Koko B. Ware | |
---|---|
Birth name | James W. Ware, Jr. |
Born | Union City, Tennessee, U.S.[1] | June 20, 1958
Spouse(s) | Joyce Ware (died 2009) Tamela James (m. 2020) |
Professional wrestling career | |
Ring name(s) | Koko Ware[1] Koko B. Ware[1] Stagger Lee[1] Sweet Brown Sugar[1] The Birdman |
Billed height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[2] |
Billed weight | 228 lb (103 kg)[2] |
Billed from | Union City, Tennessee[2] |
Trained by | Herb Welch |
Debut | 1978[1] |
Retired | 2019 |
James W. Ware Jr. (born June 20, 1958), better known by his ring name Koko B. Ware, is an American retired professional wrestler. He debuted in 1978 and became widely popular in 1986. He later went on to the World Wrestling Federation, where he went from strong mid-carder to jobber to the stars. "The Birdman" came to the ring with a blue-and-yellow macaw named Frankie, both flapping and dancing before and after his matches. Before joining the WWF, he was in several tag teams, most notably with Bobby Eaton in Memphis and with Norvell Austin (The PYT Express) in several promotions. In 1993, during the premiere episode, he lost the first Monday Night Raw match to Yokozuna. In 2009 he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. His Hall of Fame induction has been critiziced over the years, since he was inducted before world champions like Randy Savage or Ivan Koloff, pointing him as the "floor for inductees".