USA Championship Wrestling has reported the passing of longtime Memphis wrestling personality and independent promoter Bert Prentice following a battle with cancer. Prentice is believed to have been 59 at the time of his passing.
Prentice initially debuted in the USWA in 1991 as Christopher Love, managing The Dragon Master and the PYTs as heel foil to all the top babyfaces of the territory, including Jerry Lawler, Jeff Jarrett and even Randy Hales. Eventually, Prentice would drop the Love moniker and in 1993, would be the manager for all the WWF talents who would come in to feud with babyface Jerry Lawler, including Giant Gonzales and Bret and Owen Hart. Lawler at the time was a heel for the WWF, but was still a babyface in Memphis so when WWF talents would come in, they would switch roles and play heels to the "The King."
Prentice feuded with WWE Hall of Famer Jacqueline Moore during her time in the promotion as Miss Texas, claiming that she was really a man named Bubba Johnson. This led to a series of different stipulation matches, including a boxing match and a street fight, with Miss Texas soundly beating Prentice every time. Prentice was one of the first hosts (alongside Jeremy Borash) in the early days of NWA: TNA's Xplosion series.
Prentice also promoted a number of independent promotions, including Music Wrestling Wrestling, Ozark Mountain Wrestling, Ozark's successor North American All Star Wrestling and more, all of which had a Southern 'wrassling flair. In recent years, Prentice had been running USA Wrestling in the Memphis area, regularly using Jerry Lawler as a top babyface and bringing in Memphis legends for signings and undercard attractions. Yesterday, Prentice announced that his sister Marilyn would take over the day to day operations of the promotion so he could concentrate on his health. The promotion has dates for August and September scheduled.
Prentice wrote, "As I continue to manage my cancer treatments and rehabilitation. I so appreciate all USA staff and talent, fans, and thousands of friends who have reached out to me with care and love."
He was also a manager of Tully Blanchard for a time as well.
Here's a the news story on his death from WBBJ. https://www.wbbjtv.com/2021/08/04/usa-championship-wrestling-owner-bert-prentice-has-died/
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