Hillbilly Jim

At 71 years old, Hillbilly Jim has this physical status:

James Morris (born July 5, 1952) is an American retired professional wrestler and current radio host, better known by his ring name, Hillbilly Jim.

He is best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from 1984 to 1991, and in the series Hillbilly Moments.

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Professional wrestling career

Hillbilly Jim Morris, Morris, wrestled with the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) in the Memphis area under the name "Harley Davidson," a biker gimmick, before appearing in the WWF (now WWE). Morris formed a famous tag team with Roger Smith, who went by the name "Dirty Rhodes" due to his resemblance to Dusty Rhodes.

Morris first appeared in the WWF in late 1984 as a wrestling fan known as "Big Jim" who sat in the front row of live events and later decided to try his hand at wrestling himself. Rowdy Roddy Piper offered to train him, but instead of the heel Piper, the WWF Heavyweight Champion Hulk Hogan appeared on Piper's Pit. In the early weeks of 1985, a series of vignettes were broadcast on WWF's television broadcasting, showing Hogan instructing Jim and furnishing him with his first pair of wrestling boots. This introduced Hillbilly Jim, a simple-minded, shaggy-bearded Appalachian hillbilly clad in bib overalls, hailing from Mud Lick, Kentucky. Hillbilly Jim appeared in a few tag team matches with Hulk Hogan, and he had his first high-profile singles match at The War to Settle the Score event on February 18, 1985, in which he defeated Rene Goulet. Morris, on the other hand, was delayed by an accident a few days later. He was in Hogan's corner in a match between Hogan and Brutus Beefcake at a San Diego show. Morris slipped on a wet spot and injuring his knee while chasing Beefcake's boss Johnny Vautour around ringside. Uncle Elmer, Cousin Luke, and Cousin Junior were all invited by Morris to ringside as a boss to help with the six months during his recovery.

When his in-ring career returned, Morris would often tag his family or colleague André the Giant. He was matched up against the WWF's monumental heels of the 1970s, including Big John Studd and King Kong Bundy. He also feuded with Mr. Fuji and was defeated in a string of tuxedo tournaments in late 1986. Hillbilly Jim was largely kept as a "fun" character and was rarely interested in any serious plotlines. Morris performed "Don't Go Messin' With a Country Boy," a folk barn dance number that Morris performed with his partners, the ring announcer, and/or children from the crowd clapped along as the audience cheered along. He made his first WrestleMania appearance at Wrestlemania 2 as part of the royal's open invitational tournament. King Kong Bundy and midget wrestlers competed in a novelty match in WrestleMania III. Jim played a big Boss Man, Ted DiBiase, King Haku, and The Red Rooster during Survivor Series 88. He's teamed with Hulk Hogan, Reed Savage, Hercules, and Koko B. Ware to defeat the team of Big Boss Man, Akeem, Ted DiBiase, King Haku, and The Red Rooster. Although Jim was disqualified by Akeem, Hogan, and Savage, the team would continue to fight and win the match.

Jim Hillbilly served as a back-up for wrestlers who did not appear or who had left the company. John Studd had left the WWF early in the middle of a major war with Andre the Giant, and Jim was sent to substitute Studd. Jim Corbett of Andre the Giant defeated him by disqualification on June 10, 1989. Hillbilly Jim continued to participate in WWF matches until the summer of 1990, winning over Haku, Boris Zhukov, Brooklyn Brawler, and "Playboy" Buddy Rose. In 1990 (taped April 23, 1990) edition of Saturday Night's Main Event XXVI, he lost to Earthquake in a squash match that lasted less than two minutes, his last high-profile match with the WWF was during his last high-profile match. He lost to Black Bart in Cedar Rapids, IA, on August 31, 1990. Hillbilly Jim returned to the WWF in 1992 as one of the final hosts of WWF Prime Time Wrestling alongside Vince McMahon, Jim Duggan, Bobby Heenan, Mr. Sgt. It's fine. Until the last episode of Prime Time Wrestling in January 1993, there was slaughter and much more.

He returned in December 1995 as a guest referee and a month later became the manager of Henry O. and Phineas I. Godwinn, "cousins" who were pig farmers, leading them to the WWF Tag Team Championship. Hillbilly Jim, the Godwinns' manager, was no longer needed as their boss after the Godwinns' heel fell in the spring of 1997. Morris later served as a road agent and was active in the "Gimmick Battle Royal" in 2001 at WrestleMania X-Seven, where he killed Jim Cornette and Sgt. Slaughter, but The Iron Sheik had to kill himself at one point. In major malls around the United States, he was the official WWE superstar host of the highly acclaimed WrestleMania Axxess tour for WrestleMania XX, WrestleMania 21, WrestleMania 21, WrestleMania 21, and WrestleMania 23. Jim performed at the "House of Blues" in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Gibson Guitars sponsored by Gibson Guitars in New Orleans as part of the WrestleMania 20 Fan Axxess Tour. Morris went from 1990 to 2001, first for Coliseum Video sales and then Sony Videos. Sirius Satellite Radio introduced Hillbilly Jim's Moonshine Matinee as a weekly show on its Outlaw Country channel 60 in 2005. Morris performs a variety of classic country music and Southern rock on Saturday. He tells tales of his time in the WWF from records. Hillbilly Jim made an appearance on WWE SmackDown: Blast From the Past on April 10, 2012. On April 6, 2018, Hillbilly Jim was officially inducted into the WWE Hall Of Fame.

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