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Steve Keirn

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Steve Keirn
Keirn, circa 1978
Birth nameStephen Paul Keirn
Born (1951-09-10) September 10, 1951 (age 73)
Tampa, Florida, U.S.[1]
Parent(s)Richard P. Keirn (father)
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Blackhart[1]
Doink the Clown[1]
Skinner[1]
Steve Keirn[1]
Billed height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[2]
Billed weight215 lb (98 kg)[2]
Billed fromTampa, Florida
The Everglades
(as Skinner)[2]
Trained byGerald Brisco[1]
Jack Brisco[1]
Dory Funk Jr.[1]
Terry Funk[1]
Eddie Graham[1]
Hiro Matsuda[1]
Debut1972[1]
Retired2007[1]

Stephen Paul Keirn (born September 10, 1951) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances in multiple National Wrestling Alliance territories as Steve Keirn as one-half of the tag team The Fabulous Ones, as well as his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring name Skinner.[1][2]

Early life

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Keirn graduated from Robinson High School in Port Tampa. His father, Richard Keirn, was a B-17 pilot who was shot down over Germany in September 1944 and became a POW. In July 1965, when Stephen was 13, Richard was shot down over Vietnam and again taken prisoner. He was held in the Hanoi Hilton for seven and half years. While his father was imprisoned, Steve hung out with his school friend Mike Graham whose father Eddie Graham was a wrestling booker, who was later inducted in the WWE Hall of Fame.

Professional wrestling career

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Championship Wrestling from Florida (1972–1982)

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Steve Keirn (left) and Mike Graham (right) with the NWA Florida Tag Team Championships on August 21,1987.

Much of Keirn's early career was spent wrestling as part of a tag team. While wrestling in Championship Wrestling from Florida (CWF), he held the NWA Florida Tag Team Championship twelve times; once each with Bob Backlund, Jimmy Garvin, and Brian Blair, and nine times with Mike Graham.[3] In addition, the team of Keirn and Graham won the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship three times.[4]

In 1980 and 1981, Keirn focused on his career as a singles wrestler. He won many titles in Florida and Georgia, including the NWA World Junior Heavyweight Title by defeating Chavo Guerrero Sr.[5][6] This title reign was recognized by New Japan Pro-Wrestling, as well as the Los Angeles and Florida NWA territories, but not by the NWA as a whole, which considered the title vacant and held a tournament to crown a new champion. The title Keirn held was later renamed the NWA International Junior Heavyweight Title.[6] Keirn also won the NWA National Television Championship twice, defeating Terry Funk and Kevin Sullivan.[7]

Various Promotions (1981–1991)

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In 1981, Keirn began wrestling with the Tennessee-based Continental Wrestling Association (CWA). He was successful as a singles wrestler, winning a tournament to claim the AWA Southern Heavyweight Championship.[8] He also held the NWA Mid-America Heavyweight Championship on two occasions.[9] As in CWF, Keirn found his greatest success in the tag team division. He held the AWA Southern Tag Team Championship 17 times, including 14 reigns as one half of The Fabulous Ones with Stan Lane. Keirn and Lane also teamed to win the CWA World Tag Team Championship twice.[10]

The Fabulous Ones competed in various promotions over the next decade. In 1984, the team won the Southwest Championship Wrestling World Tag Team Championship while wrestling in Australia.[11] In the United States, they won the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship twice.[4] In 1991, the pair wrestled in the United States Wrestling Association, defeating Tony Anthony and Doug Gilbert to win the USWA Tag Team Championship.[12]

World Wrestling Federation (1991–1993)

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In the summer of 1991, Keirn debuted in the WWF as Skinner, an alligator hunter from the Florida Everglades.[13] He was portrayed as a generally nasty individual, always chewing on tobacco and sometimes spitting it on his opponent. He carried an alligator claw to the ring with him, which he would often use as a weapon against his opponents. He competed in the 1991 King of the Ring tournament, defeating Virgil in the first round but losing to Bret Hart in the second round.[14] While still being billed as undefeated, he challenged Hart for the WWF Intercontinental Championship at This Tuesday in Texas on December 3, 1991, but lost by submission.[15] Skinner competed in the 1992 Royal Rumble, lasting 2:13 before being eliminated by Rick Martel. At WrestleMania VIII, he was defeated in one minute and eleven seconds by Owen Hart.[16]

Keirn also unsuccessfully challenged Randy Savage for the WWF Championship on the June 29, episode of Prime Time Wrestling. He also competed in the 1993 Royal Rumble, but was eliminated by Mr. Perfect at the 3:05 mark. While in the WWF, Keirn also portrayed Doink the Clown on occasion. At WrestleMania IX, Keirn helped the original Doink defeat Crush by attacking Crush dressed as Doink during the match.[17]

World Championship Wrestling (1994)

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Along with Bobby Eaton, Keirn wrestled in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1994 in a tag team known as "Bad Attitude".[14] Despite the tag team success both Keirn and Eaton enjoyed in the past (with The Fabulous Ones and the Midnight Express respectively, with Lane as a common partner), the team made little impact, losing dark matches to Brian and Brad Armstrong at Bash at the Beach 1994 and Fall Brawl 1994.[18][19] While in WCW, Keirn was also involved in an angle in which masked men attacked Hulk Hogan. Several times in October 1994, Keirn wore a black mask to attack Hogan during and after Hogan's matches.[20][21]

Later career (1994–2001)

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After WCW, Keirn worked in the independent circuit mainly in Florida and Tennessee. He retired in 2001 after a tour for New Japan Pro Wrestling.

