- Jeff Farmer (wrestler)
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For the professional wrestler named "The Cobra", see George Takano.
Jeff Farmer 
Ring name(s) Black Scorpion
Lightning[1]
nWo Sting[1]
Fake Sting[1]
Cobra[1]
Jeff Barber[1]
Super J[1]Billed height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)[1] Billed weight 265 lb (120 kg)[1] Born August 14, 1962 [1]
New York City, New York, United States[1]Billed from Arlington, Virginia, United States Trained by Steve Keirn[1]
Ole Anderson
Blackjack Mulligan[1]Debut 1991[1] Jeff Farmer (born August 14, 1962)[1] is a professional wrestler best known as Fake Sting, and later nWo Sting. A mainstay of World Championship Wrestling during the 1990s, he led a Japanese faction of the heel stable New World Order in New Japan Pro Wrestling competing in the promotion until WCW's close in 2001. Farmer is the brother of Dr. Paul Farmer.[2]
Contents
Career
Early days
Farmer started wrestling in 1991 as Lightning in the tag team of "Thunder and Lightning" in the IWF promotion in Florida.[1] In 1993, they moved to World Championship Wrestling and had a small feud with Harlem Heat.[1] Farmer left WCW and toured Europe but returned to WCW in 1995 as Cobra to feud with Craig Pittman.[1]
Cobra made his WCW debut on September 9, 1995 edition of WCW Worldwide, defeating Bobby Starr with his Cobra clutch slam finisher. Bobby "The Brain" Heenan and "Mean" Gene Okerlund explained Cobra's kayfabe back story of having served in the Gulf War. Sgt. Craig Pittman, a legit Marine sergeant, abandoned Cobra in the desert, then reported him AWOL back at camp. Cobra lost all rank and respect, learned to wrestle, and came to WCW seeking revenge on Pittman.
nWo Sting
In September 1996, the nWo put one over on the fans of WCW by having Farmer dress as Sting and attack Lex Luger.[1] The WCW wrestlers and fans were fooled into thinking that Sting had joined the nWo. It finally came out that there was a "fake Sting," played by Farmer. He was often referred to as "Stink" by the WCW announcers, and it was never acknowledged that he and Cobra were one and the same. In one instance where the nWo Sting emerged from the ring canvas, the character was played by someone else wearing a Sting mask. He was confronted and attacked by the real Sting.[3]
The highlight of Farmer's WCW stint came on September 15, 1996 at the Fall Brawl pay-per-view where he participated in the main event WarGames match. Farmer, as the nWo Sting, along with Hulk Hogan, Kevin Nash, and Scott Hall defeated Lex Luger, Ric Flair, Arn Anderson and the real Sting when Farmer made Luger submit to the scorpion death lock.[1]
In 1997, he traveled back and forth to New Japan Pro Wrestling where he was a part of nWo Japan[1] and regularly teamed with Masahiro Chono. The nWo Sting was at the time much more popular than the real Sting in Japan. As a result, Farmer spent more time in NJPW.
Team 2000
In May 1999, Farmer left nWo Japan and formed "TEAM 2000" with Chono as Super J.[1] The Super J gimmick went over very well with the NJPW audience. The team made a couple of appearances in WCW with this gimmick, and they teamed together through 2001 before TEAM 2000 disbanded.
In 2004, Farmer went back to the nWo Sting gimmick on the independent circuit in the Carolina's until he started wrestling exclusively for Ultimate Championship Wrestling on January 8, 2005 when he won the title.[1]
Late 2000s
As of late 2010, Farmer is project manager of a research program known as GEAR (Genetics, Exercise, and Research) at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. The program aims to identify how "people's genetic background influences their response to physical activity."[3][4]
In wrestling
- Finishing moves
- Signature moves
- Backbreaker
- Delayed vertical suplex
- Drop toe-hold
- Diving lariat[1]
- Fireman's carry takeover
- Flapjack dropped into a hangman
- Reverse belly to belly piledriver
- Scorpion Death Drop (Inverted DDT) – adopted from Sting
- Scorpion Deathlock[5] – adopted from Sting
- Entrance themes
- "Man Called Sting" by D.Conort, M.Seitz, and J.Papa (WCW; 1996)
- "Tear It Up" by J.Hart and H.Helm (used while a part of the New World Order)
Championships and accomplishments
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- PWI ranked him #130 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the PWI 500 in 1999
- Other titles
- UCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[1]
- IWF Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Thunder
In popular culture
The Black Scorpion gimmick was so popular, his particular brand of face paint was used in video games, cartoons and even modern interpretations of Kabuki makeup.[citation needed]
Farmer appeared in the video game WCW vs. nWo: World Tour as nWo Sting, labeled in the game as "Sting".
Notes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y "Wrestler Profiles: Jeff Farmer". Online World of Wrestling. http://www.onlineworldofwrestling.com/profiles/j/jeff-farmer.html. Retrieved 2009-11-29.
- ^ Remnick, David: The Wanderer Bill Clinton’s quest to save the world, reclaim his legacy-and elect his wife., The New Yorker, September 18, 2006 http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/09/18/060918fa_fact1?currentPage=all as retrieved on May 29, 2007 08:15:31 GMT
- ^ a b Munzenrieder,, Kyle Former Pro-Wrestler "nWo Sting" Now Manages Research Program at University of Miami School of Medicine Miami New Times (December 15, 2010). Retrieved on 2-26-11.
- ^ Medical Student Meets His Match, and the Dean, in the Gym University of Miami School of Medicine (October 16, 2009). Retrieved on 2-26-11.
- ^ "nWo Sting, Hollywood Hogan, Kevin Nash & Scott Hall Vs. Sting, Lex Luger, Ric Flair & Arn Anderson". World Championship Wrestling. WCW Fall Brawl. 1996-09-15.
External links
Categories:- 1962 births
- American professional wrestlers
- Living people
- New World Order (professional wrestling) members
- People from New York City
- University of Miami faculty
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