Barry Clinton Windham (born July 4, 1960) is a retired American Professional Wrestler from Sweetwater, TX best known for his work in the 1980s and 1990s for WWE and WCW. He debuted in 1979 and first made his name competing in Florida. He went up to WWE in 1984 with Mike Rotunda as the tag team the U.S. Express. They defeated Adrian Adonis and Dick Murdoch for the WWE World Tag Team Titles
, which they lost to The Iron Sheik and Nikolai Volkoff at the first WrestleMania. Barry went back to Florida until the territory closed in 1987, and he was brought up to Charlotte by National Wrestling Alliance promoter Jim Crockett. Barry had a run as a member of the Four Horsemen in 1988-1989 before he briefly went back to WWE as The Widowmaker. He returned to WCW in 1990, rejoining the Horsemen. This lasted until Real Life Pointy-Haired Boss Jim Herd fired Flair right before the WCW The Great American Bash 1991 PPV. Barry would be turned face due to Larry Zbyszko smashing Barry's hand in a car door at the start of WCW Halloween Havoc 1991. Barry stayed face until he turned on partner Dustin Rhodes in late 1992. He disappeared from WCW in mid-1994 and resurfaced in WWE as The Stalker in 1996. In 1997, he and Justin Hawk Bradshaw were repackaged as The New Blackjacks, a Generation Xerox of The Blackjacks, Barry's father's team from the 1970s. This lasted until Barry turned heel in early 1998 to join Jim Cornette's NWA group, before leaving the company. Barry resurfaced in WCW in late 1998, turning on Ric Flair and joining the nWo. He then joined Curt Hennig's West Texas Rednecks, before leaving the company in the fall. He has also competed for New Japan Pro-Wrestling, All Japan Pro Wrestling, the American Wrestling Association, MLW and some independents. He retired in 2004. Among his in-ring achievements, he is a former NWA World Heavyweight Champion, a former 2x WWE World Tag Team Champion, a former 3x WCW World Tag Team Champion, and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame as a member of the Four Horsemen in 2012 and will be inducted again in 2024 as part of the U.S. Express. He is the son of Blackjack Mulligan, the brother of Kendall Windham, the brother-in-law of Mike Rotunda, and the maternal uncle of Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas.
"Big, Lanky Texan Tropes":
- The Ace: A large man who was also a very good technical wrestler. He could wrestle in just about any style and with any size of an opponent. Mick Foley praised him as "one of the best wrestlers in the game" from 1987-1991.
- All-American Face: During his original run in the WWF along with Mike Rotunda (aka IRS) as the U.S Express.
- Americans Are Cowboys: Certainly dressed that way in All Japan.
- The Big Guy: As a face.
- The Brute: For the Four Horsemen, though less so in the 1990-1991 version with Sid Vicious.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: Believed to be a much better wrestler than even Ric Flair but did not have the drive to be a world champion. Arn Anderson pointed out that it ultimately worked for him since Windham did not become as big a star as he could have but still retired with a good amount of money.
- Facial Markings: Of the camouflage variety as the Stalker.
- Finishing Move: Bulldog, Lariat, Superplex, Claw, Implant DDT.
- Heel–Face Revolving Door: He was a Horseman and he teamed with Lex Luger. Do the math.
- I Have Many Names: Started his career as Blackjack Mulligan Jr.
- Parts Unknown: Billed from "The Environment" as the Stalker.
- Power Stable:
- (in Florida): Dusty Rhodes' Family
- The Four Horsemen
- The Yamazaki Corporation (Flair, Barry, Kendall, Butch Reed and Michael Hayes, w/Hiro Matsuda as manager)
- NWA
- The West Texas Rednecks
- (in MLW): The Extreme Horsemen
- Red Baron: "The Widowmaker" and "Blackjack".
- Significant Birth Date: He was legitimately born on July 4th (1960), which gave his All-American gimmick a little extra credibility.
- Tag Team:
- The U.S. Express
- The New Blackjacks
- The Gift: He reportedly slept very little and hardly worked out, only going to the gym a couple times a month, yet had enough stamina to wrestle for 90 minutes.
- Wrestling Family: His father is Blackjack Mulligan, brother is Kendall Windham, his brother-in-law is Mike Rotunda, who is the father of Bray Wyatt and Bo Dallas. He's also the namesake of Bray Wyatt, whose real name is "Windham Rotunda".
