Brady Boone

Battle Kat redirects here. For the Masters of the Universe character, see Battle Cat.
Brady Boone

Peters as "Battle Kat" in the World Wrestling Federation in 1990
Born (1958-08-22)August 22, 1958[1]
Robbinsdale, Minnesota[1][2]
Died December 15, 1998(1998-12-15) (aged 40)[2]
Tampa, Florida[3]
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s) Brady Boone[1][2]
Battle Kat[1][2]
Fire Cat[1][2]
Lynxx[2]
The Masked Firecat[1]
Billed height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Billed weight 220 lb (100 kg; 16 st)[1]
Billed from Oregon City, Oregon[1]
Debut 1984[2]
Retired 1994[4]

Dean R. Peters[1][2] (August 22, 1958 – December 15, 1998)[2] was an American professional wrestler and referee. He was perhaps best known for his appearances with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Brady Boone and Battle Kat.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1984-1986)

Peters started his career in 1984, working for Don Owen's NWA Pacific Northwest Wrestling promotion.[1] He wrestled under the ring name Brady Boone, and was billed as the cousin of Billy Jack Haynes.[1][2] After teaming with Haynes, Boone won the Tag Team Championship twice in 1986; first with Coco Samoa on March 29, then with Ricky Santana on October 4.[1]

World Wrestling Federation (1986–1988)

While wrestling for PNW, Peters (as Brady Boone) and Haynes also worked as a jobber tag team for the World Wrestling Federation from late 1986 to early 1988. Boone would begin wrestling full-time for the WWF on July 2, 1987, used primarily as an upper-level opening match wrestler. Despite his role on television as a jobber, Boone won many matches on the house show circuit including defeats of Barry Horowitz, The Gladiator, José Estrada Sr. and ultimately compiled an overall singles record that included 19 wins that year.[5] Meanwhile on television Boone would lose almost all of his encounters, but challenged The Honky Tonk Man for the Intercontinental Championship on the December 8, 1987 and May 10, 1988 episodes of Superstars.[4][6] Boone was involved in one major angle on October 31, 1987, when he tagged with Scott Casey in a losing effort against Demolition. Following the match Demolition continued to attack Boone, leading Billy Jack Haynes to make the save. Boone was stretchered out as a part of angle that led to the teaming of Haynes and Ken Patera. The following year Boone won an additional 24 matches,[7] and finished his run with a victory over Steve Lombardi on Sep 12, 1988 in South Bend, Indiana.

World Wrestling Federation - Battle Kat (1990)

Brady Boone returned to the WWF on May 4, 1990 on a house show in a loss to Paul Diamond. He would wrestle numerous house show and television matches between May and August. At a house show on September 13, 1990, Peters debuted as Battle Kat, a character who donned a cat mask and utilized his gymnastics background to emphasize his "cat-like" agility. He pinned The Brooklyn Brawler.[4][8] Six days later, Battle Kat won his televised debut match over Bob Bradley, on the September 19 episode of Wrestling Challenge.[4] Battle Kat remained undefeated on house shows and defeated Paul Diamond on the October 30 episode of Wrestling Challenge before he was released from the WWF.[4] Ironically, Bob Bradley would replace Brady Boone in the Battle Kat character.

Independent circuit (1991, 1992)

After leaving the WWF, Peters took a brief hiatus from wrestling. He reappeared at the Universal Wrestling Federation's only pay-per-view, Beach Blast on June 9, 1991, where he and Jim Cooper lost to The Blackhearts (Apocalypse and Destruction).[4] As Fire Cat, he wrestled in the Florida-based Suncoast Pro Wrestling and won its Tag Team Championship with Jerry Lynn.[9] After losing the title, Peters took another hiatus before debuting in All Japan Pro Wrestling under his Fire Cat name on March 4, 1992. He and Richard Slinger lost a tag team match to Lt. James Earl Wright and Sgt. Buddy Lee Parker.[4]

World Championship Wrestling (1993–1994)

Peters signed with World Championship Wrestling in 1993, and debuted (as Brady Boone) on the December 7 episode of Saturday Night, losing a tag team match (with partner Scott Studd) to Pretty Wonderful (Paul Orndorff and Paul Roma).[4] On the January 10, 1994 episode of Saturday Night, Boone lost to Steve Austin.[4] After not appearing on television for several months, Boone wrestled his final match on the July 23 episode of Saturday Night, defeating Rip Rogers.[4] After retiring as a wrestler, Boone remained with the company as a referee.[2][3]

Death and legacy

On December 15, 1998, while driving home to Tampa, Florida from a WCW television taping in Orlando, Peters died in an automobile accident.[3][8]

Despite being smaller than most wrestlers, Peters inspired several up-and-coming wrestlers with his athleticism, including Rob Van Dam.[3] The two met while Peters was wrestling in Florida for Suncoast Pro Wrestling.[3] Peters helped Van Dam during his early years in wrestling, and persuaded Giant Baba to allow Van Dam to tour with All Japan Pro Wrestling.[3] The last time Van Dam saw Peters was also the only time he wrestled him.[3] In tribute, Van Dam uses moves that Peters himself used.[3]

Personal life

Peters attended Robbinsdale High School in 1976 alongside fellow future wrestlers Curt Hennig,[10] Tom Zenk[11] and Rick Rude.[12] John Nord[10] and Nikita Koloff[10] (class of 1977), and Barry Darsow[10][13] (class of 1978). He is the uncle of former wrestler and WCW referee Johnny Boone.

In wrestling

Championships and accomplishments

References

Further reading

External links

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