History Wrestling / GeorgeSteele

* HeelFaceTurn: On the first episode of ''Saturday Night's Main Event'' in 1985, where he was abandoned by tag team partners Wrestling/NikolaiVolkoff and Wrestling/TheIronSheik in the ring. He was taken under [[Wrestling/LouAlbano Captain Lou Albano's]] wing [[note]](ironically, Albano – who had managed Steele during the late 1970s as a heel – had also recently turned face)[[/note]].

* HeelFaceTurn: In 1985 and never looked back.

* TheCameo: The January 10, 2000 episode of ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro'' saw Commissioner Wrestling/TerryFunk and the Old Age Outlaws (Wrestling/ArnAnderson, Larry Zbyszko and Paul Orndorff) announce that they were going to be bringing some friends in to deal with [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder NWO member]] and [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-us-h.html WCW United States Heavyweight Champion]] Wrestling/JeffJarrett. Steele was revealed as the first opponent, in a [[GarbageWrestler "Bunkhouse Match"]]. Steele hit Jarrett with weapons, but got sidetracked, of course, by eating a turnbuckle. Jarrett nailed Steele with his guitar, but Arn hit him with a spinebuster. Special referee Wrestling/ChrisBenoit dragged Steele over on top of Jarrett and counted the pin.

William James Myers (April 16, 1937 – February 16, 2017) was an American {{professional wrestl|ing}}er and actor from Madison Heights, MI best known for his work in Wrestling/{{WWE}} from the 1960s through the 1980s as George "The Animal" Steele. He started his career in UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} in the 1960s under a mask as The Student and was the first wrestler managed by Gary Hart, who would go on to be better known for his work in Texas. As he was a teacher and football coach in RealLife, he would wrestle during the summer and school vacations for extra money. He dropped the mask and became George Steele, taking the last name from how he would be working in UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}, which is known as the Steel City. He worked on and off for WWE for years as a {{Heel}}, until he finally retired from teaching in 1985-1986. He retired from full-time competition in 1988 due to contracting Crohn's Disease and worked as a talent scout. He returned in late 1998 as a member of the Oddities, just in time for the group to get jobbed out on their way out the door. He has also competed for various independent promotions. He was a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/mi/nwa/mi-nwa-t.html NWA (Detroit) World Tag Team Champion]] with Frankie Laine. He was inducted into the Wrestling/WWEHallOfFame in 1995. [[YouMightRememberMeFrom You may have also seen him as wrestler-turned-actor Tor Johnson]] in ''Film/EdWood.''

* BaldOfEvil[=/=]BaldOfAwesome

* CoolMask: As The Student.
* CoolOldGuy: Many out-of-character interviews appear online, thanks to Steele's rich knowledge of the sport and the dozens of superstars he's worked with through the years.

* MissingLink: Prior to about 1982, Steele was able to speak and think coherently, and cut some pretty good promos. The younger Wrestling/VinceMcMahon wanted a neanderthal-type character who was barely capable of uttering more than one or two words at a time … and persuaded Steele to become that person. Steele didn't even have to change his core in-ring style much, just his interview style to that of a mentally retarded individual. "Duh" … it worked! He went from being that scary, crazed individual who knew what he was doing to carrying around a hand puppet and visiting an ice cream factory.

* PackedHero: The Oddities introduced him in a giant HollywoodGiftwrap before one their matches against The Headbangers. While Mosh and Thrasher were GenreSavvy enough not to open it, it burst when they were near and George came out to beat them.

* StoutStrength: While not obese, he certainly wasn't built like a bodybuilder, and he had to be very strong to perform the flying hHammerlock, since he was lifting 200+ lbs. men in the air by one arm.

* WildMan

* HesBack: The November 15, 2010 ''Raw'' was billed as "Old School Raw" and featured appearances by various legends[=/=]Hall of Famers and references to WWE's past. During the Wrestling/KofiKingston vs. [[Wrestling/TheNexus David Otunga]] match, with Kofi down on the mat, Steele made a surprise appearance. He entered the ring and shouted "EAT! EAT!" until the referee got in his way. So, Steele simply walked down to another corner and ate ''that'' turnbuckle. The referee told him, "That's enough, George," as Steele left to the cheers of the crowd. Otunga looked utterly confused, and Kofi got up, rammed Otunga's head into the exposed turnbuckle and hit him with [[FinishingMove Trouble in Paradise]] for the pin.

