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Claude Patterson (born July 8, 1941) is an American retired professional wrestler, known by his ring name Thunderbolt Patterson. He began his career in 1964 and wrestled primarily in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas. During the early 1970s, he was blacklisted by the National Wrestling Alliance for repeated appearances with outlaw promotions, his complaints of institutional racism and attempts to form a wrestlers' labor union.
In 1969, he worked for Big Time Wrestling in Michigan and Ohio.
In 1970, he feuded with Jose Lothario and held the Florida version of the NWA Brass Knuckles Championship.
Patterson agreed to work for an outlaw promotion (that is, one outside of the NWA) run by Ann Gunkel, the widow of his old friend and Georgia promoter Ray Gunkel, in January 1974. In January 1975, he moved to Big Time Wrestling in Detroit. In December 1975, he began to wrestle for the NWA promotion in Florida where he remained until April 1976. In 1976, he won the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship from Bruiser Brody. In 1977, he scored a surprise pinfall win over The Sheik in Toronto for the U.S. title but lost three weeks later. He then switched to Georgia Championship Wrestling where he remained until 1980.
He spoke out against poor working conditions for wrestlers in the 1970s and participated in a racial discrimination lawsuit. He has claimed that as a result, he was blacklisted from wrestling in the mid-1970s. He had been complaining about racism from promoters for many years (he would later recall that only Dory Funk Sr. had backed him) and wanted to start a wrestlers' union, a dream he shared with former NFL player and wrestler Jim Wilson, himself blacklisted. He has said that it was years, with Patterson claiming to be working at the Los Angeles Times in the interim, before he has said his blacklisting was lifted, when Dusty Rhodes took ill in Florida in 1975.
Patterson joined Ole Anderson as a tag team partner in 1984 and they briefly held the NWA National Tag Team Championship. Ole's kayfabe cousin, a young Arn Anderson, came to the sport, and Ole, saying he was "tired of carrying guys like Patterson and Dusty Rhodes" broke up with Patterson, and joined Arn in what would be the foundation for the Four Horsemen which would include NWA Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair and Tully Blanchard.
Patterson retired from full time wrestling in 1985. He then appeared in the ring in 1993 at a "Legends Reunion Match" at Slamboree '93, where he teamed with Brad Armstrong to defeat Ivan Koloff and Baron von Raschke. He would also mentor Ice Train, until retiring completely in 1994.
On July 27, 2019, Patterson was inducted into the 2019 Class of the George Tragos/Lou Thesz Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame in his hometown of Waterloo.
On March 13, 2024, it was announced that Patterson would be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Patterson is also an ordained minister.
Thunderbolt Patterson is featured in the film, This World Is Not My Own: The Limitless Life of Nellie Mae Rowe which premiered in 2023 at South By Southwest Film Festival (SXSW). The artist watched Thunderbolt faithfully on television during the 1970s and drew likenesses of him from time to time. They never met in person. Patterson found out about Rowe and her drawings of him and said that Rowe "kept me alive."
Personal life
In 1988, he was a labor organizer for Service Employees International Union in Atlanta.
Championships and accomplishments
External links
Categories: 1941 Births, 20th-century African-american Sportsmen, 20th-century Male Professional Wrestlers, 20th-century American Professional Wrestlers, 21st-century African-american People, African-american Professional Wrestlers, American Male Professional Wrestlers, Living People, Professional Wrestlers From Atlanta, Sportspeople From Waterloo, Iowa, Professional Wrestlers From Iowa, Nwa Florida Heavyweight Champions, Nwa Southern Heavyweight Champions, Nwa Brass Knuckles Champions, Nwa United States Heavyweight Champions, Nwa Americas Tag Team Champions, Nwa Georgia Tag Team Champions, Nwa National Tag Team Champions, Nwa National Television Champions, Wcwa World Tag Team Champions, Wwe Hall Of Fame Inductees, 20th-century American Sportsmen, Nwa World Tag Team Champions
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