J-Tex Corporation
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
J-Tex Corporation was a professional wrestling stable in World Championship Wrestling. The heel group was managed by Gary Hart and consisted of several popular wrestlers including Terry Funk, Dick Slater, Keiji Mutoh, The Dragonmaster and Buzz Sawyer. Their name was most likely a reference to the fact that many of its members had performed extensively in the Japan and Texas areas.
The heel group was conceived in 1989, feuding primary with NWA World Champion Ric Flair and Sting and then with the Four Horsemen after their surprise reformation later that year.
Prior to the Horsemen's reformation, Flair and Sting defeated Slater and Mutoh at Clash of the Champions VIII on September 12th, 1989. Post-match, Funk tried to suffocate Flair by putting a plastic bag over his head. This lead to their highly acclaimed, non-title "I Quit" match in November in which Flair defeated Funk.
During this time, Mutoh faced Sting in one of the year's greatest feuds, eventually winning his NWA Television Championship. The title was then vacated after a controversial match, but eventually, Mutoh won it back in a no disqualification match after using a blackjack foreign object. He then held the title for four months before losing to Arn Anderson in January.
At the July 23rd Great American Bash, the same event that Sting and Mutoh faced each other the first time, Ric Flair faced Terry Funk in the main event. After retaining his NWA title, Flair was attacked by Mutoh post-match. Sting came to Flair's rescue which was an amazing surprise to fans given their fierce rivalry the prior year. Sting and Flair feuded with Funk and Muta for the rest of the year in one of the NWA's most memorable battles. When Flair reformed the Four Horsemen in late 1989, Sting was quick to join Arn Anderson, Ole Anderson, and Flair.
The culmination of this feud took place at Clash of the Champions X, where the two stables faced off in the main event Six Man Tag Team Steel Cage Match. During the event, however, the Horsemen returned to their heel nature; after demanding a title shot from Flair, Sting was effectively thrown out of the Horsemen, thus restarting their rivalry. This attributed to shifting the heat away from their feud with J-Tex Corporation, and despite their impressive roster, J-Tex ultimately disbanded early that year.
