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Who is Thunderbolt Patterson? Know about the latest WWE 2024 Hall of Fame Inductee
Read to know who Thunderbolt Patterson was, the newest name added by WWE to its Hall of Fame in 2024. Read to know his wrestling legacy.
Thunderbolt Patterson is a renowned name in professional wrestling from the 1970s era. He was a name that had inspired WWF legends like Dusty Rhodes, and his exceptional skills on the mic, earned him a huge fan following. Patterson started his career in 1964 and wrestled primarily in Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas.
He started his career when wrestling promoter Gus Karas booked him for matches against Don Soto. The following year, he moved to Texas and began working with Dory Funk Sr. Patterson worked for Big Time Wrestling in 1969, and held the NWA Brass Knuckles Championship in 1970.
In 1975, he moved to Big Time Wrestling in Detroit. In December 1975, he began to fight for NWA promotion in Florida, where he remained until 1976. In 1976, he won the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship from Bruiser Brody.
In 1977, he scored a surprise pinfall over The Sheik in Toronto for the U.S. but lost the title three weeks later. He then moved to Georgia Championship Wrestling, where he stayed till 1980.
Spoke against poor working conditions of wrestlers
Patterson is also acknowledged for standing up for his rights, and he often spoke about the poor working conditions of wrestlers in the industry. In the 1970s, he participated in a racial discrimination lawsuit, after which he claimed that he was blacklisted by the industry.
Patterson had complained of racism from wrestling promoters for years, and he even claimed that Dory Funk Sr. backed him. He even shared that he wanted to start a wrestler’s union call with former NFL player and wrestler Jim Wilson, who was himself blacklisted. Finally, the ban was lifted on Patterson in 1975 by Dusty Rhodes.
Patterson then joined Ole Anderson as a tag team partner in 1984, and they briefly held the NWA National Tag Team Championship.
When did Patterson retire?
He retired from full-time wrestling in 1985. He, however, appeared in a match in 1993, at the “Legends Reunion Match” at Slamboree ‘93, where he also teamed up with Brad Armstrong to defeat Ivan Koloff and Baron von Raschke.
In 1988, he was the labor organizer for the Service Employees International Union in Atlanta. Tragically, after retirement from wrestling, Patterson had both of his arms and legs amputated due to complications from diabetes.
Did Dusty Rhodes take inspiration from Patterson?
The American Dream Dusty Rhodes took a lot of inspiration from Patterson and modeled his career after Patterson and Mohammad Ali. His son, Cody Rhodes, himself revealed once that his father was highly inspired by these two wrestlers.
“Dusty was smart enough and had the foresight to see with the advent of cable television and everything going on, he modeled himself after Thunderbolt Patterson, an African American wrestler and Muhammad Ali, who set the world on fire as the greatest heavyweight there ever was,” Cody had said.
Interestingly, WWE has also announced Mohammed Ali for this year’s Hall of Fame 2024. The other names added to the list are Paul Heyman, Bull Nakano, and the U.S. Express.
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