Former WWF & WCW wrestler Black Bart is terminally ill and is prepared for his death. Dr. Chris Featherstone reported the following:
“I just spoke to Black Bart’s wife in detail about his health. She gave me permission to report an update.
She stated, ‘he’s ready to meet his maker, so it’s a win-win situation. When it’s time to go to heaven, he knows where he’s going.’
He is currently resting at home with his wife Linda. He is refusing chemotherapy and his bladder has stopped working. Linda stated that he said that he felt so bad after the chemo, ‘each time he’s done it, he’s felt worse.’ He is no longer able to walk and is barely eating.
His weight dropped from 320 to 210, and his wife stated, ‘he’s nothing but skin and bones now.’ She said that ‘he’s prayed up and ready to go,’ and he is in good spirits. She expressed that instead of a memorial, Bart ‘wants a party’ to celebrate his life and be remembered for how he was before getting terminally ill.“
On January 22, 1990, Black Bart debuted in the World Wrestling Federation by defeating Lee Peak in a dark match at a WWF Superstars of Wrestling taping in Miami, Florida. A month later, on February 19, he made his television debut, losing to Tito Santana on Prime Time Wrestling. For the rest of the year, Bart primarily worked as enhancement talent but appeared in over 100 matches, regularly featured on television. Despite his role, he secured victories against lower-card opponents like Jim Powers (with a five-match winning streak in July), Paul Diamond, Mark Young, Jim Evans, and Pez Whatley. He also had a one-off opportunity at the WWF World Tag Team Titles, teaming with Mark Ming in a losing effort against the champions, Demolition.
Bart also served as an opponent for several wrestlers making their WWF debuts. On April 24, 1990, he lost to Dustin Rhodes in a dark match at a Wrestling Challenge taping in San Antonio, Texas. On July 21, he teamed with Tom Stone against The Legion of Doom in their debut match on WWF Superstars of Wrestling. Later that month, on July 24, he was defeated by Shane Douglas at a Los Angeles house show. Throughout the summer, Bart faced Jim Powers, Pez Whatley, and Jim Brunzell in house show matches, consistently ending up on the losing side. In October, he entered a similar series with Dustin Rhodes and later concluded the year with winless programs against Saba Simba and Shane Douglas.
Bart’s final WWF match took place on January 19, 1991, on WWF Superstars of Wrestling, where he teamed with WT Jones in a losing effort against The Hart Foundation. Shortly after, he departed the WWF and returned to WCW.
In February 1991, less than a month after leaving the WWF, Bart made his WCW return at a house show in Jacksonville, Florida. Teaming with Dan Spivey and Buddy Landell, he unsuccessfully challenged WCW Six-Man Tag Team Champions Junkyard Dog, Ricky Morton, and Tommy Rich. That spring, he renewed rivalries with Sam Houston and Dustin Rhodes on the house show circuit.
In WCW, Bart became part of the Desperados stable alongside Dutch Mantell and Deadeye Dick. The group was introduced as bumbling cowboys attempting to recruit Stan Hansen and featured in comedic vignettes where they got into various mishaps in saloons and ghost towns. The Desperados wrestled their first match as a unit on May 12, 1991, in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Bart and Mantell lost to The Young Pistols.
Bart made his WCW pay-per-view debut at SuperBrawl I on May 19, substituting for Larry Zbyszko in a match against Big Josh. He then began teaming regularly with Deadeye Dick in matches against Ricky Morton and Dustin Rhodes. The Desperados made their trio debut on July 3, 1991, at the start of The Great American Bash tour, losing to The Freebirds and Badstreet Brad Armstrong. Later that month, Bart wrestled Junkyard Dog in a dark match at the Great American Bash pay-per-view and appeared as a lumberjack in Big Josh’s match against Black Blood.
The Desperados storyline struggled when Stan Hansen declined involvement and left for Japan. Without Hansen, the stable became enhancement talent and dissolved by the end of 1991. Bart’s final WCW match aired on August 24, 1991, on the WCW Power Hour, where he teamed with Richard Myers in a losing effort against The WCW Patriots.
