Not As Wonderful: Terry Orndorff

Rob Faint

There are many well-known brothers in wrestling history: the Von Erichs, the Funks, the Briscos to name a few. There are also several brother combinations where one was more successful than the other. This leads us to a discussion about the Orndorffs, Paul and Terry. While Paul went off to great success, Terry’s career was short and uneventful.

Born in 1951 in Virginia, Orndorff was trained by Dick Slater, Michael Hayes, and his brother Paul (amongst others) and began teaming with Paul in Georgia in 1978. He spent most of his career in the Mid-South area, teaming and feuding with the Junkyard Dog. Orndorff never won any single titles, only winning tag team gold with partners such as JYD, Kerry Von Erich and Frank Hill (Jules Strongbow).

Orndorff was injured in a car accident in 1982 and took some time off to heal. Eventually he returned to wrestling in St Louis but retired soon after. He went back to his career as a boilermaker. It’s been said that he didn’t have the passion for wrestling which led to his retirement.

Terry Orndorff had the skills and the looks to be a success in professional wrestling but lacked the drive and determination to become a superstar.