the Honky Tonk Man

Roy Wayne Farris
Statistics
Ring name(s)	The Honky Tonk Man
Billed height	6' 1"
Billed weight	271
Born	January 25 1953 (1953--) (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).

Career

Farris won several regional tag team titles as one half of the "Blond Bombers" with Larry Latham who went on to become Moondog Spot. In mid-1986, Farris also won the North American Heavyweight Title from Bad News Allen in Stu Hart's Stampede Wrestling as Honky Tonk Wayne.

The Honky Tonk Man debuted as a face in the WWF in late 1986 with the endorsement of WWF champion Hulk Hogan. However, the fans rejected Honky Tonk Man as a face, and voiced their disapproval in a "Vote of Confidence" phone poll in which 71,111 fans voted for Honky and 603,272 voted against him. In response, the WWF turned him heel. He took on manager Jimmy Hart, dubbed "The Colonel" in a reference to Elvis Presley's manager Colonel Tom Parker.

The Honky Tonk Man's first feud in the WWF was with Jake Roberts in early 1987. It began in "The Snake Pit" on Wrestling Challenge, where Honky struck Jake with his guitar after Jake made disparaging remarks about Honky's name and singing talent. (Both wrestlers tell differing stories about whether Jake was actually injured. Jake states in his DVD that the Honky Tonk Man actually injured him, causing him to develop a painkiller addiction. Mick Foley also says this in his original autobiography. The Honky Tonk Man claims that this is a lie and that Mick Foley actually apologized for not calling him earlier to verify the truthfulness of this before having it published.) The feud reached its height at WrestleMania III in a match where Jake was accompanied to the ring by Alice Cooper (to counter the presence of Jimmy Hart). Honky Tonk Man won the match when he pinned Jake while holding the ring ropes (one of many ways that heel wrestlers cheat).

The Honky Tonk Man (believed by some to have been a substitute for Butch Reed) won the WWF Intercontinental Championship from Ricky Steamboat at the June 2, 1987, Superstars of Wrestling tapings in Buffalo, New York. He went on to proclaim himself the "greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time" and did, in fact, hold the title a record 15-months (454 days).

One of his major feuds as champion was with Randy Savage. Honky disrespected Savage, who was trying to congratulate him for his win over Savage's most hated enemy, Steamboat. In the weeks that followed, Honky began to use his biggest catchphrase, "the greatest Intercontinental Champion of all time," and put down all who preceded him, including Savage, who was coming off an impressive year-plus long reign of his own. The feud exploded during an October episode of "Saturday Night's Main Event" on NBC when Honky shoved Miss Elizabeth to the ground and smashed a guitar over Savage's head. The two captained opposing teams at the inaugural Survivor Series pay-per-view on Thanksgiving Day 1987; the Honky Tonk Man (the last remaining member of his team) deliberately took a countout, making Savage, Steamboat, and Roberts the "survivors." Honky and Savage met again on the Feb. 5, 1988, Main Event special live in prime time on NBC, with Savage winning by countout.

At WrestleMania IV, Honky Tonk Man defended his title against Brutus Beefcake. Honky was disqualified after Jimmy Hart knocked out the referee when it appeared that Honky was about to lose to Beefcake's sleeper hold.

In correlation with an angle in which Beefcake was "injured" by Ron Bass just before a rematch at SummerSlam 1988, Honky lost the Intercontinental Championship at SummerSlam to the Ultimate Warrior in a 30-second squash match. At the event, Honky made an open challenge to anyone in the backstage area to wrestle him.

After losing the Intercontinental belt, Honky feuded briefly with Warrior, then teamed with Greg Valentine in a brief feud with the Hart Foundation in early 1989. He spent much of 1989 feuding with the returning "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka before reuniting with Valentine (with his normally blonde hair dyed black) as Rhythm & Blues. They sang at WrestleMania VI but were interrupted by the Bushwhackers, with whom they feuded through the summer. Rhythm & Blues also repeatedly challenged the Hart Foundation for the tag team titles. Shortly after Survivor Series 1990, Honky briefly did color commentary while continuing to team with Valentine. He left the WWF shortly into 1991.

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 states that his favorite firing was that of the Honky Tonk Man. Honky Tonk 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 later resurfaced in the WWF as a manager for Billy Gunn, who had begun 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.

He was featured in The 50 Greatest WWE Superstars Of All Time, a WWE magazine released in December 2003.

In wrestling

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)