curtis Weekend of Champions, Bart Batten defeated Thorn in

17236-462: The traditional low-tariff policy of the South by imposing a new 15% tax on all imports from the Union. The Union blockade stopped most commerce from entering the South, and smugglers avoided the tax, so the Confederate tariff produced too little revenue to finance the war. Inflated currency was the solution, but that created distrust of the Richmond government. Because of low investment in railroads,

17375-578: The twins with his bulldog finisher. With the demise of the NWA territories, The Battens found a home in Smoky Mountain Wrestling . They were among the teams to enter the championship tournament in Harrogate, Tennessee to crown the inaugural SMW Tag Team Champions but were defeated by The Heavenly Bodies ( Stan Lane and Tom Prichard ) in the opening round. Bart Batten also fell victim to "Hollywood" Bob Holly's undefeated streak in

17514-402: Was a cosmopolitan port with a variety of jobs that attracted more immigrants than other areas of the South. Because of lack of investment, however, construction of railroads to span the region lagged behind the North. People relied most heavily on river traffic for getting their crops to market and for transportation. Between 1830 and 1850, Native Americans were removed from their home states in

17653-746: Was a referee in WCCW where he reffed Steve Austin 's first match. When World Class closed its doors it merged into United States Wrestling Association in Tennessee in 1989. Falk became a household name for the promotion until USWA folded in 1997. He also continued refereeing. He won the USWA Television Championship in May 1996 defeating Jesse James Armstrong . He dropped the title back to Armstrong two weeks later. After USWA, Falk stayed in Memphis working for Power Pro Wrestling ,

17792-604: Was against The Moondogs ( Moondog Rex and Moondog Spot ) in Red Jacket, West Virginia which ended in a double countout. A rematch was held the next night in Hickory, North Carolina , which The Batten Twins lost. They suffered several more defeats at the hands of The Thrillseekers ( Chris Jericho and Lance Storm ) over the summer. On April 20, 1995, they got a shot at the then reigning SMW Tag Team Champions The Dynamic Duo ( Al Snow and Unabomb ) in Ashland, Kentucky , and

17931-414: Was decided in a singles match between them on August 6, which Batten won. This allowed The Batten Twins to regain the title as Brad chose Bart Batten as his partner. They were joined by Downtown Bruno as their manager. Brad and Bart Batten faced The Kansas Outlaws (Bobby Jaggers and Psycho Sam) in Carroll, Iowa and Sheldon, Missouri later that month. Their fourth and final title reign came to an end when

18070-445: Was declared held-up on April 3 after a controversial title defense against Cash and Timbs when the former used a foreign object to win the match; a rematch was held a week later for the belts, which Batten and McCord lost. Three months later, Brad Batten and Bobby Jaggers were awarded the vacant titles by the NWA after Karl Kovac was fired and The Warlord left to work in Japan. Batten and Jaggers split up two months later. The title

18209-514: Was difficult as people grappled with the effects of a new labor economy of a free market in the midst of a widespread agricultural depression. In addition, the limited infrastructure the South had was mostly destroyed by the war. At the same time, the North was rapidly industrializing. To avoid the social effects of the war, most of the Southern states initially passed black codes . During Reconstruction, these were mostly legally nullified by federal law and anti-Confederate legislatures, which existed for

18348-412: Was elected the first Republican president in 1860, seven cotton states declared their secession and formed the Confederate States of America before Lincoln was inaugurated. The United States government, both outgoing and incoming, refused to recognize the Confederacy, and when the new Confederate President Jefferson Davis ordered his troops to open fire on Fort Sumter in April 1861, war broke out. Only

18487-429: Was eventually joined by his brother and had their first match together against former trainers Lanny Poffo and Randy Savage. At the end of year, the team had several matches against The Nightmares ( Danny Davis and Ken Wayne). The brothers also wrestled Plowboy Frazier in three separate handicap matches at the Mid-South Coliseum between December 31, 1984, and January 28, 1985. They lost to Frazier and Adrian Street in

18626-407: Was initially finessed by political compromises designed to balance the number of "free" and "slave" states. The issue resurfaced in a more virulent form, however, around the time of the Mexican–American War , which raised the stakes by adding new territories primarily on the Southern side of the imaginary geographic divide. Congress opposed allowing slavery in these territories. Before the Civil War,

18765-410: Was not until Bart Batten called up his brother that he discovered they had unknowingly done so on exactly the same day. Bart talked about training with the Poffo family in ICW and their NWA career during the 1980s wrestling boom . He was also very critical of the modern wrestling industry and blamed Vince McMahon for "destroying the [NWA] territories". Both Garvin and Downtown Bruno have maintained that

18904-516: Was partly because the brothers "didn't want to be a Gypsy Joe " and risk serious injury due to their ages. Brad Batten had also met a woman in Cleveland, Ohio and wanted to move out of the state to live with her. The two were married three years later. On May 21, 2005, The Batten Twins wrestled their last match with Bart's son, Brent Batten, defeating "Superstar" Shane Matthews, Chris Vega and J.V. Insanity in Bradley, West Virginia . While his brother left for Cleveland, Bart continued to be involved in

19043-540: Was pinned by WCCW Television Champion "Mad Dog" Buzz Sawyer , however, Brad Batten beat The Dingo Warrior via disqualification. After the Batten-Sawyer bout, Sawyer put Bart Batten in a gorilla press slam and tossed him over the top rope. He fell 20 feet onto the concrete floor. The WCCW TV Champion then attacked Brad Batten and Perry Jackson, who were coming to aid Bart, which instigated a 4-man brawl between Sawyer and Borne versus Steve Simpson and Kevin Von Erich . Brad Batten later talked with Fritz von Erich about booking

19182-400: Was slower than the Union in dealing with the border states. While the Upland South border states of Kentucky, Missouri, West Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware, as well as the District of Columbia , continued to permit slavery during the Civil War, they remained with the Union though Kentucky and Missouri both had rival Confederate governments that formed that were admitted and recognized by

19321-414: Was the wealthiest city in the country and the third largest in population. The success of the city was based on the growth of international trade associated with products being shipped to and from the interior of the country down the Mississippi River. New Orleans also had the largest slave market in the country, as traders brought slaves by ship and overland to sell to planters across the Deep South. The city

#58941