-->--'''Creator/JerrySeinfeld''', ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', "The Bizarro Jerry"

-->--'''Wrestling/VinceMcMahon''', ''WWF Saturday Night's Main Event'', January 4, 1986

William James Myers (April 16, 1937 – February 16, 2017) was an American {{professional wrestl|ing}}er and actor from Madison Heights, MI best known for his work in Wrestling/{{WWE}} from the 1960s through the 1980s as George "The Animal" Steele. He started his career in UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} in the 1960s under a mask as The Student and was the first wrestler managed by Gary Hart, who would go on to be better known for his work in Texas. As he was a teacher and football coach in RealLife, he would wrestle during the summer and school vacations for extra money. He dropped the mask and became George Steele, taking the last name from how he would be working in UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}, which is known as the Steel City. He worked on and off for WWE for years as a {{Heel}}, until he finally retired from teaching in 1985-1986. He retired from full-time competition in 1988 due to contracting Crohn's Disease and worked as a talent scout. He returned in late 1998 as a member of the Oddities, just in time for the group to get jobbed out on their way out the door. He has also competed for various independent promotions. He was a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/mi/nwa/mi-nwa-t.html NWA (Detroit) World Tag Team Champion]] with Frankie Laine. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995. [[YouMightRememberMeFrom You may have also seen him as wrestler-turned-actor Tor Johnson]] in ''Film/EdWood.''

* MissingLink: Prior to about 1982, Steele was able to speak and think coherently, and cut some pretty good promos. The younger VinceMcMahon wanted a neanderthal-type character who was barely capable of uttering more than one or two words at a time … and persuaded Steele to become that person. Steele didn't even have to change his core in-ring style much, just his interview style to that of a mentally retarded individual. "Duh" … it worked! He went from being that scary, crazed individual who knew what he was doing to carrying around a hand puppet and visiting an ice cream factory.

William James Myers (1937 - 2017) was an American {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and actor from Madison Heights, MI best known for his work in Wrestling/{{WWE}} from the 1960s through the 1980s as George "The Animal" Steele. He started his career in UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} in the 1960s under a mask as The Student and was the first wrestler managed by Gary Hart, who would go on to be better known for his work in Texas. As he was a teacher and football coach in RealLife, he would wrestle during the summer and school vacations for extra money. He dropped the mask and became George Steele, taking the last name from how he would be working in UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}, which is known as the Steel City. He worked on and off for WWE for years as a {{Heel}}, until he finally retired from teaching in 1985-1986. He retired from full-time competition in 1988 due to contracting Crohn's Disease and worked as a talent scout. He returned in late 1998 as a member of the Oddities, just in time for the group to get jobbed out on their way out the door. He has also competed for various independent promotions. He was a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/mi/nwa/mi-nwa-t.html NWA (Detroit) World Tag Team Champion]] with Frankie Laine. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995. [[YouMightRememberMeFrom You may have also seen him as wrestler-turned-actor Tor Johnson]] in ''Film/EdWood.''

William James Myers (1937 - 2017) is a retired American {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and actor from Madison Heights, MI best known for his work in Wrestling/{{WWE}} from the 1960s through the 1980s as George "The Animal" Steele. He started his career in UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} in the 1960s under a mask as The Student and was the first wrestler managed by Gary Hart, who would go on to be better known for his work in Texas. As he was a teacher and football coach in RealLife, he would wrestle during the summer and school vacations for extra money. He dropped the mask and became George Steele, taking the last name from how he would be working in UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}, which is known as the Steel City. He worked on and off for WWE for years as a {{Heel}}, until he finally retired from teaching in 1985-1986. He retired from full-time competition in 1988 due to contracting Crohn's Disease and worked as a talent scout. He returned in late 1998 as a member of the Oddities, just in time for the group to get jobbed out on their way out the door. He has also competed for various independent promotions. He was a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/mi/nwa/mi-nwa-t.html NWA (Detroit) World Tag Team Champion]] with Frankie Laine. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995. [[YouMightRememberMeFrom You may have also seen him as wrestler-turned-actor Tor Johnson]] in ''Film/EdWood.''

