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Take a look back at WWE's rich history with Sportskeeda as we examine the legendary Intercontinental Championship reign of the one and only Honky Tonk Man.
It takes a certain type of swagger to pull off a truly cocky heel.
Fortunately, the man known as Wayne Farris has swagger in spades. Most fans know Wayne Farris by his ring name, The Honky Tonk Man. During the WWE's classic era he was perhaps the most dominant heel champion. Farris was a decent technical wrestler, but like any good heel the main attribute which brought him fame was his ability to work a crowd.
Love him, hate him, boo him, or cheer for him, no one can deny that The Honky Tonk Man has left an indelible stamp upon WWE history. In recent years he has become known as one of the most combative and critical wrestling veterans on social media and podcasts. If you're going to book Honky Tonk Man on your show for an interview, be prepared to use the censorship bleep button. A lot.
But in order to bring balance to the present, we must examine the past. Here is the history of Wayne "Honky Tonk Man" Farris's WWE career, and how it affected the industry and his own life.
The beginning
When Farris first broke into the world of pro wrestling, his robust frame and long blonde hair made him a logical babyface.
But Farris would quickly establish himself as a heel. When he teamed with partner Larry Latham for the Blonde Bombers team, he truly broke out onto the regional wrestling scene.
The Blonde Bombers were a fixture of the southern territories for many years. They feuded with major teams of the era, and managed to capture the American Wrestling Association's Southern Tag Team championships four times, and the NWA Mid-America tag team championships three times.
But their most famous moment came against a team which included another WWE hall of fame member, Jerry "The King" Lawler. The "Tupelo Concession Stand Brawl" stood out for its time because of the innovation and brutality. Jerry Lawler and partner Bill Dundee fought the Blonde Bombers in a pier six brawl for the ages.
All good things must come to an end, however, and the Blonde Bombers inevitably split. Farris would continue on both on his own and with other partners until he opened a new chapter in his wrestling career.
He landed a coveted WWE contract.
Honky Tonk Man the hero?
Wayne Farris landed a dream contract of a lifetime when Vince McMahon Jr. hired him during the WWE's Classic era.
When Vince met Farris in person, he believed that the Dynamite one bore a striking resemblance to Elvis Presley. Presley had died years ago but was experiencing a surge in popularity due to an ageing baby boomer population in the US.
Vince ordered Farris to dye his hair black and grow his sideburns even longer. This is the iconic Honky Tonk Man's appearance but, believe it or not, the character was originally envisioned as a baby face.
Hulk Hogan himself even gave Honky Tonk Man a 'seal of approval.' Unfortunately, fans did not respond well to babyface Honky Tonk Man, in much the same way that Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson failed to get over as good guy Rocky Maivia.
This would lead to Honky Tonk Man asking for a 'vote of confidence' from the WWE fans. The results were about as predicted. Fortunately, Honky Tonk Man used the opportunity to turn heel.
Guitar bashing rhythm and blues
After the vote of confidence, Honky Tonk Man was a changed...well, man. He regained the cocky swagger from his Blonde Bomber and pre-WWE days.
He also recorded his own entrance theme - which was novel at the time - and started carrying an acoustic guitar to the ring with him. Honky Tonk Man engaged the services of "The Mouth of the South" Jimmy Hart as his manager and mouthpiece.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, heel Honky Tonk Man wasn't grim or threatening to the fans. Instead, he always thanked them for being a 'beautiful audience' even though he was clearly being booed.
Honky Tonk Man's theme song was featured on the Piledriver: The Wrestling Album II, along with hits like Koko B Ware's titular song. Honky Tonk Man's surging heel status would make him one of the most hated, if undeniably entertaining, superstars of his era.
When you put butts in seats, Vince McMahon tends to notice. This led to Honky Tonk Man's first Wrestlemania moment.
A major victory over a huge star at Wrestlemania III
Honky Tonk Man's heel status had been firmly established. But a villain cannot exist without a hero to oppose him.
That hero took the form of Jake "The Snake" Roberts. Initially, Roberts had been a heel and Honky Tonk Man had been a babyface. But by the time they crossed paths, both had flip-flopped across the fence from hero to villain and vice versa.
Jake Roberts was one of the most charismatic wrestlers of all time. He even had his own show, the Snake Pit. Honky was a guest on the snake pit, which led to one of the most controversial moments in WWE history.
Honky Tonk Man was to hit Roberts with a gimmicked guitar at the end of the segment to kick start their feud. However, there is some murkiness to what happened next. From the video below, you can clearly see that it took several attempts to break the guitar over Jake's body.
Roberts claimed he was injured and eventually became addicted to painkillers, while Farris maintains that the guitar was rigged to collapse and that Jake had been using drugs for years before.
