Athletes - Art Barr

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	Athletes - Art Barr

Art Barr, full name Arthur Leon Barr (October 8, 1966 – November 23, 1994), was an American professional wrestler. He wrestled briefly for World Championship Wrestling, but had his greatest success in Mexico's Asistencia Asesoría y Administración promotion.

Early career

Barr is the son of promoter Sandy Barr and the brother of Jesse Barr, and began his career in the Pacific Northwest Wrestling (PNW) territory in April 1987. About a year and a half later, he began wrestling as Beetlejuice, based on the title character of the 1988 movie. The character, wearing face paint and flour in his hair, was a cartoonish babyface designed to appeal to children.

Barr had a sexual encounter with a 19 year old girl after a PNW card on July 16, 1989; the girl later filed rape charges. Barr continued to wrestle as Beetlejuice, despite the charges, and the attention brought to them by the Portland Oregonian. A year later, while admitting he did rape the girl, Barr worked a plea-bargain, and was convicted of first-degree sexual abuse. He was fined, placed on probation, and sentenced to community service, but served no jail time.

WCW Career

After the trial, Barr's license to wrestle in Oregon was not renewed (for unrelated reasons); he joined World Championship Wrestling briefly in 1990 as The Juicer, still playing the cartoonish babyface. His reputation from PNW followed him, however, and he soon found himself unpushed and, eventually, released.

EMLL Career

After leaving WCW, Barr was brought into Mexico's Empresa Mexicana de la Lucha Libre (EMLL) promotion by Konnan. He initially wrestled under a mask as The American Love Machine, and was very successful. A year after entering EMLL, the American Love Machine faced off against another masked wrestler, Blue Panther, in a mask-vs-mask match. 18,000 fans sold out the 17,000 seat Arena México in Mexico City and another 8,000 fans watched on big screen TV in the parking lot to see the card. The match ended when "Love Machine" administered a Piledriver (Martinete in spanish) against Blue Panther, and illegal move in Mexican wrestling, thus losing his mask.

AAA Career

Soon afterward, Barr left EMLL to join Konnan's Asistencia Asesoría y Administración (AAA) promotion. As "Love Machine" Art Barr, he turned heel, and formed the tag team La Pareja del Terror (The Pair of Terror) with Eddie Guerrero. The pair were highly successful, becoming arguably the most hated tag team in lucha libre history. Barr and Guerrero also formed a heel stable with Konnan and Madonna's Boyfriend, known as Los Gringos Locos (The Crazy Americans).

Despite both the acclaim and the financial success, Barr's time in Mexico took a toll on him, as he was reportedly homesick (his wife and son remained in Oregon while he was working in Mexico). Eventually, he turned to alcohol and drugs for solace, despite the concern of his friends in the business.

On November 6, 1994, AAA held the "When Worlds Collide" pay-per-view card (with some help from WCW) at the L.A. Sports Arena. La Pareja del Terror faced off against El Hijo del Santo and Octagón in a double hair vs. mask match, which was acclaimed as one of the greatest PPV matches ever. Around this time, Barr and Guerrero were also in talks with Extreme Championship Wrestling.

Sadly, the "When Worlds Collide" tag match would be Barr's last. On November 23, 1994, Barr was found dead at home; a mixture of alcohol and prescription drugs were found in his bloodstream.

As a tribute to his friend, Eddie Guerrero adopted Barr's trademark Frog Splash as his finishing maneuver.

Finishing and signature moves

Frog Splash
Superkick

Championships and accomplishments

Asistencia Asesoría y Administración
*1-Time AAA/IWC World Tag Team Champion (with Eddie Guerrero
)
International Wrestling All-Stars
*1-Time IWAS Tag Team Champion (with Eddie Guerrero)
National Wrestling Alliance
*3-Time NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Champion (w/Big Juice
and Jesse Barr)
*1-Time NWA Pacific Northwest Television Champion
Pro Wrestling Illustrated
*18th Best Tag Team of the "PWI Years" (with Eddie Guerrero)
*114th (of 500) Best Wrestler of the "PWI Years"
Wrestling Observer Newsletter
*1994 Best Heel
*1994 Feud of the Year (with Eddie Guerrero vs El Hijo Del Santo and Octagon)
*1994 Tag Team of the Year (with Eddie Guerrero)

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Art Barr ]

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