William James Myers (b. 1937) is a retired American {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and actor from Madison Heights, MI best known for his work in Wrestling/{{WWE}} from the 1960s through the 1980s as George "The Animal" Steele. He started his career in UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} in the 1960s under a mask as The Student and was the first wrestler managed by Gary Hart, who would go on to be better known for his work in Texas. As he was a teacher and football coach in RealLife, he would wrestle during the summer and school vacations for extra money. He dropped the mask and became George Steele, taking the last name from how he would be working in UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}, which is known as the Steel City. He worked on and off for WWE for years as a {{Heel}}, until he finally retired from teaching in 1985-1986. He retired from full-time competition in 1988 due to contracting Crohn's Disease and worked as a talent scout. He returned in late 1998 as a member of the Oddities, just in time for the group to get jobbed out on their way out the door. He has also competed for various independent promotions. He was a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/mi/nwa/mi-nwa-t.html NWA (Detroit) World Tag Team Champion]] with Frankie Laine. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995. [[YouMightRememberMeFrom You may have also seen him as wrestler-turned-actor Tor Johnson]] in ''Film/EdWood.''

* CarpetOfVirility: Type 2.

* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass[=/=]GeniusBruiser: He was a teacher in real life.
** NotCheatingUnlessYouGetCaught: Would often sneak foreign objects into the ring and could use them in such a way that referees would seemingly not notice. Steele even defeated Headbanger Mosh this way on the January 3, 1999 episode of ''[[{{BShow}} WWF Sunday Night Heat]]''.

* FinishingMove: Flying Hammerlock. He also used a Running Powerslam later on his career.
* HesBack: The November 15, 2010 ''Raw'' was billed as "Old School Raw" and featured appearances by various legends[=/=]Hall of Famers and references to WWE's past. During the Wrestling/KofiKingston vs. [[Wrestling/TheNexus David Otunga]] match, with Kofi down on the mat, Steele made a surprise appearance. He entered the ring and shouted "EAT! EAT!" until the referee got in his way. So, Steele simply walked down to another corner and ate ''that'' turnbuckle. The referee told him, "That's enough, George," as Steele left to the cheers of the crowd. Otunga looked utterly confused, and Kofi got up, rammed Otunga's head into the exposed turnbuckle and hit him with [[FinishingMove Trouble in Paradise (spinkick)]] for the pin.

* PowerStable: The Oddities, with [[Wrestling/JohnTenta Golga]], Wrestling/{{Kurrgan}}, [[Characters/WWEAttitude the Giant Silva]] and Wrestling/LunaVachon, until she turned heel.

* StoutStrength: While not obese, he certainly wasn't built like a bodybuilder, and he had to be very strong to perform the Flying Hammerlock, since he was lifting 200+ lbs. men in the air by one arm.

'''William James Myers''' (b. 1937) is a retired American {{Professional Wrestl|ing}}er and actor from Madison Heights, MI best known for his work in Wrestling/{{WWE}} from the 1960s through the 1980s as '''George "The Animal" Steele'''. He started his career in UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} in the 1960s under a mask as '''The Student''' and was the first wrestler managed by Gary Hart, who would go on to be better known for his work in Texas. As he was a teacher and football coach in RealLife, he would wrestle during the summer and school vacations for extra money. He dropped the mask and became George Steele, taking the last name from how he would be working in UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}, which is known as the Steel City. He worked on and off for WWE for years as a {{Heel}}, until he finally retired from teaching in 1985-1986. He retired from full-time competition in 1988 due to contracting Crohn's Disease and worked as a talent scout. He returned in late 1998 as a member of the Oddities, just in time for the group to get jobbed out on their way out the door. He has also competed for various independent promotions. He was a 1x [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/us/mi/nwa/mi-nwa-t.html NWA (Detroit) World Tag Team Champion]] with Frankie Laine. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1995. [[YouMightRememberMeFrom You may have also seen him as wrestler-turned-actor Tor Johnson]] in ''Film/EdWood.''