Retirement and post-career (2001–present)

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Since the late 1980s, Keirn has run a school to train wrestlers. Originally located in Tampa, Florida, Keirn's "Professional Wrestling School of Hard Knocks" is now located in Brandon, Florida.[22] Keirn helped train many wrestlers, including Mike Awesome, Dennis Knight, Diamond Dallas Page, Dustin Rhodes, Tracy Smothers, and Roman Reigns.[22] The school was incorporated into the WWE's developmental territory, Florida Championship Wrestling, which opened on June 26, 2007, and Keirn was named President of the FCW[23] and made regular appearances on FCW television.

His last match was on December 10, 2007, at the 15th Anniversary Raw participating in a Battle Royal where he was eliminated from the match by Sgt. Slaughter. On August 14, 2012, FCW was discontinued and the WWE Performance Center opened on July 11, 2013.[24]

Autobiography

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On March 10, 2023, Keirn's autobiography, The Keirn Chronicles Volume One: The Fabulous Wrestling Life of Steve Keirn, was released.[25] The book is coauthored by Ian Douglass, a contributor to the autobiographies of Dan Severn, Hornswoggle, Bugsy McGraw and Brian Blair, and it includes forewords from Stan Lane and CM Punk, and an afterword from Natalya Neidhart.[26] The book was a finalist for Best Pro Wrestling Book in the 2023 Wrestling Observer Newsletter Awards. [27]

The second edition of Keirn's memoirs, The Keirn Chronicles Volume Two: The Phenomenal Wrestling Resurgence of Steve Keirn, was released on April 15, 2024. [28] This book was also coauthored by Ian Douglass, and includes a foreword from Drew McIntyre and an afterword from Ted Dibiase.

Championships and accomplishments

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Steve Keirn". Cagematch. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "Skinner". WWE. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Florida Tag Team Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  4. ^ a b c d "N.W.A. United States Tag Team Title (Florida)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  5. ^ "N.W.A. International Junior Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  6. ^ a b "N.W.A. World Junior Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  7. ^ a b "N.W.A. National Television Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  8. ^ a b "N.W.A./A.W.A. Southern Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 29, 2007.
  9. ^ a b "N.W.A. Mid-America Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  10. ^ a b "CWA Tag Team Title". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  11. ^ a b "S.C.W. World Tag Team Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  12. ^ a b "U.S.W.A. World Tag Team Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  13. ^ "Wildest Stars #9: Gator Hater". WWE. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  14. ^ a b "Wrestler Profiles: Steve Keirn". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  15. ^ "Other WWE Supercards". Wrestling Information Archive. Archived from the original on January 22, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  16. ^ "WrestleMania VIII". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  17. ^ "Wrestler Profiles: Doink the Clown". Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved October 12, 2001.
  18. ^ "Bash at the Beach 1994". Pro Wrestling . One of their few victories came on the November 5, 1994 episode of WCW Pro. History. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  19. ^ "Fall Brawl 1994". Pro Wrestling History. Retrieved December 28, 2007.
  20. ^ "WCW 1994". The History of WWE. Archived from the original on December 4, 2007. Retrieved January 2, 2008.
  21. ^ "Masked Wrestlers". Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved January 2, 2008.
  22. ^ a b "Wrestling books, schools". Miami Herald. Retrieved December 29, 2007.
  23. ^ "FCW School Info". Archived from the original on March 6, 2012.
  24. ^ "Steve Keirn On Why He Did Not Want To Run NXT, The Re-branding From FCW, Time And Origin Of Skinner". May 10, 2017.
  25. ^ Johnson, Mike (March 10, 2023). "More on Stein Keirn autobiography". PWInsider. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  26. ^ Thomas, Jeremy (March 10, 2023). "Various News: Magnum T.A. On His Career, Steve Keirn Autobiography On the Way". 411Mania. Archived from the original on March 11, 2023. Retrieved March 14, 2023.
  27. ^ immortanscottmk3 (February 28, 2024). "The Weekly Wrestling Thread Looks at the Wrestling Observer Awards". The Avocado. Retrieved April 17, 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  28. ^ "STEVE KEIRN MEMOIR VOLUME 2 OFFICIALLY RELEASED, COMPLETE DETAILS | PWInsider.com". www.pwinsider.com. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
  29. ^ "N.W.A. Cold Front Television Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  30. ^ "N.W.A. Florida Brass Knuckles Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  31. ^ "Florida Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  32. ^ "N.W.A. Florida Television Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  33. ^ "N.W.A. North American Tag Team Title (Florida)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  34. ^ "N.W.A. Southern Heavyweight Title (Florida)". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  35. ^ "N.W.A. Georgia Heavyweight Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  36. ^ "N.W.A. Georgia Tag Team Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 27, 2007.
  37. ^ NWA United States Tag Team Title (Gulf Coast) history At wrestling-titles.com
  38. ^ NWA International Junior Heavyweight Title history At wrestling-titles.com
  39. ^ Duncan, Royal; Will, Gary (2006) [2000.]. "(Memphis, Nashville) Tennessee: Southern Tag Team Title [Roy Welsch & Nick Gulas, Jerry Jarrett from 1977]". Wrestling title histories: professional wrestling champions around the world from the 19th century to the present. Waterloo, Ontario: Archeus Communications. pp. 185–189. ISBN 0-9698161-5-4.
  40. ^ "Southern Tag Team Title". Wrestling-Titles. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  41. ^ "Championship Wrestling Association International Tag Team Title". Wrestling Titles. Retrieved December 26, 2007.
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