Pistol Pez

Please keep George Gunderson and his wife Claudia and son Andy in your prayers. George is a life member of the CAC and a great friend from Chicago. George has been in the hospital this past week and is not out of danger yet.--Percival

This past week, the wrestling world lost another of its fold. Pistol Pez Whatley lost the wait for a replacement heart.

The Chattanooga Times called him the most dedicated athlete in recent years. The rest of the nation called him a friend of the mat wars. In a post on Slam Sports, Greg Oliver praised him for being who he was … A Man, A Friend, and a Legend.

During his career, "Pistol" Pez Whatley broke more than a few boundaries. Whatley, who died Tuesday at age 54, was the first black high school wrestling champion in Chattanooga and in Tennessee. He was then the first black wrestler at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

As a pro wrestler, he brought smiles to many faces in and out of the ring when he was a good guy as "Pistol" Pez or Willie B. Hurt; as the heel Shaska Whatley, he drew happiness from the fans' ire.

"I liked being a hero, making people like me, but I liked making people cheer against me too," Whatley told the Chattanooga Times Free Press just before Christmas.

His friend of over 22 years, Rocky King, said that wrestling was the center of Whatley's existence. "He just loved wrestling," explained King, who first met Whatley in Florida. "That's all he'd talk about."

As a heel, Shaska Whatley had an epic feud with "The Boogie Woogie Man" in Jim Crockett's World Championship Wrestling promotion in 1986.

Valiant ticked off his friend when he called Whatley the best "black" in wrestling; incensed at the racial implications, Whatley turned on Valiant, and cut part of his beard. He then took on "Number One" Paul Jones as a manager.

"If there's anything I hate more than a black honkeytonk, it's a white honkeytonk," the newly named Shaska Whatley once spouted on TV in regards to Valiant. The two feuded throughout the summer of '86 at the Great American Bash shows, with Whatley eventually losing his hair in a match.

Valiant was saddened by the death of his old friend. "I have known Pez since the late '60s in Tennessee," Valiant said. "He was an old time trooper traveling by car on the road at least 100,000 miles a year for many decades. The Pistol was a true shooter and a great worker. I loved him and I'll always keep a special place in my heart for that old Tennessee stud. We were born only 75 miles and a couple of years apart."

The 5'10", 245-pound Pezavan Whatley was raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee. After excelling in sports at Notre Dame High School and then the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, he turned to pro wrestling, learning around Tennessee from the likes of Phil Golden, Saul Weingeroff, and promoters Nick Gulas and Angelo Poffo.

As a singles wrestler, his biggest success, aside from the WCW run against Valiant, was in Florida, where he was NWA Southern Heavyweight champion, losing the title to Rick Rude.

He had a few notable tag teams. His initial success came with Ray Candy, holding the Mid-American titles in the IWA. In Poffo's ICW, Whatley was a tag champ with Rip Rogers. After his heel turn in WCW, Whatley teamed with Tiger Conway Jr. in the Jive Tones.

"Pez always had a smile on his face. That's what I'll always remember most," posted Dusty Wolfe.

In the Continental Wrestling Federation in 1988, booker Eddie Gilbert took Whatley in another direction and re-named him Willie B. Hurt. He feuded with Gilbert and his manager Paul E. Dangerously after Whatley's real teenage son was involved in an angle.

During his career, Whatley worked across the U.S., Australia, the Caribbean, England, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico and the Virgin Islands. He came to southern Ontario as a part of the NWA.

Whatley was also one of the trainers at WCW's Power Plant. It was there that his health first turned. "I was in Denver and got bronchitis during production and training for the WCW," he told the Chattanooga paper. "When we left there for Louisville, I felt like I needed to lay down … Every time I'd lay down, I'd feel like I was drowning. I'd turn my head and get a rush."

He was treated for bronchitis, but the doctors also found that his high blood pressure was as a result of an enlarged heart that would eventually stop pumping. Whatley actually was pronounced dead on two occasions while awaiting a heart transplant during the subsequent years. He never had the transplant.

King was stunned by his friend's recovery; after being hospitalized, Whatley would be out again to King's wrestling shows and charity events. "It was incredible. I'd never seen anything like it in my life," King said of Whatley's recovery.

In his story in the Chattanooga Times Free Press, writer Ward Gossett described Whatley during his December 2004 visit. "Today 'Pez' is a shadow of his former physical self. Clothes that fit so well on a muscular 225-pound frame now sag on his shoulders. His belt is cinched tight, just short of needing a new notch. The personality remains vibrant, but the bounce in his step has been replaced with a shuffle."

Yet Whatley was thankful for the extra time. "It's a miracle I'm here," he said. "I'm walking, talking proof there is a God."

Whatley, Pezavan P.
Well-Known Local Wrestler, Launched Wrestling TV Program
posted January 21, 2005

Pezavan P. Whatley died Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2005, in a local hospital.

He was born on Jan. 10, 1951, in Chattanooga to the late Andrew Joe Whatley and Beatrice Whatley.

He was preceded in death by his grandparents, William T. and Matilda Franklin Mitcham, and father.

At a young age, Pezavan accepted God and was first baptized in 1959 at Greater Tucker Missionary Baptist Church and later again at St. Francis Catholic Church. Pezavan remained an active member of Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church.

Pez graduated in 1969 from Notre Dame High School. During his tenure, he earned two state high school wrestling championships, first in 1967 and again in 1969, becoming the first black athlete recognized in this event. At Notre Dame he also played football in the position of running back. He attended Southern University at Baton Rouge, LA, later joining the University of Chattanooga, where he quickly earned a varsity letter.

Having this love for wrestling, Pezavan used these talents as his stepping stones allowing him to escalate to the professional wrestling arena under the aliases of "Pistol Pez," "Shaska" and "Willie B. Hurt" being some of the names he had in his top hat of many to choose from.

Pez was noted not only for his athletic ability but also for the love of people. If he met you for the first time, he would always remember that first meeting. His love for people was so large his heart could not expand fast enough to accept it all. His abundant love of wrestling propelled him to launch a Saturday night television program titled "The Take-Down Show" for Chattanooga and the surrounding communities featuring high school wrestling from the wrestler's point of view to the coaches and referee expression and the inside pages of the sport.

With constant declining health, Pez always kept the sport of wrestling and the love of Chattanooga on the front burner for everyone to enjoy.

He is survived by four children, Pezavan II, Letitia, Nicholas and Cecil; six grandchildren; mother, Beatrice Whatley; brother, Andrew J. Whatley Jr.; sister, Autrey Wade; sister-in-law, Francis (Willis) Whatley; and host of nieces, nephews, cousins and friends.

Funeral services were Saturday January 22, 2005 at Tucker Baptist Church with the Rev. Billingsley and others officiating.

Interment in Mount Olivet Cemetery.

Percival A. Friend, Retired
The Epitome of Wrestling Managers
2004 CAC Honoree