Magnum T.A.

The story of Magnum T.A. is a sad one indeed. A man destined for greatness, only to have tragedy strike right before his moment of glory. Magnum was born Terry Allen on June 11th, 1959 in Chesapeake, VA. Terry made his pro wrestling debut as Jesse James in 1977 competeing for Florida Championship Wrestling before jumping to Mid-South Wrestling. By 1984 he had made a name for himself being dubbed Magnum due to his reselmblance to Tom Selleck's character on the tv show Magnum P.I. He won his 1st championship by defeating Mr. Wrestling II for the Mid-South North American Heavyweight Championship. He would then be lured away by Jim Crockett's National Wrestling Alliance where he quickly became one of the top faces. One of his most famous bout's (which is ranked #2 on Starrcade: The Essential Collection) was his I Quit Steel Cage match at Starrcade 85 in which he defeated Tully Blanchard for the NWA United States Heavyweight Championship after stabbing Tully in the head with a peice of a wooden chair that Tully had broken. During a contract signing in April 1986 Magnum was stripped of the title. Nikita Koloff insulted Magnum's mother in the ring leading to Magnum clothelineing NWA President Bob Geigel. Magnum was in line to defeat Ric Flair for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at Starrcade 1986 until everything changed in 1 split second. On October 14th 1986 Magnum was driving in his Porche in the rain less than a mile away from his house. Magnum drove around a bend but lost control, fish tailing wrapping the car around a telephone pole. He shattered several vertibre in his back leaving him

paralyzed on left side of his body was ending his in ring carrer. While Magnum would learn to walk again, his dream of being World Champion was gone. Magnum would later become a commentator and a manager in NWA and WCW. If it would not have been for the accident, there is no doubt that Magnum T.A. would of become one of the biggest star's in history of pro wrestling.