The Honky Tonk Man

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Roy Wayne Farris
Statistics
Ring name(s)	The Honky Tonk Man
Billed height	6' 1"
Billed weight	271
Born	January 25, 1953 (1953-01-25) (age 54) Memphis, Tennessee
Resides	Phoenix, Arizona
Billed from	Memphis, Tennessee
Trained by	Herb Welch
Debut	1977

Roy Wayne Farris (born January 25, 1953) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name The Honky Tonk Man. Currently working on the independent circuit, he has previously worked for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).

1 Wrestling Career
2 In wrestling
3 Championships and accomplishments
4 Personal life
5 Notes
6 References
7 External links

Farris was best known for his portrayal as The Honky Tonk Man in the World Wrestling Federation, from 1986 through 1990. Originally pushed as a face wrestler with an Elvis impersonator gimmick, Honky soon cut a series of promos that aired on the WWF's syndicated programming asking fans for a "vote of confidence." The results came back negative, and it wasn't long before Honky became a cocky heel and took on Jimmy "Mouth of the South" Hart as his manager. Hart was billed as "The Colonel" for Honky's matches, a reference to Col. Tom Parker.

Honky's first major feud came against Jake "the Snake" Roberts, whom was in the midst of a face turn. The feud intensified when Honky attacked Roberts on his talk show set, The Snake Pit. One of the feud's better-known moments came at WrestleMania III, where Honky grabbed the ring ropes to score a tainted win; afterward, Roberts cleared the ring of Honky before he and Alice Cooper attacked Hart with Roberts' python, Damien.

During a television taping on June 2, 1987 in Buffalo, New York, Honky upset Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat and won the WWF Intercontinental Championship; Honky reversed Steamboat's inside cradle and grabbed onto the bottom ropes for extra leverage to get the pin. One of the first wrestlers to congratulate Honky on the win was a man who at the time was finishing a fierce feud with Steamboat, but would go on to be one of Honky's most bitter rivals: Randy "Macho Man" Savage. Honky quickly adopted a cowardly heel persona, often getting himself counted out or disqualified on purpose against challengers such as Steamboat, Billy Jack Haynes, Bruno Sammartino and George "The Animal" Steele, taking advantage of a loophole that allowed him to keep his title. Also during this time, Honky began using the entrance theme, "Cool, Cocky, Bad," a 50s-styled, narcissistic-themed song performed by Farris and included on Piledriver - The Wrestling Album 2, the WWF's second album of wrestling themes.

By September 1987, Savage was in the midst of a face turn and began challenging Honky for the Intercontinental title (after Honky had made comments about him being "the greatest Intercontinental champion of all time" and disparaging comments about former champions, particularly Savage). Although they had several matches beforehand — they had also met in 1986, when the then-heel Savage was champion and challenged by the face Honky — the first Savage-Honky match to air on national television was part of a Saturday Night's Main Event taping September 23 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. During that match, Savage nearly defeated Honky until Honky's allies, the Hart Foundation (who had interfered throughout the match), ran into the ring and brutally attacked Savage, getting Honky disqualified. Savage's valet, Miss Elizabeth, attempted to stop the carnage but Honky shoved her down and she fled to the locker room; meanwhile, Honky completed his attempt to break his guitar over Savage's head. Shortly thereafter, Elizabeth returned with Savage's former rival, Hulk Hogan, who aided Savage in running off the heels (leading to the formation of The Mega Powers).

Honky continued his bitter feud against Savage. Frequently, Honky would make advances toward Elizabeth — including one such incident at the 1987 Slammy Awards — to agitate his challenger. However, Savage never won the title from Honky ... and neither did Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake, Honky's next major rival.

During the Beefcake-Honky feud - which began at WrestleMania IV and continued during the spring and summer of 1988 - Honky vowed not to let Beefcake cut his ducktail hair, something Beefcake often said he would do in promos. In their matches, Honky was often seconded by a mysterious woman named Peggy Sue; while Sherri Martel sometimes played the role, more often than not, "Peggy Sue" was Hart dressed in drag. Beefcake countered with a "woman" of his own: "Georgina" (Steele in drag).

At the inaugural SummerSlam, The Ultimate Warrior needed just 29 seconds to pin Honky to claim the Intercontinental Championship. Honky had been the champion for one year, two months and 27 days, the longest-reigning titleholder to that time. Honky was unsuccessful in his bid to reclaim the title, and also came up short in a feud against "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes.

His last major run came in late 1989 and 1990, when he and Greg Valentine wrestled as the tag team Rhythm and Blues, competing against such teams as the Hart Foundation and The Legion of Doom. Honky wrapped up his WWF career with a stint as a pro-heel color commentator.

In 1994, the Honky Tonk Man was working for World Championship Wrestling and was challenging Johnny B. Badd for the WCW World Television Championship when he left due to a dispute with management. In his book "Controversy Creates Cash," Eric Bischoff stated that his favorite firing was that of the Honky Tonk Man. Farris has responded by saying that it was an honor as Bischoff had fired a number of people while in WCW.[1]

After a brief stint in the American Wrestling Federation, Honky resurfaced in the WWF in 1997 as a manager for Billy Gunn, who had started a singles run. Under Honky's tutelage, Gunn became known as "Rockabilly," which was a short-lived and unsuccessful gimmick.

Honky made an appearance in the 2001 Royal Rumble where he entered the Rumble but got nailed with his own guitar by Kane and was quickly eliminated.

Finishing and signature moves

Shake, Rattle and Roll (Swinging Neckbreaker with a hip-swiveling dance in the middle)
Guitar shot

Managers

Danny Davis
Jimmy Hart
Judd the Studd
Peggy Sue
Judge Lawless
Gentleman Jim Holiday

Wrestlers managed

Rockabilly

Entrance themes

"That's All Right, Honky Tonk Mama" (1987)
"Cool, Cocky, Bad", which begins with the lyrics: "I've got long side burns and my hair's slicked back
"Hunka Hunka Hunka Honky Love" (performed by him and Greg Valentine at WrestleMania VI)
"You're Just a Honky Dog Baby" (WCW)