The two would engage in a feud which culminated at Wrestlemania III. Honky Tonk Man cheated and used the ropes to his advantage, resulting in a tainted win. However, Jake Roberts would get some receipt with the help of his python Damien and special guest manager Alice Cooper.
Going from transitional champion to the greatest Champion
The Honky Tonk Man was victorious at Wrestlemania III and was now being groomed as one of the top heel attractions in the company.
Also at Wrestlemania III, Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat captured the Intercontinental championship from Randy "Macho Man" Savage in a bout that is widely regarded as the best match of WWE's classic era. However, the Dragon would ask Vince McMahon for leave time after WM III because he had a young child who had just been born.
Hastily, WWE took the belt off of Steamboat. Jake Roberts had been the man Vince McMahon had in mind for the next IC champion, but as Steamboat was a babyface they couldn't face each other. Honky Tonk Man was chosen as a transitional champion, who would only hold the belt long enough to drop it to Jake Roberts.
However, a chance meeting with Hulk Hogan and Vince McMahon, and Roberts's increasingly erratic behaviour would lead to Honky Tonk Man retaining the title much longer than planned. Much, much longer.
The greatest Intercontinental reign of all time
Honky Tonk Man was now the Intercontinental champion, and thanks to an endorsement from Hulk Hogan he was no longer due to drop the title to Jake Roberts.
Honky Tonk Man would defend his title against legends such as Hillbilly Jim, George "The Animal" Steele, Tito Santana, and Macho Man Randy Savage.
In fact, it was during a match against Savage that the Mega Powers were born. Honky Tonk Man's Hart Family stable mates Bret Hart and Jim Neidhardt constantly interfered in a match which took place on Saturday Night's Main Event. After the match, the heels continued to pound on Savage until Miss Elizabeth went backstage for help--and came back with Hulk Hogan.
Honky Tonk man often won by dubious means or would run backstage and lose by count out since he knew the title would not change hands except by pinfall or submission.
Honky Tonk Man's reign lasted over a year and seemed to be almost unstoppable - until he met the Ultimate challenger.
All good things must come to an end
All good things must come to an end, or so the old adage goes. This is true especially when it comes to wrestling championship reigns. As much fun as the ride might be, no one retires undefeated.
Honky Tonk Man ran roughshod over all of the mid-card babyfaces in WWE at the time, including former champion Randy Savage. However, he would face a dedicated and serious challenger in Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake.
The two had a match for the IC title at Wrestlemania IV which led to a DQ finish. All signs pointed toward a rematch, which would take place at the inaugural SummerSlam event.
However, Vince McMahon decided for his own reasons that Brutus Beefcake was not ready to be a champion. Beefcake would be injured (kayfabe) by Outlaw Ron Bass and was unable to compete.
The cocky Honky Tonk Man came out and demanded a new opponent. But then the Ultimate Warrior's music hit, and Farris could be seen shaking his head in denial.
The greatest reign of all time came to an end in mere minutes.
Rhythm and Blues and WWE departure
After Honky Tonk Man lost the IC strap to Ultimate Warrior, he was bundled into a tag team with fellow Hart Family member Greg "The Hammer" Valentine.
Valentine had a lot in common with the former Blonde Bomber. Both were long time veterans of pro wrestling, both had a strong presence in the southern regional territories, and of course, both men had enjoyed a strong mid-card push in WWE.
At first, the concept of the team was that Honky Tonk Man brought the Rhythm, and Greg Valentine gave people the Blues. Over time, however, Greg Valentine would start to dress and act like Honky Tonk Man, basically becoming his clone.
Rhythm and Blues would never capture the WWE tag team titles but did have a strong presence in the division. The team would be dissolved when Honky Tonk Man left WWE.
Hall of Fame Induction
For many years, Honky Tonk Man only made sporadic appearances for the WWE. Despite his age, Wayne Farris has continued to wrestle actively on the independent scene.
Given his contributions to sports entertainment, it was only a matter of time before Honky Tonk Man got the recognition he was due. The WWE chose to induct him into their Wrestling Hall of Fame.
When the visibly emotional Honky Tonk Man took the stage, the fans in attendance chanted 'you deserve it.' We couldn't agree more with the WWE Universe and congratulate Honky Tonk Man on his just desserts.
Wayne Farris, better known to wrestling fans around the world as Honky Tonk Man, has left an indelible mark in sports entertainment and is an important facet of WWE history.
We hope you have enjoyed this inaugural edition of WWE History. Check back with us next week for the story of the longest reigning champion in WWE history, Bruno Sammartino.
If you have questions, comments, or suggestions for future editions of WWE History, please leave them below the article, and as always thanks for reading!