-->"Those meaty paws, I feel like I'm dating George 'The Animal' Steele!"
-->--'''Jerry Seinfeld''', ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', "The Bizarro Jerry"

-->"Looks kind of like Film/KingKong and Jessica Lange"
-->--'''[[Wrestling/VinceMcMahon Vince [=McMahon=]]],''' ''WWE Saturday Night's Main Event'', January 4, 1986

* FinishingMove: Flying Hammerlock

* TagTeam: [[CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown The Machines]] as Animal Machine, with [[Wrestling/AndreTheGiant The Giant Machine (Andre, of course)]], [[Characters/WWETagTeams Big Machine (Robert "Blackjack Mulligan" Windham]]), [[Wrestling/{{Demolition}} Super Machine (Bill "Masked Superstar"[=/=]"Demolition Ax" Eadie)]], [[Wrestling/HulkHogan Hulk Machine]], [[Wrestling/RoddyPiper Piper Machine]] and [[Wrestling/TheCrusher Crusher Machine (AWA legend Reggie "The Crusher" Lisowski)]].

* BashBrothers: Gorilla Monsoon (until Monsoon's face turn), Mr. Fuji, Wrestling/JunkyardDog, Wrestling/RickySteamboat

* ArchEnemy: (in Detroit): [[Wrestling/EdFarhat The Sheik]]; (as a heel in WWE): Wrestling/BrunoSammartino, Pedro Morales, Wrestling/GorillaMonsoon, Wrestling/BobBacklund, Wrestling/HulkHogan; (as a face): Wrestling/RandySavage, of course, [[Characters/WWETagTeams the Headbangers]], [[TagTeamTwins the Disciples of Apocalypse]]

* TagTeam: [[CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown The Machines]] as Animal Machine, with [[Wrestling/AndreTheGiant The Giant Machine (Andre, of course)]], [[Characters/WWETagTeams Big Machine (Robert "Blackjack Mulligan" Windham]]), [[Wrestling/{{Demolition}} Super Machine (Bill "Masked Superstar"[=/=]"Demolition Ax" Eadie)]], Hulk Machine, Piper Machine and [[Wrestling/TheCrusher Crusher Machine (AWA legend Reggie "The Crusher" Lisowski)]].

* CrazyConsumption[=/=]{{Chewing The|Scenery}} [[TrashTheSet Set]]: He would eat turnbuckle stuffing, sometimes multiple times in one match.

* TagTeam: [[CharlieBrownFromOuttaTown The Machines]] as Animal Machine, with [[Wrestling/AndreTheGiant The Giant Machine (Andre, of course)]], [[Characters/WWETagTeams Big Machine (Robert "Blackjack Mulligan" Windham]]), [[Wrestling/{{Demolition}} Super Machine (Bill "Masked Superstar"[=/=]"Demolition Ax" Eadie)]], [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Hulk Machine, Piper Machine]] and [[Wrestling/TheCrusher Crusher Machine (AWA legend Reggie "The Crusher" Lisowski)]].

* TheCameo: The January 10, 2000 episode of ''Wrestling/WCWMondayNitro'' saw Commissioner Wrestling/TerryFunk and the Old Age Outlaws (Arn Anderson, Larry Zbyszko and Paul Orndorff) announce that they were going to be bringing some friends in to deal with [[Wrestling/NewWorldOrder NWO member]] and [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wcw/wcw-us-h.html WCW United States Heavyweight Champion]] Wrestling/JeffJarrett. Steele was revealed as the first opponent, in a [[GarbageWrestler "Bunkhouse Match"]]. Steele hit Jarrett with weapons, but got sidetracked, of course, by eating a turnbuckle. Jarrett nailed Steele with his guitar, but Arn hit him with a spinebuster. Special referee Wrestling/ChrisBenoit dragged Steele over on top of Jarrett and counted the pin.