Steven Hall is a retired American professional wrestler who appeared primarily under the name Tom Stone. He wrestled with the American Wrestling Association (AWA) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).[1] Hall was one of the AWA's main trainers for preliminary wrestlers that performed on the company's weekly TV series AWA All-Star Wrestling.[2] One of his former students, Tough Tom of Disorderly Conduct, claimed Hall was the best trainer in the Midwestern United States during the 1980s wrestling boom.[3]
| Tom Stone | |
|---|---|
| Professional wrestling career | |
| Ring name(s) | Tom "Rocky" Stone Doctor X The Executioner Steve Hall |
| Billed height | 5'11 |
| Billed weight | 245 lb (111 kg) |
| Billed from | Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Debut | 1978 |
| Retired | 2006 |
Career
editStone's father, Red Hall, was a popular Milwaukee disc jockey and was the ring announcer for wrestling shows at the Milwaukee Arena. It was primarily through his father's connections that Stone was able to enter pro wrestling.[2] Stone initially wrestled under his real name during his early career with stints in the St. Louis Wrestling Club, Central States Wrestling and Mid-South Wrestling. Stone began wrestling full-time with the AWA in 1978 to 1987.[4] Then, Stone made his WWF in 1987, appearing frequently as a jobber. He would go on to be remembered primarily for this work, and later became a well-regarded trainer for other wrestlers.[2] During the declining days of the AWA, he joined that promotion and received greater billing (including wrestling tag-team matches with Nick Bockwinkel),[5] though he still routinely lost to the AWA's recognized stars. He was also one of the notable jobbers (along with Jake Milliman) to take part in the AWA's Team Challenge Series.
Leading up to the WWF's 1990 Survivor Series, as part of a storyline involving Jake "The Snake" Roberts being blinded by Rick Martel, Stone defeated Roberts via disqualification.[6] Stone was also the promoter of the Wisconsin-based Independent Association of Wrestling during the 1990s, appearing as masked wrestler Doctor X. In 2021, Stone released an autobiography of his near-30 year wrestling career entitled "Professional Wrestling - The Theatre of the Absurd: I Never Wanted to be a Big Star".
Championships and accomplishments
editReferences
edit- ^ "Tom Stone Profile & Match Listing". IWB. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ a b c Multerer, Chris (April 30, 2014). Job Man: My 25 Years in Professional Wrestling. Larry Widen. ISBN 978-1304799937.
- ^ Larson, Tim (March 7, 2001). "Interview: Tough Tom". Upper Midwest Newsletter. No. 184.
I got started in the business in late 1988, broke in by a man named Tom "Rocky" Stone, the best trainer in the midwest at the time. At least that is my belief!
- ^ "Tom Stone - Career". Cagematch.net.
- ^ Schire, George (2010). Minnesota's Golden Age of Wrestling: From Verne Gagne to the Road Warriors. Minnesota Historical Society. pp. 152–153. ISBN 978-0873516204.
- ^ Baldwin, Clarence (June 22, 2012). "The Absolute Best Wrestling Jobbers of All Time". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
Further reading
edit- Hall, Steve (2021). Professional Wrestling - The Theatre of the Absurd: I Never Wanted to be a Big Star. Amazon.com. ISBN 979-8517560438.