Wrestling Territory Star: ‘No. 1’ Paul Jones, Dead at Age 75.

Most people probably won't know who he is. He was a prominent manager in the Jim Crockett owned NWA Mid-Atlantic territory. (Which was later purchased by Ted Turner and became WCW.) And, before that, he was a hell of a worker. He wrestled in many territories including PNW (Oregon), WCCW (Texas), UWF (Australia), and FCW (Florida).

Jones also went to Georgia, working as the territory’s top heel. And then finally, he returned to Jim Crockett Promotions, where he would hold championships 23 different times in the promotion, including a slew of tag titles with diverse partners like Royal, Wahoo McDaniel, Blackjack Mulligan, and even Ricky Steamboat. He held the Mid-Atlantic championship, as well as the U.S. title. The only title that eluded him was the world championship.

Jones was versatile. He could be a lovable babyface. But he could also be the evil heel who would do anything to get his way, as he portrayed when he paid Manny Fernandez $25,000 in cash to turn on Jimmy Valiant.

A favorite Paul Jones story: As the leader of “Paul Jones’ Army,” he began to dress in a khaki uniform and high polished boots. He also wore a mustache. Before TV each week, Jones began to trim his mustache a little narrower. And then a little narrower still. When the booker realized that Jones was using his dark, side-parted hair and narrow mustache to affect a look similar to Adolf Hitler, he made Jones stop.