Ron Garvin started wrestling in 1962. He formed a team with his "brother" Terry Garvin in the 1960s and early 1970s and they won a few regional tag team titles together. They were managed by their other "brother",
Jimmy Garvin (actually Ron's stepson in real life).
Garvin made a name for himself as a singles wrestler in the
Georgia, Alabama, Kentucky, and
Tennessee territories in the late 1970s after splitting with Terry and Jimmy. He wrestled in
Angelo Poffo's International Championship Wrestling promotion where he was best known for his heated rivalries with
Randy Savage and
Pez Whatley. One of Garvin's best-known ICW moments was where he knocked
Ox Baker's dentures out of his mouth, after which Garvin stomped on the dentures.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_nXVJwf1j0 He held the NWA Georgia Television Title (also known as The National or World TV Title) 5 times, including a feud with then Legion of Doom member, Jake "The Snake" Roberts. At one point during the feud, Jake Roberts held the TV title and refused to give Garvin a re-match. Garvin had to mortgage his house to come up with $10,000 to pay Roberts for a re-match. Garvin would go on to win the re-match and once again become the NWA World TV champion.
He then went to the
NWA's Jim Crockett Promotions where he would achieve his greatest success. He became "The Hands of Stone" Ron Garvin and he feuded with
Tully Blanchard and
Black Bart before entering in a feud with NWA World Champion
Ric Flair in 1987. On
September 25, 1987, Garvin was able to defeat Flair for the title. It was during this feud that Garvin would eventually gain
X-Pac heat, which would see Flair getting cheered in the middle of a cage match, and Garvin booed. His winning the belt was a last minute booking decision by the committee due to losing their original choices for successors.
Magnum T.A., the original choice, was forced out of in-ring competition following a car accident and
Buddy Landel was fired for drug use on the day he was to win the title. He held it for less than 2 months before losing it back to Flair.
He briefly feuded with
Jim Cornette's "Midnight Express" of
Bobby Eaton and
Stan Lane after Cornette threw fire in his face. Jimmy Garvin came to his rescue and they teamed for a while against them before Ron had a singles feud with Cornette's bodyguard,
Big Bubba Rogers.
At the 1988
Great American Bash, he turned heel by knocking
Dusty Rhodes out with a punch to keep him from winning
Barry Windham's U.S. Title. He was managed by
Gary Hart but left after only a few months as a heel.
He wrestled in the
American Wrestling Association in late 1988 as a heel and feuded with
Greg Gagne over the
AWA International Television Championship. He also feuded with
Carlos Colon over the
WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship on trips to
Puerto Rico during this time.
Garvin next went to the
WWF wrestling as a
babyface under the name "Rugged" Ronnie Garvin. He feuded with
Greg Valentine. Valentine defeated him in a 'loser must retire' match, but the feud continued with Garvin as a referee. Garvin defeated Valentine in a submission match at the 1990 Royal Rumble. He returned to the independents, mainly in the
Carolinas, on a semi-retired basis and can still be found in 2005 as a wrestler or special referee in the independents in the Mid-Atlantic area.
