For fans of professional wrestling in the 1980s, the Honky Tonk Man was a comical villain who audiences loved to hate and jeer at. The 1980s and early '90s saw a peak in the popularity of wrestling as entertainment on television. Most people think of the golden age of wrestling as the mid-1980s when the WWF broadcast weekly shows on cable television. Roy Farris, the real name of the Honky Tonk Man, was a star of the WWF and also happens to be a licensed minister with the Universal Life Church. Read on to learn more about the legacy and personality of Roy Farris.
A Part of Wrestling History
The sport of professional wrestling has a rich history going back thousands of years. Fans of the WWF, where Roy Farris came to worldwide renown, may assume that this form of wrestling is a 20th-century invention, but that's far from the truth. In fact, folk or popular wrestling, both freestyle and regulated, has been around for thousands of years. The Greeks and Romans held wrestling events for huge audiences, and other cultures around the world have various wrestling-adjacent sports. For example, Japan has a long history of sumo wrestling, and Mexico embraced wrestling as entertainment in the early 1900s. So how does Roy Farris, the Honky Tonk Man, fit into wrestling history?
During the 19th century in America, professional wrestling began in its earliest form as a type of vaudeville act and as a part of traveling circuses. After a dip in public interest that happened during World War II, wrestling came back strong in the 1960s, and that period is known as the first golden age of wrestling. Roy Farris was born in 1953, which means that he probably watched professional wrestling in the '60s and found inspiration as a young teenager.
At around 23 years of age, Farris finally got his first break in wrestling, working for managers in Missouri and then Memphis. However, he wouldn't find his true calling until he joined the WWF in 1986.
A Villain of the Golden Age
The mid-1980s marked a new resurgence for professional wrestling, largely thanks to the support of network television, and this period also saw Roy Farris, aka Honky Tonk Man, become a beloved villain at the WWF. The World Wrestling Federation, led by Vince McMahon, gave Farris his big break and even helped him hone his character of Honky Tonk Man.
When Farris first joined the WWF, his managers tried to play him as a hero in the shows. In other words, McMahon wanted Farris to be a face while others played the heel or villains. Farris tried out that role for a while but found that his comedic skills and his darkly funny impersonation of Elvis Presley made fans love to hate him. After a short while, Farris convinced WWF management that he could carry the role of the heel, and that's how he shot to fame. He even carried the title of Intercontinental Heavyweight Champion from 1987-1988.
An International Act
While his career peaked in the late 1980s, Roy Farris continued to wrestle around the world throughout the early 200s. He only decided to retire in 2019. International crowds have loved to revel in their nostalgia and support their 1980s wrestling heroes, including Farris. Canadians and New Zealanders have shown a lot of love for Farris since he moved to the international circuit, and in 2019, the WWE inducted Roy "Honky Tonk Man" Farris into the Wrestling Hall of Fame.
While there is no information available on how Roy Farris has used his license as an ordained minister with the Universal Life Church, it is just another fascinating fact that fans can add to their knowledge about his extraordinary life. The Honky Tonk Man may have been a villain, but his legacy will keep making fans smile for years to come.