Medardo Jim "Jimmy" Leon Jr. (December 3, 1959 - November 30, 1988)
was an American professional wrestler, trainer and promoter, best
known by his ringname "Bad Boy" Ricky (Ricki) Lawless, who competed in
Eastern, Mid-Atlantic and Southern regional territories during the
early to mid-1980s, being a veteran of International Championship
Wrestling and the National Wrestling Federation.Leon was also the
owner a successful wrestling school whose students included Steve "The
Brawler" Lawler, "Playboy" Bobby Starr, Axl Rotten and Joey Maggs. He
and Maggs later teamed together as The Heavy Metal Connection and
twice captured the tag team titles in Buck Robley's Deep South
Championship Wrestling. His murder in 1988, reportedly committed by a
jealous husband over an extramarital affair, was featured in an
exposé by Hustler.Jim Leon was born in Washington, D.C. in 1959. He
worked as a mechanic prior to becoming a professional wrestler and
later lived in Charlotte, North Carolina and Baltimore, Maryland. He
initially wrestled and trained only twice a week, while still a
full-time mechanic, and quit three times due to his financial
situation before deciding to fully commit to a career in wrestling.
Throughout the 1980s, he wrestled up and down the Eastern United
States and eventually became a regular in International Championship
Wrestling and the National Wrestling Federation. In 1984, under the
ring name Jim Nunna, he became the first heavyweight champion for the
American Wrestling Federation in Georgia; while champion he began
competing under his real name.Leon also started a wrestling school in
a disused boxing gym located at the corner of North Avenue and Harford
road. It was a Baltimore City run gym, wherein he and Dave Coleman, a
pro wrestler who had been trained by Killer Kowalski trained a number
of future independent stars including Steve "The Brawler" Lawler,
"Playboy" Bobby Starr, and Axl Rotten. He later formed a team with one
of his students, Joey Maggs, and twice won the tag team belts in Buck
Robley's Deep South Championship Wrestling (later known as Southern
Championship Wrestling). He and Maggs, as The Heavy Metal Connection,
became a popular tag team in the Mid-Atlantic region as well as for
promotions in Mississippi and Louisiana. In 1987, Leon was featured in
an article for The Charlotte Observer in which he discussed his career
and his experiences on the independent circuit. He also felt hopeful
that he and Maggs might be hired by the National Wrestling Alliance.
During the summer of 1988, while wrestling for Frank Cain's Star
Cavalcade Wrestling, he and his student Axl Rotten briefly held the
SCW Tag Team Championship after defeating The Smurfs (Corey Stevens &
Dynamite Kid) for the titles in Montgomery, Alabama. They later
dropped the belts to Rick Anderson & Snake Watson. In September, he
defeated Moondog in Bainbridge, Georgia to win the promotion's
heavyweight championship; the title had been held up the previous
month when their last match ended in a double-disqualification.
was an American professional wrestler, trainer and promoter, best
known by his ringname "Bad Boy" Ricky (Ricki) Lawless, who competed in
Eastern, Mid-Atlantic and Southern regional territories during the
early to mid-1980s, being a veteran of International Championship
Wrestling and the National Wrestling Federation.Leon was also the
owner a successful wrestling school whose students included Steve "The
Brawler" Lawler, "Playboy" Bobby Starr, Axl Rotten and Joey Maggs. He
and Maggs later teamed together as The Heavy Metal Connection and
twice captured the tag team titles in Buck Robley's Deep South
Championship Wrestling. His murder in 1988, reportedly committed by a
jealous husband over an extramarital affair, was featured in an
exposé by Hustler.Jim Leon was born in Washington, D.C. in 1959. He
worked as a mechanic prior to becoming a professional wrestler and
later lived in Charlotte, North Carolina and Baltimore, Maryland. He
initially wrestled and trained only twice a week, while still a
full-time mechanic, and quit three times due to his financial
situation before deciding to fully commit to a career in wrestling.
Throughout the 1980s, he wrestled up and down the Eastern United
States and eventually became a regular in International Championship
Wrestling and the National Wrestling Federation. In 1984, under the
ring name Jim Nunna, he became the first heavyweight champion for the
American Wrestling Federation in Georgia; while champion he began
competing under his real name.Leon also started a wrestling school in
a disused boxing gym located at the corner of North Avenue and Harford
road. It was a Baltimore City run gym, wherein he and Dave Coleman, a
pro wrestler who had been trained by Killer Kowalski trained a number
of future independent stars including Steve "The Brawler" Lawler,
"Playboy" Bobby Starr, and Axl Rotten. He later formed a team with one
of his students, Joey Maggs, and twice won the tag team belts in Buck
Robley's Deep South Championship Wrestling (later known as Southern
Championship Wrestling). He and Maggs, as The Heavy Metal Connection,
became a popular tag team in the Mid-Atlantic region as well as for
promotions in Mississippi and Louisiana. In 1987, Leon was featured in
an article for The Charlotte Observer in which he discussed his career
and his experiences on the independent circuit. He also felt hopeful
that he and Maggs might be hired by the National Wrestling Alliance.
During the summer of 1988, while wrestling for Frank Cain's Star
Cavalcade Wrestling, he and his student Axl Rotten briefly held the
SCW Tag Team Championship after defeating The Smurfs (Corey Stevens &
Dynamite Kid) for the titles in Montgomery, Alabama. They later
dropped the belts to Rick Anderson & Snake Watson. In September, he
defeated Moondog in Bainbridge, Georgia to win the promotion's
heavyweight championship; the title had been held up the previous
month when their last match ended in a double-disqualification.
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